Town of Pocahontas marks 155 years

Ever tried putting 155 candles on a cake? That's what the residents of Pocahontas will be doing as 2013 marks the town's birthday.

Pocahontas is surrounded by picturesque rolling hills in Northern Cape Girardeau County, approximately nine miles north of Jackson. Farms and homes dot the scenic hillsides in this unique part of the heartland less than 10 miles from the Mississippi River.

The name Pocahontas evokes images of the well-known Indian princess we've read about in the history books, but the recorded history of the town indicates that the name has to do with another Indian princess. The name Pocahontas was the result of a love story.

Samuel Green, an Englishman, purchased land from Joseph Abernathy, a prominent land owner of Indian heritage, whose family had settled in the area in the latter part of the 1700s. Green opened and operated a general store called Green Station. When he took it upon himself to open a post office and start a town, the government required him to provide an acceptable town name.

The story is told that Mr. Green wished to name the town after a young Indian princess with whom he had fallen in love. Even though the Shawnee and Delaware Indians had moved out of their camp north of town, taking the dark-eyed beauty with them on their westward journey, Green still longed for her. Unfortunately, her name was hard to pronounce and impossible for Green to spell, so in her honor, he decided to substitute the familiar name Pocahontas. Green's determination to dedicate the town to the young Indian maiden who stole his heart created a sense of romance to the development of the young community, which was founded in 1858.

Pocahontas grew rapidly, with a flour mill being established almost immediately, which remains the backbone of the town to this day. It isn't known if Samuel Green built the mill, but the name "Indian Princess Flour" used as one of the flour brand names only adds to the romantic mystery. Blacksmith shops, stores, harness shops, hotels, a doctor's office, barbershop, wagon builders, a meat shop, a bank, two Lutheran churches, each with its own school, and a public school, including a two-year high school, weren't far behind.

Pocahontas has seen many changes in its 155 years. It saw its booming days when transportation included the stagecoach, the horse and buggy, the Model T and even a train, which ran west of town.

Modern-day America has changed the scene in Pocahontas. The town's population numbers less than 120, and within the city limits the post office, Zion Lutheran Church, St. John's Lutheran Church, Bowman Milling Company and the town's newest business, The Pie Safe, located in the 103-year-old bank building, keep the streets of Pocahontas bustling with activity. Two other businesses outside of the city limits, Reis Meat Processing and The Bayou Bar and Grill, help bring many visitors to this beautiful part of Missouri. The founders of the two churches, mainly German and Austrian immigrants, were devoted in their belief that religion should be the foundation for their daily lives and their town.

Two representatives of Pocahontas, Mr. Tilman Leimer and Barbara Rauh Powell, born a generation apart, have unique memories about growing up in this community.

Tilman Leimer, born in 1916, is the oldest living member of St. John's Lutheran Church, and his great-great-grandfather was one of the founding fathers of the church. His father, who was originally a blacksmith in Fruitland, moved the family to a farm just north of Pocahontas when young Leimer was 4 years old.

Leimer, who now resides at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau, heard stories about Pocahontas from his father and older brothers concerning cattle drives on foot, herding cattle and hogs to Neely's Landing. Neely's is on the Mississippi River, approximately a 14-mile walk. Stopping off in Pocahontas to water the livestock and acquire refreshments for themselves before moving on with the final leg of their journey was necessary. The trip proved long and hard over the rugged hills and deep valleys to the boxcars at the Neely's Station that would take their animals to market. Leimer was too young to make the trip. After the move to their Pocahontas farm, he soon learned all about the hard work of farm life.

The location of the farm, less than half a mile from town, made walking to school easy. Young Leimer attended the public school just up the hill from their farm during first and second grade. By the time he started third grade, his parents believed he could handle the longer walk to the school at St. John's.

Leimer remembers walking to town to get the weekly Jackson newspaper so his family could keep up with the news. Of course, you could find out plenty of news at the barber shop, the mill, one of the three general stores or anyplace else in town. Church functions were the main social events of the day.

Leimer remembers going to the mill and other establishments with his father: "Dad would take three bushel of wheat to the mill and take home 100 pounds of flour. Dad bought his first car at Swan's Garage. He had a Model T, then thought he just had to have a truck. So he bought a Roadster and made it into a truck."

He also remembered the Reisenbichler and Putz Undertaking business providing a selection of caskets. Their services were necessary when his sister passed away.

Leimer's father eventually took a job in town running one of the grocery stores next to the Landgraf Lumber Yard on Main Street. There were five Leimer children in the family who were responsible enough to do a lot of the farm work.

Leimer's parents told stories about the terrorizing times in the years of World War I. When the United States had declared war on Germany, some of the English people in and around the town resented the people of German and Austrian heritage, even though many of them had lived together peacefully for more than 50 years. Gangs of Englishmen rode to people's homes on horseback, making threats and armed with guns, knives and rope. Some people told stories of at least one person being tarred and feathered. German books were seized from one of the churches and burned in the middle of town. Word spread rapidly of the angry gangs who had turned on their German-speaking neighbors. The town of Altenburg, north of Pocahontas, even went so far as to form its own militia, as they had been warned the terrorists were coming to their town next.

