Mr. Alexander was born into slavery in North Carolina. In 1886, he purchased 9 acres, and later added 30 more. He had a huckster wagon and sold crops from door to door. Three times a week he took his horse-drawn wagon to Emporia to sell fruits and vegetables, often giving children rides. What he didn't sell in the better part of town, he donated to people in the poorer sections. In 1923, he willed his property (39 acres and $1190.00) to the children of Emporia. His will stipulated that one acre be set aside for his grave, and for the burial of others too poor to afford plots. His gift provided the means for the establishment of Camp Alexander.
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The Emporia Gazette, 14 May 1923
EDWIN J. ALEXANDER DEAD
Edwin J. Alexander, colored, a farmer, died Sunday morning in the Newman memorial hospital of Bright's disease.
Funeral services will be held tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 o'clock in the A. M. E. church. Rev. R. S. Everett, pastor of the church, will conduct the services. Interment will be in a private lot on the Alexander farm east of Emporia.
Edwin J. Alexander was born September 15, 1853, in North Carolina. He came to Lyon county 50 years ago. He never was married.
*******************************
The Emporia Gazette, 30 June 1923
HIS ALL TO CHILDREN
AGED NEGRO LEAVES ESTATE TO HELP NEEDY
Love for Little Friends is Shown in Will of E. J. Alexander, Huckster
E. J. Alexander, an aged Negro huckster, who lived four miles northeast of Emporia for nearly 50 years, left 30 acres of land and money and personal property valued at $1,100 to orphaned and needy children of Emporia and Lyon county. He also left an acre of land to be used as a cemetery for those whose relatives could not afford to buy graves in other cemeteries. The Negro's will on probate in Emporia, assigns nine acres of land to Clark and Lemuel Fowler, his white neighbors, provided they pay $50 an acre for it within two years, and the money is put in the fund for children.
Alexander died May 13. He made his will April 6, 1922.
"I give and devise unto my friends and neighbors, Clark and Fowler and Lemuel O. Fowler, brothers, all my land in the north half of the north half and the northwest quarter of Section 8, township 19, range 12 in Lyon county and extending west to the center of the Neosho river and extending east to a 27-acre tract belonging to said brothers," says a clause in the will. "The tract, now so devised to them, consisting of about nine acres; the gift so made is upon the express condition that they within a reasonable time, not exceeding two years after my death, pay unto my estate the sum of $50 an acre for said land so devised. And if said devise be not acceptable by them, said 9-acre tract is hereby directed to be turned into the general residue of my estate and disposed of by my trustees hereinafter provided for the residue of my estate.
"Subject to the payment of my lawful debts and payment of the reasonable expense incurred by my funeral and burial and the reasonable and proper maintenance, decoration and care of my grave, I hereby devise and bequeath unto said Clark Fowler and Lemuel Fowler, all the rest of my property, real, presonal and mixed. In trust however, for the benefit of orphans and other indigent or needy children who may be needing a home, home care, protection and education and the expenditures for the benefit of said orphans and children is left to the judgment and descretion of said trustees and who hereby are empowered and authorized to make such expenditures and bestow such benefits to said children in such manner and in such place or places as they may deem best for the carrying out of the purpose of this will, whether children be in or outside of chartered or organized institutions for the care and general welfare of such children."
One provision is made in the will. It stipulates that "that there is reserved one acre of land, as nearly in the form of a square as can be, in the northeast corner of my 30-acre tract, to be used as a burial ground if needed or desired by the poor and needy. And I desire that my body be buried on said one acre tract."
Mr. Alexander asked also in his will that his land not be sold unless the executors of his estate found it necessary.
Mr. Alexander was born in North Carolina, September 15, 1853. He never was married and lost track of his relatives 35 years ago.
For 30 years Mr. Alexander raised garden truck and vegetables on his farm and peddled them in Emporia. He drove a team to a spring wagon and always had several children riding with him. He often stopped to let children ride on his wagon and always gave them vegetables and fruit to eat. He loved children and when they grew older and did not ask for rides on his wagon he chided with them, saying they were "too big to ride on an old negro's wagon no more."
The $1,100 left by Mr. Alexander was in a postal savings account and in a savings bank. He left farm implements and other personal property.
The will was filed May 14 and was admitted to probate May 23.
"Old Alexander always was fond of children," Clark Fowler, one of the trustees said today. "Nothing has been done with Alexander's property but as soon as court proceedings are completed the money will be used as the will directed."
Mr. Alexander's will has created a fund similar to that left by Captain L. T. Heritage, who died about 10 years ago. Mr. Heritage left a large part of his estate in a fund for orphaned and needy children.
*******************************
The Emporia Gazette, 06 Jan 1958, Monday
A REAL "FRIEND OF CHILDREN" . . . .
CAMP ALEXANDER MEMORIAL TO LATE EMPORIA HUCKSTER
On a windy hilltop several miles east of Emporia is a tombstone with a simple inscription, "Friend of Children." It marks the grave of E. J. (Jones) Alexander, who before he died in 1922, asked that his property be used for the benefit of children.
In a recent study of Mr. Alexander, Dr. Orville W. Mosher, curator of the Lyon County Museum, has presented a warm and personal description of the man by consulting several "old-timers" who knew him well.
Dr. Mosher writes that "Jones" Alexander came to Emporia as a young man shortly after the Civil War. A mulatto, he had been born into slavery in North Carolina on Sept. 15th, 1853, and had been named after his master, a common practice in the pre-war slave states. He located himself on nine acres east of town, and for the next 50 years provided Emporians with vegetables and fruit he raised on his farm. he owned a spring wagon and several teams of fine horses during that half-century, and he became a veritable landmark as he rode about on the streets selling his produce.
He was always friendly to children, often letting them ride on his wagon and giving them fruit and vegetables to eat. Gently reprimanding the "juvenile delinquents" of the day, he set an example of right living with his deeply humanistic ideals. Not a religious man in the church-going sense, "Jones" Alexander had the religion of compassion and love for children which he expressed in his gift to them at the time of his death.
At the time of his death, he had-in addition to his property and farm equipment--more than $1,000 which he had saved. Shortly before he died, he made up a will with "white folks whom he trusted to be his administrators." In the will, he entrusted all his belongings to his neighbors, Clark and Lemuel Fowler, with the understanding that it be used for the "benefit of orphans and other needy children" in need of a home, home care, protection, and education. The way in which his estate should be used to benefit these children, he left to the discretion of the beneficiaries.
According to Dr. Mosher, nothing had been done to comply with the provisions of the will for nearly 20 years, because of depression and wars. Increased interest by the Kiwanis Club was shown between 1944 and 1957. By 1952 a Camp Alexander Committee was formed by a group of Emporians and a corporation charter was issued by the Secretary of State for the Camp Alexander, Inc.
