The Faessler Story

The Faessler story begins in Berne, Switzerland where John William was born on July 25, 1838.   He moved to Moberly at the age of 37 and the following year he married Christiana Klore in Macon, Illinois. They had three children: John William, Jr. (1878), Louis (1881), and Lulu (1886).  John, Sr. started a machine works in Moberly in 1881 and hired 10 journeymen. This was the beginning of the profitable manufacturing plant on 5th Street. John, as a machinist, saw a need for a special tool for working on steam-boilers (railroad shops were located in Moberly). He designed and received a patent on January 16, 1883 for a flue-expander used in that industry. 

The company was young when John, Sr. died at 61 on March 15, 1899. The company began a new era.  John, Jr., the oldest son, was only 21 years old at that time.  The next year the company incorporated.  Louis Faessler was the treasurer of the company. Graves R. Maupin was the superintendent of the shops. The company made specialized tools for the metalworking, refining, and steam-powered industries. The products were sold around the world.  In 1902, John Jr. married Elizabeth Nebergall. They had no children.  Lulu, the younger sister of John, Jr. married Harry B. Gilfillan,a businessman in Moberly.

John Jr. and L. K. Smith applied and received a patent on a grease cup filling device in February 1910. Louis Faessler, John Jr.’s younger brother, married Ruth Baker on May 4, 1915. A partnership on July 1, 1921 was created between four people: Louis Faessler, Mrs. Christiana Faessler (John Sr, widow), Mrs. Elizabeth Faessler (John Jr. wife), and Graves R. Maupin. In the research it is not stated, but it is implied that John Jr. was active on the site at the machine shop since he was listed on applications for the patents. Another contract for the machine shop was to build the Missouri Haypress “Mule” until 1926 when they sold the rights to McDonald’s machine shop across the street. At 49 years old, John Faessler, Jr. died on September 22, 1927 and was buried in Oakland Cemetery in Moberly.

It is unknown whether the plans on a new warehouse on the corner of Logan and Sturgeon streets near the Wabash Freight Depot had been started at the time of John Jr.’s death, but the building was near completion when a fire demolished the Central High School on the night of January 29, 1929. The Moberly School District leased the warehouse for eighteen months.  The building was naturally lighted with many windows, but Ludwig Abt did the design for heating, electric lights, and partitions to make it ready for students. These additions were added in about two weeks. Faessler Manufacturing never used this building and sold it to Temple Stephens Company for its grocery business as a warehouse.

On March 16, 1942, Louis Faessler died. He was the secretary and treasurer of J. Faessler Manufacturing Co. The company continued to thrive during the WWII because of government contracts. Following the war, the company was sold to The Key Company of E. St. Louis, IL in 1951.  It was again sold and purchased in December 1955 by ACF Industries, Inc. Reorganization occurred on December 15, 1956 and it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Flightex Fabrics, Inc. During the fifties, the name became Madison – Faessler Tool Company.  April 3, 1959 was the final day for the company to be located in Moberly. The equipment and some employees moved to Providence, Rhode Island. Three Madison owned industries were consolidated and relocated to Providence. At the time of the closure, 45 were employed by the Madison – Faessler Company in Moberly.  The land was put up for sale. City Bank purchased the land and a groundbreaking ceremony was held on October 11, 1961 for their new building.

When the last piece of machinery left Moberly for Rhode Island, there were only three remaining of the second generation of Faesslers. These ladies, Lulu Faessler Gilfillan and the wives of John, Jr. and Louis had no children. Ruth Faessler, widow of Louis, died as a result of a felonious act in 1960. Three years later, Elizabeth Faessler Cook, 82, of 801 West Reed St. died.  She had married Fred Cook after John Faessler had died in 1927. The large Faessler home on West Reed was inherited by her niece, Helen Nebergall Bloom. The last remaining direct descendant of John Faessler, Sr., Lulu Faessler Gilfillan, died in 1968, and is buried in Oakland. 

Melvin B. Tolson

Professor, Debate Coach, Poet, and Football Coach

Melvin B. Tolson was the Moberly Methodist Episcopal Church pastor’s son.  He was born in 1898.  He attended college at Lincoln University.

He married Ruth Southall and they had a son. His first job after graduating in 1924 was at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas as an English professor.  He was known as the most famous negro professor in the southwest, as he inspired students to do their best.

His debate team at Wiley College had a winning streak for 10 years and beat the University of Southern California in 1935 for the National Championship.

In 1947 he took a teaching position at Langston University in Oklahoma. He lived in a time of racial segregation. He believed that racism had economic roots.  He earned his master’s degree from Columbia College.  His first major poet collection is called Rendezvous with America. A drama critic in 1938 said that his poems described people and make them come to life, candidly, unforgettably. 

In 1964, he was diagnosed with cancer.  He died in 1966 and is buried at Guthrie, Oklahoma.

His story is told in the 2007 movie, The Great Debaters.  Denzel Washington portrays Professor Tolson in the film.

The Lions Club of Moberly in 1922 made plans for a lion to be placed in Tannehill Park.  The bronze statue cost $200 in 1923 and was to be installed by P. Stauffer. The lion and fountain was open in the spring of 1924 in Tannehill Park.  Tannehill Park at that time included the area of the current Federal Building – Post Office.  Dr. C. J. Tannehill, a pharmacist, donated the land to the City of Moberly on May 18, 1872. Moberly agreed that a park was to be developed and the only building could be for the county courthouse or other public building.

Moberly City Council budgeted $500 from the Park Fund for improvements at Tannehill Park in 1922.  A fountain was built to display the beautiful statue (see picture) and plants were added to beautify the park. 

In 1951, the lion was needing a major restoration. The tail had been broken off and the paint was chipped. The Lions Club began a project of removing layers of paint. It was repainted with the original gold color. The tail was fixed.

In 1961, a new Post Office was built. The lion was removed and stored by Kenneth Chrisman until a new fountain was constructed and the lion statue was reinstalled in 1982. On July 29, 1983, a couple of young men stole the lion.  The lion was found in Columbia. Fennel Welding and Steel Supply repaired the damage. It was reinstalled in the park in 1984.

The lion was removed from the park around 1992 and is on display at the Randolph County Historical Center.

The attached water fountain is from the original Tannehill Park Bandstand erected in 1938 by the National Youth Administration.

Resources:

Moberly Monitor Index (MMI)

Orville Sittler, “Restored Tannehill Park is Dedicated”, n.d.

“To Put Lion in Tannehill Park”, May 8, 1923

“Band Stand Project is Approved”, June 15, 1938

“New Bandstand is Baptized With Words & Music”, June 10, 1939

“Three New Civic Projects Begin By Lions Club”, June 6, 1951

Jo Driskell, “Tannehill Park Lion, With New Tail, Restored to His Pedestal”, July 18, 1951

“Copy of Deed to Tannehill Park Presented to Museum”, April 14, 1982.

Orville Sittler, “Lion to be Re-Installed in Tannehill Park”, September 16, 1984

“The Return of the Lion”, September 18, 1984

Near Clark, Missouri, in 1893, John and Mary (Hubbard) Bradley welcomed their son, Omar Nelson Bradley, into the world. Omar's early education was under the tutelage of his father, who served as a teacher in various country schools around the Higbee area. Tragedy struck when Omar was just 14; his father succumbed to pneumonia at the end of the school year. Subsequently, Omar and his mother relocated to Moberly.

Following his graduation from Moberly High School, Omar found employment with the Wabash Railroad to finance his college education. It was his Sunday School teacher who recognized his potential and encouraged him to apply to the US Military Academy at West Point. Fortuitously, his application was accepted. Throughout his academic pursuits, Omar's passion for sports, particularly football and basketball, remained undiminished.

Commissioned as an officer, Omar assumed various roles and responsibilities. Notably, he served as the Field Commander during the pivotal D-Day invasion of Normandy in 1944 during World War II. Revered as the "G. I.’s General," Bradley earned this moniker for his genuine concern for the welfare of the ordinary soldier. Often donning the fatigues of a combat trooper, he led with a calm demeanor, rarely raising his voice.

Following the conclusion of World War II in 1949, President Eisenhower established the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appointing General Omar Bradley as its inaugural chairman. In recognition of his exceptional leadership, Bradley received a promotion in 1950, attaining the rank of five-star general.

General Omar Bradley retired from active service in 1953. Tragically, his wife Mary Quayle passed away after 50 years of marriage in 1965. However, Bradley found love again when he married Esther Buhler in 1966.

His remarkable journey came to an end in 1981, and he was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery, leaving behind a legacy of valor and dedication to his country.

Post Office

Moberly, Missouri

The first Moberly Post Office was established on December 28, 1857, in Allen.  James F. Cunningham was the postmaster.  In 1859, the compensation of the office was $82.12 and its net receipts were $8.50.

A few years later, the facility relocated to a one-story, one-room frame building on Coates Street and was renamed to Moberly on June 24, 1869.  On February 1, 1891, Tom Kelly, the Postmaster began city mail delivery.  The four original carriers were Charles P. Apgar, Enoch Deskin, Win S. Jones, and Ed. F. Haley. John H. Smith was the substitute carrier.

When the new Post Office was built in 1905, the small building was purchased and moved to the 700 block of South Fourth Street.  Ben R. White added additional rooms and probably lived in the dwelling.  The building continued to be well-kept and was still standing in 1966.

