The citizens of Joplin (MO) recently voted down a proposal to renovate Memorial Hall, located at the corner of 8th and Wall. I no longer live inside the city limits and was, therefore, ineligible to vote on the issue. Had I been able to vote, I probably would have voted for the proposal. The folks who were pushing the proposal to renovate the old building are now left to contemplate their next step, and the structure might even have to end up being torn down. If so, I would hate to see it go, not just because of the fact that it was built as a patriotic tribute to veterans of the region, both living and dead, but also because of a certain sentimental attachment I have to the place. I've attended a number of events there over the years, including quite a few music concerts featuring performers like Willie Nelson, Chicago, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and B.J. Thomas. Most recently my wife and I saw Rhonda Vincent there four or five years ago, but I guess the place has deteriorated now to the point that it is not being used for much of anything.
The idea of a building to memorialize Joplin's veterans was first bandied about shortly after World War I. With the local American Legion spearheading the effort, the idea was finally adopted by the city and plans to build the structure put into action in 1924. Local architect Alfred S. Michaelis designed the hall, and contractor A. S. Greenwell was engaged to built it at a cost of $250,000. An old school building on the site, encompassing almost the entire block between Joplin and Wall streets and Eight and Ninth streets, was torn down to make way for the project, and construction work on the new building began on August 4, 1924. Plans called for the auditorium of the two-and-a-half story structure to seat slightly over 4,000 people.
The building was completed in the fall of 1925, but not before Michaelis, the architect, was ironically killed in a fall from the structure a few weeks before it was finished. Dedication ceremonies for Memorial Hall were held on October 18. About two thousand people turned out for the occasion. Speakers at the event included the Missouri state American Legion commander; Mercer Arnold, a prominent Joplin attorney who was also a veteran of the Spanish-American War; and A. J. P. Barnes, a Civil War veteran.
Saturday, May 28, 2022
Sunday, May 22, 2022
Insane on Religion
A case of mistaken identity that caused a lot of excitement at Halltown, Missouri, in February of 1901 turned out to be almost comical, at least in retrospect.
Someone burglarized the post office at Lawrenceburg, a small village in northeast Lawrence County, on the night of Friday, February 8, and the next day word was sent to Springfield that a man, thought to have been involved in the crime, was "lurking" around Yeakley in western Greene County and neighboring Halltown in eastern Lawrence. An officer from Springfield was dispatched immediately to bring the culprit in, but by the time he arrived, the suspect had fled.
The officer sent word back to Springfield, and the police chief and a third officer left Springfield to join the hunt. Upon reaching Nichols Junction in the wee hours of Sunday morning, February 10, the chief learned that a "demented man" had jumped from a train at that place Saturday morning and had gone in the direction of Halltown. The chief decided that the man who'd jumped from the train was probably the same man who'd been seen lurking around Yeakley and Halltown, and he and the third officer returned to Springfield.
Not privy to the intelligence gained by the chief, the citizens around Halltown, meanwhile, determined to rise up in arms and capture the desperado they thought to be in their midst. A report reached Halltown that a "suspicious character" had been given dinner at a farmhouse a few miles outside town, but the excitement did not reach a fever pitch until the supposed culprit was spotted near the town hall, where a public meeting was taking place. A horse was hitched to a rail outside the building, and it was thought the villain was planning to steal the horse.
The meeting broke up about the same time that word of the man's suspicious activity was being sent around to townspeople, and a crowd of vigilantes quickly formed and went in "hot pursuit" of the suspect, according to the Springfield Leader-Democrat. The mob, numbering ten to fifteen men, found their prey in the horse lot of a local townsman, which they took as proof of the man's criminal intent. Upon seeing the mob approach as if to apprehend him, the man took off running, and some in the crowd took a few shots at him. "Fortunately, whose aim (was) good "had only loaded their guns with bird shot, which did the man no serious harm."
At this point, the Springfield officer who'd been involved in the chase since Saturday appeared on the scene and persuaded some in the crowd to help him capture the unarmed fugitive without firing their weapons. However, in the excitement of the affair, some of the other men, not being acquainted with the Springfield officer, mistook him for the wanted man. One local leveled his gun at the officer and was about to pull the trigger, when the lawman finally succeeded in making his identity known.
The man the mob had been hunting was quickly taken into custody, and he proved to be the "crazy man" who'd jumped off the train at Nichols, not the post office robber. He was soon identified as J. M. Cross, "a demented preacher and teacher" from Tennessee. He and his family were on their way to Ezburn, Kansas, when Cross, convinced that the train was going the wrong way, bailed out on his wife and children at Nichols. He was taken back to Springfield, where he was examined by a doctor. He was considerably bruised from his jump, and a few of the bird shot had taken effect in the back of his head, but he was not seriously hurt.