Since that time, many improvements and developments have been completed at the camp site. These were described in the Oct. 14th, 1957, issue of the Gazette. Present trustees of Camp Alexander are: James W. Putnam, R. I. Anderson, Mrs. O. D. Arnold, Arthur A. Burdorf, R. W. Britton, Mrs. Perle Carson, W. E. Carter, Cleve Cook, Dr. D. R. Davis, Mrs. O. O. Teichgraeber, J. A. Peterson, Fred Fleming, Dave Jones, Mrs. H. L. Kendig, E. K. Lord, Mrs. Scott Mouse, and Stanley Parsons.--L. S.
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The Emporia Gazette, 14 Jul 1965, Wednesday
E. J. ALEXANDER RECALLED
By Miss Doris E. Cartwright
(Editor's Note: Doris Ellen Cartwright is from Johnson, Kan., which is about as far west as one can go and still be in Kansas. She has four younger sisters and one younger brother. She came to Emporia on an Emporia Scholarship Foundation scholarship in the fall of 1962 and has maintained close to a B average for her work at the Teachers College. Her interests are in business and journalism, and she hopes to be a teacher at the high school level after graduation. The following article is the result of a project done under a Federal Work-Study grant at K.S.T.C. under guidance of A. E. Bowman.)
E. J. Alexander, enigma of early Emporia, was the mystery I set out to explore in February, 1965. As soon as I found out, the cloud of mystery that surrounds "Jones" Alexander, as he was called, could hardly be penetrated. However, with the help of some rather special people, I have been able to find out a little bit about the old huckster who, upon his death in 1922, left his to the children of Lyon County. His land now is the site of Camp Alexander, one of the more popular recreation areas in the county.
On Feb. 25th, 1965, I interviewed C. C. "Shorty" Johnson, long-time fire chief of Emporia. Mr. Johnson was the first person I interviewed and he and Mrs. Johnson, with their friendly, informal manner, immediately made me feel right at home.
Mr. Johnson became acquainted with E. J. Alexander in the days when fire-fighting equipment was pulled by horses. At this time Mr. Alexander sold hay on the east side of the block between the Fourth and Fifth blocks of Mechanic Street, where a hay market was located. Later the city cleaned this block up and Mr. Alexander then began his vegetable peddling.
When he was not busy at the hay market, "Jones" Alexander sat around the fire station. Mr. Johnson often tried to get Mr. Alexander to talk about himself but according to Mr. Johnson, "I tried all I could to find out about him but I never could get anything out of him. One day I asked him if he believed in God. He answered, "Yes, I do." This was apparently E. J. Alexander's standard type of answer when asked anything about his personal life.
This much we do know about E. J. Alexander: "He wasn't big and he wasn't little. He dressed betwixt and between--not real fancy and not real plain. He was very neat and clean," and what seemed to impress Mr. Johnson most, "He had the longest, cleanest whiskers. How he ever kept them so clean is beyond me."
E. J. Alexander. What was he really like? That was the question I had tried to find the answer to. Mr. Johnson, smiling softly, summed it up with, "He was quite a piece of humanity."
JACK FOWLER INTERVIEWED
My second interview was with Jack Fowler, who for many years farmed beside E. J. Alexander. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler had just finished a hard day's work on their farm when I arrived about 7:15 in the evening. Realizing that they were both tired, I intended to keep the interview short, but they were both so willing to talk and so friendly that I soon forgot my good intentions.
Mr. Fowler reported that Mr. Fowler and he "visited quite a big and argued quite a bit." Most of the arguments were about farming practices. Said Mr. Fowler, "He didn't farm the way we did and we didn't farm like him, so we argued."
However, the arguments must have been of a friendly nature, for before E. J. Alexander died he called Mr. Fowler and his brother into the hospital room to witness his will to make them executors of his estate. Said Mr. Fowler, "I looked after the old man quite awhile before he died."
I asked Mr. Fowler if Mr. Alexander was able to read and write. He replied, "I doubt very much if he could. But he was a pretty sharp man. In his time a man didn't have to have an education to make a living."
According to Mr. Fowler, the day of Mr. Alexander's funeral was cold and damp. But there was still a crowd of about a hundred people at the funeral. The man with the great heart for kids was finally laid to rest. Only later would the town find out how truly great that heart for kids was.
The Herman Richters were the next couple I interviewed. The interview was on May 17th and the Richters were sincerely enthusiastic and interested in this project. Mr. Richter even found out where I could find Bert Rich, who knew E. J. Alexander, and made a special trip to tell me.
Mr. Alexander's farm was about two miles east of the farm where Mr. Richter grew up. Mr. Richter remembers Mr. Alexander as "always happy and jolly. He always seemed to enjoy life."
IMPRESSED BY TEAM
Mr. Richter was most impressed, as a boy, with Mr. Alexander's spring wagon and fine team. "I saw him drive by several times. His seat sat up real high and he seemed to travel in a hurry. He liked to drive fast. I can see him yet. He had a spirited team and was real proud of them."
Mr. Richter's father was in the same business as Mr. Alexander -- truck gardening -- and Mr. Alexander used to stop and talk to Mr. Richter's father. Mr. Richter recalls, "When he went by here, he would stop and talk to my father, but he never got off his wagon."
Perhaps Mr. Richter gave the best reason for the mystery surrounding the life of E. J. Alexander when he smilingly told me, "In them days, seemed like people tended to mind their own business."
My last interview took place May21st, 1965, when I met Bert Rich. Mr. Rich first met Mr. Alexander in 1887. At that time Mr. Alexander lived near the gasoline station at Ninth Avenue and Commercial Street. Later he bough the farm.
I asked Mr. Rich how Mr. Alexander had financed his farm. "On payments," was his reply. "At that time there were only about 1,000 people in Emporia. You could make any type of payments you wanted."
Mr. Rich further expounded on the spirited team that had so impressed Mr. Richter. According to Mr. Rich, "Alexander had some of the best horses in the state. That's about all he talked about."
BERT RICH COMMENTS
I had heard that Mr. Alexander once had been jilted by the woman he loved but Mr. Rich replied that he had never heard Mr. Alexander mention one word about it. Nor had he ever seen Mr. Alexander with a woman. Mr. Alexander was a true loner. Said Mr. Rich, "He never came to church and never mixed with folks much. He didn't think he was above anyone; he just had work to do at home."
And work he must have had. He came to town twice a week with his spring wagon loaded full of tomatoes and peaches and anything else which happened to be ripe. Many reports back up the statement made by Mr. Rich that "he gave away more to children than he sold."
Mr. Alexander, according to Mr. Rich, "didn't hunt or fish much for he was too busy with his farm." I asked if he ever hired anyone to help him. "No," replied Mr. Rich, "he did it all hisself."
