Mary Kirk Kelly: Joplin Junior College Teacher

Legendary American Ceramic Artist (aka as ceramist)

The second woman to be highlighted this year is Mary Kirk Kelly.  Coincidentally, she also lived at 101 North Sergeant Avenue between 1958 and 1963.  Mary Kirk had no relationship or association with Dora Kneeland or the Williams family. 

Mary Kirk was born in Axis, Alabama on December 24, 1918 and died on May 6, 2013.  She had two daughters, Mary Elizabeth and Ruth.  We interviewed Mary Elizabeth by phone in May 2021 and she said her father was “out of the picture” when she was seven years old, but that didn’t stop her mother from achieving a remarkable career.  Mary Kirk had a Bachelor of Arts from Alabama College; a Master of Arts from Vanderbilt University; and graduated from George Peabody College for Teachers. 

Mary Kirk was on the faculty at Joplin Junior College (precursor to Missouri Southern State University) between 1957 and 1963.  She taught American history, U. S. government and sociology; and was the faculty advisor for the student senate.  She was the faculty advisor for the first Model United Nations Convention that Joplin Jr. College attended in 1963 and accompanied the student delegates from Joplin to St. Louis for the event.  The Model UN languished at the college in the 1970s but in 1984, Dr. Paul Teverow restarted the program which continues today.

Mary Kirk was also chairman of United Nations Day in Joplin, which was held at the city’s famed (nonextant) Connor Hotel roof garden.  In October 1962, she was presented a service award for her efforts in promoting interest in the observance of United Nations Day.  The plaque was signed by President John Kennedy and Robert Benjamin, president of the U.S. committee of the U.N.  She was commended for her outstanding job in promoting Joplin’s first U.N. Day.  The U.N. works to improve the lot of mankind and maintaining world peace. 

The Joplin branch of the American Association of University Women also benefited from her involvement, membership, and chairmanship in international relations. 

She retired from teaching in the early 1970s and moved back to her ancestral home, Kirk House, in Alabama.  There she was prolific in creating ceramic art pieces from clay that she gathered from nearby Gunnison Creek.  Before long, Mary Kirk produced realistic, true-to-life size ceramic fruits, vegetables, nuts, berries, eggs, pineapples, mushrooms, potatoes, leaves, magnolia blossoms, Osage oranges, and even shrimp.  She also produced utilitarian porcelain art pieces such as tureens, bowls, plates, and tea sets that looked like cabbage, lettuce, or melons; ceramic plaques with daisies; candlesticks fashioned after banana stalks; and trays that looked like banana leaves.  People from all over the world purchased and collected her art pieces.

Mary Kirk Kelly

According to the Worth Point website, “Both her artistry and painstaking attention to detail are obvious.  Each is made by hand from earthenware or porcelain clay in liquid form (slip).  Ms. Kelly hand sculpts the greenware, then paints it before bisque firing.  After firing, she brushes or sponges metallic oxide colorants to capture the realism so highly prized by collectors.  Each piece is signed by Ms. Kelly.  They range in size from 3” to 6”.  Generally, her works sell in the $175 to $300 range (per piece), depending on the intricacy of the design.  These look beautiful in just an ordinary fruit basket.  People WILL try to eat them…”

To view or purchase some of Mary Kirk’s works of art, just search the internet under Mary Kirk Kelly, American Artist.

United Nations Day, celebrated every year on October 24th, marks the anniversary of the UN Charter that was ratified in 1945.  There is no other global organization with the legitimacy, convening power and normative impact of the United Nations.  Today, the urgency for all countries to come together, to fulfil the promise of the nations united, has rarely been greater.

Mary Kirk Kelly

Enclosed roof garden on the Connor Hotel pictured in 1916.  Joplin Historical & Mineral Museum.

