History of Imboden Part two 2

THE STORY OF IMBODEN ARKANSAS Part Two By Reta Covey Published in Walnut Ridge The Times Dispatch in 1975 From the Lawrence County Historical Society Winter 1982 - Volume 5 - Number 1 CONTRIBUTORS OF INFORMATION FOR THIS ARTICLE Virginia Hatcher (Mrs. R. S.) Rainwater, R.S. Rainwater, Lucille Polk (Mrs. J.O.) Hall, Nettie Weir Stewart, Hope McKamey Sloan, Roberta Starr Stephens, Joyce Duvall Kell and Mrs. J.J. Matthews.

IMBODEN Part Two
REAL ESTATE & INSURANCE J.L. McKamey was possibly the first real estate agent in Imboden, locating there in 1910 with his partner, W.D. Taylor. Fire and life insurances were also available with this agency. Another insurance salesman was John L. Polk, who sold his agency to the Dowell Insurance
Agency in Walnut Ridge at his retirement.

    As in the history of any town, there are some more memorable characters who supply source of many hours of recall. Imboden can share in this common aspect with other Lawrence County towns. Joe Sullivan, before the age of 21 years, won the approval of his fellow citizens and was elected mayor of the town, having the distinction of being the youngest to hold such office in the United States. (Possibly retained this distinction until recent years.) This young official was paralyzed from the waist down, yet, driving a wagon pulled by a goat, managed to attend school and complete his education. In 1914 he departed his hometown, moving north to head a school for handicapped children.
          A character who provided spice and amusement for many years for the townspeople of Imboden was a Mooge Hufstedler, who operated a ferry across Spring River. His antics and tales provided many hours of humor. Mooge came from a poor but proud family who cared for themselves and had acquired two oxen to assist with their labors. Just at the peak of wood
cutting and hauling season, one of the oxen died. Being a strong and able teenager, Mooge volunteered to replace the fallen ox. Promptly, the yoke was affixed over the necks of the lad and the animal. Everything went well for awhile until the ox became excited and ran away, dragging Mooge for a long distance. Fearing the boy dead, the saddened family members began to unhitch the yoke from him when the enraged ox settled. The battered youth, at that time, instructed the family to "unhitch the ox, I'll stand." On another occasion, Mooge was assisting another man with a cattle drive to Imboden from Smithville, some 13 miles away, for Mr. M. F. Sloan. After completing eight miles of the drive, the other man said that he was quitting because he felt that Mr. Sloan would not pay for the work. This was most frightening to Mooge, since the job was so difftcult. To resolve the matter, Mooge climbed a telephone pole, beat on an insulator to get in touch with Mr. Sloan. Finishing this task, Mooge promptly climbed down the pole and informed his helper that Mr. Sloan HAD conversed and given assurance of pay at the end of the drive. They completed the assignment together and were given due pay.
    Buster was the constant companion of Mooge. The faithful dog was always at his side.
A salesman from West Plains , Missouri, arrived in Imboden during a seasonal drought. Visiting with the "drummer", Mooge inquired about the condition of Spring River to the north. To amuse the listeners, the salesman related that it was so dry upstream that a fire had burned about a mile of the river. Mooge's simple explanation was: "Well, that explains it! Yesterday, Buster and I were walking along the, river bank when a fish came floating by with his scales singed off.
    Mooge operated the last ferry used on Spring River at a crossing said by old timers to have been the old military road crossing during the Civil War from the site of Old Jackson. A common tale related that the early seat of Lawrence County was named for General Andrew Jackson, who camped at the spring site.

Following the Civil War, the first ferry was owned and operated by Jacob Sherman Songer and his son, John. The ferry passage ceased when a bridge was built over Spring River in 1898. It was due to efforts of Mr. W. C. Sloan that the structure was built. Following is a self explanatory article which appeared in the Spring River News.
We take pleasure in publishing this week a list of subscribers to the bridge now in process of erection across Spring River at Imboden. Also Memphis & Kansas City R. R. Co. made liberal donations.

