100 Year History of Morrowville, Kansas

Compiled for
Centennial Celebration
June 8, 9, 10, 1984

Part 1

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Table of Contents

In the Beginning Was Wilderness -- History of Businesses -- Governing Body -- Churches -- Schools -- Clubs and Organizations -- Misc. Stories -- Enosdale

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In the Beginning There Was Wilderness

    In the mid 1800s many thousands of people moved across what is now Washington County Kansas, on their way to points west. By the 1850s, some began to settle on the fertile banks of the rivers and creeks that run through Washington County.
    One such person was Rufus Darby, who with his family and his brother-in-law and his family, settled near Ballard's crossing on July 4, 1858. Their journey had begun some four years earlier in far away Maryland and had been interrupted by stops in Ohio and Iowa where the travelers had stopped to earn the funds necessary for them to continue their travels.
    When the government survey was made Mr. Darby found that they were situated upon school lands, so on March 9, 1859, they moved up on Mill Creek to a place heavily wooded with an oak grove. This place had attracted them when they were out hunting for their winter's supply of meat.
    On this quarter section of land, directly north of what is now the town of Morrowville, Rufus Darby hewed the logs from the timber on his place and built his cabin. To secure the papers for this land he drove his ox team to Junction City. When completed, the patent for the land was signed by the president, Abraham Lincoln, and was dated the first day of July 1861. This land was in the Darby name continuously from that date until the spring of 1984, at which time it sold to Delmar Rosenthal.
    While in Junction City Mr. Darby purchased a breaking plow so that he might cultivate some land on which to plant his first crops. He also broke sod for his neighbors. Crops were very uncertain those days and food was scarce. They made their coffee from parched corn; for sweetening they used sorghum. Sorghum, cornbread and mush were their regular diet with clabbered milk for dessert. Many times they were fortunate to have stripped buffalo meat for food. In spite of all the hardships, they felt they were living high and were happy just to be well fed and warm.
    Rufus Darby became the first justice of the peace of the county, receiving his appointment in 1859, and as Esquire Darby officiated at the first criminal charge in the county.
    A son, Phillip Darby, settled on the farm adjoining his father on the west. Two other sons, Rezin C. and J. W. Darby, were members of the group which was instrumental in locating and plotting the present city of Washington. Rufus had another son, Asa, and a daughter, Mary Ann.
    Rufus was a painter by trade and was handy with tools, often inventing devices for catching wild turkeys and other game that became food on the Darby table. At times he would raise pigs which he would sell and deliver to the government to feed the troops at Ft. Kearney, Nebraska. One year he made four trips to Ft. Kearney with pigs he had raised.
    Mr. Darby never owned a gun, which might explain why his life and the lives of his family members were spared at different times by the Indians. One of those times, which occurred in 1864, was recounted by W. C. Hallowell who had heard the story so many times that it seemed that he had been there.
    At that time, the Cheyenne Indians rode out of the west, emboldened by the knowledge that the state troops were away fighting during the Civil War, and could not protect the settlers as they had been doing. History says they were quarreling with the Otoes who were living northeast of here and in their war-like manner they were ready to fall upon the white settlements wherever they could.
    Jesse Hallowell, maternal grandfather of R. V. Darby, lived on Mill Creek near Washington, and to the suprise of the family, one day a large band of Indians came riding in. In their company was Rufus Darby, paternal grandfather of R. V. Darby, whom they had captured as he returned to his homestead near Morrowville from a trip to Marysville for provisions.
    The Indians demanded that the Hallowells "swap" bedding for buffalo robes, robes which they later stole back. When the Indians asked for milk and Mrs. Hallowell brought it from the cave, one Indian displeased or disappointed at the feast, ran his spear through the pan of milk. At that Mrs. Hallowell slapped him. He would have given her a thrust with his spear, but the other Indians interfered, saying "brave squaw".
    Leaving the Hallowells they camped for the night just north of the present cityof Washington keeping Rufus and another man prisoner. About 40 men from scattered farms gathered in defense and with any available firearms, at least half of which would not fire, went after the Indians. At the sight of the advancing army, the Indians became frightened and ran leaving their prisoners behind. They escaped unharmed.
    W. C. Hallowell remembered seeing the Otoe Indians hunting in the area as late as 1872 or 1873, but they were friendly and the settlers had nothing to fear.
    In 1873 Richard E. White, a nephew of Rufus Darby, came with his wife to settle just to the south of the Darby homestead. On May 20, 1874, he was issued a patent signed by President U. S. Grant for this land described as the South half of the SW 1/4 and the SW 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of Section 26 Town 2 S Range 2 E and the NE 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of Section 35 Town 2 S Range 2 E containing 160 acres, more or less. It is on this land that the town of Morrowville stands today.
    The Whites maintained ownership of this land until late 1878 when they sold it to Anna M. C. Curtis. Miss Curtis then owned the property until March of 1882 when she sold it to Emerson C. Melvin for $858.
    While the Darbys and Whites and their neighbors were going about their business in Kansas, a young man from Ohio was making his way west. Born on April 3, 1846, in the town of Washington in Guernesey County Ohio, James C. Morrow left the farm that had been his boyhood home at the age of 16. Traveling with a team and wagon he settled near Olney, Illinois, for a year then continued on to Iowa where he finished his schooling and taught school. Being interested in livestock he bought 160 acres and commenced buying and shipping cattle to Chicago. He was very successful financially.
    In 1874 Cal, as he was known by his friends, came to Clyde, Kansas, where he bought and sold stock until the spring of 1876. He then came to Washington County and "squatted" on Section 27 in Union Township. He purchased land in Union Township, improved it and remained interested in livestock. He invested his money in land from time to time and was very fortunate. He traveled back and forth over the country until 1881, when he formed a partnership with John Swan. They purchased a stock of general merchandise and with it established the third store in Haddam.
    Two years later he engaged in the real estate business with Mr Vincent. In December of 1883 James C. Morrow purchased from Emerson C. Melvin the land that Richard White had homesteaded. In the spring of 1884 with the prospect of the Missouri and Burlington railroad coming, Morrow and "Pap" Simpson saw the need for a new town. With the help of Anselmo B. Smith, surveyor, the two of them laid out the town in April of 1884, and on May 22 of that year James Morrow dedicated to the public use the streets and alleys of the town of Morrow and recorded the plat of same with the Register of Deeds of Washington County. Cal, then on the same day, sold to The Lincoln Land Company all of the land in the White's homestead, and they, in turn, sold lots in the new town to those who desired them.
    Mr. Morrow, single at this time, later married Rata Elliott, who was born in 1859 in Ohio. He continued to make his presence known in this area for many years and acquired land holdings of over 1,200 acres in Union Township with a complete set of well-kept improvements, some of which still stand today.

The Early Years

    The Blocker post office, established on May 18, 1881, was moved to Morrow Station June 9, 1884, with David Welch as postmaster. He resigned within the year, and Mr. Cummins, a partner in the first hardware store, served as postmaster. J. C. Halferty became postmaster in 1894. The official name of the town was changed to Morrowville on June 7, 1894, because of confusion in the mail with the Brown County town of Morrill.
    With the coming of the railroad in '84 the young town began to grow rapidly and there were many changes on the business scene in a very short time.
    Hugh Garrett erected the first business in Morrow in '84. By 1886 he had dissolved that business and started the pioneer Grocery Store. In '88 he added on to his store and in 1896 traded it to Richard Blocker who continued the business until the late 1920s.
    Another early business was the hardware owned by Cummins & McCormac. It was in a 25 foot x 30 foot building on the corner of Main and Elm streets. In 1885 Mr. McCormac traded his half interest to W. A. Nye. This business endured several other changes of ownership before it was purchased by O. A. Stanton in 1906. This business has stood the test of time and is known now as Stanton Farm Services, Inc. It is still owned and operated by the Stanton family.
    Charles W. Hawes was another prominent man on the business scene in the new town, building his store on the corner of Elm and Main streets to the south of the hardware store. This building was completed in 1886 with the first floor being occupied by Mr. Phil Darby who sold a complete line of groceries and dry goods. Mr. Hawes' business flourished, and he enlarged his store several times and bought out several other grocery and dry goods merchants during the 1890s and early 1900s. In 1908 he installed new gasoline lights in his store.
    In 1898 Jarret L. Robbins came to town and started a new store which he called a "Racket Store". Robbins was almost 60 years ahead of the times with his merchandising ideas, for his store was the forerunner of the modern "quick shop" type operation. His building, located near the present grocery store, housed not only a grocery store but a meat market and a restaurant. His restaurant was probably the first and last "fast food" place in town with a drive-in or rather ride-up window. Mr. Robbins installed a window on the south side of his building where one could place his order and receive his food. Robbins also used some of the same ideas used in 1984 to entice people into his store. His ad in the paper in March of 1905 offered "a fine 16" x 20" oil painting with frame to every person who purchased six dollars worth of goods at one time." The offer was good until the 25th of the month.
    Mr. Robbins traded his Racket Store for the Commercial Hotel in Haddam in June of 1905. He sold it after three years and returned to Morrowville in 1908. Upon his return he opened a grocery store in the J. W. Wells building. Robbins added a shoe repair business to the grocery store. After the death of his wife in May of 1910, Robbins sold the shoe repair shop to James Watson in June and the rest of the business to Asbury Gaskill and his son-in-law in September of that year.
    On the northeast corner of the intersection of Elm and Main streets was the dry goods store of D. T. Molony & Son who homesteaded near here in 1867 and then built a store in 1892. In 1902 the Molonys doubled the size of their store. They also were in the lumber and grocery business. As the town grew so did the Molony businesses. They expanded by building new buildings and renting others. The Molony family era came to an end in 1922 when D. T.'s son-in-law, J. F. Chrisman, sold the store to Messrs. Wurtz and Fagan of Greenleaf.
    A news clip from May of 1887 gives some indication of how things were then.

"Most of the planting is done. In many cases the planter is taking the place of the lister, and the acreage planted will be greater this year. But a great many farmers stick to the lister, claiming it is not only the best but the cheapest way of raising 18-cent corn."

    With passenger service on the railroad, the need for a hotel was filled by Mr. Shaw. He was the first to operate such an establishment. His hotel, 32 feet square and two stories in height, was completed in 1889. In 1902 Jacob Blocker and his wife were running the Morrowville Hotel. Rates were $1.00 per day for transients and $3.50 per week for regular boarders.
    The medical profession took note of the thriving village when in 1885 Dr. French came here from Washington and built a new building, now the grocery store, to house his drug business. It was reported in 1886 that Indian John was dealing out large quantities of tea to the afflicted, and that all under his treatment were doing well. He had many young men of the community pick cockleburs and bring them to his place, near the August Carlson place, so he could make medicines.
    In 1899 Dr. M. H. Horn came to town, leaving a short time later for surgery schooling and returning in the spring of 1900 with his schooling complete. In 1904 Dr. Horn built his office on the west side of Main Street south of the building occupied by J. W. Wells' general merchandise store.
    Morrowville was a shipping center for grain and livestock in those early days. A stockyard was built as soon as the railroad was complete and soon after several corn cribs were built. By 1896 there was an elevator to handle small grain. The stockyards were very busy in those days shipping as many as 1,700 head of sheep in one week in 1901.
    No prairie town would have been complete without a blacksmith shop, and Morrowville was no exception, never being without at least one since the beginning. James Whittet and Charles Raymond were two of the earliest blacksmiths on record.
    The early settlers didn't spend all of their time in business and farming as is shown by this report from an early days' news article.