The Connor Hotel pictured courtesy of the Mark & Paula Callihan archives

Missouri Southern State University, Joplin has continued the Model United Nations class.  Every November they take students to the American Model United Nations conference in Chicago.  According to Dr. Chad Stebbins, MSSU professor of journalism and director of the Institute of International Studies, “The students usually represent the country that is the focus of MSSU’s themed semester that fall.  In Fall 2022, they represented the Czech Republic.  In Fall 2023, they will represent Ireland.”  Dr. Stebbins is also the author of Joplin’s Connor Hotel; first published in 2021.

Woman’s History Month…Two Untold Stories

Dora Annabelle Jesse Kneeland…The woman behind a famous seasoning

Dora was born in Diamond, Missouri in 1879 and moved to Joplin in 1895.  Her husband, Guy Kneeland was an engineer for a zinc mine and passed away in 1923.   Dora eventually came to live at 101 North Sergeant Avenue with a daughter, son-in-law, and grandson until her death on July 29, 1945.   Dora was a member of the Zinc Rebekah Lodge and First Baptist Church.

Why is Dora’s story special and carries on to present day?  The answer begins with Dora’s son-in-law, Cecil LeRoy “Roy” Williams, who was the founder of the C. L. Williams Chili Seasoning Company, now known as Williams Foods, Inc.

According to the Williams Foods website, a 1998 article in the Biz Journal (Kansas City), and a 2008 article in Ingram’s magazine, Mr. Williams started the Williams Chili Seasoning company in Webb City in 1937 and began by “…selling his mother’s chili seasonings…” in small brown paper bags and selling them out of his home.  However, there are two wrinkles to this account.  According to Dr. Benjamin Rosenberg, it wasn’t Roy’s mother’s recipe—it was Dora’s, his mother-in-law’s recipe.  The other wrinkle is the location and date.  According to a 1972 Joplin Globe article, “Many years ago, in a small garage in Joplin, (at Roy’s home) using a blender just about the size of today’s coffee blender, the original formulation of pure spices and seasonings were combined by C. L. Williams, the beginning of Williams’s Foods, Inc.”

The 1939 Joplin City Directory shows the Williams family living in Joplin at 101 North Sergeant Avenue.  The Rosenberg family lived across the street at 101 South Sergeant.  

Dr. Benjamin Rosenberg is a long-time Joplin resident, former City Councilman, and local dentist.  Dr. Rosenberg says the seasoning was made in the (extant) detached garage behind the William’s house on Sergeant Avenue.  While attending Columbia Elementary School (five blocks north at E Street and Sergeant Avenue) “Benji” would often ride his bicycle home for lunch.  At that time, Columbia did not serve lunch.  On some days Benji would eat chili for lunch served by the Williams family.  During the cooking, Dr. Rosenberg said, “You could smell chili all over the neighborhood.”

It appeared that no one else was selling packaged seasoning mixes for home use.  Later Mr. Williams was the first seasonings maker to put the product in aluminum pouches.  Once established, Mr. Williams approached the City of Joplin for a special use permit so that he could legally continue the process in his garage.  According to Dr. Rosenberg, City officials denied the request.  Mr. Williams moved his operation from the “small garage” to Webb City around 1942, although some reports site 1945.  However, the family continued to cook chili and the aroma filled the air.     
Interestingly, Roy continued his “real job” as the purchasing agent for Myers Motor Supply Company at 5th Street and Wall Avenue between 1925 and 1952.  Roy died in 1975 and his wife Ida in 1988.

The seasoning’s popularity grew and was distributed throughout the Midwest.  Mr. Williams sold the firm to Conrad Hock, Jr. in 1963 (although some reports site 1961) who continued operating under the Williams brand at the 1502 South Madison plant in Webb City.  By 1972, the seasoning was sold in some 30 states, many countries, and military commissaries.  In 1984, Hock moved the company to Lenexa, Kansas, which was not well received by Webb City residents and is still lamented today!  The company was sold again in March 2008 to C. H. Guenther & Son, LLC.  The manufacturing plant is still in Lenexa with the Guenther corporate office in San Antonio, Texas.