         Donors to first Spring River bridge:
      $1000 - W. C. Sloan
      $250 - Sloan & Company, M. F. Sloan
      $200. - William Murphy
      $100.00 - S. B. Henderson, W. J. Hatcher, J. S. Ketchum.
      $50. - T. P. Chesser, George Bridges
      $40. - B. J. Dorr.
      $25. - Jno. M. Smith, J. M. Clark. J. R. Mitchell, Jno. Porter
      family, J. A. Sullivan, G. G. Dent, W. C. Henderson, T. M.
      Duvall, Maj. Bellamy, and Wm. H. Hockaday.
      $20.   - Jno. Halcum, Wash Wells, G. G. Galbraith, J. H.
      Galbraith, and Wm. Bridges, Sr.
      $10. - Wallis Byler, Jno. R. Brady, Jas. E. Nations, Jake
      Hufstedler, R. N. Hammell, Willis Hufstedler, Newt Perrin, and
      Williarn Dunn.
      $5. - W. S. Bruce and Co., Chicasaw Saddlery Co., T. W. Wells,
      O. K. Davis, C. W. Ward, Joe T. Robinson, M. R. Armstrong,
      Gid Thompson, Frank Hendricks, G. W. Kiger, John S.
      Campbell, Frank Perrin, Chas. Grindstaff, Thos. J. Lewis, A. J.
      Porter, Joe Hufstedler, Jas. S. Campbell, J. R. Cude, Murt Dunn,
      J. C. Tipton, Erwin Jones, Day & Bailey, and Richard Johnston.
      $4. - Lane & Son
      $2.50 - J. B. Baker, Judge Jno. B. McCaleb and W. W. Herring.
      $2. - W. S. Glover, C. P. Hufstedler

The following liberal subscriptions were made to be paid in work:
B. Whitehead $25; David Crouch $10; Newt Williams $10.

    A study of names will show to whom the community is most indebted for liberal subscriptions to the common good. Let those names be cherished by the people. It is an honor to be on that list. We congratulate these men whose names appear there and extend to them the best compliments of the Spring River News.
       In 1938 a $225,000 concrete bridge and railroad overpass was completed. The completion of the span was possibly one of the most celebrated events in the history of Imboden.
         On the order from Mayor J. W. Jean, all businesses in Imboden closed from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. for the day's events, which began with a parade led by Governor Carl E. Bailey over the bridge. At 2:30 p.m. he spoke at the fair grounds. That evening, a dedicating banquet was held with A. W. Lindsey serving as chairman of the event and master of ceremonies was Dr. A. G. Henderson. R. S. Rainwater served as toastmaster for the dinner which was attended by a large number of people.

STEAMBOATING     The clear waters of Spring River offered, not only a site for a settlement for Imboden, but a means of staple supplies, communications and some transportation to the area. The steamboats and keelboats which provided these benefits never failed to attract attention and interest with approach, landing, unloading and loading. It was also interesting to see the ease with which the boats moved down stream by the grace of the swift stream. However, strenuous effort was necessary to move the same vessels against the current. This was done by thrusting poles against the bank or bed of the river, often resulting in turmoil. The barges that carried freight were usually not returned but disposed of at the end of the voyage.     For many years, the hull of a keelboat was visible in Spring River near the Tisdale farm. The vessel sank and was buried several feet in the sand. An island was created by the mishap because the wreckage turned crosswise in the river.
LODGES     As in most early Lawrence County towns, Imboden was populated with various lodges and civic organizations. In 1897 A. T. Hull built a new structure to house the Spring River News. The W.O.W. members added a second story for the lodge hall. Charter members of the organization were recorded as follows: E. M. Dwyre, J. N. Porter, J. S. Ketchum. G. A. Warren, C. C. Sullivan, J. O. Moore, F. C. Hulen, App Davis, A. T. Hull, and J. C. Poindexter.
    Other Imboden lodges used the same hall as a meeting place, including the I.O.O.F. which was organized in 1904. Early records revealed that the following citizens were members: C. D. Wells, J. O. Hatcher, G. R. Kirkpatrick, W. B. Grear, M. F. Long, J. C. Poindexter, W. F. Goff, P. W. Woodyard, M. E. Myers, Homer Young, H. M. Phelps, and W. M. Clark.
    The Masonic lodge was organized in Imboden in 1905. Charter members were recorded as: M. F. Long, A. G. Henderson, C. C. Brown, G. W. Wells, G. W. Kinger, P. A. Goff, J. C. Poindexter, T. W. Duvall, S. B. Henderson, J. H. Washum, Wm. Childers, and W. J. Bacon. Mason Walter Wells, son of Dr. and Mrs. Wells, was very active in the order and served as Grand Master of the State of Arkansas at one time. As in other communities, the Imboden lodge hall was used for   various community meetings and gatherings. Public speakings, town meetings and church services and socials were held there.

