Glenn Goodart
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Ira Glenn Goodart (August 5, 1885 – November 8, 1948) was an American railroad conductor,
hotel manager A hotel manager, hotelier, or lodging manager is a person who manages the operation of a hotel, motel, resort, or other lodging-related establishment. Management of a hotel operation includes, but is not limited to management of hotel staff, bu ...
,
county commissioner A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...
and county treasurer. Goodart was raised in
Friendsville, Illinois Friendsville is an unincorporated community in Wabash County, Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Gre ...
, a small community outside of
Mount Carmel, Illinois Mount Carmel is a city in and the county seat of Wabash County, Illinois, United States. At the time of the 2010 census, the population was 7,284, and it is the largest city in the county. The next largest town in Wabash County is Allendale, po ...
, in a German Catholic family. After trying a variety of menial jobs Goodart took a position on the
New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...
as a conductor. He held the position with the New York Central until he lost his right leg during a violent train crash in the early 1920s. After a period of joblessness and a period of time as an
alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...
, Goodart found employment as a hotel manager at the
Grand Rapids Hotel The Grand Rapids Hotel also known as The Grand Rapids Resort, was a hotel that existed outside of Mount Carmel, Illinois, in Wabash County, Illinois, United States in Southern Illinois from 1922 to 1929. The hotel was located on the Wabash River ...
and during his tenure he increased the hotel's notability. He stayed five years and much of the time the hotel was in severe debt due to unsuccessful events planned by Goodart and flooding. In 1929, Goodart burned down the hotel under suspicious circumstances. Earlier that year the
United States Senate Committee on Commerce The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate. Besides having broad jurisdiction over all matters concerning interstate commerce, science and technology policy, a ...
had decided to remove the dam at Grand Rapids, which attracted many tourists to the hotel. Following the hotel fire, Goodart entered politics and won seats in Wabash County's local government. Goodart served as an elected official for 19 consecutive years in various positions with the county and city of Mount Carmel. During his political career Goodart was a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
and served as county
treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...
,
county commissioner A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...
,
county assessor Tax assessment, or assessment, is the job of determining the value, and sometimes determining the use, of property, usually to calculate a property tax. This is usually done by an office called the assessor or tax assessor. Governments need to ...
and ran multiple times, but was never elected, for constable and sheriff. Goodart died in November 1948, one year after reelection as county finance commissioner.


Early years

Goodart was born in Mount Carmel,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
on August 5, 1885. His father had emigrated from Germany. Goodart's father married twice and Goodart was one of eight children. Goodart grew up in Friendsville with his family. The Goodart home was located nearby the home of Jacob Zimmerman, who was the father of
Frederick Hinde Zimmerman Frederick Hinde Zimmerman (October 17, 1864 – September 21, 1924) was an American banker, farmer, real estate entrepreneur, businessman, and hotel owner. Due to his large land holdings and expertise in farming, Zimmerman became a notable farme ...
, founder of the Grand Rapids Hotel and father of the children who would later hire Goodart in 1924. On August 5, 1909, Goodart married Vera McClintock, the daughter of William T. and Mildred (Poole) McClintock, in Mount Carmel. Two years later in 1911, Goodart and his wife had their only child, Leland. Glenn held a variety of jobs in Wabash County until 1918 when he got a job working on the New York Central Railroad. Jobs Goodart held before working for the railroad included a clerk at small shops in Mount Carmel, electrician, automobile mechanic, as a worker for the Mt. Carmel Telephone Company and as a truck delivery driver for a furniture company. In his early years, younger brother Allen Goodart, lived with O.L. Rapson, the man Goodart later replaced as manager of the Grand Rapids Hotel at 811 Mulberry Street. In the early 1920s Glenn was the conductor on the New York Central during a particularly violent crash in which he lost his right leg. After Glenn lost his leg he was unable to work as a conductor and subsequently he joined the Retired Railroad Men's Association where he held various leadership positions.


Hotel manager

Sometime after September 1924 Goodart replaced Rapson to become the second manager at the Grand Rapids Hotel. After the death of
Frederick Hinde Zimmerman Frederick Hinde Zimmerman (October 17, 1864 – September 21, 1924) was an American banker, farmer, real estate entrepreneur, businessman, and hotel owner. Due to his large land holdings and expertise in farming, Zimmerman became a notable farme ...
, Mr. Zimmerman's children decided to allow Glenn Goodart to take over management even though he only had one leg. Initially, Goodart's tenure as manager at the hotel was successful. The years 1925 and 1926 saw massive events and social gatherings that attracted people from across the country. In 1925, while Goodart was in charge, ''Outdoor Recreation Magazine'' described the fishing at Grand Rapids as where the "choicest table fish to be found in the river" are located. Goodart organized two baseball teams at the hotel called the Grand Rapids Steppers and the Mount Carmel Boosters that were successful and played teams in the area. With one leg he served as the manager. He organized multiple clay pigeon shooting contests at the hotel and was often a top finisher. Success was short-lived and in 1927, 1928 and 1929 Goodart undertook increasingly unsuccessful projects and the hotel lost patronage due to summer flooding. The decrease in tourism and the poor business planning increased pressure on Goodart to find alternative sources of income, possibly illegal. Oral accounts mentioned Chicago gangsters frequenting the hotel in later years as well as liquor service in violation of
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...
.


