Mamon Augusta Gray (1889-1984)

From the 1939-40 Arizona legislative composite.

                                                                                                        
   Three-term Arizona state representative Mamon Augusta Gray was a native of Mississippi and a resident of Texas prior to his relocation to Cochise County, Arizona in the early 1920s. Despite serving multiple terms in his state's legislature and living to age 95, Gray's life is so obscure that his Arizona legislative database biography consists of just two lines. With such minimal information available, Gray's biography here will be brief, and this author is amazed that considering his overall obscurity, a photograph of him has come to light. 
  The son of John Tidwell and Harriett Lou Dow (Gafford) Gray, Mamon Augusta Gray was born in Union County, Mississippi on October 9, 1889. The origins behind the unusual names Mamon Augusta remain unknown at this time, and Gray himself looks to have preferred the initials "M.A.", as the majority of period legislative documents record him under just his initials. His education extended through grammar and high school and by the 1910s was residing in Port Arthur, Texas. Gray married in that town in January 1915 to Annie Shaw (birthdate unknown) and later had four children, Mamon Augusta Jr. (died in infancy in 1915), Billy G., Mark, and Eleanor.
  Mamon A. Gray and his family removed from Texas to Arizona at an unknown date, and in the 1920 census are recorded as residents of Douglas in Cochise County. He would reside here for a number of years afterward and is remarked as being a barber, as per his legislative biography. Remarked as being a "champion of organized labor",  Gray was elected as a representative from Cochise County in the Arizona legislature in late 1934 and began his first term in January of the following year. This term saw him chair the committee on Labor and serve on the committee on Public Health, and he would win a second term in 1936. 
  The 1937-38 session saw Gray again chair the committee on Labor and was a member of the committee on County and County Affairs, and Public Health. In August 1937, while still an incumbent representative, Gray was appointed by Governor Rawghlie Clement Stanford as one of three members on the State Board of Barber Examiners. His total length of service on that board remains undetermined, though notice has been found as to his being a board member again from 1947-51.
  Gray won a third house term in 1938 and from 1939-40 sat on three new committees, those being the Judiciary; Petitions and Memorials; and Suffrages and Elections. Gray would resign from the house in September 1940 and in the years following his resignation was a resident of Yuma, Arizona. The remaining four decades of Gray's life largely remain unknown, with an exception being a 1975 newspaper notice regarding his involvement in a car-motorcycle accident in Yuma. Gray later resided in Prescott in Yavapai County and celebrated his 90th birthday in 1979. He died in Prescott on October 12, 1984, just three days following his 95th birthday and was interred at the Arizona Pioneer Home Cemetery in that city.

Thanks Albert Anderson (1889-1974)

Anderson during his tenure as Mayor of Tempe.

  One of the more curious names you'll see while perusing a roster of Tempe, Arizona mayors, Thanks Albert Anderson served three terms as mayor of that city and was born, appropriately enough on Thanksgiving Day, hence his first name. A World War I veteran and prominent banker in addition to his mayoralty, Anderson was also a leader in Tempe civic affairs, heading war bond drives during WWII and was a past president of the city chamber of commerce. A native of Texas, Thanks Albert Anderson was born in the town of Brackettville on November 28, 1889, the son of George Albert (1850-1928) and Susan Arbelle (Mason) Anderson (1854-1936). One of several children, Thanks Anderson was not the only one of his siblings bestowed an unusual name, his sisters Content, Honor Glint, and Guess Eleanor having equally strange names of their own.

  Anderson's early education was obtained in Texas and in 1909 relocated to Arizona. Settling in Tempe, he soon found employment at the Tempe Hardware and Vehicle Company. He remained in their employ until 1915, and during the First World War enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he was a corporal in a field artillery unit. His exact period of enlistment and area of deployment remain unknown, and in December 1917 married in Arizona to Agnes Perry (1890-1924). The couple was wed for only six years before Agnes' death at age 33, and their union would be childless. Following her death, Anderson remarried in the late 1920s and had two sons, Mason Evans Anderson (born May 1929) and John (birthdate unknown).

  After leaving the Tempe Hardware Co. Thanks Anderson entered into a clerkship with the Tempe National Bank in 1916. Anderson would be affiliated with this bank for decades afterward and succeeded to the post of assistant cashier in the early 1920s. He would serve as its cashier from 1926-31 and in 1935 saw its merger with the First National Bank of Arizona. From 1950-54 Anderson was the bank's manager and vice-president and retired in December of the last-named year.

