Peter Wacek (Watsky) Family

Peter Wacek came to the United States from old Bohemia in 1870 and found work in a lumber yard in Chicago, Illinois. There he met and married a country woman, Miss Antonia Cizinsky, in 1873. In 1876, he and his family moved on a farm near where Marceline was to be settled. For forty years he was a farmer, and in 1916 he moved to the city of Marceline for retirement. In 1938, his wife died after 65 years of marriage. There were eight children born to this union and only two are still living. They are Mrs. Rosa Wiley and Mrs. C. C. Wyett, both of Marceline. There are also a great number of grandchildren still residing in Marceline. Mr. Wacek is a part of the history of Marceline, as it was on his property that the Marceline City Reservoir was built. He lived to celebrate his 100th birthday and when asked why he thought he had been able to attain that grand age, he replied saying only that, “maybe hard work out of doors did it; maybe not smoking or drinking helped.”

Mike Petska

Mike Petska came to the United States, from old Bohemia in about 1875 and found work in a Marble Factory in Chicago, Illinois. In Chicago, he met Miss Kathryn Zindell, who had also come to Chicago, to be with an older sister. Though they both came from the same town they were not acquainted. They were married and came to Missouri, where they purchased a farm in a location which is now northwest Marceline, near the airport. Later they purchased a farm 4 miles south of Marceline, where they lived until 1918 when they sold their farm and moved to 110 West Howe Street, Marceline. Mr. Petska died in 1919 and Mrs. Petska in 1943. To this union seven children were born. Two children, Guss of Denver, Colorado and Albert of Marceline are living. The Petskas did their trading in Bucklin and Lingo before Marceline was established.

Sigmund Steiner

Mr. Steiner was the oldest merchant at the time that he retired. He came to Marceline from Fairfield, Illinois, in January 1888 and opened a clothing store known as “The Globe” on Santa Fe Avenue for some weeks while a building (now occupied by State Bank) was being finished for his use. In 1909 he moved to what is now The Ben Franklin Store building, and remained there until 1936. He was assisted through the years by his son Frank S. Steiner. Sigmund Steiner was born in Austria, May 9, 1856. He came to America when he was nine years old and first settled in St. Louis, where he received his education. He was united in marriage with Georgia Steves at Flora, Illinois on January 2, 1879. Two sons were born to this union – Frank S. and Charles S. Steiner. Sig was a kindly, lovable man. He always had a warm hand and a warm heart for this legion of friends. Side by side with other leading citizens of Marceline he was a stout defender for his town. Mrs. Steiner was instrumental in organizing various women’s clubs and much credit is due her efforts in obtaining a Carnegie Library for Marceline. Mr. Steiner passed away January 11, 1937, and Mrs. Steiner in 1944. Mrs. Steiner was an active member of the Methodist Church.

Samuel E. Smith Family

When Samuel E. Smith came to Marceline in April 1888 to help build the roundhouse, he found a tent city. Later in the year he purchased the house that is still standing at 107 West Street. He traded a team of horses and a wagon for the house. The family lived in the house until Mr. Smith’s death in 1947. The original four-room house was enlarged to seven rooms and a bath. There were five children – Walter C. of Julesburg, Colorado; Margaret J. Rensimer and Lucy Smith of Marceline, and Connie and Frank F., both deceased.

P. W. Sears

Peter Wright Sears was born on a farm near Bedford, Lawrence County, Indiana, October 2, 1846. On May 7, 1864, he enlisted in Company E. of the 136th Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He remained with his company until the end of the war, when he was honorably discharged. He was married to Mary Emeline Boyd at Bedford, December 20, 1867. Four children were born – Mrs. Ada Mason, Mrs. Etta Watson, Luther Sears, and Mrs. Myrtle Steiner; four grandsons – S. C. Mason, Kenneth Watson, Steves Steiner, and George A. Steiner; one granddaughter, Mary Elizabeth Sears McCollum. In the year 1885, Mr. Sears moved with his family to Mendon, Missouri. The mother and children came on the train and the men folks in covered wagons, bringing extra horses and milk cows tied to the wagons. One faithful old hound dog walked all the way. Mr. Sears settled at Rothville, remaining there until 1889 when he moved to Marceline and was employed by the Santa Fe Railroad. He retired in 1916. He was a member of the G. A. R. Post and at his death, five members were living. He united with the Christian Church by letter, September 3, 1891. He passed away January 11, 1925. The residence of P. W. Sears, from 1894 until his death, was owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Otis DeLong, 122 West Gracia Avenue.