Hotel fire

On July 29, 1929, Glenn Goodart burned the Grand Rapids Hotel to the ground by dropping a
blowtorch A blowtorch, also referred to as a blowlamp, is an ambient air fuel-burning gas lamp used for applying flame and heat to various applications, usually metalworking. Early blowtorches used liquid fuel, carried in a refillable reservoir attach ...
in the basement shop. Even though the fire was during the peak tourist season, the hotel had no guests on that day. Newspaper accounts indicate that the fire burned the entire structure to the ground in a short time. Many people at the time speculated as to whether the fire was intentional, but Goodart was never prosecuted. The newspaper stated that only a few items were saved, but all of the money from the hotel and restaurant were destroyed even though the
cash register A cash register, sometimes called a till or automated money handling system, is a mechanical or electronic device for registering and calculating transactions at a point of sale. It is usually attached to a drawer for storing cash and other ...
was next to the front door and multiple pieces of furniture were carried through the front door before the fire completed its work. Years later it emerged that one of the candy machines that sat next to the cash register was saved and was located in a private collection. Oral accounts of the day the hotel burned state that a local troop of
boy scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...
were camping at a small
beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...
on the river nearby. They helped carry items out of the hotel.


Later career

Earlier that year the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
had approved a bill to remove Grand Rapids Dam next to the hotel that drew tourists and created favorable fishing conditions. After the hotel fire Goodart was elected to positions in Wabash County, Illinois before his death in 1948. Goodart first became Finance Commissioner for Mt. Carmel, three months after the fire. He served as County Treasurer for a short time. Goodart was active in social organizations in Wabash County and was a founding member of the Wabash County Chapter of the
Moose Lodge The Loyal Order of Moose is a fraternal and service organization founded in 1888 and headquartered in Mooseheart, Illinois. Moose International supports the operation of Mooseheart Child City & School, a community for children and teen ...
. Goodart's only son, Leland Goodart, was an abusive alcoholic who had problems finding steady employment after World War II. He divorced multiple times, leading Goodart and his wife Vera to raise two of their grandchildren. Using his powers as county assessor and treasurer, Goodart in 1939 organized a school of instruction for property assessors who had charge of making the annual county assessments in Wabash County. While serving as treasurer, Goodart and other Wabash County commissioners attended a meeting on tax policy in Springfield, Illinois in 1940 hosted by the Illinois State Tax Commission and dealt with state tax policy at the county level. In 1942, Ralph Ewald reported to then treasurer Goodart that six of his
sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...
had been killed by a pack of roving dogs. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
Goodart worked part-time at Meissner's Mount Carmel department store. In 1947, one year before his death, Goodart was reelected as a county commissioner in Wabash County, Illinois.


Death

Goodart died on November 8, 1948, in the Olney Sanitarium in
Olney, Illinois Olney ( ) is the county seat in Richland County, Illinois. The population was 9,115 at the time of the 2010 census. History Settlement of the Richland County area began around 1815 when Thaddeus Morehouse, a native of Vermont, arrived by wa ...
at 6:35 in the morning. His obituary did not state the cause of his death, but instead stated, "He had been in the sanitarium for the past few weeks after taking seriously ill and for days his condition had been reported to be growing steadily worse." His obituary made no mention his time at the hotel. Goodart is buried in Rosehill Cemetery located in Mount Carmel, next to his wife Vera. Goodart's wife, Vera, died in 1967 at the age of 76 in
Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
. At the time of her death, Vera lived in a broken-down mobile home in a
trailer park A trailer park,caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and ea ...
with son Leland, who was living off military retirement checks. Ten years before Vera died she was
held up ''Held Up'' is a 1999 American crime buddy comedy film starring Nia Long and Jamie Foxx. Plot While on a road trip in the Southwest, Rae (Long) discovers that her man, Michael (Foxx), spent the $15,000 they set aside for a home on a vintage St ...
at gunpoint for $53 by Prentice Ray Wilson, who was from
Princeton, Indiana Princeton is the largest city in and the county seat of Patoka Township, Gibson County, Indiana, Patoka Township, Gibson County, Indiana, Gibson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 8,301 at the 2020 United States Census, and it is pa ...
while working at the Uptown Theater in Mount Carmel. By 1989, the Goodart family only had one distant cousin living in Wabash County, Illinois, documented by a
letter to the editor A letter to the editor (LTE) is a letter sent to a publication about an issue of concern to the reader. Usually, such letters are intended for publication. In many publications, letters to the editor may be sent either through conventional mail ...
written by Maude Trusty Goodart then 82, Leland's second wife.


Notes


References

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External links


City of Mount Carmel Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodart, Glenn 1885 births 1948 deaths American amputees American arsonists American hoteliers American restaurateurs County commissioners in Illinois New York Central Railroad People from Wabash County, Illinois Illinois Democrats American people of German descent 20th-century American politicians Conductor (rail) American politicians with disabilities