"Pay Cash Grocery" & Charlie Priolo beginning at 2300 West 6th Ave.

This neat-looking building at 2300 West 6th Avenue was home to "Pay Cash Grocery" from 1927 until, at least, 1967. Charles Rocco Priolo (1894 - 1977) and his family owned and operated the store. In stone above the building is engraved "The Priolo, 1927."

Charles Rocco Priolo (1894 - 1977) was born in Italy and moved to Amarillo from California in 1919. He not only owned and operated the Pay Cash Grocery at 2302 West 6th Street, but also operated an investment and real estate business across the street at 2301 West 6th called Park City Development. He was still operating both businesses when he ran for Position 3 on the Amarillo City Commission in 1967.

The Priolo building at 2300 West 6th seems to have been divided into, at least, two addresses: 2300 and 2302. At one time the Priolo family had their home address listed as 2300 West 6th Avenue, suggesting they lived next door to their store, at least, in the beginning years. By 1938, however, they had moved out of the 2300 address because that address was apparently being leased to Donnell Drug Store, based on a Donnell Drug advertisement in the 14 Aug 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe. The Pay Cash Store, however, continued to operate out of the 2302 address. By that time the family seems to have moved across the street to 602 S. Rusk, still close to their family business and livelihood. Now 602 S. Rusk is part of a used car lot.

I am impressed with Charlie Priolo because he seems to have been a very hard-working, frugal businessman who built his own store, raised a family, and operated a family grocery store for so many years.

 

The two advertisements below were clipped from the 14 August 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe. One ad mentions Charlie Priolo's two business interests, Pay Cash Grocery Store and Park City, and the other ad shows that Donnell Drug Store was occupying the 2300 West 6th address by, at least, 1938.

 

An ad for Park City Development Company also ran in the 8 March 1938 Amarillo Globe-Times, which read as follows:

NOTICE! MOTHERS-IN-LAW AND COWMEN! Well! You're in Amarillo. Buy a lot in Park City for a Souvenir of Amarillo. See us at the Park City Development Co. Office, 2301 W. 6th. Let us tell you about the future growth of Amarillo and why you should buy a lot in Park City Addition for an investment. Amarillo is the fastest growing city in the United States and Park City addition is the fastest growing addition, and is conveniently located in the center of this city.

"We have restricted residential lots for beautiful homes. We have industrial property. We have business lots on main street in the center of the city. The lots are the biggest money makers ever known or heard about. Let us show you the property in Park City. Make an investment while you are here in the Park City addition so you may have an opportunity to call Amarillo your future home. Be sure to see us in Park City while you are in Amarillo!" 

PARK CITY Development Company, 2301 W. 6th, Charlie Priolo, President, Phone 2-0879

The Priolo Building at 2300 West 6th Ave. It was built in 1927.

The stone engraving at the top of the building says, "The Priolo, 1927."

A side view of the building

A back view of the building

This ad from the 14 Aug 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe shows that both Park City Development and Pay Cash Grocery were managed by Charlie Priolo. The 2301 W. 6th Street address was for the office at Park City Development.

Ad clipped from the 14 Aug 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe. This ad suggests that one part of the building was being used by Donnell Drug Store in 1938, though the part of the building at 2302 West 6th was still being used as Pay Cash Grocery.

 

Durrett, J. R. (1881 - 1957) -- J. R. Durrett Investment Co., real estate, ranching

This fairytale home at 2202 S. Tyler was once owned by J. R. Durrett (2 Mar 1881 - Jun 1957). The house was built in 1925, and I think it has been in the Durret/Hays family ever since.

I am not sure if it was this house or another nearby, but a few years ago I saw some interior photos of a house in this neighborhood that showed a large living room with a beautifully ornate doomed ceiling. I am not sure, but maybe the whole living room was oval. It was beautiful. I wish I could remember which house it was.

Anyway, J. R. Durrett was described in an undated article in the Amarillo Daily News as follows:

"J. R. Durrett, a large land owner of Armstrong County, was born March 2, 1881, in Lampasas, Texas, and was educated in Belton, and at Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene. In the early 1900's he taught school and was principal of the school at McLean. It was there that he met and married Vern Teel, the daughter of G. J. Teel. From McLean he went to Clarendon where he continued to teach school. In Clarendon he also began to deal in real estate."

"He came to Miami, Texas where he was in the insurance business and bought and sold real estate. He then came to Amarillo in 1923 and has been engaged in extensive investments both in town and farming property in the Panhandle."

"He operated the J. R. Durrett Investment Co. in the Paramount Bldg. in partnership with his son Delmar and son-in-law McDonald Hays. Following the death of Eldon in a highway accident in 1950, Mr. Durrett established for his son the Eldon Durrett Memorial Scholarships. The initial amount of the fund was established at $30,000 to be used by young men of Amarillo to achieve a higher education. The Durrett family home is 2202 Tyler, Amarillo, where Mrs. Durrett lives following her husband's death June 1957."