The land that E. J. Alexander toiled and tended must have been all that he had in this world. And when he died he left it all to that which he seemed to love and yet that which Providence had denied him--children. According to Mr. Rich, "He didn't have nobody else to give it to and he thought he'd give it to a good cause." He certainly did. What cause could be greater?
*******************************
The Emporia Gazette, 14 May 1923
EDWIN J. ALEXANDER DEAD
Edwin J. Alexander, colored, a farmer, died Sunday morning in the Newman memorial hospital of Bright's disease.
Funeral services will be held tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 o'clock in the A. M. E. church. Rev. R. S. Everett, pastor of the church, will conduct the services. Interment will be in a private lot on the Alexander farm east of Emporia.
Edwin J. Alexander was born September 15, 1853, in North Carolina. He came to Lyon county 50 years ago. He never was married.
*******************************
The Emporia Gazette, 30 June 1923
HIS ALL TO CHILDREN
AGED NEGRO LEAVES ESTATE TO HELP NEEDY
Love for Little Friends is Shown in Will of E. J. Alexander, Huckster
E. J. Alexander, an aged Negro huckster, who lived four miles northeast of Emporia for nearly 50 years, left 30 acres of land and money and personal property valued at $1,100 to orphaned and needy children of Emporia and Lyon county. He also left an acre of land to be used as a cemetery for those whose relatives could not afford to buy graves in other cemeteries. The Negro's will on probate in Emporia, assigns nine acres of land to Clark and Lemuel Fowler, his white neighbors, provided they pay $50 an acre for it within two years, and the money is put in the fund for children.
Alexander died May 13. He made his will April 6, 1922.
"I give and devise unto my friends and neighbors, Clark and Fowler and Lemuel O. Fowler, brothers, all my land in the north half of the north half and the northwest quarter of Section 8, township 19, range 12 in Lyon county and extending west to the center of the Neosho river and extending east to a 27-acre tract belonging to said brothers," says a clause in the will. "The tract, now so devised to them, consisting of about nine acres; the gift so made is upon the express condition that they within a reasonable time, not exceeding two years after my death, pay unto my estate the sum of $50 an acre for said land so devised. And if said devise be not acceptable by them, said 9-acre tract is hereby directed to be turned into the general residue of my estate and disposed of by my trustees hereinafter provided for the residue of my estate.
"Subject to the payment of my lawful debts and payment of the reasonable expense incurred by my funeral and burial and the reasonable and proper maintenance, decoration and care of my grave, I hereby devise and bequeath unto said Clark Fowler and Lemuel Fowler, all the rest of my property, real, presonal and mixed. In trust however, for the benefit of orphans and other indigent or needy children who may be needing a home, home care, protection and education and the expenditures for the benefit of said orphans and children is left to the judgment and descretion of said trustees and who hereby are empowered and authorized to make such expenditures and bestow such benefits to said children in such manner and in such place or places as they may deem best for the carrying out of the purpose of this will, whether children be in or outside of chartered or organized institutions for the care and general welfare of such children."
One provision is made in the will. It stipulates that "that there is reserved one acre of land, as nearly in the form of a square as can be, in the northeast corner of my 30-acre tract, to be used as a burial ground if needed or desired by the poor and needy. And I desire that my body be buried on said one acre tract."
Mr. Alexander asked also in his will that his land not be sold unless the executors of his estate found it necessary.
Mr. Alexander was born in North Carolina, September 15, 1853. He never was married and lost track of his relatives 35 years ago.
For 30 years Mr. Alexander raised garden truck and vegetables on his farm and peddled them in Emporia. He drove a team to a spring wagon and always had several children riding with him. He often stopped to let children ride on his wagon and always gave them vegetables and fruit to eat. He loved children and when they grew older and did not ask for rides on his wagon he chided with them, saying they were "too big to ride on an old negro's wagon no more."
The $1,100 left by Mr. Alexander was in a postal savings account and in a savings bank. He left farm implements and other personal property.
The will was filed May 14 and was admitted to probate May 23.
"Old Alexander always was fond of children," Clark Fowler, one of the trustees said today. "Nothing has been done with Alexander's property but as soon as court proceedings are completed the money will be used as the will directed."
Mr. Alexander's will has created a fund similar to that left by Captain L. T. Heritage, who died about 10 years ago. Mr. Heritage left a large part of his estate in a fund for orphaned and needy children.
*******************************
The Emporia Gazette, 06 Jan 1958, Monday
A REAL "FRIEND OF CHILDREN" . . . .
CAMP ALEXANDER MEMORIAL TO LATE EMPORIA HUCKSTER
On a windy hilltop several miles east of Emporia is a tombstone with a simple inscription, "Friend of Children." It marks the grave of E. J. (Jones) Alexander, who before he died in 1922, asked that his property be used for the benefit of children.
In a recent study of Mr. Alexander, Dr. Orville W. Mosher, curator of the Lyon County Museum, has presented a warm and personal description of the man by consulting several "old-timers" who knew him well.
Dr. Mosher writes that "Jones" Alexander came to Emporia as a young man shortly after the Civil War. A mulatto, he had been born into slavery in North Carolina on Sept. 15th, 1853, and had been named after his master, a common practice in the pre-war slave states. He located himself on nine acres east of town, and for the next 50 years provided Emporians with vegetables and fruit he raised on his farm. he owned a spring wagon and several teams of fine horses during that half-century, and he became a veritable landmark as he rode about on the streets selling his produce.
He was always friendly to children, often letting them ride on his wagon and giving them fruit and vegetables to eat. Gently reprimanding the "juvenile delinquents" of the day, he set an example of right living with his deeply humanistic ideals. Not a religious man in the church-going sense, "Jones" Alexander had the religion of compassion and love for children which he expressed in his gift to them at the time of his death.
At the time of his death, he had-in addition to his property and farm equipment--more than $1,000 which he had saved. Shortly before he died, he made up a will with "white folks whom he trusted to be his administrators." In the will, he entrusted all his belongings to his neighbors, Clark and Lemuel Fowler, with the understanding that it be used for the "benefit of orphans and other needy children" in need of a home, home care, protection, and education. The way in which his estate should be used to benefit these children, he left to the discretion of the beneficiaries.
According to Dr. Mosher, nothing had been done to comply with the provisions of the will for nearly 20 years, because of depression and wars. Increased interest by the Kiwanis Club was shown between 1944 and 1957. By 1952 a Camp Alexander Committee was formed by a group of Emporians and a corporation charter was issued by the Secretary of State for the Camp Alexander, Inc.
