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by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society The November calendar photo for 2023 features a photograph of the 1932 Women’s Basketball team coached by Noel Wilkerson and Luella Linewebber. The team was quite successful, winning the 1932 Conference Championship. Research in an old newspaper tells revealed the teams in the conference were
I find it interesting that the boys and girls played different teams but were in the same conference. Since Grain Valley did not have a yearbook until 1936 and athletic teams, musical groups and clubs were not always featured, it is really impossible to say who they might have played and beaten to become the Western Missouri Conference Champions! I can tell you that girls’ games featured six players from each team. There were three forwards and three guards and each played half-court. I do recognize a few players, only because they stuck around Grain Valley and I knew them in the 1950s and beyond. The team (left to right) Betty (Bartlett) Carpenter/Owens, Isabelle (Napier) Clark,( my dad’s sister, also known as Aunt Izzy), Imogene (Sebolt) Grossheider, and Edna (Rowe) Elliott. I do not know the girl holding the basketball but the two on each side of her were the Bush sisters, Evelyn and June. Since the newspaper listed June as the center, she is probably the one on the left. Aren’t centers usually the tallest player on the team? Next is Artis (Phillips) Rumbo. (Her first husband was mom’s cousin Jack, Uncle Porter’s son), Margaret Ann Hutchens, Mildred (Rumbo) Napier (I called her Mom!) Mary Chiddix and Merle (Houston) Costigan. Coach Wilkerson and Coach Linewebber are seated.
Note: Although this article is about the 1932 Girls’ Championship Team, I will point out that my father, a forward on the boys’ team was the high point scorer (8 points) as Grain Valley defeated Ruskin by a score of 17-15! by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society Sixty-eight years ago, the most sought-after toy in Grain Valley and indeed the nation was the famous coonskin cap, an exact replica of the one worn by Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier. Of course, my brother got one for Christmas, along with several of his classmates. I am not sure what became of that hat. I am guessing it got tossed decades ago. But his Davy Crockett guns –they are still around. I typically go on the internet for some background information on my weekly topic. Just let me say, there is tons of information about David “Davy” Crockett, both the real David and the folklore Davy. It would take me days, maybe weeks to read it all. I will tell you that indeed, Davy Crockett was “…born on a mountain top in (East) Tennessee” on August 17, 1786. He grew up there and gained a reputation for hunting and storytelling. He was elected to the Tennessee state legislature in 1821. In 1827, he was elected to the U.S. Congress where his opposition to President Andrew Jackson, especially the Indian Removal Act led to his defeat in 1831. He was elected again in 1833, then narrowly lost in 1835, prompting his angry departure to Texas shortly thereafter. In early 1836, he took part in the Texas Revolution and died at The Alamo on March 6, 1836. David Crockett was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He was popularized by Walt Disney in 1955 when three episodes appeared on the hour long, Sunday evening television show, The Magical World of Disney (later renamed The Wonderful World of Disney). A mostly fictionalized account of a real American adventurer, "Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier" became a movie comprised of edited portions of the three episodes of Disney's VERY popular television series. It is a highly fictionalized version of the exploits of the frontier scout and adventurer. When the film begins there is a statement reading 'The characters and events in this photoplay are fiction....'. Well, this isn't completely true...quite a bit of the movie is truth. Crockett DID exist, as did many others in the film, such as General Andrew Jackson. And, some of the events happened...but the Disney writers decided that the real story of the man's life was too dull and so they just made stuff up. It's a shame, as Crockett was a very interesting and unusual character from 19th century American history. The Grain Valley Historical Society will be open on Wednesday, December 6, 13, & 20, 2023 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Come see the Davy Crockett guns, along with many other Vintage Toys! We will be serving Coffee, Tea, Punch and Homemade Christmas Cookies! All are welcome! The Davy Crockett cap gun and coonskin cap. Photo credit: Grain Valley Historical Society
by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society As a teenager in the 1960s I was much too old for dolls. But a troll? Of course, I wanted a “good luck troll” because, as I recall, all you had to do was rub their hair and your wish would come true – or not! I’m not sure exactly what year I received my giraffe troll, but I’m thinking it was Christmas of 1960. The bigger question is, why do I still have it? I found it in the attic when I was up there searching for Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys and Fort Apache. It was just laying on top of some old “stuff” and not really covered or carefully stored. I obviously wasn’t too concerned with the preservation of my troll. Big, I repeat BIG mistake. I searched the internet and found several on e-bay selling for $70 to $395 dollars. Like I said, big mistake. So rather than look for my giraffe on Ebay, come to the Historical Society on December 6, 13, or 20 and see my troll along with many other old toys on display. You can even rub its hair, but be gentle, at 60+ years, it is falling out (like most hair when we get older)! My Lucky Troll, today