  Thanks Anderson entered the political life of his city with his election to the Tempe city council in 1930. Following his election to that body, the other council members elected him as mayor, with his first term extending until 1932. He would be returned to the mayoral chair in 1934 and won a third two-year term in 1936, but in February 1937 resigned from office, with councilman Hugh Laird being elected as acting mayor.

From the Arizona Republic, November 30, 1954.

  Following his final term as mayor Thanks Anderson served a one year term as president of the Tempe Chamber of Commerce in 1941 and during World War II was a leading figure in war bond drives held in Tempe. He would be active in the local Masonic lodge, the Rotary Club, the William Bloys Lodge No. 2 of the American Legion, and for many years was a booster for the Arizona State University's athletic programs with the Sun Angel Foundation. 

  Anderson continued residency in Tempe through the remainder of his life and on his 85th birthday was feted with a birthday party at his home. Shortly afterward he was felled by a heart attack and died the day following his birthday, November 29, 1974, at the Desert Samaritan Hospital in Mesa, Arizona. He was survived by his sons Mason and John and was interred at the Double Butte Cemetery in Tempe.

From the Arizona Republic, December 1, 1974.

Alpha Omega Hill (1894-1952)

From the Adams County News, August 5, 1952.

  Aurora, Colorado has lucked into electing two oddly named mayors in its century-plus history, and following the write up on Allington Horatio Kramer (mayor from 1908-10), the life of Alpha Omega Hill is examined. A World War I veteran and mayor of that city, Hill and his space-age sounding name would gain further political prominence when he was elected to the first of three terms in the Colorado legislature in 1944. A native son of Effingham, Florence County, South Carolina, Alpha Omega "A.O." Hill was born in that town on October 25, 1894, the son of David S. and Minnie Hill.

  A student in the public schools of Florence County, Hill later went on to attend the University of Georgia at Athens. He signed on for service during WWI and after enlisting in the Army served overseas with the 116th Engineer Corps. Hill was part of the Allied forces that finally broke the Hindenburg Line in France in September 1918, and during this action was grievously wounded, injuries that proved so severe that he would be hospitalized for several years afterward.

  After being returned stateside for recuperation, Hill contracted tuberculosis, necessitating hospitalization at Fort Bayard, New Mexico. While recuperating in that state he made the acquaintance of former navy Yeomanette Kathryn J. Fox (1896-1980), who he would marry in neighboring Silver City in June 1921. The couple were wed until Hill's death in 1952 and would remain childless. In 1923 the couple removed to Colorado, where Alpha Hill underwent further recuperation at the Fitzsimons General Hospital near Denver, and in 1926 was finally discharged.

  In the weeks following his release from the hospital Alpha O. Hill decided to pursue a career in public service, and after removing to the city of Aurora, ran for and was elected as a justice of the peace. In the 1930s Hill entered into the post of police magistrate for Aurora, serving on the bench for an indeterminate period. Hill's residence in Aurora also saw him active in the Masonic order and local veteran's groups, being a past master of the Aurora Masonic Lodge No. 156 and a member of the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

From the Colorado Yearbook, 1945.

  Hill continued his political ascent in the early 1940s with his election to the Aurora city council, and from 1942-43 was chairman of the Arapahoe County Draft Board. In January 1943 Aurora mayor J.E. McWhorter resigned due to health concerns and Alpha O. Hill was selected to fill out the remainder of McWhorter's term by members of the city council. He would be elected to a term of his own as mayor that April, and despite serving just one term in office (1943-45), pushed through a bevy of civic improvements for his city. His term saw Aurora's first zoning and building ordinance established, a new sewer district developed, and an improved water main system built. Hill's foresight in regards to city planning and zoning was later lauded by the Aurora Democrat in 1950, which noted his developing a planning commission comprising city council members and builders, and after numerous meetings devised a plan to do away with the area's tax-delinquent land. After the completion of a parkway and a channel to carry away flood water, this former "worthless" land became home to "a large theatre, one large grocery and other stores, large apartment houses and perhaps 150 homes."