"The old settlers reunion was noted as the greatest gathering of people that has ever been in Morrowville and the largest per cent of old settlers. The day was fine. Thousands of grateful hearts mingled with the old pioneer benefactors of Washington county. The Sham Battle with the savage Indians presented some of the pioneer life in Kansas, Buffalo Bill and his company of guides whipped and drove the red skins back inflicting great loss of life as usual. The five mile bicycle race was a warmer. Will Molony, of Morrowville, gained first prize, $3.50. Time 14-1/2 minutes. Worth Woody, of Washington, was awarded second prize, $2.00; Joe Morey, of Narka, third prize, $1.00. Roll call by state for the benefit of old soldiers revealed the fact that forty old soldiers responded, which was as follows; Illinois 13, Iowa 8, Ohio 7, Wisconson 3, Indiana 3, and one each from Massachusetts, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Missouri and Kansas. There were but few attended the first day which seemed to be a day for getting up steam; some got so steamed up so by evening that they could hardly control themselves. I suppose they evaporated at night. Everybody seemed to have the very best time and are decided to have if possible, a better time next year at a reunion here at Morrowville."

    Another business vital to the growing town was the lumberyard. Morrowville had at least one and sometimes two lumberyards, almost from the beginning until 1971. The first was owned by C .F. Allen in 1885. The Kozel brothers, who came to this community in the 1880s, entered that business in 1901 when they purchased the lumber yard owned by Henry Molony. They eventually dominated the lumber business, as Charles and William each had their own yard.
    The growing little town attracted many different businesses, some of which lasted for only a short time. In 1900 Will Gaskill and Tom Nutter opened a photography studio, but the demand must not have justified its existence as it closed in 1902.
    The first of a long line of creameries and produce buying stations started with the founding of the Fairmont Creamery in 1898 with Mr. Osterhout as the manager.
    In 1901 George Linn had a broom manufacturing plant in Morrowville.
    The residents also looked after the educational and spiritual needs of the community with the establishment of a school in 1886 with Miss Nesbit as the teacher.
    The new community soon had four churches, the Blocker Free will Baptist Church, later known as the Hickory Grove Church, founded in 1870; the St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church north of town established in 1885; and a protestant community church founded in 1889, with a new church building being constructed in 1892. A few years later this church divided into the Methodist Episcopal and the Church of Christ (Christian). All but the Hickory Grove Church are active today.
    A news clip from January 10, 1904, read, "We need a bank here badly and hear there is a prospect at present to get one soon. Let the good work go on, Morrowville will always be in the lead," and from the same newspaper on January 22, 1904, it said "Good news for Morrowville, we can say for a certainty we are going to have a bank. The foundation is already dug for the bank building, it will be 22 x 40 feet." The Morrowville State Bank opened for business in June of that same year.
    With all the rough and tumble activities of the young town, the ladies' desire for the finer things was being filled by the millinery shop of Mrs. Grimes. It was located just north of the hardware store. In 1908 Mrs. Grimes sold her shop to Mrs. Stoffle.
    By 1904 all of the available lots in the original town site had been purchased so The Lincoln Land Company sent A. B. Smith, the man who had done the original survey of the town, and his nephew to survey more land so that the town could continue to grow. The town was growing so rapidly that more land had to be surveyed again in 1906.
    In 1905 the first telephone service came to Morrowville with the central office located in the J. M. Chubbuck home on Main Street. Vina Chubbuck was the first operator. In those days the central office must have moved whenever a different operator was employed as it moved to the home of Bessie Sommers Durst when she became the operator in 1906. Her home was just east of the bank where D & D's Easyrider is located now. It moved again in February of 1908 to the dwelling and office of Mr. J. J. Veatch.
    Dr. J. M. Beggs, the town's first and only dentist, began his practice here in 1909. His office was located in Nate Archer's building just south of the hotel.
    Morrowville merchants began to improve their properties with concrete sidewalks in 1909, with Frank Mayberry and Joe Archer starting the trend. Before long, the west side of Main Street all the way up to the schoolhouse boasted of concrete walks. Very soon the east side of the street had followed suit, and concrete walks extended from the bank to the Methodist Church.

Through the Teens on to the Roaring 20s

    One of the major developments in 1910 was the completion of Kozel Hall, a fine 30 x 72 foot two-story building built by William Kozel to be used for an opera house. This hall became the home of the Morrowville Lecture Course, a series of cultural events which continued into the 20s. A few of the events included "The Negro Male Quartet" and the "Maude Stevens Concert Co." in 1912. The Hall was used for public gatherings of all kinds including dances which ultimately led to its demise, as some of the citizens objected to the dances. It was torn down about 1939.
    The automobile was beginning to come into use by 1915 when it was said that Mr. Huyck, manager of the elevator, had been inspecting a new Reo for several days. With the convenience of the auto came the hazards of motor travel and in January of 1918, the community experienced its first fatal auto accident when Miss Emma McDonald was killed.
    The machine age was beginning to dawn in town by 1917 when William Kozel installed a light plant and began to wire the town for electricity. This system provided the town with lights until 1930 when the system was purchased from Mr. Kozel's estate by the Kansas Power Company.
    In 1917 James and Mary Lindsley moved to town and started Lindsleys Store. The Lindsleys were the first to have a grocery store in this building which has been in contlnuous use for that purpose to the present day.
    In 1917 the world was at war, and the men of Morrowville answered their country's call. Many who answered the call did not return. William Cummings, 27-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Jim Cummings of rural Morrowville, was one of the casualties. A complete listing of those from this community who served appears elswhere in this book.
    For many years the bank building was the only building in town that wasn't wood. In 1917 O. J. Wells changed that when he built his building on the east side of Main Street using hollow clay tile from Endicott, Nebraska. This building was used by several people, for several purposes. Among them were Joe Cecrle's garage and Alois Scheer's blacksmith shop. The upstairs has served as a meeting hall for the Modern Woodmens and others and has been used as living quarters. Ray Wells used the building in later years for his pump repair business and the city owned a portion that was used for a fire house. The building currently is owned by J & N Elliott Construction, Inc.
    A fire in January of 1920 showed that Wells had made a wise choice. The fire, which was across the street from the Wells building, started in the hotel and burned the hotel, a restaurant, a barber shop, a garage and a cream station. All the buildings were burned to the ground. The Lindsley Store was saved but no one could understand why because it too was a frame building.
    In 1923 C. O. Throop built a new hotel constructed of Endicott tile. This hotel had the sleeping rooms upstairs and a large lobby area on the first floor with a soda fountain at the front. The hotel is owned today by Throop's son, Hardy, who uses it as a residence.
    Before refrigeration was commonplace, the ice business was another vital element of the community. At first the only source of ice was from the creek in winter, and many people cut ice into blocks on Mill Creek, stored it in ice houses insulated with straw and sold it in the summer. One such ice house was owned by W. H. Kozel and was located in the building that is now Elmer Rollman's barn. Later the creamery had facilities for making ice which they delivered to the farms as they made their rounds picking up milk.
    With the automobile replacing the horse in the 1920s the livery stable gave way to the filling station and the garage. O. J. Wells had one of the first gas pumps in town at his garage. Soon the filling stations rivaled the general store of the early years in numbers. The Brant Motor Co. had a gas pump and four other filling stations were in business at different times. A complete listing appears under the heading "Filling Stations".
    Not only did the car replace the buggy but the truck replaced the team and wagon. In 1919 John W. Woods purchased a hard rubber tired International truck and began hauling farmers' livestock from the farm to the railroad stockyards in Morrowville. John also hauled lumber and cement from the railroad to the lumberyards and many many tons of coal from the railroad to area residents for cooking and heating fuel.
    In 1925 Miss Bertha Lesher bought the property just north of Dr. Horn's office and built a store which she called "Lesher ' s Variety Store." Bertha was a favorite with the local youngsters who went to her store to buy penny candy which was always on hand. People who shopped at Bertha's were amazed at all the things she had packed into such a small store.
    It was in 1923 that Jim Cummings watched the pipeline being built across his farm northwest of town and thought to himself that there must be a better way to fill the ditch than with mules and slip scrapers. After some thought and with the help of several other people in the community Jim's idea became a reality in J. D. Lewis' blacksmith shop. When it was completed Jim went out on the pipeline and proved that his machine would work and promptly received a contract to fill the line all the way to Freeman, Missouri. From that time forward the "bulldozer" was the standard method of filling the ditch. Cummings continued in the pipeline business and became known as "Mr. Pipeline" among his peers.
    The business community lost one of its leaders in 1923. William Kozel died of complications from an infection he contracted after being doused with coal oil while removing some from a pressure tank.
    The community recognized the need for more schooling for its children and in 1925 it voted to organize a rural high school district and to issue $40,000 in bonds to build a high school. The new school was open for class in the fall on 1926 and the first class graduated in 1927, most of its members having transfered here from Washington. Thus began the era of the "Bulldogs" as the school's athletic teams were known.
    The first 4-H Club in Washington County was formed at Morrowville in 1927. The charter members were Duane Diller, Gladys and Electa Young, Amy Jones and Clara and Robert Darby.
    Highway 36, the "Ocean to Ocean" highway, was being constructed through Morrowville in 1925. It came through Haddam to the McGregor corner north of town. From there it proceeded south through Morrowville to the corner one mile south of town then east toward Washington.
    1925 was also the year R. J. Stanton built his new brick store building on the corner of Elm and Main streets.
    The village of Morowville became incorporated as a city of the third class under the laws of the state of Kansas on October 8, 1929. C. H. Miller was mayor and the councilmen were: Ed Brant, Henry Diller, George Gehring, and Ralph Lindsley. J. T. Lewis was the police judge. The population of the town at that time was 248.

