Arno Leslie Roach was born on November 21, 1866 in Coal Run, Ohio to Marcellus Sargent Roach (1844-1922) and Caroline Emma (Arnold) Roach (1849-1923). He was the oldest of ten children born to the couple.
For his first few years, Arno lived in a house his father built after returning from the Civil War, but his family eventually moved to a forty-acre country estate that was about two miles from town, known as the Tick Ridge Farm.
In 1874, at the age of eight, Arno moved with his family to a farm in Woodhull, Illinois. While here, he worked for a sorghum mill and used his earning to buy his first Waterbury watch for three dollars. The mill was owned by the father of his first love-interest, Mattie Mahon.
Arno also started his first business venture in Woodhull selling dried apples, wooden jewelry, and other similar items to his classmates from a small four foot wide "shop" built from scrap lumber. Later, Along with three neighbors boys, he purchased a corn-sheller, which netted him sixty dollars profit. He quickly reinvested this money in the purchase of six calves.
In 1884, Arno moved again to Barton County, Missouri somewhere just outside of Liberal. It was here, on his first Sunday at the Liberal Christian Church, that Arno met Elizabeth Fowler, who later became his wife. On his first meeting with Elizabeth, he described her as a "pretty miss of fifteen, with a saucer hat, dimples, and curls." They dated for for five years prior to becoming engaged in June of 1889 and were married on Christmas Eve the same year.
Arno and his wife had five children: Loyd LaVern Roach (1894-1953); Irma Montaldo (Roach) Brockhouse (1894-1991); Arno Lyle Roach (1897-1938); Leon Montrose Roach (1900-1994); and LaMonte Marcellus Roach (1912-1984).
It was also in Liberal that Arno began working as a teacher for $50 a month, which was more than any school teacher in the area. he took teaching very seriously, and continually sought to increase his knowledge by taking correspondence courses through Fort Scott Normal School and the Warrensburg Teachers' College (now the University of Central Missouri). According to his autobiography he taught in every township in Western Barton County, including Victory, Pleasant Hill, Bryan, and Excelsior.
In the spring of 1893, Arno ran for and was elected County Commissioner of Schools for Barton County. He gained state-wide recognition in this post for being the first superintendent to introduce grades to rural Missouri schools. Under his direction,Barton County also won a state-wide school work display competition, featuring graphics, booklets, maps and posters. Around this same time, he also served as the head of the Verdella Normal School and president of the Business and Normal College of Nevada, Missouri.
One of the highlights during his years in Barton County was a trip to the Chicago World's Fair known as the Columbia Exposition in 1893. With a budget of only eighty dollars, he brought his wife from Liberal to Chicago, stayed two weeks while attending the fair every day, visited Milwaukee, and returned with enough money to replace his Waterbury watch with a gold one.
In 1896, Arno published "Missouri Geography with Outlines and Notes:For the Use of Teachers and Students," which was a 32-page illustrated geography of the state. His goal was to provide Missouri teachers with a guide to help make Missouri history and geography interesting for students, and while it may have accomplished this goal, it was not a lucrative venture for Arno.
After nine months he found himself in debt $165.00 and had to borrow money from a long time friend, H. B. Fletcher. Then, on October 10, 1897, a man named H. M. Dixon offered Arno a job selling educational books. Arno quickly paid off his debts and, finding himself a thousand dollars ahead, bought an eighty-acre farm, but he quickly lost this farm and returned to selling educational encyclopedias.
Eventually, he brought his brother, Harry Roach; his brother-in-law, Frank Fowler; and a friend, James D. Bufton into the encyclopedia selling business. After a particularly successful sales spell in Southeast Missouri and Western Kansas, Arno formed a partnership with a man named J. A. Swank and setup a headquarters at 3212 Anderson, Kansas City, Missouri. Swank was in charge of field operations and Arno controlled the office. They borrowed the capital for this enterprise, which consisted of $500, from George Crenshaw of the first National Bank of Lamar. Arno's home during this period was located at 500 Myrtle.
When Swank left to move out West, Fowler purchased his shares and the business began working on the creation of the New Practical Reference Library. A great deal of this work was done in Chicago in collaboration with the Dixon- Hanson Company, but when Arno returned to Kansas City, his business became known as the Roach Fowler Publishing Company.