Charles Kienast, Cigar Manufacturer

Charles Kienast, who was our local cigar manufacturer, was a native of Illinois, having first seen the light in La Salle county, that state, October 25, 1862. In 1869 his parents removed to Marshall County, Kansas, and he grew up on the farm to the age of seventeen, doing the usual work of the farmers’ boy. Shortly after his seventeenth birthday the cigar business fired the fancy of young Kienast and he soon secured a job in a factory and learned the trade of cigar making, and he worked at that calling continuously for twenty-seven years. He was an expert cigar-maker and a fine judge of cigar leaf tobacco. Mr. Kienast held firmly to the principle that it takes good tobacco to make good cigars and that it is far better to have a good sound business only realizing a small profit than to do a “wildcat” business with large profits and soon no business at all. We learned that he did a business of about $6,000 a year. Three thousand dollars of this amount went for cost of raw material. Who got the other $3,000? Why, the employees, the butcher, the barber, the stone mason, the plasterer, the carpenter, the storekeeper, the lumberman, the laundryman, the hotel keeper, the railroad and railroad employees, the miner, the liveryman, the real estate man, the doctor, the druggist; and in fact we were all interested and benefitted by our cigar factory. Mr. Kienast manufactured a number of brands of cigars and they were all very popular with smokers. His home trade was very satisfactory, and, although he did not cater particularly to outside business, he was sending a good many goods out of town. Mr. Kienast came to Marceline in 1902 from Quincy, Illinois and lived In and near Marceline until 1960 at the time of his death. Four generations are still residing in Marceline. He has three sons living: Charles W., Sam, and Harold.

Myers Clothing Company

The Myers Clothing Company which was established in 1896 came into being through the business insight and integrity of Sam Myers. He came to Marceline from his native France and in 1906 was joined by his brother Carl and family from Alsace Lorraine and the firm of Myers Brothers, was established. Upon the death of Sam Myers in 1916 and of Carl Myers in 1932 the firm became known as the Myers Clothing Company and is presently owned and operated by Edgar Myers and Mario Myers Fletcher. Edgar and Mary, as they are familiarly known, have been consistent boosters of Marceline. Edgar served as president of the Marceline Development Association during its beginningHe has been a member of the Masonic bodies since 1921. He was a charter member and past president of the Marceline Rotary Club and served as councilman during the first year of the city manager form of government. He is a lay member newly appointed advisory board of the St. Francis Hospital. The Myers Store has been located on Kansas Avenue since its beginning. It formerly was located In the Cater building at southwest corner of Kansas and Howell Streets, which was destroyed by fire on January 26, 1957. The firm has been in its present location In the renovated National Bank building at the southeast corner of Kansas Avenue and Howell Streets since that time.

The Marceline News

FIFTH PAPER OF CITY ONCE SERVED BY 4 WEEKLIES, ONE DAILY During the lawless days of 1888, Marceline had three newspapers. There was The Marceline Mirror, The Marceline New Deal, and The Marceline Journal. The Journal is believed to have been the first paper, started early in 1888 by the efforts of Dr. J. A. Smith and William C. Walker. The press equipment was purchased from the old Brookfield Chronicle. Walker subsequently sold his Interest to John W. Northcott, of Linneus, who stayed with Smith 18 months, long enough to mold the paper as an organ of the Republican party. Other transactions involving the Journal were: 1891, James Smith is editor and a year later yields controlling interest to Hiram Long and A. E. Nell. 1899, S. W. Dodge buys the Journal. 1900, Charles Henry buys the Journal. The same year, however, the former editors of the New Deal, S. W. Birch and Charles B. McDowell, take over the Journal. 1903, William H. Hamby buys the Journal and starts running it as a semi-weekly. 1905, L. P. Wakeman, of Scranton, Kansas, becomes a partner of Hamby and they put out a weekly again. 1906, Alden Lyle arrives on the scene as editor of the Journal and operates it until 1929. During this time, in 1912, Lyle bought out the Mirror and began publishing the Marceline Journal-Mirror. The Mirror had its beginning August 9, 1888, by Ruede and Dodge, who printed it as a Democratic paper. Dodge then sold his interest to Harry Brodrick, of Osborne, Kansas. The Mirror had a circulation of 625 in 1888 and in eight years the circulation rose to 1,000. A Macon man, Walter Cash, meanwhile, bought out Ruede’s interest in 1894. The editor who sold the paper to Alden Lyle in 1905 was E. J. Conger. Marceline’s press “welcomed” the Marceline Daily News in June 1896, started by Dr. J. H. Perrin, editor and publisher. That year the paper supported the Populist Party and it flopped. There are no records of the paper. Harry Webster established The Marceline Herald in May 1913. Emphasizing local news, which has continued to be the key to success for weekly papers, the Herald prospered. In 1929, Webster sold to George Butts. The Marceline News is the successor to the Journal-Mirror and Marceline Herald, which two were purchased by Clarence E. Watkins, publisher of the Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune and by Mr. and Mrs. George C. Butts, formerly of Kansas City. Butts had been a Kansas City Star staffer and formerly edited the Maryville Democrat Forum and Tribune. Editor Butts continued to improve the News and it soon gained Blue Ribbon recognition in the State. In 1955, the News became the property of Jan V. Rockwell, who was a journalism and graphic arts instructor at Houston, Texas. In 1957, the News again achieved the status of a Missouri Blue Ribbon weekly. At this time, Rockwell was recalled to active duty by the U.S. Navy in Washington, D.C. His wife, Thelma Rockwell edited the paper until 1961, when Joe Belie was retained as managing editor. Subsequently, the Rockwells, after his honorable discharge, purchased the Clay County Courier in Corning, Arkansas. The Rockwells took over active publication of the Courier, but retained their interest in the News.

