The Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine
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June 2018
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Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
M a n o f V i s i o n : A r t h u r S t i lw e l l
Compiled by Michael Cate, Editor
Arthur Edward Stilwell was the dreamer who envisioned a railroad from Kansas City to the Gulf of Mexico. He was also the imaginative force that established the town of Mena. Stilwell was born at Rochester, NY on October 21, 1859. His inspiration for railroading came from his grandfather, Hamblin Stilwell who was one of the founders of the New York Central Railroad and also helped establish the Erie Canal. A close friend asked young Arthur what he intended to do with his life. His reply, “I’m going West to build a railroad.” As a young man, Stilwell ran away from home to discover his fortunes. He landed in St. Louis where he worked as a cashier, then as head of a mailing department. His wages were $9 per week. He returned to New York and worked at a floor walker, (manager) in a department store for a while. He then made his way home to Rochester where he poured his savings into a printing business and was soon hired by a stationery firm as a traveling salesman. In his travel, he noticed rail schedules were not printed or distributed except in the immediate New York City area where they also contained advertising. Stilwell arranged contracts with the major railroads in the
Arthur E. and Jennie Wood Stilwell Eastern U.S. to print and distribute their schedules free of charge. He retained exclusive rights to sell advertising on them and he negotiated a personal pass to travel on any of their passenger cars. This became his first real success. He was all of 19 years old with a monthly income exceeding $2,000. When he was 15, he had announced to his parents that he intended to marry Miss Jennie A. Wood some day. Four years later, he put a ring on her finger. As he rode from city to city, he made numerous contacts and enjoyed many freedoms other passengers were not allowed. For example, he could walk atop freight cars, visit in the cab with engineers and even loiter on the caboose as he chatted with brakemen. From these conversations he learned the mechanics of railPage 4
roading, the cost of rail ties and the service life of steel rails. Soon, he had friends from Kansas City to Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, and north to Rhode Island. Stilwell joined Travelers Insurance Company for two years. He invented and copyrighted new insurance products including the coupon annuity, the endowment accident and the annuity draft. Here too, he first met in casual conversation, a man named John Gates. Next, Stilwell moved to Hartford, Connecticut where he became an agent serving Rhode Island and Connecticut. After accumulating $25,000 in savings, he resigned and announced he was going to build railroads. His first goal was to build a rail from Kansas City to the Gulf of Mexico. This rail would save
600 miles of shipping expense and delay for midwest agricultural and industrial interests. Until then, the only option to reach deep water ports was by wagon or roundabout the untamed Arkansas and Mississippi rivers. Stilwell and his wife, Jennie, traveled to Europe in 1886 to seek funds for his vision. At that time in history, industrial expansion in America was a trendy investment strategy sought by well-heeled Europeans with a penchant for adventure. On his return trip, Arthur and Jennie met a Dutch coffee merchant named Jan deGoeijen and his wife, “Mena” Janssen deGoeijen aboard the S.S. Amsterdam. Stilwell would later refer to Jan as simply, “Mr. DeQueen” because virtually no American could utter the Dutchman’s tongue-twisting name correctly. Meanwhile, Stilwell became acquainted with E.L. Martin, a former mayor of Kansas City who dreamed of constructing a belt rail around the town. Stilwell traveled to Philadelphia where he secured a loan for $50,000 from banker A.J. Drexel. The Kansas City Suburban Belt Railway Company was incorporated January 8, 1887. As construction progressed, Drexel and Stilwell were imagining a line that would connect the coal fields of Nevada to states like Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. By 1890, operations had expanded to serve packing houses, grain elevators, sawmills, and stock yards.
Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
The Kansas City, Nevada, and Fort Smith Railroad reached Drexel, Missouri that fall. The following year brought financial challenges to Mr. Drexel so Stilwell became president of the railroad. In 1893, at age 34, Stilwell travelled to Holland with hope of selling $3 Million in stock for an extension of the line that would speed the transportation of midwestern beef and grain all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. After two weeks of frustration, Stilwell recalled he, “grabbed at a memory which came stalking out of the past.” After about a week of discussion with his happenstance acquaintance, Jan deGoeijen, Stilwell convinced the man, “This railroad is going to bring the West the greatest properity it has ever known, and those who build it will go down in history.” Stilwell was right on both counts. DeGoeijen was appointed agent for the Holland office of Guardian Trust Company. Another financial panic slowed Stilwell’s success but by the first of January 1894, the Kansas City Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad had a survey team working in Heavener, Indian Territory. The first passenger train arrived in Heavener in May 1896. After completing the rail through Fort Smith and Heavener, Stilwell carefully planned his next push through the Ouachita Mountains. He arranged a big townsite promotion in honor of the Dutch who had provided financing when no US banks Page 5
could help. This would be a crowning jewel laid at the very center and near the highest point on the entire road to the gulf. The Mena promotion began with a royal flair. The name was selected to honor the wife of Jan deGoeijen’s wife, Folmena. In fact, many of the towns along the route carry the names or Americanized pronunciations for his investors. Names like Stotesbury, Mena, DeQueen, DeRidder, Amsterdam, Pickering, Martin, Gillham, Meyer, Swope, Campbell, Fleming, Vivian, Pollack, Hermann, Janssen. and Hornbeck are found not only as towns but streets and subdivisions along southern half of the route. The original townsite for Mena was laid out with streets named for Stilwell’s friends and respected employees. The Mena townsite was designed with 13 streets running northeast and southwest. Many of Stilwell’s towns were designed with a central grid of avenues running at a 45 degree angle to true north. Stilwell’s lead surveyor, Mr. Gillham followed Thomas Jefferson’s guidelines for defining a town’s central district with a grid laid at a 45 degree angle. The simplist benefit of such a design was climate. Homes built on streets at an angle to the poles, tend to enjoy the benefits of more interior lighting as the sun can enter windows more softly on two exterior walls morning and evening rather
than flatly on a south face in winter and harshly on east and west in summer. Prior to the era of air conditioning and central heating systems, structures in the central district would share a more pleasant existence compared to those laid square to north. The remaining purpose is more of artistic value to map makers as streets laid at an angle are clearly distinguished
Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
from the untamed hills, streams and cattle trails that often meandered in random proximity to compass points. In advertising his new town of Mena with its organized lots and streets, potential residents could take pride in being part of something civilized and well thought. Plotted lots brought premium prices compared to the vast countryside. These purchases were vital to help the
townsite company pay for the massive undertaking. Mr. Gillham laid Mena’s grid around a spring and a historic cabin. He reserved four square blocks around this site as the city center and named it Janssen Park. This park remains the centerpiece of the town today. It was bordered by four major streets: Port Arthur, Fleming (now 7th Street),
1896, A view from Stilwell Heights of Sherwood Avenue and the Mena Depot. Highway 71 now runs along the route seen here strewn with burning stumps.
Coogan Collection, UARM
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Janssen Avenue, and Amsterdam (now known as 9th Street). A second public area was reserved as Stilwell Park, located on the south side of the tracks across Pickering Avenue (Now Highway 71). This elevated park later became the site for Stilwell School. A retirement complex is located there today with lofty views of the town.
Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
In 1896, all the townsite lacked was a population of hardy, pioneering people. Stilwell sent an aide to stir up interest throughout the upper midwest. He advertised what a great place Mena was going to be. Lots went on sale June 30, 1896 with very generous financing. A work gang of Greek immigrants were chipping their way
through a mountain pass south of Heavener that came to be known as “Petross” (Greek for Rock). This created a delay Stilwell desperately needed to avoid. He had set and advertised a goal of reaching Mena in forty days. It would require the rail to be laid at an incredible rate of a mile per day. Although it had been done across prairie, this route was snaking between Story continues on page 10
1896, A rail crew poses with a finished section of track after cutting through layers of stone north of Mena. Photo - Coogan Collection, UARM
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Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
Interior of Stilwell’s Dining Car
Courtesy of Port Arthur Centennial History, Photo by Trost
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Stilwell was honored to name deQuincy, Louisiana after his English friend and investor. Numerous schools and streets honor “Mr. DeQueen” and in return, deGoeijen named his own son John Arthur after Arthur Edward Stilwell. A silver plate Stilwell gave his godson is on display in the Museum of the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur, Texas. On December 31, 1899, the New York Times referred to the 19th Century as “an age of marvels: steam engines, railroads, telegraph lines, ocean liners, telephones, electric lights, medicine and sanitation. We step upon the threshold of 1900, which leads to the new century, still facing a bright dawn of civilization.” When Stilwell and his associates lost control of the railroad in 1900 to a hostal takeover by John “Bet a Million” Gates, deGoeijen returned to Holland heartbroken, although he still had personal interest in the line. He made only one final visit to the U.S. with his son, John Arthur in 1927.