   A candidate for reelection in early 1945, the mayoral contest proved to be a heated one between Hill and his opponent, B.T. Howard. Though he was defeated in April 1945, Hill continued a steady workload right up until his last day in office, and one week after turning over the mayoral chair to Howard received praise in the Adams County News, who noted:

"The fact remains that Mr. Hill made one of the best mayors Aurora ever had--and considering the whole picture, Aurora made wonderful progress under his administration. Fortunately for our city we still have his advice and best efforts towards making Aurora a better place to live and prosper."

 While he may have lost in his reelection bid for mayor, Hill was not through politically, as he had won election to the Colorado House of Representatives from Arapahoe County in November 1944. Hill's first term saw him chair the committee on Municipal Affairs and also sat on the committees on Enrollment; House Expenses; Indian and Military Affairs; Mercantile and Manufacturing Interests; and Public Buildings. 
  In November 1946 Hill won a second term in the legislature, and during the 1947-49 session again chaired the committee on Municipal Affairs. He was elected to a third term in November 1948, and in his final term was a member of the committees on Constitutional Amendments; House Expenses; Municipal Affairs; and State Institutions. In his last year in office Hill took part in a gathering of former Aurora mayors who were guests of honor at a city official swearing-in ceremony. He was photographed at this gathering with former mayor Allington Horatio Kramer, profiled here on January 22.

Former mayors Alpha Omega Hill and Allington H. Kramer, January 1950.

  For the final three years of his life A.O. Hill battled cancer, and during that period underwent six operations in the hope of being cured of that illness. Hill died of cancer at the Veteran's Hospital in Denver on July 28, 1952, aged 58. Memorialized as a "valiant warrior" and "gallant soul", Hill was survived by his wife Kathryn, who. following her death at age 84 in 1980 was interred alongside him at the Fairmount Cemetery in Denver.

Atterson Walden Rucker (1847-1924)

From Stone's History of Colorado, Vol. IV, 1918.

  Two-term U.S. Representative from Colorado Atterson Walden Rucker is another "old-guard" odd name political figure, this author having first located his name via a copy of "Who Was Who In America" way back in 2001! A native of Kentucky, Rucker would be an unsuccessful candidate for Kansas state attorney general in 1870 and later found his business and political fortune in Colorado. After a brief stint as a criminal court judge in Lake County in the 1880s he established a law practice near Denver, and after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives returned to the practice of law in that city.

  The son of James Willis and Elizabeth (Jones) Rucker, Atterson Walden Rucker was born in Harrodsburg, Kentucky on April 3, 1847. While still in his youth Rucker and his family left their Kentucky home for Missouri and after settling in the town of Lexington, became a student in the public schools of that town and St. Louis. During the Civil War Rucker cast his lot with the Confederacy, enlisting in the 16th Missouri Infantry. Just fourteen years old at the time of his enlistment, he saw action at the First Battle of Lexington and the Battle of Carthage in 1861 and in 1862 was captured by Union forces and imprisoned in Springfield, Missouri.

  One of 27 Confederate prisoners confined at Springfield, Rucker was later interviewed by the Confederate Veteran periodical on his service, noting "I helped to dig the graves of twenty-four of my comrades", and that several months following his parole in November 1862 was the only one of the prisoners still alive. After his release, Rucker wasn't "exchanged back into the Confederate ranks" and returned home to Lexington. By 1867 he had decided to pursue a law degree, and after a period of study in Lexington was admitted to the Missouri bar in 1868. 

   In 1869 Atterson Rucker and his older brother Thomas left Missouri for Kansas, and in the latter portion of that year established a joint law practice in the village of Baxter Springs. Within a year of establishing himself as a lawyer in Kansas Rucker set his sights on a lofty goal: the Attorney Generalship of Kansas. Despite being just twenty-three years old, Rucker's name was put forward as the nominee at the Democratic state convention held in Topeka in September 1870. Rucker would ultimately lose that contest to Republican Archibald Williams (who served in office until 1875), but was not through politically, as he became a Democratic candidate for presidential elector in 1872.

   Atterson Rucker married in Baxter Springs in March of 1872/1873 to Celeste Caruth (1854-1906) to who he was wed until her death. The couple would have one daughter, Ethel Rucker Dorr (1874-1952), whose birthdate is curiously mistaken as 1871 on her gravestone in San Diego, California. In 1873 Rucker and his wife resettled in Kansas City, Missouri and resided here until their removal to Lake County, Colorado in 1879. Establishing a law practice in the still-young city of Leadville, Rucker was named judge of the criminal court of Leadville in 1880 and is recorded as having held that office only briefly, as the court was declared unconstitutional by an act of the state supreme court.

