Chapter 23
The Crash and Commencement of the Great Depression
1929-1931
During the mid to late 1920s, the economy and stock market was robust and America was flourishing. When United States President Herbert Hoover was inaugurated in January of 1929, stocks soared to record levels. In an effort to capitalize on the financial surge of the “Roaring Twenties,” thousands upon thousands of people poured their saving into the market, some even mortgaged their homes to buy stocks. However, throughout 1929, as stocks became grossly inflated, there were sudden sell offs, rattling investors, as the market began to decline. A recession occurred in the summer of 1929, however, the tipping point occurred on October 24, 1929, known as ‘Black Thursday,’ when true panic set in among investors as the market went into a full freefall decline. Over the next three years, the Dow Jones Industrial Average would lose 89% of its value. Billions of dollars were lost, and many investors lost everything, resulting in an era of poverty, lost jobs, restricted spending, bank failures and general hard times, known as the Great Depression, that lasted a decade. Understandably, the public’s trust in the stock market was so damaged that the market would not fully recover to pre-1929 levels for 20 years.
In prelude to the crash, David’s wage earnings were below usual. Although he had been the top Equitable Life Assurance sales agent for his district in 1928, that year, he reported his gross income as $2,814.89, being 20 percent lower than his average annual income over the last 14 years. Of course, the near entirety of his wages was used to pay off his marital debts and other pending bills. Around August of 1929, one of David’s friends kindly allowed him to stay rent-free at his home, in an effort to alleviate some of his financial woes.
During this time, David continued to fully engaged in his numerous clubs and organizations. In January of 1929, he was elected as a Director of the Kiwanis Club, along with Earl Eastman, J. A. Day and F. G. Speer. In the United Commercial Travelers for 1929, he was elected to the Board of Directors, Trustee of Membership, as well as, the Treasurer of the Fort Smith Country Club. That same month he was elected to the esteemed position as the Chief Justice of the Amrita Grotto. This office was second only to the Monarch, held that year by Ed Wright. David’s friend Harry Robinson was elected for the ensuing year as Master of Ceremony, W. H. Simpson as Treasurer, R. L. Secrest as Secretary, R. K. Rodgers as Venerable Master and Carl Wortz as Trustee. The Amrita Grotto officers of 1929 were elected from a membership of well over 2,300 Masons spanning 100 miles around Fort Smith.
Interestingly, in 1929, enthusiasm in Masonry was at its peak and the organization had long outgrown their original quarters at the Fort Smith Baer Masonic Temple (1889-1921) on North Sixth street, as well as, their second temple (1921-1929), at North Eighth and A streets. Through the communal efforts of all twelve of the Masonic bodies of Fort Smith, land had been purchased on North 11th and B streets, in 1924, and an impressive 115 foot by 175 foot, Egyptian Revival style, Masonic temple, made of Bedford stone, was completed and dedicated in September of 1929, at a cost of $385,000, with an additional $25,000 in furnishings and theater equipment.
The ‘temple,’ as it became known, served as the center of Masonic activity for the entire region, was two stories high, not including the basement, and had fifty rooms. A grand 67 x 75 foot auditorium, equipped with the most modern acoustic system in Arkansas, was one of the largest in the region and was capable of comfortably seating 900, yet could hold a capacity of 1,200. The dining hall and ball room occupying the basement of the structure was 42 x 124 feet and could accommodate 600 persons. In addition to Masonic meetings and programs, the temple was also used by civic organizations for public meetings, as well as, moving picture programs and stage performances.
In the summer of 1929, David and a large delegation of Masons from the Amrita Grotto traveled to Rock Island, Illinois, to attend the Annual Supreme Council Meeting of the Grotto, held from June 18th to the 20th. As a bit of hilarity, the Fort Smith delegation took their mascots, touted as an “educated” (trained) goose and a four-month old piglet owned by Virgil Suggs. The animals were used back home as a curiosity to bring in new members, and were widely recognized in Fort Smith; however, their presence on the streets of Illinois created a frenzy of excitement. After the meeting, David Shapard, Harry Robinson, Tom Morton, and Hurd Miller made an amazing five week tour of Canada and the American west, returning to Fort Smith in late July.
