BELLE CENTER, Ohio (WCMH/WJW) — As the world celebrates Betty White on what would have been her 100th birthday Monday, many in Ohio are remembering the actress’ short time here.
For White, it wasn’t all that enjoyable.
In a The Daily Beast article, White said her road to Ohio all started when she met a P-38 pilot, Capt. Richard Barker, of Belle Center, during World War II.
White called him “Dick,” but Barker was known around Belle Center — about 65 miles northwest of Columbus in Logan County — as Bud. She said the circumstances were “terribly romantic.”
A volunteer with the Logan Historical Society did find a marriage record that said Frederick R. Barker married a Betty M. on July 9, 1945.
The marriage soon went downhill. The couple planned to live in an apartment in Santa Maria, White told The Daily Beast, but Barker neglected to tell her he’d been discharged.
That’s when she learned the airman was just a country boy with a chicken farm and a pet raccoon. They drove to Belle Center to live with his parents on that farm.
White is known for her love of animals. And they did have a role in her time in Belle Center.
Judy Snyder, a volunteer with the Logan Historical Society, said her husband was a child when he met White and Barker.
“Bud had brought along his pet raccoon, and it relieved itself on Betty’s shoulder during the visit,” Snyder said.
A wedding announcement showed White was taking poultry classes at Ohio State University in Columbus with Barker.
The couple’s marriage didn’t last long, though, after Barker’s family tried to send her to kill a chicken for dinner.
“I said, ‘No way!’” White wrote in the 2011 article. “That was a real trauma because I’m such an animal nut. I couldn’t hack it, so I split and came back to California. We were married eight months, and it was a very bad mistake early on.”
It’s likely the Barkers never owned the farm that White talks about in her memoirs but rented it.
“One of our volunteers used to visit with (Dick) at the diner, but she can’t recall ever knowing where the chicken farm was, but she is asking some of the old-timers around Belle Center,” Marshall said in an email to NBC4’s Cynthia Rosi.
White soon left for her glamorous life.
The eventual comedy legend died peacefully at home on Dec. 31, 2021, just weeks shy of her 100th birthday.
Betty White through the years
FILE – Actress Betty White poses for a portrait in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 5, 1982. Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, has died. She was 99. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File) 
FILE – Actress Betty White stands with Ted Knight at the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 13, 1981. Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, has died. She was 99. (AP Photo/Randy Rasmussen, File) 
FILE – Actors from the television series “The ” Golden Girls” stand together during a break in taping Dec. 25, 1985 in Hollywood. From left are, Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur and Betty White. Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, has died. She was 99. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File) 
FILE – Actress Betty White in 1965. Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, has died. She was 99. (AP Photo, File) 
FILE – Actress Betty White poses for a portrait on the set of the television show “Hot in Cleveland” in Studio City section of Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 9, 2010. Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, has died. She was 99. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File) 
FILE – Actress Betty White poses for a portrait following her appearance on the television talk show “In the House,” in Burbank, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009. Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, has died. She was 99. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File) 
FILE – Betty White poses for photographers on the red carpet before Comedy Central’s “Roast of William Shatner,” Sunday, Aug. 13, 2006, in Los Angeles. Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, has died. She was 99. (AP Photo/Rene Macura, File) 
FILE – Betty White accepts the legend award at the TV Land Awards at the Saban Theatre on Saturday, April 11, 2015, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, has died. She was 99. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File) 
FILE – Former cast members of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, sans Mary Tyler Moore, are reunited for the Museum of Television and Radio’s 9th annual Television Festival in Los Angeles on March 21, 1992. From left are Gavin MacLeod, Valerie Harper, Cloris Leachman, Betty White and Ed Asner. Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, has died. She was 99. (AP Photo/Craig Fujii, File) 
FILE – In this May 18, 1976 file photo, cast members of the “Mary Tyler Moore Show,” pose with their Emmys backstage, at the 28th annual Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. From left are, Ed Asner, Betty White, Mary Tyler Moore and Ted Knight. Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, has died. She was 99. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, file) 
FILE – Allen Ludden and his wife Betty White plays a game of cards in their home in Westchester, N.Y. on April 29, 1965. Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, has died. She was 99. (AP Photo/Bob Wands, File)
