Snapshots of History by Mike Avitt

By Editor | September 30, 2026 |

I took this week’s photo on May 27, 2025 and, although I’ve written about this building or Lefty’s three times prior, I earnestly enjoy writing about anything connected to Randolph Beall.
Thomas F. Armstong started a Mount Ayr newspaper called the Weekly News on April 4, 1892. It was located at 113 N. Taylor and moved to 115 N. Taylor in December 1892. Randolph Beall bought half interest in this paper the same month. Randolph’s brother Walter bought Armstrong’s interest in February 1893. Walter graduated from Mount Ayr High School in 1889 and Randolph didn’t attend high school. There were three newspapers in Mount Ayr at this time: Weekly News (Prohibitionist), Ringgold Record (Republican), and Mount Ayr Journal (Democrat and Greenback Party). The Beall brothers were also very active in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Business was good so the brothers decided to put up their own building.
The lot at 111 E. Madison had previously been the home of the Ellis House, Frank Ellis’s second hotel, which burned in 1889. Randolph and Walter announced in May 1897 plans for a new newspaper plant and office. The building would be 24 feet wide, one and a half stories high. The basement was built so four feet would be above ground allowing for light to come through windows. The brick was burned locally by J. R. Hillhouse, who had a kiln one mile south of Mount Ayr. E. D. Case was the construction boss. In the June 22, 1897 edition of the Weekly News, on page 3, is a drawing of the proposed new building. I tried to copy the sketch using “screen shot” but I failed.
Work began in early July and by late September the roof had been completed. The brothers expected to be in their new building by October 20. By this time, the name of the paper had been changed to Twice-A-Week News with issues coming out on Tuesday and Friday.
Randolph left the firm in 1899 to pursue other interests, which were many and fruitful. Walter ran the paper until 1907 when he sold the business to the Ringgold Record, which became the Record-News upon the merger. A local attorney, Henry Clay Beard, bought the printing press from Walter and Beard started the Twice-A-Week Press, a Democrat newspaper (1907-12) housed in the basement of 105 E. Madison, another Beall owned building.
In late 1907, John Endsley bought the old Twice-A-Week News building and started a butcher shop. Many other butchers operated meat markets here over the years. In 1926, Bert Smith operated a meat and grocery business here. The last advertisement I saw for Smith was in January 1930. In February 1930, brothers Mike and Floyd (Brady) Beaman announced they would open Mount Ayr Cleaners at 111 E. Madison. The Beaman Brothers moved to 109 S. Fillmore in January 1932. I lost track of who occupied this building until 1945. In September 1945, William Kibbe sold this building to Myron Horn. Kibbe had a harness and shoe repair shop and Horn was selling electrical supplies. Ringgold County got rural electricity in 1945 and business was good! Joe Dalton bought Horn’s business in November 1945.
Legend has it the tavern was started in 1951 by Bob Wilson and indeed a beer permit was issued to one A. I. Wilson, according to the July 12, 1951 Record-News. But,……Vern Stringham was granted a beer permit according to the August 3, 1950 Record-News. Beer permits were good for one year. The timeline matches. At the time Stringham’s permit was expiring, Wilson’s kicked in. Coincidence?
The July 17, 1952 Record-News records a beer permit was issued to Club Bar Tavern, but no names were given. This was the name of the tavern when it was jointly owned by Carroll “Lefty” Geist and Donald “Joe” Sobotka. The next year, Joe and Carroll are mentioned by name for their permit.
Here’s another thing I think about. On December 23, 1949, Joe Sobotka and Jack Monaghan ran an ad announcing the opening of their new cafe “a half block east of the NE corner of the square. That sounds like 111 E. Madison to me. This venture failed but Joe had a closing out sale at his farm December 31, 1949. So, Joe was all-in on the restaurant idea and, in fact, he and Lefty owned the Sandwich Shop together in 1951-52. All right, we have enough to think about now.

Posted in Snapshot of History by Mike Avitt