The Larabee Story, an Addendum

 

San Diego Botanic Garden, Photo credit Brittany C.

The tradition of giving back to their community did not end with the death of Joseph B. Larabee (1833-1913).  In fact, his grandson, Charles Larabee, and his wife, Ruth Robertson Baird, have generously given to the people of San Diego a magnificent Botanic Garden.  Their story will serve as a coda to this series about the Larabee family.  The father of Charles was Frederick Delos Larabee (1868-1920), the son of Joseph Delos and Angeline Larabee, and the middle brother of Nora Larabee.  His parents had left Stafford, although the Larabee businesses established by Charles' grandfather continued to be the family business.

Charles and Ruth Robertson Baird grew up within a block of each other in Kansas City, Missouri.  Her parents were also quite successful, and Ruth graduated from Vassar College in 1926, majoring in Latin.  Charles and Ruth married on June 3, 1926, a few days after her graduation.  They both loved adventure and the out-of-doors, and early in their marriage they sailed round trip from Kansas City to Chicago and back, by navigating the Missouri, Mississippi, and Illinois Rivers.  Ruth taught school, and Charles became co-owner of "The Garden Shop," a 40 acre nursery of trees, evergreens, shrubs, and perennials.  He lectured on gardening and trees, and later gained a reputation as a photographer of the Southwest.

In 1942, Ruth bought 10 acres, with a small cottage, in Encinitas, California, and they left their home in the Midwest to move into the modest ranch in California.  Eventually Ruth named the property "El Rancho San Ysidro de las Flores," and they began collecting plants.  Sadly, they divorced, but Ruth remained on the property.

In 1957, Ruth donated the entire 26.5 acres she then owned to the County of San Diego, to be preserved as a park for public enjoyment.  Despite their divorce, Charles continued to take an interest in Ruth's ranch and garden, sometimes adding plants from his travels to the collection.   

Shadow Mountain

Charles managed the Larabee Family Trust until his death in February of 1968.  His name is inscribed on a crypt in the Larabee Family Mausoleum in Stafford, Kansas; however, his two step children removed his ashes and scattered them in the desert from atop Shadow Mountain, which he loved, along with the ashes of their mother, his second wife.

Ruth continued her charitable giving after leaving California and had eventually returned to Shawnee Mission.  On December 26, 1969, Ruth was staying in the Crown Hotel in Saffron Walden, Essex, England, when a fire broke out and she perished.  Her remains were cremated, and she is buried near her mother and father in Forest Hill Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri.

(Thank you to "Cultivating Their Place in History:  The Story of Ruth and Charles Larabee,)

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.

Isaac Werner's Wagon

For nearly a decade after his arrival on the Kansas prairie, Isaac Werner did not go into debt.  Without a horse, he focused on planting and keeping the trees on his timber claim alive, growing a garden, and tending a peach orchard.  He managed to break some sod by trading his own labor in exchange for having a neighbor come with horse and plow, but the thick prairie sod was next to impossible for a man to break without horses or oxen.

With fewer farmers settled on the prairie and less sod broken, prices for what they raised remained high, and nature favored farmers with adequate rain.  Based on those prices and the accommodating rainfall, Isaac finally decided that he should go into debt to buy a horse, calculating that he could pay the loan back quickly with the crops he raised.

He bought his little mare Dolley Varden and borrowed what he thought would be enough extra to buy the necessary implements.  Unfortunately, Isaac was not the only settler to have decided to expand his farming operation, and as more crops were marketed, prices fell.  To make matters worse, the rainfall did not always come when it was needed.

Isaac discovered that becoming a serious farmer required more equipment than he had anticipated, and he went further into debt.  One of the most expensive purchases was a wagon that he bought from F. C. Shaler in St. John.  He focused on raising potatoes and corn, and he needed the wagon to deliver his crops to market.

Having anticipated paying off his mortgage quickly, he had not negotiated a long-term mortgage, and each renewal resulted in higher interest.  Like many other settlers, the most that Isaac could do was pay the interest owed and renew the note at ever-increasing interest rates.

At the recent Octoberfest in Stafford, Kansas, I saw a wagon which may have resembled the wagon Isaac bought from F.C. Shaler. The wagon pictured in the advertisement from the St. John County Capital is a Milburn Wagon, and the one I saw in Stafford was a Studebaker.

 The Studebaker Wagon was donated by Brian and Kathy Fischer, in memory of Wayne Dean Fischer.  Information from the donors indicates that this wagon was used in the early 1900s; however, it looks very similar to the wagon in the Shaler advertisement.

Veterans Then and Now

W.W. II pilot and dear friend, Emerson Shields

Isaac B. Werner was a teenager during the Civil War and was raised in a Pennsylvania community in which attitudes toward the war were strong and mixed.  In a book written by Isaac's former teacher, the secret organization of draft resisters is documented so closely that although it purports to be fiction, local people could clearly identify which characters in the book were patterned after actual citizens.  There were members of the Werner family who served, but neither Isaac nor his twin brother served, although many teenagers were in uniform during the Civil War.  

Because Union soldiers often took advantage of the law crediting each year of service for the Union toward the years required to obtain title to their homestead claims, many of Isaac's homesteader neighbors were former Union soldiers, among whom were close friends.  In general, however, Isaac was critical of these veterans, particularly because they tended to support the party of Lincoln, which was seen at that time as more sympathetic to Wall Street and the wealthy than to farmers and other laborers. 

Veterans honored at Macksville High School

Recently, my husband and I attended the ceremonies recognizing the service of veterans in our community.  It was the first time we had attended such occasions, and this year we went to St. John, Macksville, and Stafford.  It was quite moving for my husband, who had never been specifically recognized for his military service in that way.

