Mintle Emmett Hostetter (1891-1961)

 

From the Napanee Advance News, March 2, 1961.

   A two-term mayor and city councilman in Nappanee, Indiana, Mintle Emmett Hostetter had earlier attained prominence in the American Legion, being the commander of two lodges, and was an active Mason, Kiwanis Club president, and Shriner. The son of Emmett and Jennie Lee Hostetter, Mintle "Mint" Hostetter was born on August 11, 1891, in Indiana. His education occurred in the state of his birth and in 1913 entered into his first business venture, purchasing an interest in the Shirley restaurant in Walkerton, Indiana. 

  Hostetter's residency in Walkerton saw him run for his first political office in 1913, being an unsuccessful candidate for township trustee. A veteran of WWI, the duration and particulars of his service remain largely unknown, except notice of his being a sergeant in the 159th Depot Brigade. After the war's end, Hostetter would be active in the American Legion in Indiana, being the commander of the Elkhart County 40 and 8, commander of the World War I Veteran's Barracks 399 of Nappanee, and was a member of the Napanee American Legion post #154. Hostetter also served as district commander of the state American Legion and was past vice commander for the Northern Indiana district.

  On the business front, Hostetter was a partner in the clothing company Hatfield and Hostetter of Nappanee, which also employed his wife Jane. The company later added a tailoring business, and some years after the death of his partner Hostetter sold the company to Warren and Rosemarie Rosbrugh. Hostetter entered Napanee politics in the 1940s with his election to the city council, where he served for two terms. In 1947 he announced his candidacy for mayor, and that November was elected, besting Citizens Party candidate William Wedmoyer, 591 votes to 479. He served two four-year terms (1948-56) and one year into his term proclaimed "Kids Day" in the city on November 19, 1949. In connection with the Kiwanis Club (of which he was a member), Hostetter's decree saw:

"Duly chosen children of our community shall briefly serve as officials of our city government. That we shall honor our most prized possessions and be ever ready to help those in need."

  In November 1955 Hostetter was defeated in his bid for a third term by Democrat J. Maxwell Close in a close race,  617 votes to 640. In addition to his business and political doings, Hostetter held memberships in a number of fraternal groups in Elkhart County, including the presidency of the Napanee Kiwanis Club, president of the Napanee Chamber of Commerce, Worshipful Master of the Masonic Lodge of Walkertown, member of the Nappanee Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, the Nappanee Chapter of Royal Arch Masons and was a member of the Shriners of Hammond. 

  Mintle E. Hostetter's final years were marred by ill health, and he died at a veterans hospital in Fort Wayne on February 25, 1961, at age 69. His wife Mary Jane survived him by four years, and following her death in 1965 was interred alongside him at Nappanee's South Union Cemetery.

  

From the Napanee Advance News, October 30, 1947.

Worl Worden Thompson (1897-1961)

From the Caldwell Journal, June 25, 1953.

   December begins a month-long stay in Ohio to profile a number of unusually named Buckeye State politicians. The first of these individuals to be profiled is Worl Worden Thompson, an auto dealer and popular business figure in Noble County for forty years. The founder of one of the oldest automotive dealerships in Noble County, Thompson attained additional prominence through public service, being a two-term state representative and one-term mayor of Caldwell. A native of West Virginia, Worl Worden Thompson was born in the village of Silver Hill on August 18, 1897.

  Following his birth, Thompson and his family removed to Pleasant Valley in Marion County, where he attended "small country schools." Early in his life, Thompson entered into automotive sales in Moundsville, West Virginia, and continued in business in Woodsfield, where he was employed at a Maxwell dealership. Worl Thompson married Madge O. Laudin (1898-1954) in the 1910s and had three daughters, Etta V. (1918-2000), June (1920-1952), and Mary (1921-1998).