The 1905 building (see pictures) was the first government owned building and is shown in this early picture.  It was located at the corner of Williams and Coates Streets. J. A. Daly was the contractor.  This beautiful building served Moberly for 55 years.  It was an important mail distributing center with eleven star-routes.  A star route was a local contract with the post office to distribute the mail.

While D. L. Owen (see pictures) was postmaster, a new federal building was built.  It was located on the east side of Tanneyhill Park. The new building was started in 1960 and in April 1961 they relocated from the old building (see pictures).  The Buckley Construction Company of St. Louis built this building for $464,646. This large, new facility housed other federal offices: the Social Security office, the Selective Service office, the county extension office, and the ASC office. One of the mail carriers at that time was Roy L. Gutekunst.  He had started in 1923, serving for almost 40 years.  He covered six routes or 24 miles of dirt roads in the beginning years.  At the time of his retirement (1961), he was the carrier for Route 3 – 68 miles on all-weather roads with 304 mailboxes.

The details of postal delivery had drastically changed over the years.  By 1966, there were 10 clerks, 13 city carriers, 3 rural carriers, and 3 substitute rural carriers. D. L. Owen was the postmaster, Fred Sebring – assistant postmaster, and L. L. Edward – superintendent of mail.  Over the years, there have been 17 postmasters.  The first one in Moberly was Michael Reese (1869). Those that maybe remember today are Roy R. Quinn (1922-23), Phares K. Weis (1936-1955), Mrs. Fred Reiss - acting (1955), and D. L. Owen (1956 - ?).  

Today, this third building is still providing mail service to the city and surrounding community.

Information from the Moberly 100th Anniversary Book, 1966, and Moberly 150, 2016.

Recently the Historical Center got a call from Dave Distler from Indiana looking for the whereabouts of “Tall Paul.” The Center couldn’t find any evidence and appealed to the modern medium of Facebook. Sure, enough folks had ideas and legends of where Tall Paul had gone. Some said the Ozarks and others said St. Louis while others said he was on a farm west of Moberly. As legends go there was a snippet of truth in all answers. First, indeed there is “a” Tall Paul near St. Louis. Come to find out Tall Paul had a brother or two. Next as we listened to the stories, we found that Tall Paul was undeniably rescued in Moberly and went to be on a farm.  Here is the story.

Tall Paul arrived in Columbia Missouri around 1965 and was sentinel for Midwest Auto who was a chain of tire stores.  He became well known around Columbia until 1972 when a new City Board began to debate about his presence and if he qualified to remain. Since Tall Paul began stirring discussion, President Paul Hausam decided to transfer Tall Paul to Moberly where in a small town he would likely be more accepted. In 1972 Tall Paul showed up for work at Midwest Auto on 669 North Morley. Tall Paul kept his job and even survived a transition to MFA Tire when they bought the business in 1977. However Tall Paul just didn’t fit their fancy and in 1979 they let him go. One of the employees felt like he needed rescued and took him to their farm west of town.  He was stored at the farm until sometimes in the 90’s. Allegedly about that time he suffered a broken arm.  Finally, one of the younger granddaughters of the family shared that he was at the Courtney/Burgin farm for awhile till he went to the Ozarks. Tall Paul once again went to work and instead of holding a tire he stepped up to hold the American flag at “Forever Friends Furniture,” near the lake.

In the summer of 2004 Tall Paul surrendered the flag and headed to Dade City, Florida joining snowbirds of his age working full time for Giant Mechanic.  Tall Paul wore a stocking cap while in Moberly.  However, today he sports a ball cap  which fits Florida climate better. He now holds a giant wrench.  We don’t dare tell Tall Paul’s age but let’s just say he debuted the same time the St. Louis Arch was completed. Or putting that another way around the same time the Ford Mustang began cruising American roads. 

There are lot more stories of Tall Paul and his brothers across the American Landscape. Thanks go to detective Dave Distler for his diligent search to find Tall Paul. 

Missouri mules are known to be tough, strong, and smart. Missouri Mules are the state animal. However, there was a Missouri mule so tough it was built out of steel. This Missouri Mule was built in Moberly.

The patent to the Missouri Hay Press was awarded to Scott Livinggood from Kansas City in 1911. In 1926, Lyman McDonald purchased the rights to the Missouri Hay Press from the Faessler Manufacturing company also of Moberly. By 1931, McDonald shops were building about 75 Missouri Mule hay presses yearly. Every part of the Missouri Mule was manufactured in Moberly.

These Missouri Mules could make straw into moveable bales which gave farmers a new market venue. They could put these bales into railroad box cars and ship them to urban markets. It is likely that many bales of straw baled by Missouri Mules left on the Wabash railroad from Moberly.

By 1931, it was reported that Missouri Mule Hay Balers were being shipped to farms in Morocco, Greece, New Zealand, and to every state in the Union. Two sizes of hay presses were manufactured.  One made bales that were 14x18” with the other one at 16x18”.  In the late 1940s, Missouri Mule hay press gave way the newer more efficient automated hay balers that could be pulled in the field with tractors. 

A Missouri Mule hay baler today is a rare find. There is one that operates at the Macon Show in July.

Mr. McDonald showed hay balers at most state fairs and had the same exhibit location at the Missouri State Fair from 1928 up through the 1940s.

For the answer to where they were built in Moberly. Here is a hint. There is a bank on the property.  And now for another hint. This bank sits on Coates Street. That bank is Central Bank and part of the lot is still visible. This is the site of Faesslers. The McDonald shops were across 5th Street where Rooted 242 is now located.

As the Missouri Mule baler sales wound down in the late 1940s, the McDonald shops began selling wood stoves and washing machines until 1960. Does anyone remember this?

Who might have worked there?  Who was Scott Livinggood that Faessler bought the patent from? Why did Faessler shops transfer the rights to Lyman McDonald?

Even though there are scant records of the Missouri Mule built here in Randolph County, it played a major role in our nation’s agricultural growth.  The Missouri Mule Company was a very important contribution to our county history. 

H. R. H. Silk Hosiery Mills

It is hard to understand the fashion culture prior to World War II.  Today, hose brings to mind a type of sock, either knee highs or pantyhose that you don when you are going to dress up for a special event.  Some may use them with business attire.  Men would never consider wearing hose, but use the term, ‘socks’ with the idea of a knitted garment for their feet.   Men may have socks of cotton, wool, or various combinations of synthetic threads.  Women consider nylons or hose as being of a tan or black color, possibly with some patterns woven in. Pantyhose did not become common until the late sixties. Tights or leggings of today would not be envisioned under the term, ‘stockings’.

But in 1926, before the crash of the economic structure of America and after the industrial revolution pushing out home-made knitted garments, silk hosiery was an important manufacturing business.  At this time, Moberly was needing industry to add jobs to the economic structure.  A few years earlier, the businessmen of the city had brought in the Brown Shoe Company.  Now, they had an opportunity to bring H. R. H. Silk Hosiery Mill to town. The Industrial Expansion Committee donated $8,000, collected from Moberly citizens, to secure the company.

Three stockholders, Henderson, Rickman, and Heuer, added an additional $17,000 to create the business.  Using the first letters of the three men as their trademark, H. R. H. Silk Hosiery Mill was established in 1927, with the mill opening on November 10 employing eight that received a total monthly salary of $482.30.

The women’s silk hosiery had several choices of style and color.  One style was a seamless stocking that had a two-tone effect that looked like a coarse mesh stocking. The colors were Negra (off-black), polo (a gunmetal tone), Deauville (a medium tan), and Mayfair (a light tan). The features were a picot top and a simulated fancy welt.  These stockings were sold at $1 or over in the stores.

1929 Advertisement for Berger Dry Goods Company who in cooperation with the silk hosiery mill offered repair services for hosiery that have runs, snags, or holes. The ad pictures a sheer women’s hose.

In 1929, a 30 x 35 ft addition was being built at the rear of the plant which would increase the size by a third.  55 people were earning a total of $3,115.42 per month.  There were 83 machines that produced silk hosiery. T. J. Cox was the superintendent of the plant and is quoted in the paper that there was enough work during the Christmas holidays that they would only have one or two days off.  This was good news for its employees only a couple of months after the Economic Crash in October.  He compared it to the Brown Shoe Factory, who would be closed a longer period of time.

Mr. E C Heuer was the executive director for the first years.  He resigned when he became sick and died unexpectedly on June 11, 1931. He was 36 years old. His wife, Hilda E., is mentioned in the society columns and one of the last clips was about her bringing her five-week-old baby with her. They lived at 208 ½ Epperson. Only a few months later, the baby’s father was buried in Chester, Illinois. This sad event must have effected Moberly’s society deeply.

Originally, the hosiery was knitted here in Moberly.  Later, these machines were moved to the Quincy, Illinois plant.  The 100 employees in Moberly continued to specialize in refinishing and re-dying of the 2,000,000 hosiery produced.

Even before the attack on Hawaii, our government was concerned about our role in the Pacific.  Silk is imported from Asia and it was becoming difficult to receive the shipments.  The government ordered the silk and hosiery milled closed to conserve the silk in stock for use in making parachutes if needed for an outbreak of war.  This edict was made on August 2, 1941.  C. R. Henderson was head of HRH Hosiery Mill at this time.  He is quoted to say that there was silk yarn in storage for the company for several weeks. The business plan was to incorporate lisle (a fine, smooth cotton thread) or mercerized cotton to substitute for the silk.  The machinery would need to be adapted to use the different threads. 