From the Fairplay Flume, October 16, 1908.

  In the mid-1880s, Rucker left Leadville and relocated near Denver, where he built up a substantial "productive country estate" that became known as Rucker's Ridge. The succeeding years saw him practicing law and farming in that area and would have a financial interest in several mining companies in the state. A founding member of the Colorado State Forestry Association and a member of the Grange, Rucker's time at the bar saw him make a specialty of irrigation law and water rights controversies, and by the early 20th century his name was touted as a candidate for high political office.

  With nearly four decades of law experience and wide repute in his region, Atterson W. Rucker was put forward as a potential Democratic candidate for Governor of Colorado in early 1908. After several weeks of press backing his candidacy, Rucker withdrew from the contest and threw his support to fellow Democrat John Franklin Shafroth, who later was elected to the governorship. After bowing out from the gubernatorial race, Rucker received the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives in the fall of that year, and throughout the campaign season, numerous advertisements booming his candidacy appeared in area newspapers. Acknowledged as "one of Colorado's foremost citizens", Rucker was further lauded by the Fairplay Flume in October 1908, which noted that:

"The voters of his district are interested materially in those matters that have been his great work in this state, and because of this Judge Rucker is eminently one of the best equipped men for the position of congressman to represent his district and state. If politics is business, there should be no hesitancy on the part of the voters or his district in placing their mark of approval after his name for the position."

From the Greeley Tribune, September 22, 1910.

  In November 1908 Rucker defeated two-term Republican incumbent Robert W. Bonynge by a vote of 60,643 to 57, 597. He took his seat in Congress in January 1909 and during the 1909-11 session was a member of the Committee on Insular Affairs. Just several months into his first term, Rucker, along with other members of the Insular Affairs Committee, undertook an extended fact-finding trip to the Philippines. During an excursion on Lake Lanao in that country, Rucker was severely injured when a ship's boom struck him during a storm, and those injuries proved so severe that they necessitated a stay at a hospital in Manila. 

   After recovering from his injuries, Rucker returned to his duties in the United States and in 1910 won a second term in Congress, defeating Republican James C. Burger, 40,458 votes to 37,966. The 1911-13 session saw Rucker named to committees on Indian Affairs, Irrigation of Arid Lands, and Pensions, and in the latter part of 1911 was talked of as a potential candidate for the U.S. Senate, being described as a "man of weight among the national lawmakers" by the Colorado Transcript. 

  In the 1912 Democratic primary, Rucker was defeated in his bid for a third term, losing out to former Denver city supervisor George John Kindel. Kindel would go on to win the general election that November and served in Congress for one term. Rucker served out the remainder of his term and prior to leaving Washington in March 1913 was bolstered as a possible nominee for U.S. Minister to Cuba, but the idea appears to have been short-lived, as President Woodrow Wilson appointed William Elliott Gonzales to the post.

From the Fairmount, West Virginian, 1911.

  Following his return to Colorado Atterson W. Rucker returned to farming and in the latter portion of his life made a specialty of raising "pure-blooded Hampshire Down sheep", being remarked as having the only flock of its kind in the state. Rucker's livestock and wool interests saw him hold memberships in the National Wool Grower's Association, the Cattle Grower's Association, and the Farmer's Institute. He continued to practice law in Denver and, following an illness of two weeks, died at the St. Luke's Hospital in Denver on July 19, 1924, aged 77. Widowed in 1906, Rucker was cremated and his ashes later interred at the Littleton Cemetery in Littleton, Colorado.

From the Sterling Republican Advocate, July 24, 1924.

Allington Horatio Kramer (1864-1950)

From the Aurora Democrat, January 13, 1950.

   We continue our stroll through the annals of Colorado politics with a visit to the city of Aurora and Allington Horatio Kramer, a two-term mayor of that city as well as a one-term state representative from Adams County. Despite scant information available on his life, enough has been found to compile a substantial review of his life and political career, and this author was amazed to have located the above portrait of Kramer (part of an even larger picture of past Aurora mayors), which was taken just months before his death in September 1950. The son of John W. and Catherine Kramer, Allington Horatio Kramer was born in Pennsylvania on September 17, 1864.

