"Worker For God" Caused Stir In Chillicothe In 1938

On Sunday morning, June 12, 1938, Clifford Brant, a travelling salesman from New York, who'd been living in a boarding house in Chillicothe, Ohio, called a taxi cab, with the intent of visiting every Protestant church in town that day.

By that afternoon he had disrupted services at 10 churches, ranging from a small East End mission church to St. Peter's, one of Chillicothe's two Catholic mainstays. The latter visit was described by parishioners as "electrifying" as the itinerant evangelist rattled the giant wood doors of the church and threw them open, running in with arms outstretched as the visiting administrator of a big city seminary school was delivering his sermon.

The local police chief and one of his officers put an end to Brant's tour that afternoon, having waited for him at the local Salvation Army church, the only one still conducting services at that hour. Brant was taken to the local city jail, and within days had been found insane by a local judge and admitted to the State Hospital (read, "mental asylum") in Athens. Mr. Brant's subsequent whereabouts and later exploits are unknown.

The account given the day after Brant's rant about town is quite interesting and mildly humorous in places, so I'll leave it to the Chillicothe Scioto Gazette's reportage of the day to fill in the details.

 

“WORKER FOR GOD” HIRES TAXI BY HOUR ON TRIPS TO DISRUPT CHURCH SERVICES

Chillicothe Scioto Gazette, June 13, 1938

"They gave me a padded cell at Syracuse, N. Y.," explained Clifford Brant, 42, self-styled "worker of God," as he nonchalantly swung his legs from his iron bunk at city prison, Sunday, where he was taken after making a spectacular appearance at approximately 10 Chillicothe churches during the morning services.

Hiring a taxi by the hour, and telling the driver, Ross Draher, 680 East Main street, he intended to visit every Protestant church, in town, Brant almost achieved this goal. He offset omissions by a visitation to St. Peter's Catholic church, where he interrupted the 10 o'clock mass.

 "Praise the Lord, thank God He's on fire," and similar expressions were delivered in a loud voice to the consternation of worshippers at every church, Chief Russell Poole stated.

Brant was arrested at 2:30 p.m., Sunday, just as he was about to enter the Salvation Army hall on North Mulberry street, where services were going on. He was apprehended by Chief Russell Poole and Officer Jesse McKee, who lay in wait for him there because, as the chief put it, "the Salvation Army was the only place that was having services at that time of day."

Personal calls were made on some of the ministers earlier in the morning, Chief Poole said he was informed.

"I thought there was something queer about him after I had taken him to three churches, and he had come hurrying back to the cab after staying only a minute or so at each," Draher told the chief. He said he let him out the cab finally at Holiness Mission on Monroe avenue, where he collected $2.25 from him.

 "I am working for God," argued the man as police attempted to put him in a cell at headquarters. He calmed down when given his Bible, which he had carried with him, wrapped in a paper.

He was turned over to the probate court for examination Monday.

Chief Poole said the man had been residing at a Ewing Street rooming house for nearly two months, working out of Chillicothe as a salesman. His home, apparently, is Hamden, N. Y. He caused a commotion at the rooming house about midnight Saturday when he insisted on holding a prayer meeting.

Peregrinations of the "worker for God" apparently began last Wednesday night, when he attended prayer service at the First United Brethren church on East Main Street. Mr. August Wagner reported that the visitor requested the singing of certain hymns, then spoke at length, predicting that "something awful is going to happen in the east end of town before long." The Rev. W. L. Kuhen, pastor, finally reminded the speaker that another meeting was to convene shortly. On his way out the visitor tapped Mr. Kuhen on the shoulder and told him, "You'd better ask forgiveness or God’s going to punish you."

Early Sunday morning, Brant called on several pastors at their homes, asking for time on the morning service programs. Among these was the Rev. J.W. Morehead, pastor of Quinn Chapel A.M.E., at which the man did not, however, appear.

At Free Holiness

He called on the Rev. Katherine Hixon, pastor of Free Holiness Church, said he had "a message for the churches of Chillicothe", and was given permission to offer prayer at the Sunday school service. He arrived at Free Holiness about 10:30 a.m., inquired of Mrs. Hixon what time he should speak, then ran full speed out of the church. At 10:45 he returned. Mrs. Flora Graves, Sunday school superintendent, prevented him from offering prayer with the comment, "I beg your pardon, brother, but the Lord wants us to repeat the Lord's Prayer" -- which was done in unison. The visitors then took the platform, read the Ten Commandments, and declared, "Jesus is coming, get ready! Say a prayer and you'll be saved." Mrs. Hixon interrupted the address to remind her congregation that "repentance is also necessary" whereupon the men dashed out of the church through the back door.