Upon his return, David made financial arrangements for his son, David, Jr., to attend summer camp in the Ozark Mountains, at Branson, Missouri, at Kamp Kuggaho. The camp was founded in 1926 by C. L. Ford of Dallas, Texas, and, in 1932, the name of the camp was changed to Kamp Kanakuk, under the leadership of Mr. Bill Lantz. Interestingly, David, Jr., shared a cabin, in the summer of 1929, with future Heisman Trophy winner Davey O’Brien (1917-1977), and together they carved their names into the cabin wood. Their inscriptions were still visible in the late 1940s when David, Jr.’s, son, Edwin Jennings Shapard (1940-2012) attended the same camp; yet, in the years that followed the old cabins were eventually dismantled for updated quarters.
While David, Sr., was ascending socially, Elise was clearly descending. By early 1929, she became financially wrecked. In mid-February, her dreams were dashed, and she had no other recourse but to place the Blue Bird School up for sale. On February 17th, an ad was placed in the Southwest Times newspaper of Fort Smith, by the Arkansas Valley Trust Company, advertising the school and playground equipment for sale for the sum of $6,000. Although it was advertised as, “a bargain if we ever had one,” it does not appear that the school immediately sold, as, former Blue Bird teacher, Mrs. Lois Jasper Wimberly, continued to use the facility, thereafter simply known as ‘208 Lecta Avenue,’ as her piano studio throughout the year 1930. Circa 1931, the school was purchased and remodeled into a duplex available to rent. The old Blue Bird school building continues to stand to the present day (2023), as a privately owned residence. Amazingly, though greatly weathered by the passage of time, many of the special improvements made by Elise to the property, in the early 1920s, are still preserved, including the concrete inscriptions on the front sidewalk.
In early March, Elise did the unthinkable by filing for bankruptcy in federal court. She listed her debts, totaling $4,166.65, of which $4,140.49 were unsecured. One of these debts was the funeral expenses of her sister Lucile, leaving Fentress Mortuary to bear the cost. She listed no assets, except for one-third interest in some land in Hallett, Pawnee County, Oklahoma, that she had inherited from her parents. Even David’s numerous life insurance policies, totaling around $35,000, were no longer available to her, as David change the beneficiary to his brother Edwin Shapard, shortly after Elise declared bankruptcy. In an attempt to make ends meet, Elise began working out of her small rented dwelling, at 2712 Yonley (now Barry Avenue), as a private tutor, as well as, offering a five week course in kindergarten and primary instruction for any interested teachers.
Understandably, Elise had been greatly embarrassed and saddened by the events over the last few years - having lost her husband, her home, her occupation, her school, her cars and becoming bankrupt. For the first time in her life, she had fallen from the affluent peak of high society to a dark cellar of privation. Furthermore, she no longer had the wise council and support from her Conger family, as they had all passed away, save her younger sister, Allie Merle. The misery of her present situation was unbecoming of her reputation among Fort Smith society, as a progressive spirit, leader and the daughter of one of the most respected men in Arkansas; and, as such, she felt compelled to leave Fort Smith, beyond the memories and whispers, to start anew.
On August 9, 1929, while her son was away at camp, Elise composed a letter to Mr. William J. Holloway (1888 – 1970), the Governor of the great state of Oklahoma (1929-1931), wherein she stated her intention of moving to Oklahoma to establish the Blue Bird School. Elise selected Governor Holloway due to the close association they shared. He had grown up in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and graduated from Ouachita College, in 1910, while Elise’s father was president. Furthermore, Mr. Holloway’s father, who was a Baptist minister at Arkadelphia, had been dear friends with President J. W. Conger.
On August 26, 1929, Governor W. J. Holloway replied to Elise’s letter, stating; “I have just returned from my summer vacation and find your good letter of August 9th, in which you advise me of your intention of moving to Oklahoma and establishing your school here. I am very happy indeed to learn of this and to give you any kind of testimonial you wish, and further, to give you any assistance within my power. I can never do enough for any member of your family, because your father did more to assist my father than any friend he ever had…”
With the governor’s endorsement, Elise packed her belongings and moved, at the end of August, with her 16 year old son, David, Jr., to Enid, Garfield County, Oklahoma. Her friend and teaching associate, Miss Frances Reynolds, also migrated with them, in an effort to reestablish the Blue Bird School. Elise signed a lease, beginning in September, on a home at 1122 West Broadway and quickly remodeled the interior to suit the needs of the school. She immediately advertised the new school and opened enrollment.
