Walker’s expertise tapped to decorate Twain’s home
In attendance at the Nov. 30, 1936 luncheon in the dining room of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home were: Attorney George A. Mahan, a Hannibal authority on Mark Twain, and president of the Missouri State Historical Society, center; Floyd C. Shoemaker, Columbia, secretary of the Missouri State Historical Society, the honored guest, pictured at Mr. Mahan’s right; Morris Anderson, chairman of the Municipal Board of Control of Mark Twain Properties, to Mr. Mahan’s left, and Judge B.E. Bigger, vice president of the Mark Twain Commission, is pictured at far right. The identification of the two men at left in the photo, taken by Frazer, is unclear. Others in attendance at this luncheon were David S. Griffith, of the Hannibal Chamber of Commerce, and Sinclair Mainland, mayor of Hannibal. (Identities of those seated at the table compiled by Mary Lou Montgomery, based upon historical reference.)
MARY LOU MONTGOMERY
Charles J. Walker, (1889-1968) a son of South Hannibal, built a reputation during his lifetime as a recognized antiques expert.
A feather in his cap came on Nov. 30, 1936, when he provided the table decorations and place settings for an elegant luncheon for local dignitaries, in recognition of the 101st anniversary of Samuel L. Clemens’ birth. The luncheon was served in the dining room of the Twain boyhood home, at 206 Hill St. The menu was selected from the Lady’s Book of 1857 and Peterson’s Magazine of 1868, and food was prepared in the home’s kitchen.
Mr. Walker loaned his family’s heirloom dinner service, which was used for the luncheon, (see accompanying photo). The dinner service had been handed down from his grandmother, Mrs. James Foley. He also loaned glassware - part of a rare collection of antiques - an early American pattern of pressed glass.
Six notables sat down in the boyhood home’s dining room for an old-fashioned luncheon:
Floyd C. Shoemaker, Columbia, was guest of honor. He was secretary of the Missouri State Historical Society;
Attorney George A. Mahan, who, along with his wife, gifted the Mark Twain Boyhood Home to the city of Hannibal in 1912;
Sinclair Mainland, mayor of Hannibal;
David S. Griffith, president of the Hannibal Chamber of Commerce;
Morris Anderson, chairman of the Municipal Board of Control of the Mark Twain Properties; and
Judge B.E. Bigger, vice president of the Mark Twain Commission.
A special presentation was made following the luncheon: The Hannibal Chamber of Commerce presented the deed to the four-room stone and brick house next door to the west, at 208 Hill Street, to the city of Hannibal. The building was designated as a museum in which to store and exhibit Twain memorabilia.
(During 1935, a temporary museum had been established in the basement of the Hannibal Trust Building, at 226-228 Broadway.)
The boyhood home itself had been gifted to the city of Hannibal in 1912, by Mr. and Mrs. George A. Mahan, in order to help perpetuate the legend of Sam Clemens, whose boyhood was spent - in part - in this house.
During the ensuing years, the house become an increasingly popular tourist attraction, drawing both national and international visitors.
Decoration begins
Following the gifting of the museum building to the city in November 1936, work began in earnest to artfully display Twain memorabilia inside the museum.
Simultaneously, work began on the redecoration of the boyhood home’s interior. Once again, Charles Walker was tapped for this project.
Careful attention was given to decorating the home in the same period as which Sam Clemens occupied the house as a child.
The work was authorized by the municipal Mark Twain Board. A scrapbook-pasted newspaper article from Aug. 18, 1938, indicates that Charles J. Walker, “was in sole charge of assembling and arranging the furnishings,” which has “wrought an appearance of naturalness without giving it a museum-like touch.”
Walker, “assembled articles of authentic date to make the home appear a livable, usable dwelling as furnished by a family of Mark Twain’s day in moderate circumstances.”
Walker was described as “a well known Hannibal authority on antiques and period furniture.”
All of the furniture included in the house in 1938, “was obtained within a radius of 150 miles of Hannibal and many of the pieces were acquired from descendants of Hannibal families of Mark Twain’s day.”
Furnishings for the room Sam Clemens occupied as a child included a four-poster, rope-sprinted bed with valances.
The family bedroom was furnished with a four-poster bed with rope springs, a painted chair, a chest of drawers, a washstand and “splasher.”
The parlor featured an old bookcase used in Hannibal in 1850. A small stove made in 1847 was part of the furnishings, along with horsehair-covered chairs.
The furnishings also included a table made of solid walnut one-piece boards.