  Little is known of Kramer's formative years in Pennsylvania, and by 1880 had removed with his family to Vieregg, Merrick County, Nebraska. He would attend school in that county and in March 1888 he married in Hamilton, Nebraska to Margaret Ellen "Maggie" Werfield (1865-1955). The couple was wed for over sixty years and this union produced two children, Lulu (born ca. 1890) and Wilbur Roy (1891-1964).

  After residing in Alliance, Nebraska for an indeterminate period, the Kramer family removed to Colorado in 1891, and afterward "engaged in farming and ranching in the San Luis Valley." By 1905 they were residents of Montevista in Rio Grande County, and Kramer's residency in this area saw him be awarded two patents, one for a "new and improved machine for topping beets" in 1905 and a "grinding device" in early 1907.  In 1907 Kramer and his family relocated to Aurora, Colorado and by the following year had built an eleven room home, where they continued to reside for the remainder of their lives.

  Following removal to the still-young city, Kramer followed a career as a business agent for the Colorado Grange and also became well known locally as an inventor, musician, and composer. Kramer's 1950 Aurora Advocate obituary denotes his "making violins from a maple tree which he grew near his home" and was even offered a band position by famed bandleader John Phillip Sousa. Despite a potentially lucrative opportunity for career advancement, Kramer declined the honor owing to his own busy work schedule.

  Just one year following his removal to Aurora, Allington H. Kramer was elected as mayor of that city in April 1908. He would serve two terms in office and turned down the possibility of a third term despite being endorsed by both parties. Kramer would be called to politics again in September 1914 when he entered into the Progressive Party primary for U.S. Representative from Colorado. He did not fare well in the vote count, polling just 3 votes, with victory going to Charles E. Fisher, who polled a meager 29 votes!

From the Wray Rattler, September 1914.

  Kramer would rebound politically in 1916 when he announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the  Colorado House of Representatives from Adams County. He proved successful at the polls that November, besting Democrat H.G. Emery by a vote of 1,528 to 1,425. Taking his seat in January 1917, Kramer's one term saw him named to the following committees: Agriculture and Irrigation; County Lines; Enrollment; House Expenditures; Roads and Bridges; State Affairs and Reapportionment; Temperance; and Towns and Cities. 

  In September 1918 Kramer lost his reelection bid in that year's primary, victory going to Abraham D. Radinsky.  Following his loss, Kramer continued residency in Aurora and in 1932 was elected as its delegate to the Republican state convention that was to be held later that year. In March 1946 he and his wife celebrated their fifty-eighth wedding anniversary, being accorded a congratulatory write-up in the Adams County News. In January 1950, the 85-year-old former mayor took part in a gathering of past Aurora mayors to celebrate the inauguration of Chester E. Tupps, who'd been elected mayor the previous November. Also attending this gathering was another oddly named former Aurora mayor, Alpha Omega "A.O." Hill, then serving in the state legislature.

  Several months following that gathering Allington Horatio Kramer died at his Aurora home, two weeks shy of his 86th birthday. Memorialized as a man of "inventive mind" and an "honest, loyal citizen", he was survived by his wife and children and was interred at the Fairmount Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.

From the Aurora Democrat, September 8, 1950.

Leco Perch Strain (1887-1976)

From the 1962 Colorado State Yearbook.

  Multiterm Colorado state senator Leco Perch Strain received brief mention in the previous article on his elder brother Cora Ransom Strain, who served three terms in his state's house of representatives. Like his brother, Leco Strain achieved prominence in business and civic affairs, albeit in a different area of Colorado. Unfortunately, information on this younger Strain brother remains difficult to come by, unusual when one considers his lengthy career in state politics! The son of George Ransom and Luzena Strain, Leco Perch "Lee" Strain was born in Bloomington, Indiana on May 28, 1887.

  Lee Strain's early education was obtained in the state of his birth and in 1907 removed to Colorado, where two of his brothers (Cora and Charles Raymond) had resettled some years previously. After settling in the town of Lamar, Strain joined with his brothers in their ice and coal business until electing to go into business for himself. In 1910 he relocated to La Junta in Otero County and established the La Junta Ice and Storage Company, which also sold feed, grain, and coal. His long affiliation with that business led it to become one of La Junta's "substantial and lucrative enterprises", and in May 1912 married in Colorado to Coy Beavers (1890-1982).  The couple's sixty-three-year union saw the births of three children, George L. (1916-2010), Dean (1920-1945), and Anna Mae (1925-2019). 