While researching for the book, Mena Centennial History, author Michael Cate discovered a badly aged set of scrapbook pages in the archives of Kansas City Southern Railroad corporate headquarters. The images had been captured by deGoeijen’s photographer. Cate recognized photos from his hometown of Mena as well as comparison views of Gillham, DeQueen, Heavener, Shreveport, Port Arthur and many stops along the route. The companion photos were dated 1897 and 1927. Photos made three decades apart, illustrated progress of communities along the railroad.
Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
Months later, in 1997 Cate discovered an unidentified album in the care of the Port Arthur Historical Society which he recognized immediately. It was a near duplicate of the Kansas City pages. Photos were carefully hand scribed with locations and dates. Surprisingly, although the book in Port Arthur had survived major hurricanes in 1900, 1915, 1918, 1957, and 1986, it was virtually in perfect condition. I should stop here to commend the Port Arthur Historical Society and suggest anyone with a love for the Ouachitas will enjoy a trip to the Museum of the Gulf Coast. You will dis-
cover so many connections in history tie the gulf with the mountains. These photos would become an invaluable resource for several books including this compilation and provided a grand view of Stilwell’s push to the gulf. They were collected by the man who had helped finance the effort and was a friend of history. Stilwell had originally wanted his rail to meet the gulf at Galveston but after a premonition that it would be destroyed by a massive storm, he convinced his company to set the port inland by Lake Sabine. They “sent competent real estate men to purchase the land on which Port
1896, Teams ready to plow Sherwood Avenue in Mena. Coogan Collection, UARM
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Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
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Stilwell recalled the discussion as follows: I said: "Not so quick, Mr. Kountz. If we buy this land, we will have to fill it up at least eight feet, which was the height of the last tidal wave. This will cost one million more. It is fourteen miles to our line. This will cost three hundred thousand more to reach your property. Why don't you build up from your property and connect with our road and build as big a city as you wish? You have the money. We will give you connection anywhere you wish and do all we can to help you. "You have owned the property for years," I continued, "and you own great fields of timber. Why have you not long ago developed the timber lands you own and erected a great mill and sawed lumber for export? It is a good enterprise. Undertake it now and connect with us. Then you have your own road. You can build your mill there and bring the logs to the mill, and also have the connection with our road. Any freight that originates on our road can be transferred to any steamers you charter or that come to your port. You have the money and credit. Go in and develop and we will co-operate with you. This as a free land; there is enough for us all -- and then some." His face grew dark. He said: "No, I will not build a road in Texas. My terms are one million dollars. I will at once give you credit for one hundred thousand dollars. No one shall know it. If you do not accept, I will ruin you and your road and prevent you from finishing the canal." "Mr. Kountz," I said, "I am not for sale. Do you think I would work night and day to build this great road; would work in an unselfish attempt to make a land-locked harbor; Photo from watch every dollar that goes Port Arthur Centennial H by Michael Cate and into the road, and then, just as Port Arthur Historical So
my honest endeavors are about to be crowned with success, sell my manhood to you for a hundred thousand dollars? Do you think I am going to put my hand into the treasury of our company and give you one million dollars for something I consider worthless? There could be only two reasons for my doing this: one, that I am for sale at one hundred thou sand dollars, which I am not; the other, that I fear you, which I do not." I left the bank, and then was started the great fight at Washington, a record of which has been published by the Government. Now remember, my reader, that Mr. Kountz sent for me; I did not ask for the interview. And
Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
notice from here on that in no case have I sought any of these people who have year by year followed me. You ask why they followed me? I will tell you. Each enterprise that I have started has had such great merit that it excited avarice in some rich man's heart. He wanted what I had created, as his own. He thought I was for sale -- that I had a price. When he found I was not, he adopted the wellknown method of ruin through his bank connections. The fight at Washington was fierce. The matter was brought to the Ways and Means Committee, and we were enjoined from cutting the forty feet that remained to connect with deep water. We were to be given a
hearing before the Committee at a distant day. It finally arrived. I came to Washington with representative men from various Western cities. Among them was Mr. Hook, now United States Judge. Mr. Kountz was there with his attorney. Mr. Dingley was chairman. I could not see it was a fixedup job. I arose, told of the fight for this great land-locked harbor; told of the storms that had resulted in great loss of life at Sabine, and the destruction of the Southern Pacific track that lay along the canal. Mr. Dingley interrupted me with: "Mr. Stilwell, twenty minutes is all you have, and your time is up." I sat down. Mr. Hook and others then
Old Glory waves over the Port Arthur Ship Channel after the night time completion of the last 40 ft of canal from Taylor’s Bayou to the Gulf of Mexico at Sabine Pass. This hard faught accomplishment allowed international exports and imports to travel through Mena and DeQueen connecting the Ouachitas to the world via rail.
