Amarillo Sunday News-Globe (Amarillo, Tex.), Vol. 13, No. 33, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 14, 1938 Page: 94 of 264
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PAWS SIX—SECTION 0
Young Swiss Finds Home
AMAWUjO 8PNPAY NEWS AND OLOBE, AMARILLO. TEXAS.
nnt.nKN ANNIVERSARY EDITION, 1938.
By LULA MAE FARLEY
Fifty years ago when a little
mushroom-like growth of a town
called Amarlllo was springing up
on the high plains a detachment of
soldiers from Ft, Riley, Kan., was
ent to Mobeetie, the oldest town
In the Panhandle. In this detach-
ment was Abraham Finsterwald, a
young Swiss carpenter.
Thirteen yeafs before this, Fort
Elliott had been established as the
last outpost of civilization. The
military establishment was soon
followed by a little town which
sprang up almost overnight on the
banks of Sweetwater Creek to the
south and east of the fort—it was
called Mobeetie, an Indian word
meaning "sweet water."
The fort was established to drive
the Indians back onto their reser-
vations and to protect the buffalo
hunters who had come into the
great unchartered Panhandle in
18*73 and 1S74.
Soon the need for the military
outpost passed but it continued in
existence for several years. One
of the last detachments of soldiers
sent to the fort was the one which
came in 1888.
Finsterwald, born in the little
Village of Villigen, Switzerland in
1862, came to America in 1882. In
his homeland he was a carpenter.
Ambitious, and eager for more
lucrative fields than were promised
a carpenter in Switzerland, he be-
gan to look about him for a new
location. Another important fac-
tor in his strong desire to leave
his home was the compulsory mili-
tary service imposed on every Swiss
youth when he came of age. In
Switzerland all men were trained
in army service for the protection
of their country. This service re-
quired a few weeks' training each
year. Besides this, the young men
had to be ready to serve at a
moment's notice.
The soldiers lived at their
homes and furnished themselves.-
Young Finsterwald, ambitious to
carve for himself a niche in his
chosen field, did not desire to en-
ter army service. He applied to his
government for permission to go to
Hamburg, Germany, where he had
an uncle who was a carpenter. His
request was refused. Finsterwald
laughingly remarked that he might
go to America.
The idea, conceived as a joke, took
root and young Finsterwald found
hims-elf seriously considering com-
ing to far away America to the
extent that he applied for permis-
sion. His request was granted and
the 20-year-old youth sailed from
Havre, France, in 1882. After 14
days the "Labrador" arrived at
Castle Gardens, New York City. On
the following day Finsterwald went
to Philadelphia to the home of an
uncle and aunt.
At that time America was ex-
periencing a major depression and
jobs were at a premium. In order
to work on any of the big Jobs it
was necessary to belong to a union;
so Finsterwald could not get work.
In desperation he began to look
for work of any kind. His first
job was in a sugar refinery. His
job was to break the sugar out of
the vats, which was done with a
spatula.-llke Instrument. After
wielding this instrument for a few
hours the novice's hand was solid
blisters.
It was in July, Rnd the building
was hot, and the atmosphere de-
cidely sticky with sugar and. the
heat. He worked on a 12-hour shift
and was paid $1.85 for his service.
He drew the night shift, and the
heat was so intense that It was
impossible to sleep in the day time.
Finsterwald returned to his second
night's work weary from the heat
and lack of sleep and with a pain-
fully blistered hand. After about
ABRAHAM FINSTERWALD
six hours on his second shift, he
quit and again took up his search
for employment.
Philadelphia at that time was
only a small city. The tallest build-
ings were only six or seven stories
high. There was no electricity and
the city was lighted with gas lights.
Mule-drawn street cars rattled along
the cobblestone pavement.
• • •
In this strange, alien city the im-
migrant boy walked alone, seeking
employment. Unable to speak
English, he found all transactions
difficult. When he made a pur-
chase he took a handful of coins
from his pocket, and the shopkeep-
er took the amount he wanted.
Finsterwald's next job was build-
ing a picket fence around a fac-
tory in Germantown. He was able
to get this and other jobs in the
outlying districts because many cf
the trained workers would not leave
the city proper for any job. On
these Jobs he was paid $2 and $2.25
a day. He worked for several
months on small jobs in these dis-
tricts. His Jobs were mostly In
breweries.