The Dirty Thirties

    With the 1930s came the depression, drought and the PWA. The merchants of town were providing free motion picture shows each Tuesday night drawing as many as 1,000 people. The picture shows were preceeded by a band concert each evening. A trip around the business district in 1934, fifty years after the founding of the town, indicates how rapidly businesses changed hands in that era. The trip begins on the west side of Main at the north end where Clarence Throop and his family were operating their hotel in the building they built in 1923. They also had a lunch counter and soda fountain that made the hotel a favorite of the younger set.
    The buildings just south of the hotel had several changes during 1934 with both Linn Northcot and Fred Goeken having barber shops there during that year. Fred also operated the Harding Cream Station in the south building for a few months before return1ng to the barber trade. Wayne Lindsley replaced him at the cream station. Next in line was the grocery store operated by Ralph and Minnie Lindsley. Located south of Lindsley's was the restaurant operated by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Arney. Stanton' s hardware store was at the corner of Main and Elm streets. The Concordia Cream Station managed by Verlin Stanton was around the corner west of the hardware store.
    Across the street to the south of Stanton's hardware, Lloyd and Louise Bonar operated their general merchandise store which had their living quarters on the second floor. Moving south the next three buildings in order were J. W. Wells, Bertha Lesher's Variety Store, and Dr. Horn's office. 1934 was a year of change for this block. The post office moved that year from the J. W. Wells building to where it is located today in the building built by Charles Bullimore and occupied at that time by Dr. Beggs. This forced Dr. Beggs to move into the Horn building which had been vacated by Dr. Miller in 1930. That same year the Jerpe Cream station opened in the Wells building under the management of Bohman Hubka. This block had two doctors for a time when a chiropractor by the name of Dr. Orville Rose was located in the old school building, which was located in the southeast corner of the block.
    Moving across the street north of the post office one would have found J. D. Lewis working in his blacksmith shop. Henry Diller was the head cashier at the Morrowville State Bank located on the corner. This was the year that Henry Diller and Henry Farrar were taken hostage by two armed bandits in a daring daylight robbery. Around the corner east of the bank, the cafe, which had been operated for two years by Mr. and Mrs. Dick Menke, was purchased by the Adam Materi family. The last business on the south side in this block was Brant Motor Co. managed by Ed Brant.
    East of the highway on the south side of Elm Street, Howell Lumber Co. managed by John Jandera, was the only surviving lumberyard. Starting back west on the north side of the street Brant Oil Co., owned and operated by Harvey Brant, enjoyed a prominent position on the corner of Elm and Morton streets. The Fairmont cream station, owned by John Winterrowd and operated by J. L. Hatter, was the next enterprise along the north side of Elm Street.
    At the west end of the block Harry Pepple owned two buildings. Pepple's east building was occupied by a cream station managed by both George Springs and Fred Mathy during that year. Pepple operated a general store in the former Molony building.
    Turning the corner onto Main Street Henry Bertram's meat market was located in the first building north of Pepple's store. J. D. Thomas bought James Watson's produce house in March of that year. He added his shoe repair business to the produce business in the building just north of Bertram's meat market. Located between Thomas's shop and the implement house of Frank Gassert and Bert Bonar was the Swift Cream Station, the sixth operating cream station in Morrowville, which was managed by George Springs after he left the other station.
    Joe Cecrle was operating a garage, selling Hudson cars and doing general repair work in the O. J. Wells building. Two of the town's four service stations were across the street from each other at the intersection of Railway and Morton streets. The Morrowville Filling Station owned by Floyd Boylan was on the southwest corner of the intersection and the Sinclair station was on the southeast corner. It was managed by John Luehring and Gene Boston. The fourth service station, owned and operated by Melvin Gaston, was on the east side of the highway directly opposite the high school.
    Rounding out the business establishments in town in 1934 were the two elevators located on either side of the highway along the railroad. The east one was owned by the Huyck family with Kermit Huyck as manager. The west elevator was known as the Morrowville Grain and Coal Co. and was owned by a group of local farmers. The manager was Joe Jandera.
    The stock market crash in 1929 signaled the start of hard times to come during the 30s, and coupled with the hardship of the drought years, made survival the order of the day. Otho Barnes purchased his father-in-law's store in 1936, and Pepples General Store became the Barnes Cash Store.
    During those years of high unemployment the government created the Public Works Administration (PWA), to provide employment, and at the same time build public works projects that couldn't be built otherwise, because of a lack of funds. This program was the motivating factor behind the decision of the citizens of Morrowville to install a city water system. An election held in December of 1936 approved by a margin of 102 to 8 the issuance of bonds to build the water system. The system was completed in 1939 with most of the work being done with WPA labor. In order to provide the maximum number of jobs all of the digging was done by hand.

The War Years

    The population of Morrowville in 1939 was 260. In 1941 hog prices had risen to $8.75 per hundredweight, almost double the price of just one year earlier. Things seemed to be on the mend; then it happened! On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States was in World War II.
    During the war years many of the young men who were not in the service went to the cities to work in defense plants.
    Within a week of Pearl Harbor the government had placed a ban on all tire sales. This was replaced shortly by a quota system, the first of a long list of rationed items that would not end until after the war was over.
    In stark contrast to the dry 30s, 1941 brought the biggest flood ever experienced in the Mill Creek Valley. The water was over the railroad tracks, floated barrels out of the O. J. Wells building and stood 18 inches deep on the gym floor in the high school.
    The decline of the farm population which started in the "Dirty Thirties" continued on into the 1940s and led to a corresponding decline in business in town. This decline caused several of the cream stations to close by 1940, and in 1942 the board of directors of the Morrowville State Bank voted to liquidate the bank. Henry Diller and Anna Mallery, both of whom had been with the bank since 1910, continued to operate an exchange business in the bank building for several years. Alois Scheer purchased the blacksmith shop of J. D. Lewis and moved his shop to that location in 1942. The following year Albert Nutsch and Verlin Barnes opened a Case Implement dealership in the building vacated by Ed Brant when he closed Brant Motor Co. and moved to Colorado in 1941.
    To aid the war effort the 4-H clubs of the area collected paper and aluminum and gathered milkweed pods used in life preservers. As a conservation measure during the war, feed companies stopped using paper for feed sacks. They used muslin with different flowered prints on it instead. When the sacks were empty the farm wives washed the sacks and made them into dresses for themselves and their daughters. This made the farm wives the envy of the city ladies because dress material was very scarce, and they couldn't buy any to make new clothes for their families.
    In July of 1944 word was received that First Lt. Robert Seidel, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Seidel Sr., of rural Morrowville had been killed in action on Eniwetok Island in the western Pacific. Lt. Seidel had graduated with the class of 1935 at Morrowville Rural High School, and was a graduate of Kansas State College. He was the first casualty from Morrowville.
    In the spring of 1946 the Morrowville Bulldogs defeated the Haddam Hounds to win the Washington County basketball tournament by the score of 36 to 28. The second team also won the first place trophy. A new product was introduced to the area that year when Stanton Hardware started selling propane gas in 200-pound cylinders primarily for home cooking fuel. Also it was in 1946 that Ervin (Perf) and Delma Synovec purchased the Lindsley Store from the Herb Nutters who had operated it for two years. Later that year Perf bought the old Gassert and Bonar building across from his store, tore it down and used the lumber to build a locker at the rear of his grocery store.
    Morrowville's young men and boys had played ball in the summer time since the early 1900s. In the early years most any pasture would do for a field. They played among themselves and with teams from the surrounding communities. It was in 1947, on a regular field with tied down bases, and their first time-playing under lights, that they made their mark. The Morrowville Bulldogs managed by Merle Bonar entered a district tournment at Glasco. They defeated Tescott, Barnard and Delphos on their way to the finals. The championship was decided by a three game series with Glen Elder, which the Bulldogs won to advance to the state tournament in Wichita.
    Highway 36 was resurfaced in 1947 and some of the material that was torn off of it was hauled into town and used as the base for the first paved streets.
    The American Legion of Morrowville purchased the old Gassert-Bonar property from Perf Synovec and started construction of a new hall on that site. It was while attending a dance on the completed concrete floor for this building that Earl Beeman suffered a heart attack and died. The new hall was finished, and the dedication was held on April 4, 1951.
    1951 marked the 50th anniversary of the the Royal Neighbors of America chapter. Mary Grover was serving her 38th year as Oracle. It was noted that Lottie Patterson, who was deceased at that time, had served 42 consective years as recorder.
    Access to the town from the south was greatly improved in 1951 when the state highway department cut a new road straight south of town to Highway 36. This was the first time Morrowville had a paved road into town. In 1956 a new road north to Nebraska, connecting to a new road at the state line, greatly improved access from the north.
    The migration from the farm to the cities continued and one by one the businesses that served the farm community began to close. Where once six produce stations bought from the farmers, now one, Swift and Co., managed by John and Dollie Horky remained to serve the community. In 1954 the store, started by David Molony in 1892, closed its doors for the last time. In 1953 Albert Nutsch, who had been alone in the Case business since the death of his partner, moved his operation to his home on the south edge of town. Joe Cecrle expanded into Nutsch's former location and continued there 31 more years before retiring this spring (1984).
    Even though the population had declined, the citizens of the community still saw a need to improve the education of their children; and in 1954 voted bonds to build a new grade school and gymnasium adjoining the present high school. This fine new school was completed for classes in the fall of 1956. After the old grade school buildings were razed the school district turned the land over to the city for a park. The city constructed a concrete roof over the old basement providing a community storm shelter. Later a shelter house was added over this concrete slab making a desirable picnic area for the park.
    The Morrowville State Bank building was put back into use late in 1955, when Don Mathy opened a radio and TV shop there. Don continued there until 1957 when he accepted employment with Kuhlman Hardware in Linn, Kansas.
    The 1958 edition of the Morrowville Rural High Bulldogs basketball team had an outstanding record of 22 wins with only three losses, the last coming at the hands of the Florence, Kansas, team in the state tournament at Emporia.
    In 1960 Ed Westhoff, local dirt contractor, and Pete Anderson, of Haddam Grain Co., purchased five acres of land at the junction of Highways 15 and 36 where they constructed a service station, restaurant and motel. The motel never really caught on, but the station and resturant are operating at this time.
    During the 1960s the town remained relatively stable as it slowly changed from a trade center to a bedroom community for the people who found employment in the towns surrounding Morrowville.
    With the continuing decline in school enrollment, it became neccessary to further consolidate schools; and in 1967 Haddam, Mahaska and Morrowville joined to form North Central Unified School District #221. When all the shuffling was completed grades K-8 were located in Haddam and 9-12 were in Morrowville.
    In 1968 the district constructed a new vocational agriculture building in Morrowville. The new building included a classroom and office allowing the instructor to supervise both the classroom and shop at the same time. Several years later an industrial arts shop was added to the building.
    A big step into the future came in the mid 1960s when the city sewer system was installed, and the privy and the septic tank disappeared from the backyards of the homes around town.
    Another advancement in public safety occured in 1969 when Rural Fire District #8 was formed. The Rural District and the city together leased the old vocational agriculture shop and turned it into a fire station. The availability of the rural truck has greatly improved the city's fire fighting capabilities.
    The business district lost both a business and a businessman in the 60s. Alois (Louie) Scheer died suddenly in 1968, and his son, Tony, assumed the operation of the business. A business was lost when Lloyd and Frieda Mooren closed their restaurant in 1969. It was the last business to operate out of what had started out 64 years before as a hat shop. The town gained one business in 1968 when Elliott Construction Co. (now J & N Elliott Construction, Inc.) came to town to build the vocational agriculture shop at the high school and never left.
    The last of the produce stations closed in 1972 when John and Dollie Horky retired.
    A community club was formed in the early 1970s with members coming from both the town and the surrounding community. This club has done a great deal to improve the community including several improvements to the city park. These projects have been financed primarily by a pork barbeque that the club has held annually since 1973.
    The town was enlarged for the first time in several years in 1976 when Norman and Janet Elliott purchased some property from Albert Nutsch on the south edge of town and developed it by adding another block to the town and building their business headquarters there in 1977.
    In 1980 they and Gertrude Nutsch each sold some land to the Morrowville Housing Authority for the construction of a FmHA financed housing project. The Elliotts moved into their new metal home constructed there later in 1980.
    Morrowville had its first resident doctor in more than 40 years when Dr. J. Ted Garner came to town and set up a chiropractic office in 1978.
    Rainbow Haven, a low income housing project with six apartments, was completed in August of 1981. After a slow start five of the six units are now rented. This project is a fine addition to the town. The Housing Authority is in charge of all maintenance on the project including grass cutting and snow shoveling. This frees the residents from worrying about how these chores will get done. This complex will provide care-free housing for the people of the area for many years to come.
    The community had another outstanding athletic team in 1981 when the North Central girls basketball team went to the state tournament with a perfect record. The North Central senior class of 1981 invited Governor John Carlin to be the commencement speaker, and he accepted, marking the first time a governor of Kansas had ever visited Morrowville.
    As we enter the centennial year of the city of Morrowville a tour of the business district shows many changes from the tour taken in 1934.
    The Throop Hotel is now the private residence of Hardy Throop and his wife. The next operating business is The Bread Basket Grocery owned by Bob and Judy Mold who bought it from the Synovecs in 1982. Next door to the store the restaurant building is gone leaving Stanton Farm Services standing alone on the corner.
    Across the street south, the area once occupied by Hawes, J. W. Wells and Lesher's Variety Store, now contains the fertilizer blending plant of Stanton Farm Services. The City is now constructing a new city building and fire station in conjunction with Rural Fire District #8 where the office of Drs. Horn, Miller and Beggs once stood.
    The post office has remained in the same location for the last 50 years. Scheer Welding's new shop building sits where part of William Kozel's lumberyard once stood. Tony Scheer now owns the rest of the property on Main Street to the corner north of his shop including the bank building.
    Around the corner to the east, in the building owned by the Morrowville Community Center Inc., Dick and Diane Miller operate D & D's Easyrider Cafe. After 50 years of operating a business in Morrowville, 39 of those years in the same location at the next door east of the cafe, Joe Cecrle retired in March of 1984. Cecrle's grandson, Ron Nutz, will continue the business as Ron's Garage.
    The lumberyard has been closed since 1972 when John Jandera retired. After many years as manager for Howell's, Jandera had purchased the yard and operated it as Morrowville Lumber Company for several years before retiring.
    The Brant Oil Company building, which housed a laundromat for almost 20 years after the last station closed there, is now owned by Ben Tice. Fred Lindsley's cafe building, which last housed a cafe in the late 50s, is now the residence of Earl Goebel. Calvin Grover recently purchased the old J. L. Hatter produce building and plans to remodel it to house his antiques. The Molony building and the O. J. Wells building are both now owned by J & N Elliott Construction, Inc. They, with the American Legion Hall, complete the existing business buildings on that block.
    When the Burlington Northern Railroad closed the Odell to Concordia branch line in 1982, after 98 years of service, Morrowville was left without a railroad. This left the Morrowville Elevator Company with trucks as the only means of transporting grain to the terminal markets. Both the east and west elevators are now owned by the Seneca Elevator Company which purchased them from Continental Grain in 1974. Bob Nold is the present manager.
    Completing the 1984 business group in town is the Morrowville branch of the Farmers Cooperative Elevator Assocation with headquarters in Greenleaf. This branch consists of what was once the Gaston service station, with several additions and a full line fertilizer service with dry, liquid and anhydrous ammonia available.
    There are several businesses out in the country that have a Morrowville address. Among them are the 15 and 36 Truck Stop and the Korner Cafe located two miles south of town. Walthers Oil Co. of Cuba owns the truck stop, and Hank and Reva Rollman own the cafe. On the highway 10 miles north of town, Gail and Bernice Farber operate the Sunrise station and bulk fuel delivery service.
    While life in Morrowville in 1984 doesn't have all of the hustle and bustle of the frontier town of the 1880s, living here is very pleasant and peaceful with friendly caring neighbors. It's as good a place as can be found to raise a family. With a 1984 population of 182 people, Morrowville has fared better than some of her neighbors during the migration from the rural areas to the cities. No one can predict the future but based on past history one would have to think that Morrowville will continue in the fine traditions of the founding fathers for some time to come.
    When Rufus Darby was making his way across the plains in a covered wagon, powered flight was just a dream in men's minds. Now his descendants can fly coast to coast in less time than it took Darby to ride to Marysville to get provisions. It is an accepted fact that man has made more progress in coping with his environment in the last 100 years than had been made from the beginning of time until then. Who in 1900 would have dreamed of man going to the moon? Now space flights conducted with reusable spacecraft are almost commonplace.
    The tremendous advancements in medicine that have increased the life expectancy by 30 years in less than one lifetime would boggle the minds of the pioneers. The early settlers could not even dream of all of the modern conveniences of life that are now taken for granted -- electric power on every farm, refrigeration, television, and modern highways and automobiles. The list could go on and on.
    Ten or even five years ago computers were some monstrous piece of equipment costing thousands of dollars. Today they are small enough to carry and inexpensive enough that, this book is being prepared on one right here in Morrowville, USA. Reflecting on all this, one can only wonder what sort of scientific magic will be wrought by the time someone reads this book in 2084.
    This writer is fully aware that not all of the important happenings of the last 120 years or so are in this story, however an honest attempt has been made to provide the reader with an overall picture of the founding and growth of the town. Many of the details of the succession of ownership of the various businesses, including the barber shops and beauty shops, which were only mentioned here, are listed in the next section of this book.