History
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1910 was thirty-five per cent. Some months its foreign trade is greater than that of Galveston, but the finishing of the Panama Canal will make it one of the greatest ports of the United States. What a different life mine would have been had it not been for this unequal fight! No receivership would have been needed, and I, no doubt, would today be the president of the road, and Mr. E. L. Martin of Kansas City and Mr. deGeoijen of Amsterdam, as vice-presidents, in the positions they deserve for their great and loyal work.
The Promise of a Friend During the court battle to secure government approval for his canal, shipments continued to increase and business was booming but the long legal struggle and delays required Stilwell’s company to transfer cargo to deepwater ships via smaller vessels called “lighters”. This redundant handling of goods was time consuming and required great numbers of extra employees and equipment. It also compromised delivery schedules and degraded the quality of produce, and other perishables at a time before modern refrigeration. Stilwell had not suspected the Kountz family was cooperating with Gates as part of a money trust against him. However, the struggle had crippled the railroad and left Stilwell’s company with a half a million in debt. Train loads of grain was moving South under con-
Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
tract with a large firm in Chicago. The rail was suddenly facing lawsuits because they could not get enough rail cars to move the tonnage quickly enough. With urgency, Stilwell discussed the situation with his dearest friend, George Pullman who immediately dispatched his auditor to look over the numbers. Pullman quickly agreed it was a fine business and offered
George Pullman to furnish $2 Million out of friendship with no cash payment. All he would require was interest for the first five years. It was a great relief and a kindness Stilwell said he had forgotten possible in the fight with the Kountz empire. He ordered the needed cars and locomotives. On the day he and Mr. Pullman were to finalize the contracts he was the first to Page 20
step out of the passenger car in Chicago. Warmed by anticipation of greeting and promise from his old friend, Stilwell had gotten up early to arrive at Pullman headquarters. “Then, I heard the newsboys calling, EXTRA! EXTRA!”, Stilwell recalled. George Pullman was dead!
“Words here are useless. I cannot picture my feelings. I loved him as if he had been my father. My contracts slipped to the ground. I reeled, but in some way managed to reach Mr. Weeks' office, and that is all I remember of that awful day. My great benefactor was gone; America had lost one of its greatest men. In my hands were contracts for millions, and I had not the scratch of a pen. In a few days I reached Philadelphia and called around me our directors and leading stockholders. We agreed that the only way to get the two million dollars needed was to get the bondholders to turn back twenty-five percent of their bonds and take fifty per cent of preferred stock. This would give us the needed money from the bond sales, and put the company in good financial shape. All at the meeting agreed to this, and Mr. Welch, Mr. Stotesbury and one or two other stockholders with Mr. deGeoijen and myself were appointed to act as a reorganization committee with no fees. As Mr. deGeoijen had placed all the bonds that were held in Europe, we were positive this could soon be done without a receiver. All the stockholders present were more than pleased
Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
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Instead, the town has stretched in other directions. Because of this, several neighborhoods have a circuitous route to connect with any exit to the South. There were suggestions for an overpass to Highway 71, in the 1970s but those dreams have long faded.
Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
Remembering a Visionary Stilwell was a Christian Scientist and wrote of his belief in spirits known as Brownies. In his book, “Live and Grow Young”, Stilwell wrote, “I was warned by my nightly advisors not to make Galveston the terminal of the (railroad) because that city was destined to be destroyed by a tidal wave.” A short time after he established Port Arthur, around 8,000
lives were lost to a catastrophic hurricane that struck Galveston. Although he would do many great things in his life, Stilwell died Sept. 26, 1928 with less than $1,000 to his name. Distraught and childless, Jennie walked out of their New York 12th floor apartment window, just 13 days after her husband’s passing. She had carefully put on her very best attire.
Visitors pause for a photo on the steps of the original Queen Wilhelmina Inn.
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*** Arthur Stilwell organized 41 companies, built 2,300 miles of railroad and established more than 40 towns. In his last years, he wrote plays, songs, books and business manuals. Although he did not manage to accumulate wealth personally, he lived to see his investments pay out more than $160 Million in dividend and profits to
Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
shareholders. In today’s economy, that is about $3.5 billion. Both his railroads had been laid with unknown oil reserves under them. His writings attacked Gates and friends as “Cannibals of Finance” but history seems to have softened the predatory nature Stilwell described. References to guiding voices from the spirit world, brought
questions from his detractors about his own stability. Although Gates died of a horrendous throat tumor, it remains a mystery if Stilwell ever asked the Brownies to somehow help him keep his railroad fortunes.
Through it all, Stilwell seemed most concerned with preserving his good name.
1898, Dutch financier Jan deGoeijen (#4) and three unknown dignitaries stop in Mena while touring the newly completed Southern Line of the Kansas City Pittsburg & Gulf Railroad.
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Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
The original inn opened in 1898
Mount Mena A historical profile of
Special feature sponsored by the fine folks at Mena Ford, Inc.
hotel owners to achieve a Manhattan style efficiency of social convenience. Mount Mena Plans were laid as early as would fulfill a similar purpose in 1895 to build a lodge atop Rich the middle of a wild and rugged Mountain, also known as Mount landscape making it all the more Mena. It was to be an added atinteresting as a marketing tool. traction to generate cash flow To make a more attractive for the new passenger rail and selling point to Dutch investors convenience for customers, rail for his Southern route, Stilwell dignitaries and their guests. incorporated a plan to honor The ridge of their newly crowned Mount Mena was Queen Wilhelmina. homesteaded in the Any loyal subject 1880s and soon was with a few extra hunbeing promoted as a dred thousand Dutch health resort. WaGuilder would be ters of its springs proud to support were said to be rich their queen in this with healing minerway. als. A store, church, Several springs on Rich Mountain provided water via windmills It was an effective to the original lodge. Cottages sprang up along the ridge as problacksmith shop, motors sold lots and began to create a mountain top community. closer because the school and even a visionary indeed by Michael Cate Looking Glass Editor
moonshine still joined cabins and tent dwellings. The rail company arranged to buy the scenic real estate with the intent of creating a tourist stop fit for royalty. Stilwell realized early success in passenger trains with his belt line in Kansas City. He had invested in a country club at the edge of the city and worked with
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achieved his goal of raising $3 Million with the help of his friend Jan deGoeijen of Amsterdam. The Castle in the Clouds would be built from native stone and timbers with Dutch inspired decor and architecture. The Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf Railroad would deliver vacationing guests to the North foot of Rich Mountain from Kansas City to Port Arthur and all points between. Primarily, the inn served as an overnight stop for wealthy travelers. The luxury inn opened with great fanfare on June 22, 1898 at a cost of $100,000. In today’s economy, that would be near $2.5 Million. (Interestingly, that’s
Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
