At the corner of N 22nd Street was an impressive white two story building which was a clear memory for Miami’s Boomers. The building had a history equal to its own dignified look.

It started out in 1930 as a Pierce Pennant Tavern. “Tavern” in this sense is used in its original connotation as a lodging place for the night. Below is the text from a July 21, 1929 News-Record article announcing the tavern.

The Depression was brutal on the chain, and the Miami location closed in 1935. Two years later, a skating rink was opened in the building. In 1940, the Spartan School of Aeronautics took over the property, and the building was converted to offices and barracks, with more barracks built to the west.

And in 1953 or possibly a bit earlier, Winart Pottery moved into the old Pennant building, its large arrow out front a distinctive landmark the rest of the decade.

The building is gone now, Karnes Pro Tire and Auto Center now inhabits the block. But a generation of Miami kids remembers the imposing two story building that was a monument to a luxury hotel chain which was the victim of the Great Depression.

In 1916, a young man named Aymer Scholes received a marriage license in Joplin.

Aymer lived in Picher, and was employed as a mechanic by one of the many mining companies that sprang up virtually overnight. By 1920, he and his bride had relocated to Quapaw, and she was a constant subject of social news in the paper. Eventually, they would reside in Commerce, Aymer’s career tied to mining.

In June, 1944, with a war raging and the mining business brisk, Scholes made a career change, and with partner A.P. Cooper opened Miami Armature Works at 212 NE 1st.

Eventually, Cooper would depart, and another partner would join forces with Scholes, J.D. Helmick.

Around 1964, they moved shop to a brand new metal building at 1925 North Main. The front of the building was done up beautifully in Miami Stone. And that’s where they still are today, over fifty years later.

Son Corbin Helmick runs the shop now, a 75-year-survivor among Miami businesses. The well-worn workbench tells tales of hundreds of motors rewound or otherwise repaired, keeping Miami running.

Here’s to you, Miami Armature Works, for showing the Wardog spirit, and sticking to it.

Miami cofounder Wayland Lykins knew that the infant town needed railroad service. So he donated $30,000 in land for a right of way which the Kansas City, Ft. Scott, and Memphis Railway would use for tracks, and in 1896 they rolled into town for the first time.

In 1901, they were acquired by Frisco, which continued to service the town and expand operations. Frisco built a bridge across the Neosho and ran tracks to Afton that year, and Miami became an artery, with 25-30 trains passing through daily.

In 1908, the Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri Inter-Urban Railway Company built four miles of line heading from Miami north to Hattonville, which was later renamed Commerce. More track was soon added to access the burgeoning mine fields.

There was a trolley in place on Main in 1909, but very little is known about it. A photo shows tracks which look pretty primitive.

In June, 1916, they began laying new trolley tracks up Main Street connecting to the interurban tracks. The first car ran on Thursday, October 12 of that year, entering Main at N 3rd Avenue, and turning around at S 3rd. The non-electrical cars were less than reliable, and the Herald-Record bemoaned their less-than-stellar service record.

In 1919, Miami stockholders purchased the railroad and renamed it the NEO some time afterwards. Besides making freight and passenger runs, the NEO also ran an electrified trolley from SE 3rd all the way to Picher. The trolley would make the trip every 30 minutes, generally. There, customers could debark and jump on a Southwest Electric Railway trolley and ride to Joplin. The trolley service was discontinued in 1934, and the tracks were removed, some sections being simply paved over.

The NEO Railroad was purchased by Eagle-Picher in 1938.

NEO got a shot in the arm when the Goodrich plant went in in 1943, it hauled materials in and tires out until it closed in 1986. Goodrich kept them busy long after the mining industry staggered to a stop.

The third supplier of train service was the Missouri, Oklahoma, and Gulf Railway. They were in business in Miami, using the line that ran along SE H and which crossed the Neosho just south of Riverview Park, since 1913. In 1919, they filed bankruptcy and were reorganized and the Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway took over their holdings. They lasted until 1964, when they were purchased by Texas and Pacific, under the auspices of Missouri-Pacific. They evidently ceased service to Miami at that time, and their roadbed was abandoned.

A fourth railroad company formed in 1917 which deserves a mention: the Miami Mineral Belt Railroad. They were a freight/passenger line which ran from Picher to Quapaw, and terminated at Baxter Springs. In 1923, they leased to Frisco.