The depression continued. Jobs
were increasingly scarce. There
was no government aid, and the
people expected none. A person
had to be a pauper before he could
get a free meal. The people took
any kind of jobs that they could
get in order to support themselves.
Early in the morning dark
figures huddled around the lamp
posts to read the want ads when
the first editions of the papers'ap-
peared on the streets. After ad-
dresses were carefully marked, the
unemployed rushed away to stand
for hours in long lines awaiting an
opportunity to apply for the jobs.
When only a few men were wanted
for a job. many of the applicants
became discouraged and left before
they were interviewed. Quite often
only a few men were left in the
lines. With characteristic tenacity
of purpose Finsterwald always stay-
ed. and quite often got a job. This
same tenacity throughout his 56
years in America has changed the
penniless immigrant boy into one
of Wheeler county's wealthiest and
mast distinguished citizens.
Less than a year after his ar-
rival. Finsterwald found himself
unable to get a job of any kind.
One day a German to whom he
was talking on the street suggested
that he Join the army. Finster-
wald knew nothing of the American
army system. When he learned
that if he joined the army he would
be given food, lodging, clothes, and
a small salary, he went at once to
the recruiting station on Market
Street.
So the boy who left Switzerland
to escape military service gladly
joined the American army—for any-
thing was better than starving.
Finsterwald enlisted in May, 1883,
and was sent to the recruiting
school at Jefferson Barracks at St.
Louis. He remained there in train-
ing for about 10 months, was given
his board and clothing and $13 a
month. Then he was assigned to
the Fifth Cavalry with headquar-
ters at Fort Sidney, Neb.
In July he was sent to Cheyenne,
Wyo. At Cheyenne the soldiers
mounted their horses for the two
weeks' ride to the Fifth Cavalry
headquarters at Fort McKinney in
the mountains of northern Wyom-
ing. On the way, Finsterwald de-
veloped typhoid fever and traveled
the rest of the way in the army
ambulance. He was in the hospital
from then Until November.
• • *
After he recovered from his ill-
ness, Finsterwald found much work
to do as a carpenter; for Fort Mc-
Kinney was a new camp. After
the buildings at the camp were
completed, the soldiers trained and
went on hunting trips. The In-
dians offered no trouble to the
soldiers as they were all on the
reservations. On one or two oc-
casions there were rumors of im-
pending Indian raids and the
soldiers were on guard at all
times, but the Indians never came.
It was customary to shift the
soldiers from one section to anoth-
er. In May, 1885, the Fifth Cavalry
was sent South. By riding day
after day, July found the detach-
ment of soldiers in southern Ne-
braska, near the Kansas line. Weary
from incessant days of travel and
suffering from painful saddle sores,
the horses were no longer able to
go on. They were loaded on a train
and sent to Fort Riley, Kan., to
exchange for fresh mounts. Fins-
terwald was one of the ones sent
to take the horses.
The detachment of soldiers had
to wait a month for their horses
and then they rode on to join the
remainder of their company. The
Fifth Cavalry went into Oklahoma
to police an Indian scare. This was
the time that General Sheridan
came from Washington to deliver
his ultimatum to the Indians. The
famous conference took place at
what is now El Reno, Okla.
By the time Finsterwald and his
companions arrived on the scene,
the Indian scare was over, but they
took a band of Indians back to a
reservation in the northwest part
of the territory. From there they
went to Kiowfc, Kan., to spend two
months and then on to Fort Riley.
In the spring of '86 they returned
to Arkansas City, Kan., and camped
in the neutral strip at an Indian
school. The purpose of this trip
was to drive the "Sooners" out and
get them across the line. A number
| of army camps were scattered
throughout the eastern part of Ok-
lahoma. The soldiers scouted and
hunted from one camp to another.
In the fall the detachment of
soldiers returned to Fort Riley for
the winter. In the spring they went
| out again over the same route into
Oklahoma. Instead of returning to
: Fort Riley in the fall of '87 the
.Fifth Cavalry detachment was sent
to Fort Elliott at Mobeetie.
