Early Business and Industry
When Mr. Ludwig Kinkhorst established the Brunswick Ice Cream and Bottling Works in 1908, he and Gus Albrecht begand Gus Albrecht began bottling soft drinks with a foot operated machine. He also owned an ice business, which had been established by his father in the 1880's. When the old ice houses were razed, Gus Albrecht described the harvesting of ice: "When the ice on the river was considered thick enough, men with horse drawn ice markers would cut along these marks, freeing chunks of ice. These would be floated to a channel cut to the river bank, where horses would pull them up a chute into the ice house. There it was insulated with sawdust and stored for summer use. Beer in wooden kegs was stored under the ice."
The first ice manufacturing plant in Chariton County, which was built in 1914 by Mr. Kinkhorst, operated here until 1957, when refrigerators and rural electrification made it obsolete. He also established the first frozen food locker in Missouri. His coal business slowly gave way to natural gas in recent years.
After Mr. Kinkhorst died in March Mr. Kinkhorst died in March 1971, his heirs formed a corporation under the name KinkhorstBrunswick Distributing Company.
Today (1976) Gus Albrecht is president of the distributing company, but has retired as manager; other officers are: Lewis Kinkhorst, vice-president; Joan Marksberry, secretary; Wanda Richardson, treasurer; and Lonnie Tate, manager.
In 1880 Chariton County was the largest tobacco producing county of any County in Missouri, having a record of 14,000,000 pounds in one year. The Brunswick Tobacco Company founded in 1895, was located south of the Norfolk and Western Tracks. In the early 1900's they employed from 35 to 50 men. The tobacco company used some Brunswick grown tobacco, but blended it with tobacco from Kentucky to produce their Sunny South Twist and Our Pointer smoking tobacco. During one year they redried as much as 150,000 pounds, and their largest annual output of manufactured tobacco products was 250,000 pounds. No retail trade was dounds. No retail trade was done, but about 90 jobbers sold their brands throughout Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, and Colorado. Members of the firm were T. W. Jennings and J. M. Barker. During World War 1, when grain was needed to feed the soldiers overseas, the number of acres of tobacco was limited by the government to a very small acreage. Because of this and the competition of larger companies, the factory was forced to close.
For 101 years the Heisel family owned and operated the Heisel Funeral Home. Mr. J. J. Heisel, grandfather of L. W. Heisel, in whose memory the tennis courts in the park were given in 1964, emigrated from Bagen, Germany to America in 1845 when he was sixteen and soon afterwards settled in Brunswick. At that time Brunswick was a thriving river town. He established a "undertaking" business, advertising in The Brunswicker "Hearse and carriages furnished on short notice."
About 1899 J. J. Heisel retired and his son W. J. Heisel became manager of the business. L. W. Heisel became a partner in the business in 1904, and when W. J. Heisel died in 1907 took full charge-the third generation to conduct the business.
The Heisel-Koch Funeral Home is now owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Koch. The home in which they now live and conduct their business is one of the oldest buildings in Brunswick, and was constructed in 1870. At one time it was owned by the Louis Sasse family and later by the A. J. Simpson family.
J. T. Keyte's
Art-:-Studio
Above is the letter head of Joseph T. Keyte, (son of the founder of Brunswick) who painted in oil the pictures reproduced on the flyleaves of this book. On his art studio stationery he wrote a letter (now owned by Mrs. Storer) describing the Gas he wrote a letter (now owned by Mrs. Storer) describing the Gasconade River bridge disaster of November 1, 1855. The letter, written quite a few years later, also told he had made sketches of the train wreck (he had been a passenger) and they were for sale. In a postscript he added, "Col. Geo C. Bingham painted 14 life size portraits in my art studio in Brunswick this same year and after this accident." This information was verified in a letter from Mr. Keyte's daughter, Pearl Keyte, to Mrs. Storer. She said that in addition to the fourteen portraits, Bingham had painted a picture of her father, which she had sold to
George of Boonville. She also said, "George
Bingham and my father went to New York to study art, but Mr. Bingham got word that his brother was ill and returned to Missouri. They had planned to go to Europe to study, too. My brother thought lots of George Bingham."
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The Central Telephone Company
Telephones were installed in Brunswick during the 1890's but the first facts we have begin with 1902 or 1903 when Mr. John Myers, Jr. (brother of Walter Myers) bought the Telephone Company. The "exchange" or switchboard was on the second floor over the Kansas City Power and Light Company office. At that time it was called the First National Bank Building.
The operator (called Central) memorized the numbers of all the subscribers, for few people called a number; almost everyone asked for the store or person they wished to call, by name. In sickness, birth, or death "central" was asked to call "Mama" or the doctor, or "Jim" and the call went through. People called to ask what time it was or "Where's the fire?" Doctors, when making a house call, called central to tell her where he would be, and if calls came for d be, and if calls came for him, he was called at the house of his patient. Many a Brunswick person away from home and calling back "long distance" talked with the operator while waiting for his family to answer. Central was not just a part of the machinery, but a personal friend to most of the patrons. She answered during the first years with a friendly "Hello" instead of "Number please" or "Operator."
In 1917, the operator worked nine hours a day for $25. a month. She might work from 7 a.m. until noon and come back and work from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. An extra operator helped during the rush hours from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. Early every morning, housewives called the grocery store-the groceries were delivered in time for her to start lunch (dinner). Businessmen and farmers called Kansas City every morning to get the "Market".
John Myers sold the exchange in 1926 to Bartow and Brown, und6 to Bartow and Brown, under the firm name of Central West Telephone Co. Several years later it was sold to the Western Light and Telephone Company.
Direct dialing was introduced in Brunswick in 1953. Now the local exchange is integrated with the Bell System, and since February 1974, Brunswick has had direct long distance dialing. Amos Wright, Jr., has been the manager of the local company since 1956.
In the spring of 1976, the business office was closed, bringing to a close an era when telephone subscribers had direct contact with office employees of the Telephone Company. Mrs. Lucille Homan and Mrs. Mildred White were the clerical employees when the office closed, and the Accounting Department moved to Monroe City, Missouri.