Since that time, many improvements and developments have been completed at the camp site. These were described in the Oct. 14th, 1957, issue of the Gazette. Present trustees of Camp Alexander are: James W. Putnam, R. I. Anderson, Mrs. O. D. Arnold, Arthur A. Burdorf, R. W. Britton, Mrs. Perle Carson, W. E. Carter, Cleve Cook, Dr. D. R. Davis, Mrs. O. O. Teichgraeber, J. A. Peterson, Fred Fleming, Dave Jones, Mrs. H. L. Kendig, E. K. Lord, Mrs. Scott Mouse, and Stanley Parsons.--L. S.
*******************************
The Emporia Gazette, 14 Jul 1965, Wednesday
E. J. ALEXANDER RECALLED
By Miss Doris E. Cartwright
(Editor's Note: Doris Ellen Cartwright is from Johnson, Kan., which is about as far west as one can go and still be in Kansas. She has four younger sisters and one younger brother. She came to Emporia on an Emporia Scholarship Foundation scholarship in the fall of 1962 and has maintained close to a B average for her work at the Teachers College. Her interests are in business and journalism, and she hopes to be a teacher at the high school level after graduation. The following article is the result of a project done under a Federal Work-Study grant at K.S.T.C. under guidance of A. E. Bowman.)
E. J. Alexander, enigma of early Emporia, was the mystery I set out to explore in February, 1965. As soon as I found out, the cloud of mystery that surrounds "Jones" Alexander, as he was called, could hardly be penetrated. However, with the help of some rather special people, I have been able to find out a little bit about the old huckster who, upon his death in 1922, left his to the children of Lyon County. His land now is the site of Camp Alexander, one of the more popular recreation areas in the county.
On Feb. 25th, 1965, I interviewed C. C. "Shorty" Johnson, long-time fire chief of Emporia. Mr. Johnson was the first person I interviewed and he and Mrs. Johnson, with their friendly, informal manner, immediately made me feel right at home.
Mr. Johnson became acquainted with E. J. Alexander in the days when fire-fighting equipment was pulled by horses. At this time Mr. Alexander sold hay on the east side of the block between the Fourth and Fifth blocks of Mechanic Street, where a hay market was located. Later the city cleaned this block up and Mr. Alexander then began his vegetable peddling.
When he was not busy at the hay market, "Jones" Alexander sat around the fire station. Mr. Johnson often tried to get Mr. Alexander to talk about himself but according to Mr. Johnson, "I tried all I could to find out about him but I never could get anything out of him. One day I asked him if he believed in God. He answered, "Yes, I do." This was apparently E. J. Alexander's standard type of answer when asked anything about his personal life.
This much we do know about E. J. Alexander: "He wasn't big and he wasn't little. He dressed betwixt and between--not real fancy and not real plain. He was very neat and clean," and what seemed to impress Mr. Johnson most, "He had the longest, cleanest whiskers. How he ever kept them so clean is beyond me."
E. J. Alexander. What was he really like? That was the question I had tried to find the answer to. Mr. Johnson, smiling softly, summed it up with, "He was quite a piece of humanity."
JACK FOWLER INTERVIEWED
My second interview was with Jack Fowler, who for many years farmed beside E. J. Alexander. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler had just finished a hard day's work on their farm when I arrived about 7:15 in the evening. Realizing that they were both tired, I intended to keep the interview short, but they were both so willing to talk and so friendly that I soon forgot my good intentions.
Mr. Fowler reported that Mr. Fowler and he "visited quite a big and argued quite a bit." Most of the arguments were about farming practices. Said Mr. Fowler, "He didn't farm the way we did and we didn't farm like him, so we argued."
However, the arguments must have been of a friendly nature, for before E. J. Alexander died he called Mr. Fowler and his brother into the hospital room to witness his will to make them executors of his estate. Said Mr. Fowler, "I looked after the old man quite awhile before he died."
I asked Mr. Fowler if Mr. Alexander was able to read and write. He replied, "I doubt very much if he could. But he was a pretty sharp man. In his time a man didn't have to have an education to make a living."
According to Mr. Fowler, the day of Mr. Alexander's funeral was cold and damp. But there was still a crowd of about a hundred people at the funeral. The man with the great heart for kids was finally laid to rest. Only later would the town find out how truly great that heart for kids was.
The Herman Richters were the next couple I interviewed. The interview was on May 17th and the Richters were sincerely enthusiastic and interested in this project. Mr. Richter even found out where I could find Bert Rich, who knew E. J. Alexander, and made a special trip to tell me.
Mr. Alexander's farm was about two miles east of the farm where Mr. Richter grew up. Mr. Richter remembers Mr. Alexander as "always happy and jolly. He always seemed to enjoy life."
IMPRESSED BY TEAM
Mr. Richter was most impressed, as a boy, with Mr. Alexander's spring wagon and fine team. "I saw him drive by several times. His seat sat up real high and he seemed to travel in a hurry. He liked to drive fast. I can see him yet. He had a spirited team and was real proud of them."
Mr. Richter's father was in the same business as Mr. Alexander -- truck gardening -- and Mr. Alexander used to stop and talk to Mr. Richter's father. Mr. Richter recalls, "When he went by here, he would stop and talk to my father, but he never got off his wagon."
Perhaps Mr. Richter gave the best reason for the mystery surrounding the life of E. J. Alexander when he smilingly told me, "In them days, seemed like people tended to mind their own business."
My last interview took place May21st, 1965, when I met Bert Rich. Mr. Rich first met Mr. Alexander in 1887. At that time Mr. Alexander lived near the gasoline station at Ninth Avenue and Commercial Street. Later he bough the farm.
I asked Mr. Rich how Mr. Alexander had financed his farm. "On payments," was his reply. "At that time there were only about 1,000 people in Emporia. You could make any type of payments you wanted."
Mr. Rich further expounded on the spirited team that had so impressed Mr. Richter. According to Mr. Rich, "Alexander had some of the best horses in the state. That's about all he talked about."
BERT RICH COMMENTS
I had heard that Mr. Alexander once had been jilted by the woman he loved but Mr. Rich replied that he had never heard Mr. Alexander mention one word about it. Nor had he ever seen Mr. Alexander with a woman. Mr. Alexander was a true loner. Said Mr. Rich, "He never came to church and never mixed with folks much. He didn't think he was above anyone; he just had work to do at home."
And work he must have had. He came to town twice a week with his spring wagon loaded full of tomatoes and peaches and anything else which happened to be ripe. Many reports back up the statement made by Mr. Rich that "he gave away more to children than he sold."
Mr. Alexander, according to Mr. Rich, "didn't hunt or fish much for he was too busy with his farm." I asked if he ever hired anyone to help him. "No," replied Mr. Rich, "he did it all hisself."
The land that E. J. Alexander toiled and tended must have been all that he had in this world. And when he died he left it all to that which he seemed to love and yet that which Providence had denied him--children. According to Mr. Rich, "He didn't have nobody else to give it to and he thought he'd give it to a good cause." He certainly did. What cause could be greater?
