“Sudden Heart Attack – Publisher of Claremore Progress Came to Claremore in 1893 – Death Came Following a Party.
“Albert Linnwood Kates, 76, publisher of the Claremore Progress died at his home on East Second Street, at 2:30 o’clock Wednesday morning, a victim of heart failure.
“Mr. Kates had attended the Tuesday Evening pitch club, and was in fine spirits all evening. Returning to his home, he felt ill and called Dr. F.A. Anderson. Death was due to heart failure.
“Kates came to Claremore during the month of June in 1893. Claremore at that time was nothing more than a wide place in the road.
“Duing the next thirty-five years he saw Claremore grow from a small village to its present size.
“Mr. Kates took an interest in the special and political life of this co. However, a few years ago he retired from active business, and turned the management of his newspaper over to his two sons, Bill and Harry.
“Funeral services will be held from the Kates home, on Second street, Friday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock, with the A.L. Musgrove funeral home in charge, Rev. James Miller, pastor of the Christian church at Skiatook will say the words of consolation.
“Interment will be made in Wooslawn cemetery, beside his wife and eldest son.
“Caremore Retail Merchants association have asked that all business houses close during the time that the funeral is being held.
“Born Salem County, New Jersey, April 27, 1861.
“Married to Nellie C. Moore at Swedesboro, N.J., December 23, 1886.
“Mrs. Kates died May 7, 1933, at Claremore, Okla.
“Five children were born: Wm. M. Kates, Nov. 6, 1887; John M. Kates, June 17, 1890; Wm. C. Kates, January 20, 1892; Harry Kates, October 6, 1897; Helen Kates, October 6, 1897, (twins). Of these but two are now living, Wm. C. and Harry.
“Mr. Kates was the son of a tenant farmer, forced to quit school at the age of 15, to take charge of the farm ‘because of failing health of his father.’ However, early in life he had formed a desire to own and operate a newspaper. He started working for the Woodstown Register, January 1, 1882, and the following year was employed by the Swedesboro, (N.J.) News. During the summer of 1883 he worked for the Cape May, N.Y. Paper. September 1, 1883, Mr. Kates accepted the management of a general store at Elmer, N.J., which he conducted for one year, but he could not forget his first love – the newspaper.
“On September 6, 1883, he and Lewis Taylor purchased the Woodstown, N.J., Register. Later, on January 1, 1887, this partnership purchased the Swedesboro, N.J. News. Mr. Taylor during 1887 purchased the Register and Mr. Kates the News.
“On January 1, 1888, this partnership was dissolved, Mr. Kates taking the Register, which he continued to publish until January 1, 1890, when he sold it to Wm. Taylor, moving to Bridgetown, N.J., where he was employed as a job printer on a daily for a short time; later becoming foreman of The Weekly Chronicle, a position he held until June 1893, when he moved to his present location – Claremore, firm in the belief that the west offered the best opportunities.
“Mr. and Mrs. Kates with two children, John and Will, arrived in Claremore, June 28, 1893.
“The day he bought the Progress there was little more than a shirt-tail full of type, an army press and a hand-lever and jobber.
“Mr. Kates has been honored during his life on many occasions with many positions. He was chairman of the Democratic Committee, constitutional delegate election; Democratic county chairman, postmaster at Claremore; vice president N.E. A. for Oklahoma; President Indian Territory association year of Omaha Exposition; President Oklahoma Press Association, 1913; President elector, 1924; special officer of National Democratic convention, Chicago, 1896; President chamber of commerce. He was not a member of any fraternal orders; carried no life insurance, and was not a member of any church.”[1]
“Friends of A.L. Kates Gather At His Home For Final Rites – Business In City Pauses In Respect For Publisher Whose Career In The Newspaper Business Paced Claremore’s Development.
“The high and the lowly, all friends of one man, acquired in a lifetime of honest service and human understanding, paid tribute to Albert L. Kates, Friday afternoon, as final rites were observed for the veteran publisher of the Progress.
“United by a common loss, the assembled mourners filled every available foot of space in the Kates home on East Second street and many others, unable to find room inside, stood humbly in the cold outdoors while the Rev. James Miller, of Skiatook, delivered a recital of the life which was so closely identified with the development of Claremore.
“The service was held at the home in compliance with wishes expressed by Mr. Kates before his death.
“‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.’
“With this fourth verse from the 21st Chapter of Revelations and selections from the 22nd Chapter of the same book and from the fifth Chapter of Second Corinthians, the Rev. Mr. Miller interspersed his sermon in which he recalled numerous highlights in the life of Mr. Kates.