Leimer was a very small child when these events occurred, but the frightening stories were the subject of family discussions as he was growing up.

There was not a lot of excitement for a farm boy in the 1920s and 1930s besides hunting, fishing, a church social, a horse race now and then and a few fights at the local saloon. Leimer remembered one incident people talked about for weeks that took place when a little Leimbach girl, walking to school, was nearly killed by a runaway team of horses. The horses raced through town and came upon the girl as she walked to school, straddling her between the two horses. The horses stopped suddenly when they came up to Leimer's team, and the little girl's life was spared.

A group of teenage boys, including Leimer, his older brothers and a few friends, decided to do something about the lack of fun activities. They started a band.

"It was actually brother Melvin's idea," recalls Leimer.

Their father had been part of a musical group called The Jolley Boys. That group had disbanded, but several guys had instruments and the big bass drum from the original group was brought back into service. The new Jolley Boys evolved.

The band consisted of 13 young men who stayed together for several years, going to St. John's school every Saturday night to practice. They performed at many church picnics around the area. Life wasn't boring anymore.

Barbara Rauh Powell has been a part of Pocahontas since she was 2 years old. Her parents, Ida and Herbert Rauh, owned and operated the Pocahontas Mercantile from 1952 to 1966 in a large white wooden building across the street from the mill. The structure was not only their business but their home, with a Masonic Lodge meeting room in the upstairs. Powell remembers fun times, hard work and caring people while growing up in Pocahontas.

Barbara Powell now lives across the street from Zion Lutheran Church, where she attended Sunday school and was confirmed. Her family, consisting of her parents and four older brothers, were music lovers who enjoyed singing hymns and playing music. Brother John played the piano and Bob played the accordion. Powell remembers her parents insisting that her older brothers participate in the family's evening music time before being allowed to leave the house for a date.

Growing up in a store can have its advantages and disadvantages. Powell remembers standing on a soda case to reach the cash register and learning to count money and make change at a very young age. Customers were friendly, but sometimes those speaking German made filling an order impossible and mom or dad had to interpret.

The mercantile offered a variety of groceries and general merchandise, including overalls, shoes and hardware. Black pepper, salt and chili powder were sold by the pound, along with various kinds of candy, such as chocolate drops and orange slices. Lunch meat was a big seller, which Powell's father hand sliced using a large knife, then wrapped the meat in white paper and tied it with string.

Many times the Rauh's evening meal was interrupted by a customer wanting to buy a loaf of bread or some other small item, but even though the scheduled closing time was 6 p.m., Mr. Rauh turned no one away.

Pocahontas Mercantile bought eggs from farmers and sold them to hatcheries. Powell and her brother worked every Wednesday after school cleaning and candling the eggs. Every week the hatchery sent a truck to pick up the cases of eggs ready for the incubators. Cleaning those eggs turned out to be a good thing, as one of the truck drivers was Ray Powell, her future husband.

Powell's father rented an empty barn near the store and raised his own chickens. He also bought old hens from farmers and trucked them to a packing plant. Powell and her brother took on the hot, dirty job of chicken catchers. They snagged each chicken by the leg with a long, hooked stick and stuffed them into wooden crates for their trip to the butcher.

"Children in my day knew what hard work was all about," mused Powell.

But growing up in Pocahontas wasn't all work. When the chores were done there was time to play. Powell, her brother and friends roamed all over town and even down to the creek, but no farther than the sound of dad's whistle. She admits that a few good-natured pranks landed her and her brother in trouble. Plenty of kids could be found to play with; unfortunately, most of them were boys.

Special memories include the sound of the pounding hammer of the blacksmith, visiting the Diamond Caf to get a six-pack of beer for her parents, wearing beautiful little cotton dresses her mother made out of feedsacks from the mill and watching Julie Kutcher operate the telephone switchboard in her house. Calls on the old Mutual Telephone Co. line were limited to between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., and none on Sunday except for emergencies.

"The Mercantile would trade for eggs or produce and ran a charge account for most people in town. Dad trusted people to pay. I remember spending many a stormy night in the cellar of Wib and Margie Reisenbichler's house, as Mom got scared every time a cloud came up. We had great neighbors and still do," said Powell.

For a taste of small-town Americana, take a drive to Pocahontas. On any given day in this warm, friendly town, you're liable to see trucks lined up at the mill with their loads of golden grain, smell the tantalizing aroma of rhubarb pie at the caf or witness the antics of Harry, the dog who thinks he's the town marshall. But if you stick around long enough, you will discover it is the people -- the generous, hardworking, friendly people -- who are the heart and soul of Pocahontas. Here's wishing them happiness and prosperity in their next 155 years.

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About Mary

Mary Koeberl Rechenberg is a retired teacher and freelance writer. She lives on a farm near Pocahontas.