Hopkins, W. A.

HOPKINS

Posted By: Mary H. Cochrane, Volunteer
Date: 7/19/2019 at 06:56:30

William Alexander Hopkins

Lamoni's Passing Parade
Joseph H. Anthony, Blair Publ. Co. p. 235. ca. 1948.

Snow storms have ever been a source of delight to youngsters who with the falling of the first flakes envision a season of winter sports that are really important events in their energy-filled activities. I remember well the first big snow which fell during our first winter in Lamoni. It came in the night and in the morning we looked out upon a world that had been transformed while we slept from one which bore evidence of the drab and dark ravages of fall frosts and rains to the white wonderland of winter; and while the more seasoned and mature heads pondered over problems of snow-bound sidewalks and impassable highways, the youngsters of the town found keen enjoyment upon the old town hill where the heavy blanket of snow made it an ideal place for coasting. Probably every sled in town was brought into use, and there every evening after school and until long into the night this was the scene of this ever-popular exhilarating winter sport.

As my parents, in making the long move from Salt Lake City to Lamoni, had disposed of everything but the most important essentials about the home, I found myself in the midst of this first coasting season minus a sled, and after hearing my persistent protests over this existing situation the family soon realized that something would have to be done about it. I had heard that the furniture store had recently received a shipment of had sleds and I lost no time in making my way there to see about procuring one of them.

A pleasant, congenial young man, the proprietor of the store, greeted me cordially and seemed pleased to show me the articles in which I was so much interested. I experienced no trouble in selecting one that suited my desires perfectly but the price of it was somewhat more than the amount at my disposal, and for the moment this seemed to provide an insurmountable barrier. Evidently I was unable to conceal my disappointment as I explained the situation for the young man instantly reassured me with an understanding smile and with a friendly, pleasing twinkle of his eye he said:

"Oh that is all right. You may give the money you have and pay me the balance later. Every boy needs a sled, especially at a time like this, and you will probably have the remaining twenty-five cents before too long."

That young man was W. A. Hopkins and he certainly knew the direct route to a boy's heart, for by that act he created an impression that immediately won my admiration and made me a ready convert to his philosophy of life and my mind wholly receptive to the many favorable impressions and the wealth of encouragement I received from him in later years.

Some months later he was the mortician in charge at the funeral of my father where the same gracious, kindly manner and courteous consideration of the needs of the family during this trying hour developed those first impressions to a point strongly bordering upon affection.

A short time after this he gave up the furniture and undertaking business and with others organized the State Savings Bank of Lamoni which became one of the prominent and influential business organizations of the community and remained as such for many years. Of this new organization Mr. Hopkins became one of the motivating personalities and acted as its cashier, and it was then I engaged in some of my first mature contacts with him. In his younger days he had been a member of the town band, and though business interests had forced their demands upon his time to the extent that he was compelled to forego these musical activities, yet he was definitely interested in them and stood ready at all times to give encouragement to others who were endeavoring to maintain these musical organizations in the community. Through this spirit of understanding and his sympathetic interest I was not slow to recognize in him a logical and favorable medium of contact between the musical and business interest of the town.

As the conductor of the local band and orchestra over a period of many years I can vouch as to the value of an individual of this type, for the cause of community musical organizations is, to say the lest, an uphill battle. Their existence demands financial aid, and without the cooperation of the business interests their cause is hopeless. In spite of the splendid cooperation we invariably received there were plenty of occasions when these relations were noticeably strained, and at these times it required a person who possessed wisdom and tact to help in ironing out the differences that existed and clearing the way for progressive action. It was in such instances as this that W. A. Hopkins made his major contribution to this cause.

Upon one occasion a difference had developed between the officers of the local band and the band committee which represented the business interests. At first these differences were only trivial but as negotiations went on other factors entered into the picture which tended to widen the breach until the meeting finally ended in complete disagreement. When later attempts were unsuccessful in restoring amicable relations between the two groups, the band officials called a meeting and there decided that in the light of existing conditions and the failure to complete a compromise upon the issues at stake, the only effective solution of the problem was the disorganization of the band; and this they voted to do. This decision was undoubtedly hasty and tinged with some feeling of revenge as they realized then that the annual fall festival was a few weeks in the offing and there would undoubtedly be a need for the service of the band. Nevertheless they felt that such action was expedient and forthwith took steps to discontinue the band as an organization.