MYSTERIES     Imboden, for many years, was plagued with fires. In reading old history notes it is simple to note that most businesses were destroyed, at least once, by fire. One of the most unusual aspects of many of these fires was the fact that they occurred annually on Christmas Eve. Maybe
coincidence, maybe arson.
   For many years, a repeated story of a murder at Imboden in 1865 both amused and frightened listeners.
COMMUNITY SPIRIT     Since the founding, Imboden has been an important geographical link in Lawrence County, as well as a strong civic and spiritual town. It was community effort that organized and attended the annual picnics held on the bank of the Spring River. The same spirit of cooperation
reconstructed the town after the disastrous tornado in 1915 which did extensive damage to property. The McLeod history noted that there was one fatality in that storm.

CHURCHES     Religious associations have always been a strong community tie. The first churches to organize in Imboden were the Methodist and Catholics. These groups met in various buildings until a building could be built for individual groups.
    The Methodist church was organized in the early 1880's. The first church building was erected in 1895. It was located on Second Street. Reverend T. A. Bowen was the pastor at that time and the membership was small. J. A. Sullivan was the only adult male member at that time, according to the history notes written by Mrs. Poindexter. He made a great sacrifice and surmounted many difficulties to get the building up and made comfortable to worship in. The interior of the 40x60 foot building was not finished for several years. In 1921 the building burned during the eleven o'clock worship service. All the furniture was saved from the fire and
used to furnish the $15,000 brick church built in 1922. Rev. J. F. Glover was pastor and had charge of the construction.
    The Catholics built the first church in Imboden in 1888. W. C. Sloan gave the land for the building site. Three German families brought their religion to the area. It was the Dave and Frank Hoelsher and the Herman Wychan families who erected the building with assistance from other
citizens. After a few years the house ceased to be used as a church and was converted into a residence. G. W. Carter resided in it until his tragic death in 1897. He was killed when a runaway team ran over kim, killing him almost instantly. Mr. Frank Carter bought the church building at that time and resided in it until it burned in 1915.
    The Church of Christ began meeting in the home of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Wilson, located on Highway 63, about 1890. In the early 1900's the congregation met in the Woodmen of the World Lodge Hall located near where the Ozark Journal building now stands. A red brick building was
constructed about 1915. Bouldin Duvall and J. G. Alcorn served as the building committee. Carrie Austin was treasurer. In 1951 the present cobblestone building was built directly across from the brick building on Highway 63, where the public school building burned in 1942. In 1975 a parsonage was built and is occupied by the presem leader of the group, Tom Geer and family.
    According to Mrs. J. J. Matthews and Mrs. Joyce Duvall Kell, who supplied the information concerning the Imboden Church of Christ, following is a list of some of the evangelists through the years : C. L. Wilkerson, Adlai Croom, John Hedge, W. W. Slater, C. R. Nichols and Mr.
Mason in the earlier years; in later years, Waymon Miller, Frank Kell, Ted Kell, Ralph Wallis, Lacy Holt, Cecil Wilson, a Mr. Hicks and others served in the evangelist position at the church. Some of the preachers leading the congregation through the years include Boyd Morgan, Lowell
Blasingame, David Elkins, Mike Wilson, Bryan Hale, Jack Thorn, Philip Swindle, and L. N. Moody.
    The Imboden Church of Christ averages 100 in attendance for the Sunday services. In 1893 the Imboden Baptist Church was organized. The group met in the old school house. Mrs. Poindexter recorded in her notes that Mrs. John Bowers, Mrs. G. W. Hooper, Mr. and Mrs.F. M. Drake, Mrs. Allie Brady James and Mrs. W. C, Henderson were some of the charter members.
    In 1897, Brother W. P. Kirne of Black Rock held a series of meetings in his special railroad car which stood on a side track near the depot. It was during that time that the evangelist and the pastor, Professor W. E. McLeod, principal of the public school, selected a site which was donated by W. C. Sloan. The first church building was erected early in 1900 and was dedicated in May of that year. In 1927 the structure was destroyed by the tornado. A cobblestone building replaced the original one. Following is a list of church pastors furnished by the contributors of
this article.
    The Imboden Church of God was organized in 1916. The city hall and private homes were used for meeting places. Arbors and tents were used for revivals. In 1920 a church building was completed.
    The youngest church group is the Assembly of God church which was set in order in Imboden in 1967, with Rev. Felix Thornton serving as pastor for two years. Other ministers serving the group since 1969 include Billy Joe Huskey and Robert Lourance.
    This church was first known as the Faith Assembly Church which was organized some years prior to 1967 by Joe and Mary Ramsey with Sister Ramsey serving as pastor. The group meets in the original Church of Christ building purchased by the Ramseys when they located in Imboden.
    Of long standing as a sample of community cooperation has been the Imboden school. The notes of education and the impact of the Sloan-Hendrix Academy is a self-contained story and will be included in a chapter concerning the Lawrence County schools.