The schoolhouse was very cramped, as Elise, Frances and David, Jr., also used the facility as their living quarters. Elise and Frances utilized the only available free space for bedrooms, so David, Jr., was forced to make his room in the attic. He recalled that he was very sad and frustrated after they moved from Fort Smith. He would lay awake at night, knowing that this is not what life should be like, not what family should be like, and dream of a better future.
As one could imagine, David, Sr., was horrified to learn that his only son had been taken over 200 miles away from him to another state. At that time, there was little recourse for a father to regain his children, as legally the courts viewed the mother as a better caretaker. Also, Fort Smith was David, Sr.’s, home – it was where he was deeply rooted, the repository of his livelihood, purpose, memories and grand society of friends. To leave was impractical. This move was a clear signal that their marriage was unreconcilable, and a divorce was on the horizon.
On September 9, 1929, David, Sr., wrote a heart-wrenching letter to his son, revealing the scope of sorrow and problems they were already suffering during the recession, just before the start of the Great Depression. David wrote; “My dear son, … I am very sorry that you have no money to get school books, if you were here we could buy them on the credit. Your father hates to get to the point in life when he has to say that he hasn’t any money to send you but I haven’t and right now I can’t say for sure when I will have. I have some notes that are due me, that I should collect, but the fellows that owe me haven’t been able to pay. I will send some money as soon as I get it. Your Papa is overdrawn at the bank right now. I have accepted a room at a friend’s home without having to pay any rent, if my conditions don’t change I don’t know what I will do. My bills from August have not been paid. Papa is sorry that you were taken away from him, but he loves you just the same and he hopes someday that things will be much different. With lots of love, Papa. P.S. Please let me hear from you often.”
Less than two months after David sent above letter, the United States experienced the worst and longest economic downturn in its nation’s history. Over the following decade, the depression was felt worldwide as production and demand decreased. Deflation of goods and products resulted. In 1933, the United States would abandon the gold standard, that linked the value of the dollar to gold, in an effort to print more money and climb out of its economic woes. To illustrate the dire impact that the depression had on the Shapard family, for the year 1929, David E. Shapard reported his income from the Equitable Life Assurance Society at $1,945.07, which was almost 50% less income than he had earned annually on average. He also suffered the loss of bad investments, including all of his oil and gas stocks. Luckily, however, David did remain employed throughout the Great Depression, despite unemployment ranging from between 14%, to as high as almost 25%.
David’s brother Sumner Shapard was residing in New York City when the market crashed. Similar to David, he lost a tremendous amount of money on poorly invested stocks and his annual income greatly suffered, however, he did remain employed. At the start of the Great Depression, Sumner and his wife became destitute. Unable to afford the apartment rent in New York, they moved to East Orange, New Jersey, in 1930, residing with their eldest daughter Dorothy Shapard, who was single and employed as a teacher. Circa 1933, Sumner and his wife move to Houston, Washington County, Pennsylvania, briefly residing with their daughter Jane, her husband Dr. David Ingram, and their four daughters, before moving to Dallas, Texas, and then, in January of 1935, to Yukon, Oklahoma.
One entertaining story survives relating to the fact that, during his life, Sumner had never learned to drive an automobile, although he owned one. After Sumner moved to Dallas, circa 1933, he employed his 16 year old nephew, John Miller Shapard, to be his driver for the summer. They traveled from town to town selling shirts, from his salesman’s case of samples, to the various stores throughout his territory of Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mississippi. As it came to pass, while they were traveling down a lonely Texas road, Sumner decided it was finally time for him to learn how to drive. He and John changed seats and Sumner took the wheel. Before long, they came to a “T” in the road. Sumner mistook the gas pedal for the brake and they went flying off the road and into a field…where the car finally came to a sudden and chaotic halt. Without saying a word, both Sumner and John looked at each other, exited the car and changed seats – whereupon, Sumner declared that he had “no future interest in driving such temperamental machines!”
One afternoon, in the waning months of 1929, David was approached on the sidewalk in front of the Hotel Main, by attorney Blaine T. Davidson (1893-1931) who had been practicing law in Fort Smith since 1924. Like David, Mr. Davidson was a “club man” and civically minded. Both men were well acquainted with one another, as Mr. Davidson was the president of the Kiwanis Club, of which David was an active member and on the Board of Directors. Furthermore, together they were on the Board of Stewards of the First Methodist Church.