about what was recently invested in refurbishing the new lodge.) The original inn offered 35 guest rooms and a 90 foot long dining hall that could seat 300 for banquets. It could easily be transformed into a ballroom for dances and special receptions. The structure is said to have contained four water closets (rest rooms) which was a novelty of that age. One special guest room was decorated especially for Queen Wilhelmina in case she visited; which she never did. From the beginning, the inn became popular with visitors
and railroad dignitaries from Kansas City and Port Arthur. Clerks and service personnel bunked on the third floor. Guest rooms were on the second floor above the ballroom. An attached building contained the kitchen. While some hiked the three miles to the top of the “hill” from Rich Mountain Station, mule trains were available for hire. Wide porches wrapped one end of the building on the lower level and a balcony sat above the porch overlooking the south valley. Several large fireplaces were required to scare away the chill. However, within such a large
The original lodge fell into disrepair after being abandoned when John Gates forced Stilwell’s railroad into a prearranged receivership over a $40 printing bill. Gates convinced a judge to convene a special court session one morning at 2am. Stilwell rejected Gates invitation to be part of the plan. Soon abandoned to the harsh elements, the mountain top inn changed hands several times between 1900 and 1910. It was even offered as the prize in a 1905 raffle drawing. Tickets were $30 each. Page 29
original but featured some of the same stone used in the first. The rebuilt lodge became a sensation and the park stayed busy with lodging guests as well as day visitors who came just for the train, the cool breezes, or the view. Unfortunately, the second lodge only lasted for about 10 years. A kitchen fire spread to engulf the entire structure be-
Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
cause there was inadequate water to fight the blaze. There was no loss of life but the gutted structure had to be razed. Arkansas State Parks designated $3 Million to rebuild. The third inn opened in 1975. It featured an upstairs meeting room, a gift shop, a restaurant, and fire fighting equipment.
By 2012 however, the lodge was 37 years old and needed major renovation. Unfortunately the project encountered a substantial delay due to weather and contractor issues.
Above: 1996, Queen Wilhelmina Lodge as it appeared during the Centennial of Mena
Below: The CE Foster “Wonder House� is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
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Today’s New Lodge A completely remodeled lodge finally opened July 1, 2015 at a cost of approximately $9.6 Million. It features 40 guest rooms, some with spa tubs and gas fireplace. All guest rooms now have large windows with scenic views. An expanded meeting room includes modern A/V equipment, light blocking automatic shades and a viewing balcony. The large sitting room downstairs has a wood burning fireplace and three walls of windows to enjoy the scenic views. Expanded dining facilities include a choice of menu or week-
Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
end buffet. The staff is professional and friendly. The lodge also recently added a bar with big screen TV. Adjacent to the lodge is a 41 site campground, a modern bathhouse, a playground, amphitheatre and three hiking trails. Lover’s Leap Trail The most popular hike on Rich Mountain is “Lovers Leap” Trail that features a wooden observation deck over a sheer drop of hundreds of feet into a valley more than thousand feet deep. The trail is lined with innumerable native trees, flowers and ferns that share the environment in rare ecological diversity.
The newly remodeled inn reopened in 2015
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Wildlife of all sorts are regularly seen along the trail. At 2,681 feet above sea level, Rich Mountain is Arkansas’s second highest peak. The all-season lodge sits amid a frosty wonderland each winter even when the valley below is devoid of ice or snow. Rarely, however, are the roads impassible for more than a few days in January. Summers are substantially cooler than the valleys below and have an almost constant breeze. Guest rooms in the renovated lodge are greatly improved with modern amenities
and wide beautiful views of the ridges below. The lodge restaurant and bar serves menu orders weekdays as well as a full buffet most weekends. An expanded meeting room provides an eagle view of the park grounds and valley views.
