Two Early Callaway Businesses in Southwest Missouri
In the fall of 1887, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad moved to Plymouth Junction, Mo. and renamed the new settlement Monett. Return Robert M. "Bob" Callaway, a young man of 23 years, was employed at that time by Mr. Raupp in Pierce City, Mo. six miles away. The new town grew rapidly, and early in 1888 Mr. Raupp sent young Callaway to Monett to open and manage a furniture store. Soon Bob Callaway became a part owner and subsequently the sole owner of the small furniture business, beginning a career in Monett that was to continue for fifty years. By 1890 he added a funeral service, conducted from the furniture rental building location.
The Callaway Furniture Store
A family business from 1888 through 1942, the Callaway Furniture Store in Monett had customers from the entire surrounding area and south over the Arkansas state line. In 1904, Bob Callaway erected a building on the main street (311 Broadway) with two floors plus a balcony floor which provided 22,500 square feet of space for furniture and coffin display. The building is still used today as a furniture store by Wesco (1993). As the business grew, Bob Callaway and his sons purchased furniture and accessories from St. louis and later attended the Furniture Mart in Chicago. To house the additional merchandise, a warehouse building was constructed behind the store about 1925. Mr. Callaway also opened a furniture store in Aurora, Mo., around 1920, which he sold in the mid-1930s.
Through the years improvements were made to the furniture store building and the merchandise available for sale. In addition to furniture, items available for purchase included carpets, curtains and draperies, linens, china, radios, phonographs, washing marchines and various small appliances. On April 1, 1938, Bob Callaway celebrated 50 years in business in Monett with a complete remodeling of his furniture store. A year later, in 1939, he sold the business to his two sons, Robert E. and Floyd C., who continued the business until 1942.
The Callaway Funeral Home
A pioneer mortician in Monett, Robert M. Callaway was licensed as an embalmer in the State of Missouri in 1895 (the first year licenses were issued) and was assigned state license number 14. By 1931, Bob Callaway was one of only five living embalmers in the state with a license number under 20. In the early years, beginning in 1890, the funeral service was conducted from the furniture store building. His two sons were taught to line coffins at an early age. They harnessed the bay horses and drove the funeral carriages that transported ministers and family members to churches and cemeteries. Both sons, Robert E. Callaway and Floyd C. Callaway, were licensed embalmers in the state of Missouri by the age of 20 years (Robert E., license number 1636, and Floyd C., license number 2066).
In 1918, a room suitable for casket selection, lie-in-state for the deceased, and a place for families from a distance to meet in a home-like atmosphere was set aside on the second floor of the furniture store. In 1921, Bob Callaway purchased a residence at Central Avenue and Dunn Streets, where he opened the first individual funeral home in Monett and Barry County, Mo. The remodeled home included a chapel, a private family room, a morgue and a casket display area. He was also the first in the county to provide ambulance service, motor driven funeral equipment, and an electric organ in the funeral home chapel.
In 1942, Floyd C. Callaway bought his brother's interest and became the sole owner of the funeral home which he had managed for a number of years. He had graduated from Monett High School in 1912, attended Quincy Business College in Illinois, was licensed as an embalmer on May 19, 1914, and was a Private in World War I. From 1929 through 1933 and from 1941 through 1945, Floyd was one of the five appointed members of the Missouri State Board of Embalming, serving a total of two and a half terms or ten years. After assuming complete ownership of the funeral home, he remodeled it into a Georgian colonial structure in August 1942. Floyd sold the business in 1947 and retired. The building currently (1993) is owned by and houses the office of Michael Garrett and Carr Woods, attorneys.
The above article was written by Bobbie L. Callaway, Historian, Callaway Family Association (1927-1996). She was the daughter of Floyd C. Callaway and the granddaughter of Robert M. Callaway. The article was submitted to CFA and originally published in the 1993 CFA Journal
The family line of descent is as follows:
Joseph Callaway
Thomas Callaway
Thomas Callaway, Jr.
John Farrar Callaway
Thomas Farrar Marshall Callaway
Return John Farrar Callaway
Return Robert Meigs Callaway
Floyd Cambridge Callaway
Bobbie Louise Callaway
A family business from 1888 through 1942, the Callaway Furniture Store in Monett had customers from the entire surrounding area and south over the Arkansas state line. In 1904, Bob Callaway erected a building on the main street (311 Broadway) with two floors plus a balcony floor which provided 22,500 square feet of space for furniture and coffin display. The building is still used today as a furniture store by Wesco (1993). As the business grew, Bob Callaway and his sons purchased furniture and accessories from St. louis and later attended the Furniture Mart in Chicago. To house the additional merchandise, a warehouse building was constructed behind the store about 1925. Mr. Callaway also opened a furniture store in Aurora, Mo., around 1920, which he sold in the mid-1930s.Through the years improvements were made to the furniture store building and the merchandise available for sale. In addition to furniture, items available for purchase included carpets, curtains and draperies, linens, china, radios, phonographs, washing marchines and various small appliances. On April 1, 1938, Bob Callaway celebrated 50 years in business in Monett with a complete remodeling of his furniture store. A year later, in 1939, he sold the business to his two sons, Robert E. and Floyd C., who continued the business until 1942.
A pioneer mortician in Monett, Robert M. Callaway was licensed as an embalmer in the State of Missouri in 1895 (the first year licenses were issued) and was assigned state license number 14. By 1931, Bob Callaway was one of only five living embalmers in the state with a license number under 20. In the early years, beginning in 1890, the funeral service was conducted from the furniture store building. His two sons were taught to line coffins at an early age. They harnessed the bay horses and drove the funeral carriages that transported ministers and family members to churches and cemeteries. Both sons, Robert E. Callaway and Floyd C. Callaway, were licensed embalmers in the state of Missouri by the age of 20 years (Robert E., license number 1636, and Floyd C., license number 2066).In 1918, a room suitable for casket selection, lie-in-state for the deceased, and a place for families from a distance to meet in a home-like atmosphere was set aside on the second floor of the furniture store. In 1921, Bob Callaway purchased a residence at Central Avenue and Dunn Streets, where he opened the first individual funeral home in Monett and Barry County, Mo. The remodeled home included a chapel, a private family room, a morgue and a casket display area. He was also the first in the county to provide ambulance service, motor driven funeral equipment, and an electric organ in the funeral home chapel.
In 1942, Floyd C. Callaway bought his brother's interest and became the sole owner of the funeral home which he had managed for a number of years. He had graduated from Monett High School in 1912, attended Quincy Business College in Illinois, was licensed as an embalmer on May 19, 1914, and was a Private in World War I. From 1929 through 1933 and from 1941 through 1945, Floyd was one of the five appointed members of the Missouri State Board of Embalming, serving a total of two and a half terms or ten years. After assuming complete ownership of the funeral home, he remodeled it into a Georgian colonial structure in August 1942. Floyd sold the business in 1947 and retired. The building currently (1993) is owned by and houses the office of Michael Garrett and Carr Woods, attorneys.
The above article was written by Bobbie L. Callaway, Historian, Callaway Family Association (1927-1996). She was the daughter of Floyd C. Callaway and the granddaughter of Robert M. Callaway. The article was submitted to CFA and originally published in the 1993 CFA Journal
The family line of descent is as follows:
Joseph Callaway
Thomas Callaway
Thomas Callaway, Jr.
John Farrar Callaway
Thomas Farrar Marshall Callaway
Return John Farrar Callaway
Return Robert Meigs Callaway
Floyd Cambridge Callaway
Bobbie Louise Callaway
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - Copyright © 2005 Callaway Family Association
posted by DFM | 1/01/2005
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home