During their conversation, Mr. Davidson inquired about David’s financial and mental state, where upon he was informed at length about his failed marriage, extensive debts and the removal of his only son from him. Mr. Davidson invited David to his law office, where he suggested pursuing legal means for relief though a settlement of marital debts. As David had no means of payment, Mr. Davidson kindly informed him that his services would be without charge. Interestingly, during this era, there were no public defenders, and it was customary for lawyers to accept pro bono cases for impoverished clients as part of their professional obligation.
In the weeks that followed, Mr. Davidson consulted with other Fort Smith attorneys about the uniqueness of David’s particular case. The consensus suggested it would be advantageous to take the proceedings out of Fort Smith, as both David and Elise were highly esteemed within their own social circles of the city; and, since their separation, David’s reputation had been harmed by much one-sided gossip, and half-truths, about their relationship perpetuated by Elise to gain public favor. The attorneys thought it wise to try the case where no one knew either them, in an effort to remove any influence that would favor or disfavor either David or Elise. Furthermore, the Fort Smith Chancery Court judge, who would otherwise preside over the proceedings, was quite elderly and known to be questionable in his rulings, especially regarding divorces.
Based on this reasoning, David left Fort Smith and moved to the distant town of Walnut Ridge in Lawrence County, Arkansas, where he knew no one, and no one knew him. After establishing residency at 202 East Main, he filed for settlement of marital debts through the Lawrence County Circuit Court, in January of 1930, and a hearing was set for February 3, 1930. In response to the summons, Elise obtained the legal services of William L. Curtis, of Fort Smith, and Mr. Harry Ponder of Walnut Ridge, to represent her in the matter. It is imperative to understand that Elise was still highly connected, through her Conger lineage, to many powerful in influential men and women, and she wielded this power in the legal representation she was able to acquire.
Mr. W. L. Curtis (1874- 1944) began the practice of law, in 1898, in Sallisaw, Indian Territory, where he remained for 20 years. During this time, he was elected as the first Mayor of Sallisaw, and was active in matters of statehood - assisting in the drafting of provisions within the Oklahoma Constitution. After statehood, he served as Sequoyah County’s first County Attorney for one year, after which, he was elected as a State Representative serving in the Fourth Oklahoma Legislature. In 1914, he was appointed as the Assistant Attorney for the Missouri Pacific Railroad, whereupon, he moved his law practice to Fort Smith the following year. He was well-connected and respected. He connected with Elise through a shared passion for education, as well as, their Baptist upbringing, where he served on the Board of Deacons in Fort Smith. Socially, Mr. Curtis was a Mason, as he belonged to all bodies of that organization, and thus would have known David Shapard, fraternally, and perhaps been privy to the rumors circling about his marriage.
Mr. Harry Ponder (1878-1948), was a lawyer practicing in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, under the firm of Ponder & Ponder. He had been elected to the Arkansas General Assembly as a Representative, in 1898, later serving two terms in the Arkansas Senate. He had also been a judge and the Mayor of Walnut Ridge, and was on the Board of Trustees at the University of Arkansas. Mr. Ponder, was known to recite biblical passages during trials and to have a cleaver sense of humor. Once an old farmer came to him to sue his neighbor whom he believed had placed a dead hog in his field. Mr. Ponder told the man that he was too busy to handle the case and that he needed a real expert in ‘dead hog law,’ thus referring the case to a young lawyer friend who was an “expert in the field!”
On February 3rd, at the Circuit Court hearing at Walnut Ridge, David, as the plaintiff, with his attorney, and Elise, as the defendant, with her attorneys, met with the judge and both parties consented that his judgement in the matter would be binding, whatever the outcome. As David’s attorney prepared to plead his case on the settlement of outstanding marital debts, Elise’s lawyers turned the tables by immediately filing an amendment to her original petition for alimony from 1927, that had been dismissed without prejudice. The new amendment now requested a divorce from David on the grounds of ‘cruel and intolerable treatment’ and for the settlement of property rights and alimony. This bold legal move essentially now made David the defendant. Nevertheless, as it was still resolving the same purpose, David and his attorney agreed to the amendment.
