10
Years of Methodism in Chaffee
This
history was sent to the church by Gaye P. Underwood who found it
in his old family trunk .It seems to be written by Elwood Alley
who was one of the charter members of the church. Remember this
was a document written years
ago.
In
August 1905 the Chaffee Real Estate Company of St. Louis sent
engineers to a farm known as the “Cox Farm” for the purpose
of platting a new town site.
This
farm was beautifully located along the foothills 12 miles south
from Cape Girardeau. The work of platting was completed and the
little town was named “Chaffee” in honor of the Real Estate
Company, which was promoter
of it.
The
first permanent business house, a hardware store, was opened for
business October 1st, 1905.
During
the winter months of 1905-06 almost the entire population of
Chaffee lived in tents, for want of more commodious places of
abode. Hence, the name of the little town was dubbed “Rag
Town” and the “White City.”
In
November 1905, Mrs. R. F. Hollinghead, a good woman rearing a
large family of children, felt the great need of a Sunday
School, circulated a subscription paper and raised enough money
to purchase a small tent 16x24 feet. Chaffee’s first Sunday
School was organized in this tent. The writer here-of was
elected the first Superintendent and Mrs. Cyrus Stevens was the
first Secretary. It was a Union School, the Superintendent being
a Methodist and the Secretary a Baptist.
The
Publishing House of the M. E. Church South donated the
literature for the first quarter, The Methodist Church at Oran
gave us some song books, so we were equipped for Sunday School
work.
The
school was quite small at first, there being only two classes.
Mr. W. H. Kirkendall was first teacher of the adult class and
Mrs. Elwood Alley was first teacher of the primary class.
In
December 1905 Rev. H. P. Crowe, Presiding Elder of the
Charleston District, visited Chaffee and preached to a small
congregation in the Sunday School Tent. This was the first
sermon ever preached in Chaffee. At the close of this service he
organized a Methodist Church with 12 members. Unfortunately the
records have been lost and we are unable to give the names of
all the members. (If anyone has people who were charter member in this church contact the
Society) However,
the following were among the twelve to organize the church. Mr.
& Mrs. R. E. West (who
owned a hotel where the city hall now stands.) Mr. &
Mrs. Elwood Alley, Mr. W. H. Kirkendall, Mrs. John Curtiss.
The
first board of Stewards was composed of three members; vis: R.
E. West, W. H. Kirkendall and Elwood Alley. The latter was
appointed Sunday School Superintendent. Thus the beginning of
Methodism in Chaffee.
In
the absence of a regular preacher, the Sunday School was the
only regular religious service held in Chaffee during the winter
of 1905 and 1906.
The little Sunday School met with all the
discouragement’s common to any school. But unusual
discouraging features were added Chaffee was a new town located
on a new railroad. It had a population of about one thousand,
but was not incorporated, hence there were no peace officers.
The greater part of the population was composed of Greeks or
other foreign laborers of a very low class who knew no law.
These conditions with two wide-open
saloons made our little Sunday School feel exceedingly small.
But we never lost faith in Him who doeth all things well.
We
continued holding services in the little tent during the winter,
and by earnest efforts of the faithful few, the little school
grew and prospered.
In
the early spring of 1906 it had grown too large for the tent and
moved to a room over the store of Alley-Wright Mer. Co. this was
a great improvement over the tent. It was at this time we
received our first Methodist pastor, Rev. F. W. Calmar, a
student at Marvin
Collegiate Institute at Fredericktown, MO, was appointed pastor
of the young church, without the promise of any salary. He was a
brilliant young Englishman, only 23 years of age. He was a good
Bible student and a splendid orator. Being gifted with a degree
of humor and always having a pleasant word for everyone with
whom he came in contact, he soon gained favor with the people.
He was just the kind of preacher that the growing church needed
at this time. Under his leadership our Sunday School continued
to grow until once more we found our place of meeting too small.
In July 1906, the Chaffee Real Estate Company converted an old
wheat granary into a schoolhouse and we again moved our place of
meeting from the room over the store to the schoolhouse. Our
average attendance at Sunday School at this time was about 60.
