Food Fair in the 70's

James Wayne "Red" McCune Obit

Wayne"Red" McCune of Rich Hill, MO, passed away on December 27th, 2018.Wayne was born on April 19, 1937 in Nevada,  MO,  to Virgil Franklin McCune and Jessie (Osborne) McCune. His early years were spent in Nevada, MO. before moving to a farm in Walker, MO. in 1943. He attended high school in Walker and graduated salutatorian with the class of 1955.
     Wayne's graduation was his second date with Wanda Emerson. By December 28th, 1958 they were married and remained married married for almost 60 years until his death.
Wayne and Wanda made their first home in Eureka Ks.In building Wayne's experience in the grocery business, they moved to Emporia, KS, Nevada, MO., Springfield, MO, and finally settled in Rich Hill, MO. in 1972.
     Wayne started working in the grocery business as a teenager. He managed his first meat department by the age of 20 and his first grocery store by 24. By 1970,Wayne was Vice President of Ramey's --a large grocery chain based in Springfield,  MO. In August of 1972, Wayne and Wanda fulfilled their dream of owning their own store when they bought the Rich Hill, MO. store from Fred Marquardt. This is where they would settle with their family and Wayne would become known as "Red". Throughout the years, Wayne would own a share of partnership stores in Golden City, MO; Lamar, MO; Butler, MO; Nevada, MO; LaCygne, KS and Mound City, KS (which both began as joint ventures with longtime friends Fred and Billie Lee), and Pleasanton, KS.
     Wayne loved being involved in his community, his church, and his country.  He was an active member in the Lion's Club, spent two years as President of the Chamber of Commerce, and many years as a director on the board of Security Bank of Rich Hill and eventually Citizen's Bank. He served as a Trustee and Deacon for the First Baptist Church for over 25 years.  Wayne proudly served in the National Guard; first based at Camp Clark in Nevada, MO and eventually based at the Springfield Aviation Repair Depot where he became a helicopter mechanic. Wayne enjoyed telling stories of his time in the National Guard like when he became a driver for several VIPs or worked as a cook and earned the name "Pepper Red".
    Wayne had a variety of hobbies. He enjoyed traveling and took his family all across the United States. He was an avid water-skier and boater and spent many days on the lake with friends and family. He loved slalom skiing and sharing the experience with others. Wayne's passion for farming saw him spend many years acquiring and developing land and raising cattle. Hauling hay was a family outing everyone was able to enjoy.
     Anyone that knew Wayne knew of his love for cars. He attended auto shows and antique car sales. Throughout the years he acquired several classic cars and won a few trophies in local shows and parades.
     One of Wayne's greatest passions was helping others--whether it was a child having a bad day at the store, an individual a little down on their luck, or someone needing advice or help in their business endeavors. Wayne knew what it took to succeed and gladly shared that knowledge with anyone who wished to do the same.

     Wayne loved his family and in later life savored his role as great-grandfather. He leaves behind his wife: Wanda Sue (Emerson) McCune; a son: Bruce Allen McCune; a daughter; Beth Ann McCune; a granddaughter: Candace LeAnn (McCune) Wilson; and two great grandchildren: Bailie and Bryson. Also surviving is his sister: Joyce Trujilio of Cheyenne, WY. Wayne was an incredible man that will be greatly missed by his community, his friends, and most importantly, his family.

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." -- A.A. Milne
   

E-Mail from Tom Wescott

Hi Bart, I love your blog. Have for years and I applaud your efforts with it. Attached are some matchbooks from Rich Hill. The Bo-Peep Motel is one I'm very curious about! Also is a strange RH postcard from 1913, front and back. I cribbed these from eBay. Feel free to post them if you'd like. 

Best wishes, 

Tom Wescott

Historical Notes of Reva Stubblefield #2

Historical Notes of Reva

Historical Notes from Reva Stubblefield 1974

Among the early settlers was a man by the name of O. Spencer, a well educated man from Kentucky and a Methodist minister, who had a love of fine horses. He settled on a farm near Rich Hill, where he divided his time between farming and preaching. Later he became engaged in the coal business and began breeding fine race horses. Many of his horses won recognition on the great tracks of the country. He was instrumental in establishing a race track in Rich Hill which became one of the best known tracks in the country.

Mr. Spencer was a good friend of Major G. I. Lynch, who resided in Butler but owned and operated a deep pit mine in Rich Hill. His operation was known as the Bates Coal Company. There was a track running into the mine and the coal was hauled out in coal cars by a small donkey. Mr. Lynch, from Boston, was also a lover of fine horses so the two had much in common. The race track became part of the large fair ground on the east edge of the city.