As the trial proceeded, the judge posed questions to David and Elise regarding their marriage, finances and treatment of one another. They were examined and cross examined by the lawyers, who read from their previous depositions and oral testimonies. During a critical moment, Elise’s attorneys dropped a bombshell by bringing Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Bruce into the courtroom, as witnesses for the defense, to counter testimony of David Shapard that he was a good husband.
Mr. Wallace Bruce (1870-1931) was the brother of Hoyt Bruce, from whom the Shapards rented their second house in 1912, and was the owner of Bruce Brothers, sellers of Studebaker motorcars, from whom Mrs. Shapard had purchased her automobile. Mr. Wallace Bruce was also the president of the Sebastian Building & Loan, one of the directors of Sparks Memorial Hospital and a Mason. Apparently, the Bruce’s one-sided testimony painted David in the poorest possible light, supporting just cause for Elise’s divorce and settlement.
David nor his attorney produced any witnesses of their own to counter the testimony, and were clearly ill prepared and out-gunned for the surprise battle of this trial. Furthermore, during a recess in the hearing, the judge had an interaction, personally or by telephone, with someone of great influence, likely Senator Joseph T. Robinson (1872-1937) or one of his law firm partners from Little Rock, that caused the judge to improperly form an unfavorable opinion of David. Such was the scope of powerful tactics wielded by Elise and her legal team.
As a result, David was struck unmercifully by the decision of the court. The judge granted and decreed Elise’s divorce request with back alimony due her, up to January 31, 1930, in the amount of $225; in addition, David was ordered to pay Elise $1,000 cash upon entry of the divorce decree; in addition to $1,500 to be paid her at a rate of twenty installments of $75 per month; and finally, David was ordered to pay all of the attorney’s fees and court costs associated with the suit for both the plaintiff and defendant. To add insult to injury, David received no relief from Elise’s personal debts from their marriage, amounting to thousands of dollars, for which he was still required to pay.
To illustrate the extent of financial punishment this verdict inflicted on David, it is imperative to have an understanding of his annual income. His average annual salary from 1929 through 1932 was $2,378, thus averaging $198.16 per month. David reported that, from the time the divorce was granted, he averaged paying $185 per month to satisfy the court order and pay down Elise’s marital debts, leaving him with only thirteen dollars and sixteen cents surplus per month. At the time of the divorce, David had no savings and was already living paycheck to paycheck. Furthermore, money was becoming scarce as all this occurred at the beginning of the Great Depression. In order to survive, his brother Edwin R. Shapard would loan him thousands of dollars over the next few years to help pay off Elise. To protect his brother’s loans, David changed the beneficiary of his last will and testament, as well as, all of his life insurance to his brother Edwin.
The critical tragedy of this situation, that would pain David the deepest for the duration of his life, was not the financial loss, but the loss and corruption of his only son, David, Jr. The boy was led to believe, by the influence of his mother, that his father was the cruel cause of all their troubles - that his father was wealthy and withheld money from them to make them suffer, while fully funding miscellaneous club activities – that his father was responsible for the divorce and the breakup of their family – that other boys were more important to his father than his only son. All of these lies were fed to an injured and delicate young mind, by his mother, in an effort to punish the one that hurt her.
Recall that from 1927 until 1929, Elise fostered her niece Annelise Bailey (1912-1995) after her mother’s death. Under Elise’s influence, Annelise was encouraged to drop her “Bailey” surname and adopt the “Conger” surname, which she eventually did, in an effort to spite Annelise’s father for abandoning her at an early age. Just as Elise had done before with her niece, so too she did with her son. Filling his head with disdain for his father, David, Jr., was encouraged to change his name to purge the connection to his namesake. Shortly after his parent’s divorce, David, Jr., wrote a cruel and vindictive letter to his father, in February of 1930, signing it “Conger Shapard.” As it would come to pass, his son never again used his birth name of David Evander Shapard, Jr., but instead adopted the name of ‘David Conger Shapard.’
After the trial was over, realizing the unfairness, David E. Shapard brought some of his political friends in on the case; one being Mr. John Andrews (1879-1950), who was a Mason and manager of the Guardian Life Insurance Company, as well as, on the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas, whom conversed with Elise’s attorneys, Mr. W. L. Curtis and Mr. Harry Ponder. An in-person consultation at Walnut Ridge was agreed upon, and David drove Thomas “Cal” Broadway (1893-1945) and his wife, Kathleen, as witnesses to speak to the lawyers.