Chan Judd Family

Chan Judd and family came to Marceline in 1890. He went to work in the John Duke Barber Shop. There was a chinese laundry in Marceline and they fixed the front part of the shop up and Mr. Judd set up his barber shop. It was in this shop that Mabel Judd, stepdaughter of Mr. Judd, became the first lady barber in Marceline at the age of 10. They went from there to Rothville for three years where Mr. Judd worked on the Santa Fe Bridge and in 1901 returned to Marceline. He and his stepdaughter started to work in the old carpenter shop and were there two years. From there, they moved to what is now the Carter Building and worked for Dr. Cater for five years. Mabel Judd (Disney) Davolt is still living in Marceline on East Crocker Street.

Dr. W. A. Cater

Dr. W. A. Cater was born May 13, 1854 in Barnesville, Ohio and being the son of a Methodist minister, he lived in many places in his youth. When he became a doctor he practiced in Macomb, Illinois, Edina, Missouri, and Greensburg, Kansas before coming to Marceline in 1888. Dr. and Mrs. Cater and their three sons made their first home where the O. H. O’Connor house now stands. A daughter, Ruth, was born here. In 1893, Dr. Cater built a larger house on the corner of Lake Street and Kansas Avenue. This house was moved in 1929 to its present location just west of the overhead bridge to make room for Dr. and Mrs. Roy Cater to build their new home. In 1888, Marceline had two business sections, one on East Lake Street and the other on Santa Fe Avenue from the tracks to west of the Methodist Church. Dr. Cater bought lots at two corners of Kansas Avenue and Howell Street and built Cater Block No. 1 in 1889, which building is still standing and Cater Block No. 2 where the Opera House was built. In the pioneer days, two adjoining buildings were called blocks. This intersection has always been considered the hub of the business district. The first Cater Drugstore, established in 1893, was located where the Ben Franklin Store is now. Harry Pinney, half brother of Mrs. Cater clerked in this store. In 1908, the drug store was moved to the location now occupied by Elmo’s Pharmacy and became known as R. M. Cater and Company. Don Cater was the pharmacist in this store until his death in 1917. Jim Flanner was employed as manager and pharmacist and held this position until his death in 1931 at which time Willett Clawson became manager. Mr. Clawson held this position until he purchased his own store in Cameron. Elmo Buck started working in the store in 1930 and later when the store became M. Cater and Company, he was manager until the store’s existence ended in the fire of January, 1957. Dr. W. A. Cater practiced medicine in Marceline from 1888 until a year before his death in June, 1917. He was the second mayor of Marceline. Dr. Roy Cater practiced medicine from the time he graduated from the American Medical College in St. Louis in 1906 until his death in February, 1932. He was mayor from 1926 to 1930. He was State Representative (Republican) from Linn County in 1928 and 1929.Mrs. W. A. Cater died in February, 1918 and Bruce Cater in September. 1949.