Using the profits from the New Practical Reference Library, Arno and Fowler created a new series, known as the World Book Encyclopedia. While this new venture was difficult at first, it eventually became quite lucrative and the company, and often Arno himself, began creating supplementary materials to go along with the encyclopedia, such as maps, posters, pamphlets and other similar items.
In his old age, Arno bought a retirement home in Lake Tapawingo, Missouri, where he built a garden featured on the city's official postcard in honor of his first wife who passed away on July 6, 1936. He later remarried a woman named Ruth (Robinson) Roach in October 1937 in Washington D.C.
While officially retired, Arno was active in missionary work and served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Independence Boulevard Christian Church.
Arno passed away at his home in Kansas City, Missouri on June 9, 1949. He was survived by his second wife, several children and grandchildren, and friends.
For more information about Arno, see:
Roach, Arno L. "Missouri Geography with Outlines and Notes, For the Use of Teachers and Students." Verdella, Mo: Roach Bros, 1896.
Roach, Arno L. "Dedicated to my Family and Friends." Kansas City, Mo: Arno L. Roach, 1940. (If you would like a free copy of this publication please contact me via the email on my profile page.)
For his first few years, Arno lived in a house his father built after returning from the Civil War, but his family eventually moved to a forty-acre country estate that was about two miles from town, known as the Tick Ridge Farm.
In 1874, at the age of eight, Arno moved with his family to a farm in Woodhull, Illinois. While here, he worked for a sorghum mill and used his earning to buy his first Waterbury watch for three dollars. The mill was owned by the father of his first love-interest, Mattie Mahon.
Arno also started his first business venture in Woodhull selling dried apples, wooden jewelry, and other similar items to his classmates from a small four foot wide "shop" built from scrap lumber. Later, Along with three neighbors boys, he purchased a corn-sheller, which netted him sixty dollars profit. He quickly reinvested this money in the purchase of six calves.
In 1884, Arno moved again to Barton County, Missouri somewhere just outside of Liberal. It was here, on his first Sunday at the Liberal Christian Church, that Arno met Elizabeth Fowler, who later became his wife. On his first meeting with Elizabeth, he described her as a "pretty miss of fifteen, with a saucer hat, dimples, and curls." They dated for for five years prior to becoming engaged in June of 1889 and were married on Christmas Eve the same year.
Arno and his wife had five children: Loyd LaVern Roach (1894-1953); Irma Montaldo (Roach) Brockhouse (1894-1991); Arno Lyle Roach (1897-1938); Leon Montrose Roach (1900-1994); and LaMonte Marcellus Roach (1912-1984).
It was also in Liberal that Arno began working as a teacher for $50 a month, which was more than any school teacher in the area. he took teaching very seriously, and continually sought to increase his knowledge by taking correspondence courses through Fort Scott Normal School and the Warrensburg Teachers' College (now the University of Central Missouri). According to his autobiography he taught in every township in Western Barton County, including Victory, Pleasant Hill, Bryan, and Excelsior.
In the spring of 1893, Arno ran for and was elected County Commissioner of Schools for Barton County. He gained state-wide recognition in this post for being the first superintendent to introduce grades to rural Missouri schools. Under his direction,Barton County also won a state-wide school work display competition, featuring graphics, booklets, maps and posters. Around this same time, he also served as the head of the Verdella Normal School and president of the Business and Normal College of Nevada, Missouri.
One of the highlights during his years in Barton County was a trip to the Chicago World's Fair known as the Columbia Exposition in 1893. With a budget of only eighty dollars, he brought his wife from Liberal to Chicago, stayed two weeks while attending the fair every day, visited Milwaukee, and returned with enough money to replace his Waterbury watch with a gold one.
In 1896, Arno published "Missouri Geography with Outlines and Notes:For the Use of Teachers and Students," which was a 32-page illustrated geography of the state. His goal was to provide Missouri teachers with a guide to help make Missouri history and geography interesting for students, and while it may have accomplished this goal, it was not a lucrative venture for Arno.
After nine months he found himself in debt $165.00 and had to borrow money from a long time friend, H. B. Fletcher. Then, on October 10, 1897, a man named H. M. Dixon offered Arno a job selling educational books. Arno quickly paid off his debts and, finding himself a thousand dollars ahead, bought an eighty-acre farm, but he quickly lost this farm and returned to selling educational encyclopedias.
