Jeanne Newby
1920 – Webb City attained the distinction of increasing her industries more than any other city in the United States, with an increase of 250 percent. A leather factory, shoe factory, shirt factory, tobacco factory and a box factory were established. Some of previous factories included the Interurban Ice Co., Jersey Ice Cream and Butter Factory, Star Bottling Works, Ball & Gunning Co., West Side Machine Shop, Webb City and Carterville Foundry and Machine Co., Rex Casket Co., Independent Gravel Co., and Crocker Packing Co.
1920 – The theater and cafe at Lakeside Park burned in February as the park grounds were being prepared for spring opening.
1920 – A.H. Rogers, of the Southwest Missouri Streetcar Association, died March 7.
1920 – Ray Watson, having returned with honor from the World War, helped organize Battery G of the 203rd Coast Artillery of the reconstituted Missouri National Guard. He became the battery’s first commanding officer.
1920 – C.M. Manker passed away Dec. 28.
1921 – The elevator was installed in the Jasper County Courthouse in Carthage.
1921 – Allen Street, the main north-south street downtown, became Main Street. Main Street, which had gone east from Webb Street, then became Broadway, as did Joplin Street, which had gone west from Webb Street. John Street became Austin Street. City Council minutes give no reason for the name changes.
1922 – A.G. Young began a two-year term as mayor.
1922 – The Halloween Tornado struck at midnight. It first hit Webb City Cemetery then jumped over to the northeast side, killing Nancy Frad on North Centennial Street, injuring many and flattening 25-30 houses on Hall, Walker and Elliott streets.
1922 – Freeman Hospital was established in Joplin.
1923 – Businessman H.C. Humphreys passed away in October.
1923 – Two unmasked men robbed the Bank of Waco on April 6. A posse pursued them to Opolis, Kan. before calling off the chase.
1923 – Sam Kallas moved here from Kansas City and opened the Coney Island on the southwest corner of Broadway and Main. Nobody in this area had ever heard of a coney dog. He sold them for 5 cents each, taking in $500 on weekdays and $1,000 per day on weekends.
1924 – W.F. Gill returned to City Hall as mayor for a fourth term.
1925 – Southwestern Bell bought out Home Telephone Co.
1925 – Many passenger lines on the streetcar schedules were shut down. Freight cars still ran. The line between Joplin and Webb City was still running at half-hour intervals. The Southwest Missouri Railroad Co. purchased a fleet of motor buses and began service in March.
1925 – Residents complained as the price of gas went up from 5 to 19.9 cents per gallon.
1925 – July 29th – Architect Alfred S. Michaelis, passed away because of an accident during construction of the new Memorial Hall in Joplin. Alfred and his brother A.C. Michaelis designed many beautiful buildings in the area including the Methodist Church in Webb City.
1926 – C.C. Harris became mayor for two years.
1927 – The U.S. 66 Highway Association, the “Main Street of America Organization,” held an organizational meeting in Tulsa. Attending were 135 delegates representing 32 cities and towns between St. Louis and Albuquerque, N.M.
1927 – West Side School was built – all on the ground floor.
1927 – Thomas F. Coyne passed away in June.
1928 – W.H. Tholborn became mayor for two years.
1928 – Carl Junction School was destroyed by fire in March. The 1914 two-story building had 12 classrooms, one for each grade.
1928 – Talkies. Talking movies were shown in theaters that could afford projectors equipped for sound.
1928 – The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series – just as Webb City High was in the mood for a new mascot.
1929 – A National Honor Society chapter was organized here.
1929 – Webb City Bank took over the assets of the First National Bank of Carterville in June and reopened July 1 as Webb City Bank.
1930 – Walter Ragland, began the first of two terms as mayor.
1930 – On Jan. 13, A.D. Hatten donated land on North Marison Street for Hatten Athletic Field. It was dedicated on Oct. 5 following a parade downtown. There was seating for 2,500 as Webb City played Pittsburg.
1930 – Old Central School, on Webb Street between Church and First streets, was torn down.
1930 – Route 66 was declared finished from St. Louis to Joplin (except for 1 mile in Arlington) on Dec. 25.
1931 – Ball & Gunning’s mill burned. It was rebuilt bigger and better.
1931 – Cardinals were painted on The Drum Corps drums in time for a Thanksgiving Day performance at Hatten Field.
1930 – The first issue of the Cardinal Notes was published.
1931 – The Blake Theatre’s large audience watched from across the street on the post office steps – as the theatre burned.
1931 – Coyne Hatten, 27-year-old son of A.D. Hatten, was gunned down on May 16 behind Morgan Drug Store at Daugherty and Webb streets. He was the victim of gangster J.E. Creighton, who was initially sentenced to be hanged, but was retried and sentenced to life in prison.
1931 – The Joplin Stockyards opened in August on the southwest corner of Range Line and Newman roads. Bricks for the building and stockyard had been salvaged from Webb City Baptist College.
1932 – Civic pride was credited with rebuilding a theater where the Blake had been on Daugherty Street. And it was named The Civic.
1932 – Bonnie and Clyde robbed the Merchants & Miners Bank in Oronogo on Sept. 30.
1933 – A.D. Hatten deeded land to the city on May 2 for Hatten Park on College Street (where Webb City Baptist College had been). Work began in clearing the former college’s basement for a public swimming pool.
1934 – Frank C. Nelson began a term as mayor.
1934 – Droughts and poor conservation caused the Dust Bowl.
1935 – Joplin purchased 319 acres on the north side of Joplin-Webb City Road to develop Joplin Regional Airport.
1935 – All passenger streetcars were officially replaced by buses, although a few streetcars continued to carry passengers through 1938.
1935 – It was Lakeside Park’s last summer of fun, as it shut down in October.
1935 – The first annual Easter Sunrise Service was held at Hatten Farms Golf Course. It was sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and churches, under the guidance of Harry Hulett.
1936 – Lee A. Daugherty was elected as mayor for a term.
1936 – The municipal pool in Hatten Park opened in July. It was an immediate success, with 10-cent admission and a free kiddie swim from 6 to 7 p.m Saturdays.
1936 – Betty Browning, a1928 WCHS graduate and pilot, won the Amelia Earhart Air Race in Los Angeles. She maintained an average speed of 156 mph to win the 25-mile race.
1937 – Easter Sunrise Service attracted more than 5,000. The services weren’t held during World War II. Plans were to hold them again, but that didn’t happen.