History of Businesses

Livery Barn

    The livery barn was an important part of the scene in the early days. Travelers needed a place to feed and shelter their horses as they passed through the town.
    Jacob Blocker had one of the early livery barns. The records show that Claude Watson rented the livery barn from Blocker in April 1902. In November 1902 Mark Tinney rented it, and Charley and Jim Adams took it over in 1904.
    In 1905 Frank Wright sold his farm to C. W. Hawes and erected a livery barn and built a new home.
    Earnest Grover operated a livery barn and built an office on the south side of it in 1908. In 1909 Grover sold his livery barn to George Pecklam. In 1910 Pecklam sold it to Mondel Rose. In 1912 it is recorded that "The livery barn has changed hands again, Mr. Parrack having sold to a Mr. Gould."
    George Brant owned a livery barn, located where the American Legion Hall now stands; but with the advent of the automobile age he remodeled it into the Rock Island Garage in 1913. By 1915 George Brant and Son were doing a brisk business selling Ford automobiles and tractors.
    In 1921 they moved into the building vacated by Jim and Dave Lewis on Elm Street.

Garages

    The O. J. Wells building was built just north of the Rock Island Garage in 1916 and 1917. It was constructed of hollow tile from Endicott, Nebraska. Walt Veatch laid most of the tile. Bowman Fencil, Floyd Lindsley and Billie Green also worked on it.
    In 1917 and 1918 H. R. Wells had a garage in the Wells building. He also built a horse barn in the back that ran all the way to the alley. He had a livery service for soldiers going from Fort Riley to Fort Kearney, Nebraska, during World War I.
    After World War I the horse barn wasn't too successful because the automobile was rapidly taking over the transportation in Morrowville as well as the rest of the country.
    Dave Lewis and Warren Rose operated a garage in the O. J. Wells building for a few years in the early 20s. In 1925 O. J. Wells opened a garage and ran it until his death in 1928. Joe Cecrle opened his business in that location in 1934. On January 20, 1939, Cecrle was advertising a Deluxe Hudson for $745 delivered in Detroit. Cecrle continued his garage until Pearl Harbor in 1941 when he left to work in a tool and dye department, first in Wichita and then in Omaha. Frank Moore took over and operated the garage until the early 40s.
    H. R. Wells maintained a shop, working on pumps and windmills, in the Wells building until his retirement.
    The upstairs of the O. J. Wells building served as a dwelling, a meeting place for the community, a hall for the Modern Woodman of America and a meeting place for various other organizations within the community for many years.
    Harry Frager had a wooden frame garage on the west side of Main Street north of the grocery store. Ray Bonar worked for him. Frager was there only a few years before the building was destroyed by fire in 1920.
    Ollie Rickert and Joe Miller had a garage in a wooden frame building where Ron Nutz is located now. Their business, which lasted about two years, was selling Maxwell cars and trucks. Jim and Dave Lewis built a concrete block building on that location and operated a garage in it.
    In 1921 George and Harvey Brant moved into the vacated building where Lewis had been, and it became know as Brant Motor Company. They built a garage onto the back of the building. George Brant died in 1927. In 1928 Ed Brant joined his brother, Harvey, after selling his store to Lloyd Bonar. The Brants had sales for more Ford cars than they could get from Ford so they started selling Whippets, Dodges and Dorts. They sold around 50 cars in a short time.
    Harvey Brant left the business in 1933 and purchased the Kozel Station. Ed Brant ran the garage until he sold it to Albert Nutsch in the early 1940s.
    In 1945 Joe Cecrle came back from Omaha, bought part of Albert Nutsch's building and started his garage. He sold Hudson and Terraplane cars. When Nutsch moved his business to the edge of town, Cecrle bought the rest of the building. In the early 60s Cecrle put in an Itco Farm Supply Store which he sold in March 1984.
    In January 1977 Ron Nutz, Joe Cecrle's grandson, took over the operation of Cecrle's Garage and renamed it Ron's Garage. In March 1981 Nutz left to work for Phillips Petroleum Company, and Cecrle again operated the garage. Nutz returned in February 1984 and again took over the garage.

Implement Shops

    One of the first implement businesses in Morrowville was that of Lawrence & Rickert. In 1908 they held a street exhibit showing their many new implements, gasoline engines and feed grinders. They served a nice dinner in their large implement hall for all who came to town. There was a great demand for their windmills. In June they put up 17 windmills in three weeks.
    M. E. Lawrence and O. E. Rickert sold their implement business to George Brant and William Weber in October 1908. In 1909 Weber moved to the farm and Frank Gassert came into the business with Brant. During that year they installed a two-horse power International gasoline engine to pump water for Elsworth Robbins.
    Frank Gassert bought out Brant's interest in the implement business in September 1909, and Gassert moved the implement business south of the bank. Brant remained in the Rock Island Garage building where he sold cars and tractors. In 1921 Brant moved his automobile business east of the bank to the Lewis building, and Gassert moved back to the Rock Island Garage.
    In February 1925 A.N. (Bert) Bonar bought half interest in the business from Gassert. Windmills and International Harvester farm implements and repairs were handled. Gassert and Bonar closed their business about 1943.
    The Case implement business was started in 1943. Verlin Barnes and Albert Nutsch operated it in the Lewis building where Ron Nutz is now. In the late 1940s Earl Beeman replaced Verlin Barnes as Nutsch's partner. Earl Beeman died in late 1950, and Albert Nutsch ran the business by himself. In 1953 Nutsch moved his business to his home property and ran it from there until the early 1960s.

Blacksmiths

    Morrowville, like most frontier towns, had plenty of blacksmiths. In 1885 James Whittet, a blacksmith, and Charles Raymond, a wagon maker, ran a neat shop; and they were soon overrun with business. In 1886 the blacksmith shop, run by Whittet, was still in operation; but Raymond had left town because he owed more money than he could pay.
    In 1889 Mr. Campell had a blacksmith shop that was struck by lightning and caught on fire. The fire department was able to put out the fire before much damage was done.
    In 1891 Fred Mason built a new blacksmith shop on Main Street where Mr. Shaw formerly had owned one.
    In 1897 a Mr. Wright was the proprietor of the village blacksmith and general repair shop. He was doing first class work at hard times prices. He sold the blacksmith shop to Dick Osborn of Ponca City, Oklahoma.
    On March 10, 1899, Elmer Grout had employed a helper in his blacksmith shop. On March 31, 1899, Levit Grout employed a new man at the bellows in his blacksmith shop for the summer.
    Levit Grout employed a Mr. Hargis in 1900 as all round blacksmith. George Gray bought the Levit Grout blacksmith shop in 1901.
    Dick Osborn was the industrious blacksmith in town in 1902. He owned his shop and tools and specialized in horse shoeing.
    A newspaper advertisement on April 12, 1918, read:

Blacksmithing at O. J. Wells Shop
General Blacksmithing and Wood Work
                                Signed Sherman Rudy

    Walter Veatch owned a blacksmith shop in 1921. It was destroyed by the fire in December that burned three buildings.
    In 1921 J. D. Lewis opened the Lewis Blacksmith and Machine Shop. He did welding, machine work, blacksmithing and repairs of all kinds. In 1923 Lewis built an addition to his shop.
    Alois Scheer moved his blacksmith business from Reno into Morrowville to the O. J. Wells building at the north end of Main Street in 1937. He had learned the blacksmith trade as a four year apprentice in Germany before immigrating to the United States in 1922. In 1942 he purchased the Lewis shop next to the bank building and moved his business to that location. He operated the business there until his death in 1968.
    Alois Scheer's son, Anthony "Tony" , took over the business after his death. Tony built a new shop building next to the old shop in 1970. He razed the old shop in 1983. Tony has one employee, Rick Svanda, in addit.ion to himself in the shop today.