So that the cultural aspect of the city would not be neglected, a library association was organized and incorporated August 12, 1882. W. T. Tygard was elected President; S. Cain, Secretary; and S. G. Morrison, Librarian. They started with one hundred books. In 1974 the library is still in operation with books and __________________________________ an adequate supply to meet the towns needs but they proved to be disappointing, so he built an artificial gas plant that made enough to light the city. A double row of gas lights with large white globes decorated Park Avenue from the entrance gate on the east park to Park Place on the west. It was a beautiful sight when lit at night and was heralded far and wide as the “Great White Way”. Later, electricity was brought in and the town was a blaze of light!

Ad to those already listed a cigar factory, an ice and refrigeration plant, two wholesale beer houses and a daily newspaper, The Rich Hill Gazzette, which was started August 5, 1880, by George P. Huckeby. It was republican and was started with the promise that a postmaster job would be granted him to assure a living.

Of course, the picture couldn’t be all this rosy. Many of the miners brought in were of foreign descent and great beer drinkers. There were man from Belgium, Austria, Italy, Wales and Ireland. At one time there were seven saloons doing a thriving business. The miners worked hard, drank hard and played a bit rough! It was a wide awake, rootin’ tootin’ western town in the evenings when the miners were in between shifts. On Saturday nights, which was pay day, there was usually a fight or two, with possibly a knifing and occasionally a shooting so a jail house became a necessity. It is still standing, and in use, when necessary. It looks as though it could do a good job of corralling the boistrous and unruly.

It looked so stout and dungeon-like that we asked to view the interior. So several of us ladies were given a personal tour by the present police officer, Lester Fenton. We found it to be swept clean, in fore ways that one. It was scrupulously clean, painted white and very bare! There were four cells with iron gates. One cell contained a stove, another was the toilet room, and two were reserved for prisoners. Each contained a bare bed made of bars and a folded blanket on each. The bull-run, or large room you enter was for any females who might be brought there, and contained two bunks spread with blankets. The small openings called windows, seen in the picture, were hidden by a lowered ceiling, so one could not see the sky, and the walls were of stone, hewed at least eighteen inches to two feet thick. About the only thing any one could do in such confinement would be to repent of ones wicked ways and vow never to get caught again! 

Rich Hill Tigers--WEMO Surprise Team (The Cass County Democrat Missourian ,November 16 1979

Rich Hill Tigers--WEMO Surprise Team 
(The Cass County Democrat Missourian ,November 16 1979 ) 

 When school opened, first year Rich Hill Football Coach John Denny must have been more concerned about fielding a team than how many games they’d win. You see, at the time Denny only had 12 able-bodied players competing for 11 positions. Forget the platooning, we don’t play 6-man football in the state. The situation improved. About a Nineteen “newcomers” joined the team over Labor Day weekend. 12 players “stuck”. “We worked real hard on conditioning”, Denny Said. “Some of them left us.”

  

 When the Tigers traveled to Adrian Sept. 7, only the “original 12” were eligible to play. “I fully expected us to get clobbered,” Denny admitted, “But somewhere along the line the kids didn’t expect it.” Rich Hill lost 13-0. Adrian finished the season at 7-2.The Tigers practiced Saturdays and Sundays to get in the allotted number of sessions so the rest of the players would be eligible to play the second game. They fell to Windsor 7-6 in game two.

  

Then Midway came to town. The Vikings, of course, are defending Class 1-A state titlists. Midway won 13-0, but it was only 6-0 until the closing seconds of play.“Midway didn’t play very well,” Deny acknowledged, “I think (Midway Coach Laural) Hobick’s a tremendous coach. It’s an honor to be on the same field with him.” The Midway loss was a costly one. Doug Isaacson, the Tigers’ talented running back, broke a bone in his shoulder, but Phil Kesterson stepped in for Isaacson and picked up over 800 rushing yards in 6 ½ ball games.

  The freshman really came through,” Denny said. Freshman quarterback Tom Sutcliffe and classmate Brain Tabor teamed for the winning score in the 34-28 victory over Osceola- Rich Hill’s first. The same duo accounted for the go-ahead score in their 20-6 victory over Miami.

   Denny said of 180-pound senior linebacker-fullback Roger Rigdon, “He was more than just a key for us. I can’t say enough about him. We wanted to give him the ball more but he was just so good at blocking.” Denny called 175-pound junior slotback-running back Bill (Bubba) Sutcliffe the second best athlete on the team. He expects big things from him next year. Chuck Duffield, a 220-pounder and Ray Audula, a 195-pounder were the Tigers top live men but Denny was proudest of Bart McClaughry – a 6’1”, 130-pounder who was called upon to play offensive tackle. He’d never played football before, but he worked real hard. He did it on all guts alone.”