Eventually, he brought his brother, Harry Roach; his brother-in-law, Frank Fowler; and a friend, James D. Bufton into the encyclopedia selling business. After a particularly successful sales spell in Southeast Missouri and Western Kansas, Arno formed a partnership with a man named J. A. Swank and setup a headquarters at 3212 Anderson, Kansas City, Missouri. Swank was in charge of field operations and Arno controlled the office. They borrowed the capital for this enterprise, which consisted of $500, from George Crenshaw of the first National Bank of Lamar. Arno's home during this period was located at 500 Myrtle.
When Swank left to move out West, Fowler purchased his shares and the business began working on the creation of the New Practical Reference Library. A great deal of this work was done in Chicago in collaboration with the Dixon- Hanson Company, but when Arno returned to Kansas City, his business became known as the Roach Fowler Publishing Company.
Using the profits from the New Practical Reference Library, Arno and Fowler created a new series, known as the World Book Encyclopedia. While this new venture was difficult at first, it eventually became quite lucrative and the company, and often Arno himself, began creating supplementary materials to go along with the encyclopedia, such as maps, posters, pamphlets and other similar items.
In his old age, Arno bought a retirement home in Lake Tapawingo, Missouri, where he built a garden featured on the city's official postcard in honor of his first wife who passed away on July 6, 1936. He later remarried a woman named Ruth (Robinson) Roach in October 1937 in Washington D.C.
While officially retired, Arno was active in missionary work and served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Independence Boulevard Christian Church.
Arno passed away at his home in Kansas City, Missouri on June 9, 1949. He was survived by his second wife, several children and grandchildren, and friends.
For more information about Arno, see:
Roach, Arno L. "Missouri Geography with Outlines and Notes, For the Use of Teachers and Students." Verdella, Mo: Roach Bros, 1896.
Roach, Arno L. "Dedicated to my Family and Friends." Kansas City, Mo: Arno L. Roach, 1940. (If you would like a free copy of this publication please contact me via the email on my profile page.)
Arno Leslie Roach was born on November 21, 1866 in Coal Run, Ohio to Marcellus Sargent Roach (1844-1922) and Caroline Emma (Arnold) Roach (1849-1923). He was the oldest of ten children born to the couple.
For his first few years, Arno lived in a house his father built after returning from the Civil War, but his family eventually moved to a forty-acre country estate that was about two miles from town, known as the Tick Ridge Farm.
In 1874, at the age of eight, Arno moved with his family to a farm in Woodhull, Illinois. While here, he worked for a sorghum mill and used his earning to buy his first Waterbury watch for three dollars. The mill was owned by the father of his first love-interest, Mattie Mahon.
Arno also started his first business venture in Woodhull selling dried apples, wooden jewelry, and other similar items to his classmates from a small four foot wide "shop" built from scrap lumber. Later, Along with three neighbors boys, he purchased a corn-sheller, which netted him sixty dollars profit. He quickly reinvested this money in the purchase of six calves.
In 1884, Arno moved again to Barton County, Missouri somewhere just outside of Liberal. It was here, on his first Sunday at the Liberal Christian Church, that Arno met Elizabeth Fowler, who later became his wife. On his first meeting with Elizabeth, he described her as a "pretty miss of fifteen, with a saucer hat, dimples, and curls." They dated for for five years prior to becoming engaged in June of 1889 and were married on Christmas Eve the same year.
Arno and his wife had five children: Loyd LaVern Roach (1894-1953); Irma Montaldo (Roach) Brockhouse (1894-1991); Arno Lyle Roach (1897-1938); Leon Montrose Roach (1900-1994); and LaMonte Marcellus Roach (1912-1984).
It was also in Liberal that Arno began working as a teacher for $50 a month, which was more than any school teacher in the area. he took teaching very seriously, and continually sought to increase his knowledge by taking correspondence courses through Fort Scott Normal School and the Warrensburg Teachers' College (now the University of Central Missouri). According to his autobiography he taught in every township in Western Barton County, including Victory, Pleasant Hill, Bryan, and Excelsior.
