Rodney Whitelaw: Former Cape mayor, genius of the Cape Fair

I wonder frequently about the way once-prominent surnames have faded from Cape Girardeau. If we still had telephone directories, names like Lorimier, Cousin, Houck, Sturdivant, Carmack and Whitelaw would probably not be represented in the white pages, except as streets and avenues.

Lorimier was the founder of Cape Girardeau. Cousin was his "able secretary." Houck brought the railroad to town. Sturdivant supplied the land that became the county fairground and now serves as Capaha Park. Carmack fought the long battle to preserve the Common Pleas Courthouse and what we now call Ivers Square.

And Rodney Whitelaw? He was Carmack's father and was hailed in his 1922 obituary as the "genius of (the) Cape fair."

Rodney Gayso Whitelaw, the son of James N. and Addie Rodney Whitelaw, was born in Cape Girardeau March 4, 1859. He passed away in Denver, Colorado, on Aug. 23, 1922. His body was returned to Cape Girardeau and was buried in New Lorimier Cemetery. (Submitted photo)

Published Aug. 24, 1922, in the Southeast Missourian:

DEATH TAKES RODNEY G. WHITELAW
* * *
WAS FAMED AS GENIUS OF CAPE FAIR

* * *
NATIVE CAPE GIRARDEAN, FORMER MAYOR AND COUNCILMAN, DIES IN DENVER; BODY TO BE RETURNED HERE FOR BURIAL.

Rodney G. Whitelaw, pioneer citizen of Cape Girardeau, former mayor, of recent years secretary of the Cape Fair, and nationally known in carnival and fair circles, died in Denver, Colorado, Wednesday morning at 11 o'clock.

Mrs. Iska Carmack and Barrett Whitelaw, daughter and son, who were with their father, expect to arrive here with his remains early Saturday morning.

The first news of Mr. Whitelaw's death came in a message to The Missourian at 5:45 Wednesday afternoon. Later that evening relatives of the family had messages from the son and daughter giving the particulars.

The press dispatch to The Missourian read:

"Mr. Whitelaw passed away at 11 o'clock tonight of heart trouble and ulcerated stomach. He improved the first few days after his arrival here and it was believed he would soon regain his health. Saturday he suffered a hemorrhage of the stomach and did not regain consciousness.

"Mrs. Carmack, who had suffered from malaria, recovered entirely. Barrett Whitelaw arrived here from California this afternoon. They will leave here with the remains Thursday noon.:

Native Cape Girardean

Mr. Whitelaw took sick about a month ago and for a few days was in a serious condition. His doctors advised him to go to Colorado because of the very dry weather prevailing at that time and as soon as he was able to travel Mrs. Carmack and a nurse took him to Denver. The party left here Aug. 3. The day after they arrived in Denver Mr. Whitelaw telegraphed The Missourian that he had stood the trip well and was feeling better.

In recent years he had suffered occasional spells with his heart and several times was seriously ill.

Rodney G. Whitelaw was a native of Cape Girardeau, having been born March 4, 1859, in what was known as the old Rodney house that stood on the site of the present Lutheran Trinity Hall. The old house burned in the '70s. He was the son of James N. and Addie Rodney Whitelaw, who were among the early settlers of Cape Girardeau. James N. Whitelaw was a merchant and for a time was in partnership on Main Street with (William) Garrett, the firm name being Whitelaw and Garrett. The parents died many years ago and were buried in the Old Lorimier Cemetery.

Inherited Rodney estate

Rodney G. Whitelaw clerked for his father and then secured a position with a St. Louis dry goods house as a drummer. While holding this position, he married Mrs. Kate Hicks (nee Kate Rodney), in St. Louis. Later they returned to Cape Girardeau and occupied the stately old brick house that stood on the present site of the Liberty National building.

Two children were born to them, Iska, now Mrs. Carmack, and Barrett, now a resident of California. Mrs. Carmack has a daughter, to whom her father was particularly devoted. (Actually, the Whitelaws had a third child. Daughter Nellie was born July 2, 1885, and died Oct. 25, 1888. - Sharon)

While employed as a traveling salesman in this territory, Rodney G. Whitelaw inherited the estate of his uncle, Charles E. Rodney, after which time he gave his attention to his property. It is said his estate, which consists principally of real estate, is very valuable.