Finsterwald's five-year enlistment
ended in May, 1888. and he did not
re-enlist. He liked Mobeetie and
the ranch country around, so he
decided to stay. He settled on a
quarter section of land east of Mo-
beetie, buying it for $3 an acre
from the late T. D. Hobart. A year
later he sold his quarter section to
his brother-in-law and bought the
section of land between Wheeler
and Mobeetie where he now lives.
Land had dropped to $1 an acre,
and one was permitted to buy as
many as four sections. Finsterwald
acquired three sections of land. In
the following years he bought sev-
eral sections of railroad land until
he had a total of 11 sections. An
additional thousand-acre tract was
obtained by buying tax title and
living on it until the court approved
the claim.
A bit later when the official land
survey was made, many people
found that their land was in an
entirely different place from what
they had supposed it to be.
"According to the survey," Fins-
terwald observed, "my creek was on
my brother-in-law's place, and my
father-in-law's orchard was on
mine,"
In 1889 Finsterwald married
Sophia Schnell at Mobeetie. The
ceremony was read by Emanuel
Dubbs, first judge of Wheeler Cpoun-
ty. His bride aiso came from Switz-
erland (from near the famous Jung
Frau Mountains). This district was
close to his home In the native land,
but they did not meet until after
they had come to Mobeetie, pioneer
town thousands of miles from their
mountain homes.
• • •
Ranches near the Fiasterwaid
place Included the Van Horn Ranch
to the west and Judge Emanuel
Dubb's ranch to the south. The
other land close to Finsterwald's
still belonged to the government and
the railroads at that time.
In the beginning Finsterwald had
only about 12 head of cattle on his
ranch. He built it up until he had
an average of about 750 head of
White Face Herefords. The first
shipping point was Kiowa, Kan.
The cattle were driven overland.
When the railroads came to the
Panhandle, Canadian became the
shipping point for the eastern Pan-
handle.
In the early days there were no
fences on the ranches and the
cattle drifted at will. The earliest
fences were "drift" fences. In the
winter of '82 and '83 cattle sought
protection against the "drift" fenc-
es and froze to death. The first
wire fence was built on the Rocking
Chair Ranch two miles south of
Henrietta, according to Finster-
wald.
A great menace to the rancher
was the prairie fire. The grass was
very tall, sometimes almost waist
high, and once a fire was started
it. was very hard to stop, Fins-
terwald recalled one large fire
which was accidentally started by
G. Washington, negro horse-break-
er. The fire quickly spread east
and north, destroying everything
in its path. The alarm was sound-
ed and men from all the outlying
ranches rushed to the aid of the
stricken settlers in the district east
and north of Mobeetie. So great
was its headway that it went to
the Washita Creek in Hemphill
County, many miles away. It was
finally put out at midnight. The
ranchers plowed furrows around the
burning sections to stop the fire.
There was no trouble with the
Indians after Finsterwald came to
the Panhandle. The only Indians
were scouts living in a camp to the
south of Fort Elliott, At one time
an official at the fort took only
Indians on a scouting expedition.
Tlie Indians balked on him and re-
fused to obey orders. After that
one experience when Indians were
taken on scouting trips, they were
always matched by an equal num-
ber of white soldiers.
Finsterwald has played an im-
portant part in the development of
Wheeler County. He was commis-
sioner from 1896 to 1902. He is one
of the county's most promient
ranchers from the pioneer days.
When Oklahoma was opened up
to settlers many people moved over
into that territory, leaving Wheeler
County somewhat depopulated. Land
dropped in price to induce new set-
tlers to come to the county. In
order to retain its standing' as a
county, it had to have at least 100
voters. At that time Wheeler
County had 102 voters.
Among the old settlers whom
Finsterwald knew were T. D. Hobart,
Mark Huselby, Emanuel Dubbs,
Beau Brummel
By MRS. J. M. WINCHESTER
Mrs. William Boyce (Katherine
Tannehill) came to Amarillo with
her parents in 1893 from Missouri.
One of her brothers had a ranch
near the present town of Hereford.
Mrs. Boyce attended school in
Amarillo. Among her classmates
were Mrs. Alice McKnight, Mrs.
Lena Wolflin, Mrs. Tom Curry and
David Park.