It is interesting to note that the women of the country was warned to not purchased large supplies of stockings or pay more than the normal cost to avoid a “selfish raid” on the nation’s supply.  It brings to mind our nation’s response to a false message of the lack of toilet paper in 2020 and the rush of over purchasing of the product.

The HRH Silk Hosiery Mill (purchased by SeLing Mills Corporation) closed its doors at the end of 1954.  Ben Hackett had been superintendent of the mill for nine years and left to take a position at the PRIM HOSIERY ILL IN Chester, Illinois.  At the time of closing about 25 women were employed.

The building was purchased by Phil Kirtley, owner of the Modern Chemical Company to produce embalming chemicals. Currently, the building with additions is Farris Doors. Paul Farris’ parents purchased the building from a pre-fab construction company.

Sources:

“Congratulations”, Moberly Monitor Index, December 20, 1929.

“Hosiery Mill to be Closed First of Year”, Moberly Monitor Index, December 20, 1954.

“More Room Demanded by Business of Hosiery Mill”, Moberly Monitor Index, December 17, 1929.

“New York Paper Has Article on Moberly Hosiery”, Moberly Monitor Index, April 27, 1931.

“Nation’s Silk and Hosiery Mills ordered Closed; Future of Moberly Mill Is In Doubt”, Moberly Monitor Index, August 2, 1941.

“Silk Industry Still Confused”, Moberly Monitor Index, August 11, 1941.

The 1887 fair brochure show the fair as being sponsored by the Agricultural and Livestock Association.  1879 would have been the first year for the fair.

The entry cost was 15 cents for anyone over the age of 12, 10 cents for horses or mules. The fair was for 3 days in the fall.

The 1887 brochure had a list of the items that could be entered.  Ladies had many classes that included crochet, tatting, quilting, jelly, honey, and pickles.  Men could enter in classes of poultry, swine, cattle, horses, and sheep.  Apparently, classes were only of livestock at that time. By 1901 the name had changed from Agricultural to Mechanical which suggests that classes may have been added to included items related to equipment.

The Randolph County Agricultural and Mechanical Society met annually.   In 1905 the following men were listed as active leaders: W. N. Brown, Joe E. Kennedy, C. M. King (Excello), John T. Lamb, P. R. Smith (Macon), F. R. Switzer, . F. Switzer, and H. Vanskike.

The fairgrounds was on the east side of Jacksonville. The 1910 plat map shows 13 acres.  Katie, granddaughter of the Teters recalls the story of the fairgrounds.  She said that the red barn on this property was part of the grounds.

SOURCES

“Annual Meeting”, Moberly Evening Democrat, October 3, 1901

“Elected Officers”, MMI, October 19, 1905

“Jacksonville Fair”, Moberly Weekly Monitor, May 25, 1899

“Jacksonville Fair Meeting”, Moberly Evening Democrat, October 7, 1903

Win Some, Lose Some:  Architecture by Ludwig Abt

History in Moberly has added some new pages in the last few weeks.  Moberly has won with a new project with the “Junior High” building and the loss is the tragic goodbye to the East Park Elementary School.  The link of these two buildings is that they were both designed by the architect, Ludwig Abt. 

Ludwig Abt was born in Germany in 1882 and immigrated to the United States at the age of 20.  In 1911, he and his wife moved to Moberly to start his own architectural business. He worked alone until he became partners with Jay Cleavinger in 1952.

He was a great architect designing buildings over a six-state area.  His stamp of creative design is found through Northeast and North Central Missouri in numerous houses, churches, schools, and other public buildings.  In Moberly, the 4th Street Theatre, Moberly Junior College, and East Park School are examples of his quality workmanship. Many of the buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places. He died in 1967 and is buried locally.

Ludwig Abt was the architect that quickly gave the building plans to shape the newly built Faessler building into a substitute High School when the Central High Building burned in 1929.  They had saved the gymnasium from the old building.  The high school students attended there until the new buildings could be erected.

Both buildings were replaced in 1929-1930 as a part of a special bond issue passed by Moberly voters in May. This “special” bond was for $490,000 and was the city’s largest bond issue to date.  So certain were Moberly voters of their support for the measure that prior to the final vote tally, a celebratory parade of students, teachers and school supporters marched in a grand procession along West Reed Street—Moberly’s main downtown thoroughfare. 

In addition to the new buildings for East and West Park Schools, the bond also funded construction of a new Junior High at 102 Johnson Street and a Junior College at 101 College Street.

This first East Park School featured four classrooms built at a cost of $25,000.  This building was enlarged in 1907 by adding two more rooms for about $8,000.  The new building constructed in 1929-1930 cost $66,945 and was designed by Ludwig Abt, the acting school board architect. A dedication ceremony was held in August 1930 at East Park, West Park School, and at the new Junior high. Students were amazed at all the amenities as were the teachers and staff.  New rest rooms were larger and better and contributed to the opening of each school for public events.

East Park featured seven classrooms, a large auditorium with seating for over 400. East Park School remained in operation until recently when the District’s Alternative building was completed.

Remember, the “win one, lose one”?  We have not been successful at saving East Park.  However, with persistence, we will see the repurposing of the Junior High on Johnson Street.

J. W. Ballinger recalls the characteristics of the old building. There were stairways to the second floor and a ramp leading to the old gymnasium where many basketball games were played. There were curved walkways to the seating on the upper level.  Narrow, steep stairs led to both the boy’s and girl’s locker area, the showers, and the stage. In the basement was the cafeteria.

Abt buildings were built with an almost lost art of beauty, pride, and quality workmanship.  It is sad to lose another Abt-designed building, but a great step to save the historical building on Johnson Street.

There is a model railroad in a glass case at the Randolph County Historical Center.  The model depicts the Allen Depot on August 28, 1861.  Do you know where this was? 

The town of Allen was located on the stagecoach east-west route from Huntsville to Hannibal.   There were around 100 citizens with hotels and other businesses. In the early 1850s the North Missouri Railroad decided to build on the north-south Grand Divide (approximately US Highway 63), with Allen as a stop.  The area of Allen is west of McDonalds, around Sparks Avenue.

During that summer of 1861 events were leading to a Civil War, so tensions were high between the Confederate and Union sympathizers.  As war events began to unfold, an effort was made to preserve cash assets of banks in Missouri that might provide funds to southern forces.  Therefore, the idea was to remove coin and currency from certain banks and relocate to a “safe” place in the eastern part of Missouri, or, into Illinois.

Funds from the Missouri State Bank of Fayette, MO needed to be transported to a safe location by either river or train.  A decision was made to move all of their gold, silver, and currency from Fayette to the closest train depot.  The route chosen for the wagons was to travel the Plank Road to Huntsville, MO and then turn east for another six miles, using the stagecoach road to Allen, MO. There the cash could be loaded onto the train headed to the St. Louis area. The plan was to use few guards and travel by land to avoid any fanfare that would alert the contents of the shipment. One source said that there were three trunks filled with $100,000!

Somehow, the word of the “move” got out.  John Poindexter of Middle Grove, a Confederate, was in the area recruiting men for the Missouri Guard. As the buckboard was moving from Fayette to Allen, Poindexter and about 20 men followed. When the wagon arrived in Allen to load it on the train, Poindexter and his men seized it at the Allen Depot.  No shots were fired and no one was injured as the cash were removed.  If this is considered a true “train robbery”, it would be the first in United States history.  The first train robbery recorded in history would occur five years later in 1866 in Indiana.

The citizens of Howard County notified the state officials, and the State Guard was able to recover the money and return it within a few days to the bank in Fayette. Although these activities were never recorded in the official records of the Civil War, but the Macon, Missouri paper had published a couple of short articles about the incident.

What was one of the benefits of the Wabash employees in the early twentieth century?

The answer is found in the biography of Chambers Brown Clapp, M. D.  He was born November 21, 1858 in Danville, IL, to George A. and Catherine (Brown) Chambers. During the Civil War, George A. (C. B.’s father) enlisted in the 125th Regiment, Illinois Infantry. He spent three and a half years of military service and returned to farming at the end of the war. C. B. would have been around 3-5 years old during that time. C. B.’s mother died at the age of 21, leaving C. B., a twin brother, and a sister.  George married Elizabeth and two more children were born before they moved to Nebraska sometime before 1875. C. B.’s father died in 1916 in Nebraska.

C. B. was educated in the Danville public school and attended the State Normal School at Peru, Nebraska. After graduation he taught school for a while before deciding to study pharmacy. The 1880 census shows a Chambers B. Clapp, age 21, boarding in the home of William R. Allen, grocer and druggist in Jefferson Village, Ashtabula, Ohio, and gives his occupation as “druggist affiliate”. He attended Lake Forest University and the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, graduating in 1882.

On November 21, 1883, in Danville, Illinois, C B. married Laura Dell Lockhart, the daughter of John R. and Mary Lockhart. He worked as a druggist for six years before he entered Rush Medical College in Chicago. Dr. Clapp graduated in 1889 and in June was appointed local surgeon for the Wabash Railroad at Danville, IL.  A year later, he was appointed division surgeon at Moberly Wabash Hospital. In November 1891, he was appointed Surgeon-in-Charge at the hospital, which was available to all Wabash employees, without charge. The employees were treated for any type of illness or accident. The Sisters of St. Francis operated the 40-bed hospital from 1891 to 1926. The Wabash Hospital was located on Woodland Avenue.

