It isn’t unusual for a grandfather to be absent from their grandchildren’s lives. But, it is rare for a special man to step into his shoes and be adored by his step-grandchildren.
Special Memories
After Andrew Johnson McCracken died at age 53 of a heart attack, Andrew and Rosa (Ellis) McCracken’s grandchildren were left without a grandfather. Although Andrew and Rosa’s youngest child, Ray Eugene McCracken, was only 10 years old, they already had several grandchildren. The oldest of the grandchildren were Cora Salyer (daughter of Cynthia McCracken & Vernie Salyer) and O’Ella McCracken (daughter of Joe and Nellie Peelle McCracken).
Being around five years of age, Cora and O’Ella hadn’t had an opportunity to create a lot of memories with their grandfather. O’Ella told me that all she really remembered about her “official” grandfather was that one time he took her to his store, which also had counter service, and she got an ice cream cone. That was quite a treat for a country girl in the late 1910s.
Filling The Grandpa Shoes
It wasn’t until September 22, 1924, four and a half years after Andrew died, that Rosa remarried to William Ellsworth Apt. Rosa had known Will, as she called him, for years as he had boarded with her sister Martha “Mattie” and her husband Abe Francis since the early to mid-1880s. They initially lived in Galesburg, Kansas, which Will had lived for many years. However, they ended up moving to Farlington, Kansas near several of Rosa’s children.
That move gave many of Andrew and Rosa’s grandchildren the opportunity to get to know their step-grandfather. Unlike many men thrust into that role, he cherished and enjoyed it. The grandkids called him “Grandpa Apt” and considered him more than grandma’s husband. He was grandpa and for most of them, he was the only grandpa that they had ever known.
Fish Stories
Multiple of the grandkids reported that Grandpa Apt was tons of fun. He would tell the best stories and Grandma Rosa would often say, “Oh, Will!” when overhearing his tales. He had plenty of practice telling stories as he liked to fish – a lot. Sometimes the fishing was successful and sometimes it wasn’t. On May 3, 1901, the Galesburg Enterprise wrote that Will and several other men went to the river to “manufacture fish stories.”
One of the stories he told occurred about a year before Will married Rosa. Apparently, that day he had two spare hooks baited with grasshoppers attached to his hat. Somehow he tangled with a tree and the tree caught his hat and pulled it from his head. Before it could be retrieved, it was dropped into the river and swept away. Another of the men was fishing further downstream and lo and behold he caught a cat fish wearing Will’s hat! The fish had got caught on one of the hooks on Will’s hat. Now, that’s a fish tale! (Adapted from the Chanute Weekly Tribune, August 23, 1923)
The Dentist
Even a trip to the dentist could be a good story if Grandpa Apt was involved. One time he had a tooth bothering him, but did he say that he had a tooth ache? No, instead, he said that it “kept him doing a tango on one foot.” The dentist decided against pulling it and put in a filling. Apparently, Will found this process quite painful and said that he wanted to kick the furniture out of the dentist’s office.
Travels
However, many of Grandpa Apt’s stories likely came from his travels around Southeast Kansas and beyond. He was always on the go, typically with friends. Included were many fishing trips, a little hunting, and lots of events. One of Grandpa Apt’s favorite things to do was to get a bunch of guys together to go to a baseball game in another town. However, he also went to races, wrestling matches and more.
In the evening, he attended shows, the opera, and productions, such as, Ben Hur. In addition, he joined organizations around the region, such as, Modern Woodmen of America and the Eagles, which met in other towns.
Will was often seen in Erie, Parsons, and Chanute. However, he would fairly regularly venture to more distant locations, including Ft. Scott, Walnut, Farlington, Kansas City, Rich Hill, Yates Center, Cherryvale, and Baxter Springs. In 1904, he, along with 11 of his closest friends, packed their bags and hopped a train to the World’s Fair in St. Louis. Some years later, he vacationed with friends in Galveston, Texas, which he determined was a good place to visit, but he did not want to live there.
In his hometown, Will was a part of the city council, the election board, and helped plan Decoration Day (Memorial Day) and 4th of July celebrations. All of this kept him busy and on the go.
The Bearded Woman
Among the events Grandpa Apt attended were circuses put on by several different companies. When the Ringling Brothers were in the area. He was faced with a decision that could have changed his life. They offered him a position as the head canvasman where he would have been in charge of putting up and taking down the tents.
Officially, he turned down the job over a misunderstanding over how much he would be paid. However, rumor had it that they had just offered him this job as ruse to get him with the circus so that they could convince him to perform as the bearded woman.
You see, Grandpa Apt was handsome, sported facial hair, and was quite diminutive in stature. It was the perfect combination for the role.
Floating
FloatingAnother thing that amazed Will’s step-grandchildren was his ability to lay on his back and float with a beer sitting steadily balanced upon his stomach. Now, this is quite a feat for anyone, but it was especially impressive since Grandpa Apt had only one leg. Thus, he had to balance his body without the use of two legs to counter-balance each other.
The Illness
I don’t know the entire story of how Will came to lose a leg. I do know that Will, along with his siblings and his parents Samuel and Elizabeth Apt, moved from Ohio to Kansas about 1871. A couple of years later when Will was around 11, he was stricken with some illness and was bedridden for around six years. His illness likely contributed to Will being very short as his body did not get any exercise or sunshine. In addition, his body was using the fuel it had to fight his illness rather than for growth.