Troll dolls were created in 1959 by Danish fisherman and woodcutter Thomas Dam. Dam could not afford a Christmas gift for his young daughter Lila and so he carved a wooden doll from his imagination. The inspiration came from trolls in old Scandinavian folklore. According to information I found on the internet, a troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as Trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human beings. In later Scandinavian folklore, trolls became beings in their own right, where they live far from human habitation, are not Christianized, and are considered dangerous to human beings. Depending on the source, their appearance varies greatly; trolls may be ugly and slow-witted, or look and behave exactly like human beings, with no particularly grotesque characteristic about them. Trolls are sometimes associated with particular landmarks in Scandinavian folklore, which at times may be explained as formed from a troll exposed to sunlight. I also learned on the internet that trolls have a lethal weakness to sunlight. Perhaps that is why my troll is losing its hair! Too much sunlight! The DreamWorks animated movies, Trolls (2016) Trolls World Tour (2020) and Trolls Band Together (2023) have certainly brought new popularity to the Trolls! But there is nothing like a vintage Troll to help us remember the “good ole days.” by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society Last week, I introduced the Flexible Flyer, one of many toys you will find on display at the Grain Valley Historical Society Museum during this Christmas Season. Before, Legos at least two other companies were making educational toys. Lincoln Logs were invented in 1916 by John Lloyd Wright, son of the famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and they have been entertaining children for over a century. One hundred and seven years later, Lincoln Logs can still be purchased at numerous toy stores. They even have them at Walmart! And it was ELGO, not LEGO, that first build plastic bricks. In what has to rank as one of the more bizarre semi-coincidences in the history of registered trademarks, ELGO Plastics, Inc. was actually established as a division of Chicago's Halsam Products Company in 1941—long before LEGO entered the American marketplace (1961). The company produced building blocks under the name American Plastic Bricks and was the dominant American supplier from 1946 through the 1950s.
Did you own Lincoln Logs or plastic bricks? My brother had both and played with them for years. (So did I.) As he got older, the designs became more intricate, just like LEGO construction today. I remember visiting my aunt and playing with her son’s bricks when I was young. As I recall, Don (Fristoe) also had tinker toys! I was never very good at building with those. My imagination just didn’t go there. Visit the Historical Society in December and see our toy exhibit. We’ll have Lincoln Logs and bricks. You will also see Tinker Toys, and some vintage plastic buildings which Grain Valley children played with in the 1950s. The Historical Society will be opened and filled with toys on December 6, 13, and 20 from 10:00am - 3:00pm and Saturday, December 9 from 10:00am - 1:00pm. We will be serving Hot Punch, Coffee, Teas, and homemade Christmas Cookies! Come have fun with our toys! by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society I love Christmas! I may have mentioned that a few “hundred” times before. Now let’s not forget Thanksgiving; I went to the basement this morning and brought up the box with my turkey napkins rings, Pilgrim dolls, and cornucopia filled with tiny squash and fall leaves. But I also brought up several boxes with Christmas décor. Usually my decoration begins the week of Thanksgiving, however, I’m going out of town for the holiday and I want to have everything ready before I leave. After all, my first Christmas gathering is happening on December 4, and I don’t want to be rushed. We also have the Historical Museum to decorate. We hope you will schedule a time to visit us on a Wednesday in December. We will be opened on December 6, 13, and 20th serving hot punch, coffee, teas, and homemade Christmas cookies! We will also be decorated with a tree, greenery, pinecones and bows, plus a plethora of antique toys and Christmas items. One such item will be the sled under our Christmas tree. Flexible Flyer, Circa 1920 My father and his brothers brought this sled with them from Michigan when they moved to Grain Valley in 1922. Samuel Leeds Allen patented the Flexible Flyer in 1889 in Cinnaminson, New Jersey using local children and adults to test prototypes. Allen's company flourished by selling these speedy and yet controllable sleds at a time when others were still producing toboggans and "gooseneck" sleds. Allen began producing sleds in his farm equipment factory to keep his workers busy even when it was not the farm season. He developed many prototypes before he created the Flexible Flyer. The sleds did not sell well until he began marketing them to the toy departments of department stores. In 1915, around 120,000 Flexible Fliers were sold, and almost 2,000 Flexible Flyers were sold in one day. Advertisement from the early 1900s.