Also, the Arts and Commerce building at Amarillo College was renamed J. R. Durrett Hall on July 7, 1958 in memory of Mr. Durrett, who died in June 1957.

2202 Tyler St. -- built in 1925

2202 Tyler St. -- built in 1925

2202 Tyler St. -- built in 1925

2202 Tyler St. -- built in 1925

 

Burkett, Ben C. (1888 - 10 Jul 1956) -- Owner of Burkett Paper Co.

Benjamin Clinton Burkett was an Amarillo businessman whose interests included the Burkett Paper Company, a wholesale paper distributing company that was located at 1015 S. Polk Street. He and his wife Ione Burkett (1900 - 1987) came to Amarillo in June 1931 and began building their business. They lived at 2101 S. Lipscomb.

Ben C. Burkett was the father of Benjamin Burkett II, who went to work for at Shamrock Oil and Gas Corporation in 1960 and later become an assistant to Mesa Petroleum president T. Boone Pickens.

1015 S. Polk Street, once the home of Burkett Paper Co.

Article clipped from the 14 Aug 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe

Ad clipped from the Aug 14 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe

Ben C. Burkett home at 2101 S. Lipscomb

Ben C. Burkett home at 2101 S. Lipscomb

Burkett II, Benjamin Clinton (1936 - 3 Jan 2009) -- Businessman

OBITUARY

Burkett II, Benjamin Clinton A long-time Dallas resident, died January 3rd in Midland Memorial Hospital. He was 72. Ben was instrumental in the success of Dallas-based Lear Petroleum. He joined the company in 1968 as its Chief Financial Officer (and first employee) and guided it through its first public stock offering in 1974, a series of debenture offerings, and its listing on the New York Stock Exchange. He retired from the company in 1980.

A native of Amarillo, Ben attended New Mexico Military Institute, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and joined the investment banking firm of Dominick and Dominick in New York City as an oil and gas analyst. Ben returned to Amarillo in 1960 and joined Shamrock Oil and Gas Corporation's finance department. Ben left Shamrock to join Mesa Petroleum as the assistant to President T. Boone Pickens. While at Mesa, Ben engineered the acquisition of Hugoton Production Co., a company significantly larger than Mesa in what was one of the earliest hostile tender offers in the nation.

After his retirement from Lear, Ben pursued his love of golf at Royal Oaks Country Club. Growing up, Ben was a junior golf champion, captain of the golf team and winner of many tournaments. He continued in business as a management consultant for a number of public and private companies. Ben spent that last several years traveling the world with his wife Carole. Ben was predeceased by his parents Ben C. Burkett, Sr. and Ione Braudt Burkett of Amarillo and his eldest son Ben C. Burkett, III. He is survived by his wife, Carole Warren Burkett of Midland, three sons, Mike and David of Dallas, Bob of Florida, and his brother, Dr.Robert J. Burkett of Fort Worth. A memorial service for Ben will be held at 2pm, Tuesday, January 6 at the First Presbyterian Church of Midland. Friends of Ben in the Dallas area are invited to a celebration of his life at 4pm Saturday, January 10th. Please contact Mike at Mike.Bur kett@JouleEnergyLLC.com for details.

Published in Dallas Morning News on Jan. 5, 2009

See more at Amarillo Globe News

1010 S. Jefferson St. - Once home to Mr. Earl Vandale

This house at 1010 S. Jefferson St., right across from Ellwood Park, was built in 1904, which means it is 110 years old. I am not sure who the original owner of the house was, but it was listed as the address of a Thomas Franklin O'Kane in the "Official List of Officers of the Officers Reserve Corps of the Army of the United States" for the year 1919. I do not know if he owned the house or was just boarding there.

Mr. McKane was born in Alda, Nebraska on 18 January 1891. He enlisted in the 7th Texas National Guard in Amarillo, Texas in May 1917. He was sent to Camp Bowie, Texas, where he made sergeant. Then on 1 January 1918, Sgt. McKane was sent to officers' school, where he was commissioned as a Lieutenant. He was then sent to Camp Stewart, Texas, where he was assigned to Company F of the 143 Infantry Division. In August 1918, he arrived in France, where he was sent to the Front. I do not know if he was killed in action or not, but he was cited for bravery. He was the son of Daniel and Anna (Mitchell) O'Kane of Wood River, Nebraska.

By 1929, the house was the home of a Mr. Earl Vandale, who came to Amarillo in 1925 as a buyer for the Magnolia Petroleum Company. He lived in Amarillo until his death in 1952.