The C.E. Foster House aka The Wonder House Two natural stone structures built in the depression years of the 1930s greet visitors across the highway from the park main entrance. They were the inspiration of Carlos Hill who rode his Harley to the mountain while studying at Commonwealth College in the south valley below. Carlos took a local girl named Mary Lance for his bride and lived on the mountain while he built the wonder house which he intended to sell. Oilman C.E. Foster of Muskogee purchased the creation from Hill. Foster paid Carlos and his brother in law Phil Lance to build a second struc-
Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
ture with different levels for bedrooms, a kitchen and bath. The park gained control of the property in the 1960s and named it The Wonder House. A souvenir and gift shop were located in the lower level. There are a total of 8 levels which include a 21 foot long bed where it was said 3 people could sleep head to toe. Glory Train In 2012, local businessman Ronnie Waggoner of Norman bought the scenic train from Fred Everich who operated the rail and miniature golf concession for about a decade. Several other owners have held concession contracts with the state since the Morrow family retired in the 70s. Waggoner recalled riding the train with his wife as newlyweds and they fell in love with the experience. “I’ve always been interested in trains so when Fred told me it was for sale, I wanted it!” Waggoner said. He first began a series of improvements to the concession buildings, refurbished the track
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and gave the train a new coat of paint. He also gave it a new name: “The Glory Train”. He said the state added a list of requirements they wanted to incorporate so he made about $145,000 in improvements to bring the operation to full compliance. About that time the lodge closed for renovations and visitor numbers plummeted. As the months turned into years, the expected revenue was far below what he had expected. In May, 2018, Arkansas Parks and Tourism announced the scenic train would be replaced by a fourth nature path. The parks director cited a “rails to trails” program would be open year round and free to the public whereas the train is only operational Memorial Day to Labor Day. With an estimated total investment of $400,000, Waggoner was speechless at the announcement after half of his original 5 year contract was crippled by the extended construction on the lodge.
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Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
2016, Conductor Dan Weaver with a trainload of visitors enjoying the scenery. This view shows the beautiful Kiamichi Range to the SW of Rich Mountain.
Meanwhile, thousands of people responded to the state’s announcement with letters, social media comments and emails supporting the little train. By the first week of June, Arkansas State Parks Director Grady Spann revealed the commission had decided to reconsider due to the public outcry. However, the state offered to renew the contract for only one year, while adding more requirements and restrictions. A counter offer has been submitted, but the July 4 holiday is fast approaching. That’s a critical date to be in operation. “We want to be open and running and unless the track is wet, we want to be giving rides. That’s what we are there for. We enjoy meeting everyone and seeing the smiles of our customers,” explained Waggoner. He also expressed appreciation for all the calls and letters sent to Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
The Little Train That Still Could...
Editor’s note: Pauline Morrow, one of the founders of the train, is heartbroken that the state park her husband worked so hard to establish, may remove the train from the mountain after almost 60 years of service. The public, by vast majority, wish the train remain in operation on the mountain. To make the train more “useful” to the tourism department goals, we suggest docents be
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trained to complement efforts of the professional park interpreter. These community servants would welcome guests at designated stops and give short, insights of historical and natural history of the mountain. This could transform the train experience into a fun way to introduce the park’s other programs. We remain hopeful the state will seek ways of working collaboratively with the public. This, instead of ripping out a living piece of local history; only to replace it with signage, describing the little train that once was.
Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
A colorful meadow at the edge of the Ouachita National Forest. The old Rich Mountain Fire Observation Tower can be seen on the ridge below.
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Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
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Those Two Boys from Mena Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
Remembering Chester Lauck and Norris Goff
By Donnie Pitchford
About 45 years ago, the Arkansas Educational Television Network produced a documentary entitled Two Boys From Mena, chronicling the story of boyhood friends who achieved national fame through a network radio program as well as a series of Hollywood films. Chester "Lum" Lauck (1902-1980) and Norris "Abner" Goff (1906-1978) met as children in Mena. It was in high school that Norris acquired the nickname of "Tuffy" from his performance on the football field, earning a 90-yard winning touchdown during one
memorable contest. The fathers of Lauck and Goff were prominent Mena businessmen, and their connections led their sons to an acquaintance with Dick Huddleston of Waters, a small community about 18 miles away. Huddleston operated a general store, and Tuffy's dad operated a wholesale grocery supply company, so young Chet and Tuffy found their way to Dick's store often. While there, they began to soak up the local culture and manner of speaking, and met the down-to-earth folks who would inspire the warm and wonderful characters they would create for radio audiences in the 1930s. In the 1980s, Dick Huddleston's daughter Ethel recalled how Chet