I know it is a month away, but mark your calendars and SAVE THE DATE! You won’t want to miss this festive and fun event! And the cookies will be good, too! The October page in the Grain Valley Historical Society 2023 Calendar featured a photograph of Charlie Johnson and some customers in his barbershop. You may recall an article about the barbershop in the Valley News (May 21, 2020). Mr. Johnson was a WWI veteran who returned home to Grain Valley, married Ruby Huff and ran a barbershop for 16 years. In 1935 he began a career with the post office serving as acting postmaster, postmaster and finally as rural carrier for thirteen years before his retirement. Unfortunately, I have no idea where this barbershop was located. Old photographs show barber poles on both sides of Main Street, as well as one on Walnut just west of the old Royal Playhouse. While the 1881 Grain Valley Directory does not list a barbershop, family records indicate that John T. O’Connell was operating a tonsorial and bath house when he married Creole Warren in 1906. The shop burned in 1920. The 1910 United State Census tells us that August O. Thieme was operating a barbershop in Grain Valley. Imagine that; our little town had two barbers at the same time! The 1920, the United States Census indicated that the Thieme family he had moved on to Cass County. Robert McQuerry had a barbershop “somewhere in town” during the 1940s. His wife, Mary was a school teacher and later Grain Valley Elementary School principal. During the 1950s and 1960s Claude Batman was our barber and also the resident painter. Dale Riffle came along in the 1970s. He moved his shop to a new location further south on Main Street near Broadway. I’m sure there have been many others in our town in recent years. I really haven’t kept up so I Googled barbershops near me. I learned we have at least three, Great Clips on McQuerry Road near the movie theater, Michael$ Custom Cut$, just down the road in Hoot Owl Estates, and the Grain Valley Chop Shop on Eagles Parkway. I’m thinking they no longer offer baths, however you can probably get a perm ,a dye job and maybe highlights! If you are a frequent reader of this column, you may know that I left out the September calendar page because it was a photograph of the 1923 football team and it has been in several publications this fall. After all, GVHS football has been around for 100 years and we have been celebrating! Check out the Fall issue of Eagles’ View when it arrives via mail sometime in November. You will find other pictures and stories about Grain Valley football. Hopefully, we will be celebrating all the way to a State Championship! Wouldn’t that be an exciting way to celebrate 100 years! Go EAGLES! Charlie Johnson’s Barbershop. Photo credit: Grain Valley Historical Society
by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society As stated previously, Graves & Ashcraft plated 48 separate lots between Walnut Street, south to the railroad, and Main Street west to Capelle. While the 12 lots along Main (originally known as Broadway) and 5 lots along Front Street (originally known as N. Main) were part of the “business district,” the remaining lots were residential. This small area, adjacent to the railroad, was where the first homes were built between 1878 and 1888, and where the first residents of Grain Valley lived before Yennie, Finnell, Wyatt, Davis Place, Cannon, Howell, and other additions were added to Grain Valley. For the past two weeks I have mentioned the twelve lots along Main Street. A 1924 Map identifies buildings on lots 13, 14, 16, 17 facing Front Street, and on Lots 19 & 20 of Graves’ & Ashcraft’s Addition 1 facing Gregg Street. While I cannot be sure what was originally on those lots, I do remember the Clinton Gibler family living in the house on Lot 13 across the street from the old depot. By the late 1940s/early 1950s there was no structure on lots 16 and 17 or 19. In 1974 Mid Continent built a library on lots 14 and 15 and lots 16 and 17 were used for parking. Today, the building is Valley Baptist Church. I do remember a house on Lot 20. Mr. Seth Shippy was living there around 1953 when the house burned. Graves’ & Ashcraft’s Addition 2: The house on Lot 1 at the corner of Walnut and Gregg Street was where the Booker Family lived in the late 1940s. They moved to Oak Grove in 1954. The house was there for a few more years before it was purchased by the First Baptist Church and torn down to build Sunday School classroom space behind the church. The Faulkenberry’s lived in the house of Lot 4. Durwood “Hick” and Helen Kirby lived in the house on Lot 5 and 6 throughout the late 1940s and the 1950s. Edward and Hazel