   Strain's decades of prominence in the ice and refrigeration industry saw him serve as a member of the nominating committee for the Mountain States Ice Manufacturer Association in 1922 and was a longstanding member of the Rotary Club in his region. Strain first entered the political forum in 1940 when he was elected as a delegate to that year's Republican National Convention, and in June of that year, he and other members of the Colorado delegation journeyed to Philadelphia where Wendell Wilkie was nominated for the presidency. 

From the Rotarian, September 1942.

  Through the 1940s Lee Strain continued with his ice, refrigeration, and storage interests and in 1950 was elected to fill a vacancy in the Colorado state senate, this vacancy occurring due to the death of senator James Barnes Ryan (1872-1949) in July of the previous year. In that contest, Strain bested Democratic candidate Henry Klein, 4,707 votes to 4,213. Taking his seat at the start of the 1951-53 session, this term saw Strain chair the committee on Mining, and also held seats on the committees on Industrial Affairs; the Judiciary; Local Government; State Institutions and Public Buildings; Transporation; and Water and Water Resources.

  Lee Strain would win a second senate term in November 1952, defeating curiously named Democrat Nasby Webster "N.W." Bolling by over 2,000 votes. From 1953-55 he chaired the Local Government Committee and served on the committees on Finance, Interstate Cooperation, State Affairs, and Transportation. Strain would prove successful in his three further senate reelection bids in 1954, 1958, and 1960, and in his final term (1961-65) chaired the committee on State and Public Buildings and sat on the Agriculture, Business Affairs and Finance committees.

  After the conclusion of his time in the senate, Lee Strain retired to private life in La Junta. Little could be found on his life after 1964, except notice of his "long service in community and church organizations". He died in La Junta on May 13, 1976, two weeks shy of his 89th birthday. Strain was survived by his wife and two children and was interred at the Fairview Cemetery in La Junta. Public service would continue in the Strain family with Lee Strain's eldest son George (1917-2010), who, following time as a special agent for the FBI began his own career in government, serving as District Attorney for the counties of Bent, Crowley, and Otero. In 1976 he was named as County Judge for Otero County, serving on the bench until his retirement in 1988.

From the 1953 Colorado Yearbook

Cora Ransom Strain (1871-1960)

From the Colorado State Yearbook, 1945.

  Three-term Colorado state representative Cora Ransom Strain received passing mention in the previous article on Hackett D. Smartt, a fellow Lamar, Colorado native who defeated him for reelection to the state house of representatives in November 1948. As one can see, Strain is a male political figure who was unfortunately saddled with a female first name, a fact that left even the compilers of the Colorado legislative database confused--some even thinking that he was of the opposite gender! All humor aside, Cora Ransom Strain was long a power player in Lamar, Colorado, having a hand in several business concerns in that city. A former member of the city council and president of the Lamar Chamber of Commerce, Strain served three consecutive terms in the Colorado House of Representatives beginning in 1943.

  The son of George Ransom and Euzena Strain, Cora Ransom Strain's birth occurred in Paynetown, Indiana on August 15, 1871. In addition to the man profiled today, the Strain family could also boast of another unusually named figure who attained political and business prominence, Leco Perch "Lee" Strain (1887-1976). The younger brother of Cora Ransom, " Lee" Strain served over a decade in the Colorado state senate and was an important business leader in the town of La Junta.

  A student in the public schools of Indiana, Cora R. Strain was employed in a quarry and in railroad construction prior to his resettlement in Colorado in 1895. Prior to his removal, Strain married in Indiana to May Phoebe Parnell in the early 1890s and later had one son, Francis Elwin "Frank" Strain (1893-1948). Strain later remarried in Kansas in 1899 to Vella M. Carnahan (1879-1961), to who he was wed until his death. The couple's lengthy union saw the births of nine children, those being: Marion Evans (1900-1984), McKinley (1901-), Mildred (1905-1990), Clair Ransom, Pat, Earl Edwin (1918-1945), Carl Warren (born 1920), and two other children that died in infancy. Of these children, Marion Evans Strain followed his father into politics, preceding him as a state representative from Prowers County, an office that he held from 1935-41.