By April 1946, the house had become the home of a Mr. Jack Nichols, and by 1948, a Mrs. Hazel Nichols was living in the house with her two daughters, Nancy and Dawn Nichols. In 1961 the house was featured in the Amarillo Globe Times, which included some photos of the home. Mrs. Hazel M. Nichols was still living in the house at the time.

Link to information on Mr. Earl Vandale

Home at 1010 S. Jefferson St., built in 1904

Home at 1010 S. Jefferson St., built in 1904

Home at 1010 S. Jefferson St., built in 1904

 

2122 S. Harrison - the old Toney Chisum Home - Built in 1925

When I was researching the Amarillo automobile dealer Toney Chisum, who lived in Amarillo from 1916 until his death in 1944, I wanted to know not only where his business was located, but also where his home was located. I found out that he lived at 2022 S. Harrison Street in 1926, but I could not find that address on Google Maps, so I then checked the old Sanborn Insurance maps for the year 1921 and found that houses south of 21st & Harrison were unexplainably numbered 20** instead of 21**. In more recent times, however, the city of Amarillo has apparently changed the addresses for that area causing 2022 S. Harrison to become 2122 S. Harrison. I have been told by a relative of a previous owner of the house that Toney Chisum was, indeed, once the owner of the house, which was built in 1925.

Information on Amarillo automobile distributor Toney Chisum (22 Dec 1885 - 6 Oct 1944)

Chisum, Toney (1885 - 1944) - Automobile Distributor

The building in the b/w newspaper clipping is the old Toney Chisum Automobile Building at 1019 S. Polk Street, just across from the old Bivins home/library. The color photo shows the same building today. Amarillo automobile distributor Toney Chisum had the building specifically designed and built in 1927 to serve as an automobile sales and service center. He moved in with his Hudson and Essex distributorship in December 1927.

Tony Chisum (22 Dec 1885 - 6 Oct 1944) was not born in Amarillo, but he moved here in 1916 to set up a Hudson automobile dealership, which was first located in a small building on Polk Street, just north of 6th Avenue. He then moved to a similar sized building in the 100 block of West 5th Ave., next to the Amarillo National Bank.

By 1920, Mr. Chisum was able to buy the corner at 5th & Tyler and renovated the building there to suit his specific needs. I am not sure which corner of 5th & Tyler he bought, but the only building left standing on a corner there is the 1-story white building in the photo below.

Toney Chisum was a smart businessman because he realized early on that wives had an important say in car buying decisions, so he catered to the needs of the lady of the house by setting up a ladies' sitting room in his dealership, designed to appeal to the tastes of women. One of the b/w photos below shows the lady's sitting room for his dealership in 1922.

Toney went out of his way to promote his automobiles. In October of 1920, Toney Chisum and a Dave Lewis arranged to race the Santa Fe passenger train "California Express" from Amarillo to Belin and Albuquerque, New Mexico, which was 396 miles away. Driving an Essex Touring Car, Toney and Dave beat the California Express to Albuquerque by exactly two hours and twenty-three minutes, even though the route taken by the car was eighteen miles longer and included mountain roads made difficult to negotiate by recent rains. The 10 Oct 1920 clipping posted below, from the Amarillo Daily News, gives more details of the race.

The b/w photo of the Toney Chisum building at 1019 S. Polk comes for a newspaper ad in the 14 Aug 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe. The b/w photo of the ladies' sitting room comes from the 2 September 1922 weekly trade magazine "Automobile Topics," published out of New York.

Link to photos of the former home of Toney Chisum

Clipped from an ad in the 14 Aug 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe

Old Toney Chisum Automobile Building at 1019 S. Polk

Ad clipped from the 14 Aug 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe

Clipped from 10 Oct 1920 Amarillo Daily News

Clipped from the 14 Aug 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe

Harris Food Stores -- 1938

Harris Food Store at 701 East 10th Ave. in 1938

This building at 701 East 10th Ave. was once home to one of three Harris Food Stores in Amarillo in 1938

Harris Food Store at 606 N. Fillmore in 1938

This building at 606 N. Fillmore was once home to one of three Harris Food Stores in Amarillo in 1938

Harris Food Store at 710 West 16th Ave.

This building at 710 West 16th Ave. was once home to one of three Harris Food Stores in Amarillo in 1938

This building at 701 East 10th Ave. was once home to the one of three Harris Food Stores in Amarillo in 1938





Harris Food Stores ad from the 14 Aug 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe




Badger, Harry C. - Businessman

 

Ad clipped from the 14 Aug 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe

Mantell, Alfred "Dutch" (25 Jul 1881 - 31 Jan 1941) -- Wrestler

Just looking at his picture, I would not have wanted to mess with Alfred "Dutch" Mantell (25 Jul 1881 - 31 Jan 1941).