Harr lived there during the 1960s and 1970s. The house was torn down several years ago and the land is now a part of the First Baptist Church parking lot. The church now owns all of lots 1 through 4 and 16 through 19. Graves’ & Ashcraft’s Addition 5 between the railroad and Front Street had only 8 lots. While I was not able to obtain much information about the homes there, I do know the house on lot 1 was once an old schoolhouse that was moved to the present location in the 1920s. The land was owned by Raymond and Mildred Frost who also owned the grocery store on Lot 9 in Addition 1. The George family owned several of the lots at various times. According to the 1929 Grain Valley tax receipts, it appears they may have owned and lived on Lot 3, and F. F. Elliott owned and lived on lots 7 and 8. As you can tell by reading the map, many of the lots were quite small, therefore families and individuals often purchased multiple lots. 1925 Map of Grain Valley
Showing the Graves’ & Ashcraft’s Additions Photo credit: Grain Valley Historical Society by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society As I continue to learn more about Downtown Grain Valley, this week I will lots 9, 10, 11 and 12; the West Side. I am curious as to why the original lots on the east side of Main Street were numbered from South to North, the lots on the east side of Main are numbered from North to South, another question that will probably never be answered! At some point, a General Store was built on lot 9. Although I had thought this photograph was taken much earlier, I now know that Worthmore Shoes were not manufactured until 1930. If it is 1930 or later, the lot was owned by first Luther and the Robert Majors (Majors Road). Lot 9 The General Store The general store was followed by several grocery stores. In the 1930s it was operated by Bill Minter, Clyde Fristoe, and Cecil & Anna Louise Poage. The last owner was Wayne Minter who closed the store in the early 1954. The building was vacant for several years. During the 1980s and early 1990s it was Campbell’s Gun Shop. In 1998 the building was purchased and renovated by the Grain Valley Historical Society. One of the features in the building is the original tin ceiling. Around 1910, Edward and Alma Williams owned lots 10 and 11 and a brick structure was built. It is believed that the bricks for the building came from their brickyard on Sni Creek just east of downtown. The building housed a store that sold new automobiles and a repair shop for autos and buggies! By 1929, the portion of the build on lot 10 was still a garage run by Ed Huff. Later it became the post office (near the entrance, on the left) and a restaurant. Fred Roberts purchased the building in 1971, but it remained vacant for many years. Today, it is owned by the Bank of Grain Valley and houses the Pottery Palace. Lot 11 was purchased from Mr. Williams by Edward Storms. He opened a drug store there. It was later operated by his son, Ellis Storms. James Casey owned and operated the drug store from March 1953 to December 1958. Later owners of lot 11 included Thomas J. Cartner (1958), Margaret Hutchinson (1961), Sara Rogers (1964), Floyd Johnston (1966) and the Bank of Grain Valley in 1972. Lot 10 & 11 Williams Auto Finally, lot 12 is home to the oldest business in town. The Bank of Grain Valley was established in 1905, by J. H. Cannon and William A. Warren. The Warren Family owned the Bank on lot 12 until 1972. In 1972, the property on lot 11 and 12 were sold to The Bank of Grain Valley (Alan Lefko). Lot 12 The Bank of Grain Valley
Grave’s & Ashcraft’s Addition was the first to the original town of Grain Valley. The land stretched from Walnut Street two block south to the railroad and from Main Street two block west to Capelle. Early dates on the land sales lead me to believe these lots were platted on March 2, 1880 by Edward P. Graves and John E. Ashcraft. The land was subdivided into 48 individual lots. The numbered lots 1 through 12 began at Walnut and ran south along Main Street, then known as Broadway. Lots 13 through 17 faced south along Front Street, then known as North Main and lots 18 through 21 faced Gregg Street. In addition to Graves and Ashcraft, these early lots were owned by men with familiar names to our town; Cannon, George, Morrison, Keshler, Gregg, Boyette, Wyatt, Kabrick, Karr, Dean & Williams. The 1904 Jackson County Map shows the Christian Church on lot 2. About 1910 the little white frame church was evidently torn down and replaced by the large brick church with the stained-glass windows. (It burned down in 1974) Interestingly, the land remained in the possession of Grave and Ashcraft. Once