Little Mary Doerres was delivering a Children's Day recitation at the First Presbyterian church, about the time Brant came in the front door. She spoke straight on, despite the interruption.

Shouts His Thoughts

Observers said Brant threw his hat to the floor, made a megaphone of his hands and shouted (according to varying reports) "Down with the Presbyterian church!" and “Jesus Christ has not yet been born." Earlier, Brant had come to the church and asked the Rev. Dr. P.B. Ferris for permission to take up a collection and make a speech. Dr. Ferris declined to grant either request.

At Trinity M.E. church, Brant approached the Rev. Dr. A. J. Kestle and asked permission to speak and pray at the Sunday school service. Dr. Kestle explained the program already was arranged and time would not permit a speech, but allowed Brant to offer a sentence prayer (customary at several types of service other than formal morning worship). The visitor's petition included a general invitation to the congregation to hear him speak that evening at Trinity, and to bring their friends, for "it might be the last time."

“Ran Real Fast”

Brant sought the Rev. August L. Schneider, pastor of Calvary Lutheran church. at the W.O. Greathouse residence near the church on West Main, where Mr. Schneider often goes between morning services. The pastor was not there; Brant then returned to the church looking for Mr. Schneider. Just at the close of Sunday school he appeared at the rear of the auditorium, shouted a message, and "ran real fast", observers said.

He called the Rev. Theodore Schlundt outside of St. John's Evangelical church, to ask permission to speak on the second coming of Christ. Mr. Schlundt explained that this method of approach was not in accord with practices of the church, and Brant quietly departed in his cab.

“Turning God Down”

At Salem Evangelical church, Brant found the Rev. E.H. Wierth upstairs and asked permission to speak and pray. Mr. Wierth replied that the work was organized and the program was full. "You're turning God down and not me," retorted Brant, who, according to Mr. Wierth, "seemed to be in a great hurry and left."

The voluntary missionary made three calls at the Church of the Nazarene, Monroe Avenue. He asked the Rev. W.W. Loveless to let him take charge of the services, and announced he would come in the evening to speak. During Sunday school he approached Mr. Loveless again, while the latter was teaching a class, declined an invitation to be seated with class, and said "If the preachers would help me I could turn old Chillicothe upside down." On his third visit he sat quietly in the church, Mr. Loveless said.

Brant appeared at Walnut Street M.E. church, during the Children's Day program, and spoke to several ushers, but made no disturbance, it was reported.

Arms Outspread

At St. Peter's church, the appearance of Brant was electrifying, observers said. There was a sudden sharp rattling of the handles of the outer doors. Then the inner swinging doors opening on the center aisle burst open, and Brant stood with arms outspread, facing the Rev. William J. Spiegel, of Pontifical College Josephinum, Worthington, who was delivering the sermon. The congregation rose to its feet by sudden irresistible impulse, and heard Brant shout between his hands, "Don't believe him! The word of God hasn't been born!" Two men nearby, anticipating violence, dashed up the balcony stairs to the choir loft, where the sound of their approach created a stir.

Brant rushed from the church, ran up and down the sidewalk looking for his cab and shouted, according to witnesses: "The second coming is at hand. Great balls of fire!"

Get License Number

Mr. Edward A. Keller took the cab license number as Brant drove away. Members of the congregation later sought and identified the taxi, elsewhere in the city.

Meantime, police were acting on repeated telephoned complaints. Brant realized he was being sought. He was seen in the early afternoon darting across East Fifth street lots, and stopped on one porch for a chat. "He said the police were after him," the resident reported, "and wanted to know if there was any way he could get away without the police seeing him. We told him we didn't think he would be bothered with the police around there, and finally we had to say we had another engagement. He said then that he would have to go, too, and he walked on down the street."

Cincinnati Enquirer, June 14, 1938.

First Presbyterian Church, where Brant interrupted "little Mary Doerres's" Children's Day recitation. To the right stands Brant's eventual destination in Chillicothe, the city jail (now the county records building). The church burned in 1956.

St. Peter's Church, scene of Brant's "electrifying" outburst.

Of Donuts & Dead Ends: Ghosts Of Chillicothe's Missing Main Street

Crispie Creme Donut Shop at the corner of Bridge and Second Sts., is a Chillicothe, Ohio tradition. So much so, that many people don't realize their business history predates the Chillicothe connection by over two decades. Founded in Mulberry, Kansas, in 1929 by ancestors of the current owners, the Renison family, Crispie Creme made several moves through the midwest before reaching Ohio in the 1940s, settling in Portsmouth, where Chillicothe's near identical sister store remains today. Chillicothe's first Crispie Creme location opened for business in March, 1953. Since then, Crispie Creme, known as "the one with the Cs instead of the Ks" to differentiate from the nationally known Krispy Kreme franchise (founded by a one-time business associate of the original company), has been synonymous with Chillicothe, much like "the Mead" and "Tecumseh!"

