Crawford, J. W. (Dr.)

CRAWFORD

Posted By: Mary H. Cochrane, Volunteer
Date: 6/29/2019 at 11:09:16

DR. J. W. CRAWFORD

It has been said that all citizens are lawbreakers, but the reason we do not all pay the penalty for our transgressions is because a very small percentage of the guilty are apprehended. Of this number who are proven guilty of certain infractions of the law some allowance should be made for a certain percentage of miscarriage of justice, where the innocent are forced to suffer the penalties of the guilty.

It was in this latter class Dr. J. W. Crawford, one-time practicing physician of Lamoni, claimed to be. Although he had twice served sentences in state institutions as penalties for law infringements he stoutly maintained his innocence on both counts and according to his own statement had begun the writing of a book under the title: “Twice Tried, Twice Convicted but Still Innocent.”

In spite of these encounters with the law which involved long and costly trials in the courts and periods of confinement, he carried on an extensive medical practice which took him into hundreds of homes throughout this section of the country. He remodeled the upper floor of the France Block and converted it into a hospital while at the same time he started work on a new hospital building which according to his plans would be the finest building in Lamoni and one of the finest hospitals in this part of Iowa.

The foundation and basement walls of this building were completed but lawyer's fees, court costs and numerous other expenses demanded a toll too heavy for him to meet and and after months of planning and effort he was forced to give up this ambitious project and the uncompleted building along with the land on which it stood was finally sold and the building which now houses the Kelley Implement Company was erected on this site.

In spite of his legal entanglements Dr. Crawford was a jovial and congenial person. He was clever and intelligent and was considered an efficient and dependable physician and surgeon. He had many friends who readily overlooked the circumstances which had brought him at variance with the law and considered him equal to the best in his field.

As a youngster I remember several instances of contacts with him which were not at all unpleasant, and the memories I retain of him are very favorable. I remember upon one occasion he came into a little shop where I was employed and at the time was endeavoring to repair some pieces of furniture, and in the process was spreading glue upon the pieces to be joined with a brush. Although he had come in to interview the proprietor of the establishment upon a matter of business he became instantly interested in the work I was attempting to do.

You can't do a good job of gluing that way, my boy,” he said, and the tone of his voice at once gave me the impression that his one thought was to be helpful. “Let me show you some tricks about gluing. You know I have spent some time in a furniture factory, and even though it was against my will, I learned some things I have found to be very useful.”

He gave vent to a rather resentful chuckle but proceeded at once to fashion a small piece of wood to the proper shape he considered necessary to properly spread the glue and explained as he did so that the glue should be spread thinly and evenly and be kept at the proper temperature in order to do a satisfactory job; and the applicator he had fashioned was in his opinion the best means of accomplishing the desired results. “The state went to a lot of trouble and spent a lot of the people's money to teach me that trick,” he said with another chuckle as he completed the gluing job., “and if it is of any value to you, you are welcome to it.”

Needless to say, I have found it of much value and I have passed it on to many others who were interested in woodworking and to this day I never prepare a stick for that purpose that I do not think of Dr. Crawford. He seemed to be a man of limitless ideas although many of them were not so simple or practical as the glue stick. I once heard him make the remark: “My head is full of ideas that would make me a rich man if I only had time to work them out.” I have often contemplated that statement. It seems if the working of an idea is all that is required to make one rich, it might be worth while to take the time.

And perhaps that was the thought Dr. Crawford had in mind when he gave up his medical practice and started the promotion of the really big venture of his life – the building of a railroad which was to run from Minneapolis, Minn., to Port Arthur, Texas, with Lamoni directly upon the route. This was to be a big thing for Lamoni to be located upon a railroad crossing the nation from north to south, and when it was completed, he planned that the people of Lamoni should be first to enjoy the advantages offered by this new development. He would arrange for the town officials to declare a prolonged holiday and during this season trains would carry all the local inhabitants who cared to go, upon one grand excursion to Port Arthur and return at the expense of the company.

Stock was sold and the new company was duly organized. An expedition was arranged to cover the proposed route, selling additional stock and making preparation for the surveying and purchasing of the right-of-way. This expedition traversed the distance from Lamoni to Port Arthur, using horses and wagons as the method of travel, but the project as a whole did not turn out to be the success the doctor had anticipated. He found it one thing to plan such an undertaking on paper but an entirely different matter when it came to raising sufficient capital to purchase the hundreds of miles of land and all other essential equipment for a project of such magnitude. With this realization came a suspension of further efforts of promotion and after a time the project was conceded a failure.

History will undoubtedly classify Dr. J. W. Crawford as a man possessed of fantastic ambitions, and some of his enemies have criticized him severely, but along with all that might be said against him, it can also be truthfully said he did much good and made many friends. He was deeply interested in Lamoni and her progress and in his way hoped he might do something that would help in her development. A dreamer he might have been, but dreams are necessary prerequisites to worthwhile endeavor and the margin between failure and success is very often so narrow that a very insignificant circumstance turns the tide one way or the other. Had the tide turned in his favor, his might have been an entirely different story. However, it seems this was not to be and in memory we think of him as an unfortunate and disappointed though colorful character in Lamoni's passing parade.