Smith, F.M. (Frederick Madison)

SMITH, MADISON, COBB

Posted By: Mary H. Cochrane, Volunteer
Date: 7/8/2019 at 18:16:14

BIOGRAPHY ~ F. M. [FREDERICK MADISON "FRED"] SMITH
January 21, 1874 ~ March 20, 1946
Lamoni, Iowa

Lamoni's Passing Parade
Anthony, Joseph H., ca. 1948

With my enrollment in the Star of Bethlehem Sunday School, which occurred shortly after my arrival in Lamoni. I was ushered into a class that was made up of perhaps six or eight boys about my own age who scrutinized me curiously as I took my place among them The teacher, an attractive lady, graciously accepted me as a member of the group and did her best to make me feel welcome and at ease among the other members of the class. She was evidently quite successful in this as it was among this group of classmates that I number some of the most intimate of my early associates in Lamoni.

This teacher, Miss Ruth Cobb by name, must have been quite an exceptional teacher, for many of those early sessions I remember with interest to this day and I am sure other members of this class also remember them and think of her as I do. She seemed to take a keep personal interest in each individual and in her friendly and winning way impressed upon each his responsibility to the class and the importance of the place of each with relation to the group as a whole. At any rate she kept us interested in the class sessions and from my later experience with boys of this age I would say that this fact alone was enough to make her extraordinary. However, she held a great advantage over many people who attempt to work with young boys. She was young and she was also a charming and lovely lady and this does have its advantages when it comes to keeping boys interested. As I remember, we took a great deal of pride in this fact and we openly bragged to the other boys that we had the prettiest teacher in the whole Sunday school.

I think it was sometime during the following summer that the Sunday school sponsored an ice cream social in the church park which at that time was one of the favored spots for affairs of this kind; and in those days whenever gatherings were held they were participated in quite generally by the community as a whole. At any rate this particular one was very well attended by young and old alike. The youngsters of our class were there enmasse and during the course of the evening we were seated at one of the tables enjoying our portion of the delicacies being served when our teacher, Miss Cobb, accompanied by some friends, found a place just opposite us at the same table. As was her custom she instantly joined us in conversation which made us feel that she was very much pleased to see so many of her class in attendance. We thoroughly enjoyed this bit of attention and were enjoying the conversation equally well when a young man approached the table and sat down beside her.

He was a neat-appearing young fellow, dressed in a dark blue suit. That he was an athlete was evidenced by his every movement, for while he was quite stockily built he moved about with a grace and agility that was befitting one of much lighter build. Of course the local boys were acquainted with him but as a matter of formality our teacher considered that an introduction was in order so she forthwith introduced him to the members of her class as Mr. Frederick M. Smith. In a free and friendly manner he talked and joked with us but it was not long until we realized that since his arrival the iterest of our pretty Sunday school teacher, for the moment at least, was diverted from her class of boys to another source. It was not without a tinge of jealousy that we acknowledged this fact, but a short time later when they took their departure and sauntered along the path that led down the hill and over the little rustic bridge, we were forced to tacitly admit that they made a very attractive couple.

Frederick M. Smith of those day was a personality who would have attracted attention in any group of people, for in addition to this well-built, athletic figure there was always that certain something about him which bespoke dignity and intelligence. He was active in the life of the community, took a prominent part in the young people's activities and played tuba in the band; but the endeavor wherein he impressed me most strongly at that particular period was his baseball playing. Lamoni was certainly baseball minded in those days and he surely loved to play ball. As I remember, he was not so brilliant as a defensive player, but as a batter and a producer of scores he really starred. In baseball that is the really important factor as games are won on hits and runs, and when he appeared in that capacity it was to make a really determined effort to acquire his percentage of those essential elements. With his ability and strength he was usually more than ordinarily successful.

Often during games in some of the adjoining towns, when the game was hotly contested and when the opposing rooters became overly enthusiastic or sarcastic they invariably referred to our boys as “Mormons,” and Fred M., being the son of the president of the church, came in for an unusual share of taunts of this type. Upon one occasion when your boys were thus participating, the fortunes of the game from the first had been decidedly against them. In spite of their more determined efforts they came into the final inning with the score in favor of the opposing club. The rooters for that group were jubilant, and even though our boys gained some success toward the end of the game, it was not enough to turn the tide of the contest, in fact their efforts did not prove a serious threat to the outcome and the opposition was not unduly concerned as one out was all that was needed to finish the game and they were confident this could be effected without damaging their standing.