That first, nearly forgotten Crispie Creme location was at 264 E. Main St. If you want to visit that historic spot, well, you can't...at least not safely. You see, the building at 264 E. Main St. was at the end of Bridge Street. The dead end. Another interesting fact that many people living here may not know is that Bridge St. once ended at Main St. There was no "North" or "South." Mainly still a residential thoroughfare, it was not yet the shopping and wheeler-dealing mecca it is today. Traveling south on Bridge St. from the Scioto River, to go any farther south than Main St., one had little choice but to turn right and then make another left onto Hickory, Mulberry or Paint St., the latter being the main route through the southern terminus of the city limits.

The postwar national prosperity that allowed for the development of the interstate highway system, also sparked a boom of expansion and development for the city of Chillicothe. The period between 1951-1954 saw the construction of three new grade schools: Tiffin, Worthington, and Mt. Logan; the demolition of the long-obsolete Eastern School (where Speedway, Executive Inn, and McDonald's stand today); the widening of U.S. 23 south; and the expansion of Bridge St. The construction of the atomic plant at Portsmouth around the same time was the impetus for much of this development. Extending Bridge St. to meet up with the improved 23 South would allow for a straighter shot between the new plant and the state capital in Columbus (via Ohio's first capital), and would allow easier access to the new Tiffin Elementary and the existing Mead and Chilpaco plants as a bonus.

Naturally, extending Bridge Street from Main to 23 meant razing everything in its path. Besides relocating families from their homes on adjacent streets, it meant relocating the occupants of several buildings which had stood along E. Main St. for decades. In 1953, when Crispie Creme came to Chillicothe, its neighbors included, going eastward, Orland Ratcliff Motors, Herlihy Moving & Storage, and the aptly named eatery, Bridge End Lunch. Few photos survive of the "dead end" section of Main St., but one grainy photo, taken on a rainy, blustery looking day circa 1951 shows how it used to be.

The story of Chillicothe's first Crispie Creme starts with the Ohio House Hotel, operated by one Eugene O'Callaghan, a prominent member of Chillicothe's sizable Irish-American population, in the early part of the 19th century. A photo of the Ohio House, taken in 1876, shows a basic two-story structure of light brick, with shuttered windows and two entryways, one presumably to the separate "taproom" that was typical of 19th century hotels. The facade differs considerably from what is shown in that evocative photo from the mid-20th century. In approximately 1894, O'Callaghan died, and his family sold the hotel. The buyer was Henry Hydell, a grocer who had been in the business a decade, beginning at the age of 25 when he took over the grocery of Philip Seward at the corner of Water and Hickory Sts.

In the early 1880s, two prominent businessmen, John H. Putnam and Reinhard Wissler (the latter a member of the Wissler Brewery family), purchased land along different halves of the east side of Bridge St. starting at Main, and began building houses and business structures in the area. Putnam constructed a large store at the Main and Bridge, as well as a number of two story brick homes. Wissler, in particular, was enamored of French architecture and his structures were three-story edifices with mansard roofs. One in particular, at the northeast corner of Bridge and Second Sts., a combined store room and residence not too dissimilar to Putnam's building at Main and Bridge, figures into our story at two different points in history.

The occupant of Wissler's commercial-residential structure at Bridge and Second was John Higley, a relative of Wissler by marriage, who lived with his wife and two children in the upstairs apartment, and ran a grocery in the downstairs store. In 1888, Higley sold his stake in the store to Mr. Hydell, who moved his base of operations from Water and Hickory St. to Bridge and Second, and also lived in the apartment vacated by the Higleys. It was in this second location that he became the first grocer in Chillicothe to include an in-house meat department, adding a new level of convenience to his customers. He also operated his own slaughterhouse east of town. Five years later came his move to the former Ohio House. Hydell converted it from a hotel to two large storerooms and a spacious upstairs apartment. This may also be the time period in which the building was remodeled into its later appearance.

Henry Hydell's innovations, as well as his longevity in the E. Main St. location, earned him the title of "the dean of Chillicothe grocers." In September, 1936, Scioto Gazette publisher E.S. Wenis "cheerfully" inducted Hydell Grocery into the paper's 50 Year Club, "as an institution of quality, stability, and service to the public." During his tenure on E. Main St., Hydell's family grew to three sons and two daughters. Sons Clarence F. and Francis Hydell were assisting in daily operation of the store by the 1930s. In August, 1939, Henry Hydell retired, and Clarence took over as proprietor. His first executive decision was to remodel the store, moving the meat department into the grocery section, and rent out the storeroom at 266 E. Main St.

