- Madison in 1915 -
In 1915, The Madison News wrote an article describing many of the businesses that were found in Madison. At that time Madison had a population around 1,000, a municipal water and light plant, which cost $40,000 and a $40,000 school, built in 1912, with nine class rooms and an auditorium with seating capacity of about 400. There were four churches in town, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian and Christian.
“The Madison Hotel was a favorite with the traveling man and it was owned by J.M. Bradbury, who had owned a hotel in Severy, the Clifton which was well known by travelers. Victor Larson owned a meat market and had been in Madison since 1912. His market is a model of neatness and efficiency. Capt. R.Z. Swegle was opening up a news and confectionery stand in the lobby of the post office in Madison. He came to Greenwood County thirty years ago and settled in the Severy area. He has served as register of deeds for Greenwood County, ran a furniture store in Madison and served a term as postmaster of Eureka before coming back to Madison. He plans on offering the leading papers and periodicals to the public.
The Madison Bank was organized on July 1, 1885 and has played an important part in the development of Madison and the surrounding area. The Sturgeon Brothers, Hayes and Virgil operate a billiard parlor. They have been in business eight years.
C.A. David embarked on a plumbing, heating, electrical and sheet metal business in 1910, after having worked as a journeyman for several years. In September of 1912, fire destroyed his business and with the encouragement of friends, he started up again. In 1914 his heating business reached above the $10,000 mark. He became an authority in the Master Plumbers’ and Steam Fitters’ Association J.H. Blakley & Sons conducted business as the Variety Store. Customers could find a wide variety of goods in the 25 and 50 cents’ price range.
In 1914, J.C. Martin & Co. opened after buying the Star Dry Goods Company’s stock. Mr. Martin came from Wellington where he had extensive holdings. They sell women’s garments, shoes, millinery, men’s clothing, hats, and furnishings. They have a capable salesforce to serve the customer’s needs.
Star Grocery started in 1910 as Imthurn & Ott and were a clothing and dry goods store . They disposed of everything except groceries. Mr. Ott went to Belle Plaine, and Will Horst came into the company. Dan Imthurn, the senior member of the firm has a big farm adjoining the town as well as extensive interests in Western Kansas.
Will Horst lives on his farm, two miles from town, but gets to the store every morning to see George Ott put up the sugar, while the boys sweep out. Miss Sadie Fankhauser presides at the cashier’s desk, while Dan Imthurn smokes drummers’ cigars. The firm does a thriving business.
T.R. Swain & Son, Dry Goods has been one of the early merchants in Madison. T.R. succeeded the Parkhurst Mercantile Company in 1886, and has been active in all walks of the community until 1911, when he admitted his son, as partner. Virgil Swain brought youth, nerve and intimate knowledge of dry goods and women’s furnishings into the business. Virgil with his wide experience gained as a traveling salesman through several western and southern states, reduced the number of departments to the present features, now catering to a higher class of dry goods.
As a Madison asset, the firm caters to the best interests of the community in its selection of seasonable goods of highest quality and of the very latest ideas in style.
There is in every town one or more men who are looked upon to take the position as leader of any public event, and in Madison those duties usually fall to the lot of Arthur Harris. When ever a procession is to be marshalled or a public affair is to be inaugurated, Arthur Harris is called upon to officiate. Arthur was reared on a farm in Lena Valley, east of Madison, after his marriage he moved to California, where he engaged in the oil business for several years. When he returned to Madison, he became an auctioneer. In 1912 he engaged in the clothing business with E.A. Melbourne and later bought him out. Mr. Harris carries a big stock of men’s and boys’ clothing, shoes and furnishing goods. He is known as a fair and square business man.
A really live town has a photograph gallery and Madison has a first-class photographer in the person of H.E. Williams. Mr. Williams has been in Madison a number of years and the public has come to recognize his ability as an artist and finished workman.
His studio is exceedingly well equipped for all classes of work, and his photos are remarkable for their clearness and sharp printing.
