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By Mike Avitt
Have you ever wondered about the horseshoe on the Kellerton water tower?
Allow me to introduce Frank Jackson.
Mr. Jackson first appears in the Mount Ayr Record-News on September 17, 1915 as he was in the Kellerton area visiting relatives and looking for a future home.
Frank had previously lived in Blue Mound, Kansas. This is the same year Frank, at age 45, won the horseshoe pitching World Championship for the sixth time.
Frank Jackson was a professional horseshoe pitcher. The first world tournament was held in Bronson, Kansas in 1909.
Now, even though Frank won money in tournaments and in gambling, that doesn’t mean he made enough to support his family. World War I interrupted the annual world championship and winter prevented play in Iowa during certain months.
Frank’s career picked back up again around 1920. But, not without controversy.
In June 1921, Frank had a big match with C. C. Davis, of Ohio. The purse was $400 plus all gate receipts. That was an enormous amount of money. The match would be played in Des Moines.
Mr. Davis won the match but the Polk County Horseshoe Pitching Association, who held the money, refused to pay Mr. Davis because of a report that the horseshoe stakes were 41 feet instead of the 40 feet which is the sanctioned distance. I failed to learn the outcome of the contest.
With multiple national titles and horseshoe pitching becoming more popular.
Frank pitched all over the Midwest. And not just in tournaments. “Barnyard Golf” was being played in places like Chicago. Frank went there to pitch in an exhibition where he easily outclassed the “Windy City shoe tossers.
Frank’s game was so impressive, he got a big write-up in the Chicago Tribune.
Frank’s sons, Carroll, Vyrl, and Hansford, were also noted pitchers. A family picture of the Jacksons appears in the September 28, 1924 edition of the Des Moines Register. In the 1925 Iowa State Tournament, Frank Jackson finished second and sons Carroll and Vyrl finished tied for third.
In February 1926, Frank won $400 in a tournament held in St. Petersburg, Florida. He stayed afterwards to pitch in exhibitions. Jackson spent much time away from home.
In 1930, Frank, at age 60, won the Iowa State Championship held during the Iowa State Fair. A new record was set when Frank tossed ringers 88% of the time. Vyrl tied for third. Frank now held the state title for three of the last four years.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Jackson moved to Florida in December 1932. I’m guessing the prize money at the St. Petersburg tournaments was a factor in that move. But Frank was 62 at this time.
Websites, like iagenweb.org/ringgold and others have plenty of information about Frank’s career. I found several.
On August 10, 1980, the city of Kellerton dedicated the Frank Jackson Horseshoe Pitching Courts and began an annual tournament the same day.
In October 1978, The Kellerton Community Betterment Council erected new horseshoe themed street signs. A daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jackson was on hand for the installation.
Eventually, the signs, made of wood, fell into disrepair and were replaced by metal signs.
Oh, and Frank was not the only Iowa State Champion from Ringgold County in “barnyard golf.” Marvin Woollums won the title four times around twenty-five years ago (1999, 2000, 2001, and 2003).