Soon after coming here another
family from the South became their
neighbors. They brought with them
the first negro to Amarillo, a giant
black man by the name of Jerry.
He had been a house boy in his
Southern home and was very handy
at all household tasks. He washed
the family bedding by tramping it
in a tub. He took great delight in
displaying his strength, and en-
couraged by a little flattery would
do an immense amount of work.
Jerry had big feet and had to have
his winter shoes made to order, he
went barefoot in the summer.
Although Amarlllo was Just a
little western town, its young men
strictly observed the conventions
and, lacking telephones, they would
send a little boy with a note to
the young ladies' homes asking for
a date, the popular girls could be
distinguished by the number of lit-
tle boys knocking at the door de-
livering notes. One enterprising
young man used to send ice cream
with his note, and made the boast
that he was never refused a date.
The young men had buggies with
small seats, called "Hug-me-tight"
buggies. They had good horses and
kept them well-groomed. A smart
"turn-out" was a red-wheeled, rub-
ber-tired buggy, a fancy whip tied
with colored bows, colored celluoid
rings on the harness, or, in the
summer a fancy fly net with many
tassels. The young man wore a
derby hat and the wind often sent
the "cadys," as they were called,
sailing out over the prairie. It was
not fashionable then to be brown
and sunburned, so the young ladies
wore masks of Chamois skins, with
holes for their eyes, nose and mouth,
for driving or riding.
In the winter, social activities
were confined to church socials and
an occasional dance and home-tal-
ent play. One long remembered
play featured a thrilling gun bat-
lie. They made bullets of. laundry
soap, thinking that they would be
harmless, but the soap hardened
and the villain complained of in-
Jury. Frank Wolflin was a favo-
rite artist, and whenever he took
part in any performance they were
assured a full house.
Thirty-eight years ago Mr. Boyce
came to Amarillo as an attorney for
the XIT Syndicate. He represented
the syndicate for several years and
then served in the Court of Appeals
for nine years, and then resumed
private practice.
Mr. Boyce and Tom Curry were
leaders in the organization of the
Palo Duro Club.
There are four Boyce children-
William Q. Boyce, Miss Elizabeth
Boyce of Amarillo, Albert Boyce,
California, and Mrs. Ann Boyce
Strader of Fort Worth.
Temple Houston, Jim Browning,
Judge Frank Willis, and Dick Bus-
sell. He was a brother-in-law of
the late J. E. Oakes, outstanding
Wheeler County pioneer.
Today the Finsterwald ranch is
a model of convenience. Located in
a draw with a background of Cot-
tonwood trees and flowering shrubs,
the rambling house is one of the
most charming in the country. Here
he lives with his two youngest
daughters and his youngest son.
Mrs. Finsterwald died in the early
summer of 1937.
Mr. Finsterwald, with keen blue
eyes and flowing white beard, is
one of the most picturesque and
dynamic characters in these parts.
At 76 he is very active in his bank-
ing and ranching affairs. He still
owns 9 sections of land, after giv-
ing some to his children. He owns
a car of the latest make, and
drives it himself. He speaks with
a decided acccnt which gives color
to his conversation. So well does
hf like the country of his adoption
that he has no desire to ever return
to his native land.
Pray in School
By HERBERT and
CAROLYN TIMMONS
The Northwest Conference of the
Methodist Church assigned Rev. J.
Leonard Rea to the newly created
Amarillo Mission in 1909.
Rev. Rea at once began work and
before two months had passed, he
had organized churches in both East
and North Amarillo. Still possessed
with the zeal for home missions,
Rev. Rea began preaching at both
the Burch and Brady school houses
near Amarillo.
Regular services were held on Sun-
day afternoon at the Burch school
but therp are only nine members on
the roll that Rev. Rea left after him
to tell of his work. He was partic-
ularly careful to keep accurate rec-
ords, and the church owes much to
him for preserving these records.
Members listed at that church
were S. T. Morrison, a licensed dea-
con; Mrs. S. T. Morrison, a Miss
Morrison, J. D. Turpin, Miss Titia
Turpin, M:ss Daisy Bell, Glen
Blankenship, Orval Blankenship and
Mrs. Thresia Lodehuff.