J.N. Frazee, one of the pioneers in merchandising in Madison, came to Kansas in 1870. He stayed three years, then went back to Indiana, but the Kansas virus was in his blood and in 1881 he came back to Kansas. He was in the cattle business until 1887, when he bought the mercantile business of A. Wehrman and settled down to be one of the important factors of Madison’s business world. Mr. Frazee has an elegant home here, and also a commodious business house, in which he conducts one of the largest mercantile concerns in this part of the country. His stock consists of dry goods, groceries, women’s garments and men’s and boys’ clothing and furnishings. He has thoroughly established his standings in the community as a merchant who caters exclusively to the highest quality of merchandise, from a spool of thread to the highest priced garment or fabric in his store. Mr. Frazee has always been free to spend time and money in the promotion of every enterprise which might contribute to the upbuilding of Madison and vicinity.
The popularity of the barber firm of O.L. Bacome and Clifford Neece is induced by their workmanship. They take pride in giving each customer a clean, quick shave or haircut, and in a pleasing, sanitary manner. These barbers know their business and attend to it promptly and well.
Mr. Bacome opened the shop in the Sturgeon Bros.’ Billiard parlor about seven years ago. About eighteen months ago Clifford Neece purchased a half interest. The shop is doing well and the proprietors are men of excellent standing as citizens and gentlemen.
Dr. L.A. Cummings, dentist, came to Madison over eight years ago and has established a modern equipped dental office and laboratory. He is an expert on crown and bridge work. There are no slipshod jobs turned out of his office.
He has his office equipped with electrical appliances especially fitted to turning out a piece of dental work of the highest type. He has an electric wet cell battery and a storage battery system. His splendidly equipped office and his expert craftmanship backed by his courtesy and his high character as a man and citizen, mark him as a coming man in his chosen field.
Nearly every town has a personage who is dubbed a “town character,” but few towns have a personage who may be said to have dubbed a “town with character.” Walter J. Bangs has nearly made this possible by reason of his advertising methods. When Mr. Bangs bought the defunct drug stock of R.M. Fleisher, in 1907, he introduced an innovation in the conduct of drug stores in Kansas small towns-he advertised. Up to that time a double page ad of a drug store was unheard of in the drug business. Mr. Bangs followed that system for seven years. He now owns one of the neatest and most complete drug stores you will find in any small town. He also has a beautiful soda fountain, using city lights, fans and water service; carries periodicals and magazines and cigars. Mr. Bangs is for the second term president of the Kansas Pharmaceutical Association. His wide advertising campaigns have made his trade-mark, “Everybody’s Druggist,” a household word for thirty miles around Madison.
The drug store of DeMalorie & Neill is housed in its own building, and strives as always, to serve the needing public fairly and squarely. Mr. DeMalorie, the senior member of the firm, came to Madison in 1877. He began as a clerk with Dr. L.J. Cunkle, and later became proprietor of the business. In the year he sold a half interest in the business to J.H. Neill. This drug store is one of the pioneer business concerns of Madison. It was established by Dr. L.J. Cunkle in 1877, and Charles DeMalorie was the mainstay up to 1911, since which time James Neill has been his active partner. Mr. Neill came to Madison as a young man of rare attainments as a chemist and a high-class pharmacist. Both partners own their own home and Mr. DeMalorie is largely interested in land west of Madison.
The First National Bank of Madison was first organized as the People’s State Bank, in 1899, with A. Wehrman as president. In August 1900 the bank was nationalized. Its growth has been constant and still continues. Its conservative banking methods make it a safe institution.
Phil P. Pees is an American citizen. His father was a Union soldier during the Civil War. In an early day the family moved from Ohio to Madison and owned a farm, later moved to town and opened a boot and shoe store. Pete was early taught the shoemaker’s trade, and was taught thoroughly. Pete liked to play ball and paddle in the creek when his father thought he should be pegging soles or sorting scraps. But Pete was fat, and the application of “strap oil” brought howls, not so much from pain as in hope of mitigating the punishment. And so, he learned the shoe business, so that today he conducts a shoe store and can mend your old shoes or make you new ones.
Few towns in Kansas can boast a neater restaurant and short order lunch room than Green Bros., and no restaurant produces better food. Dave Green is a master cook; he has been cooking for twenty-five years and everything in his kitchen is spotless. He makes his own pastries, too, and they are better than most women make. They have the best coffee you can get this side of the Biltmore. Charlie Green is a right good cook himself; his wife says so.
Madison is fortunate in having so excellent an eating house-the trainmen says so.