Thank you, Dora Kneeland, for creating a chili seasoning mix that started in a humble Joplin garage and continues to help people get dinner on the table some 86 years later.

The Fred & Red’s chili (spaghetti red) recipe is closely guarded, but many cooks believe the secret ingredient is Williams Chili Seasoning.  Fred & Red’s restaurant is located at 1719 South Main Street, Joplin.

Williams Chili Seasoning packets can be purchased at G & W Cash Saver Grocery Store at 811 West 7th Street, Joplin and across America.  Visit https://williamsfoods.com for the product locator then type in a zip code.

Edna Catherine Jackson Houk

Edna Catherine Jackson Houk | Mrs. William Houk
218 South Sergeant Avenue | Joplin Missouri | Circa 1903 | Extant
Edna was an active worker in the cause of prohibition, a supporter of everything tending to uplift and better the community, and one of America’s early leaders in the cause for women’s rights.

Edna was born, August 15, 1852 in Eckford, Calhoun County, Michigan.

She married William Houk in 1891.

William was born in Dayton, Ohio on January 20, 1859 and died February 26, 1927 in Joplin.

William and Edna had one daughter, Helen Adelaide Houk, born on September 17, 1895 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The family moved to Joplin in the late 1900’s.

Helen died August 25, 1912  at the age of 16 in Joplin of typhoid fever.

Edna died June 1, 1911 in Joplin of cancer. 

Edna had been associate editor of the Cincinnati Post and was considered one of the most accomplished journalists in the area.  She was also a writer and special correspondent for a number of large newspapers and for many years was a highly valued assistant of the Scripps-McRae news service.  She wrote many poems and short stories which were published in newspapers and magazines throughout the East.

She was an active worker in the cause of prohibition, a supporter of everything tending to uplift and better the community, and one of America’s early leaders in the cause for women’s rights.

“…every girl should learn a trade or a profession…for it is a safer provision for the future, than money in the bank.”   

Edna wrote a book in 1893 titled Women Wealth Winners; or How Women Can Earn Money. Printed reproductions of the book are available through Amazon.  Edna lists several jobs that a woman could take on before the turn of the century.  One such example was that of a mature woman who gave in-home lessons in the science of housekeeping to the mistress of the house, her daughters, and the hired help.  Another example is that of a semi-invalid 15-year-old girl who boarded pets for society ladies.  Edna stated in her book that “…every girl should learn a trade or a profession…for it is a safer provision for the future, than money in the bank.” 

William Houk (1859-1927) consolidated several mining operations into the Conqueror Zinc. Co. serving as its President and Edna as Vice President.  In 1905 he co-founded the Conqueror Trust Company and was elected President. 

NOTE:  Mr. Houk subsequently married Frances R. Hengelsberg of St. Louis after Edna’s death.  To this union two daughters were born, Emily in 1913 and Edna in 1914.  

Edna wrote to her daughter Helen and husband William poignant letters of farewell on April 17, 1911 that survived in the family archives.  Mama writes to her daughter words of encouragement days before traveling to St. Louis for her second examination. Edna wrote, “Always think of me as happy and at rest, and having lived nearly the allotted life of mankind”.  Edna died 48 days later.

Edna and family are interred at Mount Hope Cemetery, Webb City, Missouri.

Historic Murphysburg has not been able to find a photo of Edna. Pictured is Henrietta Cosgrove, Edna’s sister.

Bill Caldwell wrote about Henrietta in his Globe column in 2016 on Women’s History Month, ”Cosgrove was a writer, philanthropist and a political worker at the turn of the century.”

“Henrietta Cosgrove, of Joplin, was one of the city’s first proponents of social reform, fighting to secure better treatments for families left behind when workers were killed in mines.”