  I think we have super kids here,” Denny said. “The kids deserve all the credit. Maybe he was being a bit modest. The former Lillis High School mentor should be commended for motivating his youngsters to “give their all. Following a 44-0 victory over winless Kansas City West Friday, the Tigers finished the year at 4-6. Included among their victories was a 12-7 triumph over the Archie Whirlwinds- contestants in the Class 1-A state play-offs.

50 year Celebration Poster

Bates County Champs 1911-1912

Stephanie Perkey Adams seen this picture in the 1912 Rich Hill Year Book at the Alumni Dinner. She like the Picture so I post it.

Ethel Coonrod -(Right Guard ) Ester Jones (Captain Center)  Clara Hoover (Center) Gladys McCarty(Substitute) Katherine Semple(Coach) Maude Hoover(Substitute) Ruby Wiek (Left Forward)Mable Wastson (Right Forward)Viola Bradley (Left Guard )

Big House on Park Street,

This article comes from the Historical Notes of Bates County Museum by Reva Stubblefield in 1974

W.K.Royce ,an early Rich Hill merchant built this home this home on Park Park Street which in 1974 , is a magnificent survivor of that bygone era.
You can read more about Royce, William Kingsbury Here

New Sign at Big Mouth

Rich Hill City Alderman Billy Humble installed a new sign next to "The Big Mouth" Bucket.

Click to see Big Picture

great pictures of remodeling the old high school from the Rich Hill library

Got these great pictures of remodeling the old high school from the Rich Hill library.

Thanks Dixie   

Rich Hill Bridge

I want to thank Dennis Meyers for this  postcard scan

Dennis ask me if I  knew where the bridge over the creek is or was!
Dennis I am sorry I don't where this is or was.

Mining Review July 29 1955 story of the Catholic Church

Mining Review July 29 1955 story of the Catholic Church  

Picture from the Francine Droz Collection 

The Catholic church was organized in Rich Hill soon after the founding of the city.In the summer of 1880 a Catholic priest, a missionary to this district,came to Rich Hill at intervals and held mass and baptised babies.
At first he held mass in the home of Mr. and Mrs.Humphrey Connelly .Later mass was held in store building
Early in the year 1881, the congregation decided to build a church and in a few months the church was completed.The church was the same building  which stands on the corner of Ninth and Walnut streets During the years the church has been enlarged and services have been held continuously in all those years.
Two of the priests were father Daugherty and Father Fogarty.
Father John Murphy is pastor of the Church at this time.

When Coal was King June 20 2008 Mining Review Part 1

When Coal was King     June 20 2008 Mining Review

Part 1 by Jerry Pfeifer 

Rich Hill was one of the fastest growing communities in Missouri history. It went from open prairie in 1880 to a thriving city of nearly 2,000 people in just three years. It was a bon-a-fide boom town, and in the next 20 years it continued to grow at a phenomenal pace. By the turn of the century with a population of about 6,000, Rich Hill was the centerpiece of Bates County. In this series “When Coal Was King,” we will examine this metropolitan upstart.

What caused its sudden growth, and how did it handle the challenges it faced? What was it like to walk the streets of Rich Hill on a Friday night or stroll through town on a Saturday afternoon? What kind of businesses sprang up in the community? In just three years, 784 houses were built and over 200 new businesses established. Did people become accustomed to the constant buzz of saws and pounding of hammers?

 Ed McQuitty knew what Rich Hill was like. He moved there with his family when he was five and grew up in the area. His parents like many farmers who suffered through the Post-Civil War Era, lost their farm and came to Rich Hill looking for a new start. In an article written by McQuitty, he relates his personal memories of that move and of his families early days in Rich Hill.

 "At day-break on a bitter cold day Jan. 2, 1880, the family, huddled in an unheated 'prairie schooner' headed east toward our new home. Tears came to the eyes of both father and mother as they cast a backward glance toward the old farm, settled by homestead. Years before the outbreak of the Civil War.”

 Through a blanket of white covering the ground and at a creeping pace, it proved a monotonous journey except when our attention was diverted from aching fingers, tingling toes and red noses by the droves of hungry coyotes, the flights of prairie chickens and pigeons in masses. Through a blinding snow and with horses floundering through half-frozen grass reaching to their withers, we held to an easterly course.

 

It was an act of providence that we landed, half-frozen, after a trek of some 30 miles. A skeleton of a house awaited us, having been built by an older brother who had gone on before. Although unfinished, the roughened walls and sturdy roof afforded real comfort compared to the below zero temperatures we had endured for the past 15 hours. When thawed out, the family in unison heralded, "So this is Rich Hill." 

 The McQuitty's had arrived in Rich Hill, and they were some of the earliest, but it didn't take long before a constant stream of newcomers began to flow into town.  People of all nationalities moved to Rich Hill, and they came with knapsack filled with food and with bedding and blankets strapped on their shoulders.