Mr. Alexander was born into slavery in North Carolina. In 1886, he purchased 9 acres, and later added 30 more. He had a huckster wagon and sold crops from door to door. Three times a week he took his horse-drawn wagon to Emporia to sell fruits and vegetables, often giving children rides. What he didn't sell in the better part of town, he donated to people in the poorer sections. In 1923, he willed his property (39 acres and $1190.00) to the children of Emporia. His will stipulated that one acre be set aside for his grave, and for the burial of others too poor to afford plots. His gift provided the means for the establishment of Camp Alexander.
*******************************
The Emporia Gazette, 14 May 1923
EDWIN J. ALEXANDER DEAD
Edwin J. Alexander, colored, a farmer, died Sunday morning in the Newman memorial hospital of Bright's disease.
Funeral services will be held tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 o'clock in the A. M. E. church. Rev. R. S. Everett, pastor of the church, will conduct the services. Interment will be in a private lot on the Alexander farm east of Emporia.
Edwin J. Alexander was born September 15, 1853, in North Carolina. He came to Lyon county 50 years ago. He never was married.
*******************************
The Emporia Gazette, 30 June 1923
HIS ALL TO CHILDREN
AGED NEGRO LEAVES ESTATE TO HELP NEEDY
Love for Little Friends is Shown in Will of E. J. Alexander, Huckster
E. J. Alexander, an aged Negro huckster, who lived four miles northeast of Emporia for nearly 50 years, left 30 acres of land and money and personal property valued at $1,100 to orphaned and needy children of Emporia and Lyon county. He also left an acre of land to be used as a cemetery for those whose relatives could not afford to buy graves in other cemeteries. The Negro's will on probate in Emporia, assigns nine acres of land to Clark and Lemuel Fowler, his white neighbors, provided they pay $50 an acre for it within two years, and the money is put in the fund for children.
Alexander died May 13. He made his will April 6, 1922.
"I give and devise unto my friends and neighbors, Clark and Fowler and Lemuel O. Fowler, brothers, all my land in the north half of the north half and the northwest quarter of Section 8, township 19, range 12 in Lyon county and extending west to the center of the Neosho river and extending east to a 27-acre tract belonging to said brothers," says a clause in the will. "The tract, now so devised to them, consisting of about nine acres; the gift so made is upon the express condition that they within a reasonable time, not exceeding two years after my death, pay unto my estate the sum of $50 an acre for said land so devised. And if said devise be not acceptable by them, said 9-acre tract is hereby directed to be turned into the general residue of my estate and disposed of by my trustees hereinafter provided for the residue of my estate.
"Subject to the payment of my lawful debts and payment of the reasonable expense incurred by my funeral and burial and the reasonable and proper maintenance, decoration and care of my grave, I hereby devise and bequeath unto said Clark Fowler and Lemuel Fowler, all the rest of my property, real, presonal and mixed. In trust however, for the benefit of orphans and other indigent or needy children who may be needing a home, home care, protection and education and the expenditures for the benefit of said orphans and children is left to the judgment and descretion of said trustees and who hereby are empowered and authorized to make such expenditures and bestow such benefits to said children in such manner and in such place or places as they may deem best for the carrying out of the purpose of this will, whether children be in or outside of chartered or organized institutions for the care and general welfare of such children."
One provision is made in the will. It stipulates that "that there is reserved one acre of land, as nearly in the form of a square as can be, in the northeast corner of my 30-acre tract, to be used as a burial ground if needed or desired by the poor and needy. And I desire that my body be buried on said one acre tract."
Mr. Alexander asked also in his will that his land not be sold unless the executors of his estate found it necessary.
Mr. Alexander was born in North Carolina, September 15, 1853. He never was married and lost track of his relatives 35 years ago.
For 30 years Mr. Alexander raised garden truck and vegetables on his farm and peddled them in Emporia. He drove a team to a spring wagon and always had several children riding with him. He often stopped to let children ride on his wagon and always gave them vegetables and fruit to eat. He loved children and when they grew older and did not ask for rides on his wagon he chided with them, saying they were "too big to ride on an old negro's wagon no more."
The $1,100 left by Mr. Alexander was in a postal savings account and in a savings bank. He left farm implements and other personal property.
The will was filed May 14 and was admitted to probate May 23.
"Old Alexander always was fond of children," Clark Fowler, one of the trustees said today. "Nothing has been done with Alexander's property but as soon as court proceedings are completed the money will be used as the will directed."
Mr. Alexander's will has created a fund similar to that left by Captain L. T. Heritage, who died about 10 years ago. Mr. Heritage left a large part of his estate in a fund for orphaned and needy children.
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The Emporia Gazette, 06 Jan 1958, Monday
A REAL "FRIEND OF CHILDREN" . . . .
CAMP ALEXANDER MEMORIAL TO LATE EMPORIA HUCKSTER
On a windy hilltop several miles east of Emporia is a tombstone with a simple inscription, "Friend of Children." It marks the grave of E. J. (Jones) Alexander, who before he died in 1922, asked that his property be used for the benefit of children.
In a recent study of Mr. Alexander, Dr. Orville W. Mosher, curator of the Lyon County Museum, has presented a warm and personal description of the man by consulting several "old-timers" who knew him well.
Dr. Mosher writes that "Jones" Alexander came to Emporia as a young man shortly after the Civil War. A mulatto, he had been born into slavery in North Carolina on Sept. 15th, 1853, and had been named after his master, a common practice in the pre-war slave states. He located himself on nine acres east of town, and for the next 50 years provided Emporians with vegetables and fruit he raised on his farm. he owned a spring wagon and several teams of fine horses during that half-century, and he became a veritable landmark as he rode about on the streets selling his produce.
He was always friendly to children, often letting them ride on his wagon and giving them fruit and vegetables to eat. Gently reprimanding the "juvenile delinquents" of the day, he set an example of right living with his deeply humanistic ideals. Not a religious man in the church-going sense, "Jones" Alexander had the religion of compassion and love for children which he expressed in his gift to them at the time of his death.
At the time of his death, he had-in addition to his property and farm equipment--more than $1,000 which he had saved. Shortly before he died, he made up a will with "white folks whom he trusted to be his administrators." In the will, he entrusted all his belongings to his neighbors, Clark and Lemuel Fowler, with the understanding that it be used for the "benefit of orphans and other needy children" in need of a home, home care, protection, and education. The way in which his estate should be used to benefit these children, he left to the discretion of the beneficiaries.
According to Dr. Mosher, nothing had been done to comply with the provisions of the will for nearly 20 years, because of depression and wars. Increased interest by the Kiwanis Club was shown between 1944 and 1957. By 1952 a Camp Alexander Committee was formed by a group of Emporians and a corporation charter was issued by the Secretary of State for the Camp Alexander, Inc.