Concluded the Leader-Democrat, "Cross seemed to be insane on religion, and while in custody kept up a continual conversation on religion."
Someone burglarized the post office at Lawrenceburg, a small village in northeast Lawrence County, on the night of Friday, February 8, and the next day word was sent to Springfield that a man, thought to have been involved in the crime, was "lurking" around Yeakley in western Greene County and neighboring Halltown in eastern Lawrence. An officer from Springfield was dispatched immediately to bring the culprit in, but by the time he arrived, the suspect had fled.
The officer sent word back to Springfield, and the police chief and a third officer left Springfield to join the hunt. Upon reaching Nichols Junction in the wee hours of Sunday morning, February 10, the chief learned that a "demented man" had jumped from a train at that place Saturday morning and had gone in the direction of Halltown. The chief decided that the man who'd jumped from the train was probably the same man who'd been seen lurking around Yeakley and Halltown, and he and the third officer returned to Springfield.
Not privy to the intelligence gained by the chief, the citizens around Halltown, meanwhile, determined to rise up in arms and capture the desperado they thought to be in their midst. A report reached Halltown that a "suspicious character" had been given dinner at a farmhouse a few miles outside town, but the excitement did not reach a fever pitch until the supposed culprit was spotted near the town hall, where a public meeting was taking place. A horse was hitched to a rail outside the building, and it was thought the villain was planning to steal the horse.
The meeting broke up about the same time that word of the man's suspicious activity was being sent around to townspeople, and a crowd of vigilantes quickly formed and went in "hot pursuit" of the suspect, according to the Springfield Leader-Democrat. The mob, numbering ten to fifteen men, found their prey in the horse lot of a local townsman, which they took as proof of the man's criminal intent. Upon seeing the mob approach as if to apprehend him, the man took off running, and some in the crowd took a few shots at him. "Fortunately, whose aim (was) good "had only loaded their guns with bird shot, which did the man no serious harm."
At this point, the Springfield officer who'd been involved in the chase since Saturday appeared on the scene and persuaded some in the crowd to help him capture the unarmed fugitive without firing their weapons. However, in the excitement of the affair, some of the other men, not being acquainted with the Springfield officer, mistook him for the wanted man. One local leveled his gun at the officer and was about to pull the trigger, when the lawman finally succeeded in making his identity known.
The man the mob had been hunting was quickly taken into custody, and he proved to be the "crazy man" who'd jumped off the train at Nichols, not the post office robber. He was soon identified as J. M. Cross, "a demented preacher and teacher" from Tennessee. He and his family were on their way to Ezburn, Kansas, when Cross, convinced that the train was going the wrong way, bailed out on his wife and children at Nichols. He was taken back to Springfield, where he was examined by a doctor. He was considerably bruised from his jump, and a few of the bird shot had taken effect in the back of his head, but he was not seriously hurt.
Concluded the Leader-Democrat, "Cross seemed to be insane on religion, and while in custody kept up a continual conversation on religion."
Saturday, May 14, 2022
Flemington, Missouri
I've previously said on this blog that, having lived in southwest Missouri my whole life, I've traveled through nearly every part of it at one time or another. I have to admit, however, that there are a lot of out-of-the-way villages in the region that I've never been to. If a community is located on a county road or even a state highway that is not considered a main route, there's a good chance I might never have been there. I've mentioned one or two such places on this blog in recent weeks. Flemington, a small town in northwest Polk County at the intersection of Route O and Route V, is another such place. It's the sort of place that you're not likely to pass through on your way to somewhere else unless you live in the immediate vicinity. If you live over a hundred miles away from Flemington, as I do, it's not likely you'd ever go there unless it was your specific destination.
Flemington got its start as a railroad town, as did a good number of other towns in the Ozarks (and elsewhere). Flemington was founded in 1898 when an extension of the Frisco Railroad was built between Bolivar, the Polk County seat, and Kansas City. The place was named after Robert L. Fleming, a longtime resident of the area who donated the town site.
Flemington grew pretty rapidly at first, and it had a population of about 200 and a good number of businesses by 1905, when the Springfield Leader published a profile of the town. A that time, Flemington had a bank, a post office, a school, a hotel, a lumber yard, a livery, a large poultry dealer, an insurance and real estate agency, and several groceries and general stores.
The population of Flemington gradually declined throughout the mid and late-twentieth century. It reached a low of 124 in 2000 but rebounded to 148 in the 2010 census. Today it is still a going little town with a post office, a private elementary school, several businesses, and a considerable number of residences.