In
the summer of 1907 the Chaffee Real Estate Company presented the
church a vacant lot at the corner of Parker Avenue and Third
Street and a church building was erected at a cost of about
sixteen hundred dollars. It was finished in October 1907. ( W.
H. Kirkendall was the contractor.)
The
history talks about the different men who were appointed
Preachers-In- Charge and Presiding Elders, about what they were
paid and the fact that these preachers became so discouraged. It
mentioned May 1907, Rev. Swope, Rev. James Means, 1908 Rev. John
Cox, 1910 Rev. Alvin C. Stormont, 1911 Rev. Burks and Hobbs, it
talks about what good pastors these men were but how easily they
became discouraged.
In
the summer of 1908 the writer, who up to this time had been
Sunday School Superintendent resigned, and Mr. M. D. Tenny was appointed to succeed him. Mr. Tenny was a young
man of splendid qualifications and was a good Superintendent.
But he was just starting in Christian life and was not
accustomed to the discouragement’s which sometimes arise in
church and Sunday School work. He served only a short time when
he resigned his office, but remained
loyal to the church and Sunday school interests as will
be seen later. Mrs. J. C. Green was appointed Superintendent to
succeed Mr. Tenny. Mrs. Green was a faithful and efficient
Superintendent and
served to the end of the Conference year, but refused to serve
longer. She also remained faithful to the church.
In
1910 through the efforts of Miss Myra Loy and Mr. M. D. Tenny
the Methodist choir became a popular feature of the town. Miss
Loy was a musician of rare ability and had charge of the choir.
Mr. Tenny had charge of the orchestra. The choir continued its
good work until the following winter when Mr. Tenny gave up his
work and moved to Colorado and Miss Loy moved, thus leaving the
choir without leaders.
The
ladies formed a Aid Society and raised funds for the church.
Mrs. R. J. Wright was the first president.
On July 5th, 1913, Mrs. John Curtiss
presented the church with a deed to a vacant lot adjoining the
church property. This lot had long been coveted, but the church
did not feel that
it was able to buy it as we were already in debt. The gift from
Mrs. Curtiss was greatly appreciated by the entire membership.
In
1913 Mr. & Mrs. J. E. Lewark moved to Chaffee and again
organized the choir.
People
mentioned in the history of the Methodist Church.
Mrs.
J. S. Wright, Mrs. M. D. Tenny, Miss Otha Tenny, Mrs. J. D.
Fought, Miss Jeffie Frazier, Mrs. W. P. Haynes, Mrs. W. R.
Stokes, Miss Blanche Hicks, Mr. A. E. Wade, Mr. Floyd Yates, W.
B. Thomson, J. C. Burner, M. H. Stubblefield, Dr. G. A. Sample,
Dr. W. O. Finney, V. D. Laval, J. W. Ingram, J. H. Hale, A. H.
Slagle, A. D. Walton, Armor George, W. G. Miller, C. S. Pawkett,
and W. H. Brooke, Dean & Florence Underwood, Mrs. Julia
MCameron.
The
membership in 1915 was 182.
Thus
we have had 10 years of “ups and downs” in Methodism in
Chaffee.
If
you would like to see you church history appear in the
newsletter please send it to Betty Mirly, 603 S. Main, Chaffee,
MO 63740.
History
of Amick-Burnett Funeral Home
Chaffee
Signal -
Aug 6, 1980
The Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapels were
once known as Bisplinghoff Funeral Homes, owned and operated by
Lon c. Bisplinghoff and family and located in Chaffee and Illmo,
MO.
Ollie
Amick and Jack Burnett became three-way partners with Mr.
Bisplinghoff in June 1954. In July of 1957, Jack and Ollie
purchased Mr. Bisplinghoff’s one-third of the partnership,
establishing a two-way partnership.
In
1961, a funeral home in Benton was constructed on the site of
the old Frobse Theatre, and in 1964, Oran’s present funeral
chapel was built, managed by Earl J. Smith. Amick and Burnett
kept the name of Bisplinghoff Funeral Home until 1972 when they
established a corporation, changing all four homes to the
Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapels.