NOTE OF CONCLUSION         In reality this article only scans the vast history of Imboden. Mrs. Rainwater volunteered to share her abundant supply of collected articles and seek written contributions from her friends and family. Without her interest and assistance, the above would not have been made available.

        Ministers of the Imboden Methodist Church:
        C. W. Rook,1884; R. D. Moon,1885; T. Rawlings 1886; T. B.
     Williamson 1887; Reeder (first name not known) 1888; Thrasher
     (first name not known) 1889; J. F. Armstrong 1890; H. A. Story
     1891; E. M. Davis 1892; Freeman (first name not known) 1893; T.
     A. Bowen 1894; J. R. Edwards 1895; E. N. Pitts 1896; W. M.
     Wilson 1897-1899; A. E. Holloway 1900; A. C. Clayes 1901-03; L.
     C. Craig 1904-07; T. A. Bowen 1908-09; J. W. Thomas 1910-11; J.
     F. Jernigan 1912-14; Elisha Dyer 1915-17.
        H. L. Wheeler 1918-19; J. F. Glover 1920-23; C. E. Holifield
     1924; G. A. Burr 1925-28; S. B. Wilford 1929-32; Guy Murphy
     1933-35; C. E. Gray 1936-39; Earl DuBois 1940-41; R. B.
     Howerton 1942; C. L. Franks 1943; J. W. Simmons 1944; B. W.
     Stallcup 1945; LeRoy Henry 1946-47; Robert Sykes, 6 mos. 1948;
     W. T. Watson 1949-52; Robert Simpson 1953-54; Jim Beal
     1955-57; Calvin Roetzel 1957-58; Chas. Orr 1958-59; Otha
     Strayhorn 1959-62; Cleve Yarbrough 1963-64.
        James Weatherford 1964; 66;Max Whitfield June 1966 until
     September 1966; Wayne Clark December 1966-68; Elbert
     Brunner 1968-70; Orvil Stahl 1970 until August 1973; Chas.
     Wilmoth August 1973-February 1974; Cyril Wilson 1974-

Through the years the Imboden Methodist church members have been privileged to hear two bishops preach at regular services. During the District Conference in March 1919, Dr. Edwin Mouzon spoke at the morning service. Dr. Hiram A. Boaz spoke at the evening service on February 6, 1927. William Rainwater was baptized by Dr. Boaz with water that the bishop had brought from the Jordan River.

Ministers of Imboden Baptist Church, organized in 1893: E. P. Minton, first pastor; James B. Bellamy, H. B. Williams, H. H. Thomas, L. W. Russell, W. C. Hamel, C. C. Marshall, G. B. Borah, J. W. Wade, Dr. C. D. Tibbels, A. C Owens; L. W. Webb, Bro. Walters, D. C.
Mayo, J. H. Bennett, Holman Ferguson, J. R. Barnell, E. L. DeVore, W. L. Yeldell, Floyd North, W. K. Wharton, Geo. Monroe, Bro. Peppers, Dr. J. C. Wicker, Basil Goff, Earl Selby, J. C. Smith, S. Wofford, J. I. Cossey, Dr. Savage, James Whitlock and Joe Loghry (present pastor).

