Clay County Courier Files, 1912

Submitted by Rita DonCarlos

George A. BOOSER has part of his fence of workmen building an immense shed some 200 feet long for handling and drying staves on the North end of his factory site.

Sheriff MATTHEWS and his force of workmen are making strenuous effors to complete, this week, the splendid and expensive improvements that Proprietor MATTHEWS has been adding to the St. James Hotel. A large addition has been built to the rear, comprising several new guest rooms, a large new dining room, kitchen, new cement floor in the enlarged office and dining room, the first class new waterworks and lighting arrangements. Remodeled and enlarged the St. James now shines like a grand new hotel and is one of the best in this part of the state.

Sheriff MATTHEWS and his brother, Deputy W.S. MATTHEWS, took all of the prisoners from Corning Jail last Saturday night and delivered them to the warden of the penitentiary at Little Rock, Sunday morning.

Frank GRAYSON is baling hay this week for Jake TETERS.

Charles DELL has been real sick with fever caused by poison oak.

Harrison GRAYSON and family spent Sunday at Posey  BOATMAN's. (Dell)

Dr. Amy BARNETT, Chiropractor, divides her time between her patients in Corning and her general merchandise store near Moark.

C.L. BOWERS, the oldest barber in Corning, who had been in Texas and Northwest Arkansas the past several months for the benefit of his health, returned Tuesday with his family from Eureka Springs, greatly improved in health and resumed his place as a member of the tonsorial firm of BOWERS and BROTHER.

S.B. NEILL, Corning enterprising wholesale grocer, is adding more improvements to his already extensive improvement on the East First and Elm Streets and expects in the near future, to add a still further and more valuable one in the form of a two-story wholesale house, the new structure to be 32x134 feet and the entire frontage to be beautiful with massive wide portico.
Mr. NEILL is completing a wide cement sidewalk, totaling about 2, 000 square feet, South and Eat of his store lots and has just built strong cement crossings connecting his North and South crossings and running West to the railroad tracks.
The Iron Mountain Railway Company is preparing to complete this paving enterprise by putting in a first class crossing of crushed rock, two cars of the material being already on the ground. Mr. NEILL has not yet announced the nature of the business that will occupy the new proposed concrete building.

Marriage licenses for the month of June to date:
Theodore BLANCHET 21 and Miss Hattie YORK 16 Datto;
Jesse BURKETT 22 and Miss Katie McINTOSH 19, Rombauer, Missouri;
Daniel WILKERSON 28 and Miss Fannie MOORE 25, Corning;
James LARKINS 23 and Miss Laura NELSON 16, Reyno;
R.B. SMITH 34 and Miss May CURTIS 18, Corning.

The large two-story Corning I.O.O.F. building located on the Northwest corner of Second and Vines Streets, was sold under execution last Friday at the courthouse by deputy clerk and Commissioner CURTIS, for $8,300, W.W. HENRY being the successful bidder.

Jake TETERS' mule team took fright and ran away on Second Street one evening last week, throwing him and his little ten year old boy off the wagon. Fortunately, only slight injury was done, the little fellow getting an ugly gash on the back of his head and a bruised foot, but he had a close call for his  life. Dr. J.C. BLACK attended to the boy's injuries and Sheriff MATTHEWS caught the runaway team and wagon.

Misses Argie LUTTRELL and Sega SMITH of near Datto were guests of Mattie PARKS, Sunday.

Born to Mr. and Mrs. VOILS, a big baby boy, weighing 12 pounds.

Perry WILSON, one of our popular young men, near Datto, cut his foot badly while clearing land and had several stitches taken in the injured foot.

Our station agent, E.E. SMITH, who left Datto for a few days for his health, has come back recovered and married to Mrs. Ella MOUNTS, a popular young lady of our town who had been visiting in Indiana and Illinois.

Miss Agripina MORIELE, a Spanish girl, is staying at the home of Mr. VOILS and wife near Datto.

Professor DEATON's school closed last Friday. (Datto)

Archibald A. TAYLOR and Miss Lillie SHEMWELL, teachers is the Knobel public school, spent last Saturday and Sunday with relatives and friends in and near Corning. TAYLOR reports the Knobel school is doing nicely, with four teachers and a large enrollment.

William CATON, teaching at Moark, spent last Sunday, as usual, at home here with his family. He reports Moark school getting along nicely with a splendid enrollment. This is CATON's second consecutive term at Moark.

WARD's immense 45 by 125 foot fine, brand new, $1500. roller skating rink near his Starlight theatre and airdome on Second Street is nearing completion and carpenters will have the maple flooring all laid by tomorrow evening, when the fun may begin. Get your "skating clothes" on and help whoop 'er up.

Walter E. BROWN will open a cleaning and pressing shop first door North of Mrs. ESTES' millinery store on Second Street, Saturday, October 3. Walter is an enterprising young man, knows his business and solicits a share of your patronage. Read his ad in this issue of The Courier.

Road Overseer William CREWS and his stepsons, Troy and Marvin FOWLER of Success, were transacting business here Tuesday.

Little Pauline VANCIL, St. Louis, came down last Friday and entered Corning Public Schools. She will visit here during this Fall and the coming Winter at the home of her grandparents, P. CLIFTON and wife.

Herbert COOKE, who lost his right eye a few years ago, has an artificial member in its place that appears almost as natural as if real. Optician G.W. STANFIELD did the expert fitting.

The coroner's jury, investigating the killing of J.Solon CROOK, Walnut Ridge, returned a verdict that CROOK came to his death at the hands of an unknown person. H. MOSHER, superintendent of PINKERTON's national detective agency of St. Louis, is in Walnut Ridge working on the case. Circuit Court and the grand jury for the Eastern district of Lawrence County convenes in Walnut Ridge, Monday, and will take up the matter.