  In 1921 Thompson and his family removed to Noble County, Ohio.  Settling in Caldwell, he established a Dodge dealership and several years later expanded his business with his purchase of the John Beckett building, a former livery stable and skating rink. By the mid-1920s, Thompson's dealership had added Studebaker products to its inventory, and in 1929 he was elected as president of the Caldwell Businessmen's Club for a one year term. 

  With his name firmly established in the Noble County business sector by 1930, Worl Thompson entered local politics with his election to the Caldwell city council. In January 1930 he was named to the council committee on streets, and continued to serve as a councilman into May 1933, when he was named as mayor of Caldwell. This appointment was occasioned by the illness and resignation of Mayor George Stanley "G.S." Ullman, and Thompson served as acting mayor "until after the fall election."

From the Newark Advocate, May 27, 1933.

   Following his brief tenure as mayor Thompson set his sights on higher office, and in 1938 announced his candidacy for the Ohio House of Representatives. In the August Republican primary Thompson emerged victorious, besting three term incumbent Samuel M. Frakes by a vote of 1,088 to 895. He would win the general election in November and took his seat at the start of the 1939-41 session. He won a second term in 1940, and during the 1941-43 term backed the creation of an Ohio Air Forest Patrol that would combat forest fires that had occurred in 18 eastern Ohio counties. In 1942 Thompson emerged as a candidate for member of the Ohio Republican State Central Committee, but withdrew his candidacy that June. 

  During World War II Thompson aided in the ongoing war effort by closing his garage and entering into defense department work. In 1942 he closed his garage and traveled to Dayton to begin work with the Pratt-Whitney engine department at the Patterson Dayton Airfield (now called Wright Patterson Air Force Base). He would later return to his automive business in Caldwell, and from 1945-46 served as president of the Noble County Chamber of Commerce.

  An active club man in his region, Thompson was a member of the Noble Lodge No. 459 of Free and Accepted Masons, the Olive Grange,  and the Noble County Fish and Game Association. He and his family were members of the Caldwell First Methodist Church, and in November 1951 he was honored with a belated 25-year plaque at the regional meeting of Dodge and Plymouth Dealers held in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

From the Caldwell Journal, November 29, 1961.

  In 1952 Worl Thompson was beset by tragedy, suffering the deaths of his wife Madge and daughter June. He continued with his business interests in Caldwell through the 1950s, and in 1959 again served on the Caldwell city council. Thompson's final months were marred by impaired health, and on March 19, 1961, died at his home in Caldwell, aged 63. He was survived by his daughters Etta and Mary and was interred in the Thompson family plot at the Olive Cemetery in Caldwell.

From the Caldwell Journal, March 20, 1961.

Eutus Poland Bunkley (1882-1961)

Portrait from the Abilene Register-News, October 6, 1948.

   A  well-known physician based in Stamford, Texas, Eutus Poland Bunkley practiced medicine for over four decades and was a former president of the Texas Surgical Society in the late 1940s. A lifelong resident of Texas, Bunkley earns a place here on the site due to his service as Mayor of Stamford, an office that he would hold for two terms.

    Born in Farmersville, Texas on November 22, 1882, Eutus Poland "E.P." Bunkley was one of nine children born to James Edward and Elizabeth (Henslee) Bunkley. Deciding upon a career in medicine at an early age, Bunkley enrolled at the Tulane Medical School and earned his medical degree in the class of 1907. Soon after his graduation he removed to Stamford to join his uncle in the practice of medicine and would remain there for the remainder of his life. Bunkley married in Stamford around 1910 to Lutie Allen (1887-1970). The couple were wed for over five decades and later had three children: Dorothy (1911-1998), Thomas Allen (1914-1985) and Ann (1924-2009-).

Portrait from the Tulane University Yearbook, 1907.

   In the early 1920s, Bunkley and three other Stamford-based physicians joined together to help form the Stamford Sanitarium, with construction beginning in 1922. The facility would be enlarged in 1927, and previous to its establishment Bunkley had been affiliated with a Stamford-based nursing school beginning in 1910.