Ollie
Amick, Lon C. Bisplinghoff’s nephew, was born on a farm in
Wisconsin. He had worked in a bakery and was a laborer on a
loading dock at a meatpacking firm before moving to Southeast
Missouri area. In 1945, he returned from his service during
World War II and spent time with his uncle. A job was offered to
Amick, who had intentions of attending a college, and so he
stayed on to help his uncle.
Jack
Burnett was born and raised in the Chaffee area. Home on a
30-day leave at the close of World War II, he recalls, “I
happened to be at the funeral home for an ambulance call and
run, and then later I helped out with the funeral.” This was
the start of his career.”
Both
men attended school together in St. Louis at the College of
Mortuary Science. In 1946, when Burnett and Amick became
licensed, nine months of schooling and then one year of
apprenticeship were required. Now the only mortuary school in
Missouri is Forest Park Community College in St. Louis, and it
requires two years to complete.
During
the years, Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapels have acquired certain
qualities the public can easily recognize and rely on. They have
developed dependability. People in the surrounding counties can
rely on Jack Burnett and Ollie Amick when they need them. They
have devoted a lifetime of services to others.
Amick-Burnett
has15 employees in their four funeral homes, and most are
licensed funeral directors. In recent years, the Amick-Burnett
Funeral Chapels have become a family business. Jack’s son Jack
Leslie, and Ollie’s sons, Scott and Mark are both licensed
funeral directors.
Chaffee Ice Plant Quits
Manufacture of Ice
Chaffee Signal - 1943
The
Chaffee Ice and Cold Storage Company last week discontinued the
manufacture of ice. According to J.
R. Stephens, manager of the plant, this was made necessary
because of the shortage of labor.
Mr.
Stephens said he would continue to sell ice as long as he could
secure it from other plants. No deliveries will be made,
however. He stated that the plant would continue to handle coal.
The
Chaffee ice plant had been in operation since 1912 and was one
of the largest ice manufacturing plants in the southeast
Missouri district. It furnished ice for many towns in this
section.
The
late D. C. Shoptaugh
managed the business until his death in 1917. He was succeeded
by the late A. C. Hanna,
who was succeeded by X.
O. Ray, who managed it until his death in 1937. He was
succeeded by Norman Bugg.
Chaffee
Marine Was “Bombed” With Rice By Japanese
Marine
Corporal Harold G. Fowler of 415 Black Avenue of Chaffee tells
this story
“It
was about 9 o’clock one night last November. A twin engine
Japanese bomber droned overhead and we heard a swish, swish like
falling bombs. But the customary explosions didn’t follow, so
we began to investigate.
“Rushing
over to where some parachutes were fluttering to earth we found
nothing more lethal than rice. There were at least 12
parachutes, each with a 90 pound woven grass bag of rice
attached.
“Then
it dawned that the Japanese had mistaken our positions for their
own, which were about three miles away.
“Thanks
to their inaccuracy we had cooked rice with raisins, and it
wasn’t bad.”
Southeast Missourian - September 1, 1955
Jubilee
Pageant Brings Back Memories of Past to Chaffee
By Mary Helen Thomson
Approximately 500 persons, many being from out of
town, viewed the first presentation of the pageant, “Dear
Golden Diary,” a leading feature of Chaffee’s Golden
Jubilee, Wednesday night in the high school gymnasium.
The interest of the audience during the piano fanfare
with which Act 1 opened attested the listeners’ appreciation
of the precision of execution by the six pianists.
The reflective quality of voice and demeanor of Mrs. L. D. Lankford, as she relived 50 years of her life in Chaffee,
easily led her listeners into alike mood, while the quick
reportorial reading of Mrs.
O. E. Rigdon made them realize how rapidly event-filled
time passes and the resonant voice of the third
narrator, Rev. Herman J.
Wagner, as he read the poetical lines, brought a restful
feeling to the fast-moving panorama.
All appreciated the emotion portrayed by Mr.
& Mrs. Carl Smith as John and Ann Baxter, whose life
story was re-enacted. Laughter swept the audience as the Baxters
took their first auto ride, tears filled eyes as Clay
Hunter sang “My buddy” as a memorial to those from the
community who had fallen in battle and the hush of an emotion
too deep for utterance prevailed as the choir rendered ‘The
Battle Hymn of the Republic” at the close of Act 1.
