Great weather…great tour…Thank You, Whitewood!

by Norma Kraemer

The Spring Tour of the Lawrence County Historical had 42 participants sign in for a day of perfect weather as we toured the ghost town of Crook City, SD and the survivor of 125 years Whitewood, SD.  The city of Whitewood were our hosts for the day and outdid themselves in teaching us about the history of their town. 

We started the day with the group driving to the site of Crook City.  Jerry Bryant did a great presentation on the location of the old town with a collection of old photographs he used to take us back in time when it was a bustling mining town. When the railroad chose Whitewood as its terminus, it was the death knell of Crook City. Mary Livingston, the Whitewood historian who made the arrangements for the rest of the day, met us at the Crook City location and then led us to Whitewood, pointing out the location of the old railroad bed that went between Whitewood and Deadwood. 

The next location to visit was the Senior Citizen Center in Whitewood, where a delicious lunch waited for us.  The group enjoyed the soup and sandwiches before going on the walking tour of Whitewood (photo above) that Mary led with the assistance of Whitewood Mayor Deb Schmidt. 

Whitewood is observing the 125th anniversary of the town's founding this year, and Mary Livingston has been researching its history. She distributed a great brochure that showed the historic buildings and their stories.  It included the Lane Hotel, the Jones Building, the Uhlig Store, theBonniwell Building, the Whitewood Banking Company Building, the Methodist Church, the Danish-American Creamery, the Whitewood School, and the United Presbyterian Church. At each location the story of Whitewood and its residents unfolded by the able storytellers.  

City Hall had a display of historic photos for all to read and enjoy and the Presbyterian Church windows, dating from about 1911 were enjoyed by all before we ended the wonderful tour with pie and coffee served in the fellowship hall.  

The people of Whitewood made it a pleasure to have our annual Spring Tour.  Thank you!

Editor's note:  Visit our Spring Tour Photo Gallery to get a glimpse of this great tour.

A Black Hills bard

by Jerry L. Bryant

With historical societies just about everywhere you look, aimed at preserving the memory of just about every cause you can imagine, from stage coach robberies to memorable outhouses, I was in amazed the other day when I called the Whitewood Library, and they did not know the name Robert V. Carr. The person I spoke with had no idea of what I was even talking about! So, on a quest, I stood on a street corner in Whitewood to ask passersby if they had ever heard of Carr. The best answer I got was from a little boy who told me for sure that Carr was “that mean old guy that lived over behind the “Hole in the Wall” saloon.

After standing there for a while, I got the feeling that it might be a long time before anyone came by that had ever read anything by Robert V. Carr.

So, here are a few of the known facts about the man: Carr was born in Illinois in 1877. In 1890 his parents, brought him to Rapid City where he attended public schools and after graduation he attended the South Dakota School of Mines. Carr joined the South Dakota Infantry and served in the Philippines. While in the Philippines he contracted a disease, probably malaria, which hastened his discharge from the service. After returning to home Carr held various editorial jobs with the Denver Times, St. Paul Dispatch and the Chicago Evening Post. For a time Carr lived in Whitewood, SD, working as the Editor of the Whitewood Plaindealer. In addition to the Plaindealer Carr published a periodical called "The Jawbone." The small periodical was published in Whitewood, Sd. and combined Carr’s talents in poetry, prose and philosophy.

I first came in contact with "The Jawbone" while searching national newspapers of 1904 to find out what Carr had been up to; I began running into Carr’s poetry, and quotes from The Jawbone in newspapers from all over the lower 48 states. In other words, he enjoyed a national audience. In the last several years I have encountered three copies of different issues of the Jawbone that I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase. The Jawbone’s following put Carr’s name in front of the American public which led Carr to produce a nationally syndicated column called "Character Cameo’s: Do you know anyone like this?" I first ran into this column in the Atlanta Constitution of 1913. In addition to his writing and editorial successes, Carr was considered a range rider and a livestock expert, editing a livestock journal in Sioux City, Iowa for a time.

Carr’s first book was published in 1902 and called Black Hills Ballads. In the Washington Post review of this book he was compared to Bret Hart. His second book was published in 1908 and was called Cowboy Lyrics, and his third and final book, Cowboy Lyrics, Round Up Edition. By the tine his third book came into print Carr and his wife, Estela had moved to the desert near Los Angles For his health. He then began writing Cowboy fiction for Western periodicals, such as True West, and Frontier. By the draft of 1918 Carr listed his full time employment as “magazine writer.” This proved to be his forte and he continued to produce cowboy stories until his death in January of 1931.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Editor's Note: The following is a brief example of Carr’s work:

Prose: A Black Hills Philosopher

Verse: The Chuck Wagon / Tonopah