• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVI EW, CONTENTS little Visits with Literary Missourians—-Fanny Hurst Catharine Cranmer The Building of a City—Springfield A. M. Haswell Norman J. Colman Floyd G. Summers In the Land of the Osages— Harmony Mission Mrs. W, W. Graves A Great Report W. O. L. Jewett Personal Recollections of Distinguished Missourians— B. Gratz Brown Daniel M. Grissom The New Journalism in Missouri Walter B. Stevens Shelby's Expedition to Mexico John N. Edwards Historical Notes and Comments Missouri History Not Found in Textbooks Historical Articles in Missouri Newspapers STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY of MISSOURI APRIL, 1925 THE MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW Vol. XIX April, 1925 No. 3 CONTENTS Little Visics with Literary Missourians—Fannie Hurst 389 CATHABINE CRANMER The Building of a City—Springfield 397 A. M. HASWELL Norman J. Colman 404 FLOYD G. SUMMERS In the Land of the Osages—Harmony Mission 409 MRS. W. W. GRAVES A Great Report 419 W. O. L, JEWETT Personal Recollections of Distinguished Missourians—B. Gratz Brown 423 DANIEL M. GRISSOM The New Journalism in Missouri 427 WALTER B. STEVENS Shelby's Expedition to Mexico 438 JOHN N. EDWARDS Historical Notes and Comments 472 Missouri History Not Found in Textbooks 493 Historical Articles in Missouri Newspapers 508 &?$&& FLOYD C. SHOEMAKER, Editor The Missouri Historical Review is published quarterly. The subscription price is $1.00 a year. A complete set of the REVIEW is still obtainable—Vols. 1-18, bound, $55.00; unbound, $25.00. Prices of separate volumes given on request. All communications should be addressed to Floyd C. Shoemaker, Secretary, The State Historical Society of Missouri. "Entered as second-class matter at the postoffi.ee at Columbia, Missouri, under act of Congress, October St 1917, Sec. 4b2" CONTRIBUTORS CATHARINE CRANMER is a native of Cooper county, Missouri. She has taught school, written for magazines, etc., and at the time these interviews were written was doing advertising work in New York. At present she is engaged in publicity work in St. Louis. A. M. HASWELL, author, was born in Mauhmain, Burmah, and educated in Colgate University. Since 1868 he has lived in the Missouri Ozarks, where he has done his literary work. He represented the Springfield, Mo., district in the Legislature. His home is in Mansfield, Mo. FLOYD G. SUMMERS is a senior in the School of Arts and Science, University of Missouri. His home is in Memphis, Missouri. MRS. W. W. GRAVES, native Missourian, has largely directed her public efforts to forwarding the work of state patriotic societies. Mrs. Graves was chairman of the D. A. R. committee which secured the adoption of the State flower. She is State vice-regent of the Missouri D. A. R., and a member of the State Board of Charities and Corrections. Her home is in Jefferson City. W. O. L. JEWETT, former editor of the Shelbina Democrat, former president of the Missouri Press Association and of The State Historical Society of Mis­ souri, has played a prominent part in the State's history since the latter '60s. DANIEL M. GRISSOM, a native of Kentucky, came to Missouri in 1853. From that year to 1888 he engaged in journalistic work on the St. Louis City newspapers. He served on the "Evening News," was editor of the "Union,' worked on the "Dispatch," and for nearly two decades held a position on the "Missouri Republican." His historical articles on Missouri have received wide circulation. His home is in Kirkwood. WALTER B. STEVENS, author and journalist, is the most popular historical writer in Missouri. Mr. Stevens has over a score of books to his credit and in 1921 published a "Centennial History of Missouri." He has held a number of important public positions, including the secretaryship of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis. He is president of The State Historical Society. His home is in St. Louis. JOHN N. EDWARDS (deceased), one of the most widely known journalists of Missouri, was a member of Shelby's expedition to Mexico. He is regarded by some competent authorities as having been the greatest master of journalistic writing that the State has produced. LITTLE VISITS WITH LITERARY MISSOURIANS* FANNIE HURST BY CATHARINE CRANMER On Tuesday, March 11, 1924, I received from Fannie Hurst a typewritten line on the margin of the letter Mr. Shoemaker had written her. She specified three o'clock Thursday afternoon as an hour she could see me if I desired and I was asked to verify it by telephone. I did so and the arrangement was settled with dispatch. I arrived on schedule time at a big up-town studio apart­ ment building, was admitted to Miss Hurst's