The Larabee Story, Part 4

Nora E. Larabee Library

     Recently, Larry D. Fenwick spent a pleasant afternoon visiting with Jan McKeel, Librarian of the Nora E. Larabee Library in Stafford, Kansas.  Jan shared with him the Memorial published in the Stafford County Republican, June 16, 1904, gifted to the library by the daughter of Drew Hartnett.  The following text is taken from that Memorial, describing not only Nora, but also reflecting the traditions of that era.  Included are the names of many others in the Stafford community and beyond.

    

Nora E. Larabee

    With the death of Miss Nora Larabee, which occurred at Albuquerque, New Mexico, last Wednesday night, an heroic fight for life against terrible odds has ended, and Death claims the victory.  For over two years the Larabees have carried on a hard fought contest to battle and withstand that most dread disease, consumption, but their efforts were fruitless, anymore than they can feel that they have done all that human hands could possibly do to win.  Money, time and labor have been of no consequence.  Specialists of world-wide repute have been consulted, traveling indulged in, and for the past year or so the parents have lived in the New Mexico health resort with the hope that its dry climate would prove healing and beneficial.

    For some months past they have realized that they were to lose her, and the many friends in and around Stafford have been sympathetic in their sorrow for the great bereavement that was to befall them, and all calmly awaited the coming of the Grim Reaper.

    She is dead, gone to that bourne from whence no traveler returns, yet not forgotten, nor will she ever be, for in her life among us she has builded a character most beautiful.  Her talents were many and her friends legion, and her early death will leave a place vacant in our community that it will take years to fill...may never be filled.  She has grown to womanhood in our midst, got a goodly portion of her education here, after which she was graduated with high honors from the College of the Sisters of Bethany at Topeka.  While never strong and rugged, like many other girls her age, it was not thought until a few months ago that she was to be cut off so young in life, and it seems a great pity that at just the time when she was blooming into the fullness of accomplished womanhood...all the bright world before her, and just when she might enjoy the many blessings and good things at her command, she must give up all...home, parents, brothers, friends!

Center stained glass image

Yet, maybe 'tis best.  Possibly this world is not so beautiful as it seems.  "Tis but the working out of the promise of God, the inevitable hand of fate that rests o'er the destiny of all mankind.  Nora is in a better home, and we're sure out of the pain and misery of human life.

Forbid, oh God, that it should seem sacrilegious to feel a bit hard towards fate for the striking of such a cruel blow.  Permit us the solace that beyond the broad canopy that o'erspreads this sphere there is a heaven...a place where all may find rest; the rest that comforts and heals the broken body, and that will overshadow the pains and heartaches of this mortal life.

Would to God that the writer were able to find words in which to express his innermost feelings as we pencil these lines, and pay a tribute fitting such a worthy individual, but it is impossible.  We can only think of her as good, noble and true to her friendships, of which she had so many; of the days when with the other boys and girls up at the old school house we were wont to play the innocent games of childhood together; of her growing to woman's estate while we grew to man's' of her onward progress, surmounting every obstacle that presented  itself, and that she has now given up this life when fairly started into it beauties.

Her friends will doubtless feel like us in this matter, and the great God in heaven will pardon us all for thoughts of resentment at such an ending.

The parents and brother, Fred D., arrived with the remains on Saturday morning's Santa Fe train, and were met at the depot by a large concourse of friends.  The Bachelor Girls' Club, of which she was one of the original organizers, was there with a most beautiful floral offering, and accompanied the remains to the family home on Union street north, where they were laid in state to be viewed by the friends.

All afternoon Saturday and up until noon Sunday a steady stream of people wended their way to the home of the Larabees to take the last look at all that was mortal, and tender consolation to the bereaved ones.

The room in which she lay was a veritable flower bank.  Among the offerings was a beautiful flower pillow from brothers Frank and Fred; bouquet, H.L. McCurdy and wife, Stafford; bouquet, H.D. McQuade and wife, Kansas City, Mo.; cross and anchor, Bachelor Girls' Club, Stafford; emblem made in shape of the club pin, Cooking Club, Stafford; two large mantels, Mesdames F.S. and F.D. Larabee, Stafford; crescent, C.A. and F.C. McCord, Stafford; heart, E.N. Maxfield and wife, Stafford; box of flowers, Paul E. Webb, Oklahoma City, Ok.; floral box, Mary A. Negley, Stafford; bouquet, Carrie A. Mack, Macksville; bouquet, Mrs. G.W. Maupin, Stafford; bouquet, the LaRue family, Stafford; besides offerings from Mr. and Mrs. Berger, Mr. and Mrs. Allen, and Mrs. Patten of Albuquerque, and others unmarked from Stafford friends.

Portrait of Nora

    The Rev. William Elwood, a former Congregational minister of Stafford, and a brother-in-law of F.D. Larbee, arrived Saturday night from Anthony, Kansas, and conducted the funeral at three o'clock Sunday afternoon.  He was assisted by the Rev. J.G. Smiley of this city.

    A male quartet of Messrs. Frank Mathias, Leroy Van Lehn, J.D. Rippey of Stafford, and Leonard Sanders of Hutchinson, sang two appropriate selections, and Miss Ida Alford sang "Flee, as a Bird."

    The pallbears, Mesdames Kate Crawford, Rose Van Lehn, Edna Oarey, and Misses Hasse Turner, Callie Vioers, and Gertie Sutton, assisted by the honorary pallbearers, Messrs. Hal Wolf, Wright, LaRue, D. Mershon, A. Hartnett and John Bridwell, preceded by Miss M. LaRue, conveyed the beautiful white casket to the hearse.  They were followed by the remaining members of the Bachelor Club, carrying flowers.