Another luncheon
A year later, on Nov. 30, 1937, ten special guests were present at a luncheon in the dining room of the Twain boyhood home, in honor of the 102nd anniversary of Sam Clemens’ birth.
Arthur J. Mulvihill, mayor of Hannibal;
Morris Anderson, chairman of the Municipal Mark Twain Board;
E.D.V. Dickey, president of the Mark Twain Commission;
Virgel Dent, president of the Hannibal Area Chamber of Commerce;
Victor Jory, movie performer in the Selznick production of Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer. He was cast as Injun Joe;
Cora Sue Collins, movie performer in the Selznick production of Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer. She was originally cast as Becky Thatcher, but was later deemed too tall, was switched to the role of Amy Lawrence;
Charles Tressler Lark, trustee of Mark Twain’s Estate;
State Senator Allen McReynolds, of Carthage, president of the Missouri State Historical Society;
Floyd C. Shoemaker, secretary of the society; and
Mrs. D.D. Mahan, whose husband is the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. George A. Mahan, who gave Mark Twain’s home to the city of Hannibal.
Table settings
Table linens, loaned by Mrs. Harry Morris, were formerly owned by Mrs. John Garth, who used them when entertaining for Mark Twain;
The silverware was the property of Miss Aileen Davidson;
A silver soup tureen, more than 100 years old, was loaned by Mrs. Ben Ely;
Glassware, a part of a rare collection of antiques, was loaned by Charles J. Walker, who also directed the table arrangements and decorations;
A music box, then 70 years old, was loaned by Miss Reba Blackwell. During the luncheon, it played old-time tunes; and
A silver caster was provided by Mrs. Frank Russell.
Sweets remembers
Henry Sweets, retired curator of the Mark Twain Museum, remembers Charles J. Walker. When a boy, Sweets lived with his family at 207 N. Sixth, and Walker, who died in 1968, lived nearby at 107 S. Sixth.
While the 1930s-era redecoration of the Twain home occurred long before Sweets’ time, he suspects that Charles Walker also had a hand in decorating the Twain law office and the Pilaster House.
In 1938, the caretakers of the home were Frank L. and Luvena Tribble Lakin, and they lived on the premises. Mr. Lakin died in 1971, and Mrs. Lakin died in 1997. They are buried at Morgan County, Ill.
Visitors
1940, according to the Marion County Standard, 44,202 visitors registered at Mark Twain’s boyhood home and museum in Hannibal during 1939. Every state and a number of foreign countries were represented.
Mrs. Luvena Lakin, seated at left, and her husband, Frank L. Lakin, were caretakers of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home in 1938. Seated, at right, is Doris Scheiner, one of caretaker assistants. In the background, Mrs. Burley Jones of Jacksonville, Ill., looks over the books in the home’s bookcase. At the time of this photo, which was published in an unidentified newsmagazine in 1938, the furnishings of the boyhood home had been reconfigured to the period of Sam Clemens’ boyhood by Charles J. Walker, (1889-1968) a noted Hannibal antique dealer. As caretakers, the Lakins lived in the boyhood home.
The Hannibal Chamber of Commerce purchased the brick and stone building to the west of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home, and presented the deed to the city of Hannibal on Nov. 30, 1936. D.S. Griffith, chamber president, is pictured second from the left, presenting the deed to Hannibal mayor, Sinclair Mainland (third from the left.) At far left is Morris Anderson. To the left of D.S. Griffith are: Floyd C. Shoemaker, George A. Mahan and B.E. Bigger. Photo from Steve Chou’s vast collection.
Following Charles Walker’s death, Parrish and Yancey Auction Service conducted an auction in order to settle his estate. The Admiral Coontz Armory, Third and Collier, was reserved for the auction, due to the crowd expected to attend. A fee of $1 was to be collected from each person attending, with that fee to be credited to the account of the purchasers. Walter G. Stillwell, a cousin-in-law of Mr. Walker, was the estate executor. Advertisement from the Sept. 19, 1968 edition of the Quincy Herald Whig.
Mary Lou Montgomery retired as editor of the Hannibal (Mo.) Courier-Post in 2014. She researches and writes narrative-style stories about the people who served as building blocks for this region’s foundation. Books available on Amazon.com by this author include but are not limited to: "The Notorious Madam Shaw," "Pioneers in Medicine from Northeast Missouri,” “Hannibal’s ‘West End,’” “Oakwood: West of Hannibal,” and “St. Mary’s Avenue District.” Montgomery can be reached at Montgomery.editor@yahoo.com Her collective works can be found at www.maryloumontgomery.com
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