Columbia, MO to Sedalia, MO (I-70 west to Hwy 65 south)
About 50 miles southwest of Columbia is the reason for my visit to central Missouri, the town of Sedalia. Sedalia was founded in the late 1850’s and was a supply post for the Union during the Civil War. The town really took off in 1866 when it became the western terminus of two railroads. The railroads would dominate the local economy for the next 100 years. In particular, Sedalia became the nexus of two great economic forces: the railroads from the east and cattle drives from the southwest and due to the intervention of the Civil War, remained the end of the railroad for three years. During the Civil War the cattle drive routes from Texas to the East Coast were disrupted and by 1865 there was an excess of over 250,000 cattle roaming the Texas Plains. At the same time Phillip Danforth Armour opened a massive meat packing plant in Chicago, the precursor of the massive growth in the meat packing business in the Chicago area. A number of Texas cattlemen banded together and drove the first large herd to Sedalia’s railroad terminus and the boom was on. The railroads quickly expanded further west but Sedalia remained a vital crossroads as well as maintenance and supply depot for the railroads. The area boomed during the 1880’s and Ohio Street became lined with impressive buildings. At the same time, the number of men exploded in the area due to the needs of the railroad and Sedalia became known as the “Sodom and Gomorrah” of Missouri, with prostitution flourishing in the upper floors of the buildings on Ohio Street. Instead of raising taxes, the town taxed prostitution in order to fund civic services. During WWII the government built Sedalia Glider Base just west of town which developed into Whiteman Air Force Base. Home to 150 ICBM missiles during the 1960’s. Today a town of 20,000 people, most commercial activity has moved west of the old downtown area along Ohio Street to center along the Hwy 65 bypass. While not a developed historic district, Ohio Street is lined with magnificent remnants of the late 19th century.
This is fall, and the day I visited Sedalia the homecoming parade for Sacred Heart High School was getting underway in all of its’ glory.
While waiting for the parade I had the pleasure of meeting John Roberts, a 77 year old man who’s great-granddaughter was marching in the parade, and member of a local family who could trace his roots in the area back to the 1860’s. He was the one who told me about the cattle drives and then got worked up recounting how the government just paid his family $160 when they condemned the land for the glider base during World War II. He also pointed out that the oldest part of town along the railroad tracks had a number of empty lots now. He said that the reason people were given is that the trembling of the ground due to passing trains was weakening the old buildings, but I could tell he wasn’t buying it. He was sitting in his chair at a prime corner, wearing his red Sacred Heart hat proudly, just across from a building that is being renovated. He wasn’t too happy about that, either, since all these new people were coming in and driving up the price of everything.
After the parade passed us by, I continued my exploration of the downtown area, which is dominated by the Hotel Bothwell. John Homer Bothwell was a prominent citizen of Sedalia around the turn of the century. The hotel, built in 1927, has been restored to the elegance of the early days. Harry S. Truman was at the Bothwell when he learned that he had been selected to run for the Senate in 1942.
Other notable buildings on Ohio Street include the Missouri Trust Company Building ( 1887) and, just off Ohio, the Lona Theatre (1920).
And then, a block off Ohio Street, I come to the reason that I am visiting Sedalia, the First United Methodist Church (built in 1888).
Here, on January 15, 1914, my maternal grandparents were married. Mary McCurdy (January 7, 1890-October 9, 1992) and Ira Finley (November 13, 1890-November 14, 1973) were both born in the Sedalia area. Here is their wedding picture from that day.
Three years later on Saturday, May 19, 1917, they packed all of their belongings and headed out to build a life in eastern Montana. Fifty years later in Billings they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with this picture, which is the last picture of them together that we have.
How can I be so definite about the date? In 1967 a student at a local college in Billings sat down with the two of them in their house outside of Billings and transcribed their story of the move west. The first paragraph was Grandma speaking, then she turned it over to “Dad”. I wasn’t there, but knowing her, I’m sure that she helped him tell the story along the way…
I don’t know what year their car was, but here’s a picture I found on line of a 1914 Baby Grand Chevy.
They did complete the move to Montana, raised six children (lost two in infancy), one of whom was my mother, Katherine. Grandpa was a farmer during the years that I knew him, and was a man of very few words. When he spoke, you listened! Grandma was the stereotypical matriarch of the family. She had been a school teacher before they married, loved education and playing the organ. Both believed in “spare the rod and spoil the child” and Grandma’s wooden spoon was something to be feared! (For other’s, of course, not ME….) Grandma encouraged my piano playing and was very proud of the fact that I became a teacher. One particular piece of advice I have recalled many, many times through the years both professionally and personally. She told me “Larry, you always have to leave the light on the back porch on” meaning when dealing with people you always had to be there to care and provide hope, no matter what. She also was very clear about the need for self-reliance and taking care of one’s self. My girls were quite young when they first met her and didn’t hear her name clearly. Instead of Grandma Finley they called her Grandma “Friendly”, which seemed appropriate. She (and the rest of my family) greeted all the foster and adopted children that I brought into the family over the years with open arms. She was a tough old broad, in every positive sense of the term! I still think of her often… Here is the last picture I have of her, taken with my parents and siblings (back row Robyn, Mike,me, Susan; front row Pat, Grandma, Mom and Dad, Allan Scott) during the celebration of her 100th birthday in 1990.
And that’s why I went to Sedalia, and I’m glad I did.
Next up: Parlez-vous francais???
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