When sometime later the committee in charge of music for the festival approached certain members of the band relative to playing for this coming event they were informed of the action taken by the membership of the band and were told that Lamoni no longer possessed such an organization. Consequently when the advertising for the festival appeared a few days later, it stated that the Leon band would furnish music for the occasion. When the first day of the celebration arrived, however, and the time of the opening session approached and no musicians appeared to open the festivities, those in the calling of a meeting of the local band committee and the executive committee of the disorganized Lamoni band.

We walked into that meeting where the band committee had already assembled, and as we took our seats we glanced somewhat defiantly in their direction for we felt that we were in for a session where an attempt would be made to high-pressure us into something we did not care to do. For this reason we definitely resented the idea. W. A. Hopkins took charge of that meeting; in fact he had called it, and though he was not a member of the band committee he was chairman of the festival committee. He explained to both factions why he had called the meeting.

"This reminds me of my own experiences in the days when I played in the band," he said, and he smiled pleasantly even though it was plainly obvious that he was not a little embarrassed in being forced into this role of mediator in an attempt to endeavor to appease both factions in what by this time had developed into a very awkward situation. I undoubtedly the members of the committee as well as those of the band were in doubt as to just what the trend of his remarks was to be, and it was not cleared even as he continued: "Whenever a musician takes a stand for something he thinks is right those who happen to think differently say he is temperamental. If that mood is properly named, then let me say that in my time I have seen just as many band committee members who have showed similar signs of temperament."

He paused, and the band committee members present winced perceptibly following this thrust, but like good sports they joined in the general laugh that followed, and W. A. continued:

"Let me tell you of an incident that occurred during my band experience." He was speaking freely and good-naturedly and we all listened with interest. "The situation was very similar to the one we are now experiencing. The band propositioned the committee to play for a Fourth of July celebration a number of years back. The committee made a counter proposition which the band members rejected, then these same temperamental inclination began to show on both sides and the breach widened to the extent that Lamoni finally hired the Davis City band to play for our celebration while Davis City, evidently experiencing some of the same brand of temperament, hired our band to play for the celebration they were holding the same day. The two bands passed each other on their way to play for the rival celebrations and they, taking the situation as more or less of a lark, stopped as they met on the rock quarry hill, got out their instruments and serenaded each other before proceeding on their journey. In doing this ;they at least demonstrated that they had a sense of humor and provided something that future generations could laugh about. So far this present situation hasn't turned out nearly so entertaining and certainly not so constructive. Could it be that there is some display of that temperament? As you people look back upon this incident, I hope each of you will be able to discern wherein your actions here have been constructive."

That his listeners were not slow to catch the significance of the point brought out in the telling of this little story was made evident when at its conclusion the disputed points of difference were discussed and settled in an amicable and friendly manner, and under the tactful guidance of our self-appointed mediator the tenseness of the situation rapidly diminished and a satisfactory understanding was readily attained.

In the course of a few hours= time a sufficient number of musicians were recruited to form a musical unit and the celebration went off without further difficulty. The members of the committee proved themselves good sports and swell fellows, and if anything went more then halfway in effecting this reconciliation. In my associations with similar committees covering a period of over one-third of a century I have found them generally that way. . . .If they followed the pattern set by W. A. Hopkins and his associates of those days they simply could not be otherwise.

While my associations with W. A. Hopkins were chiefly incidents relative to his interest in the development of local musical organizations, yet this should not be construed to mean that these were his major concern. His interests were so many and so diversified that it would be difficult to enumerate them all. In fact, to write a complete story of his life would demand much beyond my power of comprehension and description. Nevertheless there is a striking resemblance between the ideals I with many others know that he strove for and the material development displayed in the life and progress of Lamoni. A glance at the historical records regarding any or all of these developments will reveal the name of W. A. Hopkins prominent among those who were the pioneers and builders of this community. He not only donated land for the original Graceland College plot but all his life he was recognized as one of that institution='s most loyal supporters. His contribution to the business interests of the town was extensive and of inestimable value. In civic affairs he was recognized as a leader and one of the main spark plugs in the drive to raise funds and in perfecting the organization which built the Coliseum.

It would indeed be difficult to simply enumerate the worth-while community activities in which he played so prominent a part, not mentioning the many details involved or the far-reaching benefits derived from his unstinted labor and untiring effort. And while these incidents mentioned are but a few of the many worthy projects in which he participated, the outstanding challenge to his genius in the accomplishment of such endeavor was born with the first rumors of an organized effort to improve the highways of this section of the country and thus help to get the State of Iowa out of the mud. From that moment he become an ardent good-roads booster and his reputation as such spread far beyond the confines of his home community, causing him to become generally recognized as such throughout the state and even throughout the central section of the nation.