Mr. Whitelaw served several years as a councilman and in 1903 was elected mayor. He served one term and voluntarily retired. He was particularly exacting and was a stickler on detail. When he took charge as mayor, he insisted upon having every account and every detail of the city's business accounted for, and he was given credit for putting the city's affairs on a solid basis. He is said to have refused to run for a second term because chairmen of the various committees insisted upon buying supplies, hiring men, etc., and refusing to give detailed accounts. It was then impossible for the mayor to enforce business methods so he decided to retire.

Secretary of Cape Fair

In 1917 Mr. Whitelaw was elected secretary of the Cape Fair. He had long been interested in carnivals and similar attractions, as he owned property suitable for such things. He became so interested in the direction of the Cape Fair that he devoted practically his entire time to it and would no sooner settle up the affairs of one fair than he would start on the next one. He served practically without pay.

The day he left for Denver he told President Bergmann that he hated to go because he had so much work to do and said he hoped to be back on the job by the first of September. He had made all arrangements for the races, the free attractions, the exposition company, etc.

The books of the Fair Association are complete to the least detail and it is doubtful if any other concern like the fair could exhibit such a perfect business system.

He was known personally to most every leading showman and exhibitor in the United States, and he found much personal pleasure in attending the annual meetings of various associations in Chicago, Louisville and other cities. The "Billboard," read by every showman who has any standing in the profession, last year declared Rodney G. Whitelaw to be the most proficient and aggressive fair director in the United States.

Officers and directors of the Cape Fair, as well as many other friends, will meet the remains at the depot and escort the body to the family home. It is not known when the funeral will be.

The Whitelaw family plot is located in New Lorimier Cemetery. (Submitted photo)

Published Aug. 25, 1922, in the Southeast Missourian:

WHEN RODNEY G. WHITELAW WAS MAYOR

Rodney G. Whitelaw served the city (of Cape Girardeau) as mayor about as well as he served the Cape Fair as secretary, the records show. He was elected mayor in April 1903, and served two years.

At that time Cape Girardeau was a primitive town. There was hardly any concrete sidewalks, no street paving at all, no sewers and nothing much but a bustling railroad town, much like the western towns one sees in the movies occasionally.

At the time Cape Girardeau boasted being a railroad center and in those days there were more railroad "boomers" than there were permanent men. Then the Frisco officials saw a chance to pick up a little easy money for themselves and the railroad boom was soon over.

The first ordinance passed under the Whitelaw administration was one providing for a city physician. There was a great fight made against it because some of the doctors were afraid the city physician would get all he business and some of the leading citizens were afraid a city physician might make them stop emptying their refuse water in the streets, so it took a fight to get the ordinance through.

The second ordinance gave Houck's Missouri & Arkansas Railway the right to do grading and lay tracks through certain sections of the city. The line to Jackson was to be started.

Then came the blow that took the breath of the "substantial" citizens. An ordinance providing for either concrete or brick sidewalks was proposed and Dr. (W.C.) Patton, a councilman, was reported to be behind the scheme to confiscate the people's property. He and the mayor seemed determined to bankrupt everybody. Finally the ordinance was adopted and then the first sidewalks were built and no one was financially ruined.

Forced better service

An ordinance amending an earlier ordinance, giving to James S. Lapsley, his assigns or successors, the right to construct and operate in Cape Girardeau an electric light station and to build a street car system to extend to Jackson, was adopted. It extended the time for work to start and provided that Lapsley should not charge more than 75 cents per month for a 16-candle electric light and not more than 40 cents per month for a light to burn to midnight. Less service was to be given at a meter rate of one-half cent per hour per light.

It is said this ordinance was intended to get the old water and light company in line to give service and that it accomplished its purpose.

Later on an ordinance was adopted granting James E. Fox and others the right to establish a gas plant in Cape Girardeau. This was in 1905.

Mayor Whitelaw, backed by Alderman Patton, put new life into city affairs and while the conservative element declared they would bankrupt the city and the property owners, it now is to be seen that they acted for the best interests of the community. This administration started the modern development of the town.