Bring out the best batter you have,” they shouted derisively, “Let's see if you have anyone who can hit a ball.”

Then Fred M. selected his bat and walked to the plate.

It's the Mormon prophet,” they shouted as they saw him take his place in the batters' box. “Now we shall see what a Mormon prophet can do.”

Fred was undoubtedly under a severe nervous tension but in spite of all the taunts and jeers he displayed nothing but his usual characteristic calmness while he waited for the pitched ball to come speeding over the plate. When it did he really showed them what he could do. His bat met the ball fairly and with every ounce of those well-developed muscles behind the swing of his bat he drove the ball high and far into the air, bringing home a sufficient number of runs to enable his team to win the game. This feat provided a favorite topic of conversation here at home where it was enthusiastically told and retold with a great deal of pleasure, and where to those familiar with the incident the memory of it is still a source of satisfaction.

That he kept up his interest and training in athletics after he entered the university was evident for he was a member of the track squad and participated in several events there. Upon one occasion while he was home on vacation Lamoni was holding a Fourth of July celebration. One of several events which provided more than ordinary interest among the local strong men was the hammer-throwing contest. A large post maul served as the hammer in lieu of the regulation hammer customarily used at college track meets, and the local contestants who were not trained in the technique of hammer throwing experienced considerable difficulty in tossing it any great distance. A husky blacksmith from the adjoining town who made his living by swinging a sledge seemed to be the most successful contender as his attempts had outdistanced those of his competitors by several feet.

Fred M., who had up to that time been standing with some friends as a spectator on the sidelines, stepped into the arena and asked permission to enter the contest. Upon receiving assurance that he was eligible he removed his hat and coat and rolled up his shirt sleeves just slightly. Then he stepped over and picked up the hammer, testing its weight and balance as the crowd gazed expectantly; then he surveyed and mentally calculated the size of the clearing between the lines of spectators. To the amazement of the onlookers, instead of swinging the hammer and throwing it under-handed as all the other contestants had done, he deftly lifted it from the ground and swung it in a circle above his head, permitting his body to rotate with the momentum of the circling hammer. When it was finally released it was over his shoulder to the rear where it sailed high into the air and finally came to earth after it had covered a distance many times that of his nearest competitor.

When telephones made their entry into Lamoni, Fred M. Smith came prominently into the picture. And who will say that the advent of the telephone did not mark an important epoch in the development of the town? With one of these new devices installed in the home or that of an intimate friend one could talk at will to almost anyone in town, save steps by phoning in the grocery order or phoning the post office to learn whether or not any mail had come for us that day (this latter practice was of short duration for those at the post office found it impractical to try to take care of the number of calls received, so had their phone removed). The one time of major importance, however, which appealed strongly to the boys of our crowd was the convenience the telephone offered in calling the girl friend, for if she proved to be out of humor or some other fellow had stepping in ahead of us so that she
“was busy that evening” there was no one present to witness the scarlet flush that mounted to the embarrassed brow.

And where did Frederick M. Smith fit into this picture? He was the technician who helped to install the system and who kept it in working order. All the telephone wires were suspended overhead in those days, and this in itself invited many complications. The fact that numerous trees had been planted along the streets of early Lamoni with little or no thought given to prospective improvements such as sidewalks, telephone or electric lines, and as all the phone wires were at that time suspended from poles containing numerous crossarms this condition alone often made the continuance of the line along certain streets almost impossible. But there was no alternative – if the line was to be constructed a large portion of the branches and in some instances whole trees must of necessity be eliminated; and amid much objection of the populace Fred M. was assigned this difficult and unpleasant task. I well remember of one instance when it seemed the whole neighborhood in one part of the town had turned out to protest this procedure, but, as they voiced their emphatic objections, Fred M. in his characteristically adamant manner gave little heed and closed his ears to these protests, which with an air of nonchalance he went quietly about his work of cutting limbs as though it were perfectly agreeable to everyone.

