From the Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas, March 29, 1973: Weslaco- Harley Eugene Barnum, widely known Weslaco ironworks contractor, died Tuesday night in Valley Baptist Hospital of injuries received in a March 8 traffic collision. He was 59.
Barnum had been a Weslaco resident since 1945 when he opened H&B Ironworks. Burial will be in Highland Memorial Park. Survivors include the widow, Mrs. Goldie Barnum; a daughter, Linda K. Barnum; two sons, Larry G. Barnum of Weslaco and Robert L. Barnum of Pharr; and four grandchildren. Other survivors include an uncle, Carl Barnum of Hiawatha, Kansas and a cousin K.K. Compton of Fort Worth. Barnum was a native of Hiawatha.