  After establishing roots in the town of Lamar, Cora R. Strain joined with his uncle Morton in the latter's seed, grain, and coal business. Their operation, known as Strain and Strain, underwent a name change in 1901 when another brother, Charles Raymond, joined the firm. Cora and Charles later branched out into the ice and storage business, taking ownership of the Union Ice and Cold Storage Co. in 1908, and in the following year, both helped to open the first public swimming pool in Lamar.

Cora R. Strain as he looked prior to his legislative service.

  Cora Strain would further add to his business resume through the 1900s and 1910s, operating a farm and being a founding organizer and director of the Lamar Gas and Electric Company in 1908; a director of the Lamar Savings and Loan Association beginning in 1913; a member of the Lamar Alf Milling Company, and in 1920 took office as vice president and director of the newly chartered Valley State Bank. Strain and his brother Charles also made headway into the soft drink industry in 1930, when they established a Coca-Cola bottling facility in Lamar, which they continued to operate well into the 1940s. 

  A former president of the Lamar Chamber of Commerce from 1931-32, Strain was also a school board member for nearly two decades and began his political career at the local level with his service on the Lamar city council. He would serve six years on the council, and in 1942 announced his candidacy for the Colorado House of Representatives from Prowers County. After winning the Republican nomination, Strain faced off against Democratic nominee Edward O. Russell. That November Strain eked out a narrow win over Russell, 1,672 to 1,666, and took his seat in the legislature in January 1943.

  The 1943-45 term saw Strain chair the committee on Mercantile and Manufacturing Interests, and also sat as a member of the committees on Banking, Corporations, Indian and Military Affairs, Insurance, and Labor. He would win reelection in 1944 and 1946, and during his final term (1947-49) was named to four new committees, those being Finance, Ways and Means; Printing; Railroads; and Rules. He would be defeated in his bid for a fourth term in November 1948, losing out to Hackett Davidson Smartt. 

  Following his final term in state government, Cora Strain continued residence in Lamar and in 1951 saw his younger brother Leco begin a thirteen-year stint as a state senator from Crowley and Otero County. A Mason and longstanding member of the B.P.O. Elks Lodge, Cora Ransom Strain died in Lamar on April 8, 1960, aged 88. His wife Vella survived him by one year, and following her death in September 1961 was interred alongside him at the Fairmount Cemetery in Lamar. 

Hackett Davidson Smartt (1892-1991)

From the Colorado State Yearbook, 1951.

   Another oddly named Colorado state representative discovered recently, Hackett Davidson Smartt served three consecutive terms in his state's house of representatives and lived to age 98, but despite prominence in state government and a near century-long lifespan, his life largely remains obscure. A native of Tennessee, Hackett Davidson Smartt was born in the settlement of Smartt Station (located in Warren County) on August 18, 1892, the son of Frank George and Anna Belle Smartt. 

  No information could be located in regards to Smartt's early life in Tennessee or the extent of his education, and by 1915 is recorded as a resident of Prowers County, Colorado. He married in that county in April of the following year to Lela Mae Richmond (1889-1978), and the couple's sixty-two-year marriage saw the births of four children, Edward Richmond (1917-1980), Frank Hackett (1918-2008), Jack William (1922-2005) and Bettie Ann (born 1928).

  Following his resettlement in Prowers County, Hackett Smartt became a leader in agricultural circles in his region, operating a farm near the town of Lamar. The first local agent for the Farm Automobile Insurance Company in Lamar, Smartt would serve a decade long tenure as president of the Prowers County Farm Bureau and was elected as vice president of the Colorado State Farm Bureau in 1935. He would be reelected as vice president in 1937, and later was named secretary of the Arkansas River Compact administration, comprising Colorado and Kansas, in the 1950s.

  In 1948 Hackett Smartt won the Democratic primary for state representative from Prowers County and that November won the general election, polling 3,105 votes and defeating another oddly named man, Cora Ransom Strain (1871-1960), who had first been elected to the legislature in 1942. Smartt's first term in the house (1949-51) saw him named to the following committees: Appropriations and Expenditures; Corporations; Counties and County Lines; Irrigation and Water Resources; Livestock; and Public Lands and Forest Reserves. 

