W.A. Hopkins Bio

HOPKINS

Posted By: Jean Belzer (email)
Date: 11/3/2001 at 19:32:27

Date: Friday, November 02, 2001 5:54 PM

Copied from Lamoni's Passing Parade by Joseph H. Anthony
Page 235
by Jean Belzer
November 2, 2001

W. A. HOPKINS

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 – the one planned and organized by that small
group of men in the middle of the night – 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 "out 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 "give 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.