Mr. Broadway worked as an agent for the Home & Fire Accident Insurance Co., and were long-time friends of the Shapards, having lived on Greenwood Avenue, and since moved to Little Rock, Arkansas. Mr. and Mrs. Broadway, as well as, David’s more influential friends, were able to give the lawyers a clear indication of the quality of man David was, and, some of the circumstances surrounding his marriage and finances regarding Elise. After the consultation, Mr. Ponder turned to David and stated, why in the hell he did not do this in the first place; and, had he done so the case would have been different, as he had been in the “hands of the Philistines.”
The lawyers agreed that something should be done to reduce the penalty that had been inflicted upon David by the court, and that a rehearing based on the new evidence was appropriate and justified. Mr. Ponder drew up the necessary papers and acquired David new legal representation by way of Mr. W. P. Smith (1870-1952), of Walnut Ridge, who was a friend of Mr. Ponder, and, as an attorney, was well respected within the court. Interestingly, as a peace offering, David drove Elise’s lawyer W. L. Curtis back to Fort Smith, which allowed the men to pour over the details of David’s marriage and financial troubles. When David asked him for advice about the situation, Mr. Curtis gave him the somewhat demeaning suggestion that he declare bankruptcy and leave Arkansas, relocating to Portland, Seattle, or some northwestern part of the country where conditions were better. As it came to pass, the rehearing would not take place in the courtroom until July of 1931.
In the interim, David had one of the highest honors bestowed upon him by the Masons of the Amrita Grotto. On February 7, 1930, during an evening meeting held at the Masonic temple of Fort Smith, the newly elected officers were installed for the year. David E. Shapard was formally installed as the Monarch of the Amrita Grotto, being the highest attainable office of the organization. David’s friend Harry Robinson was elected to the second highest office as the Chief Justice and his friend R. L. Secrest was elected as Secretary. Amazingly, during David’s reign, he would take the Masons of the Amrita Grotto to new heights, and would be honored by the Supreme Council for having the largest percentage of gained membership of all the Grottos in the United States and Canada during the year of 1930.
One of the more elaborate initiation ceremonies of the Amrita Grotto, over which David was in charge, was the Highway No. 22 Ceremonial, held on April 24, 1930. It was touted as one of the largest initiation ceremonies ever staged in the Arkansas Valley. In the past, a special train would be reserved by the Grotto to transport the hundreds of prophets, however, for this event a motorcar parade was favored. The Fort Smith prophets left the Masonic temple at 1 p. m. in a caravan of cars bound for Paris, Arkansas, joining additional caravans at they passed through the towns and cities along the way. Once at their destination, the ceremony was held at the Paris High School auditorium. A dinner and dance followed.
On June 14, 1930, David Shapard, R. L. Secrest, John Andrews and Tom Morton, along with 24 additional members of the Amrita Grotto, left Fort Smith to join 15,000 men attending the Mason’s 41st Annual Session of the Supreme Council of the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets held at Indianapolis, Indiana, June 17th to the 19th. During the convention, the Fort Smith Grotto was honored with a silver loving cup, awarded for their impressive gain in membership for the year. Afterwards, David Shapard and R. L. Secrest hosted a celebration luncheon at the Clayton Hotel, to reward the 28 member delegation, representing the Amrita Grotto, for their hard work and dedication.
Interestingly, David’s election as monarch had a tremendously favorable impact on his business for that single year, and the timing could not have been better. David’s annual income from selling insurance for the years 1929, 1931 and 1932 was $1,945, $1,421 and $1,890, respectively. However, his annual income from 1930, during the term of him holding the office of Monarch, was an impressive $4,256. Perhaps the Mason brotherhood rallied around David in his time of need, or perhaps it was just talent on display. Regardless, while this was a great blessing at a difficult time, nearly all of the surplus of income was allocated for the payment of debts and court orders.
Throughout the summer, David stayed in communication with his son, which seemed to create a healthier relationship. Early on, he offered his son employment as an Eagle Scout Councilor for a boy’s summer camp held at the Grotto Country Club. Unfortunately, since it was the first year the Grotto had hosted the camp, registrations were slow in arriving, and David eventually encouraged his son to take another job, if possible, in case the camp fell short of expectations. However, he did invite him to spend part, or all, of the summer with him in Fort Smith, as well as, offing to pay for him to attend a scout camp in Crawford County, Arkansas.