Hardware Store

    In 1884 the first hardware store was built by Cummins and McCormac on the northwest corner of Main and Elm. It was a 25 foot x 30 foot building in which they put a full stock of hardware. Mr. Cummins was also the postmaster. In 1885 Mr. McCormac traded his half interest of the hardware store to W. A. Nye for 80 acres of land. The name of the hardware store was changed to Cummins and Nye. An addition of 20 feet was built onto the store to house a selected stock of drugs. The need for the drug supply was due to the doctor who moved from Washington. Sometime between 1886 and 1889 W. A. Nye bought T. J. Cummins' interest in the hardware store. Reeves, who was at that time engaged in teaching the youngsters of Morrow how to shoot, traded some real estate near Haddam for half interest in Mr. Nye's stock in that hardware firm and changed the name to Reeves.
    In 1899 Flansburg and Johnson bought Reeves Hardware and Drug Store and some other Morrowville property. They enlarged the stock and opened an extensive business. Later that year they built an addition of 18 feet x 32 feet on their building. In 1901 they bougHt the Old French Drug.Store building from A. F. Robbins. In 1902 a Mr. Ayers was employed to take care of their harness and shoe repair business.
    In 1906 O. A. Stanton and Sons bought the Johnson and Flansburg Hardware Store. It was sold to R. J. Stanton in 1906, and it became known as Stanton Hardware and Drug. It was a wooden building 30 feet x 50 feet.
    In 1925 a new brick building was built on the same location. It was 50 feet x 70 feet in size. Part of the old building was moved to the rear of the new one and used for storage. Hardware, dry fertilizer, harness, drugs and paints were the main products sold at that time. J. T. Lewis was the pharmacist. He had been a registered pharmacist since 1895.
    In 1946 propane gas was introduced. It was sold in 200 pound cylinders and used mostly for cooking stove fuel. In a few years 500- to 1,000-gallon storage tanks were used for holding heating fuel. The business was called Stanton Propane Co.
    R. J. Stanton died in 1950. The business was managed by his son, Harold J. Stanton, who was assisted by his sons, Robert and Bruce.
    In 1952 anhydrous ammonia and liquid fertilizer were added to their stock. Storage tanks, a mixing plant and other equipment were acquired.
    The business was expanded in 1956 when a propane and fertilizer plant was established at Fairbury, Nebraska. It was operated from Morrowville for several years.
    Upon returning from the service, the Stanton sons worked in the business--Robert at Morrowville and Bruce at Fairbury.
    Harold J. Stanton died in 1964. Robert and Bruce purchased the Stanton Propane Co. in 1969 from the R. J. Stanton heirs. They incorporated the business, and it became known as Stanton Farm Services, Inc.
    In 1977 a new metal building was erected to replace the old store building in the rear. It is used for storage and a workshop.
    Stantons is the oldest business in Morrowville. It has been in the same location for 78 years under the ownership and management of the O. A. Stanton family heirs.
    At the present time Robert's son, James, and Bruce's son, Rick, are working with their fathers in Morrowville and Fairbury, respectfully, thus making the fifth generation of the Stanton family to be a part of the business.
    Present employees of the Morrowville branch of Stanton Farm Services Inc., are Robert Stanton, owner; Jim Stanton, manager; Loraine Lindsley, bookkeeper; and Roy Grover, delivery truck driver.

Lumber Yards

    In 1885 the lumber business was owned by C. F. Allen and Co. with Sam Thompson in charge. In 1886 the lumber yard was being managed by A.H. Decker.
    In 1892 D. T. Molony built a lumber yard on Main Street north of the Methodist Church. In 1901 Charles and William Kozel purchased the lumber yard from D. T. Molony.
    In 1905 Kozels added buggies to their business line. The brothers ran the business together until 1906 when William bought Charles' interest. He continued to operate the lumber and coal yard until his death in 1923. William died as a result of an infection caused by a burn he received while getting coal oil for a customer. He got some of the oil on his clothes, but he did not wash it off right awayand was burned by the oil.
    After the Kozel brothers separated, Charles built a lumber yard on Morton Street. In 1915 Morrow Lumber Company was managed by his brother-in-law, W. J. Noble.
    Charles Kozel owned the yard until 1927 when he sold it to Howell Lumber Company. John Jandera, who had managed yards for Howell's in Washington and Mahaska previously, was named manager. In 1939 hardware stock was added to the yard. They also sold lumber, wallpaper, Ideal cement and a complete line of building materials. The lumber company continued to be a part of Morrowville until 1972.
    John Jandera sold the property to Curtis Wieland in 1972. Wieland razed one building, and the other buildings are left standing and used for storage.

Dray Service -- Truck Lines

    In the days before the auto revolution when everything was hauled by team and wagon, Morrowville had a dray service operated by Claude Watson. He hauled cream and eggs from the produce stations to the train and freight from the train to all the stores in town. All of the livestock was driven to the stockyards at the railroad and shipped out on the train.
    As the automobile came of age, trucks followed close behind. The first truck line in Morrowville was operated by John W. Woods. He started his trucking business in 1919 with one hard rubber-tired International truck. Woods' business consisted of hauling livestock from Washington County farmers to the railroad stockyards in Morrowvile. From there the livestock was sent by rail to Kansas City. Other hauling consisted of unloading lumber and cement from the railroad cars and hauling it to the lumber yard owned by Charles Kozel. He hauled many tons of coal from the railroad to residents in Morrowville to be used for cooking and heating.
    In 1929 Woods bought his first truck with balloon tires. This truck was used for the same type of hauling plus moving furniture for local people. This truck carried a canvas which was used in inclement weather.
    In 1938 Woods purchased a new Dodge truck. He and Jim Lewis, local blacksmith, built an enclosed box for the new truck. At that time he started hauling freight from Kansas City and St. Joseph, Missouri, and distributed it to many of the small towns along Highway 36 from Washington to Oberlin, Kansas. Locally Stanton's Hardware, Morrowville Co-op and Jack Tuma near Mahaska were good customers.
    A short time later Woods purchased his first semi-trailer with a Ford tractor. This rig was used to haul eggs from Belleville to Kansas City. He returned with freight and meat from Armour and Swift packing plants in St. Joseph.
    During the next few years he employed three drivers who continued to haul freight, meat and livestock. Some of the drivers were Jim Boles, Lawrence Cornell, Ellis Day, George Durst, Sylvester Durst, Keith Enfield, Clarence Hagan, John Luehring, Walter Lindsley, Joe Moore, Jack Freed, Milford Rollman, Kenneth Shea, Clark Sloan and Dave Woods, John's brother.
    Woods continued his business until he lost his life in a truck accident one mile east of Hiawatha, Kansas, on Highway 36 on July 4, 1944.
    Neal Moore started a truck line in 1927, first hauling flour from the mill at Clyde and bringing groceries to the stores from Fairbury. Later he started making long distance hauls from St. Joseph and Kansas City. Moore quit his business in 1932. Royand Frank Moore and John (Pud) Cummings were drivers.
    Otho Barnes started the Barnes Truck Line in the early 30s. Some of his drivers were Hubert Menzies, Guy Jennings, Faye Throop, Adolph Hynek and Ross Rosenberg.
    The Johnson Truck Line served the Morrowville area from 1935 to 1965. It was owned by Alfred Johnson. He owned a fleet of big trucks and a pickup truck for delivering small freight. Some of Johnson's drivers were Dern Jones, Eldon Odgers, Jim Hood, Chester Rowland and Keith Wilkinson.
    Johnson sold the truck line to Lester Ayres and Lawrence Cornell, who ran it for a few years and then sold it to Topeka Motor Freight Inc. of Topeka.
    The Rhine Truck Line was located in Morrowville from about 1950 to 1953. Sylvester Durst helped drive Rhine's trucks in long distance hauling. Durst bought the truck line in 1953 from Eldon Rhine and ran it until 1972 when his health failed.
    The so called "short haul" truck line to haul farmers products to local markets has practically disappeared from the present day scene. Almost every farmer has a pickup truck for light hauling and general transportation. Many farmers own their own tractor-trailer rigs and haul their grain and livestock to terminal markets. Small item freight delivery by rail ceased many years ago, and now even LTL (less than truckload) freight service is not on a regular schedule. United Parcel Service, with five-day per week delivery direct to the customers' door no matter how remote the location, is filling much of the void created by the passing of local truck lines for delivery of small items.

Filling Stations

    Gas was first available in Morrowville from pumps in front of the O. J. Wells Garage and Brant Motor Company. The first station was probably the one Floyd Boylan had built on the west side of the highway across the street south of the railroad tracks sometime during the middle 1920s. Over the years it was known as the Morrowville Filling Station, the Farmers' Union oil Station, the Farmers' Oil Company, the Ideal Service Station, and finally, after 1937, the Texaco Station. Floyd Boylan operated it for several years. His step-son, Ernest Odgers, helped him for a while.
    In February 1931 Boylan sold the station to Paul Reinecke, who had been running the bulk truck. In March 1932 Reinecke turned the station back to Boylan.
    In the summer of 1933 Lloyd Vinzant opened a vegetable stand at the station. In 1935 he took over the stock and had charge of the station while Floyd Boylan continued to run the oil truck. The station manager changed again in 1936 when Lloyd Moore ran the station and Floyd Lindsley drove the bulk truck.
    Buzz Brandt became the new operator of the Texaco Station in 1937 replacing Verto Beasley. In May 1939 Ernie Howland started running the Texaco Filling Station. In 1941 Floyd Boylan sold the business to Everett Oil Co. of Concordia. Francis Koch and his dad, Frank, ran the station until 1945 when Francis went to Concordia. Frank Koch and John Horky operated the station until 1948. At that time Henry Rollman became the manager. The station was closed two years later. The building has been torn down.

Conoco Station

    In 1927 Mrs. W. H. Kozel had a filling station built east of Swift Cream Station on the corner of Morton and Elm streets. Harlan Throop operated it for her, and it was known as Kozel Oil Co. The building was sold to Harvey Brant in 1933 and was known as the Brant Oil Company. He sold White Rose Gasoline and later became the Conoco dealer in the area. Roy "Skeetz " Moore ran the tank wagon.
    It was in 1933 that gasoline prices hit the lowest level in several years. Ethyl dropped to 14.9 cents a gallon, regular gas to 11.9 cents and third grade to 10.9 cents.
    In 1948 Roy "Skeetz" Moore and his sons bought the station. Skeetz, Robert "Dub", and Everett "Wimp" ran the station and truck. Dub quit in 1953 to run a cafe. Skeetz and Wimp sold the building and stock to the Coop in 1963 and went to work for them.

Gaston's Station later know as Coop

    In 1931 August Carlson erected a new filling station for Melvin Gaston across from the high school grounds. In 1935 Gaston built a new building and used the old one for a garage. The gasoline pumps were moved because the new highway came too close to the old ones. Gaston sold shares to farmers, and it became an Independent Coop in 1938. Clyde Dull, Ernest Benne, Lyle Fraser, Cal Smith and Lloyd Wilsey were elected to the board of directors. They organized the coop and wrote by-laws and policy for the business. Gaston sold the station to the Coop in 1942. John Luehring helped manage it for three years. His wife, Celia, had to help since there was a shortage of men because of World War II. The station was closed for about three months in 1945. John Luehring continued to drive the Coop transport and delivered gas to Coops in several towns. Howard Hauschel managed it a very short time. Later in 1945 Alan and Bill Mayberry came back from the service and operated the station until 1948. Elmer Grover managed it until 1957. Elmer's son, Calvin, then managed the station until August 1962. Fern Lindsley became a half-tlme bookeeper in 1961 and retained that position until November 1981.
    Henry Rollman was the manager from August 1962 until 1971. In April 1963 the coop became affiliated with the Cooperative Service Association of Concordia, Kansas. After Skeetz and Wimp Moore sold their Conoco Station to the Coop, they began working there. Wimp worked a short time and was transferred to Concordia. Skeetz quit in August 1968 because of his health. Leo Moore, who had been working there since 1961, managed the station from 1971 until 1974. In 1973 Farmers Cooperative Elevator Association of Greenleaf bought the stock from Cooperative Service Association. Delmar Crawford and Mike Van Kirk each managed the station for a short time before Leo Moore resumed the management in 1975. The current employees are Leo Moore, manager; Don Welch, Jeff Lehman, Keith Welch and Clark Long.

