Jefferson County Online A part of the IAGenWeb and USGenWeb Projects Who's Who in Jefferson County, 1931 Ralph H. Munro

"The Fairfield Daily Ledger"
Saturday, August 29, 1931
Front Page

Who's Who In Jefferson County
By Herbert F. McDougal

RALPH H. MUNRO

Ralph H. Munro belongs to a golf club and doesn't play golf, but he does play a wicked game of chess. He learned the game when a student in the University of Michigan law school, and he and a classmate pushed pawns and kings and queens and knights about the board in regular sessions once or twice a week. The classmate had "Stanton on Chess" and would have a session with that classic, studying up moves to beat Munro. Then Munro would go to the encyclopedia and figure out a few moves for himself. The score was nip and tuck. Years afterward the classmate on his deathbed asked that his "Stanton" be rebound and sent to Mr. Munro.

Mr. Munro went to Ann Arbor because he had heard that it was a good place for a boy to earn part of his way. But before he went, he taught one term of country school in order to bolster up his exchequer.

He was born near Keota on a farm which his father bought right after the Civil war. Last year when a stock paper sent out an inquiry for the oldest patron of the Chicago market who had shipped at least one car of cattle a year, the father--D. R. Munro--was up toward the head of the list with 42 years. At times he has had as many as 300 head of cattle on the farm. Well, when Ralph was a youngster he helped tend those cattle.

After he had finished the rural schools, he went to the Washington Academy where he was graduated in 1898. He got his law degree from the University of Michigan in 1903 and was admitted at once to the Michigan bar. He came on back to Iowa and was admitted to the bar in this state and began to practice. He was admitted to the federal courts in 1911 and to the supreme court of the United States in 1921.

In the meantime he had learned to play the cornet and could triple tongue whole solos. When he moved to Fairfield in 1903, he joined the Charter Oak band, which soon changed its name to the Forest City band. He was a member of the organization for fifteen year (sic) and president for several years. One of the duties of the president was to make the rounds of the business houses every week, collecting the two dollars each which the business men contributed to upkeep of the band. He remembers that the payments were made in silver dollars, which became quite a load at the end of the round.

He was mayor of the city two terms, resigning in 1919 to accept the appointment to the county attorney's office, was elected for another term. He was appointed county attorney last year to fill out William Simmons term when he resigned. He is now in his third term as city solicitor, and in his second term on the insanity commission. He is a member of the county and district bar associations, a Mason and a member of the Walton club.

He married Miss Flora M. Gilly of Fairfield June 26, 1907. They have two daughters, Roberta and Dorothy.