A man who was active in those days says Mayor Whitelaw caused a great rumpus when he ordered the stepping stones across Main Street, Broadway and Good Hope streets removed. No streets were paved then and the condition of these three was so bad that the old stepping stones stood so high vehicles could scarcely get over them. So Mayor Whitelaw ordered them taken out. This was one of the hardest blows ever given the town, some of the older citizens declared.

In those days patent leather shoes were worn by the "dudes." Mayor Whitelaw, Alderman Patton, L.S. Joseph, J.A. Matteson and a few others had a social "clique" that called for patent leather shoes.

"Let Whitelaw and Patton take those stones away and they will get their shoes muddy. They won't dare do a thing," some of the prominent citizens declared as they sat on beer kegs.

'Them were the days'

The opposition to modern development was so persistent and aggravating that Mayor Whitelaw determined not to run again and was succeeded by William H. Coerver.

Mr. Whitelaw was elected over William H. Coerver, the vote being 655 to 503. John Grieb defeated Charles Armgardt for marshal. Charles H. Daues defeated John D. Wilson for city attorney and Orren Wilson beat the late Robert G. Ranney for police judge.

The late William H. Willer beat S. Edward Blumer for assessor, and Gust Schultz was elected collector over S. Edward Juden. The late William C. Bergmann was re-elected treasurer without opposition.

There was a vacancy for alderman in the first ward and Edward A. Johnston, a merchant, defeated Fred Kage for it by a vote of 162 to 132, a most unprecedented thing.

Dr. Patton was elected for the regular term in the first ward; Ernest "Skinny" Moeder defeated Louis Stein in the second ward; William H. Hirsch beat Frank Unnerstall in the third ward, and August Shivelbine beat Edward F. Blomeyer in the fourth ward.

The late Mat Morrison was a conspicuous figure in the council at that time and had gained attention when the water company was "shaken down."

Rodney G. Whitelaw had served in the previous council with Fred W. Regenhardt and John Vogelsanger. The late George E. Chappell was city clerk...

Let's call this section of the blog "SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT."

Rodney G. Whitelaw was elected Cape Girardeau mayor in April 1903, a two-year term. That means the election to replace him, since he refused to run a second time, was in April 1905.

A review of The Daily Republican's election results published Wednesday, April 5, 1905, shows that the writer of the 1922 article above got several details of that election wrong. The most glaring misstatement was that Whitelaw defeated Coerver for mayor. Rather, Coerver topped M.E. Leming. Whitelaw wasn't even in the race.

I can't explain the errors, except to say the writer depended too much upon the memory of his source or his own memory. Still, it seems as if the election results would have been easy to verify...

Published Wednesday, April 5, 1905, in The Daily Republican:

W.H. COERVER ELECTED MAYOR OVER M.E LEMING BY 15 VOTES

The municipal election held in Cape Girardeau yesterday was one of the most keenly contested elections, if not decidedly the most, in the history of the town.

Friends of all the candidates turned out en masse to work for their success and few voters missed being urged to remember certain men.

At 4 o'clock it looked as though Mr. Leming would win by a wide margin and his opponents practically gave up the fight, but the last hour brought a storm of votes for Coerver in the First and Third wards and he won out by a majority of 15 votes.

The vote by wards which is presented on this page shows the election of the following officers:

For Mayor, W.H. Coerver (749, over Leming, 734)

For Marshal, Willis Martin (628, over Armgardt, 464, and Grieb, 366)

For City Attorney, Lafe Caruthers (747, over R.B. Oliver Jr., 595)

For Police Judge, Rudolph Bahn (761, over Orren Wilson, 693)

For Assessor, William H. Willer (1,473 - unopposed)

For Collector, Gustav Schultz (1,461 - unopposed)

For Treasurer, William C. Bergmann (1,467 - unopposed)

For Alderman, 1st Ward, Fred Kage (229, over Ranney, 82)

For Alderman, 2nd Ward, A.R. Ponder (235, over August Bierwirth, 192)

For Alderman, 3rd Ward, Thomas M. Williams (268, over J.F. Fuerth, 172, and Hirsch, 58)

For Alderman, 4th Ward, Theodore Boyce (143, over J.T. Sackman, 86)