The procession was almost a mile in length, and was another evidence of the high esteem in which the deceased was held by our citizens.

Her girl friends of the clubs had most tastily decorated the grave in green and white that morning.

Nora E. Larabee was born in Ashford, N.Y., September 12th, 1878, died in Albuquerque, N.M., June 8th, 1904, and was buried in the Stafford Cemetery Sunday, June 12th.  With her parents and brothers she came to this city in the Spring of 1886.  

Nora E. Larabee Library

  

The Larabee Story, Part 3

Exterior View of Nora's Window on Library
Photo credit:  Larry D. Fenwick

Having decided to honor their daughter Nora E. Larabee with the construction of a beautiful public library to be gifted to the town, they chose perhaps the leading architect in Kansas at that time to design it.  His name was Charles E. Shepard.  Based in Kansas City, he was an impressive choice.

Shepard chose dark red brick and wood trim fashioned in a Corinthian style for the library.  According to Paul Hawkin and Dixie Osborn, writing in the "Stafford County History, 1870 to 1990," when the library was subsequently expanded, each extension included one of the original windows incorporated into the new additions, decisions that made the renovations nearly unnoticeable.

Stafford Library with addition

The most beautiful detail of the library, however, was the stained-glass window with the portrait of the lovely, young Nora.

Despite their generous motives, the gift of the library to the town of Safford was not immediately accepted.  Although the family businesses had created jobs for Stafford citizens, the mother and daughter had been active in the arts for the town, and the men held city offices, a rift had developed between Joseph Larabee and the editor of the Stafford Carrier, who served on the city council.  He led the council members in a rejection of the gift.

The townspeople responded with a recall election that displaced those council members, and the new members accepted the gift.  Animosities are not unheard of in communities, and the details of the tragic rift between the two men is not known to many today, but for those of us viewing the beautiful library, the rejection of the gift is difficult to understand.  Regardless, the town received a beautiful library, and the family's memorial for their daughter remains in her honor, in her hometown of Stafford, Kansas.  The Nora E. Larabee Memorial Library is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Charles E. Shepard also designed the bank building at 100 S. Main in Stafford, and the structure currently houses the Stafford County Museum.

Nora is buried in the family Mausoleum in the cemetery on a hill just outside Stafford. 

Larabee Masoleum, Photo credit:  Larry D. Fenwick

The Larabee Story, Part 2

Tuberculosis had no regard for wealth.  It struck the rich and famous, as well as the poor and working classes.  For a time, it was the leading cause of death in America.  From 1880 to 1940, New Mexico attracted "health seekers" with its high elevation and abundant sunshine.  By 1920, people seeking the cure were estimated to represent 10% of the state's population.  Instead of fearing the tubercular sufferers, they were sought with advertising such as Albuquerque's slogan "Heart of the Well Country," Silver City's title "City with the Golden Climate," and Santa Fe calling itself the "Land of Sunshine."  Pamphlets advertised "hotels well-furnished, bright sunny rooms...at very reasonable rates," and for those invalids with less money, a pamphlet suggested an invalid could "pitch his tent or build his cabin where he pleases without fearing a land owner's interference.  Even ranches were suggested, with the caveat that while the outdoors and sunshine were desirable, the rancher might not be welcoming.

The treatment of that time consisted of rest, fresh air, ample good food, and a positive attitude.  If the patient did not improve, the next types of treatments might be far less pleasant.

In the early years, those with tuberculosis were welcomed, but by the early 1900s the attitude had begun to change.  The back page of the Albuquerque Commercial Club pamphlet read:  "Albuquerque does not invite indigent or hopeless cases."

Another group of health seekers had poured into the state.  Discharged soldiers with tuberculosis arrived hoping to find treatment, overwhelming the already stressed population.

The discovery of streptomycin, and eventually other drugs, at last proved effective for treating tuberculosis, but it was too late for Nora E. Larabee, who died in 1904.  Unable to have saved their beloved daughter, the family decided to honor her with a beautiful library donated to their home town, Stafford, Kansas.

(Thank you to Santa Fe Trail Magazine, "The Lungers and Their Legacy," Nancy Owen Lewis.)

The Larabee Story, Part 1

The Nora E. Larabee Window

It is always dangerous to make assumptions, and I had mistakenly assumed for years that the beautiful library in Stafford, Kansas was a Carnegie Library.  In fact, it was given to Stafford by a local family in honor of their daughter, who fell victim to tuberculosis.  There is much more to this family's story than can be told in a single blog, but all of it is worth sharing.

Joseph D. Larabee was born in N.Y. in 1832 or 1833, and he was not the typical man seeking a fortune by heading West.  When he brought his family to Stafford in 1886, he had already established a modestly successful career in New York as a cheese buyer.  However, it was in Kansas where his financial success expanded.

In her article published March 26, 2012, Beccy Tanner described Larabee's enterprises, including not only the Larabee Flour Milling Company in Stafford but also land in Western Kansas amounting to thousands of acres, lead mining in southeast Kansas, a charcoal plant in the Ozarks, oil and gas refineries in Kansas and Oklahoma, a cement factory in Mexico, and financing for such operations as a car dealership and a carburetor company. 

At the age of 32, Joseph had married 18-year-old Angeline.  Their first child was Frank, followed by their second son, Frederick.  A third son, Kestor, died before his first birthday.  Their last child was Nora.  It was after her birth that the family came to Stafford, Kansas.

With their financial success and their family complete, it seemed they were fortunate indeed.  However, sickness has no regard for wealth.  The beautiful young Nora contracted tuberculosis.