From the Elk City Daily News, June 16, 1957
Thursday, August 31, 2023
Shiny Objects Along the Way - #4 - INSANE WOMAN AT LARGE WITH HOMOCIDE MISSION
This gem is from the St. Louis Globe Democrat - January 10, 1894.
When Your Mom tells Everyone your Business
Newspapers used to have community columns written by women in the community. The women would call their neighbors and ask what's been happening at their house and then write it up for the newspaper.
My grandfather, Chalmer ("Chick"), might not have been totally pleased when this gem was reported in 1916:
Chick Fuller, a junior at Beloit High School, had a runaway Friday evening on his way home. One of the shafts came loose from the buggy, scareing the horse so it ran away. When he jumped from the buggy, Chick fell and ran his face into the ground. His whole face is badly skinned.
Shiny Objects Along the Way #3 - Shoe Ads 1916
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This gem is from the Beloit Weekly Gazette, September 1916. There is no way that this shoe is comfortable the first day it's worn. It is charming though.
July 1922
Jim Huffman's Teenage Job - Sinclair Filling Station
When my Dad was a teenager, he worked at a filling station on Route 66. This was in the days that gas stations were called filling stations. The attendents wore uniforms including hats, pumped gas, checked the oil, and checked the air pressure in the tires all with a smile.
Route 66 was America's highway leading from Chicago to Los Angeles. People didn't often fly in the early 50s so it wasn't unusual to see famous folks on the road. Dad met Jackie Gleason and Jack Benny. How cool was that!
Shiny Objects Along the Way #2 - Gay Rodeo Decorations
I ran across this gem from 1953 issue of the Elk City (OK) Journal. Word usage changes over time. Take the word "gay."
"It's his responsibility to see that the town is rigged out in appropriate theme style and to decorate the rodeo park in a gay western fashion."
Think there were any pride rainbows? Doubtful.
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Shiny Objects Along the Way #1 - Religious Fanatics and Snakes
One of my favorite primary sources for geneology is old newspapers. The problem with old newspapers is they are just so interesting and full of distractions. Here is one story that caught my eye. This Huffman is not part of my family tree but he does sound interesting, especially if he lived.
Horton, KS - G. W. Huffman of Coldwater, KS is fighting desperately against death from snake bite because of his fanatical attempt to demonstrate the faith of the True Followers, a weird religious band known locally as the snake eaters.
On a lonely country road Huffman attempted to give a practical exhibition of his faith to bring back into the fold Z. O. Osteen, a backsliding brother in the new cult.
When an enormous rattlesnake appeared in the road Huffman stopped his team and got out. Seizing the rattlesnake by the throat he picked up the snake allowed it to strike the back of his hand. The fangs failed to get in their work. Mrs. Osteen thrust her child into Osteen's arms, and jumped from the wagon. She took the poisionous reptile from Huffman and fondled it in her hands for a time, finally allowing the rattler to wind its sinuous folds around her neck.
For some reason, probably sheer astonishment, his snakeship refused to bite Mrs. Osteen, and she was glowing with religious fervor, when Huffman in his zeal to convince scoffing Osteen, attempted to take the snake from Mrs. Osteen, while Osteen sat in the wagon sneering and warning his fanatical wife and friend to be careful.
Huffman took the snake from Mrs. Osteen and his touch evidently broke the spell of the woman's audicity, for the rattler was galvenized into quick activity and with a lightening dart of the head sank his fangs into the back of Huffman's hand. It took several seconds to force the angry jaws apart, and make the fangs release their vise-like grip. By that time Huffman was pale and weak. He was rushed in the wagon to Hugoton where medical aid was summoned, but his body had swelled to twice its normal size. He has a chance of recovery.
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
HOW I ENDED UP GROWING UP IN KANSAS BY OKIE PARENTS
This story starts in Indiana over 130 years ago. Around 1891 my ancestor, Preston Millard (PM) Fuller, great grandfather on Mom’s side, moved from Indiana to Illinois with his three younger siblings and his mother after his father. Their older brother, Scott, and his wife had moved to Illinois a few years earlier and had a job as a stationary engineer - repairing industrial engines. The four younger Fullers and their widowed mother joined Scott. The four Fuller siblings married Illinois spouses within 4 years of arriving in Illinois – PM to Nettie Van Doren, Delta to Mary Alice Stanley, Mary Anne to John Maxwell, and Laura to Lou Huggins. The four siblings remained close and in a few years moved again to Kansas. But I'm ahead of my story,
When PM arrived in Illinois he got a job as a farm laborer working for a prominent farmer, Cornelius Van Doren. Within a year PM married Van Doren’s daughter, Nettie. Preston was 24, tall, lean, and good-looking. Nettie was 21, short, round, and sweet.