Since that time, many improvements and developments have been completed at the camp site. These were described in the Oct. 14th, 1957, issue of the Gazette. Present trustees of Camp Alexander are: James W. Putnam, R. I. Anderson, Mrs. O. D. Arnold, Arthur A. Burdorf, R. W. Britton, Mrs. Perle Carson, W. E. Carter, Cleve Cook, Dr. D. R. Davis, Mrs. O. O. Teichgraeber, J. A. Peterson, Fred Fleming, Dave Jones, Mrs. H. L. Kendig, E. K. Lord, Mrs. Scott Mouse, and Stanley Parsons.--L. S.
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The Emporia Gazette, 14 Jul 1965, Wednesday
E. J. ALEXANDER RECALLED
By Miss Doris E. Cartwright
(Editor's Note: Doris Ellen Cartwright is from Johnson, Kan., which is about as far west as one can go and still be in Kansas. She has four younger sisters and one younger brother. She came to Emporia on an Emporia Scholarship Foundation scholarship in the fall of 1962 and has maintained close to a B average for her work at the Teachers College. Her interests are in business and journalism, and she hopes to be a teacher at the high school level after graduation. The following article is the result of a project done under a Federal Work-Study grant at K.S.T.C. under guidance of A. E. Bowman.)
E. J. Alexander, enigma of early Emporia, was the mystery I set out to explore in February, 1965. As soon as I found out, the cloud of mystery that surrounds "Jones" Alexander, as he was called, could hardly be penetrated. However, with the help of some rather special people, I have been able to find out a little bit about the old huckster who, upon his death in 1922, left his to the children of Lyon County. His land now is the site of Camp Alexander, one of the more popular recreation areas in the county.
On Feb. 25th, 1965, I interviewed C. C. "Shorty" Johnson, long-time fire chief of Emporia. Mr. Johnson was the first person I interviewed and he and Mrs. Johnson, with their friendly, informal manner, immediately made me feel right at home.
Mr. Johnson became acquainted with E. J. Alexander in the days when fire-fighting equipment was pulled by horses. At this time Mr. Alexander sold hay on the east side of the block between the Fourth and Fifth blocks of Mechanic Street, where a hay market was located. Later the city cleaned this block up and Mr. Alexander then began his vegetable peddling.
When he was not busy at the hay market, "Jones" Alexander sat around the fire station. Mr. Johnson often tried to get Mr. Alexander to talk about himself but according to Mr. Johnson, "I tried all I could to find out about him but I never could get anything out of him. One day I asked him if he believed in God. He answered, "Yes, I do." This was apparently E. J. Alexander's standard type of answer when asked anything about his personal life.
This much we do know about E. J. Alexander: "He wasn't big and he wasn't little. He dressed betwixt and between--not real fancy and not real plain. He was very neat and clean," and what seemed to impress Mr. Johnson most, "He had the longest, cleanest whiskers. How he ever kept them so clean is beyond me."
E. J. Alexander. What was he really like? That was the question I had tried to find the answer to. Mr. Johnson, smiling softly, summed it up with, "He was quite a piece of humanity."
JACK FOWLER INTERVIEWED
My second interview was with Jack Fowler, who for many years farmed beside E. J. Alexander. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler had just finished a hard day's work on their farm when I arrived about 7:15 in the evening. Realizing that they were both tired, I intended to keep the interview short, but they were both so willing to talk and so friendly that I soon forgot my good intentions.
Mr. Fowler reported that Mr. Fowler and he "visited quite a big and argued quite a bit." Most of the arguments were about farming practices. Said Mr. Fowler, "He didn't farm the way we did and we didn't farm like him, so we argued."
However, the arguments must have been of a friendly nature, for before E. J. Alexander died he called Mr. Fowler and his brother into the hospital room to witness his will to make them executors of his estate. Said Mr. Fowler, "I looked after the old man quite awhile before he died."
I asked Mr. Fowler if Mr. Alexander was able to read and write. He replied, "I doubt very much if he could. But he was a pretty sharp man. In his time a man didn't have to have an education to make a living."
According to Mr. Fowler, the day of Mr. Alexander's funeral was cold and damp. But there was still a crowd of about a hundred people at the funeral. The man with the great heart for kids was finally laid to rest. Only later would the town find out how truly great that heart for kids was.
The Herman Richters were the next couple I interviewed. The interview was on May 17th and the Richters were sincerely enthusiastic and interested in this project. Mr. Richter even found out where I could find Bert Rich, who knew E. J. Alexander, and made a special trip to tell me.
Mr. Alexander's farm was about two miles east of the farm where Mr. Richter grew up. Mr. Richter remembers Mr. Alexander as "always happy and jolly. He always seemed to enjoy life."
IMPRESSED BY TEAM
Mr. Richter was most impressed, as a boy, with Mr. Alexander's spring wagon and fine team. "I saw him drive by several times. His seat sat up real high and he seemed to travel in a hurry. He liked to drive fast. I can see him yet. He had a spirited team and was real proud of them."
Mr. Richter's father was in the same business as Mr. Alexander -- truck gardening -- and Mr. Alexander used to stop and talk to Mr. Richter's father. Mr. Richter recalls, "When he went by here, he would stop and talk to my father, but he never got off his wagon."
Perhaps Mr. Richter gave the best reason for the mystery surrounding the life of E. J. Alexander when he smilingly told me, "In them days, seemed like people tended to mind their own business."
My last interview took place May21st, 1965, when I met Bert Rich. Mr. Rich first met Mr. Alexander in 1887. At that time Mr. Alexander lived near the gasoline station at Ninth Avenue and Commercial Street. Later he bough the farm.
I asked Mr. Rich how Mr. Alexander had financed his farm. "On payments," was his reply. "At that time there were only about 1,000 people in Emporia. You could make any type of payments you wanted."
Mr. Rich further expounded on the spirited team that had so impressed Mr. Richter. According to Mr. Rich, "Alexander had some of the best horses in the state. That's about all he talked about."
BERT RICH COMMENTS
I had heard that Mr. Alexander once had been jilted by the woman he loved but Mr. Rich replied that he had never heard Mr. Alexander mention one word about it. Nor had he ever seen Mr. Alexander with a woman. Mr. Alexander was a true loner. Said Mr. Rich, "He never came to church and never mixed with folks much. He didn't think he was above anyone; he just had work to do at home."
And work he must have had. He came to town twice a week with his spring wagon loaded full of tomatoes and peaches and anything else which happened to be ripe. Many reports back up the statement made by Mr. Rich that "he gave away more to children than he sold."
Mr. Alexander, according to Mr. Rich, "didn't hunt or fish much for he was too busy with his farm." I asked if he ever hired anyone to help him. "No," replied Mr. Rich, "he did it all hisself."