In 1909, thinking that the area needed a new public hospital, Dr. Clapp traded his house on South Williams to Mr. and Mrs. James Hackley for a colonial house on Woodland near the Wabash Hospital. The house had been built in 1887 by Henry Masten. In 1912 Dr. Clapp enlarged the space on the second floor to accommodate an operating room and added the west wing. He originally named it the Red Cross Hospital, but later changed the name to Woodland Hospital to avoid conflict with the Red Cross organization. Dr. Clapp owned the hospital until 1926 when he sold it to Dr. Streetor, Dr. Thomas S. Fleming, and Dr. Stephen T. Ragan.  This begins the story told in the Spring Exhibit at the Randolph County Historical Center.

Dr. Clapp’s wife Laura Dell died in Homestead, FL in 1926. Dr. Clapp died six years later in Palm Beach, Florida.

Recitals, weekly music lessons, and practicing brings vivid memories of those who were children in the 1950s and 1960s.  There were many who gave piano lessons, but Glance at the Past will focus on three ladies.  Emilie Goetze, Stella Eisenstein, and Helen Estill were connections of a past where society’s children should be able to play the piano.  Church musicians were also influential in the training of children.  Gone are the yearly recitals that required formal attire! For girls and boys, these ladies focused their time on preparing students.  Each lady had a unique talent and life experience to bring to the music lesson.

Miss Emilie Goetze (pictured) was a single lady, highly trained in music. Daughter of Professor Johannes Goetze, she taught at the Chapin School for Girls in New York.  One of her students was Jacqueline Kennedy. On Facebook, there were comments about the beautiful music room she had in her home at 219 S. Clark Street (no longer standing).  Comments described wood paneled walls with framed pictures of famous pianists (pictured) and several plaster or ceramic busts of composers throughout the room. Another comment relays the struggle of every student who had a natural ability to play by ear.  Miss Goetze decided to “catch” her student by intentionally playing the music with an error at the end of the lesson.  Next week, sure enough, the student played the music perfectly, but with the error included.  The young student was “caught”! The student’s failure to read the notes was no longer a secret.

Mrs. Stella Eisenstein was well-known for her talents at the organ. In 1924, she installed a pipe organ in her home.    She gave piano and organ lessons at her home at 630 W. Logan.  Her father was General Sterling Price, well known for his Civil War leadership in the Confederate Army.  She displayed a portrait of her father over her piano as one of her students recalled on a Facebook discussion. Her daughter, Jeannie, also became a music teacher. Stella died in 1969.

Mrs. Helen Estill taught voice, piano, and elocution (skill of enunciation and pronunciation). As a young lady, she participated with Chautaugua that hosted events featuring performers or lecturers in small communities. Living at Fisk and Epperson, Mrs. Estill gave countless lessons to young people.  Mrs. Estill was a caring and generous lady.  On social media, a person shared that in 1960 she opened her home for her parents to have a place to stay when they were in town for her wedding while she was on a world trip. She had beautiful oriental furniture in her living room where she gave lessons on her grand piano. 

These three women were talented musicians and shared their love of music with countless young people. 

The 1876 map of Moberly, ten years after the first residents moved their homes south from the Allen area (west of the present McDonald’s), the town of Moberly is well established.  Thirteen original streets were named in 1866 and the area was marked with individual lots. 

Captain Thomas P. Coates was born 1791 in Virginia and later moved to Randolph County around 1834. His legacy continued through his children who played significant roles in the development of Moberly. The oldest, Norborne B. Coates, Sr. (1820-1877), dedicated his efforts as a land agent and surveyor for the North Missouri Railroad. Judge John Tunstall Coates (1831-1919) served as a county judge and held the presidency of the Moberly Coal Mining Company. Joseph Thomas Coates (1839-1927) contributed to the community as a druggist and grocer, additionally serving on the Moberly school board and contributing to the establishment of the First Christian Church in Moberly. Norborne's involvement with the railroad likely led to the naming of a street in his honor.

Thomas Black Reed was born in North Carolina in 1819. In 1822, he and his family moved to Huntsville, Missouri where he was a resident for the remainder of his life. He operated a school on Mulberry Street before graduating from Missouri State University in 1847 He was admitted to the Bar in 1851 and married in 1855. In 1862, he entered the service and served as a Captain during the Civil War. After the war, he served as a Missouri State Senator of the 7th District from 1866-1870. At this time, Moberly was drafting the layout of the new city.  Reed’s distinguished legal and political career led the city fathers to name the main street in his honor.

As one author said, there is a ‘Rollins Street’ in most towns in North Central Missouri.  Major James Sidney Rollins was born in Kentucky and moved to Columbia, Missouri with his family in 1830.  He earned the rank of Major in the Black Hawk War in 1832.  After the war, he finished his law degree and practiced law office in Columbia and was married in 1837.  He began his political career as a Whig and served in the state legislature several terms, beginning in 1838.  Prior to the Civil War, he served in the US Congress. He is credited as the “Father of the University of Missouri” and was one of the people involved in establishing the North Missouri Railroad. Rollins Street aptly commemorates a figure committed to railroads, agriculture, and education.   

As you make your way westward at the stoplight, crossing the railroad tracks, think of the family deeply intertwined with the railroad, running a grocery and drug store, and leading a coal mine. Take a left turn at the first street, Sturgeon, where Reed Street begins at the historic site of the Moberly Depot. Over its 158-year history as a city, Reed Street has been the bustling thoroughfare for countless businesses. Thomas Black Reed served as senator in 1866, lending his name to this vital avenue.

Continuing past the Post Office, formerly Tannehill Park, make a left turn, and Rollins Street runs along the southern boundary of the old Junior High and ends at the Moberly Area Community College, exemplifying the legacy of James S. Rollins, one of the founding figures of the University of Missouri.

Moberly history becomes alive as we learn the connections of street names to real people.

F.M. Stamper of Clifton Hill area was born to Hiram T. and Sarah Cobb Stamper. He was the youngest with 13 siblings. His parents named him Jefferson Davis Stamper, but when the Civil War began, they decided that this name was dangerous when Union soldiers were around. They had a neighbor, Finis McLean, who said they could use his name.  Therefore, he became F. M. 

F. M. wanted to be a teacher and attended the State Normal School at Kirksville. He met his future wife, Margaret Ann Richardson during this commute on the train. As teachers, they taught at several schools in the county.  Margaret at Baker and Turner before she went to Higbee to assist the principal.  F. M. had taught at Clark prior to Higbee. F. M. taught for ten years. They had three children, Howard Hiram, Kate, and Ruth. Their oldest was born in 1889.

F. M. first went into the lumber and hardware business at Clifton Hill, but he sold it after five years. He then established a buying station for poultry and eggs from farm housewives and marketed them to other businesses. He established the F. M. Stamper Company in 1897. He tried another business adventure in Salisbury and then Troy. His last move was to Moberly in 1904. He opened on Fourth Street in a building that later became Montgomery Wards. He built a home at 729 West End Place. A year later, he moved his business near the Wabash railroad and began shipping live poultry. Buildings were built on Dameron Street and the business prospered.  He had twenty plants across northern Missouri by the late twenties. Butter and cream were added to the market and cooling rooms were part of all the plants.  

In the 1920s, the company began building the feed mill on the former site of the foundry owned by the Fleming family.

In 1927, F. M. died, leaving the company under the direction of his oldest son, Howard Hiram.  He was 66. His older daughter, Kate, taught at Moberly Junior College (MACC) for many years. She married Virgil Wilhite when she was 56.  The youngest daughter, Ruth, married J. W. Fleming.

The F. M. Stamper Company under Howard Stamper continued to adapt. World War II developed a need for dehydrated eggs to be used in rations. By 1943, the F.M. Stamper Company was the number one producer of dehydrated eggs in the nation. The war also created a need for canned meat as a field ration. This was an important development as it would lead to the birth of the TV dinners. Swanson using new technology of producing inexpensive aluminum trays, produced the first TV dinners in 1954. In 1953, pot pies were introduced by F.M. Stamper and Company, and the Banquet label was born. In 1955, Banquet began to produce TV dinners.  

In 1966, Banquet merged with Bright Foods of Turlock, California, and in 1970 RCA bought the newly combined company. In 1980, ConAgra purchased Banquet. By 1988, Banquet Foods had long left its birthplace here in Randolph County. Stamper Feed Mill closed in 1977. The cream pie plant closed in 1980. 

The Dr. Will Fleming Family Story began in 1879, with his great-grandfather, Thomas Fleming.  Thomas was the superintendent of the Osage Coal Mining Company in Elliott, south of Moberly. Thomas purchased the mine in 1884 and named it the Elliott Coal Mine.  His son, Jacob Coatsworth Fleming (Jake) continued to run the mine after Thomas’ death in 1895. Jake married Nellie McClure, the village schoolteacher. They had three children, Thomas, Jacob William, and Janet. Jake sold the mine and purchased the Jacoby Foundry in 1906.  It was renamed as Moberly Foundry and Machine Company.  Jacob William, graduated from the University of Missouri – Columbia, worked at the foundry, and married Ruth Stamper. 