Tlie Methodist church that was
organized at the Brady school took
the name of Prairie Chapel. First
date of members is Jannary 15,
1910. •
Names on the church roll arc C.
E. Lochridge, Mrs. Margaret Loch-
ridge, Frank I,ochririge, Miss Mae
I/jchridge, Mrs. Verna Barrow,
Wellington Arterburn, Mrs Arter-
burn, Mrs. Rosa Deavers, Miss Bcr-
nice Lochridge, Bennett Parsons,
Erwin Parsons, Walter Parsons,
Maggie Tolleson, Roy Tollcson, Elsie
Street, Ollie Mutter, Mrs. Dorothy
Menear. Mrs. Dolly Menear, W. G.
Street, W. O. Parsons. Author Bar-
row and Mrs. Maggie Street.
At the close of the conference
year it was decided to disband these
churches. This was done, mem-
bers placing their membership in
other nearby churches. However,
Sunday afternoon preaching services
were held at the school house for a
number of years.
These churches were short lived,
and with the passing of years, few
recall their existence. It is not so
with the labor of Rev, J. Leonard
Rea, and among tne names listed in
Craftsmen
An artisan who specializes in his
trade and a partner who has been
"keeping time for other people" for
24 years are the men behind the
Amarillo firm know nas the Adel-
mann - Diakemore Manufacturing
Jewelers.
Established In 1930 by Julius Adel-
mann and Lester Blakemore, the
firm weathered the hard times im-
mediately following chiefly because
the partners are experts who have
spent a lifetime at the work bench.
Adelmann came to Amarillo In
April 1909 to work for the old P. H.
Seewald Jewelry Company. Thor-
oughly apprenticed in his trade,
Adelmann early began to specialize
in the manufacturing and designing
of Jewelry. Learning the art of mak-
ing jewelry according to the desires
of patrons who cannot find just
what they want on the open mar-
ket latpr was to be a life-saver for
Adelmann.
Blakemore, an expert watch-mak-
er and clock repairman of Shelby-
ville, Tenn., came to Amajillo in
1917. He went to work for the same
firm which employed Adelmann and
a friendship began which culminat-
ed in their forming a partnership
in 1930. Both men worked for the
Finklea Jewelry Company, succes-
sors to the Seewald concern.
Adelmann looks upon his work as
a trade in which craftsmanship Is
paramount. He regrets that the
trend of progress has all but elimi-
nated the necessity for having
youths serve apprenticeships in
trades.
"Today 98 per cent of work of
manufacturing jewelry is done by
machinery. Maybe this Is all right.
I suppose it is, but it isn't my way,
and I intend to stick to special work
and designing. Of course, we plan to
continue in Amarillo, to fight it out
through good times and bad,"
Adelmann says.
During the depression, Adelmann
and Blakemore depended almost en-
tirely upon the firm's being spe-
cialists. 'We managed to weather a
storm period during which the Jew-
elry business was virtually nil,"
says Adelmann, "so I guess crafts-
manship saved us. Anyway, things
are brignter. The last two years have
shown an increase in business. We
started right here eight years ago
and plan to stay here until our work
is done."
In spi'.e of their long years at the
work beoch, neither man shows any
marks from the laborious task of
doing his tedious work by hand In
this unpretentious shop there exists
that old-fashioned pride in handi-
work which in an early age made
men and even nations famous in
the world of commerce.
the Burch and Prairie Chapel rolls
are many that are now leaders and
faithful members in Methodist
churches in Amarillo and other
cities.
One name recalls an Amarillo boy
who has made good—Frank Loch-
ridge, for a number of years a
Methodist pastor and now a presid-
ing elder in South Dakota.
Woods Coffee: "We called the
Cator headquarters, where we got,
our mail, Zula. Don't know why
some folks call it Stockade, unless
it's because there was a picket fence
built like a stockade around It."
BEAUTIFUL BIV1NS ADDITION
The Finest Restricted
District In Amarillo!
m ■
*
,
Represented by
Robert Ricks Realty Co.
,>«<••.«• .'-v..
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Amarillo Sunday News-Globe (Amarillo, Tex.), Vol. 13, No. 33, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 14, 1938, newspaper, August 14, 1938; Amarillo, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth299921/m1/94/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hutchinson County Library, Borger Branch.