E.B. Shaffer bought the feed and coal business of Buck Bitler in 1911, and has been on the job ever since. There is no project which comes up for the benefit of Madison or the adjacent people that he does not enthusiastically support. He conducts a feed and grain business and handles coal and hay as well. His many years of farm life coupled with his business training fit to serve him well in his business.
The big produce firm of T. Jensen & Bros., has one of its best branch houses at Madison, and the large volume of business transacted is due in a great measure to the efforts of its hustling young manager, C.R. Pritchard. Ross is busy everyday , hustling new business and waking up slack prospects. They ship immense quantities of eggs and poultry and cream from this station, and it makes Ross a busy boy. He owns his own home and has no time for foolishness.
W. M. Kipp, owner of Kipp’s Garage, has a wellequipped garage. His parents lived here years ago. Will was raised largely in Montana. He had to grow large in order to look over the mountains. When the family returned to Madison last year Will concluded to go into business, and as he is a practical machinist and automobile mechanic, he bought the Colton garage. He carries a line of supplies and gasoline, and offers his services to automobile owners in need of repairs. Mr. Kipp is agent for the Overland line of cars.
J.E. Pritchard, the haberdasher, as his advertising trade-mark reads, has been in business here since 1901. Mr. Pritchard is a native-born Madisonian. He began his business career as clerk, and for years was a book keeper for different firms. Mr. lend a hand to push any project that has for its objective the upbuilding of Madison and vicinity, for his belief is that anything good for the town helps him. Mr. Pritchard is best known as “Ed,” has served on the city council, and was city clerk for years.
A history of Madison would be incomplete without a short sketch of W.D. Laird, who now is county commissioner for this district. He moved to Madison about thirty years ago, and went into farming west of Madison. He owns a modest home in town. He left the farms some years ago, on account of the ill health of his wife. Last year he was elected county commissioner from the First District.
Quality Groceries, that is the trade-mark of A.J. Bowen, who started into the grocery business five years ago. Andy Bowen had some experience in selling goods and concluded to launch out for himself in the business of supplying eatables to a hungry public, so he secured the Widder building, on the south side of East Main. He is doing more business every day, and has the building full of goods from cellar to garret. Stores in other larger towns may have a larger force of clerks, but it is doubtful if they shove more goods over the counter than the clerks in Bowen’s Quality Grocery. Mr. Bowen has one of the most highly systematized grocery stores to be found in the average town. Miss Nellie Sturgeon attends to the book keeping and receives the telephone orders. Usually there is one extra clerk at rush hours, and on Saturday, three extra men are used.
He is a first-class business man and a highly respected citizen. He is serving his third term on the city council. In all that he does, Mr. Bowen has a system; the display of his stock, his storage of reserve stock, everything in his store seems to be systematized in order to give quickest results.
The science or art of building concrete forms is just now being brought into its own. In all sorts of constructive and structural works, concrete plays a most important part. Elmer Jones, of Madison, is engaged in contracting concrete jobs. He is a past master in stone work and has learned thoroughly the adaptability of concrete in all forms of structural work. He has a large and expensive inventory of equipment for the work and is ready to bid on any job of stone or concrete construction.
His work here in Madison on the high school building and on the big ditch are clear proof of his ability to do any sort of concrete work. Mr. Jones draws his own plans and estimates. He is always pleased to furnish them on request.
The real estate firm of Lovett & Marshall is one of the town’s institutions. It succeeded the firm of George O. Lovett and S.F. Wicker which was established in 1879.
This firm has a large list of city, farm and pasture lands and makes real estate loans and writes insurance. The firm is composed of H.M. Marshall, who came here from Iowa, and C.E. Lovett, who came here from Illinois, with his father. They have a notary public and stenographer in the office.
Ira Pritchard was born and reared at Madison. He learned the barber business, and for many years worked in Emporia. About a year ago he disposed of his shop in Emporia and came to Madison, where he opened up for business in Green Bros.’ billiard hall. Ira is a careful workman, who knows his business, and is gaining a fair share of the barber business because he wants to make good with each customer he serves. No man in any walk-in life may make an expert to hold business unless he proves he is capable of accomplishing the task assigned him. Mr. Pritchard is holding his trade and gaining because he is a good workman. Ira is proud of his home town and expects to remain here if prompt, efficient service and courteous treatment will count with the public, who need his services.”