Dr. Will Fleming was born in 1914 to Jacob W. and Ruth Stamper Fleming. Will must have been influenced by his Uncle Dr. Tom Fleming, part owner of Woodland Hospital. Will attended the University of Missouri School of Medicine and Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois.  He returned to Moberly in 1939 and married Mary Louise Maddox.  He began his medical practice at Woodland Hospital, working with his uncle in 1940.  When WWII began, he served four years in the US Army as the Chief of Gastroenterology at Fort Leonard Wood Hospital. Then in March of 1944 he served at the 91st General Hospital in Oxford, England.  He returned to Moberly and was a partner in the hospital until it sold in 1972 to Adventist Health Systems.  He continued as a specialist in internal medicine until he retired in 1987. Dr. Will Fleming was active as a leader in the community and the medical field.

Dr. Will and Mary Louise had four children.  Children include Howard, Louise, Charles, and David. He died at 88 years in 2002 and was buried in Oakland Cemetery, Moberly, MO.

Who has family that was active in the D-Day Invasion? What support did Moberly display for the war?

For those of us living in the Randolph County area in 2024, eighty years following the invasion, we usually think of General Omar Bradley, an instrumental military leader.  In his biographical works, it pictures the General as one who would want the story shared of the young men who carried out his decisions and military maneuvers.  One of around twenty Randolph County natives who participated, was William H. (Hudson) Humphrey, ammunition bearer, Company D of the 29th Division of the 115th Infantry. He shared with the Moberly Monitor Index his story.

Hudson Humphrey was the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. O. Humphrey, 222 Bedford Street.  He left for overseas in October 1942, not knowing where he was headed. He trained at Oxford, England for 18 months for amphibious operations. He writes of Oxford in October 1945, “A beautiful place with ancient colleges. Next the men went to Tidworth Barracks for more training, then onto Plymouth.  Hudson continues, “the day had come to load on the LSTs. Everyone was quiet and a little nervous, we knew what one little mistake would mean.”  They crossed the English Channel and made the landing at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944.  Hudson was there at the first victory at Vierville-Sur-Mer and then to Longueville-Normanville, the first high ground the 115th seized and held after crossing the beaches on D-Day. The troops continued and it was not until March 28, 1945, that they were able to cross the Rhine River. Pfc. Humphrey returned to the United States on September 9 after the war in Europe was over. He received many badges and ribbons, but the Presidential Unit Citation for valor on D-Day stands out.

The young man returned to his family in Moberly in October 1945, to begin his civilian life.  With most war veterans, the pain and destruction of the war was not discussed.  There was one man in Moberly who related to the military men. That was Dr. Thomas Fleming.  Dr. Fleming wrote letters to about 102 native Randolph County soldiers to encourage, keep them in touch with their community, and to show his understanding.  The first was on July 26, 1944, and begins, “Because I remember so well how happy I was to get letters from home of any kind while in France during WWI, it occurred to me that you might enjoy a weekly newsletter about your hometown.” 

Another way the community supported its boys was through the Fifth War Loan Campaign.  City Chairman William C. Orscheln and J. W. McHugh, Chamber of Commerce chair pleaded to the community on June 8, a short time after the news of the D-Day Invasion had taken place. By June 24, the Moberly Monitor Index reported the total of $908,108 of War Bond (Series E Bonds) was purchased. This was well over the goal of $816,000. 

The Randolph County Historical Center is the source of many archives telling the story of Randolph County WWII veterans who sacrificed their time, health, and even their lives for our county.  Stop by and discover their stories and of their leader, Omar Nelson Bradley.

From 1929 to 1969, what family had greenhouses and a flower shop?

Anna Thieman Fox closed the doors of her florist shop on October 1, 1969.  These doors at 402 W. Reed Street were opened to the public since 1929.  The business began with Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Thieman at 107 W.  Reed St. selling beautiful flowers from their own greenhouses on McKinsey Street.  One of the first advertisements in the Moberly Weekly Monitor on June 13, 1929 illustrates the services of the flower shop. Note that the phone number has only three numbers!

Anna came back to Moberly in 1934 and purchased the shop from her parents in 1945.

FTD, Floral Telegraph Delivery, was featured early in the advertisements.  Now we see this service and do not understand the implications of having the ability to send flowers to someone several states away. Online shopping for flowers almost negates the unique service that helped identify outstanding florist service.

In 1976, Anna died only seven years after she closed the doors of her flower shop.  Her husband, Franklin Peter Fox had died in 1951.  She had led the business for eighteen years after she was widowed.

The Thieman Greenhouses that supplied her flower shop has an interesting history.  In the early twentieth century, the greenhouses were built with the purpose of raising head lettuce and other vegetables during the winter.  When lettuce began to be developed commercially, the market subsided and the Thiemans began to grow flowers. Another greenhouse was ran by a brother of Anna on Rollins Street named Oakland Greenhouses. 

“Create a Riot of Color” was part of a MMI article headline describing the 5000 mums at the Thieman Greenhouse at 600 E. McKinsey. At Christmas time, bright red poinsettias filled the greenhouse tables, ready to be sold.

According to a MMI article in 1951, Anna Thieman Fox supervised the flower shop and devoted most of her time to the greenhouses.  Her two sons had been helping in the greenhouses, but now they were both serving in the military in Germany. 

Fox Park was created from the 10 acres of land where the greenhouses were located. Anna Fox sold this parcel of land to the City of Moberly.  The city voted to create Fox Park in the same year.

Anna Fox’s granddaughter, Monica Fox, has graciously shared several items that tell the story of people like her grandmother Anna Fox.  Beginning in June, The Monica Fox Collection will be displayed at the Randolph County Historical Center. In this display, a beautiful silver mesh purse of Anna’s is ready for you to enjoy.

Roanoke Bandstand

The Roanoke community has had a tradition of an annual Sousa style band concert.  At the center we have some pictures of the 2006 and the 2008 events.  Is this tradition still alive?

 Since 1889 (except for WWII years and a few in the 50s), an annual concert and ice cream supper called the “Band Boys Supper” was held.  Profits from the sale of ice cream, soda, and homemade cake would be for the maintenance of the 1906 bandstand.  The band was volunteer. 

 The 1906 bandstand was designed by the late Dr. W. I. Ferguson and built by the late Arthur McCausland, both members of the Roanoke Military Band (1889-1928).  The first bandstand was on the grounds of the Great Central Agricultural and Mechanical Fairgrounds in Silver Creek Township, one half mile north of Roanoke, circa 1856.

Robert Bray was part of the organization in 2008.  The 2023 Annual Band Concert was held and the proceeds from the ice cream and cake sales go to the upkeep of the bandstand.  In 1961, the Roanoke Band Association was formed to aid in preserving the bandstand.

Find out if the annual event will be held this year and plan to attend.

The Civilian Conservation Corps and Randolph County

What were the benefits of having a CCC camp in Randolph County?

On March 31, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Emergency Conservation Work Act, Senate Bill 5.598, which established the Civilian Conservation Corps. The country’s economy was still in shambles, with unemployment rates leaving thousands of young men from the ages of 18-25 without any jobs.  The program was designed to help unmarried young men that had families who needed the son’s income to survive.  The stipulation was that $25 of the $30 paycheck was sent to the dependent family at home.  The government furnished all clothing and equipment for personal use as well as for work. Medical care was supplied. The workers were expected to follow the rules of the camp, or they would be dismissed.  The program allowed the men to leave if they found a better jobs.

Randolph County had a total of 55 of the 7,500 Missouri’s national allotment. A. E. Marriott, Randolph County Relief Chairman, enrollment was broken down to 35 -Moberly, 9 – Huntsville, 7 – Higbee, 2 – Clark, and 2 – Renick. The Camp SCS (Soil Conservation Service)-26, south of Moberly, Missouri was organized on June 27, 1935. The Randolph County men were part of the Company 3758. Men from Camp 1741 of Mound City, Missouri and a total of 176 men from Randolph, Macon, and Chariton counties lived at the camp.

To fulfill the purpose of finding employment for these workers, the camps were to work on public land in projects of reforestation, conservation, and construction work in national and state forests, in state parks and in troubled agricultural areas. In Randolph County, the focus was on gully control, by means of temporary check dams and natural vegetation, and on large drainage problems, by concrete dams. Sheet erosion was controlled by terracing, liming, strip-cropping, contour cultivation and crop rotation. In addition, the company participated in a four-day rescue operation of four miners trapped in a mine near Moberly.

In addition, there were classes on developing useful skills for finding jobs. Men worked on a camp newsletter and there was a library and reading room.  A recreation hall was part of the camp and a number of team sports were organized.

The Moberly Camp 3758 was active until June 1, 1939. The buildings were moved to Fayette, Missouri. The national program was disbanded on July 2, 1942.

Eighty-nine years ago on July 1, 1935, showed 32 Randolph Countians in Company 3758. Do you recognize any of the names as your father, grandfather, or great-grandfather?  The Randolph County Historical Society would love to hear any stories of these young men who were given a chance to respectfully work earning wages that would benefit their entire family.