The spontaneity of applause proved the viewers’
sense of evaluation of the 140th Infantry Band when a
citation was presented Major Oscar T. Honey for the band. And the same spontaneity showed
their frivolous enjoyment of Mrs.
W. H. Cunningham’s dancing of the Charleston.
The novelty numbers of the children, which
interspersed the program, were reminders of the large roll
played in the life of the city by its children and were well
received.
Much favorable comment was heard relative to the
authenticity of the costumes, especially those worn in the
fashion show dating from 1875, and to the proficiency of the
scene directors, Mrs.
Fred Thornton, Mrs. Max Bukstein and Mrs.
Al Westland.
A truly climatic
ending was the candle light memorial to the citizens of our
hometown and the singing by the entire assemblage of “Dear
Hearts and Gentle People.”
Chaffee Signal - August 10, 1961
Managers
Teach Their Pony league Students A Lesson
By
Paul Bukstein
Last
Saturday morning some eighteen senior citizens of Chaffee were
rubbing liniment and ointments of all types into their aching
muscles. But more soothing than Ben-Gay or any other balm was
the comforting thought that Chaffee’s junior baseball program
managers could practice what they preach. True, a number of
managers and coaches found that they had muscles and bones they
had long forgotten. But the drubbing their bodies took was
nothing compared to their 6 to 1 romp over the Pony League All
Stars.
In spite of a late afternoon rain, the field was
in excellent condition and those fans who took pains to check on
whether or not a game was being played enjoyed a delightful
evening. As soon as the glamorous umpires took to the field the
spectators realized they were going to witness some interesting
baseball. Led by the Umpire-in-Chief, Betty
Uhr, the other female participants in the conspiracy were Margie Pfefferkorn, Arlene Cotner and Mrs. Clarence “Pop” Wessel. The majority of the new lighting
system was turned on for the game, so the crowd and players had
near daylight vision. Appropriately enough, the man responsible
for the campaign and much of the manual labor in construction of
the lighting system saw action as the managers’ bat boy. This
was none other than our own Jack
T. Burnett, the only cigar smoking in batboy in junior
baseball.
For
seven innings the youthful Pony Leaguers were baffled by the
tantalizing knuckle ball of J.
T. Cotner and the blazing hopper of Larry
Horman. The fine performance of the managers’ pitching
staff was almost matched by the stalwart fielding of some of
Chaffee’s stars of past years. Indeed these men deserve credit
for even going out on the field. Joe
Perry Rice gave a real “Iron Man” performance for the
managers by shining in a dual role in center field and behind
the plate. Joe looked good even when he fell flat on his face
and chest protector trying to field a bunt.
The
Pony Leaguers drew first blood by scoring a run in the first
inning. Most of the crowd felt the young boys had help from the
umpires on a couple of close plays on the bases. But then all
season long these ladies have played the role of protesting
mothers when their sons were called out, so they were only
making it up to them. But one unearned run was all that the All
Stars were destined to enjoy for the rest of the evening. In
their half of the 2nd inning the managers quickly
came back with two runs as old knuckle ball twirler Cotner
doubled to center field to score two teammates before him. While
J. T. took his time trotting the bases he had to call time out
while he sit down on second base and took a needed rest.
The
star of the third inning was “Pop” Wessel, who demonstrated to his Pony League pupils the art
of hitting a home run as he drove the ball to deep left. It was
during the third inning that Charlie
Uhr had some words about the calls of the home plate umpire.
Most of the crowd felt this was a very foolish move on Charlie’s
part, as the ump was his wife Betty,
and he’ll probably be getting cold cuts for the next week. Betty smoked between innings, but Charlie was burning.
The
fourth inning saw a complete change in the manager’s lineup,
with the exception of Joe
Perry Rice, who was going to make the seven innings or bust.