Sinclair Station

    In 1933 the Sinclair Oil Company erected a new wooden building on the east side of the highway east of Floyd Boylan's station on the corner of Morton and Railway. In 1933 it was operated by each of the following men for a short time: Floyd Allen, Olin Bennett, Gene Boston, John Luerhing and Philip Beggs.
    In 1935 the building was moved two blocks south to the east side of the highway at the corner of Morton and Oak streets. George Rose managed it for two months. Harlan Throop operated it for two years.
    The building was moved to the southeast corner of Locust and Morton, where shortly before, John Schwab had moved an old bus to be used as a service station. Frank Bahl and Tom Lillibridge managed it. Lillibridge also ran the Port of Entry.
    About two years later the building was moved by Charles Kephart to the southwest corner of Earl Craffordis farm across from where Gerhard Lutjemeier's farm buildings are today. Charlie Kephart operated a filling station and car repair shop there for a number of years.

General Merchandise Stores

    The general merchandise stores were the forerunner of the modern department stores. These stores sold a variety of goods from dry goods and groceries to clothes, shoes, hats and toiletries. They were truly one-stop shopping for the early pioneer families. Nothing was packaged as we know it today. The clerk took the customer's order, counted, weighed and measured the goods and packaged them for him while he waited. The cracker barrel and pickle barrel were a common sight in these establishments.
    In 1884 Garrett and Hennon erected the first business house in Morrow. They stocked general merchandise, dry goods and groceries. The business was dissolved in 1886.
    The second business was built in 1885 by David Welch and son of the Blocker community. Before they moved into it, they sold it to R. W. Evans.
    C. L. Hennon and Alex McLaren bought out R. W. Evans' stock of dry goods and groceries in 1886.
    In 1886 Hugh Garrett founded the pioneer Grocery Store. In 1888 Garrett built an addition to his store. In 1896 Richard Blocker traded Oklahoma property for Garrett's merchandise. His business was in Garrett's old stand on the corner of Main and Broadway (now Railway Street).
    In 1886 Charles Hawes completed a new building. Phillip Darby occupied the first floor in which he kept a complete stock of dry goods and groceries. In 1887 McLaren and Hennon purchased Hawes' stock of dry goods and groceries and moved to a new place. McLaren and Hennon filled their old building with farm implements, consisting mostly of John Deere's famous goods. Later in 1887 Alex McLaren purchased Charles Hennon's interest in the dry goods and groceries.
    In 1898 Charles Hawes built a flour room on his building. Hawes bought M. E. Rector's stock of groceries in 1900. Hawes built another addition to his store in 1901. In 1902 Hawes bought out Wm. Linn's stock of groceries. Linn was in business for himself just four months.
    In 1905 Mr. Driskell sold part of his store goods to C. W. Hawes and moved the rest to Haddam.
    In 1908 Hawes put gasoline lights in his store.
    It isn't known exactly when W. A. Nye took the store over, but Ed Brant bought the Hawes store from Nye in 1923 and later sold it to Lloyd Bonar in 1928. Around 1941 Bonar turned it over to Les Hubka to run. After a few years it was closed and the building was sold to Bruce Stanton. He tore the store down and used the lumber in his house that he built in Fairbury, Nebraska. Stanton Farm Services, Inc. has a fertilizer plant and scales on the lot now.
    In March 1901 Savage and Wisner rented Rector's building and put in a stock of groceries. By April 1901 Wisner decided not to go into the store business and by June 1902 Savage had given up the business. Then a Mr. Cling put his stock of merchandise in the Rector building. He had a meat market first and later added groceries. In September of 1902, E. H. Grover purchased the Rector building and moved it south of the C. W. Hawes store.
    In 1892 D. T. Molony and his family, which included his wife, Amanda; sons, Henry and William; and daughters, Effie and Jennie, who had come from Wisconsin, built a general store on the northeast corner of Main and Elm. In 1902 they doubled the size of their store. Henry also had a lumber yard just north of where the post office is now. Effie married John Frank Chrisman from Iowa. John and Effie took over the store in 1904. The Chrismans sold their store and home to Louis Wurtz and Raymond Fagan of Greenleaf in 1922.
    Harry Pepple purchased the business from Wurtz and Fagan in 1929, and in 1936 Pepple sold his store to his son-in-law, O. A. (Otho) Barnes. Barnes handled all kinds of groceries, meats and dry goods.
    Charles Terpening ran the store from 1946 to 1949. Merle and Bea (Wieland) Bonar ran the store for a short time before Fred and Velma (Barnes) Mathy took over the store. They operated it until it closed in 1956.
    Harold and Verlin Barnes purchased the building before Terpening managed the store there and sold it to Albert Nutsch in 1946. Nutsch then sold the building to Lloyd Bonar in 1949. Both Hardy Throop and Anthony Scheer owned the Molony building for a period of time before Norman Elliott bought it in 1977 to use as a warehouse for construction materials.

Meat Markets & Butcher Shops

    In the days before refrigeration and home freezers, the meat market and butcher shops made fresh meat accessible to the citizenry.
    William Hoffine and Jim Watson apparently had two of the first meat markets in Morrowville. On March 6, 1908, Dave Sparks traded two pieces of property for Hoffine's meat market. The market was located where J. L. Hatter Produce was last. On March 13, 1908, Dave Sparks bought out Jim Watson's butcher shop. This made him the only person in the meat business. In April of that year Will Cummings traded for one-half interest in Sparks' Meat Market. On May 22 the partnership was dissolved. On May 29 Sparks sold the meat market to Tom Young and Al Green. Thus in less than three months Dave Sparks entered and exited the meat business.
    Mr. Cass purchased the Morrowville Meat Market from Young in February of 1909. Frank Mayberry was its next owner, and in 1924 Neal Moore became the proprietor of the Morrowville Meat Market. In 1927 Mr. Bertram became the owner of the meat market. It burned in 1936. Bertram's Meat Market was moved across the street to the frame building north of Lindsley's store (Bread Basket). Bertram continued to operate the meat business until the early 40s when he closed his market.
    The fresh meat market was no longer needed as the grocery stores had meat departments to serve the public.

Grocery Store

    In 1917 James and Mary Lindsley moved to town and leased the building, where the Bread Basket is now, from A. J. Tuttle and opened a restaurant. Within two or three years the restaurant had turned into a grocery, "Lindsleys Store." The first bread sold by the store was baked by Mary Lindsley. The Lindsleys had living quarters in the back. In the 1920s Jim's son, Ralph, became manager of the store. Vern, Ralph's son, operated the store from 1931 until he was called into the service during World War II. He sold the store to Herb Nutter in 1944.
    In 1946 Ervin "Perf" and Delma (Gaston) Synovec bought the grocery store from Mr. Nutter and added a locker plant to the rear of the store. In 1965 the Synovecs remodeled the store and took out the locker plant. In 1972 the store was again remodeled and a new front was added.
    Bob and Judy (Miller) Nold purchased the store from the Synovecs and opened the "Bread Basket" in 1982.

Elevators

    Alex McClaren and the Gregg brothers took care of all the corn brought to market. J. W. Allibone represented Mason Gregg and Brothers until March 1885 when he retired and Tom Young took his place.
    In 1886 Gregg and Brothers and Kelley and Company stored up to 25,000 bushels of corn.
    This is an article taken from the Washington paper in December 1888:

"Morrow is Washington County's Chicago. I have not seen such a rush in grain business during my five years residence in Washington County as there has been at this station for the past three weeks. We now have three regular buyers, not including Pap Simpson, who by the way, is the most liberal bidder in town. He never fails to bid on a load of corn and always fails to get it. The dealers stand around on the corners and as soon as a load of corn is sighted, each of them pipes forth the prevailing price for the day in tones that can be heard for a half mile, and each claims that he got the first bid, and consequently claims the load. And thus the excitement is kept up from early morning till late at night. Alex McLaren took in 2,000 bushels of shelled corn last Monday and refused 500 more on account of not having a place to put it. The other buyers are doing equally as well. Hugh Garrett, manager of Greggs & Kiser, is full to the brim and running over. Miller seems to be the back bone of the market, and from the looks of his calibre, will not be easily broken."

    In 1888 Burns and Lindsey said they had over 40,000 bushels of corn engaged to shell during the year.
    The price of corn in the fall of 1896 was 12 cents per bushel. In October 1897 Allen and Dalrymple were paying 17 cents for new corn in the ear; 75 pounds to the bushel.
    An inventory of the corn cribs in Morrowville in January 1898 measured in length to be 2,387 feet.
    West Elevator: The Duff Elevator was built in 1898, with Alex McGregor as manager. In 1899 a huge corn crib was built north of the scale house. In 1901 wheat made 30 bushel per acre.
    The depot agent reported that there had been 37 car loads of hogs and cattle and 47 carloads of grain shipped from May 1 to June 24, 1904.
    Mr. Hawke became the new manager of the Duff Grain Co. in 1909.
    After having been destroyed by fire at some unknown date, the Duff elevator reopened in 1925. In 1927 Mr. and Mrs. Wyman and son from Manhattan moved here, purchased the Duff elevator and renamed it "Wyman Grain Co."
    The west elevator was renamed the "Morrowville Grain & Coal Co.," by a group of farmers who made a cooperative organization of it in the 1930s. Some of the managers were Charles Smith, George Rose and J. T. Jandera. Jandera was the last manager before it was sold to Preston Milling Co. of Fairbury. A. Kaiser and George Weerts managed the elevator for Preston Milling Co. before they sold it to the Haddam Grain Co. in 1959.
    Haddam Grain Co., owned by Pete and Frank Anderson and Fred Winter, added 170,000 bushels of storage to the elevator shortly after it was purchased. During this period, the elevator was operated mostly as a government bonded warehouse with Bill Power overseeing the operation.
    In 1968 Continental Grain Co. purchased the west elevator putting both elevators under the same management.
    East Elevator: In February 1909, a rally day was held to make plans for building a Farmers Elevator. On May 21, 1909, the contract was let for the new elevator which they hoped would be finished in time for the new grain crop. In June 1909 two carloads of material arrived. In August 1909 a news item read: "The lumber is here at last and the new elevator will soon be finished." October 1909 the elevator was complete enough that they took grain. Frank Weber delivered the first load of wheat. At that time both elevators had their scales up in the elevators.
    Ed Erps was manager of the Farmers Elevator in 1915. Other managers through the years have been John Huyck, Kermit Huyck and a Mr. Glover.
    In 1928 Huyck's elevator received 96 loads of corn in one day, a record. The papers said, "the price of corn is attractive enough to cause a lot of it to move."
    Continental Grain Co. purchased the Farmers Elevator in 1944. In approximately 1949 they built a new office and put the scales on the south side of it: Paul Clark and Charles Terpening served as managers.
    In 1951 Hubert Menzies became manager of the Continental Grain Co. When he first took over, there were two people, Bud Durst of Morrowville and Joe Schmidt of Hollenberg, who still brought their grain in with teams of horses and wagons. One of the highlights of Menzies' days with Continental was in 1973 when he worked in Salina with the grain that had been sold to Russia. Continental sent him there to oversee the loading of 145 railroad cars a day, which he said just about scared him to death. He said, "I was used to kind of a jerkwater operat ion."
    In 1974 Seneca Elevator Co., owned by Frank Anderson, Fred Winter and Wendell Zenger, purchased the elevators from Continental Grain Co. and renamed them Morrowville Elevator Co. They installed a grain dryer and added some additional storage at the east elevator soon after purchasing it. Hubert Menzies continued to manage the elevators until his retirement in 1979.
    Since 1979 the elevator has been managed by Jim Felder and Frank Nutsch. Bob Nold is the current manager. Alberta Slater is bookkeeper. Other employees are Arthur "Ted" Stoker, Gene Stoker and Paul Nutsch.
    As an indicator of how much things have changed, a bushel of corn that sold for 12 cents in 1896 would bring over three dollars in 1984.