Leader
Gibson, William L., Huntsville

Members

Apel, James, Clark

Avery, James, Moberly

Bagby, Henry, Higbee

Barron, Ralph, Higbee

Burngamer, John

Burton, Joe

Cleeton, Denver

Davis, Junior, Higbee

Eatherton, Elwood, Clark

Gibson, William, Moberly

Harriman, Joe, Higbee

Henderson, Wilfred, Higbee

Hess, Earnest, Moberly

Hess, John, Moberly

Jones, Elbert, Moberly

King, Berdell, Huntsville

Lee, Richard, Moberly

Major, Tony, Moberly

Moore, George, Moberly

Perkins, D. L., Clifton Hill

Prather, William, Moberly

Reed, Arnold, Huntsville

Sears, Charles, Moberly

Smith, Ralph, Cairo

Stanley, Lillard, Moberly

Stein, John, Renick

Stutes, Randell, Huntsville

Suhr, Howard, Moberly

Taylor, Chester, Cairo

Winkler, Wilfred, Moberly

Woodruff, Hubert, Moberly

Home of the First Shoe Store Owner

“Wandering up the staircase and through the empty, quiet, dimly lit halls of our recently purchased Victorian home, my daughter and I started wondering about this old house. “Who built it?” “When was it built?” What stories could these walls tell if they could talk? Perhaps, thousands!”

Dominick and Mary immigrated from Ireland and was married in Indiana in 1855. They had 5 children (John, Margaret, Barbara, Sarah (Sallie) and Joseph. The 1870 Census records have them in Sturgeon, Boone County. After Dominick’s death in 1873, the 1880 census has Mary and the family in Moberly, Missouri.

Mary and her 5 children lived at 700 W Reed Street in a “cottage”. Joe Mullen, the youngest of the Mullen children was well thought of and a very generous man. To the community he was known as the “Dean of Moberly Shoe Dealers” as “not a single shoe man was in business” when Joe opened his first shoe store.

Joe must have been “mulling” it over in his mind about building a nice larger home, but it wasn’t until 1907 that Joe purchased the adjoining homes and land. He relocated his own cottage and the newly purchased homes.  The newspaper at that time says that he built “a handsome new residence, modern in every particular and a credit to that splendid neighborhood!”

In 1909, after Joe gave a party at his home for a friend Herschel Williams, they all asked for a tour of the home from basement to attic. “This inspection convinced them all that there is no more convenient, elegant or luxuriously furnished home in [Moberly]. The appointments were simply grand!”

Through the years John, Joe, Margaret, Barbara and Sarah hosted “too many to count” events and socials with the notables and the elite of Moberly. Alas, however, the 5 Mullen children never got married or ever had any children of their own. Their wonderful legacy of hosting and giving to their community has been lost over time.

But? Maybe not! Much of their legacy has been preserved! Barbara’s friendship with Samuel Clemons is told in letters found after her death and Joe’s generosity and kindness shown in giving away houses to people while on his deathbed are just a few of the wonderful events this house has to tell! There is so much more to this fascinating home and the Mullen family!

Randolph County Fair: Eighty-five Years Supporting Youth and Agriculture

This week has been the Randolph County Fair.  This was the second year of a new location at the Moberly Motorsports Park on Highway 24.

Let’s go back to 1940 and reflect on the first year of the Bullesta sponsored by the Moberly Commercial Club (later the Chamber of Commerce). Bill Orscheln was chairman of the fair.  Bullesta was a newly coined word, that probably tied a livestock show with a fiesta.  J. E. Bach, president of the Moberly Commercial Club said in the Moberly Monitor Index, “that whatever is wholesome and beneficial for our whole community is beneficial and wholesome for the business life of Moberly. It recognizes the importance of agriculture in our economic life.  It hopes to play some small part in further developing our agricultural resources.  On with the show and may we all have an enjoyable and profitable experience.”

Three days at Rothwell Park in 1940, at the beginning of October, was the setting for fifty business displays, carnival, crops and livestock displays, 4-H Club exhibits, a horse pull, fireworks, music, and a queen contest.  Over 20,000 people attended the final performance as a result of the vigorous marketing and advertising strategy throughout the area beyond Randolph County.

The location was changed in, possibly in 1941, to be held on the east side of Williams Street approximately across from the home of Temple Stephens near Lantern Pointe Drive. War affected the content of the displays in 1942, but the fair continued.

In April 1945, the Randolph County Fair Association was organized to plan for a permanent fair. It is assumed that the Bullesta was continued in 1945 to allow planning time for the 1946 Randolph County Fair and Rodeo, the new adopted name.  A horse show opened this fair on August 7, 1946. It was held on the west side of Rothwell Park. The Grand National Rodeo was brought in for entertainment to allow the fair to be self-sustaining. The first chairman was N. J. Cooksey, who continued as chair for several years.

On August 1-2, 1952, the first year to combine the livestock show of the FFA with the livestock show and achievement day events of the 4-H clubs was held. The next year, the Agricultural Improvement Association was formed to take charge of the new Junior Fair building constructed in Rothwell Park with funds from the Moberly Chamber of Commerce. In addition, the Chamber of Commerce gave $500 of the $1000 needed for the fair budget.  Other civic groups, such as the Lions, Rotary, and Kiwanis gave financial support. City Bank and Mechanics Bank were great supporters of the fair.

In 1954, a second building was construction by the association and in 1956 the Livestock Show and Sale Pavilion was constructed at a cost of $5000. Six years later, concrete was poured for a cattle and hog wash rack.  A concrete walk between the two livestock buildings was also added.

In 1963, a fourth building, 32 ft. x120 ft, was added, giving adequate show space for the cattle show and the Junor Agriculture Show.  It was reported that it was the biggest show with 194 head of livestock registered, with an increase of 77 from the prior year. In 1965, Earl Nicholas, president of the Agricultural Improvement Association, shared plans of a new livestock building south of the present building in Rothwell Park.

The Junior Agricultural Show board has planned and directed the fair since 1946. Today it is called the Randolph County Fair Board.

The only building left today of these fair buildings, is the 32 ft. x 96 ft. steel building built as the new 4-H Center. The steel building was moved to the site in 1971 with a waste lime base floor, donated by Quality Stone.

More history should be added to this story.  When did the fair building receive the name of John Douglas, county agent in the 1960s?  When did the buildings cease to be used and torn down.  When did the Agricultural Improvement Association dissolve? Are there any pictures of these buildings tucked in photo albums or 4-H project record books?  

Horse-Drawn Ambulance Served the Wabash Hospital

Quick medical service began in Moberly around 1891 for the employees of the Wabash Railroad.  The railroad employees had great benefits in Moberly, with the Wabash Hospital built on Woodland Avenue, just minutes away from the railyards.

In an article dated 1974, Stanley H. Mason was interviewed.  Mason shared that as he “ran to the horse stalls, the highly trained horses stood poised underneath harnesses that were dropped on their back, snapped into place and the animals hitched to the ambulance for a “wild” ride to an emergency.”  The driver would use his foot to ring a bell to clear the streets. The horse stable and ambulance were near the Wabash Hospital. If the injury was severe, a doctor would jump into the ambulance to care for the injured.

Some of the drivers were Will Fox and William Barnes before the turn of the century. Jacob Kappler, Will Mason, and Stanley H. Mason also drove.  The drivers would continue working for the railroad in different capacities until they retired.

In researching the newspaper, articles shared many circumstances that the ambulance was called to transport injured railroad employees to the hospital.  For example, in 1899, Bob Street was on a ladder cleaning the outside of a railroad car and fell. In 1900, an engine hit a horse causing the engine to turn over. The engineer, fireman, and brakeman were injured. A second train had left the station and could not continue for the wreck.  The injured men were taken back to Moberly and Dr. Clapp met them at the depot and tended to their wounds. The ambulance took the engineer who suffered the greater number of injuries to the hospital.

Over the twenty-five years that the horse-drawn ambulance served the railroad community, it was remodeled and repainted in 1901. The driver was quoted to be as “proud of the new vehicle as a boy with his first pair of red top boots”. In 1902, a new handsome white ambulance with rubber tires was added and equipped with all the latest appliances for handing the wounded and sick. Again in 1906, the ambulance was repaired, painted, and varnished.  The article said, “While people always try to keep from riding in it, it looks well enough for anyone to want to ride in.” Not only did the ambulance need upkeep, horses needed replaced from time to time. 

One interesting story was reported in 1903.   A “scoundrel” unfastened the horses hitched to a post near the depot, causing them to run away. The old ambulance which was attached was damaged considerably when the team stopped near the residence of John Ratliff, east of town.

The final year for the horses was in 1916, when a Paige car was purchased that had been damaged by a fire. The undamaged chassis was purchased for $900. The Wabash ambulance wagon was rebuilt and attached to this chassis.  It became the first motored ambulance in Moberly. The carriage makers painted it battleship gray, added fenders, and added plate glass for the sides. A large Red Cross was placed on the window.

This story opens so many questions.  When did a public ambulance system begin?  The Randolph County Ambulance District of today was not developed until 1968.  It was not tax based until January 1, 1973.  During the 1950s and 60s, funeral homes were responsible for the service. 

Cairo and Basketball

When did Cairo High School become involved in basketball?

In 1891, James Naismith developed the game of basketball to keep his students active and fit during the long winter months in Massachusetts.  He developed the vigorous indoor game that would pass a ball to teammates and try to score points by tossing the ball into a peach basket onto the wall.  Senda Berenson was interested in the sport and developed rules for her women students.  By 1899, there were official rules for both men and women basketball sports.