By 1900 PM and Nettie had three sons - Russell, Neal, Chalmer. Around 1910, the whole family (including new sister, Ruth) moved to Beloit, Kansas. Also moving to Beloit along that time were the other Fuller siblings and their families - Delta, Mary Anne, and Laura.
PM and Nettie were able to purchase land in Bloomfield township, Mitchell County, south of Beloit. That was the start of Fuller Farms. The Fullers did well - Russell took over the farming and Neal managed the Allis Chalmers dealership and later a Chevrolet dealership. Chalmer (my maternal grandfather) took a different route.
Chalmer moved to Beloit when he was 11 years old. He attended rural country schools. He graduated from Beloit High School in 1918. He was not great as a farmer. He was bullied by his older brothers. The joke was that anything Chalmer did on the farm had to be redone.
In October 1918 he enlisted in the military. At that time WWI was raging in Europe and it appeared that the Germans were winning. Spanish flu was pandemic that year. Over 500,000 Americans died in the month of October 1918. Chalmer fell victim of the Spanish flu and was in a military medical facility in Lawrence, KS. He was very ill and at one point his family was notified they should come to his bedside. PM and Neal made the trip by train, according to the newspaper. Chalmer got better and was discharged as Armistice was declared in November 1918 and the war was over.
Chalmer moved to Hays to attend Hays Normal College to get certified as a teacher. He got his and he taught for part of the year in several rural schools in Kansas and later took a teaching job in Illinois. Teaching wasn’t his passion so he moved to Salina to take a business management course. He got a part time job for JC Penneys which turned out to be his career.
Chalmer met Faith Barr (my maternal grandmother) at a Halloween dance at the YMCA. She was the youngest in her family. Her father and mother met in Kansas and had all their children in the Salina, KS area. Faith's father had tragically died when she was very young and her life was disrupted. She spent a lot of time with her much older four sisters and one brother. After graduating from Salina High School she wanted to become a teacher like two of her sisters but there was no money for Normal School. She embraced a life as a business girl working at H L Lee Wholesale Hardware Store. Her older brother, Elmer, also worked at H L Lee. Her mother and all of her siblings lived in the Salina area.
After Faith and Chalmer married he got a management job with JC Penneys in Sayre, Oklahoma and they moved to Oklahoma. They were there for a short time when he was chosen to open a new Penneys store in Elk City, OK. I found a bunch of papers from his days in Elk City when I was cleaning out cabinets. Why he saved them, I'll never know.
Over his years with Penneys Chalmer repeatedly asked to be transferred back to North Central Kansas. Faith missed living close to her family and Chalmer had invested in several pieces of farm land near his brother’s farm. Chalmer’s supervisor repeatedly refused to recommend him. His supervisor’s opinion was that a transfer might be possible if the Elk City store were more successful.
Report after report complained that the store was underperforming, Chalmer was behind on his inventory paperwork, and the store was stocked incorrectly. They claimed he bought too much of some items but underbought in others. They complained that his son and daughter were working at the store. His supervisor accused him of being old-fashioned and not changing with the times.
Chalmer developed a bleeding ulcer but tried to continue working at Penneys. In the Spring of 1954 Faith and Chalmer bought a new house in Elk City. After a very difficult bout with his bleeding ulcer he resigned effective December 1954. The paperwork I found indicated that Chalmer would have been fired if he hadn’t resigned.
With both of their children out of the house, nothing held Chalmer and Faith to Elk City. Their daughter, Marilyn, (my mom) graduated from Elk City High School in May of 1954 and was off to Oklahoma City University on a music scholarship. Richard, their son, had graduated from ECH in 1952 and was attending Oklahoma State University before joining the USAF. Both Marilyn and Richard had been born in Elk City and lived there their whole lives.
In 1955 Chalmer and Faith moved to Beloit and built the house at 617 W. Main Street in Beloit. Chalmer wanted to be close to his family and planned to farm his land. Faith's family was in Salina so she could see them often. She was a favorite aunt of her nieces and nephews since she was close to their age.
Marilyn got engaged at Christmas of 1955. She quit college and moved to Beloit to plan her Spring 1956 wedding to Jim Huffman, her sweetheart since meeting at a Halloween dance in Jr High School. Both Marilyn and Jim were 1954 graduates of ECHS. Jim was born in Ryan, OK and had lived in Healton and Pryor before moving to Elk City in the 8th grade.