Historic Murphysburg Preservation, Inc is proud to remind our readers about two sisters committed to the betterment of the inhabitants of Joplin before women even had the right to vote!

Learn more about the Women of Missouri from National Trust for Historic Preservation at Women’s Heritage Month. 

HMP’s mission is to implement charitable and educational activities that promote and stimulate historic awareness throughout the neighborhood.  We strive to educate people about the Murphysburg Historic District and the value of historic preservation to our economy, local quality of life, as well as state and national value.

Frances Geddes Bendelari / Mrs. Arthur Bendelari

Joplin Society Leader, Prominent Vocalist in Joplin and Beyond

Born in September 1884 in Ohio, Frances and her siblings grew up with their parents James and Dollie Geddes in Joplin, and at one point, lived at 301 S Sergeant in what is now the Murphysburg Historic District.  

A Quashed Elopement 

Several biographical books (and Joplin folklore) claim that Howard Robards Hughes (the father of the infamous Howard Hughes, Jr.) lived in Joplin while working in the mines but did not strike it rich.  He did however come away with knowledge of drilling techniques which he later put to use as the foundation of the Hughes family fortune.  It is reported that Hughes (age 31) attempted to elope with Frances (age 16) but her father intervened!  Three months later Hughes left for the Texas oil fields.

Frances Marries Arthur Bendelari

On December 21, 1903, Frances married Arthur Bendelari, who built The Olivia Apartments at 320 S. Moffet.  He was president of Eagle Picher Company.  The couple lived in apartment 104 at the Olivia, which was described as the “handsomest apartment house in the West.”  

Professor Leib was a Kansas City composer, soloist, teacher, and choral director often referred to as the “dean of Kansas City’s music world.”  He resided in Kansas City from 1881 until 1915.  Upon returning to Joplin, he gave music lessons at 106 ½ West 7th Street.  He passed away on March 4, 1923 and is buried at Joplin’s Fairview Cemetery.

Singing Career

At 34-years old, she was the first to publicly sing the song “In Flanders Field” on July 16, 1918.  The song was adapted from a poem written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrea of Montreal.  The poem was written as a memorial to “The Great War” (1914 to 1918) which later came to be known as World War I.  The music was composed and published by William H. Leib, who most likely gave Frances the honor because she was his student.

According to various newspaper accounts, Frances was described as a society leader in Joplin, a prominent vocalist, a well-known Joplin musician, and a soloist.  She studied music in New York and Joplin.  Frances performed with the Music League of the People’s Institute in New York and with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra when they staged a concert in Joplin in 1944.

On January 18, 1923, Arthur was granted a divorce from Frances.  He then married Grace Fall on November 17, 1923.

Frances eventually moved to California (possibly to pursue her singing career or Mr. Hughes?) and was living in Hollywood in 1947 when her mother, Dollie Geddes, died at Frances’s home.  Frances died on February 19, 1977, in Los Angeles, California at 92 years old.  At some point, she took back her maiden name.  It is believed that Frances had no children.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields, the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

—Written by Lieutenant Colonel Dr. John McCrea of Montreal

Mary Bendelari

Inventor, Designer, Entrepreneur, Mentor, Lobbyist, Socialite, Manufacturer

Mary also patented an elastic-edge tablecloth and a rigid bed sheet. 

Mary was born in Ohio in 1902, but soon came to live with her parents, Annie and Fred Bendelari, and siblings at the Olivia Apartments, 320 S. Moffet in Joplin.  Her uncle, Arthur Bendelari built the Olivia and also lived there with his wife Frances.  Her father and uncle were associated with the Consolidated Mining Company and Eagle Picher Lead Company, respectively.  Both families made a very comfortable living in Joplin which enabled Mary, her sisters Helen and Olivia, and brother George, to travel and study in the United States, Canada, and abroad.  Through the years, she lived in Cleveland, Washington D.C., New York, Paris, Los Angeles, and of course Joplin.  At times her sisters would take up residency with Mary.

