October 4, 1987
Received a letter from an Irma Cobb in Red Oak who says her mother can remember when cars stalled on quite a steep hill in front of her home, and that our car was quite often one of them. This was out near Oakley, Iowa. The problem was the gas tank was in the rear and gas couldn’t get to the carburetor. This was solved by backing up the hill. Later cars had a pressure pump on the dash to pump air into the gas tank, forcing gas to the carburetor. Later, fuel pumps became standard equipment.
In 1915 my family decided to go to Indianola to the motorcycle races. The winner rode a Harley Davidson and got up to sixty miles an hour. The touring car race was a big success when it came to pleasing the crowd. Out in the center of the track having a good time were five or six Chariton businessmen. The race promoters came to the men and asked them to enter their car in the race. They agreed to enter. The rules were read to them. You could let the top down, adjust the double windshield parallel to the ground and nothing extra could be done to the motor. They won the race as they got up to forty miles an hour. Here is the hilarious part. They had a bucket of beer on ice in the back and never spilled a drop. Verne Baughman was the driver and Bert Vaughn of the Overland Garage was the passenger. The third feature of the race was a racing car event. Nothing professional, just locally-made racers. Bert Vaughn took an Overland car and stripped off the fenders and cut off the rear of the body to make only one seat. They had also removed the windshield. His mechanic riding along was Bill Huffman. They got up to sixty miles an hour and won the race. However, they were disqualified because they had attached a tire pump to the gas tank to push more gas to the carburetor. These races were held yearly back then.
This epitaph was observed on a tombstone in an old Boston cemetery. The name of the deceased was there and below was inscribed: “This wasn’t my idea.” From the little book of favorite quotations of Chariton people in 1899 was this little gem:
Some men are born for great things,
Some are born for small.
Some, it is not recorded,
Why they were born at all.
An elderly lady from Mobile, Alabama, writes that according to her grandfather’s old letters, there was a hotel on the same site as the Charitone is now. This is right, and the hotel was the Mills. When my father was through Chariton in 1889, it was there. Later this hotel burned, and the Palmer Department Store was built here. This was a beautiful store and nothing compared to it outside of Des Moines. This store burned around 1912 and the lot stood empty for ten years. Tent shows and tabernacles occupied the lot off and on. In 1923 the present hotel was built there. Several people have asked why the hotel was not built clear to the alley. The two buildings there now were there sometime before the hotel was built. The building next to the hotel housed Lizzie Cripps’ Café for years. The city gas office was in the other building back then. Several people want to know who built the hotel. Junkin and McCollough were the owners of the newspapers here, and later went to Brainerd, Minnesota, and had the daily paper there. Patrick Dolan of Butte, Montana, wants to know if E. M. Johnson’s specialty was building churches. His brothers, Charles and Petrus, were general contractors. David was the founder and owner of Johnson Machine Works.
I have answered this question before, but here it is again. The Civil War cannons that stood at the north and south entrances of the courthouse were used in the World War II scrap iron drive. There was a stack of cannon balls beside each, too. These were quite large guns. A cannon also stood at the entrance of Yocom Park. The base is still there and that will tell you where the cannon stood.
A lady from Eldon, Iowa, wants to know if Bud Fluke once had a restaurant across east of the Yocom Hospital or south across the street from the Presbyterian Church. This is true and it was also a gasoline station. Deo Kirk, the blind man, lived there for several years. Vena Cross informs me that the name of the bakery on the southwest corner of the square was the Federal Bakery and not the Red Ball. She is right. However, there was a Red Ball Grocery in the south half of the west side of the square.
Friday and Saturday were banner days for me as so many people were in to see me. The fortieth high school class reunion was held that weekend. Fifteen people that day, both visitors and local people, mentioned the newspaper articles. I am very grateful to John Baldridge for printing them.
Our ride -
The three of us, Charles, George and myself left Chariton in my car and I drove. Got back at 5:45 p.m. Went to the far southwest corner of Stephens Forest. This is a little-known area. Two weeks ago we went up the steep rocky hill to get in and water was running out of the hill in spots. Today it was dry. This trail leads to Burr Oak Camp and the last part is a walking trail only. Saw a great blue heron along the road at Lucas.
Editor’s comment: Junkin and McCollough were the owners of the hotel, P. E. Johnson and Sons was the general contractor. E.M. Johnson did build many churches.
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