Creameries

    The creamery was one of the few industries that came to be a real help to the farmer's wife. The following quote summed up the value of the creameries:

"How many who understand what the farmer's life is, but know it is a busy one. The more cows he keeps, the more stock he raises, and the more milk there is to be turned into marketable produce, the more exacting his duties become. Since there is only one farmer now and then who has milk enough to engage in manufacturing cheese, the only thing to do is to make butter. We all know if the farmer is busy the wife is also busy. Up in the morning before the break of day, for there is breakfast to get, milk to skim, churning to do, chickens to feed, children to take care of, vegetables to gather and prepare for dinner, besides to put the house in order. And all ought to be done before the cool of the morning passes away, and that routine must be go on every day. With the addition of washing and baking day, where does she get any time for rest or social duties? Not one moment.
    "Now, the creamery comes to us and says, 'I will take your milk and make your butter. You will make more money than if you make the butter yourself.' With what relief that comes.
    "Among the advantages are: (1) it pays cash and has it's established pay day, thereby enabling the farmer to make his calculations without fear of failure; (2) it is central, everyone from near and far, can be accommodated; (3) it supplies our market with a uniformly good grade of butter at a moderate price; (4) it returns our milk in good condition for feeding purpose, free of charge."

    The coming of the creamery was certainly exciting to the farmers around Morrowville. At one time there were as many as six cream stations in town.
    The Fairmont Creamery, established in 1898, was the first creamery in Morrowville. It was a skimming plant. Milo Osterhout was the first manager followed by Will Haukenbury. In 1899 Link Frager became manager. In April 1899 Frager reported a daily average of 3,500 pounds of milk skimmed and in May of that year the plant handled 92,379 pounds of milk, twice what it processed in May of the previous year. J. G. Adams took over in 1902.
    The Morrowville Creamery was the first cooperative creamery in Washington County. It was located in the building that later became the vocational agriculture shop of Morrowville High School. This creamery was established about 1916. The creamery made butter, ice cream, block ice and ice cream mix that was taken home and frozen. They also bought eggs and poultry. T.A. Howe was manager. The owners were C. M. Hanshaw, C. A. Grover, W. H. Kozel and R. J. Stanton. This creamery closed in the early 20s.
    In the 1920s Winterrowd Produce Co. bought for Fairmont foods and sold Fairmont products. J. L. Hatter who managed the station later purchased it and renamed it J. L. Hatter Produce. He closed the business in 1951.
    In 1921 Wendel Schmitz erected a building to house the Harding Creamery Co. of Kansas City, Missouri. During the 20s and 30s George Springs, Fred Darby, Fred Goeken and Wayne Lindsley managed the Harding Cream Station. In 1925 George Springs had an addition built onto the building so he could handle feeds. In 1928 Springs reported that from April 2-7 he paid $1,500 for creamery produce.
    In May 1931 George Springs operated a cream station in the Pepple building where Jim Watson had been. In 1934 Springs moved his cream station to just south of Bonar and Gassert's implement shop.
    From 1927 to 1930 the Armour Company was in Morrowville, managed by Miss Mildred Weber, Dallas Overlander and Lloyd Frans.
    Mr. Watson was operator of Swift Company in 1928. From about 1934 until World War II, Fred Mathy managed Swift Cream Station. While he was in the service his wife, Velma, kept the business open. After the war he and Donald "Jack" Barnes purchased produce and hides and ran a produce route. They picked up milk, eggs and chickens. In 1949 Fred Mathy left to operate a grocery store. Jack Barnes closed the business in December 1951.
    Others that started and dissolved were Beatrice Creamery Co., Lincoln Pure Butter, Concordia Creamery and Jerpe's. Most of the stations were closed by 1940 or shortly thereafter. Some of the managers were Ralph Morris, Verlin Stanton, Max Stanton, Kermit Menzies, Hubert Menzies and Wayne Lindsley.
    John Horky managed a cream station for Swift and Company beginning in 1950. Later he purchased the station and operated it until 1972 when it was closed thus ending the creameries in Morrowville.

Hotels

    The Shaw House was built in 1889 and was the first hotel in Morrowville. It was two stories high with four apartments downstairs and eight apartments upstairs.
    One Saturday in 1897 the Shaw House boasted of serving 75 meals, the equivalant to any hotel in Kansas City.
    In 1897 it was purchased by Jacob Blocker who with the help of his daughter, Belle, operated it for two years. He built a home just north of the hotel. In 1908 Mrs. Ed Chapman owned the Blocker Hotel, and she sold it to Dave Sparks. In the same year Sparks traded it to Joe Archer for a farm southwest of Haddam. Archer built an addition on the hotel that was used as Dr. Beggs' dental office.
    In 1915 Mr. E. Dunick purchased the hotel. This establishment known at different times as the Shaw House, Morrowville Hotel, Buster House, Blocker Hotel, and Archer Hotel, burned along with several other buildings in 1920.
    In 1923 C. O. Throop built the hotel that is still standing today. It was first known as the Morrowville Hotel. From 1923 to 1928 the Throops leased the hotel to Alex Moore, Mr. Otwell and Warren Rose. The Throops came back to Morrowville and operated the hotel until 1942. In 1928 the Throops added a croquet court behind the hotel. It was one of the town's most popular amusement spots.
    After the hotel was closed it was the residence of Hardy Throop and his mother until her death. It is now the home of Hardy and his wife, Crispina, who is from the Phillipines. Throop opened a hobby shop and soda fountain in 1968. He closed it nine months later.

An Advertisement in a 1927 newspaper read:

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J. L. Hatter - flour, feed, seeds, cream, eggs; successor to J. F. Winterrowd: R. J. Stanton - fence, wire: Bank: Brant and Son - tires and cars: Howell Lumber Co.: Ed Brant store - clothes and material: Bertrams - Meat Market: Wurtz Store food and clothes: Raney Bros grocery store: Lesher's Variety.
*****************************************************

Bank

    The Morrowville State Bank was built in 1904 and opened on June 24 with J. R. Hyland as the first cashier. Hyland also was an attorney at law. On June 1, 1910, H. H. Diller became cashier.
    In 1923 a woman was arrested in Kansas City. She had in her possession liberty bonds stolen from the Morrwoville State Bank several months before when the bank was burglarized. The woman was identified as "Bobby Beaver" who had been arrested several times on minor offenses.
    In 1930 extensive remodeling was done. During remodeling, the banking headquarters were in the Lewis building.
    In September 1934 two unmasked men forced Jim Lewis and Henry Farrar, who were on the street talking, to enter the bank. They proceeded to rob the bank of between $200 to $400. When they realized that the central alarm had been set off they took H. H. Diller; his son, Dwayne; Jim Lewis and Henry Farrar with them. Dwayne Diller and Jim Lewis were released in the street. The robbers released Diller and Farrar a half mile north of town. In December of 1934 Bert Pope, 25, and Denzil Chastain, 28, pleaded guilty of the robbery. They were sentenced to 10 to 50 years in the Kansas State Penitentiary at Lansing. In 1938 the bank had a capital stock of $20,000 with surplus and undivided profits of $7,000. L. H. Wilsey was president; C. H. Smith, vice-president; H. H. Diller, cashier; and Anna Mallory, assistant cashier. The bank directors were R. J. Stanton, Earl Sawyer, J. K. Synovec, L. H. Bonar and the four officers.
    On February 26, 1942, the stockholders of the Morrowville State Bank voted to liquidate the assests and discontinue business. The bank had been in business 38 years. The depositors received 100 per cent of their deposits and the stockholders realized a good return for their share of stock. Business at the bank continued as usual until liquidation was completed.
    After formal closing, the bank cashier, H. H. Diller, and assistant cashier, Anna Mallory, both of whom had been in the bank for 32 years, continued to operate the bank as an exchange, cashing checks and transacting other business until 1955.

Telephone Office

    Early telephone service was much different than it is today. Local operators had a switchboard in their homes.
    Morrowville Telephone System was organized as part of the Washington Mutual Telephone Company. In those days Morrowville called people on the Washington line without paying a toll. The first board members were Lloyd Wilsey, Bob McGregor, Clyde Dull and possibly George Patterson.
   The first switchboard was put in the J. M. Chubbuck home in 1905. Vina Chubbuck was the first chief operator, sometimes spoken of as the "HELLO GIRL." In 1906 the switchboard was moved into the home of Mrs. O. Grout located right east of the bank building, where D & D's Easy Rider is now located. Bessie (Sommers) Durst was the operator. She was chief operator for two or three years. Margaret (Edwards) Moore managed it for awhile. Junia Applegarth managed it for 27 years.
    Part of the time the switchboard was located in the second house north of Oak Street along the highway. Later Applegarth bought the house at the corner of Oak and Morton streets where the office remained until it closed.
    Some of Junia Applegarth's helpers were Grace (Nutter) Long for three years, Winnie (Walters) Wise before she became the manager, Eileen (Bertram) Day, Lillian (Bertram) Heina, Laura Menke for two years 1924-26, Mae Reinecke in the 20s, Pearl Bahl in the 30s, Mildred Gassert in the 30s, Mrs. Faye Throop, Catherine (Miller) Beach, Evelyn Durst, Julia Moore and Ethel Raines.
    Grace (Nutter) Long worked for five years. She managed it her last two years there in 1937 and 1938. Her helpers were Eileen Bertram, Mrs. Faye Throop and Catherine (Miller) Beach.
    Winnie (Walters) Wise managed it for seven years ending in 1942. Her helpers included Lillian Bertram, Doris (Bertram) Kolman, Tillie (Naylor) Grover, Bonnie Lewis and Lorraine (Fraser) Lindsley.
    Bessie Durst managed it again for one year, then her daughter Evelyne Lamb managed it for five years.
    Sherman and Esther Skipton managed it for a short time followed by Vernest Kaufman and Eve Sutton. Julia Moore helped Sutton for several years.
    The telephone company was sold to the American Communication Company in 1953. They installed a dial system to replace the crank system and the local operators were no longer needed.

Barbers

    In the early days the barber shop was a busy place. The barber cut hair and gave shaves. It was easy to move the shop because there was no running water or electricity. All the barber had to do was unbolt his chair and move it to another building. According to the records they often did.
    In May of 1932 Harry Bastow dug a cellar under Charles Sawyer's barber shop so he could put a heater and water supply in the barber shop.
    The records show the following barbers were operating shops in Morrowville at some time during the indicated decades:

1897 to 1905 --	Harley Wright, Smith Dalrymple, Harry Pepple, Harley Marmen, Jonah Elliott and Floyd Nutter.
1906 to 1915 --	Harry Pepple, John Taylor, George Marc, Marvin Peckham and Joe Thompson.
1916 to 1925 --	O. M. Ferguson, John Taylor, Fred Goeken, Billinger, Bahl
1926 to 1935 --	Emery Whitman, Albright, Charles Sawyer, Bud Cornell, Walter Young, Orval Keen, Linn Northcot, Harry Pepple and Fred Goeken.
1936 to 1945 --	Harry Pepple and Roy Luce

    Roy Luce continued to operate his barbershop until around 1960. Charles "Chuck" Durst purchased Luce's equipment and operated a shop on Monday evenings for about six months in 1961.