“County and city offices and many places of business in Claremore closed their doors Friday afternoon during the hours in which the service was in progress in honor of Mr. Kates who would have completed his fiftieth year as a publisher this spring.
“Before the opening of the service, Jack Kates, grandson of the deceased, sang ‘The Rosary.’ Later a quartet composed of Raymond Bassman, J.P. Rosson, Wynn York and C.M. Durham sang, ‘Abide With Me’ and Dr. Claude Chambers of Seminole, rendered a vocal solo, ‘Home On the Range.’ Miss Gwen Phillips and Earl Fry were the accompanists.
“As the procession made its way to the Woodlawn cemetery following the service, state highway patrolmen and city police were stationed along the route to prevent cross traffic from interrupting the proceedure.
“When relatives and friends had gathered at the grave, banked high with floral offerings, the Rev. Mr. Miller repeated the words of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s ‘Crossing the Bar.’
“Mr. Kates died in the early hours of Wednesday morning of a heart attack after enjoying a vigorous health up until late the preceeding evening.
“His death followed by less than five years that of his wife, Nellie Moore Kates, who died May 7th, 1933.
“Mr. Kates is survived by two sons, Will and Harry, two brothers, Harry, of Doylestown, Pa., and Ewalt, of Wilmington, Del., nine grandchildren, and three great grandbhildren.
“The following members of the Tuesday Night Pitch Club, of which Mr. Kates was a charter member, served as pall bearers: J.L. Bowman, Leo A. Moore, A.V. Robinson, Dr. H.H. Kaho, G.O. Bayless and S.C. Vinson.
Honorary pall bearers were Jack Temple, H. Tom Brown, W.P. Johnston, J.W. Bishop, Steve Karrant, C.B. Holtzendorff, G.D. Davis, F.V. Askew, W.E. Sanders, E.L. Smart, Bert Sprangel, Tom J. Dean, A.A. Dennison, G.B. Cogswell, C.F. Godbey, Bert M. Draper, M. Haas, Fred Parsley, Sgt. F.H. Funk, Cord Hall, R.A. Patton, Walter Marshall, J.M. Davis, R.L. Tschauner, C.S. Fry, L.S. Robson, W.M. Hall, E.A. Church, Delmer Tanner, John Thurman, all of Claremore; Judge James S. Davenport, J. Berry King, Wm. P. Thompson, Charles N. Barrett, all of Oklahoma City; J. Fuge Flippin, El Dorado, Ark; Dr. Blue Starr, of Drumright; J.W. Hallford, of Foyil; J.B. Milam, of Chelsea; A. Ross Moore, of West Fork, Ark.
“The Musgrove Funeral Home was in charge of services.” [2]
“Hotels of Claremore As I Have Known Them
“A.L. Kates, Publisher of the Progress For Period of 37 Years, Tells of the Early Days in Claremore, Indian Territory. – Hogs Came Into Dining Room While The Pioneers Ate.
“He Inspected One Hotel and Decided to Stop at the Other One – First Hostelry Was a Far Cry From the Modern Hotel Will Rogers, by A.L. Kates.
“As the Hotel Will Rogers is opened to the public, offering as it does the very latest in hotel facilities, and expressing in a delightful measure modern day architecture we permit our mind to wander in contrast to other days to other hotels, to the day when Claremore was young and hardly more than a whistling station on the Frisco. In fact, at the time we had our first knowledge of Claremore’s hotel facilities, the future of Claremore was more optimistic than that of Tulsa and neither was much to brag about.
“My experience with hotels in Claremore dates back to 1893 upon my arrival in Claremore in the latter days of June of that year. Previous to that time I had never been farther west than the battle field at Gettysburg, Pa., and wild west life was entirely new to me – and life was plenty wild in the old Indian Territory at that time. My brother-in-law, W.L. Moore, had preceded my family and myself to Claremore some three years previous to our arrival.
“I shall never forget my wife’s first observation when we stepped from a Frisco train at the Claremore station and looked at the place, we had chosen to cast our life lot. She said: ‘Oh, Linn, let’s go back home,’ and way down in my stomach I seconded the motion. It was a far different Claremore then than the present modern town of today. But we look another hitch in our belt, closed our eyes, and pegged our home stake.