apartment by an elderly maid, and ushered into a room of magnificent pro­ portions. The walls were full two stories in height with cun­ ning little balconies and windows peeping out at intervals along the second floor level. The woodwork was in black, or nearly so, and the walls a creamy sort of ecru. Several of the big chairs were upholstered in bright red brocade. An enormous rug in rich blues and reds, a big davenport of dull gray, a roomy fireplace, lots of closely-filled bookshelves, some tapestries and paintings, a grand piano, and tables and lamps here and there gave to the big room a charming atmos­ phere without in any way crowding its generous area. After a few moments of waiting, quite audible steps on an uncarpeted stairway. My expectancy mounts to tip-toe. Then, enter the author. She is short, but less stout than when I saw her several years ago. She wears a flowing dress of soft black crepe de chine with facings of bright red flashing out here and there. Her hair, black as a crow's wing, is pulled straight back from her forehead, which is pretty and smooth and low. In the soft knot of hair at the nape of her *The present high standing of Missourians in the field of letters is well known. To learn more about those who, living outside of the state have gained national distinction, these little visits with Missourian-New Yorkers are presented. (389) 390 MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW neck a*big red comb perches low at the left side. Her com­ plexion is creamy and smooth, quite without color, but there's a vivid touch of red on her lips. Her mouth is small. Her dark eyes keenly expressive. She looks not a day older than when I saw her in St. Louis fully eight years ago. A distinctly attractive young woman. Miss Hurst seemed quite willing, but just a little uncer­ tain, how to talk about herself. A popular critic, in describ­ ing his first meeting with her, described her as being timid and halting when talking about herself but amazingly fluent and brilliant when talking of anything else. And as she talked to me that description came back to my mind, for I had a feeling that within her she had an uncanny amount of ideas and information with which to make talk, if she chose. She speaks each word clearly, in a subdued deep voice. At times she employs a series of brief staccato sentences, then suddenly moves off in a smooth flow of rapid talk with fre­ quent parenthetical remarks which in no wise break the even rhythm of her talk. Although quite cordial with her eyes, she impressed me as being a little on the defensive lest her character as author might lose something should she become downright sociable. This statement imperfectly conveys my impression, I'm afraid, but there was a subtle something which I felt but couldn't quite define and can not now describe. It is probably a defense mechanism made necessary by the innumerable appeals which an admiring and curious public makes upon the time and patience of reigning celebrities. Certainly it is not tainted with any ungraciousness, but is rather a respect-compelling reserve. I made some reference to the desire of The State Historical Society of Missouri for information about her as a distinguished native Missourian now living in New York, but I blush to recall my failure to ask the very first important question I should have asked. Almost the first thing Miss Hurst said was this: "As a matter of fact, I was not born in Missouri, although I was taken there when I was two weeks old and lived there until I was quite grown up." LITTLE VISITS WITH LITERARY MISSOURIANS 391 And the question I failed to ask was "Where were you born?" However, I did say, "But weren't your parents St. Louisans before you were born?" "Yes," she said, "the fact is, my mother was away at her home at the time I was born, and when I was two weeks old took me home to St. Louis." The next question I put was this: "How far are you conscious of any Missouri influences, of environment or train­ ing, on your work?" "It would be nice if I could say that my chief inspiration came from my Missouri environment," she said, with a frank smile, "but I'm afraid I can't say that." Then she went on to say, so rapidly that I can give only the gist of it, that she undoubtedly had been influenced by her environment, and that it was absurd to think that anyone could ever grow entirely away from the soil wherein they first took root. "But except unconsciously, my Missouri contacts did not influence me," she went on, "with one outstanding excep­ tion, and that is William Marion Reedy. I count him as the most definite mile-post of my life." This she said with tre­ mendous emphasis.

Load more

  172

Copy Link