While they had Miami in their name, they didn’t actually haul here. It appears that their purpose in life was to give Frisco a shot at the lucrative ore and freight hauling in and out of the mining area. NEO had a virtual monopoly on the business there, but little MMB’s 14.137 miles of track was Frisco’s way of getting in on the fun. In 1950, they were fully absorbed by Frisco and ceased to exist.

Frisco ceased offering passenger service to Miami in 1960. It hadn’t been profitable for at least three years. NEO had already stopped their passenger runs, I have been unable to determine exactly when, probably a year or two earlier.

In 1963, Frisco purchased NEO, but the company retained its name until 1967, when it was dissolved, and Miami was served by one railroad, until Frisco itself was taken over by Burlington-Northern in 1980.

Both Frisco and NEO offered bus service for a time. NEO started out in 1936, having retired the trolley service in 1934. Frisco first advertised in the local paper in 1942. Both ceased operations between the end of WWII and the late 40’s.

Miami has always had movie theaters, it seems. By 1912, the town had seen open for business the Pastime (located where the Cardin building, aka the former Security Bank building, now sits), the Orpheum, the Idle Hour, the Odeon (on the first block of SE 1st), the Starlight, the Lyric (East Central and A), the Airdome, and the Electric Theater, located somewhere on N Main. Most of these theaters didn’t last long.

The Airdome got new life breathed into it when it was purchased in 1912 by J.W. Hatfield and renamed the Auditorium.

The Dreamland opened at 12 South Main, where Security Bank now sits, in 1914. It soon changed its name to the Grand. For a while, the Miami Record-Herald would have big ads from the Grand and the Auditorium running side by side. In 1916, the owners of the Auditorium purchased the Grand and both theaters remained open for business. Late in the year, they purchased the Opera House, which had been sitting idle since 1911, revamped it, and closed the Auditorium. The Opera House was set up with a projector. It was a busy place until the next year, when the building was purchased with the idea of renovating it into office space.

In 1917, the Grand received some competition: the Glory B, which opened directly across the street (at the site of the present-day Jeannie’s). Both of these theaters had stages large enough to accommodate vaudeville acts and live bands.

Both theaters eventually came to be owned by Sarah Cardin Staton. A Staton owning a South Main business was a common situation in the twenties. The Grand lasted until 1928. It apparently never converted to sound, and the rival across the street announced it that year. In fact, the last Grand ad was placed in the News-Record the weekend before the Glory B debuted sound.

On April 18, 1929, the Coleman theater opened. The Coleman also had a vaudeville stage, and Miamians once again had their choice of two theaters to attend.

The article above is valuable because it mentions three obscure playhouses from Miami’s past: the Odeon, the Pastime, and the Airdome. A pre-1917 postcard of South Main shows the Pastime in the ground floor of the Cardin building. The Odeon, as mentioned before, was on the first block of SE 1st. No clue on where the Airdome was.

The Glory B and the Coleman both survived the Great Depression, providing entertainment which was just barely affordable enough, combined with a nice air-conditioned place to escape dust bowl summer heat.

In 1945, Miami again had three theaters, when the Ottawa opened at the same location formerly occupied by the Grand.

The Ottawa from the beginning advertised itself as a second-run theater, and it did well. But in 1949, the theater scene in town would be shook up by the appearance of the drive-in theater. Click the link to read the history of Miami’s drive-ins.

Sometime after 1950 (1951 and 1952 are missing from my newspaper archives), the Glory B closed its doors. By 1953, the Miami Theater had opened there, complete with a gorgeous art deco marquee.

Miami’s theaters peaked in 1954. There were two drive-ins, the Sooner south of town and the Tri-State to the north, and three walk-ins, the Coleman, the Ottawa, and the Miami. The Sooner would close that year after a flood, promising to reopen but never doing so. The Ottawa would close the next year. The Miami would close in 1958. It would reopen for a few weeks in 1961.

Obviously, television was the culprit. As more and more Miami residences obtained the one-eyed monsters, theaters felt the pinch. By the time I came along in the 60’s, it was the Coleman and the former Tri-State, renamed the Sooner early in the decade.

The Tri-State’s site is covered by a Wal-Mart. But the Coleman lives on, in what is one of the greatest historical renovations ever done. The theater where I watched Mary Poppins, The Monkey’s Uncle, and Bonnie and Clyde (thanks, brother Bill, for exposing me to some great edgy entertainment, and making me the coolest kid in the third grade) is much more beautiful now than it was then. The decrepit balcony had already been closed off by the time I was attending there.