Marilyn was already familiar with Beloit as she had spent summers there with her grandparents and her cousin, Nadine Eads. She had met friends in Beloit and attended the Methodist Church with her parents. So a Beloit wedding was planned. Years later Jim wondered why they didn’t get married in Elk City. Elk City made more sense because his parents lived there and all their friends were still there.
Jim had been a standout athlete in high school but an injury his senior year stymied his hopes of a college career. He joined the USAF in 1955 and was part of the 327th Fighter-Intercepter Squadron at George AFB, Victorville, CA. Jim and Marilyn married in 1956 and headed to California.
Jim learned farming but also got additional work. He worked as a hired hand for Uncle Russell at Fuller farms. He got a job as a city police officer. Uncle Neal offered to get him a job in the grocery business in Concordia. Uncle Russell essentially gave them the house at 505 N Chestnut. Jim tried took the post office employment test and had a very high score. He applied to the Beloit Post Office but the Postmaster hired his brother-in-law who scored one point over the minimum instead. Jim was later offered a job at a different post office but didn't take the job as he was already committed to farming.
In 1963 Jim and Marilyn bought the Leslie place south of Beloit close to the Fulhages. It was a quarter section with a six bedroom house, large barn, machine shed, pasture, and farm land, They paid the Leslie's directly instead of getting a bank loan. Mom wrote yearly letters to the Leslies to let them know what was going on at the farm. Darryl and Jocile fixed up an old farmhouse next to Darryl's parent's place and moved to the country.
Chalmer moved to Beloit when he was 11 years old. He attended rural country schools. He graduated from Beloit High School in 1918. He was not great as a farmer. He was bullied by his older brothers. The joke was that anything Chalmer did on the farm had to be redone.
In October 1918 he enlisted in the military. At that time WWI was raging in Europe and it appeared that the Germans were winning. Spanish flu was pandemic that year. Over 500,000 Americans died in the month of October 1918. Chalmer fell victim of the Spanish flu and was in a military medical facility in Lawrence, KS. He was very ill and at one point his family was notified they should come to his bedside. PM and Neal made the trip by train, according to the newspaper. Chalmer got better and was discharged as Armistice was declared in November 1918 and the war was over.
Chalmer moved to Hays to attend Hays Normal College to get certified as a teacher. He got his and he taught for part of the year in several rural schools in Kansas and later took a teaching job in Illinois. Teaching wasn’t his passion so he moved to Salina to take a business management course. He got a part time job for JC Penneys which turned out to be his career.
Chalmer met Faith Barr (my maternal grandmother) at a Halloween dance at the YMCA. She was the youngest in her family. Her father and mother met in Kansas and had all their children in the Salina, KS area. Faith's father had tragically died when she was very young and her life was disrupted. She spent a lot of time with her much older four sisters and one brother. After graduating from Salina High School she wanted to become a teacher like two of her sisters but there was no money for Normal School. She embraced a life as a business girl working at H L Lee Wholesale Hardware Store. Her older brother, Elmer, also worked at H L Lee. Her mother and all of her siblings lived in the Salina area.
After Faith and Chalmer married he got a management job with JC Penneys in Sayre, Oklahoma and they moved to Oklahoma. They were there for a short time when he was chosen to open a new Penneys store in Elk City, OK. I found a bunch of papers from his days in Elk City when I was cleaning out cabinets. Why he saved them, I'll never know.
Over his years with Penneys Chalmer repeatedly asked to be transferred back to North Central Kansas. Faith missed living close to her family and Chalmer had invested in several pieces of farm land near his brother’s farm. Chalmer’s supervisor repeatedly refused to recommend him. His supervisor’s opinion was that a transfer might be possible if the Elk City store were more successful.
Report after report complained that the store was underperforming, Chalmer was behind on his inventory paperwork, and the store was stocked incorrectly. They claimed he bought too much of some items but underbought in others. They complained that his son and daughter were working at the store. His supervisor accused him of being old-fashioned and not changing with the times.
Chalmer developed a bleeding ulcer but tried to continue working at Penneys. In the Spring of 1954 Faith and Chalmer bought a new house in Elk City. After a very difficult bout with his bleeding ulcer he resigned effective December 1954. The paperwork I found indicated that Chalmer would have been fired if he hadn’t resigned.