A quarter of century later, in 1924, the first senior class was beginning the fall semester at Cairo. The school had a second-grade classification after Cairo consolidated with several country schools. The superintendent, S. E. Holman, saw a need for a basketball team.  He organized the building of an outdoor court with the help of students and the community. The first court was 60 x 40. The students went to work with hoes, shovels and rakes to clean off the court. The court was marked off with wet lime.  Howard Simms and Glen Stephens went to the woods and brought in two oak poles for the goal posts. Miller Lumber Yard gave lumber for the backboards and Odie Phillips made the goals.  The ground was coated with coal cinders.

The first uniforms were black and gold.  Glen Stephens, Bothe Stuck, Howard Sims, Harold Boncher, and Sidney Phillips were on the first team. These young men played other schools in the county. They developed their own strategy without the aid of any coach. The outdoor court a few years later is shown in the picture. The first basketball was sewed on the outside so it had high rough seams which caused the ball to bounce in unexpected directions.  The first game was with Clifton Hill. The score was Clifton Hill – 84 and Cairo – 4. They played Jacksonville many times during the year. 

The 1935 girl’s team was made of the following girls: front row- Frances Hook, Immogene Haynes, Hilga Dale, Elizabeth Vanskite (captain), Jaunita Fryer, Modelle Dale. Standing in the back was Mr. Lee (Supt.), Laveta Vanskite, Rozelle Lyon, Betty Jean, Maxine Skinner, Margaret Durham, Joyce Cox, Opal Lowery, Sylvia McDaniel, Miss Wilkinson (coach). 

The community has enjoyed supporting and rallying behind the high school basketball teams over the years. The boys played in the state tournament in 1971 and the girls played in the 1982, 2007, 2008, and 2017 state tournaments. The coach for the 2024-25 school year is already thinking of the basketball season.  Will Cairo be at the state tournament this season? 

Baby Boomers Shopping for School Clothes

What were the main catalog stores in Randolph County?

Back to school time is here. It’s August and the big Fall / Winter catalogs would begin to arrive at homes during the 1950s -70s.  School clothes were being thought of by mothers. The girls were scanning over the new trends in clothing.  Boys had to put up with Mom checking out their jeans to see if they were getting too short or if the sleeves on their shirt were inches above their wrists.

The average mid-western country children didn’t follow the latest Paris fashion, but the styles were picked out by the clothes buyers employed by the clothing retailers.  Pictures from 1950-1970 catalogs would show the fashion trends of these years.  In our area, some families chose to drive to Columbia or go to local privately owned stores such as Pattersons, P. N. Hirsch, Tuggles Toggery (later Stephens Toggery).

For those in the country, traveling to town to buy a new wardrobe was out of the question.  Hand me downs or clothes made by mother or grandmothers were common. Girls loved to dream and check out those color pictures in the catalogs.  About this time, the small end-of-summer sale catalogs would arrive.  It was from those catalogs, that the last needed items were purchased. The catalog that had the best price won. 

The three main catalog pick-up stores in Moberly were Montgomery Ward, J. C. Penney, and Sears.  Of course, if you paid for the shipping they would send it to the family mailbox.  Picking up in town meant saving those costs. 

Tiffany’s Blue Book was the first American mail order catalog in 1845. The first successful catalog retailer was by the Chicago dry goods merchant, Aaron Montgomery Ward. He mailed his first catalog in 1872 and Sears and Roebuck Company soon followed.  The catalog had to be less than four pounds to be delivered by the Post Office.  Seed companies soon followed suit.  J. C. Pennys did not enter the catalog retail field until 1963.  Their unique feature was that one could order from the catalog while visiting their store.

By the sixties, the glossy full color pictures lured the reader to want to buy clothes modeled by beautiful children.  Marketing was in full swing through the printed page.  The children used these catalogs as their “wish list” for Christmas gifts, as the special edition would come near the Thanksgiving. Those editions were especially bright and colorful!

Rural Free Delivery (RFD) began in 1896 in a few areas and by 1902 it was a permanent service. After debate in Congress in 1913, it was finally decided that the weight could be up to eleven pounds. This directly affected catalog distribution.

Besides clothing, Montgomery Ward and Sears even included pre-fabricated houses!  Those 500- page catalogs included over 200,000 items. The size of the clothes catalogs today are dwarfs in comparison and the items are shown online.  The paper catalog is quickly becoming a piece of history. 

Higbee:  The School Building from 1887-1913

How do railroads and growth affect the story of the first Higbee School building?

The town of Bournesville was changed to Higbee around the time that the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad was built.  The Chicago & Alton Railroad also crossed at Higbee.  Besides mining, the intersection of these two railroads brought people to settle in Higbee. Prior to 1887, the community sent their children to either the old Burton school south of the present day Higbee (present Howard County) or the “Old Higbee” school north of town.  In May 1887, the voters of the town chose to withdraw from the “Old Higbee” district.

The newly elected directors chose the present site for the new school. So, in 1887, a two-story framed building with four rooms which had a belfry and tower was built by Lenord and Marrs for $935.  A picture of this first building is shown.  Kate Stamper Wilhite shares in her biography that her parents, Margaret Ann Richardson and Finis McLean Stamper were in the picture.  Her father was the principal and his wife was an assistant.

Apparently, growth was the stimulus for an addition of a new two-story section in 1892 adding two rooms to the structure which allowed for a high school curriculum to be added.  The first graduating class was in 1896 (3 years at that time). A listing of the 1896 alumni lists Claude Adams, Allie Burke, and Orval Pitney.

Additional room was needed and two more rooms were added to form a “L” in 1910.  A picture of this building is shown. Student population had risen to 299, with 30 enrolled in the high school. C. A. O’Dell was the principal. 

The twenty-six-year-old framed building was torn down to make way for a new brick building that was praised in the 64th Report of the Public Schools of the State of Missouri.

The old, framed building was the site of education for many grandparents of the baby-boomers of today. One picture at the Randolph County Historical Center shows Willis Bowen, Tom Hackward, Gordon Rankin, and Vinson Adams as young lads in 1895. Tom Hackward became influential in the county through the Moberly Monitor Index.  Are there any stories of the other three young boys?  Did you have grandparents who transitioned from the old, framed school to the new modern brick school building? 

Jacob’s Store in 1864

What happened 160 years ago at Jacob’s Store?

The answer to this question is in this story told by Joe Mason to Mildred Forrest Littrell around 1932. Mrs. Littrell taught in country schools before she was employed by the Moberly Public School system. She grew up near Number Six school only about a mile as a “crow flies” from Jacob’s Store. The store was just across the county line of Monroe on Route M before Middle Grove.  As you read, listen to Joe Mason tell the story to Mildred Forrest ninety-two years ago…

Those who drive along the graveled road from Moberly to Middle Grove may be unaware that they pass within a quarter-mile of the scene of one of the atrocities that make the Civil War so hard for Missourians to forget.

Late in the fall of 1864, one Jacob Heffelstein sat peacefully in his country store, resting from the labors of the day and thinking no doubt of the ominous clouds of war that gathered no thicker in any part of the country than they did in Central Missouri during the Civil War.

As the old German sat in his store he could look away to the east and see his home with the smoke curling from the chimney and is wife and five children going about their household duties. Toward the back of his store and a bit to the west was a warehouse literally bursting with provisions. No doubt Jacob breathed a sign of content as he contemplated a prosperous year, for his shelves were filled to overflowing and could be replenished time and time again from the warehouse. The Renick merchants had become fearful lest they who were on the railroad should awaken some morning to find their stores a smoldering pile of gray ashes with red eyes of coals gleaming triumphantly from the debris. They had taken their surplus to Jacob for safekeeping, and he, safe in the interior of the country, had felt quite safe from the roving bands of marauders who infested small villages, spreading terror and destruction.

Whether or not a person took active part in the Civil War, he was certain to be in sympathy with one or the other of the sides. If one lived in the south and was in sympathy with the southern cause, he could quite safely say so; or if he lived in the north and was in sympathy with the northern point of view, he could voice his opinions as loudly and vehemently as he chose. But one whose place of abode was in Central Missouri could say nothing with safety. But Jacob Heffelstein was a loquacious old gentleman, and long and loud he talked about his hatred for the Federal soldiers who would dare to enter Missouri, a slave holding state. His opinions were probably well aired, for a person in the position of a country storekeeper has distinct advantages for the collection and dispersing of news, gossip, and private opinions. No amount of warning from well meaning neighbors could persuade Jacob to keep his views to himself.

All went well until one day in the latter part of ’64 when several members of the loyal Knox County Militia came across the country to Middle Grove. It may have been that they were informed here concerning Jacob’s attitude toward the War, or they may have known of it before, for Jacob’s wife was a former resident of Putnam County, and it may have been through some of her acquaintances that the Militia heard of his lack of sympathy for the Federals.

At any rate the Militia spent the night at Middle Grove, and the following morning returned by way of Jacob’s store, situated just off the now oiled Moberly-Middle Grove road. They found him in his store entirely unprepared to defend himself, unless the axes, pitch forks, and like commodities still familiar in the almost extinct general store are to be considered weapons. But completely surprised there was no time for Jacob to do anything but surrender. Locking him in the store building, the troop set fire to it and the warehouse. As the black smoke curled around the buildings, the more kindhearted of the group began to consider what a human trap they had made. Sympathy for the trapped man arose in the breasts of a few, so they force open the door, allowing Jacob, almost dead with fear and smoke, to come tumbling from the building.