According to newspaper interviews, Mary said at age 16 she stopped attending school when she “couldn’t stand it any longer.”  The unnamed school was most likely the Crescent College in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  Her 1918 yearbook photograph accompanies this story.  And yes, it is associated with the (haunted?) Crescent Hotel.  The college operated at the hotel between Labor Day and Memorial Day (during the slack hotel season) from 1908 to 1934.  Crescent College was a girl’s prep school and junior college.  However, we do know that she continued her studies at other schools. 

While ice skating, she injured her back which caused daily pain.  Before her father sent her to London for back surgery, she was in Paris and noticed Balkan peasants wearing unusual, comfortableshoes made of leather and woven cord.  After her successful back operation, she kept thinking about those “smart shoes.”  Mary found an Irish girl that spoke French, hired a shoemaker to teach them the trade of hand-made shoes, and set up production in a Paris workshop with dirt floors to make “SandalariSlippers.”  The business grew, but alas her partner proved to be a traitor, pocketed the proceeds, and then departed unceremoniously! 

At that point, Mary’s father, Fred Bendelari, arrived in Paris from Joplin and proposed she tour Italy with him.  Instead, she asked for the $3,000 he would have spent on her and used that money to re–enter the shoe business.  This time, she opened a more imposing office, formed a corporation, and devised a trademark.  Orders came pouring in and soon she had three factories and 100 employees plus retail shops in various countries including the United States.  Her shoes, also called the Deauville sandals, were even sold at Breck’s Walk-Over Shop in downtown Joplin.  The shoes were described as bewitchingly handsome, their daintiness enthralls you, and restful to the feet. 

Mary spent a good deal of her time encouraging other women.  She participated in “Success Clinics” held in the U.S., one in particular during a 1928 Women’s Exposition of Arts and Industries Show in New York.  125 Women were speakers including (her supporter) Mrs. (Eleanor) Franklin D. Roosevelt and Margaret Sanger!  Mary Bendelari was one of the most successful businesswomen in Paris—at 23 years old! 

But then the design pirates came along and eventually pirated her out of business and into a couple of nervous breakdowns.  Looking at the bigger picture, and in an effort to help all designers and inventors, she tackled the National Recovery Administration and got provisions against design piracy written into 72 codes and then lobbied congress to enact copyright bills.  In 1935, a syndicated Washington correspondent, Rodney Butcher wrote, “Conspicuous about Mary Bendelari, aside from her nut-brown hair, brown eyes, statuesque beauty, and the alacrity (brisk and cheerful readiness) with which she repels senators who make passes at her, is her direct method of approach.”  At one point, Rodney (his hair, eyes, and beauty unknown!) dubbed Mary the “Prettiest Lobbyist.” 

During the U.S. presidential inaugural events in 1937, Mary was one of the luncheon guests of Eleanor Roosevelt at the “Executive Mansion.”  

Mary returned to Joplin routinely and was a coveted speaker at social club meetings.  In 1963, she lived in New York, but continued visiting and speaking in Joplin.  On one occasion, she lectured at the Spiva Art Center regarding authentication of a work of art. 

There are countless, nationwide articles about members of the Joplin Bendelari Family—especially about Mary—on archival newspaper websites, but very little about Mary’s brief marriage to Mr. Loper Baird Laidlaw on January 3, 1926.  He was a banker from a wealthy family, a former Yale football player—and evidentially a womanizer.  On July 9, 1930 a New York newspaper announced that Mary, a socially prominent bride, asked for a divorce. She charged Loper with infidelity and said he took too great an interest in another woman a week after they were married!  Ouch—who needs Facebook status when you have The Standard Union newspaper in Brooklyn, New York?  Including Mary, Mr. Laidlaw was married at least four times—that we know of.

Mary died on March 15, 1982 in Los Angeles, California at 80 years old.  There were no known children.