   Active in the civic life of Stamford in addition to practicing medicine, Bunkley was a past president of that town's Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club. In 1933 he entered into his first term as Mayor of Stamford and was later reelected to that post, serving until 1937. During his mayoralty, Bunkley oversaw the construction of a $155,000 reservoir made possible by the New Deal's Public Works Administration and also was the principal speaker at an Albany, Texas Lions Club meeting in July 1936.

   Bunkley retired from the practice of medicine in 1946 and two years later gained additional prominence when he was elected as President of the Texas Surgical Society for the upcoming year. He continued to be a prominent figure in Stamford until his death at the Stamford Sanitarium on July 26, 1961. Bunkley's obituary notes that he had been a patient there since suffering a heart attack a week prior to his death. Both he and his wife were interred at the Highland Cemetery in Stamford. 

Humboldt Hunter Cummins (1873-1961)

Portrait courtesy of the Legislative Library of Texas.

  Today marks a return to the Lonestar State to highlight the political doings of another oddly named Texas state legislator. Humboldt Hunter Cummins (nicknamed "Hum") was for over four decades a practicing attorney in Grayson County, Texas. Cummins would serve Grayson as its County Attorney for four years and later served a term in his state's House of Representatives.

  Born in Denison, Texas on March 12, 1873, Humboldt Hunter Cummins was one of several children born to James Hunter (a former Judge) and Helen Morrison Cummins. "Hum" Cummins would attend the public schools of Grayson County and in the early 1890s began the study of law at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a member of the school's baseball and football teams. He earned his bachelor of laws degree in the class of 1894 and shortly after his graduation returned to Denison to establish a law practice.

  Cummins first entered Denison's political life at the age of just 24,  being elected as Denison City Attorney. He would serve in that post until 1902 and two years later was named as assistant county attorney for Grayson County. In September 1904 Cummins married in Denison to Nellie Moore (1874-1959), to whom he was wed for over fifty years. The couple would remain childless through the entirety of their marriage.

  After several years away from elective office, "Hum" Cummins was elected as Grayson County Attorney, a post he would continue to hold for four years. An ardent Democrat, Cummins is remarked by the "History of Texas and Texans" as having been "one of the influential party men of his section", and continued his political ascent in 1920 when he was elected as one of three representatives from Grayson County to the Texas state legislature.

"Hum" Cummins, from the History of Texas and Texas, 1914.

   Taking his seat at the start of the 1921-23 session, Cummins proved to be busy as a freshman representative, serving on a total of five committees during his term, those being Banks and Banking; Constitutional Amendments; Insurance; Judiciary; and Oil, Gas, and Mining. Cummins' time in the statehouse also saw him sit on the "Neinast Investigating" committee, responsible for examining evidence related to the contested election of Washington County representative Henry J. Neinast. 

  Following his brief time in state government, Cummins returned to his law practice in Denison. A longstanding member of the local Elks Lodge, Cummins was also a member of the Grayson County Chamber of Commerce as well as a charter member of the Denison Lions Club. Widowed in 1959, Humboldt Hunter Cummins died in Denison on October 3, 1961, at age 88. Both he and his wife were interred at the Fairview Cemetery in Denison, Texas.

Humboldt H. Cummins, from the October 1961 Texas State Bar Journal.

Stellar Rudolph Light (1877-1961)

   A one-time mayor of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Dr. Stellar Rudolph Light was a prominent physician in his native state who in his later years became an educational and medical benefactor to institutions of higher learning throughout Michigan. Light is honored today on the fifty-second anniversary of his death as the newest profile to be added to the site, and I must note that his unusual first name took a fair bit of digging to locate! While the information on Light's medical and public career is readily available online, nearly all of the sources mentioning him give his name as "S. Rudolph Light". After some hours of tedious searching in medical journals and newspapers of the time, Light's first name was revealed to be "Stellar", and judging by his success in the fields of medicine and public service, he was aptly named!!