  Smartt would win reelection to two further terms in the legislature in 1950 and 1952, and in his last term sat as a member of the committees on Appropriations and Highways. Smartt's life after the conclusion of his legislative largely remains a mystery--unusual when one considers that he lived to be nearly 100 years old! Widowed in 1978, Smartt continued residence in Prowers County and in 1982 celebrated his 90th birthday. He died in Colorado on April 2, 1991, five months short of his 99th birthday. He was survived by three of his children and was interred alongside his wife Lela at the Fairmount Cemetery in Lamar.

Hallett Colwell Gallup (1882-1939)

From the Pueblo Indicator, November 2, 1912.

  The recent discovery of dozens of archived editions of the Colorado State Yearbook has fielded several new odd name discoveries from the "Centennial State", one of whom is profiled today. Hallett Colwell Gallup, a son of one of Pueblo's pioneer business figures, was himself a standout figure in that area's business and political life, being the publisher and owner of the Rio Grande Employe's Publishing Company, as well as a one-term state representative. Born in Colorado on July 26, 1882, Hallett Colwell Gallup was the son of Samuel and Judith (Browne) Gallup. A prominent business figure in the early days of Pueblo County, Samuel C. Gallup earned the title "The man who put Pueblo on the manufacturing map", as he was the founder and owner of the S.C. Gallup Saddlery Company. His stewardship of that business extended until his death in 1904, after which operations passed to his wife and sons Hallett and Boone.

   A student at the Centennial High School in Pueblo, Hallett Gallup furthered his studies at the University of Colorado's law school. Upon his father's death in 1904 he took on a larger role in his family's saddlery company, with which he remained affiliated until his mother sold it to area businessman James Wimmer. Although the company passed into different hands, Hallett and Boone Gallup continued in the saddlery business for a time, operating the Gallup Brothers Saddlery from 1912-17. 

  In addition to his saddlery interests, Hallett C. Gallup gained further distinction through publishing, being the founder, president, and general manager of the Rio Grande Employe's Publishing Company. This business would first publish the Rio Grande Employe's Magazine in 1910, a monthly periodical devoted to the interests of Denver and Rio Grande Southern railroad employees. Gallup himself would serve as the magazine's editor, a position through which he espoused "support and work for labor measures".  

  Gallup's pro-labor stances and "work on behalf of railroad bills" eventually led to calls for him to run for public office, and in 1912 he entered into the Democratic primary race for state representative from Pueblo County. With his business successes touted in the Pueblo Indicator shortly after announcing his candidacy, Gallup was further highlighted as one of the city's rising young Democrats, with the Indicator noting:

"Mr. Gallup is a Pueblo young man full of energy and go, and is rapidly making a business name for himself. He is a good pusher for the town, always ready to help it along, and can be relied upon at all times to be on the side of enterprise and advancement. All classes of people know him and he has the confidence of all because of his well known honesty and openhearted helpfulness."

From the Pueblo Indicator, September 7, 1912.

   Following his Democratic primary win, Gallup hit the campaign trail, and through the remainder of the year notched up several endorsements, including the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, the Order of Railway Conductors, and the Order of Railway Employees. In November 1912 Gallup won the general election, polling 8,176 votes. One of four Pueblo County representatives elected, Gallup's one term in the legislature extended from 1913-15, during which time he sat on the following committees: Elections and Appointments, House Expenses, Printing, State Institutions, and Stock. He would also chair the Committee on Railroads.

  In September 1914 Gallup won the Democratic primary for reelection but lost out in the November general election, victory going to Perry C. Dunlap (Democrat), Alfred S. Andrew (Republican), F.E Wallace (Republican) and F.M Stokes (Republican). Following his defeat for reelection Gallup resided in Washington, D.C. for a time, and by the early 1920s had returned to Colorado, where he would be affiliated with a Pueblo casket company.

  By 1925 Hallett Gallup had again left Colorado, this time settling in California. After his relocation, he married in Orange County on September 10, 1925, to Jessie Emma Bernett. The couple were wed until Hallett's death in 1939 and had one son, George Boone (1926-1973). The 1930 census records Gallup and his family as residents of Oakland, California, and on August 28, 1939, while staying at a Dodge City, Kansas hotel room, Hallett Gallup died unexpectedly of a heart attack. He was later returned to Pueblo, Colorado for burial in the Gallup family plot at the Roselawn Cemetery.