“We shall ever remember the day we arrived in Claremore. It was a hot dusty one, and having worried the fifteen hundred miles from our old home in New Jersey, the latter 40miles from Vinita to Claremore on a local freight which consumed three hours of time to make the distance, we were glad to arrive at our journey’s end and more than pleased to know that the kind invitation of F.A. Neilson would take us into his pleasant home for our first night’s stay in Claremore. The late Mr. Neilson’s home was the nicest in the community. It is the present Frank O’Bannon home.
“Soon after breakfast the next morning Mrs. Kates insisted that I hunt up a suitable hotel accommodation until the home to be built for us had been erected. So, we set out to find a good hotel. Mr. Moore had assured us that Claremore contained two very good ones – The Claremore and the McDaniel House.
“We struck the Claremore Hotel first. It was located just about where Walker Department Store now stands. We wandered into the hotel office but failed to locate anyone and on our way out a gentleman who had been taking his morning siesta in one of the comfortable porch chairs, tilted against the wall, came to life and upon inquiry he informed us that he was the proprietor, and upon making my wants known he offered to show us over the hotel.
“Be it remembered, dear readers, that I was from the effete East, where a hotel was supposed to be a model of comfort, and when we had viewed the carpet less floor and scanty furniture, which was the custom of the early days in the Indian Territory, we informed the proprietor that we would let him know later about a reservation. We then went home.
“‘Why I am surprised Linn, that you got back so soon,’ Mrs. Kates said. ‘You made a quick inspection of both hotels.’
“‘No, I didn’t go to both. I went to one and we will try the other.’
“Later we learned that we would have been very fortunate to have stopped at either. They were run by Alex McDaniel and his good wife – and their hotel was not a hotel in every sense of the world; it was just a plain home.
“We shall never forget our first night at the McDaniel House. We retired early and Mrs. Kates and I slept like a top in our new western home. But the next morning my family had a good laugh at my expense. I had slept on a cot which happened to be located under a stove pipe in the roof. A storm came up that night. I had gone to bed a white man and arose in the morning and Ethiopian. The soot from the pipe had completely covered my face.
“But in spite of the discomforts they were happy days and will long be remembered, especially some of the incidents of our stay there and the many kindnesses showered upon us by Mr. McDaniel and his wife. One incident of their kindness to us we wish to publicly acknowledge right here. Our son, Will, the present editor of the Progress, was terribly sick that summer and he cried most of the time, which proved a great source of annoyance to many of the boarders – for the walls of the McDaniel House were not sound proof like the new Hotel Will Rogers. A show troupe was here and stopping at the McDaniel House. Finally, one of the members of the troupe, unable to stand the baby’s crying any more, in high rage appeared before Mr. McDaniels.
“‘You’ll have to get shut of that squalling kid, if we stay longer at your hotel,’ he said.
“Mr. McDaniel looked the man over from head to foot and then said, and the words shall ever be remembered by the child’s mother; ‘Say stranger, this woman don’t neglect her child. He’s sick. They are citizens here and if anybody is going to move, it will be you and your show troupe. These folks stay and that’s final – you can move on whenever you want to.’
“Those were the days when friendship meant something.
“And again, readers, permit me to tell you that Alex McDaniel took this stand despite the fact that I was only paying $30 per month board for my wife, two small children and myself, and most of that was traded out in printing and advertising. Without exaggeration, I believe during that first four months we spent in Claremore Alex McDaniel ordered more writing paper for his hotel than the whole citizenship of Claremore at that time would have used in a year.
“During the meal hour many times the hogs would appear in the dining room, for those were the days when hungry razor-backs roamed the streets of Claremore. Screens were not used at that time and the flies were frightened away from the food, that is something they were and other times not, by swinging papers which worked back and forth over the table, manipulated by a string at the end of the festive board.
“Alex McDaniel was a character and two or three true stories will illustrate his trains. And there was another character here just as good. His name was Granville Torbett and he operated a butcher shop where the Hayes Motor Co. is now located. Granville boarded with Mr. McDaniel and furnished meat for the hotel. One month, Mr. McDaniel killed hogs twice during the month, but on the first of the month his bill at the meat market was just about the same, for it did not vary much from month to month no matter what business conditions were. But this time Alex remembering he had killed hogs twice, entered a mild protest.
“‘Why Granville, my bill is too big. I killed hogs twice last month.’
“‘Well’ Granville replied, ‘the meat was here for you and if you didn’t come and get it that was your hard luck.’
“Mr. McDaniel made no further comment. He merely deducted one month’s board from the bill and paid the balance.
“But a short time afterwards Torbett spent the month in Arkansas and when McDaniel started to deduct Granville’s month’s board bill from the meat bill, Granville protested.