Mrs. Hope McKamey Sloan furnished this list of pastors. Movies In Imboden By Dalton Henderson

    The first movie house in Imboden in the early 1920's was an outdoor theater called the Hippodrome, a place with walls, but no roof. It operated in the summer only and was managed by Otho Crouch and his father, King David Crouch, better known as K. D. An average program consisted of a news reel, a two reel comedy, a serial, and a feature film. Boys who wanted to see the show without paying a dime for admittance, would climb upon the roof of Wilson Mercantile Store (located where Swink Appliance Company now is) and watch the film across the street. There was only one projector; so between each reel the projector would be stopped, lights
turned on, and the next reel threaded into the machine. One serial which ran for about two years was Elmo Lincoln in the "The Flaming Disc".
    The Hippodrome operated for several summers and the next cinematic venture in Imboden was a project of the Sloan-Hendrix Helpers Club - the forerunner of the Sloan-Hendrix PTA.
    On Saturday nights the Club showed silent pictures in the building now occupied by Matthews Country Store. Since talking pictures had been developed, silent films were available at a very cheap rate. The Club would pay $7.50 to $10.00 for the feature and pay the projectionist $1.00
per night. Since the building was usually filled for each show, this was a successful money making project for the Helpers Club. Local musicians, usually Bettye Sue McKamey or Lillian Wilson, would play the piano during the film changes and others would sing to entertain the audience.
    About 1930 this "theater" closed because roads were improving and people preferred to drive to Walnut Ridge or Pocahontas where "talking pictures" were being shown. Radio sets were becoming more common and furnished a greater variety of entertainment.
    Later Imboden was on a circuit of movie theaters and films were shown in a building on Front Street, but this did not last long. The development of television and better roads eventually led to the demise of motion pictures in this little community of Imboden.

Early Cultural Life In Imboden By Dalton Henderson

    The citizens of Imboden, since its earliest days, have shown exceptional interest in the cultural side of life. Many factors were responsible for this attitude. The high standards of the community leaders, the influence of the faculty of Sloan-Hendrix Academy, and the general affluence of a majority of its citizens, played a part in developing this outlook.     For a number of years (1910 to 1920) each summer was enlivened by a visit of the Red Path Chautauqua. A large tent was erected, then seats and a stage were installed. The first few years the tent stood on a vacant lot where the American Legion Hut now stands, but in later years the location was moved to the public school grounds, now occupied by the Church of Christ building.
    Each day for three days of the chautauqua a group of entertainers would arrive on the Frisco passenger train to present their program to the public which filled the tent for a matinee and an evening show. The programs were varied enough to please all of the people attending. There
were musical programs of both instrumental as well as vocal. There were lectures, and even a magician. The entertainers were highly skilled in their field of accomplishments but after World War I the Chautauqua movement in America passed away.
    During the winter months the school was the site of Lyceum programs. These programs consisted also of musical numbers and lectures by outstanding artists. They were generally once a month and only had one evening performance.
    In 1919 the first radio came to Imboden. It was built by Melvin Halcum, who had been away to the North to work. This home-made set had only one tube. To hear the program the listener used ear-phones Sometimes when the crowd was too large and the suspense too great, one person would use one of the ear-phones and another would use the other one. The community leaders soon saw the need for a radio for everyone. A three tube battery powered was purchased through public donations. This set was installed on the second floor of the building across the alley from the Peoples Bank (now a part of Matthews Country Store). Then radio sets were
much more complicated with at least five different dials to adjust to tune in a station. Considerable skill was necessary to eliminate the static "squeals" and to provide clear reception.
    The citizens would gather nightly to sit on wooden benches and listen to the programs which came mostly from a few stations in the Eastern part of the nation. The set was generally in operation from early in the evening until about 10 o'clock. On stormy nights the static would make listening impossible. There was a story about one of the older citizens whose curiosity was aroused by the talk about the radio, so he visited the hall. After the group had listened for an hour or two, the radio announcer said that the next song would be "Three O'Clock in The Morning" ( a very popular song of that time). The old gentleman arose to his feet and announced that he was going home as that would be past his bedtime.
   During these years, the town was excited by the arrival of the dog and pony shows and small circuses. There were the usual monkeys and a few cages of lions and sometimes an elephant or two. The jugglers performed and the clowns caused the children to scream with delight at their antics. Generally the circus tent was raised on the pasture land above the bridge which was called the "Yosemite". In later years the circus tents were pitched on the campus of Sloan-Hendrix Schools. The last one to show here had the misfortune of having its one and only polar bear die. It was buried on the campus and this is probably the only campus in the state
which is the resting place of a polar bear.
   During the 1930's tent shows came to town for a run of three to five days. These shows were a combination of comedies, dramas, and variety acts. Probably the best known were the Mack and Judy Shows and Skeeter Kell was the best known comedian.

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