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TheTimes Recorder*ZANESVILLE, OHIO, * SUNDAY, MAY 12, 1968The Town That Was: No. 7Peddler Slain For HisBv HOWARD SPENCERSome writers have referred to San Toy in its heyday as “Little Chicago” and “the wildest place Since the Barbary Coast”Exaggerations of course but the once - booming Perry Countv coal town did have its crime and prided Itself in 2d* minisiering swift justice. Even the whipping post, it was said, was used on occasions.However, some crimes of violence went unsolved. There are reports that a few were never reported to authorities, A case in point: The slaying of a pack peddler for his wares.GERALD ML Buckley of Burr Oak Lake, a retired school teacher who knows the San Toy area Eke his McGuffey reader, tells about the peddleris murder as related to him by a neighbor, George W. Clifton, who lived and worked at San Toy in its early days.The story was one of two which Buckley credits to Clifton. Buckley said Clifton person ally Knew they were true. It was about 1917. But let Buckleytell it:“A pack peddler came into San Toy on the train and baa taken a day making the rounds, of the homes at the No. 1 area. That sight he bought a coal oil (kerosene) lantern and started with Ms pack up the railroad track.“Above No. 1 a couple of drinking men began shooting at the luckless oeddler, and killed him. They hid the pack and lantern and carried the peddler's body and buried it in a shallow grave at the gob pile where it would be further covered with mine waste 21 the days ahead. They then divided up' the contents of the pack,”Clifton has been dead for many years.The second story:“Before all the houses were built, there were a number of tents in use on Alabama Hfll. One day two men who had been drinking quite a bit at a saloon in the valley below, took notice of the tents” and decided to use them as targets for their “pocket guns” which fired .32 caliber short cartridges.“From the valley, they both fired a number of shots at the tents far up on Alabama Hill. Before the shooting ended, one of the men who was Irving in a tent, came out to see what the shooting was about far below. He heard a curious little ‘plop’ and turned in time to see a small object tumble off the tent onto the ground.“When he picked it up, to Ms shocked surprise, he found thatEarly In 1927, this photo of San Toy House was taken by Jimmy Dillehay, who lived there and taught school at San Toy. On the porch are Mrs. Johnny Carmichael, her daughter and a grandchild. a vonth called “Red” who worked at the hotel and Gerald Buckley, right, whose camera was used.It was a still warm spent* bullet from the guns below. He hurried to the authorities - and they rounded up the drunken marksmen and told them in no uncertain terms that they would be severely dealt with k such a thing happened again.“Incidentally, although quite capable of killing a man at point blank range the .32 short of that time was quite harmless at long range.”Buckley, who was born on Feb. 13, I9D4. at MorganviUe, about five miles from San Toy, recounted a number of Ms experiences.“After I started to high school in Crooksville about 1919,” he writes. “I would often on a Friday evening, get- on the passenger train at Crooksville and ride to San Toy. There alter leaving the train, it was customary to look around a bit or perhaps talk a few minutes to someone at one of the houses I passed as 3L walked to the bill path and then made the long five mile walk to MorganvSle to spend the weekend with my grandfather and grandmother, X C. (Curt) and Annie Buckley at MorganviUe.“One evening, I went to the home of Tommy and Minne Walpole at No. I to talk a minute and get a drink of water. Minnie had just received a New York style catalog, years 1917-191S. Her sisters Jived at MorganviSe and she asked roe to take the catalog to them which I did.“They looked it over and said that I could have it That smallcatalog is still in my possession today In good condition.ONE EVENING, when I got' off the train, a flat bed truck was at the baggage car door and they were unloading a coffin onto the motor truck. It contained the body of a person that was to be taken- irp to Alabama H3I. Mack Hearing was the undertaker in charge and h2d the flat bed auio truck.He explained to the sorrowing relatives that the dirt road into San. Toy from Ms home in Portersviile, was so frightfully bad that he was afraid to bring his' hearse over the road in the darkness but would have it there for the daytime funeral.“The relatives became indignant and said' they would not have the body of a loved one hauled home on a truck. They asked me and several others to help carry the casket from the railroad station to the house up on Alabama Hill- I helped to carry until we stopped to rest at the foot of the Hfll It sure was a heavy burden.“There I told them that I had a five mile walk to make yet that night -and couid help no further. They seemed surprised that I had helped that far under the circumstances and thanked me. They were there trying to find more help as I walked away Into the darkness. I have no recollection of the name of the dead person after so many -years.rooms. living quarters for the manager and family and their help. There was a bathroom downstairs and several washbowls and stool in a room at the end of the downstairs hall, also a large dming hall downstairs. There was an “office” or loafing room downstairs and an the heat was provided by large coal stoves. The kitchen range was a coal stove.“There was no heat in the guest rooms. There was running water in the downstairs and aH. the building had electric lights which were on the mine current and it was either 220 or 440 volts.three teachers, a missGreen (who later died at Zanesville) Jimmy and myself were there. The others were aH miners or just temporary guests. We paid 330 a month room and board and were usually there only five days. The miners, for seven days a week, I believe, paid S4Q a month.“At the long dining table, three dishes of each kind of food were always on hand. Therule was to reach anything oniU-.-;*■? -Letter with 2c Sesqmceatennial stamp and postmarked Jan. If, 1927, is addressed to GeraW M. Buckley at the San Toy House.“DURING THE 1925-1926 school term, I was hired to teach at the one room school at Chapel H31, two miles toward Corning from San Toy. James (Jimmy) DMefaay oi Crooksville, my high school classmate, near neighbor and friend, was teaching at Sah Toy and living at the San Toy House hotel which was operated by Henry Hull, Ms wife Bessie and son B2L“Jimmy arranged for me to share his room until there was a vacant room and I walked each day to school and back to the San Toy House. The words “San Toy House” were painted in large faded letters on the frame building, perhaps on the side next to the railroad as early day travelers usually eaine by train.“This hotel had 15 guestthe table that you wanted as long as you kept one foot on the floor. The food was good aud it was plentifuL And they packed. my lunch pail for the long walk to Chapel Hfll with all the food that I could possibly eat tifl I returned in the evening.“A single meal cost a visitor 50 cents, if I recall correctly.“ONE PERSON who wasVthere now and then in bad weather, was Dr. Kane (maybe Cain). He doctored folks at Coming and at San Toy and sometimes took Jimmy or me on a call if he didn’t feel welL A remarkable man, he one time engaged Jimmy and me in a game of checkers at the same time in the “office,” each with our own checker board. He carried on a steady conversation with others in the office and seemed to pay little attention to the checker boards.“Within a very few minutes he had cleaned both checker boards and left'us without a checker to play with.“In bad weather when mud roads were impassible for an auto, I have had Dr. Kane pass me as I walked across countryThis is a general view of San Toy as seen from the No. 1 mine tjppk. The photo was taken Is 1918 and was psbllshed i*Electrical Mining. Main buildings of the town were In the flat (f oregriwsd) bet most bosses were os the hiflskles.rSFAPER;lt;t
Newspaper Details
Zanesville Times Recorder
Zanesville, Ohio, US
Sun, May 12, 1968
Page 37
Full Page
Clipped by
Heather P.
NA, NA 03 Feb 2023
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