The land that E. J. Alexander toiled and tended must have been all that he had in this world. And when he died he left it all to that which he seemed to love and yet that which Providence had denied him--children. According to Mr. Rich, "He didn't have nobody else to give it to and he thought he'd give it to a good cause." He certainly did. What cause could be greater?
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The Emporia Gazette, 14 May 1923
EDWIN J. ALEXANDER DEAD
Edwin J. Alexander, colored, a farmer, died Sunday morning in the Newman memorial hospital of Bright's disease.
Funeral services will be held tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 o'clock in the A. M. E. church. Rev. R. S. Everett, pastor of the church, will conduct the services. Interment will be in a private lot on the Alexander farm east of Emporia.
Edwin J. Alexander was born September 15, 1853, in North Carolina. He came to Lyon county 50 years ago. He never was married.
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The Emporia Gazette, 30 June 1923
HIS ALL TO CHILDREN
AGED NEGRO LEAVES ESTATE TO HELP NEEDY
Love for Little Friends is Shown in Will of E. J. Alexander, Huckster
E. J. Alexander, an aged Negro huckster, who lived four miles northeast of Emporia for nearly 50 years, left 30 acres of land and money and personal property valued at $1,100 to orphaned and needy children of Emporia and Lyon county. He also left an acre of land to be used as a cemetery for those whose relatives could not afford to buy graves in other cemeteries. The Negro's will on probate in Emporia, assigns nine acres of land to Clark and Lemuel Fowler, his white neighbors, provided they pay $50 an acre for it within two years, and the money is put in the fund for children.
Alexander died May 13. He made his will April 6, 1922.
"I give and devise unto my friends and neighbors, Clark and Fowler and Lemuel O. Fowler, brothers, all my land in the north half of the north half and the northwest quarter of Section 8, township 19, range 12 in Lyon county and extending west to the center of the Neosho river and extending east to a 27-acre tract belonging to said brothers," says a clause in the will. "The tract, now so devised to them, consisting of about nine acres; the gift so made is upon the express condition that they within a reasonable time, not exceeding two years after my death, pay unto my estate the sum of $50 an acre for said land so devised. And if said devise be not acceptable by them, said 9-acre tract is hereby directed to be turned into the general residue of my estate and disposed of by my trustees hereinafter provided for the residue of my estate.
"Subject to the payment of my lawful debts and payment of the reasonable expense incurred by my funeral and burial and the reasonable and proper maintenance, decoration and care of my grave, I hereby devise and bequeath unto said Clark Fowler and Lemuel Fowler, all the rest of my property, real, presonal and mixed. In trust however, for the benefit of orphans and other indigent or needy children who may be needing a home, home care, protection and education and the expenditures for the benefit of said orphans and children is left to the judgment and descretion of said trustees and who hereby are empowered and authorized to make such expenditures and bestow such benefits to said children in such manner and in such place or places as they may deem best for the carrying out of the purpose of this will, whether children be in or outside of chartered or organized institutions for the care and general welfare of such children."
One provision is made in the will. It stipulates that "that there is reserved one acre of land, as nearly in the form of a square as can be, in the northeast corner of my 30-acre tract, to be used as a burial ground if needed or desired by the poor and needy. And I desire that my body be buried on said one acre tract."
Mr. Alexander asked also in his will that his land not be sold unless the executors of his estate found it necessary.
Mr. Alexander was born in North Carolina, September 15, 1853. He never was married and lost track of his relatives 35 years ago.
For 30 years Mr. Alexander raised garden truck and vegetables on his farm and peddled them in Emporia. He drove a team to a spring wagon and always had several children riding with him. He often stopped to let children ride on his wagon and always gave them vegetables and fruit to eat. He loved children and when they grew older and did not ask for rides on his wagon he chided with them, saying they were "too big to ride on an old negro's wagon no more."
The $1,100 left by Mr. Alexander was in a postal savings account and in a savings bank. He left farm implements and other personal property.
The will was filed May 14 and was admitted to probate May 23.
"Old Alexander always was fond of children," Clark Fowler, one of the trustees said today. "Nothing has been done with Alexander's property but as soon as court proceedings are completed the money will be used as the will directed."
Mr. Alexander's will has created a fund similar to that left by Captain L. T. Heritage, who died about 10 years ago. Mr. Heritage left a large part of his estate in a fund for orphaned and needy children.
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The Emporia Gazette, 06 Jan 1958, Monday
A REAL "FRIEND OF CHILDREN" . . . .
CAMP ALEXANDER MEMORIAL TO LATE EMPORIA HUCKSTER
On a windy hilltop several miles east of Emporia is a tombstone with a simple inscription, "Friend of Children." It marks the grave of E. J. (Jones) Alexander, who before he died in 1922, asked that his property be used for the benefit of children.
In a recent study of Mr. Alexander, Dr. Orville W. Mosher, curator of the Lyon County Museum, has presented a warm and personal description of the man by consulting several "old-timers" who knew him well.
Dr. Mosher writes that "Jones" Alexander came to Emporia as a young man shortly after the Civil War. A mulatto, he had been born into slavery in North Carolina on Sept. 15th, 1853, and had been named after his master, a common practice in the pre-war slave states. He located himself on nine acres east of town, and for the next 50 years provided Emporians with vegetables and fruit he raised on his farm. he owned a spring wagon and several teams of fine horses during that half-century, and he became a veritable landmark as he rode about on the streets selling his produce.
He was always friendly to children, often letting them ride on his wagon and giving them fruit and vegetables to eat. Gently reprimanding the "juvenile delinquents" of the day, he set an example of right living with his deeply humanistic ideals. Not a religious man in the church-going sense, "Jones" Alexander had the religion of compassion and love for children which he expressed in his gift to them at the time of his death.
At the time of his death, he had-in addition to his property and farm equipment--more than $1,000 which he had saved. Shortly before he died, he made up a will with "white folks whom he trusted to be his administrators." In the will, he entrusted all his belongings to his neighbors, Clark and Lemuel Fowler, with the understanding that it be used for the "benefit of orphans and other needy children" in need of a home, home care, protection, and education. The way in which his estate should be used to benefit these children, he left to the discretion of the beneficiaries.
According to Dr. Mosher, nothing had been done to comply with the provisions of the will for nearly 20 years, because of depression and wars. Increased interest by the Kiwanis Club was shown between 1944 and 1957. By 1952 a Camp Alexander Committee was formed by a group of Emporians and a corporation charter was issued by the Secretary of State for the Camp Alexander, Inc.
Since that time, many improvements and developments have been completed at the camp site. These were described in the Oct. 14th, 1957, issue of the Gazette. Present trustees of Camp Alexander are: James W. Putnam, R. I. Anderson, Mrs. O. D. Arnold, Arthur A. Burdorf, R. W. Britton, Mrs. Perle Carson, W. E. Carter, Cleve Cook, Dr. D. R. Davis, Mrs. O. O. Teichgraeber, J. A. Peterson, Fred Fleming, Dave Jones, Mrs. H. L. Kendig, E. K. Lord, Mrs. Scott Mouse, and Stanley Parsons.--L. S.