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and Tuffy (as everyone called them) loved to entertain their friends with impromptu comedy routines, imitating various accents. These talents led them to local stages, paving the way to a performance on radio station KTHS in Hot Springs. (The call letters actually stood for "Kome To Hot Springs"!) As related decades later, the young men originally intended to perform one style of dialect comedy, but seeing the station crowded with other amateurs rehearsing the same style, Chet and Tuffy instantly chose to pattern characters on their friends from Waters. On the spot, they chose the names "Lum" and "Abner," and their first radio performance oc-
curred on April 26, 1931. They were invited back, and weekly visits with Lum and Abner became increasingly popular, leading to an audition in Chicago a short time later. Soon, the entire nation heard Lum and Abner over the NBC radio network. Between 1931 and 1954, those "boys from Mena" would be heard over every national network, changing from one to another according to sponsorship and related contracts. They advertised for Quaker Oats, the Ford Dealers of America, Horlick's Malted Milk, Postum, Alka-Seltzer, One-a-Day Vitamins, Frigidaire, and others. The handsome faces of Chet and Tuffy appeared in numerous magazines, as both a youthful pair, and in makeup as the senior citizens they portrayed on radio. In 1936, on the fifth anniversary of their first broadcast, Chet and Tuffy along with Dick Huddleston and others from Waters, met on the steps of the Arkansas capitol building for a network broadcast to commemorate the changing of the name of Waters to Pine Ridge, the name they used on the air for the location of their beloved Jot 'Em Down Store. Hollywood beckoned, and seven feature films were produced beginning with the 1940 RKO-Radio Pictures release, Dreaming Out Loud, and concluding with the mid-1950s Howco release of Lum and Abner Abroad (edited from three unsold television pilots). Attempts were made to enter television, with a 15-minute pilot in 1948 and a half-hour effort in 1949, both for CBS, but neither
Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
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production sold. Tuffy Goff had been suffering serious health issues during the late 1940s, and while he continued performing on radio, television and film production were far more difficult. It was during production of their final film project that the partners decided to end Lum and Abner. The fans never forgot "those two old fellows from the hill country," and in the 1960s, radio stations began replaying Lum and Abner thanks to open-reel tapes copied from the 16-inch transcription discs preserved by the Arkansasborn comedy team. All over the country, new fans began following their exploits. KENA in Mena has aired the programs for decades, and continues to do so to this day. The old Dick Huddleston Store became host to the Lum and Abner Museum, where a steady stream of visitors can view artifacts and learn the local and national history of the series from curators Lon and Kathryn Stucker. Mena created the Lum and Abner Festival in 1978, with Chet Lauck himself making personal appearances, speaking with his old friend Tuffy in California by telephone, amplified for the ben-
Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
efit of an appreciative audience. In 1979, Chet was present for the unveiling of the Lum and Abner Monument in Janssen Park. The Pine Ridge Volunteer Fire Department held their Lum and Abner Weekend for many years in Pine Ridge. In the early 1980s, a group of fans, who met through the Lum and Abner Museum, decided to form the National Lum and Abner Society. The group published the bimonthly newsletter The Jot 'Em Down Journal from 1984 to 2007. From 1985 to 2005, the NLAS conducted annual conventions, bringing to Mena and Pine Ridge numerous actors, writers, announcers, and others who worked closedly with Lauck and Goff during the Golden Age of Radio. The NLAS is responsible for a considerable amount of research and preservation. I'm Donnie Pitchford, one of those founding "ossifers" of the NLAS. In 2011, I secured permission to begin a Lum and Abner comic strip, which is published each week in The Mena Star among other periodicals. In addition to illustrated adventures of Lum, Abner, and friends, I also offer occasional history of the se-
ries. My associates and I produce audio adaptations of each comic strip, initially presented for our many blind friends, but offered for anyone who wishes to listen. We don't try to "be Lum and Abner" - nobody could be we offer these comics and audio productions as tributes. I've been pleased to learn of many new fans who have discovered the characters through the comic strip. Those "two boys from Mena" would hopefully be pleased to learn that the lovable characters they created and portrayed have continued to delight audiences 87 years after their first broadcast!
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Lum and Abner is published each week by The Mena Star. To hear the Lum and Abner audio comics, to purchase original art, color prints, and book collections, please visit www.lumandabnersociety.org Donnie Pitchford is a member of the National Cartoonists Society.
This Ouachita tribute is brought to you by the caring folks at:
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(479) 394-4477 2608 Hwy 71 South Mena, Arkansas 71953 Page 46
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Looking Glass Ouachita Magazine - June 2018
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