 The McQuitty family sensing the situation got the necessary furnishings together and opened the 'Home Hotel' to as many of the wayfarers as they could.

E. R. McQuitty writes: "The place was well named, and mother as she was known to all the borders, was an old fashioned farm cook and no one was allowed to leave her table hungry. Great pots of steaming coffee, plates piled high with hot biscuits, huge platters of fried chicken with milk gravy, brown baked potatoes, etc. were set before her guests and, with a smile all were bid 'help yourselves' and when finished 'please hand to Dad, on the way out, the generous sum of 25-cents.' And business boomed." 

 Rich Hill grew extraordinarily fast over the next few years and there were a number of reasons why. First, there were rich beds of coal in the area and coal was in demand. It was needed by the railroads, needed by industry and needed more and more by households as a source of heat.  The early pioneers in the area knew about the coal in Rich Hill, but they had no idea how much lay beneath them. When the mining companies caught wind of the size of the beds and deep veins, the rush to set up mining began. 

 But rail lines were needed to move the coal and there were no tracks in the county. Butler and all the towns in the county had been overlooked by the railroads, but now with the mining interests, the Missouri Pacific Railroad and the Gulf Railway built two separate rail lines to the Rich Hill area. 

Another major reason for the boom in Rich Hill was because of the depression that was occurring throughout the United States. When a major component of the country's banking establishment went bankrupt in 1873, a chain reaction occurred. The New York Stock Exchange closed for l0 days, one fourth of all the railroads went bankrupt, and factories began to lay off workers, by 1876 unemployment had risen to l4-percent. Farmers had lost farms, people had lost their jobs and when news of Rich Hill spread, people began arriving. 

 Most were like the McQuitty’s  coming for a new start, but there were others; the riffraff, the follow-uppers, the bums, the gamblers, and the get rich gentry, as well as numerous girls and women who possessed everything other than a Sunday school reputation. Rich Hill was becoming a boom town in every way and in the next issue we will look at how it began to handle its sudden growth.

Workmen along with mules pose in front of one of rich hill's early deep mines shafts.Coal mining brought enormous growth to the area beginning in the mid 1880s.The mining operation attracted thousands to the area and caused Rich Hill and surrounding communities to boom.   

Another Picture from the Francine Droz Collection

Another Picture from the Francine Droz Collection 

Back of picture says 6/14/1943-Myerley's Camera Counter Rich Hill Mo.

Francine Droz Pictures of the Mining Review

                        Francine Droz Pictures of the Mining Reviews Workers  
                                                 
I would like to thank Frank Droz for giving me these photos from his sister  Francine Droz collection.
Picture 3. says 1948

Back of Photo says:Rich Hill Mining Review Employees Left to Right
Sally Moore,Larry Headley,Russell Morehouse,Don Droz,Mary Jane Headley,Edward L Kenney,Clyde Hupton




Back of Photo says:Rich Hill Mining Review
Edward L Kenny Far Left
Ida Droz Kenney, Far Right

Back of Photo says Left to Right :Edward L. Kenny,Ide Kenney,Clyde Hupton



Back of Photo says:Rich Hill Mining Review
Left to Right Ida Kenny,Edward L. Kenny,Don Droz,Janie Lou Droz,Charles McIntire,Clyde Hupton,Blank Space,Charles McIntire,Jerry Jennings Bob Livengood

Terry Poindexter Post on Facebook Shared to me from Tyler Cumpton

Terry Poindexter Post on Facebook Shared to me from Tyler Cumpton 

Terry Poindexter

January 1 at 11:10am · Warsaw 

This was my Mother's Uncle, my great uncle, Sandy Silvers.

In 1927 road construction crews began a new highway, U.S. 71, between Butler and Rich Hill, MO. About three miles of the road crossed low land between two major streams. The year after the new road was built, the area received record amounts of rainfall, and the bottom land flooded, covering the new road. The water was between 6 inches and a foot deep, yet essentially stopped traffic.

The water was deep enough to make the new road invisible to drivers. A farmer living nearby, Sandy Silvers, saw an opportunity. He shod the front feet of his horses, loaded chains and ropes in a wagon, and headed to the flooded road. For one dollar a car, he offered to guide motorists along the portion of the flooded new highway to high ground. He tied the cars together behind his wagon, sometimes as many as eight or ten at a time. Silvers relied on the click of the horseshoes on the pavement to keep the horses walking on the invisible road. When he finished guiding a string of cars through the flooded stretch, he usually found another string waiting to be guided the other direction. As long as the road remained flooded, Silvers worked twenty-four hours a day, stopping only long enough to feed his horses and nap when the traffic let up.