With the laying of the first hard-surfaced highway which crossed Iowa from east to west there came rumors of other similar roads to be constructed. At Shenandoah a group of good-roads boosters organized the Waubonsie Trial Association which incorporated in its program the construction of a hard-surfaced highway to cross the state, passing through the southern tier of counties. Naturally this brought more than passing interest from local good-roads enthusiasts as it seemed that Lamoni was located favorably to be included on the route of such a project. Here was something worth working for, so W. A. Hopkins and his corps of assistants organized a plan which called for a special train to carry a large group of good-roads boosters from Lamoni as well as other towns in this vicinity to Shenandoah to press their claim to be included with the towns and cities through which the proposed highway was to pass. Of course the band was included with this delegation and a big parade was planned once the destination was reached.

In order to increase Lamoni=s chance of being named among the chosen towns a group of these local good-roads men, on the evening before the proposed trip, went into a session which lasted well into the wee hours of the morning; and there they organized the Inter-State Trail Association, the main purpose of which was the promoting of a highway running north and south across the state and at the same time these men secretly entertained the hope that it would eventually extend completely across the nation. Thus, being a junction point at the intersection of these two great highways, it was hoped that this fact would place Lamoni in a strategic position so far as transportation was concerned.

The trip to Shenandoah was carried out according to schedule; we paraded the streets with bands playing and banners flying, and we simply swamped the hall in which the Waubonsie Trail Association was holding its meeting, filling it to overflowing with a noisy and enthusiastic good-roads delegation. The officers and members of this associations, however, arose to the occasion and greeted us enthusiastically and entertained us royally during our stay in the city, and when our train pulled out of Shenandoah late that evening W. A. Hopkins and the promoters of the expedition carried with them the assurance of the association that the Waubonsie Trail would be routed through Lamoni. Some years later, however, when these trails gave way to the Federal highway system the highway which in the main followed the route laid out by the organizers of the Waubonsie Trail missed Lamoni by a few miles; but the Inter-State Trail B the one planned and organized by that small group of men in the middle of the night B became the route chosen for Highway 69 and placed Lamoni directly upon a main line of travel more important than even these enthusiasts had dared dream.

The surfacing of the roads of the highway system as we know it today was a slow, tedious process and called for many years of effort before it reached a noticeable state of perfection. No one person watched the progress of this work with greater interest than did W. A. Hopkins, and when the surfacing of this route was completed and the road officially opened for traffic the event was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on the Iowa-Minnesota line; and W. A. Hopkins as one of the officials of the Iowa good roads commission had a prominent part in this celebration. To him this was no ordinary occasion. It was something he had hoped and worked for through many discouraging years, and now that his dream of an Iowa that was finally Aout of the mud@ had been realized he determined that his attendance at that meeting would be accomplished in an appropriate and extraordinary manner.

With a select party of co-workers he started with the dawn from the Missouri line on the trip across the state of Iowa. For the driver of the expedition he had chosen a strip of a lad, Ralph Derry by name, who was of that generation first raised behind the wheel of an automobile and who knew cars from bumper to bumper, sensed their individual possibilities and appreciated them as a racing jockey appreciates the capabilities of his mount; and as they sped away from the Missouri line through the crisp morning air his orders were to Agive it all it will take.

Although automobiles in those days were not capable of attaining the speeds they do today, the record made on this run across the state from its southern border to its northern line was one which had not been duplicated up to that time and even today would be considered exceptionally good time, and naturally brought forth much comment and some criticism. W. A. Hopkins, however, in making this run entertained the desire to set a speed record nor of encouraging the practice of using the public highway as a speedway; but in the spirit of exhilaration that he sensed as he realized the project for which he and others had worked and sacrificed for so many years had finally been accomplished he felt that something unusual should be done to celebrate the occasion; and this was the means he chose. Iowa was at last "out of the mud" and he effectively demonstrated that under reasonably normal conditions the highways of the state were now open to travel three hundred and sixty-five days a year and that the crossing of state involved only the consumption of a few hours' time.

Thus the life activities and interests of W. A. Hopkins centered around the things which were of practical interest and benefit to the development of this community, and those things which are so much a part of the advantages Lamoni has to offer today are a lasting monument to his memory. As a man he was in every way an exemplary citizen and his friends were legion. He was a natural leader of men and one of the most energetic in his efforts to accomplish those things which stood for the elevation of mankind. Even today his works speak more forcibly than any eulogy that could be written, and in the development of this community his position is unquestioned, where he maintains a prominent place among the leaders of Lamoni's passing parade.

Transcription by Jean Belzer