Beauty Shops

    Morrowville has had several beauty shops to keep her ladies pretty. Mabel (Brant) Lindsley had one of the first. She gave marcels, finger waves and hair cuts. Her first shop was located where the post office is now, and later she moved it to her home.
    Clara (Cummings) Mathy had a shop in the late 20s, but she closed it in 1931 and reopened it in 1937. Her shop was located in her home. In 1940 she sold her equipment to Faith Fraser Lindsley.
    In 1935 Marjorie Diller had a shop in the home of her father, H. H. Diller. It was called the "Margie's Beauty Shop". An advertisement that she ran in the newspaper in 1937 read

******************************************
Oil permanent wave $1.00 and up: Shampoo and finger
wave $0.35: Fitsch's shampoo or oil shampoo $0.25.
******************************************

    Faith (Fraser) Lindsley started working for Clara Mathy in 1939. After she bought the equipment from Clara, she moved it to the little room on the south side of the old Hawes building. She closed her shop in 1942.
    A few years later Deloris (Russell) Koss had a shop in the same room.
    In 1961 Alberta (Mooren) Slater started her shop in Morrowville. She called it "Bertie's Beauty Shop". She still works some in her shop.
    After Margaret Nespor raised her family, she went to school to become a beautician. In 1973 she opened a shop in her home and still operates from there.
    Jeanette Baker opened a shop in her home in May 1978. The Bakers live in the country just west of Morrowville.

Auctioneers

    Morrowville has had some auctioneers and real estate men. Cal Morrow was the first real estate man. He purchased the land on which the original town of Morrow stood, dedicated all of the streets and alleys to public use and recorded the plat with the Register of Deeds of Washington County on May 22, 1884. On the same day he sold the rest of the land to the Lincoln Land Company, which in turn sold the lots to those who wanted them. Following Morrow were Fred Wright in 1902; a real estate firm, Lawrence and Rickert, in 1904; and O. F. Skipton, a real estate and livestock auctioneer, in 1913.
    In 1927 J. F. Hollinworth, auctioneer, conducted the livestock sales which were held at the sale pavalion just north of Huyck's elevator.
    Marvin Heck became an auctioneer in 1955. His first auction was a box supper for the Morrowville Grade School. One of his first paying jobs was Antone Cecrle's household goods. He now operates his business out of Washington, Kansas.

Doctors

    In 1885 Dr. French came to Morrowville from Washington and started a first class business selling drug items. He was located in a building north of where the Stanton Farm Services, Inc. office is today.
    In 1896 Indian John distributed herbs and tea. He resided on what is known as the August Carlson place. Some of his brew was made from cockleburrs and iron weed.
    In 1896 Dr. Matthews, a graduate of Topeka Medical College, who was recommended by Dr. Ochiltree of Haddam, came to Morrowville. At that time if a doctor could get a dollar now and then he was faring pretty well. By 1899 Morrowville was without a doctor.
    In that year, Dr. M. H. Horn arrived. He came from Fehman Island near the Baltic Sea. Six months later, he took a leave of absence to attend Topeka Medical School to study surgery. In his absence Dr. Owen took his place. By early 1900 Dr. Horn was again practicing medicine in Morrowville. Frank White assisted as a nurse. In 1901 Dr. Horn built a new office building. In 1904 he purchased a new rubbertired buggy. In 1912 he took in an orphaned boy and filed for his own naturalization papers. Shortly thereafter he purchased the first gasoline powered "buggy" in Morrowville, and everyone wanted a ride. Before World War I broke out he went back to Germany to study more medicine. While he was gone Dr. Deurer took his place. Horn returned to the United States just before the war started. He left Morrowville shortly afterward. He died in 1964 in Bothell, Washington, at the age of 93. During his lifetime he had delivered more than 2,000 babies.
    Dr. Miller came in 1918, shortly after Dr. Horn left, and was in Morrowville until his health failed in 1930. He died shortly afterward. His offices were located in Dr. Horn's old office building.
    In 1934 Dr. Orville Rose, an osteopath, opened an office in the Kozel building across the street west of the Methodist Church.
    In 1978 Dr. J. Ted Garner, chiropractor, set up a practice in Morrowville. He had a good business. In July 1983 he was arrested for the theft, forgery and murder of Fred Iwert who had disappeared. In January of 1984 he was convicted by a jury and subsequently sentenced for these crimes.
    Morrowville had one veterinarian, Dr. North, in the early 19O0s.

Dentist

    Dr. Ernest Beggs came to Morrowville in 1909. He was a graduate of Kansas City's best dental college. His first office was north of L. Frazier's shop. In 1909 he moved his offices to a building attached to the Archer Hotel. It was used as a barber shop. For a time he moved his office to Haddam, then in 1928 he moved his office back to Morrowville and located in what is now the post office. In 1930 he moved his office into Dr. Miller's offices and installed a new X-Ray machine. It was one of the latest models of the day. He left Morrowville in the late 30s.

Post Office

    In the 1880s there were post offices in almost every little community. One of these, the Blocker post office, was established on May 18,1881, in the Blocker community. It was located across the road north of the Franklin Lull farmstead. The postmistress was Mary Wilson.
    After the founding of Morrow in 1884, the Blocker post office was moved to Morrow Station on June 9,1884, and David Welch was the first postmaster. In 1885 William Cummings was postmaster and the post office was located in his hardware store. After William Cummings left for Oklahoma, his sister, Maggie, was postmistress. Ten years later John C. Halferty was postmaster.
    In 1899 Charlie Hawes was postmaster, and the post office was located in a corner of the Hawes store.
    Rural delivery was started about 1903. M. H. Grimes, J. M. Chubbuck and Charles Day Sr. served as carriers for the three rural routes.
    Charles Hawes was postmaster until about 1915, when John Waterman became postmaster. The post office was then moved to the J. W. Wells building where it remained until 1933.
    In the early days the postmaster's position was very political. If a Democrat was in power, a Democrat served as postmaster. When the Republicans were in power the postmaster was a Republican. This policy did not change until about 1950, when a candidate for the position was required to take Civil Service exams. Route carriers have always been required to take Civil Service exams. As a rule, the candidate with the highest grade point average from the exams received the appointment to be filled, either carrier or postmaster.
    In 1921 John Waterman transferred to a route that had been vacated by Charles Day, and John Schwab, a Republican, became postmaster and remained until 1932. Vern and Willis Darby had replaced M. H. Grimes and J. M. Chubbuck as rural carriers. In 1933 P. S. Kozel, a Democrat, became postmaster and purchased the building where the post office is located today. D. K. Lindsley was assistant postmaster until 1935. When John Waterman retired as rural carrier, P. S. Kozel became the mail carrier, and George Thomas became postmaster. He purchased the building from P. S. Kozel and used the space in back for a residence.
    When Willis Darby retired, the three mail routes were combined into two routes. Donald "Gooch" Moore was assistant clerk. When Vern Darby retired, Moore became a route carrier. Phyllis Jennings was postal clerk. Upon the death of George Thomas in 1955, she was appointed acting postmistress. Curtis Wieland was appointed postmaster in 1956. Jennings remained as clerk until she resigned, and Frieda Mooren was appointed clerk. Reva Rollman served as sub clerk. When she resigned, Alice Stanton became sub clerk.
    When P. S. Kozel retired as mail carrier, the two routes were combined into one route. Lloyd Mooren became the substitute carrier for Moore. After the death of Moore, Kenneth Rogge, a carrier out of Washington, became the route carrier for a combined Washington and Morrowville route. He was transferred, and Jim Menzies, a Washington carrier, became route carrier.
    In 1975 Curtis Wieland retired as postmaster. For one year Frieda Mooren was acting postmistress. Robert Jones of Washington received the appointment as postmaster in 1976. In 1980 he was transferred to Linn, Kansas. Alice Stanton was appointed postmistress. Winifred Nutsch was appointed clerk. Both Stanton and Nutsch are in these positions today.
    Some of the communities that had post offices in the late 1880s and the early 1900s were:

Albia -- 1905
Blocker -- 1881-1884
Clara -- 1903
Dewey -- 1900
Enosdale -- 1884
Gaskill -- 1903
Morrow Station -- 1884
Throop -- 1903

Burlington Railroad

    The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad came through Washington County, passing by the place where Morrow was to be founded in May 1884. There have been a number of depot agents who took care of baggage, boxes and merchandise that came through the Morrowville depot and sold tickets to train passengers.
    L.H. Bonsall was the first agent of the depot, telegraph and freight business in 1886. Between 1889 and 1910 C. E. Zink, W. B. Beck and Mr. Ilgin were agents. Sometime in the early 1900s the railroad changed its name to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The name of the railroad changed again in the 1970s to Burlington Northern. From January 1928 until September 1934 the following men were depot agents: Joe Milburn, Mr. Harris and Grant Casey. Oscar C. Mittler became agent and served 18 years until his retirement in 1952. Following Mittler several young agents served for short periods of time : Bob Sands, R. G. Kuhlman, Darrel Portnier, Wes Smith, Bob Fitz and Don Fairbanks.
    The railroad was a branch line between Wymore, Nebraska, and Concordia, Kansas. The railroad went from daily round trip service to three round trips weekly. As the years went by and track maintenance costs grew much faster than freight revenues, the railroad company was forced to close the line in 1982, two years short of the centennial.
    The upper story of the depot was used as living quarters for the agents in the early years. The last agent to live there was Oscar Mittler. This picture, taken looking east from Main Street, shows the depot after the second story was removed. The two elevators can be seen in the background.

Recreation Parlor

    Until 1943 there was no recreation parlor in Morrowville. The building where the recreation parlor is located now was built by J. D. Lewis in the 1920s. It was leased by John Cummings, who operated a grocery store. W. H. Short leased the building and put in a cafe, then sold out his interests to Dick Menke in 1932. Between 1934 and 1943 the following persons operated a cafe in this building: Adam Materi, Claude Bacon, Earl Jennings and Robert Patterson
    In 1943 Roy Luce purchased the building, set up a barber chair in one corner and installed pool tables in the remainder of the establishment. In 1947 he sold the recreation business to Francis Koch and moved his barber business to the building south of the American Legion Hall.
    In 1948 Clay Pralle purchased the recreation parlor and operated it until 1956 when John Behrens purchased it.
    In 1975 Don and Jeanne Mathy bought out John and Ruby Beherns, and they added short order meals and changed the name to the "Red Lantern." Mathys closed the business in June 1980. In the fall of 1980 the building was purchased by the Morrowville Community Center Inc. The building was leased by Pat and Dick Miller who continued to operate under the name of the "Red Lantern." Besides having a pool table, short order meals and beer were served. In 1982 Miller sold his equipment and stock to Ben Tice and Gary Roberts. In 1983 Dick and Diane Miller purchased the equipment and stock. They changed the name to "D & D's Easy Rider."

Port of Entry

    The port of entry system was established more than 50 years ago as a law enforcement station. Truckers from all over the United States and Canada have to purchase certain permits to operate in or through Kansas. These permits are purchased on an annual basis and expire much like vehicle registrations. Any permits that drivers do not have in their possession can be purchased at the port. Port operators check permits and registrations, check all livestock coming into the state, collect fuel taxes, issue oversize permits, collect sales tax on items consumed in Kansas and provide tourist information. About 40 ports of entry have been closed. Fifteen mobile units have been added to spot check permits, overweight and safety devices. All operators have been in full uniform since 1979.
    The first port of entry on Highway 15 was opened in the early 1930s and was located one mile north of Reno on the state line. Dewey