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The Emporia Gazette, 14 Jul 1965, Wednesday
E. J. ALEXANDER RECALLED
By Miss Doris E. Cartwright
(Editor's Note: Doris Ellen Cartwright is from Johnson, Kan., which is about as far west as one can go and still be in Kansas. She has four younger sisters and one younger brother. She came to Emporia on an Emporia Scholarship Foundation scholarship in the fall of 1962 and has maintained close to a B average for her work at the Teachers College. Her interests are in business and journalism, and she hopes to be a teacher at the high school level after graduation. The following article is the result of a project done under a Federal Work-Study grant at K.S.T.C. under guidance of A. E. Bowman.)
E. J. Alexander, enigma of early Emporia, was the mystery I set out to explore in February, 1965. As soon as I found out, the cloud of mystery that surrounds "Jones" Alexander, as he was called, could hardly be penetrated. However, with the help of some rather special people, I have been able to find out a little bit about the old huckster who, upon his death in 1922, left his to the children of Lyon County. His land now is the site of Camp Alexander, one of the more popular recreation areas in the county.
On Feb. 25th, 1965, I interviewed C. C. "Shorty" Johnson, long-time fire chief of Emporia. Mr. Johnson was the first person I interviewed and he and Mrs. Johnson, with their friendly, informal manner, immediately made me feel right at home.
Mr. Johnson became acquainted with E. J. Alexander in the days when fire-fighting equipment was pulled by horses. At this time Mr. Alexander sold hay on the east side of the block between the Fourth and Fifth blocks of Mechanic Street, where a hay market was located. Later the city cleaned this block up and Mr. Alexander then began his vegetable peddling.
When he was not busy at the hay market, "Jones" Alexander sat around the fire station. Mr. Johnson often tried to get Mr. Alexander to talk about himself but according to Mr. Johnson, "I tried all I could to find out about him but I never could get anything out of him. One day I asked him if he believed in God. He answered, "Yes, I do." This was apparently E. J. Alexander's standard type of answer when asked anything about his personal life.
This much we do know about E. J. Alexander: "He wasn't big and he wasn't little. He dressed betwixt and between--not real fancy and not real plain. He was very neat and clean," and what seemed to impress Mr. Johnson most, "He had the longest, cleanest whiskers. How he ever kept them so clean is beyond me."
E. J. Alexander. What was he really like? That was the question I had tried to find the answer to. Mr. Johnson, smiling softly, summed it up with, "He was quite a piece of humanity."
JACK FOWLER INTERVIEWED
My second interview was with Jack Fowler, who for many years farmed beside E. J. Alexander. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler had just finished a hard day's work on their farm when I arrived about 7:15 in the evening. Realizing that they were both tired, I intended to keep the interview short, but they were both so willing to talk and so friendly that I soon forgot my good intentions.
Mr. Fowler reported that Mr. Fowler and he "visited quite a big and argued quite a bit." Most of the arguments were about farming practices. Said Mr. Fowler, "He didn't farm the way we did and we didn't farm like him, so we argued."
However, the arguments must have been of a friendly nature, for before E. J. Alexander died he called Mr. Fowler and his brother into the hospital room to witness his will to make them executors of his estate. Said Mr. Fowler, "I looked after the old man quite awhile before he died."
I asked Mr. Fowler if Mr. Alexander was able to read and write. He replied, "I doubt very much if he could. But he was a pretty sharp man. In his time a man didn't have to have an education to make a living."
According to Mr. Fowler, the day of Mr. Alexander's funeral was cold and damp. But there was still a crowd of about a hundred people at the funeral. The man with the great heart for kids was finally laid to rest. Only later would the town find out how truly great that heart for kids was.
The Herman Richters were the next couple I interviewed. The interview was on May 17th and the Richters were sincerely enthusiastic and interested in this project. Mr. Richter even found out where I could find Bert Rich, who knew E. J. Alexander, and made a special trip to tell me.
Mr. Alexander's farm was about two miles east of the farm where Mr. Richter grew up. Mr. Richter remembers Mr. Alexander as "always happy and jolly. He always seemed to enjoy life."
IMPRESSED BY TEAM
Mr. Richter was most impressed, as a boy, with Mr. Alexander's spring wagon and fine team. "I saw him drive by several times. His seat sat up real high and he seemed to travel in a hurry. He liked to drive fast. I can see him yet. He had a spirited team and was real proud of them."
Mr. Richter's father was in the same business as Mr. Alexander -- truck gardening -- and Mr. Alexander used to stop and talk to Mr. Richter's father. Mr. Richter recalls, "When he went by here, he would stop and talk to my father, but he never got off his wagon."
Perhaps Mr. Richter gave the best reason for the mystery surrounding the life of E. J. Alexander when he smilingly told me, "In them days, seemed like people tended to mind their own business."
My last interview took place May21st, 1965, when I met Bert Rich. Mr. Rich first met Mr. Alexander in 1887. At that time Mr. Alexander lived near the gasoline station at Ninth Avenue and Commercial Street. Later he bough the farm.
I asked Mr. Rich how Mr. Alexander had financed his farm. "On payments," was his reply. "At that time there were only about 1,000 people in Emporia. You could make any type of payments you wanted."
Mr. Rich further expounded on the spirited team that had so impressed Mr. Richter. According to Mr. Rich, "Alexander had some of the best horses in the state. That's about all he talked about."
BERT RICH COMMENTS
I had heard that Mr. Alexander once had been jilted by the woman he loved but Mr. Rich replied that he had never heard Mr. Alexander mention one word about it. Nor had he ever seen Mr. Alexander with a woman. Mr. Alexander was a true loner. Said Mr. Rich, "He never came to church and never mixed with folks much. He didn't think he was above anyone; he just had work to do at home."
And work he must have had. He came to town twice a week with his spring wagon loaded full of tomatoes and peaches and anything else which happened to be ripe. Many reports back up the statement made by Mr. Rich that "he gave away more to children than he sold."
Mr. Alexander, according to Mr. Rich, "didn't hunt or fish much for he was too busy with his farm." I asked if he ever hired anyone to help him. "No," replied Mr. Rich, "he did it all hisself."
The land that E. J. Alexander toiled and tended must have been all that he had in this world. And when he died he left it all to that which he seemed to love and yet that which Providence had denied him--children. According to Mr. Rich, "He didn't have nobody else to give it to and he thought he'd give it to a good cause." He certainly did. What cause could be greater?
Gravesite Details
Obit and articles document a different birth year than that which is recorded on the marker.