In the spring of 1893, Arno ran for and was elected County Commissioner of Schools for Barton County. He gained state-wide recognition in this post for being the first superintendent to introduce grades to rural Missouri schools. Under his direction,Barton County also won a state-wide school work display competition, featuring graphics, booklets, maps and posters. Around this same time, he also served as the head of the Verdella Normal School and president of the Business and Normal College of Nevada, Missouri.
One of the highlights during his years in Barton County was a trip to the Chicago World's Fair known as the Columbia Exposition in 1893. With a budget of only eighty dollars, he brought his wife from Liberal to Chicago, stayed two weeks while attending the fair every day, visited Milwaukee, and returned with enough money to replace his Waterbury watch with a gold one.
In 1896, Arno published "Missouri Geography with Outlines and Notes:For the Use of Teachers and Students," which was a 32-page illustrated geography of the state. His goal was to provide Missouri teachers with a guide to help make Missouri history and geography interesting for students, and while it may have accomplished this goal, it was not a lucrative venture for Arno.
After nine months he found himself in debt $165.00 and had to borrow money from a long time friend, H. B. Fletcher. Then, on October 10, 1897, a man named H. M. Dixon offered Arno a job selling educational books. Arno quickly paid off his debts and, finding himself a thousand dollars ahead, bought an eighty-acre farm, but he quickly lost this farm and returned to selling educational encyclopedias.
Eventually, he brought his brother, Harry Roach; his brother-in-law, Frank Fowler; and a friend, James D. Bufton into the encyclopedia selling business. After a particularly successful sales spell in Southeast Missouri and Western Kansas, Arno formed a partnership with a man named J. A. Swank and setup a headquarters at 3212 Anderson, Kansas City, Missouri. Swank was in charge of field operations and Arno controlled the office. They borrowed the capital for this enterprise, which consisted of $500, from George Crenshaw of the first National Bank of Lamar. Arno's home during this period was located at 500 Myrtle.
When Swank left to move out West, Fowler purchased his shares and the business began working on the creation of the New Practical Reference Library. A great deal of this work was done in Chicago in collaboration with the Dixon- Hanson Company, but when Arno returned to Kansas City, his business became known as the Roach Fowler Publishing Company.
Using the profits from the New Practical Reference Library, Arno and Fowler created a new series, known as the World Book Encyclopedia. While this new venture was difficult at first, it eventually became quite lucrative and the company, and often Arno himself, began creating supplementary materials to go along with the encyclopedia, such as maps, posters, pamphlets and other similar items.
In his old age, Arno bought a retirement home in Lake Tapawingo, Missouri, where he built a garden featured on the city's official postcard in honor of his first wife who passed away on July 6, 1936. He later remarried a woman named Ruth (Robinson) Roach in October 1937 in Washington D.C.
While officially retired, Arno was active in missionary work and served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Independence Boulevard Christian Church.
Arno passed away at his home in Kansas City, Missouri on June 9, 1949. He was survived by his second wife, several children and grandchildren, and friends.
For more information about Arno, see:
Roach, Arno L. "Missouri Geography with Outlines and Notes, For the Use of Teachers and Students." Verdella, Mo: Roach Bros, 1896.
Roach, Arno L. "Dedicated to my Family and Friends." Kansas City, Mo: Arno L. Roach, 1940. (If you would like a free copy of this publication please contact me via the email on my profile page.)
For his first few years, Arno lived in a house his father built after returning from the Civil War, but his family eventually moved to a forty-acre country estate that was about two miles from town, known as the Tick Ridge Farm.
In 1874, at the age of eight, Arno moved with his family to a farm in Woodhull, Illinois. While here, he worked for a sorghum mill and used his earning to buy his first Waterbury watch for three dollars. The mill was owned by the father of his first love-interest, Mattie Mahon.
Arno also started his first business venture in Woodhull selling dried apples, wooden jewelry, and other similar items to his classmates from a small four foot wide "shop" built from scrap lumber. Later, Along with three neighbors boys, he purchased a corn-sheller, which netted him sixty dollars profit. He quickly reinvested this money in the purchase of six calves.
In 1884, Arno moved again to Barton County, Missouri somewhere just outside of Liberal. It was here, on his first Sunday at the Liberal Christian Church, that Arno met Elizabeth Fowler, who later became his wife. On his first meeting with Elizabeth, he described her as a "pretty miss of fifteen, with a saucer hat, dimples, and curls." They dated for for five years prior to becoming engaged in June of 1889 and were married on Christmas Eve the same year.