While this incident might give the impression that he was inconsiderate, I know of no one who was really acquainted with him personally who would classify him so. In this instance the town had granted the franchise for the installation of a telephone system and that installation demanded the removal of certain trees to assure its completion, so there was no alternative; Fred M. had been assigned the task of building a telephone line and he was determined to see it through. This seemed to be an outstanding characteristic of his makeup, for in later years he demonstrated that difficulties and opposition only made him more determined when he thought his course was the right one.

That he was definitely interested in the development of the community generally I learned during some of our early associations. He was some older than I but he became very much interested in some of the musical projects I had attempted and endeavored by every means at his command to encourage their success as well as my own personal development. Although he made no great claims as to his ability as a musician, yet he possessed a keen appreciation of the worth-while things in music and was a capable critic in that line. The suggestions and criticisms he offered from time to time I found definitely helpful and of inestimable value.

Thought at that time I thought him quite an extraordinary individual, it was not until several years later, when I was associated closely with him in connection with the music program of the church, that I really had opportunity to appreciate the bigness of the man and the magnitude of the program he was attempting to promote. That he was a great man and a great leader there is no doubt, though the response he gained from the membership generally was not in proportion to the degree of progress his program demanded; and when the great depression of the 30's struck and left the church along with numberless other institutions floundering in the whirlpool and grasping at the proverbial straw in an attempt to save itself from financial bankruptcy, it seemed that much of the ground gained under his administration had been lost. This was a blow to his dreams and aspirations from which he never fully recovered, although the story of the brave fight to preserve the church and how it was finally won is another interesting chapter in the life of President Frederick M. Smith which remains for others to tell – others more familiar with this details and more capable to give it proper portrayal.

Frederick M. Smith, as I knew him, never lost sight of the fact that he was a Lamoni boy and retained many memories of this community which undoubtedly held much that was of vital interest to him. He was one of the most versatile men it has been my pleasure to know, and while he was nationally known as a leading educator he was just as favorably known and equally popular with the man on the street. When he and I were together we discussed music, photography, printing or woodworking and he was perfectly at home and knew the technical details of each. He knew the weak points in my orchestra as well or better than I and we often discussed the difficulties involved in maintaining a proper balance of tonal quality in an amateur organization. Likewise in my home shop he discussed with me the functions of the several machines and their possibilities, in fact it was impossible for me to mention anything in the field of music or mechanics that was not familiar ground to him, and I personally know many men in many lines of activity who have the same comment of him. In fact, it seems that his knowledge of the technical details of trades and the everyday activities of his fellowmen was almost limitless.

In my associations with Frederick M. Smith I was repeatedly impressed by the broad field covered by his power of learning and realized that I was able to appreciate but a very small portion of it. Though in later years his activities took him far afield, yet he took a keen interest in chatting with the old friends of his boyhood, which he often did upon his visits to the old home town. He enjoyed reliving those activities which were characteristic of the best a small town could offer. And through this spirit of friendliness and comradeship he proved his greatness.

Lamoni recognizes him as one of her most notable sons who rendered a service that was far reaching and unusual, and it is with a feeling of pride that we include him as an intimate member of our community circle and an illustrious participant in Lamoni's passing parade.

NOTE: Frederick Madison Smith, son of Joseph Smith III and his second wife Bertha (Madison) Smith, was the grandson of Joseph Smith, Jr. founder of the Latter day Saint movement. He was born at Plano, Illinois. He was the first graduate of Graceland College (present-day Graceland University), obtaining his B.A. in 1898; his M.A. in 1911 from the University of Kansas; and, his Ph.D in 1916 from Clark University. He married Ruth/Alice Lyman Cobb ( - 1926) on August 3, 1897. Upon the death of his father December 10, 1914, F. M. succeeded him, becoming the second president of the Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints in 1915. He was called by one biographer as a "man of paradox" and "one of the most controversial figures in Reogranization history." His presidency was succeeded on Apric 9, 1946 by his brother, Israel A. Smith. He died at the age of 72 years, Independence, Missouri, and was interred at Mound Grove Cemetery. The Frederick Madison Smith Library, located on Graceland University's Lamoni campus, was named in his honor. It opened in 1966.
SOURCE: thefullwiki.org/Frederick_M._Smith

Submission courtesy of Jean Belzer

Note by Sharon R. Becker