As to whether this was really an act of pity or not, I have often had my doubts, for after thus being allowed to hope for a while, the later torture of suspense and finally death only served to prolong the terrors of his murder. He was marched about three-quarters of a mile west and north from his store and was then shot down from the back and his head was pierced with a bayonet. Here it was that he was found, lying face downward in the road with the blood trickling through his hat. Nothing but ashes remained of his store and warehouse.

Jacob was buried in what is now a meadow about a quarter of a mile north of where his store had been located. The square rod of ground containing his grave is still in the hands of the Heffelstein family, but every summer the hay mowers click their way back and forth across his resting place as they harvest their crop. An old tree once stood near the head of his grave, but a storm removed even this slight tribute that nature had erected to his memory.

The Heffelstein’s have returned to Putnam County, and in a few years more the last vestiges of his story will be erased from the memories of those scattered few who can remember old Jacob and his story.

Hell’s Half-Acre they called the place for the drinking and gambling that took place there when the store belonged to Aaron Lane, Heffelstein’s father-in-law; and this Last even that took place in the closing chapter of the store’s history would tend to prove that the place was well named.

Written by Mildred Forrest Littrell

“Stepping into History”

What years did the Brown Shoe Factory produce shoes in Moberly?

The Bryan, Brown and Company was formed in 1878 and three years later, was incorporated as Bryan Brown Shoe Company. The company bought the rights to the Richard Fenton Outcault cartoon character, Buster Brown in 1904. This logo was used with the children shoe line which was manufactured in plants other than Moberly. There were five plants in St. Louis. As labor costs increased in the city, the company began to look to rural towns for possible locations.

Brown Shoe Company officials from St. Louis proposed that they would like to build the first plant outside of St. Louis in Moberly. Contracts were signed with these terms: (1) pay Brown Shoe Company $40,000 in cash; (2) give a suitable site for the factory; (3) connect the plant with Moberly water, gas, and electric companies; (4) build a walk from their building to the nearest and most accessible pavement; and (5) if the factory closed, the building and the grounds would revert back to the city of Moberly. Brown Shoe Company agreed to keep the building adequately insured.

A campaign was begun to raise $40,000 for Brown Shoe Company to locate in Moberly. 88 acres (336-lot tracts) of donated land located in the old Miller’s Park Fairgrounds in southeast Moberly was owned by Mr. Julius Miller. He deeded the entire tract for $24,000 to Mr. Amos Gibson, a member of the Committee of Citizens set up for the purpose of obtaining the factory to be in Moberly. At the end of the campaign a lottery was held to determine which persons would be allowed to purchase a particular lot at a cost of $200 each. All the proceeds from the sale went into that early industrial development fund.

The money was raised and the plant was finished in January, 1907. It was 300 ft long, 50 feet wide, and three stories high. Therefore, this plant became known as Plant #6 and was located in the 100 block of West Carpenter on the west side of the railroad tracks. Lulu’s, was there beside the factory and continues to exist.  

In 1907, 350 people were employed. As they came to full production, 1500 to 2000 pairs of shoes were turned out a day. Mr. G. H. Brodt was the first superintendent of the factory.

Brown Shoe Company debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in 1913. Records show that the factory was very successful and in 1928, showed a 30% increase over the prior year. 

In 1933, R. H. Polson became superintendent of the Brown Shoe Company.  He was first employed in 1906 (aged 13, from Cairo) when there were fewer than 100 employees, no lights, and only part of the floor was completed.

In 1937, Glenn O. Trent became the assistant superintendent in charge of the office. He had transferred from the Vincennes, Indiana plant.

World War II affected the production of shoes at Moberly.  They switched from dress shoes to combat boots. During peak production the plant was turning out 10,000 pairs of boots and shoes for the military. The plant held the record for turning out more military footwear during a nine-hour shift than any other plant in the country.

In 1950, Brown Shoe Company acquired Wohl Stores, marking its entry into the retail sector. Another factor to the inevitable closing of the factory was that the customer demand changed from welt shoes to other types of construction. The last factor was that labor costs had increased so that low-priced shoes could be made “much cheaper elsewhere”.  The 600 employees were part of the Boot and Shoe Workers Union, Local 521.  The employees held onto the hope that the factory would reopen with a new line of shoes.

R. H. Polson was superintendent at the time the factory closed in October of 1955. All but one of the foremen and assistant foremen were able to transfer to other plants. Some of the workers got jobs at the Selwyn Shoe Co. in Boonville. All the machines were either sent to other factories or returned to the United Shoe Machinery Corporation. Other supplies were sent to other plants.

More history of the building will be told at a later date. The 48 years of Brown Shoes in Moberly has impacted many of the families of Randolph County.  A major employer over the years, many memories were shared in company reunions and pictures.  At the Randolph County Historical Center we have many pictures of the employees and activities over the years.  Come by and see samples of the shoe making tools, the steam whistle that called the workers to their job and sent them home, and some of the carts that was used. 

“Stepping into History”

Brown Shoe Factory had many employees through the years. One employee was William Eldridge.

William Anchitel Eldridge’s story began at the Randolph County Historical Center early in 2024.  Monica Fox (Rhode Island) sent several artifacts of her family. This story is of her maternal grandfather.  Monica’s paternal grandparents were Franklin Peter Fox and Anna B. Thieman Fox, owners of Thieman Nurseries that was located on the footprint of Fox Park on McKinsey Street in Moberly.

William was born in 1892 in Randolph County.  His father, Theodore, was born in England. As a young man of 15, he had received a gift of a toy cannon. On the Fourth of July, he was trying to “load” the cannon, the toy became a “weapon”.  As he was tamping some powder with a ten-penny nail, he accidentally caused the powder to explode, burning his hand severely and tearing up his thumb so badly that it had to be amputated.  This toy took a “beating” from the hands of William’s father.  Monica Fox shares that his father broke the end of the brass barrel so it wouldn’t hurt anyone else.  That little brass cannon is on display at the Randolph County Historical Center.

This injury did not stop William from serving in World War I.  He returned to Moberly and married Ida Criss. His granddaughter remembers visiting their home at 800 Gratz Brown, just around the corner from her paternal grandparents on McKinsey Street.

His career began and ended at the Brown Shoe Factory. As a cobbler, he worked with the leather pieces to form the shoes.  His small hammer, children’s shoe form anvil, and two brass shaping tools are part of the “Stepping Into History” display. Working with leather was his art and he used one scrap piece of this beautiful leather to make a billfold.

William was a deacon in a Baptist church and had some ivory or bone carved cufflinks for very important occasions.  Monica also recalls a very small pocketknife that he always carried.  She can still remember him using like a little screwdriver. The RCHS is grateful for her sharing her special items with the Moberly community.

William would have been one of the employees that produced quality shoes throughout the years.  In 1955, William was 63, so it seems he would have been able to retire from Brown Shoe Company at the time of its closing.  He died in 1970 and is buried in Oakland Cemetery.

What stories do you know of grandparents that worked at the Brown Shoe Company? 

“Memories of Terrill School”

At the Randolph County Historical Center we recently received several journal pages of Orville Stuck, Jr.  Orville recalls an event that he vividly remembers fifty-five years later. Today as children head to school, we as a community want to ensure that they have great memories of special and unique experiences in the classroom.

Terrill School is one of the few school buildings still standing.  It has been repurposed to a storage building standing at the corner of Six Mile Lane and Route A on the southside of Moberly.

The journal is as Orville wrote it on July 11, 1995.

One day in November 1940, I was at my desk at Terrill School when out of a clear blue sky, Mr. Long asked me if I wanted to go outside and play. This was out of character for him and I thought he was kidding me. But he said it was alright, I could go out and play. So, I went to the boy’s coatroom, put on my wraps and went out.

It was a cold, windy, overcast fall day hinting of the winter to come. The old school yard was dreary and lonely. All I could do by myself was play on the swings. So, I soon went back in the school house took off my wraps and went back to my desk.

At Terrill when lunch was ready the cook would ring a bell. We would put our books away and then Mr. Long would call our names one at time. Then we would get up, go downstairs, and take our places at the long white tables and benches. Mr. Long would come down last and when everyone was seated we would have thanks then eat.

On Thursday, November 14, 1940 things seemed normal at lunchtime until Mr. Long came to my name. Then he said, “Stucky, you wait. I want to talk to you before we go down to eat.”

It scared me because I could not imagine what I had done. When the last kid had went downstairs, we went into the boy’s coatroom and he asked me rather sternly, “What did I see you doing about this time yesterday?”

I could not think of a thing, so I said, “nothing.” Then Mr. Long said, we could go on down and eat and was I every relived. As I turned the corner of the stairs and entered the basement, all the kids began singing, “Happy Birthday to You.” At my place at the table was a big cake with candles Mom had baked and brought to school.

Then Mr. Long told me what he had seen me doing yesterday was, “You were eating your dinner.”

After we had eaten I got some presents and if I remember right, Mr. Long gave each child a small gift also.

It was many years later before I was able to tie these two events together.  This is one of the many fond memories I have of my days at Terrill School.