Mention should be made of the Thunderbird Twin Theater, which was built on SE 3rd (it was Steve Owens Boulevard by then) circa 1971 by developer John Haralson. The theater remained in operation until some time in the 80’s.

And of course, Miami has a modern multi-screen cineplex. So movie theaters have run continuously here since 1914. That’s impressive, because many communities Miami’s size have stopped supporting them.

In 1912, Miami was nineteen years old. Main Street had recently begun to be paved, but other streets in town were dirt that turned to pure mud in a rain. Oklahoma, the state, had been in existence for five years. And OK Plumbing Company was born.

Lisle Torbert and his father, William, and a partner, Theodore Potts set up shop at East Central, close to what would be known as the Cardin Building, Security Bank’s long-time home. They had a store with a section where the newest plumbing fixtures were displayed. By summer, Potts was bought out and it was a Torbert business.

In 1913, two spinsters were scandalized by the appearance of one of those new-fangled flush toilets, right there for the whole world to see! When Torbert’s new wife refused to remove the offending fixture, the ladies took great pains to stay on the opposite side of the street.

In the 1919 city guide, OK Plumbing is listed at 104 North Main.

By 1927, they had moved to their location remembered by Miami baby boomers: 34 North Main. That address was shared by the Canteen, a news shop/snack bar/delivery service/bus station. They stayed there for the rest of their existence.

By 1929, OK Plumbing was well-enough established to land the job of plumbing the five story building being built for First National Bank. With a Depression on, it was welcome work. That winter, temperatures dropped to -25, but the plumbing held up during construction, and is still working fine. Indeed, buildings all over Miami have OK Plumbing-supplied pipes and fixtures.

Around 1964, Lisle Torbert Sr. passed away, and Junior took over. Lisle senior was active in the local Lions Club, and Lisle junior kept up the tradition. Both ended up 50+ year members, and Lisle senior’s wife managed the Lions Eye Bank for many years.

The Torbert family was honored by the Lions when the park at 1802 NE E was dedicated in their honor in June, 1957. The park was actually named for Lisle senior. The park is still there, by the way.

OK Plumbing stayed at it until the late 90’s, when Lisle decided to retire. But it had an amazing run, beginning with a horse-drawn wagon, and ending close to the 21st century.

In 1919, the city guide listed a grocery store at 602-604 S Main, evidently co-owned by S. Lee Hall and Silas E. Holland.

In the 1925 guide, there was a Golden Rule Grocery listed there. My News-Record access goes back to 1927. This article about the Golden Rule robbery was from October 3, 1927.

I recently gained access to newspaperarchive.com, which allowed me to go as far back as 1926. Note this death notice:

This newspaper report is dated September 4, 1927, about a 17-month-old J.W. Nott being hit by a car in front of 310 S Main, the location of a home AND a store owned by J.B. Nott. Note that other articles give 301 as Nott’s address, this is a typo. The 1925 city guide shows that address was a residence only for John Nott, his occupation listed as “dray.” There are no Notts in the 1919 city guide.

The Golden Rule wasn’t mentioned in the paper after 1927, except for a disputed tax in 1928 which often happened after a business closed.

In January, 1928, a two-room apartment was listed for rent at 301 S Main in the name of Nott Grocery.

On April 5, 1929, the first printed ad appeared in the paper giving Nott’s Grocery an address of 604 S Main. They bought out the Golden Rule grocery and relocated to their present-day address.

Then, sealing the deal, I found a mention of Nott’s celebrating their 41st year in a 1967 ad.

However, since the Golden Rule grocery that they bought out was established in 1919, they can indeed claim a history dating to that year.

So there you have it. John Nott, former dray, founded Nott’s Grocery in 1926, at 301 S Main. When they bought out the Golden Rule Grocery, they moved three blocks south to 604.

On May 6, 1941, the News-Record presented a nice three-page summary of Miami’s history. Here they are for your viewing pleasure, click on each image to open it full-sized in a new window.

History is history, and some of it is unpleasant. The page above gives some rare published evidence of Miami’s sundown policy, and the 1941 article makes it pretty obvious that it was still in effect at that time. It was always an “unwritten law, ” however, never on the books.