The highlight of the new line-up was the appearance of Ron
Whitaker. His baseball ability was not bad, but it was his
attire that was outstanding. He wore a red checked shirt, beige
tapered trousers and snow white sneakers. Ron
showed amazing speed (amazing for an old man) as he streaked
for first base. Although he was out on a very close play, he was
heard to remark that he was glad he didn’t make it, as he
might have dirtied his outfit sliding into one of the bases. The
managers’ shock troops showed their stuff by scoring again in
the fourth. Pitcher Horman
got on base as the result of a walk. He demonstrated that he was
as fast a runner as he was a pitcher when he stole second, then
third and scored on an overthrow. About this time the Pony lads
were beginning to get the drift that the managers intended to
teach them that they had best pay attention to those field
lectures and that an old dog is still a pretty smart one. A hot
rhubarb threatened in the first half of the fifth. Catcher Rice
of the managers scrambled for a bouncing ball in front of the
plate. It was at this point that he fell forward on his soft
cushion (chest protector, of course.) The managers claimed
“foul ball” while the pony Leaguers screamed ‘fair.”
Quickly, the lady umpires gathered together for a conference.
After about five minutes of watching the umpires buzz back and
forth, the players demanded ‘come on now, what’s the
decision?” “Decision, deshmizun’ was their reply, ‘who
cares about the ball game we’re discussing a new recipe for
peach cobbler.”
The final scoring of the evening took place in
the managers’ half of the sixth. Ron
Whitaker, looking as dapper as ever, proceeded to strike
out. But his quick reflexes went into action as the catcher let
the third strike get away and Ron
scampered safely to first. Rice
singled sharply along the third base line and Whitaker took third on the play
Meanwhile
Rice stole second. Horman continued his fine display of talent by smashing for a
triple, scoring Whitaker and
Rice. Joe Perry fell (again) about two feet from home plate but crawled in
to the plate as the ball came sailing over the catcher’s head.
Lest the reader think this article is picking on Joe
Perry we want you to know that he made the last putout of
the game as the Pony Leaguers gambled on a steal of home in the
top of the seventh with two men down. Rice
held on to the ball as the final All Stars bit the dust.
“Bud”
Heisserer made a stirring speech midway in the game, asking
the spectators to donate liberally in order to buy more fixtures
to give Harmon field even finer lighting. His appeal was
generously answered in the typical Chaffee fashion. Except for
purchasing a couple of bottles of liniment for the managers, the
proceeds will be used toward lighting.
Old Fashioned Day a Huge Success
May 16 & 17, 1998
Under the leadership of Donna Cannon President of Chaffee Historical Society and so many
other Chaffee merchants and people, too numerous to mention, the
weekend was a huge, fantastic success. About 100 interested
people toured the Chaffee museum. The historical society
acquired about 50 new members. It was a fun time for everyone
who came to town and those who were involved, it was a time to
meet friends and neighbors who we don’t see everyday.
We
are planning another Old Fashioned Days weekend for next year,
with a lot more ideas.
Ray
and Linda Dowd donated
a 1905 coin plaque that was given away Sunday. It was won by Mary
Helen (Burnett) Lizenbee of Chaffee.
On
Sunday Jerry and Jeanette
Beck opened their newly purchased “Slaughter’s”
for society members to tour.
Jerry
(Chubby) welcomed each person at the door and had them sign
the register, Jeanette
(Faye) (she couldn’t yell “get your feet off the seat”
like Faye could) served behind the counter. Elizabeth
and Christa Beck (daughters of Jerry and Jeanette and Alex
and Bridget Bryant, served ice cream, cokes and peanuts to the 75 people
that came for the tour. The girls and Jeanette were dressed in their poodle skirts. A fun time was had by
all.
A
Big Thanks to everyone who made this weekend possible. There
are so many it would be hard to name them all.
Family History
In the newsletter you will find a family
group sheet. We would like for each one of you to send us your
family history so we can put a book together for the museum. If
you need more group sheets let us know and we will provide them.
Whether you’ve lived in Chaffee
forever, a year, month or day we would like for you to fill out
one of these.
To the merchants we would like to have
the history of your business.
Ask a friend or family member to join.
If you have a news article that you would like to see appear in
the newsletter please send it to Chaffee Historical Society, Box
185, Chaffee, MO 63740.
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