50 YEARS AGO: ‘If I was to do over again’ the Crawfords would not change any part of their life

The following article was reprinted from the Sept. 5, 1974, edition of the Ozark County Times. 

by the late Ruby M. Robins

[Reprinted from 1974] “If it was to do over again, I would like to live it just like it’s been,” Truman Crawford, the first merchant at Clarkridge, Ark., said in recalling the past 49 years that he and his wife have spent in the picturesque community two miles south of the Missouri state line on Route 202.

“Hard times and all, yes, I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” agreed wife Christina, who was the first postmaster to serve the community. 

But their memory of the past is not sugar-coated. “Some would call them the good old days, but they really weren’t. Some things were pretty sorry,” Crawford said. “People now...” he added, “have too many good deals and don’t take time to appreciate what they have.”

Labor saving devices and new innovations used to be a source of amazement and careful assessment, he explained, giving by way of example the first cream separator to be seen in operation at Mammoth in south Ozark County where he grew up.

“I can remember my dad buying the separator from Wood and Reed in Gainesville and bringing it home. People came from all around to see a thing like that which would put milk out on one side and cream on the other. It had a bell and if the bell rang, it was an indication that the separator was being operated too slow.”

Mr. and Mrs. Crawford, who observed their 50th wedding anniversary this year, were married at Mammoth on March 30, 1924. A year later, they moved to Clarkridge to start a store and a post office at the suggestion of Leonard Dye, a merchant at Mammoth. 

“To us, that was a great idea,” the Crawfords said. “So we rented a dwelling from George J. Clark for $125 a year and opened the post office there and kept a few staples for sale.”

Mrs. Crawford was appointed postmaster on May 7, 1925. She said she was given the opportunity to choose a name but kept Clarkridge by which the community was known for George J. Clark, who settled in the area in the late 1800s and raised a big family.

The mail route extended ten miles to Howards Ridge post office in Missouri, and the first carrier was Mrs. Mamie Williams, who traveled the route by horseback.

In 1926, she was succeeded by Clark, who built a rubber tired hack for hauling the mail. Crawford recalled that Clark “was inventive and just as honest as he could be. If he owed you one penny, he gave it to you even if you said, ‘that’s all right, you don’t need to give me that.’ And if he had a penny coming, you should remember that he wanted it and give it to him. In those days a penny could buy something.

“When he would go to town, he never would buy his lunch like other folks. He’d put some peanuts or peas in his pocket, and that would be his lunch. He was just that saving.”

The route which now extends to Mountain Home, Ark., is carried to Clarkridge from Howards Ridge by Billy Kirkland and from Clarkridge to Mountain Home by Johnny Harris. 

At the start, there were 20 post office patrons and Mrs. Crawford’s salary, based on the sale of stamps, was meager. “Stamps were then 1c for post cards and 2c for letters, and some days I made as little as 10c a day and some days I made nothing. You don’t sell a lot of stamps, when times are hard, to about 20 families,” Mrs. Crawford said. 

After a year-and-a-half, they moved their store and post office into the new quarters built by Crawford. Their main stock was staples and some clothing. Later they took in cream and eggs until the government put a stop to this.

“I got a little angry at the government butting in, but after awhile I decided this was a good thing, even though the sale of milk and eggs was the only source of money some of the people had. I decided it was good because that milk and cream was often brought in pails that were not too clean,” Crawford said. He took the milk and eggs to Bushongs’ Store and to Uptons’ Store at Tecumseh and bought his supplies there at first, Crawford said. 

In 1916, he got his first car. It was a Model T Ford Roadster that “a feller came into the area with, and I traded him out of it. It was my pride and joy,” he said. 

Later, he bought a truck and Mrs. Crawford said, “At first, when he went to West Plains, you couldn’t see the truck for the people who wanted to go there to see the railroad cars and the colored folks who lived there.” Not many on the ridge had seen either a train or a black person, she explained. 

Through the years the Crawfords saw the prices rise on the products they sold and the addition of new items. When soap powder first came out, they found a ready demand. “Women would put it on the washboard instead of using bar laundry soap,” Crawford said. 

As automobiles and trucks came more into use, the Crawfords added a gas station and garage service to their mercantile operation. 

In 1961, they sold out to Crawford’s brother and his wife, Marshall and Hazel Crawford. Hazel succeeded her sister-in-law as postmaster. 

In 1973, the store was sold again, this time to Betty and Jim Carney of Naperville, Illinois. Mrs. Carney was appointed acting postmaster on May 23, 1973.

Marshall Crawford, who died Jan. 30, 1974, and his wife, also operated a store in the Clarkridge area. When this store was demolished by a tornado in the spring of 1961, the Truman Crawfords decided to retire and so sold their store to Truman’s brother. 

When she retired as postmaster, on Oct. 1, 1961, Mrs. Christina Crawford had served 36 1/2 years.

The Crawfords now [in 1974] live in the home they built for their retirement years, a handsome brick house surrounded by a wide expanse of landscaped lawn.

Crawford has also built a 20 by 40 foot concrete block shop behind the home. There he repairs television sets, radios, record players and stereos. He also has a tv sale operation in his immaculate, well organized shop. Besides his interest in this repair work. Crawford said he likes to collect cameras and mechanical razors as a hobby.

The son of Bob and Mary Anderson Crawford, he was born at Mammoth, while Mrs. Crawford, the daughter of Allen and Alice Harlow Wheeler, was born near Salina, Kan.. They are the parents of two daughters, Mrs. Mary Alice Ogle of Springfield and Mrs. Geraldine Chase of Doniphan. They have three grandchildren. 

The Carneys, who now own and operate Clarkridge store and station, have five children. James of the home; Mrs. Dave (Linda) Howard and Mrs. Daniel (Ruth) Wachowski, both of Clarkridge; Mrs. Richard (Karen) Driscoll of Downers Grove, Ill.; and Mrs. Steven (Irene) Espersen of near St. Paul, Minn.. They have six grandchildren. 

Their daughter, Ruth, works at the post office as leave replacement and her husband is in charge of the meat department at the store. Their other son-in-law, who lives at Clarkridge, is employed with the Jack Gregory Construction Co..

Mrs. and Mrs. Carney had vacationed in the area and later when their children, who now live in the area, told them the Clarkridge store was for sale, they decided to buy the property. 

“We are natives of Pennsylvania,” Mrs. Carney said, “and we love this country because it reminds us of where we grew up. It’s beautiful here and we are happy to have the store and post office at Clarkridge.”