Page 8 2026 Hometown HEROES Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS June/July 2026 Betty Gail Wagner In her golden years, long time Emden resident Betty Gail Wagner is still very active in her community. She is secretary of the Emden Historical Society board, serves on the Emden American Legion Post #506 Auxiliary and teaches Sunday school at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Emden. Though Wagner retired in 2010 after working at the Farmer’s State Bank in Emden for 40 years, retirement has not seemed to slow her down. Betty Gail Wagner has been the secretary at the Emden Historical Society Board for many years. Ladonna Gass, who serves on the board with Wagner, said, “she is above efficient, hardworking and everyone loves her. We would be lost without her. She is always smiling and so helpful in everything we do there as she also has a lot of knowledge about past history of our town. She is basically that way in everything she does. She is a true jewel!” Since Wagner was born and raised in this area and knows so much about the town, she served on the planning committee for the Village of Emden’s 100th anniversary in 1971, the 125th Anniversary in 1996 and the 150th anniversary in 2021. For the 100th Anniversary Committee, Wagner served as secretary. On the 125th Anniversary Committee in 1996, she served as treasurer. For both the 100th and 125th celebration, the committee had books printed that provide a history of Emden and many of the families with long time roots. Wagner is part of the Shirley family, which has been around the area for many years. A 1982 History of Logan County shows Wagner’s great grandparents, William and Elizabeth Shirley originally lived in Stomping Ground, Kentucky, but sometime in the 1800s, “they migrated to Logan County, Illinois, settling in the Musick community (call Musickville).”
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