Flemington got its start as a railroad town, as did a good number of other towns in the Ozarks (and elsewhere). Flemington was founded in 1898 when an extension of the Frisco Railroad was built between Bolivar, the Polk County seat, and Kansas City. The place was named after Robert L. Fleming, a longtime resident of the area who donated the town site.
Flemington grew pretty rapidly at first, and it had a population of about 200 and a good number of businesses by 1905, when the Springfield Leader published a profile of the town. A that time, Flemington had a bank, a post office, a school, a hotel, a lumber yard, a livery, a large poultry dealer, an insurance and real estate agency, and several groceries and general stores.
The population of Flemington gradually declined throughout the mid and late-twentieth century. It reached a low of 124 in 2000 but rebounded to 148 in the 2010 census. Today it is still a going little town with a post office, a private elementary school, several businesses, and a considerable number of residences.
Saturday, May 7, 2022
Sensational Shooting at Monett
In Monett, Missouri, on Tuesday evening, May 7, 1895, a young woman initially identified as Mrs. Frank Collins armed herself with a .38 caliber pistol and went looking for Anna Johnson, "a young woman of doubtful reputation" to whom Frank Collins had been paying much attention of late. Insanely jealous, the young wife decided to take matters into her own hands. Meeting Anna Johnson on one of the main streets of Monett, Mrs. Collins immediately opened fire. One bullet struck Miss Johnson in the left side just below the lower rib and went clear through her body. Mrs. Collins immediately turned over her weapon to a bystander and was soon placed under arrest. The victim was carried to a room over the nearby Silver Moon Restaurant and attended by physicians, who gave her almost no chance of surviving.
Initial reports identified Frank Collins, the assailant's husband, as a noted gambler around Springfield. He was said to be one of the few men who could actually make a living gambling. He'd recently moved to Monett with his wife, although most parties in Springfield did not know he was married until after the shooting. Later reports said Collins's real name was Snodgrass, but that he often went by Collins because his mother had remarried a man named Collins when Frank was very young. Mrs. Collins (i.e. Mrs. Snodgrass) was also from Springfield, and her maiden name was Stella Kirkham. Her sister had eloped with a Chinaman a few years earlier, and their father had committed suicide shortly afterwards, supposedly because of the behavior of his wayward daughters.
As for Anna Johnson, her real name was Anna Nave, and she had recently come to Monett from Fort Smith, Arkansas, where she was considered a "disreputable woman." After she was shot, word was immediately sent to Fort Smith, and two "fallen women" took the first train from Fort Smith to Monett to be by her side. One of the Fort Smith women was Pearl Starr, daughter of the infamous Belle Starr and the keeper of a bordello in Fort Smith. The two women wanted to take Anna back to Fort Smith, but her doctors would not allow it. Anna died on Wednesday evening, about 24 hours after she was shot, and the Fort Smith women reportedly vowed revenge.
After Anna died, Stella Snodgrass was transported to Mt. Vernon and held without bail to await a preliminary hearing. Her husband hightailed it out of Monett but was thought to be hanging around Pierce City. However, I have thus far been unable to learn what the ultimate disposition of Stella's case was.
Initial reports identified Frank Collins, the assailant's husband, as a noted gambler around Springfield. He was said to be one of the few men who could actually make a living gambling. He'd recently moved to Monett with his wife, although most parties in Springfield did not know he was married until after the shooting. Later reports said Collins's real name was Snodgrass, but that he often went by Collins because his mother had remarried a man named Collins when Frank was very young. Mrs. Collins (i.e. Mrs. Snodgrass) was also from Springfield, and her maiden name was Stella Kirkham. Her sister had eloped with a Chinaman a few years earlier, and their father had committed suicide shortly afterwards, supposedly because of the behavior of his wayward daughters.
As for Anna Johnson, her real name was Anna Nave, and she had recently come to Monett from Fort Smith, Arkansas, where she was considered a "disreputable woman." After she was shot, word was immediately sent to Fort Smith, and two "fallen women" took the first train from Fort Smith to Monett to be by her side. One of the Fort Smith women was Pearl Starr, daughter of the infamous Belle Starr and the keeper of a bordello in Fort Smith. The two women wanted to take Anna back to Fort Smith, but her doctors would not allow it. Anna died on Wednesday evening, about 24 hours after she was shot, and the Fort Smith women reportedly vowed revenge.
After Anna died, Stella Snodgrass was transported to Mt. Vernon and held without bail to await a preliminary hearing. Her husband hightailed it out of Monett but was thought to be hanging around Pierce City. However, I have thus far been unable to learn what the ultimate disposition of Stella's case was.
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