Dutch Mantell, the original Dutch Mantell, was a rough-and-tough, down-and-dirty wrestler, who was considered a villain of the ring because he would do almost anything to win, including punching, kicking, and gouging. Dory Funk Sr. described him as "the type of wrestler who would storm into the ring smoking a cigar and as soon as the bell would ring, he would shove the cigar into the eye of his opponent."

Cal Farley, who was not only a minor league baseball player but also a wrestler, first met Dutch Mantell in El Paso in 1921, when Dutch climbed into the ring uninvited to challenge Mr. Farley after Cal had just beaten his opponent. In his autobiography, "Two Thousand Sons," Cal Farley described the two times he met Dutch Mantell in the ring as follows:

Both ended in ugly brawls, with a cracked skull for the Dutchman and enough free-flowing blood from the pair of us to establish the sport solidly in the city's favor. After the second meeting, we agreed it was better to be friends.

Another interesting thing about Dutch Mantell is that he was once one of silent film's "Keystone Cops."

In 1925 Dutch Mantell made Amarillo his home. He was a regular guest on Cal Farley's radio show, and he helped Mr. Farley with the Maverick Club and later with Boy's Ranch.

Dutch Mantell died of cancer in 1941. In his obituary, the Associated Press wrote the following:
"He was a pal of underprivileged kids everywhere and a favorite of fans who watched him maul opponents."

The ad below was printed in the 14 Aug 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe, in which Dutch Mantell congratulated the citizens of Amarillo on the city's Golden Anniversary.

The following are links to two histories of Dutch Mantell:

Texas State Historical Association's History of Dutch Mantell

"Bartee Haile: Villain in the ring was a friend to street urchins"

Ad clipped from the 14 Aug 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe

Undated photo of Dutch Mantell

 

Sneed, John Beal -- "Not Guilty" verdict given on 3 Dec 1912

Clipped from 5 Dec 1912 edition of "The Crosbyton Review"

Sneed, Joseph Tyre, Jr. -- Once lived at 2123 S. Harrison St.

This magnificent house at 2123 South Harrison Street was once the home of cattle baron Joseph Tyre Sneed, Jr., who bought one third of the vast LX Ranch holdings when the ranch was liquidated in 1906. The two men who bought the other two thirds of the ranch were Robert Benjamin Masterson and Lee Bivins. I have heard the house is now, or soon will be, on the market.

The house was built in 1920 and has a pool and an apartment in the backyard. I have also been told this house will be on the home tour that will be given on September 7, between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The story of Joseph Sneed is interesting, but the story of his brother John Beal Sneed is even more interesting because it involves, at least, two murders, one of a man who supposedly had a romantic relationship with John's wife, and the other of the man's father, who was accused of helping his son run off with John's wife.

The father of the man who had the affair with John's wife was shot in the lobby of the Metropolitan Hotel in Forth Worth, Texas in January 1912, and nine months later the son was shot in front of the Polk Street Methodist Church here in Amarillo. John's wife was sent to a sanitarium in Fort Worth to be treated for "moral insanity," but after she was cured, she came back and lived a long life with her husband.

The first link is to the story of Joseph Sneed. The second link is to the Texas State Historical Association story of the murders involving John Sneed, which is referred to as the "Boyce-Sneed Feud." The third link is to the Wikipedia story of the feud.

1) Story of Joseph Tyre Sneed, Jr.
2) Story of John Beal Sneed and the Boyce-Sneed Feud
3) Wikipedia's version of the Boyce-Sneed Feud

The old Joseph Sneed Home at 2123 S. Harrison St.

The old Joseph Sneed Home at 2123 S. Harrison St.

The old Joseph Sneed Home at 2123 S. Harrison St.

The old Joseph Sneed Home at 2123 S. Harrison St.

Cornelius, Mayvi Amarillo -- First child born in Amarillo

The house in the photo below was the Tuck Cornelius House. It located at 303 E. 4th Ave. (4th & Fillmore). It was originally built in Old Town Amarillo in 1887 at 309 Parker St., but was moved to 4th & Fillmore in 1889 by using logs. The house was still standing at 4th & Fillmore in 1938, but has since been demolished, leaving only a small group of trees to mark the spot. Before it was demolished, it was the oldest existing house in Amarillo.

The significance of the Tuck Cornelius House is that it was home of the first child to be born in Amarillo. The child was born on July 18, 1888 and was named Mayvi Amarillo Cornelius. She is pictured below with her pet antelope. There is also a photo of her and her husband in 1938. Tuck was Mayvi's father.

I have also posted a 14 Aug 1938 article about Mayvi Amarillo and her family.

Tuck Cornelius house was located at 303 E. 4th Ave (4th & Fillmore)

Photo shows the corner of 4th & Fillmore where the Tuck Cornelius house once stood.

Clipped from 14 Aug 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe

Clipped from 14 Aug 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe

Clipped from 14 Aug 1938 Amarillo Sunday News-Globe