Cemetery Plot
It was during this time that Mount Hope Cemetery (a.k.a. Galesburg Cemetery) was laid out. Will was in such low condition that a man remarked to Will’s father, “Your son will probably be the first to be buried in it.” Whether this man’s statement made a difference or not to Samuel is unknown. However, he purchased one of the first cemetery plots for Will.
Years later when Dad and his brother Don were at Mount Hope looking for Grandpa Apt’s grave, Don mentioned this story. Dad responded that in that case, they were looking in the wrong place. They needed to go up to the entrance to the cemetery.
Survival
A doctor, however, decided that his issue had something to do with blood poisoning and that amputating his leg was the only way to possibly save him. Thus, Will lost his leg, but his life was saved. Through it all, his personality, positive outlook, and good humor survived. It was stated that in May 1878 when they loaded the couch he was laying on into a wagon and took him to his brother-in-law’s home that “his joy would nearly equal that of a blind man receiving sight.” (The Head-Light, Thayer, Kansas May 8, 1878)
The illness left Grandpa Apt as a well-functioning addict who still needed the morphine he had taken for years. He would go to the junk piles looking for old morphine bottles. Grandpa Apt would then add water to them and swirl it around in hopes that traces of the drug remained in the bottle.
His recovery must have been long. He had to gain his strength back. Then he had to learn to walk and do daily activities while using crutches. Still, he somehow managed to learn to get around well enough to become the croquet champion of Galesburg.
Making A Living
A Barber
A BarberWill, despite being a semi-biped, was a barber for around 45 years. I am unaware of how Will decided to become a barber, but it seems interesting that he chose a profession where he had to stand on one leg all day. Of course, he only had a 7th grade education and being a farmer like his father was not an option.
He got around using crutches and there was excitement when he got a set with “rubber wheels.”. When working in his barber shop he put his “stump” up on a stool, freeing him from the crutches. He became well-known and was referred to as the resident tonsorial artist, the genial knight of the “razor,” and the painless whisker extractor.
Proprietor
ProprietorHe started barbering sometime prior to 1888 when he opened his own shop on Main Street. Business must have been slow nine years later when he reduced the price for a shave to 5 cents with a special of 22 for a dollar.
However, it wasn’t long before he was dressing up his shop. In July 1901, he got a new chair for his shop. Then in 1903, he moved his shop to near the Francis home and moved a new building that he bought from a doctor to the lot on Main Street. The new building was larger and offered more opportunity for business. That December he added new signage on the door and window.
At the beginning of 1904, he offered a haircut for 20 cents, a shave for 10 cents, a neck shave for 2 cents, sea foam for 15 cents and hair tonic for 10 cents. In 1905, he also started selling barber related products. His income allowed him to add new carpet in November 1905 and a new hydraulic chair the following spring.
In May 1911, Will was again renovating his shop. It was said that with the updates and new fixtures that customers would feel like they were in a big city barbershop. Yet, he wasn’t done. The following summer he had the exterior painted with wallpaper and other decorations updated on the interior.
Landmark
LandmarkIt was a small town and his barber shop was so well known that Will didn’t need to advertise the location. Matter of fact, the barbershop became a landmark for describing other locations and events in town. It was also likely a place the men hung out and stories were told. Given Will’s jolly personality and his story telling to his grandchildren, it seems likely that he was a major contributor to stories told in the barbershop in Galesburg.
Will, himself, was also well-known and considered a top-notch barber. At least three aspiring barbers apprenticed with him. In 1915, Will took on a partner, which was likely needed because he was performing barbering services in at least one other town. It was that same year that he took the barber examination – after being a barber for around 30 years.
Taxi & Auto Livery
For several years Will had a taxi service. He would take people or things to other towns. It is unclear how he could be away from the barbershop so often, but it was a small town and he probably just hung up a sign when he was gone.
What was really surprising was that he was driving people around after he got his Ford car in 1914. Assuming it was a Model T, it would have had three pedals – one for first/neutral/top gear, one for reverse, and one for braking. Based on the description of how one started to move the car, which included pressing on the gear pedal and the brake simultaneously, it is unclear how he managed to drive with one leg. It is possible that he had some modification that assisted him in this process. However, it would have had to have been something other people were comfortable driving, as he also rented out his car.
Due to extensive business, Will purchased another car a mere two years later.
Not All Care Free
Life as an adult wasn’t all care free for Will. It seemed that when he became ill that he was out of commission for a week or two. His ability to fight off illness was likely inhibited by his earlier illness.
Then, in July of 1912, he became very ill and was considered in critical condition. A couple doctors consulted and decided that a blood vessel/blood vessels had burst. It was a close call, but Will’s resilience came through and again he recovered. Another time he had a stomach hemorrhage. He just seemed to be susceptible to those types of issues.
On a lighter note, he was 62 before he caught himself a lady. It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested or hadn’t tried. He went to dances, went a courting, and it was said that he had ladies that had caught his eye. One time the newspaper even reported that he “goes with Mame Hurt. And they do say that he is Apt to get Hurt.”
Best Substitute Grandpa
When Grandpa Apt stayed with Dad’s family, Dad said that his grandpa would get up really early and hack for what seemed like eternity. Then when everyone was awakened, he went back to bed. He was fast asleep by the time they drug themselves out of bed. Still, Dad said that he couldn’t imagine a better grandpa.
The man who doctors thought would never see the age of majority, lived to be 85 years, 9 months and 10 days. And, despite not taking an actual step after age 11, he sure did get around.