“‘Well,’ McDaniel replied, ‘it was there for you, and if you did not come and get it that was your hard luck.’
“Granville gave one of his hearty ‘haw-haws’ and said he guessed Alex was right. And that’s the way they settled.
“That is just one instance of how business was done in Claremore, Indian Territory. The management of the New Hotel Will Rogers will doubtless keep a better and more efficient accounting system in the operation of the new hotel.
“Dr. J.C. Busyhead and Fred McDaniel also boarded at the McDaniel House at this time and as they rose in their careers to star boarders, they were moved from the first floor until they finally lit on the third and top floor of the hotel. Then one day in their rush to get down three flights of stairs to the table after the dinner bell had sounded, as it was first come, first served, they got into a jam with a traveling men, who later complained to Mr. McDaniels of his rough treatment at the hands of the local star boarders. And the complaint brought Dr. Bushyhead and Fred on the carpet before Alex.
“‘Now I don’t mind entertaining you young folks as star boarders, but I do wish when I have a cash customer in the hotel that you boys would give him a chance.’
“When we started living at the McDaniel House a new three-story hotel was being build – to be known as the Hotel DeVann, and we were given the first room finished in it. The DeVann was later destroyed by fire. We had been out to a party that night and the alarm was given just as we arrived home, hence like all good newspaper men, we were first at the fire. One incident of the fire we will never forget. A well-known traveling man, a guest in the hotel, marched down the stairs of the flaming building in his night shirt, his clothes hung over his arm, carefully holding aloft in his right hand the ‘thunder mug’ from under the bed, so as not to break it. He rushed across the street to the Frisco railroad and in his excitement sat it down on one of the rails and broke it into a hundred pieces. That was like stumping your toes on the way to the house on a cold winter’s night and spilling the milk.
“Soon after our arrival in Claremore and our assumption of the management of The Progress, we commenced advocating the erection of a brick school house in Claremore and that dream came true in little over a year, due to the strip payment here. No tax could be levied as there was no incorporated town in the Indian Territory but at that time everybody had plenty of money and M.D. Woodson and myself appointed ourselves a soliciting committee and in less than two weeks we had secured by public subscription enough funds to let the contract for a one-story brick school house with two rooms. It is still a part of the present-day Hiawatha building, the front two rooms on the ground floor.
“This success led us to make a campaign for a brick hotel and for the next seven years, we do not think that a month passed but that what we had a plea for a brick hotel in The Progress. We fear that the early day settlers might have thought it was not so much a brick hotel that Claremore needed so badly as it was a missing brick in the dome-piece of the editor of The Progress. But our faith in Claremore and the need of such a hotel was finally realized by that far sighted town builder, John M. Bayless, who commenced the erection of the present Hotel Sequoyah in 1901 and completed it in 1902. The idea was catching and soon thereafter the old First National Bank building, located on the present site of the H.G. Hayes Motor Co. at the west end of Their street, was remodeled and another brick hotel was added to Claremore’s growing greatness. This was known as The Maine Hotel. The soon followed the present Mason Hotel, which was erected by the Rucker brothers. Since that time many brick rooming houses have been erected and now with the completion of the ultra-modern Hotel Will Rogers, Claremore, for its size, is one of the best equipped cities of like size in the United States for the accommodation of the stranger within its gates.
“It is a far cry from the 1930 Will Rogers to the Claremore hotels of 1893, yet each hotel in its time served its purpose like the sturdy pioneers in everything that pave the way for better things. That is civilization and greater comfort for mankind is achieved through enlightenment and through progress. Claremore is but keeping pace with the march of time in hotel building just as she is keeping pace in everything else. Hogs no longer come into the dining room. Can you imagine that in Hotel Will Rogers? Nor do we trade our board out with advertising and printing but despite everything those early days were happy days and their passing is even yet tinged with sadness as the old makes way for the new.” [3]
Albert Linwood Kates. Birth 27 April 1861, New Jersey. Death 5 Jan 1938 (aged 76) Oklahoma. Burial Woodlawn Cemetery, Claremore, Rogers County, Oklahoma. Plot CP2-11-L8.-6E. [4]
by Christa Rice, Claremore History Explorer
[1] Rogers County News (Claremore, Oklahoma). Thursday, January 6, 1938. p. 1. Newspapers.com.
[2] Claremore Daily Progress (Claremore, Oklahoma). Monday, January 10, 1938. p. 1. Newspapers.com.
[3]Claremore Daily Progress (Claremore, Oklahoma), Friday, February 7, 1930.
[4]https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33998253/albert-linwood-kates
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