On July 28, 1930, David wrote a special letter to his son, stating; “My dear son; Tomorrow the 29th of July is your birthday, seventeen years old…I wish it was so that I could be there with you on this birthday, as well as others to come. Remember your father loves you always, and if at any time you need me, do not hesitate to let me hear from you…I am enclosing a check for $10.00 hoping that you will buy yourself something that you would like to have, as well as something you could keep and will be useful. Again wishing you many more birthdays and that you will grow to be a strong man with the character and reputation that I know is in you. With lots of love from your [father].”
By November of 1930, the effects of the economic depression were becoming visible in the streets of Fort Smith with the consistent rise of homelessness and unemployment. In an effort to abate the situation, the Mayor of Fort Smith created the Committee of 100, being one hundred influential persons named by the City Commission on Unemployment to canvas the city for potential jobs. The mayor appealed to the citizens of Fort Smith to offer jobs to the unemployed. Any available job, from cleaning premises to permanent positions, were compiled by the canvasing Committee of 100, who would then distribute the results to the labor leaders to be filled. David Shapard was honored to be one of the many selected for the Committee of 100, doing everything they could to help the downtrodden of his city.
Although David was sympathetic towards struggling adults, his heart was in helping underprivileged children. One of David’s great joys of 1930, as Monarch, was being the Grotto’s Santa Claus for the Christmas season. At the lighting of the annual Christmas tree at the Masonic temple, David was Santa for about 1,400 underprivileged children of Fort Smith. He then went to Van Buren to act as Santa Claus for about 300 impoverished children. On Christmas Eve, David traveled to the State Sanitorium to be Santa Claus for the children at the tuberculosis hospital. Despite all the activity, he did not forget his own son, whom he sent a heartwarming Christmas letter with $10.00 and an offer to share the holidays with him in Fort Smith.
The year 1931, commenced with great promise. David was coming off of a financial boom year for his business, his relationship with his son was gently improving and a rehearing in court, to hopefully lessen his financial burden, was on the horizon. Furthermore, David was being elected to the pinnacle offices of his organizations and clubs. In particular, he was the reigning Monarch of the Amrita Grotto Masons until the election of new officers in February of each year.
In January of 1931, a meeting of the Fort Smith United Commercial Travelers was held at the clubhouse for the purpose of electing the new officers and Board of Directors for the year. David E. Shapard was honored by being elected President of the Fort Smith County Club. In addition, David, along with Lloyd Vineyard, Homer Norvell, T. K. Morrison, W. L. Hutcheson, Sam Bourland and W. T. Oglesby composed the U. C. T. Country Club Board of Directors for the 1931 term.
Perhaps his most surprising office bestowed upon him, in 1931, was being elected to the highest office in the Fort Smith Consistory of Scottish Rite Masons, that of the “Master of Kadosh.” Interestingly, on January 31, 1931, O. Eugene Smith, a 33 degree Mason and Deputy of the Supreme Council of Arkansas, from Little Rock, presented Fort Smith Consistory members with ‘Letters Temporary’ at the Masonic temple, thus creating the Fort Smith Council of Kodosh and Fort Smith Consistory. By creating a consistory, Fort Smith became the center of Masonic activity for this section of the country. The Little Rock Consistory, at the time, was the only other one in the state, having more than 6,000 members. With the addition of the new consistory, Fort Smith now completed all the Scottish Rite bodies: the Fort Smith Zabud Lodge of Perfection (established 1924), embraced the 4th to 14th degrees; The Fort Smith Knights Rose Croix (established 1927), embraced the 15th to 18th degrees; and now the Council of Kodosh and Fort Smith Consistory (established 1931) completed the Scottish Rite degrees by embracing up to the 32nd degrees. As a testament to his leadership, David would hold this high masonic office for the following four years.
On February 6, 1931, David’s fantastic reign as Monarch of the Amrita Grotto came to a close. At an evening meeting at the Masonic temple, David oversaw the installation of the new officers. Although it was a bitter sweet moment, David was delighted to be succeeded by his lifelong friend Harry Robinson, who became the new Monarch for the following term. Before the night was up, David was elected to the Board of Directors of the Amrita Grotto Country Club. All was going starting to go so well…
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