What was interesting was that by chance a few days earlier, we had discussed what his 4 1/2 years of service had meant to our personal lives.  Although he did serve a short tour of duty overseas, he never faced combat, so that sacrifice that others made was not part of our experience.

Macksville students in program with Veterans

What we agreed was that his time in the military was a positive experience for both of us.  The opportunity to serve his country, knowing that it was an obligation of all young men of that time, strengthened his love of country, as it did mine.  There is nothing like living elsewhere and seeing prejudices and practices with which you disagree to make you take a closer look at your own.  There is also nothing like living elsewhere to experience historical cites, entertainments, foods, and all kinds of things you might not have otherwise encountered.  And, there was no place like the military to get to know people from all parts of our nation, people of all ethnic, economic, and religious backgrounds.  It was a growing experience that we would not trade.  My husband learned leadership skills that he used in his civilian career, and I taught English in two large urban schools much different from our own school backgrounds.  The draft was, from our view, an opportunity for young Americans to mature and learn discipline in service of this great country and take from their experience many positive things.

MHS student chorus

Setting a table for a missing veteran

The first Memorial Day after we had 'rescued' the old farmhouse, we invited our families to a dinner at the farm, a family tradition when I was growing up.  We sat in a circle before dinner and we invited every guest to mention a family member who had served our country so we could drink a toast to all of those who served.  Every person could name a family member who had served--themselves, a husband, a sibling, a child, a parent, as well as some of our shared ancestors.  Today, many families cannot name a close relative who has served his or her country.  That seems, to me, to be a loss for those generations and for all of us.  I do not encourage sending our young people off to war, but service to country does not have to involve carrying a weapon.

W.W. II and modern Bombers

Emerson Shields spoke at Stafford, sharing his training as a young man plucked from a college campus into training as a pilot in what was then called the Army Air Force.  He was only 20 years old when he was promoted to lead the planes in his squadron into battle.

MHS band and veterans

The youngest veteran at Stafford was recognized for his service of two tours in Afghanistan with a red, white, and blue quilt.  The third grade class made pinwheel poppies to hand to each veteran present, and veterans were asked to come forward to sign a large quilt which year after year veterans in attendance at their Veterans' Day program are asked to sign.

Cutting cake with military saber

Another tradition in Stafford is to ask the youngest and the oldest veterans present to use a traditional military saber to cut the cake.  Two veterans present were 92 years old, and when asked to give their birth months to determine who was older, both were born just days apart in September.  The crowd voiced their desire to have both men join the youngest veteran in the cake-cutting ceremony!

Thank you to everyone who planned and participated in the Veterans Programs we attended, and thank you to all our veterans who have served and are serving our country.  May this Thanksgiving Day include a remembrance of all of you.

(Remember, pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.)

Save the ATSF Stafford Depot

Here's an important alert that fits well with this week's blog!  Visit my friend Kim's newest blog to read about the lovely, historic Stafford, Kansas train depot that is at risk of being demolished.  Kim is a wonderful photographer, and her photographs accompany the article.  The article gives the address for sending requests to BNSF to delay destruction while efforts are made to save it, and that address is andy.williams@bnsf.com.  However, be sure to visit Kim's blog to read the details.  http://kimscountyline.blogspot.com   The depot is located in the same small town as the museum with the collection housing the hearse and other funeral objects described in this week's blog.  It is also the town with the Stafford County Historical & Genealogy Museum where I did so much of the research for my manuscript from old newspapers, as well as the museum preserving the glass plate negatives about which I have written in this blog.  This is a town that cares about its history.  Please help it save the depot by sending your comments on facebook to andy.williams@bnsf.com

Stafford (KS) Opera House

Weide Opera House, Stafford, Kansas

On November 5, 1888, Isaac B. Werner wrote in his journal:  "While eating my breakfast I decided should occasionally enjoy a holiday at least, so got ready & soon took off for Stafford City.  Got there by noon when they were forming the procession for Union Labor rally.  Looked hastily over the town which had improved a little surprisingly since my last trip through there some 7 years ago.  Had some speaking in a hall...  Close to 500 people attending, some 200 women and an enthusiastic audience it was too."

Although Stafford had vied with St. John for the Stafford County seat, it was St. John that won the battle at the ballot box.  (See "Isaac's Victorian Courthouse," 3-29-2012 in the blog archives.)  Consequently, Isaac traveled to the county seat in St. John more often than to Stafford.  Even so, it seems surprising to those of us today who think little of traveling  25 or 30 miles, that Isaac would not have returned to Stafford City for 7 years!

Eventually, Stafford got a new Opera House, but that structure had not been built when Isaac attended the Union Labor rally.  His only description was "some speaking in a hall," so I am uncertain of the building that might have hosted the speakers.  As always, Isaac was encouraged by seeing women taking part in political matters, although they did not yet have the vote.

Interior, Weide Opera House, Stafford, Kansas

The post card images in this blog, including The Weide Opera House, Stafford, Kas. at the beginning of this blog are part of the Yost/Leak Collection and should be credited as such.  The post card image of the interior of the Weide Opera House bears on the reverse side a postal cancellation with the date "1911, Sep 18," although the "Stafford County History, 1870-1990" indicates the building date as 1912.  (The postal cancellation would seem to establish that the construction was completed by the earlier date.) It was clearly an impressive building for public performances.

Unfortunately it fell on hard times and was demolished in 2013.  We are left to imagine what wonderful social evenings the residents of Stafford must have enjoyed in their Opera House in its prime!

(If you missed the blog about the Opera House in St. John, KS, you may visit it in the blog archives at "St. John (KS) Convention Hall & Opera House," 6-26-2014.)