Arno and his wife had five children: Loyd LaVern Roach (1894-1953); Irma Montaldo (Roach) Brockhouse (1894-1991); Arno Lyle Roach (1897-1938); Leon Montrose Roach (1900-1994); and LaMonte Marcellus Roach (1912-1984).
It was also in Liberal that Arno began working as a teacher for $50 a month, which was more than any school teacher in the area. he took teaching very seriously, and continually sought to increase his knowledge by taking correspondence courses through Fort Scott Normal School and the Warrensburg Teachers' College (now the University of Central Missouri). According to his autobiography he taught in every township in Western Barton County, including Victory, Pleasant Hill, Bryan, and Excelsior.
In the spring of 1893, Arno ran for and was elected County Commissioner of Schools for Barton County. He gained state-wide recognition in this post for being the first superintendent to introduce grades to rural Missouri schools. Under his direction,Barton County also won a state-wide school work display competition, featuring graphics, booklets, maps and posters. Around this same time, he also served as the head of the Verdella Normal School and president of the Business and Normal College of Nevada, Missouri.
One of the highlights during his years in Barton County was a trip to the Chicago World's Fair known as the Columbia Exposition in 1893. With a budget of only eighty dollars, he brought his wife from Liberal to Chicago, stayed two weeks while attending the fair every day, visited Milwaukee, and returned with enough money to replace his Waterbury watch with a gold one.
In 1896, Arno published "Missouri Geography with Outlines and Notes:For the Use of Teachers and Students," which was a 32-page illustrated geography of the state. His goal was to provide Missouri teachers with a guide to help make Missouri history and geography interesting for students, and while it may have accomplished this goal, it was not a lucrative venture for Arno.
After nine months he found himself in debt $165.00 and had to borrow money from a long time friend, H. B. Fletcher. Then, on October 10, 1897, a man named H. M. Dixon offered Arno a job selling educational books. Arno quickly paid off his debts and, finding himself a thousand dollars ahead, bought an eighty-acre farm, but he quickly lost this farm and returned to selling educational encyclopedias.
Eventually, he brought his brother, Harry Roach; his brother-in-law, Frank Fowler; and a friend, James D. Bufton into the encyclopedia selling business. After a particularly successful sales spell in Southeast Missouri and Western Kansas, Arno formed a partnership with a man named J. A. Swank and setup a headquarters at 3212 Anderson, Kansas City, Missouri. Swank was in charge of field operations and Arno controlled the office. They borrowed the capital for this enterprise, which consisted of $500, from George Crenshaw of the first National Bank of Lamar. Arno's home during this period was located at 500 Myrtle.
When Swank left to move out West, Fowler purchased his shares and the business began working on the creation of the New Practical Reference Library. A great deal of this work was done in Chicago in collaboration with the Dixon- Hanson Company, but when Arno returned to Kansas City, his business became known as the Roach Fowler Publishing Company.
Using the profits from the New Practical Reference Library, Arno and Fowler created a new series, known as the World Book Encyclopedia. While this new venture was difficult at first, it eventually became quite lucrative and the company, and often Arno himself, began creating supplementary materials to go along with the encyclopedia, such as maps, posters, pamphlets and other similar items.
In his old age, Arno bought a retirement home in Lake Tapawingo, Missouri, where he built a garden featured on the city's official postcard in honor of his first wife who passed away on July 6, 1936. He later remarried a woman named Ruth (Robinson) Roach in October 1937 in Washington D.C.
While officially retired, Arno was active in missionary work and served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Independence Boulevard Christian Church.
Arno passed away at his home in Kansas City, Missouri on June 9, 1949. He was survived by his second wife, several children and grandchildren, and friends.
For more information about Arno, see:
Roach, Arno L. "Missouri Geography with Outlines and Notes, For the Use of Teachers and Students." Verdella, Mo: Roach Bros, 1896.
Roach, Arno L. "Dedicated to my Family and Friends." Kansas City, Mo: Arno L. Roach, 1940. (If you would like a free copy of this publication please contact me via the email on my profile page.)
Gravesite Details
Buried in the Forest Hill Pantheon.
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