The former Hydell meat department was briefly occupied by the Cycle Shop which moved from N. Walnut St. in 1941. In May, 1943, John D. Herlihy Sr., founder of Herlihy Moving & Storage, who had occupied 268 and 270 E. Main St., divested himself of a related tire sales business, and moved his company offices into the space, where it remained until the buildings were demolished. In November, 1945, Bridge End Lunch opened in the previous Herlihy office at 268 E. Main (which was an A&P Grocery store in the mid-1920s, in direct competition to Hydell's), where it remained until the end of 1952. A little over a year later, "the dean of Chillicothe grocers," Henry Hydell, passed away at the age of 85.

Then, in November, 1947, it was announced abruptly that delivery service by Hydell's Grocery would be discontinued, and on December 2, 1947, the first of several ads ran advertising a 20% discount on all grocery stock, as well as a sale on modern grocery equipment. There was no formal announcement that the store would be closing, nor have I found any reason for Hydell's Grocery going out of business. Then in early January, 1948, C&J Electric Shop ran ads saying "We Are Now Open In Our NEW LOCATION At 264 E. Main St." with no further apparent fanfare. C&J Electric Shop was there until October 1951, when Model Dry Cleaners opened their third location in the spot.


In early 1953, Crispie Creme finally enters the picture, opening somewhere around March, when Chillicothe Telephone Co. installed a new line in their name at 264 E. Main St. An article from April 16, 1953, states that the city Planning Commission had approved the construction of their sign over the sidewalk at that address. Otherwise, the soon-to-be-legendary shop seems to have opened to no apparent fanfare. Could it be because Chillicothe already had the similarly named Dixie Cream Donut Shop, which opened in 1947 and was currently in the old fire station on N. Mulberry St.? :-) Crispie Creme's first year in Chillicothe indeed seems to have been low-key with one exception.

On December 30, 1953, Clarence Hydell, who still owned the property at 264-66 E. Main St., ran an ad for an "Auction Sale Of Household Goods" to be held on January 2. The announcement began "As the state is taking my building for highway purposes..." not just a little bitterly. A small blurb in "Amelia Hydell's Column" of December 23 had quietly announced that "Crispy Cream" had been removed by Herlihy (somewhat ironically) from its current address to High and Water Sts. (across from St. Peter's Church). In January, 1954, the state highway department began running legal notices in the Gazette, soliciting bids for the demolition of a long list of properties that had been acquired by the state, including the former Hydell Grocery. In February, it was announced that local contractor Harold Corkwell had made the winning $45 bid on the property. The former A&P/Herlihy/Bridge End property with its attached structures went to a contractor from The Plains for $150.50, while the winning bid on Herlihy's garage at 270 E. Main was $10.

By springtime, all traces of the buildings were gone, and the construction of S. Bridge St./U.S. 23 was in full swing. Herlihy Moving & Storage relocated their main operations to N. Walnut St. Model Dry Cleaners maintained their previous locations. C&J Electric was now on W. Second St. Of all the businesses that occupied 264-270 E. Main St. in the first half of the 1950s, C&J Electric (on W. Main St. today) and Herlihy (who relocated for good to Marietta Rd. in 1970) are still going strong. Traffic whizzes along the stretch of Bridge St. that didn't even exist 65 years ago, few motorists aware of the history that was wiped out by Atomic Age progress.

As for Crispie Creme, there were a few rough patches along the road to legendary status. In March of 1954, the shop was granted a one-year permit to remain in business at the High and Water location, termed a hardship case as being a relatively young business forced to relocate after less than a year. In October 1957, it was reported that the shop had overstayed its permit by two years, and the city Board Of Appeals was compelled to ask them to vacate the address ASAP. Owner James Renison announced his intention to plead for an extension, having been unable to find another location. The Board obviously relented as Crispie Creme remained at High and Water into the early 1960s. Thus it was to everyone's chagrin when, in the early morning hours of May 6, 1961, a semi-truck from Hennis Freight Lines barrelled through the front of the shop after colliding with a convertible at the intersection, destroying a display case and a donut glazer, and causing considerable damage to the building. The shop was up and running, on a limited basis, by the following week.

After several years of legal pressures, the Renison family built a thoroughly modern, state-of-the-art new location of their own, which opened in the spring of 1965, and thrives to this day. It's one of my favorite places on earth, personally speaking. In a final bit of historical irony, the current Crispie Creme Donut Shop, which first occupied the former Hydell Grocery, is at the northeast corner of Bridge and Second Sts., built on the site of Henry's previous store.


(Below are views of the approximate area of 264-270 E. Main St. in July 1954, and a current view from Google Maps. The two story brick building in these, photos, now occupied by Carlisle Barber Shop, can be seen at far left in the 1951 view near the beginning of the article)