again, we will probably never know if it was a donation to the church or how it came to be in their possession. At any rate, the Christian Church obtained lot 4 in 1915. In 1929 the record shows the Christian Church owned lots 1 through 4. Lot 5 had 10 owners before September 20, 1956 when it was also purchased by the Christian Church. I remember the small old house on the property in the early 1950s. Mrs. Salvage, a widow lady lived there until her death. When I walked to the Post Office with my grandmother, I remember stopping to visit her; she was always sitting on the front porch swing (maybe an exaggeration)! For a time, from about 1915 until the mid 1970’s the stately Sni-A-Bar Banking Company sat on Lot 6. Although the bank closed in 1926, the building remained for many years. A variety of business occupied the building over the years, including a barber shop and a beauty shop. I also recall that the upper floor had at least on apartment. Crull Grocery and Ryan’s Locker Plant, Circa 1952
Growing up, I remember Lot 7 as Charlie and Ida Ryan’s locker plant. The freezer room in the back had several various size compartments where many of the townspeople rented a locker to store their meat. The building had been owned by Martha Minter, a relative of Mrs. Ryan. Lot 8 is currently The Iron Kettle Brewing Company. In the early 1900s Mr. John T. O’Connell owned a wooden structure at this location. It burned in 1920 and was replaced by the current structure. O’Connell sold the building to John Minter. At some point an opening was made in the wall between this building and the locker plant. Mr. Ryan expanded his business to include a grocery store. If you visit the Iron Kettle look behind the bar, under the stairs and you will notice the uneven brickwork where the wall was replaced. The business was eventually sold to Edwin Crull and he operated a general store there until 1953. Since then, it has been a restaurant and an antique shop. In 2020 it was sold to the current owners, remodeled, and voila, we have the Iron Kettle! Next week, learn about “the alley” and lots 9 through 17 in the Graves and Ashcraft Addition. by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society Looking at the original owner of Lots 22 through 38, many familiar names could be seen; Keshler & Young, Frank Gregg, Elisha Moore, Ed Williams, and D. M. Majors. One name, I do not recognize is that of H. H. Dean. After spending, perhaps wasting, too much time, let me just say I have no idea who the man was or whether he ever lived in our town. Because he owned lots 36, 37, and 38 on the eastern most edge of the original town, I think we might assume he was merely a land speculator who never actually lived here. That being said, lots 22 through 25 were filled with various businesses during the early years of the last century. Early photos suggest that lot 24 was at one time a tonsorial and bath house and lot 23 was the millinery shop where my grandmother once made hats before she was married in 1906. The Tonsorial Lot 25 was purchased by Ed Williams in January of 1919. About 1930, he and his son, Otis , opened a meat market and grocery store. It remained a grocery store with several proprietors, the last being Roland Frantz who closed the store in 1973 (Valley News, April 16, 2020). The Last Grocery Store on Main Street
For approximately 16 years in the 1970s and 1980s lots 22, 23, and 24 were occupied by Model Engineering a company that manufactured plastic items, among them, souvenir cups. It was also a hotel in the 1930s and a marina (for weekenders at Tarsney Lakes) in the late 1940s/early 1950s. Lots 22 and 23 are now the tattoo shop and Lot 24 is Slinger’s Bar and Restaurant. If you need an old car restored, visit Lot 25. The dog trainer on Lot 26 is in the old U. S. Post Office building/Chamber of Commerce Office. I remember an ice house on that lot in the 1950s. Ed Williams also owned Lots 27 through 30 and for many years, their home was “on the corner of Main Street, across from the old Christian Church.” Mr. Williams, quite the entrepreneur, owned a slaughter house which occupied Lots 31 & 32. Over the years Mr. Wm. Loring purchased all of the remaining lots; 33, 34, 36, 37,and 38, which comprised the original town. Lot 35 was and is today owned by the railroad. William and Ada Loring built their home around 1920 on Lots 33 & 34 and it still stands. Today it is a cabinet shop. So, next time you are Downtown Grain Valley, perhaps this will help you visualize the vibrant town of the 1950s. Next week learn about the first Graves and Ashcraft Addition, the West side of Main Street. |
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