   Born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania on March 2, 1877, Stellar Rudolph Light was one of two sons born to the Rev. Ezekiel Hoffer Light (1834-1903) and the former Katherine Ann Bowman. Light's early years in Pennsylvania are unknown at the time of this writing, as is his education.  What is known is that Light decided upon a career as a physician at an early age and eventually enrolled at the University of Michigan's Department of Medicine and Surgery around 1900. Light's name is listed as a "third-year student" in the 1903 General Register of the University of Michigan and notes that he was a resident of Dayton, Ohio. 

                                           From the 1903 University of Michigan Register.

   In 1904 Light graduated from the University of Michigan and in that same year became an assistant physician at the Kalamazoo State Hospital. His tenure here lasted until 1907, and at some point afterward established a private practice in Kalamazoo. Sources of the time also list him as an "mfg. pharmacist" in that city. Light married in Kalamazoo on June 25, 1908, to Ms. Rachel Winifred Upjohn (1880-1929) with whom he had one son, Rudolph Alvin Light (1909-1970). Rudolph Alvin followed in his father's footsteps and became a noted medical practitioner, later serving as an associate professor of surgery and director of surgical research at Vanderbilt University during the 1950s. He gained further distinction when he was named a Commander of the British Empire in 1964 for his earlier service as an educational benefactor and visiting professor of surgery at Oxford. In an interesting historical tidbit, Rudolph Alvin married in 1960 to Ann Rork (1908-1988), a former actress and ex-wife of prominent American billionaire Jean Paul Getty (1892-1976).

   In addition to Dr. Rudolph Alvin, Winifred Upjohn had another son from a previous marriage named Richard Upjohn (1902-1994). Light adopted Richard upon marrying Winifred in 1908 and eventually gave the boy his own last name. Richard Upjohn Light would go on to prominence in his own right, becoming a noted surgeon, pioneer aviator, cinematographer, author, and President of the American Geographical Society from 1947-1950.

  While continuing to practice medicine, Light and his father-in-law William Erastus Upjohn (1853-1932) established the Orchard Hills Realty Company in 1916. William Upjohn was already an established figure in Kalamazoo and had established the Upjohn Pharmaceutical Company in 1886. S. Rudolph Light first joined this company in 1907 and later became one of its vice presidents in the mid-1910s. In 1919 Light was named as a trustee of the Michigan State Psychopathic Hospital at Ann Arbor, and continued in this position until becoming Mayor of Kalamazoo.

This notice on Light's election as Mayor appeared in the Benton Harbor Palladium in 1929.

   In November 1929 Light was elected as the Mayor of Kalamazoo, Michigan, succeeding outgoing mayor Edward Kennedy who had declined to enter that year's race. Light's inauguration as mayor was somewhat dampened by the passing of his wife Winifred, who had died in April of that year at age of 48. Light's term as Mayor concluded in 1931 and in the following year he served as a member of the Kalamazoo City Commission under newly elected mayor Lewis C. Wright. Dr. Light continued involvement in political affairs by serving as a delegate to the Republican National Convention from Michigan in 1936 and 1940. In the mid-1940s he was named as the President of the American National Bank of Kalamazoo. 

   In his later years, Light found further distinction as a philanthropist and educational benefactor, donating large sums of money to various institutions both in Michigan and elsewhere. In 1955 he donated funds that led to the establishment of the S.R. Light Laboratory at Vanderbilt University and the S. Rudolph Light Fund as well as the S. Rudolph Light Medical Scholarship were also established in his name.

   Stellar Rudolph Light died in Wisconsin at the Milwaukee Sanitarium on January 27, 1961, at age 84. His death notice gives note that Light had been a resident of that facility since September of 1960 and he was later returned to Kalamazoo to be buried in that city's Mountain Home Cemetery. This cemetery is also notable for being the final resting place of oddly named Michigan Governor, legislator, and State Supreme Court justice Epaphroditus Ransom (1798-1859), profiled here back in July of 2011.

This death notice for Light appeared in the Benton Harbor Palladium in 1961.