With both of their children out of the house, nothing held Chalmer and Faith to Elk City. Their daughter, Marilyn, (my mom) graduated from Elk City High School in May of 1954 and was off to Oklahoma City University on a music scholarship. Richard, their son, had graduated from ECH in 1952 and was attending Oklahoma State University before joining the USAF. Both Marilyn and Richard had been born in Elk City and lived there their whole lives.
In 1955 Chalmer and Faith moved to Beloit and built the house at 617 W. Main Street in Beloit. Chalmer wanted to be close to his family and planned to farm his land. Faith's family was in Salina so she could see them often. She was a favorite aunt of her nieces and nephews since she was close to their age.
Marilyn got engaged at Christmas of 1955. She quit college and moved to Beloit to plan her Spring 1956 wedding to Jim Huffman, her sweetheart since meeting at a Halloween dance in Jr High School. Both Marilyn and Jim were 1954 graduates of ECHS. Jim was born in Ryan, OK and had lived in Healton and Pryor before moving to Elk City in the 8th grade.
Marilyn was already familiar with Beloit as she had spent summers there with her grandparents and her cousin, Nadine Eads. She had met friends in Beloit and attended the Methodist Church with her parents. So a Beloit wedding was planned. Years later Jim wondered why they didn’t get married in Elk City. Elk City made more sense because his parents lived there and all their friends were still there.
Jim had been a standout athlete in high school but an injury his senior year stymied his hopes of a college career. He joined the USAF in 1955 and was part of the 327th Fighter-Intercepter Squadron at George AFB, Victorville, CA. Jim and Marilyn married in 1956 and headed to California.
I was born in 1957 on George AFB. Jim liked the military and had advanced to Staff Sergeant. He was planning to reenlist when his platoon was scheduled to transfer to an unaccompied tour in Thule, Greenland. Chalmer had another bleeding ulcer attack and had to have half his stomach removed. He was unable to farm his land. He offered to lease the land to Jim and get Jim and Marilyn started in farming. Mom and Dad took the offer and moved to Beloit renting a house at 322 N Chestnut. Next door were newlyweds Darryl and Jocile Fulhage.
Jim learned farming but also got additional work. He worked as a hired hand for Uncle Russell at Fuller farms. He got a job as a city police officer. Uncle Neal offered to get him a job in the grocery business in Concordia. Uncle Russell essentially gave them the house at 505 N Chestnut. Jim tried took the post office employment test and had a very high score. He applied to the Beloit Post Office but the Postmaster hired his brother-in-law who scored one point over the minimum instead. Jim was later offered a job at a different post office but didn't take the job as he was already committed to farming.
In 1963 Jim and Marilyn bought the Leslie place south of Beloit close to the Fulhages. It was a quarter section with a six bedroom house, large barn, machine shed, pasture, and farm land, They paid the Leslie's directly instead of getting a bank loan. Mom wrote yearly letters to the Leslies to let them know what was going on at the farm. Darryl and Jocile fixed up an old farmhouse next to Darryl's parent's place and moved to the country.
My brother, Jeff, was born at the Beloit Hospital the same month (July) we moved to the Leslie place. Chalmer and Jim were not present at Jeff's birth as they were in Kansas City at a baseball game. Marilyn and Faith were pretty mad about that.
I was six years old and I did not want to move to the country. I liked living in town. I was walking distance to the library and my grandparent’s house. I had friends on the street to play with and I had attended kindergarten at Beloit Elementary. In the country I would have to attend a country school with no running water or indoor plumbing. Round Top Country School was a two room school house serving Turkey Creek township in Mitchell County–First through fourth grade in one room and fifth through eighth in the other. I knew no one at first but made lifelong friends there.
So the only native Kansans in our family are Grandma Faith and Jeff. Marilyn and Jim are Okie through and through. I was born in California, raised in Kansas, and moved to Texas over 40 years ago. According to etiquette rules of the South, I am a native of California even though I don't remember living there.
I was six years old and I did not want to move to the country. I liked living in town. I was walking distance to the library and my grandparent’s house. I had friends on the street to play with and I had attended kindergarten at Beloit Elementary. In the country I would have to attend a country school with no running water or indoor plumbing. Round Top Country School was a two room school house serving Turkey Creek township in Mitchell County–First through fourth grade in one room and fifth through eighth in the other. I knew no one at first but made lifelong friends there.
So the only native Kansans in our family are Grandma Faith and Jeff. Marilyn and Jim are Okie through and through. I was born in California, raised in Kansas, and moved to Texas over 40 years ago. According to etiquette rules of the South, I am a native of California even though I don't remember living there.
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