Among the recent decisions handed down by Arkansas Supreme Court, we find the following:
D.G. LANDRUM vs S.P. LINDSEY, appealed from Clay Circuit Court, rehearing denied.

The following appeared in the Memphis News-Scimitar last Monday, accompanied by a photograph of the below mentioned champion Mississippi cotton pickers:
The WATSON Brothers, Elbert, Troy and Cliff, sons of a prominent farmer three miles West of Guntown, Mississippi are the accredited cotton picking champions. Elbert and Troy picked 657 pounds each in a day of 12 hours with 30 minues lay-off for dinner. Cliff WATSON picked 651 pounds in the same length of time. Elbert and Troy WATSON each averaged nearly a pound a minute for 690 continuous minutes.

Notice is here by given that the ditch tax on the several sub-districts of Western Clay Drainage District is due and land-owners will be required to pay four per cent on land in sub-districts numbers One, Two and Four and five per cent on land in sub-districts Three. This must be paid by December 1st, to avoid  25 per cent penalty, Western Clay Drainage District, E.W. SKINNER, secretary.

Baxter DAVIS was among those from here who went to Pleasant Grove Church last Sunday and heard part of a religious debate between Elders Joe BLUE, Christian, and J.A. WHEETLY, Baptist ministers.

Frank and William BLANTON of near Datto were marketing cotton and transacting business here Tuesday.

W.F. GAMBRILL came up from Reyno first of this week and left for Peach Orchard where he is to teach school this Fall and Winter.

R.H. CANTWELL and wife from Gleghorn township were here this week attending the fair. Mr. CANTWELL is a stockholder in the Clay County Fair Association. (Piggott Banner)

J.N. MOORE, prominent attorney from Corning, was here one or two days this week on legal business. (Piggott Banner)

Dr. C.H. NEWKIRK, from the Western District, is here this week attending the fair. The doctor is owner of some horses which are being entered in the races. (Piggott Banner)

GAGE and BURKE, the coal oil men of this city, were at Knobel and Peach Orchard first of this week delivering oil to customers at those places.

W.R. and R.L. McGREW, Esquire W. EUBANKS and Tom HELMS, prominent citizens of Success, attended the board of Equalization meeting here Wednesday.

Lute MAGEE, former Reyno barber, but now in the barber business at Caruthersville, Missouri, visited relatives and friends here a day or two first of this week.

Loren RUSS and Tom WYNN took in the Fall festival in St. Louis first of this week and Mr. RUSS also visited with friends and attended the fair at Hannibal, Missouri, his old home town this week.

We have been requested to announce that the Corning Library will be re-opened next Wednesday afternoon n its former room, HOPSON building, and will be open every Wednesday thereafter from two until five o'clock.

Harvey CANTWELL, son os R.H. CANTWELL and wife, merchant of Ennisville, was recently appointed postmaster of that place.

Constable Lute RUFF was one among the loyal Philadelphia rooters in Corning. He takes it good naturedly, though.

Everett PARKS and Charles KISER, two Datto young men, returned from Moark where they had been working on the levee and are picking cotton.

A crowd of young people from Datto went grape hunting this week. They were Francis WALKER, Charles KISER, Seba SMITH, Opal KISER and Agrippina MORALES. (Datto)

Herbert GUEST has bought the old BUNCOMBE school house and will use it for a Christian Church.

Hurrah for W.M. MILLER, he is blasting stumps and breaking ground to sow Winter oats.

Arlie LUTTRELL and Harry ICENOGLE were to take a flying trip to Corning Saturday night but on the way met their frien, Leslie OAKS and all returned in time for church. (Datto)

Charlie SKAGGS has sold his store to Tom McGUIRE. (Datto)

The worlds record cotton picking has been excelled by a boy named Claude RICE, 17 years old, living at Biggers, Randolph county. The boy was picking on a wager of 1, 000 pounds of cotton. He picked 1,193 pounds of cotton in 12 hours and 35 minutes. The first three hours he averaged 120 pounds an hour. In 30 minutes from 4:00 to 4:30 o'clock, he picked 56 pounds. RICE is a member of the boy's corn club of Randolph County, known as the largest corn club in the United States. John R. KIZER, farm adviser, supervised the contest. the boy sold his cotton at ten cents a pound.

Uncle Henry HOLCOMB, who took the premium as the oldest citizen present at the fair last week, and his wife, who is also very old, walked from this place to their home near Pollard last Saturday, a distance of several miles. Mr. and Mrs. HOLCOMB came over the first day of the fair on the Poplar Bluff train, but the old gentleman was "sea-sick" from the ride when he arrived and decided then and there that he would walk home rather than risk having seasickness again. (Piggott Banner)

A heavy shock fell upon the people of Corning early Sunday morning with the news of the sudden death of Mrs. Hortence KELLEY, which sad event occurred here at the home of her brother, S.A. SIMS, about 3:00 a.m. Mrs. KELLEY had been ill for only a few days, she having come in, visiting and shopping from her home six miles East, just a week previous to her death and was, apparently, in perfect health.

Rube P. BARHAM has been appointed postmaster at O'Kean, Randolph county, to succeed R.W. CUPP, resigned.

Justus J. GREIS, who has been working in the mines at Wardner, Idaho, for several years, returned here the first of the week, saying business is on th bum out West.

Following a cow which had developed a habit of disappearing every morning and coming home in the evening with out her usual supply of milk, James WILSON of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, discovered that the cow was raising a motherless fawn.

Updated 21 Feb 2008