McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)
Maybe not so much a “Friday Funny” in hindsight but apparently those involved thought it might be a “hilarious pastime of throwing butcher knives and cleavers at one another.”
The newspaper article continues, stating that one of the men, Lee Griffen, who was a butcher by trade, “proved too good a marksman” and threw a knife that ended up in Charley Stott’s leg- it cut through skin and muscle “to the bone for several inches.” A local doctor was called and used eleven stitches to close the wound after cleansing and applying antiseptics. Since antibiotics would not be discovered for another 23 years, the “danger of blood poison” was a possible consequence of the day’s entertainment, if the knife had not been properly cleaned after its last use. Otherwise, Stott would recover soon, per the physician.
The grocery store of Will and Lynette (Payne) McMurray in Newton, Iowa, changed over time, beginning as a partnership and then owned only by Will and Lynette. There are some references to their meat market but we do not know if it was a separate store or a section of their grocery.
A close reading of the article reveals it was a Sunday afternoon when the “hilarious” event took place. The store was likely closed on Sundays, so that would have provided a private opportunity for the event, with no thinking person present to stop the dangerous contest. Will and Lynette had probably been to church (at least Lynette- we don’t know about Will). Later, gathering with the family or visiting friends would probably have been the order of the day. Will and Lynette would have thought the store was safely locked and they did not need to worry about their livelihood. Little did they know their store would soon be a page 2 article in the newspaper of a nearby town. (The McMurrays did have family and friends in Marshalltown and visited there often.)
There is no mention of damage to the shop, though the knives and cleavers were probably dulled if they went into walls or wood. Gashes would likely have to be repaired- not just in Mr. Stott’s leg, but in the walls and doorways, and there would have been cleanup that included blood not of the usual meat market bovine, porcine, fish, or fowl varieties.
As one of the men, Lee Griffen, was listed as a butcher, and the store had probably been locked, perhaps he was employed there and had a key? There is no mention of the men ‘breaking and entering’ so this might be the case. If so, maybe the phrase, “was employed” is true not just because we are looking at an event in the past, but also because Will may have fired him if he had been an employee.
It would also be interesting to know if alcohol was involved prior to the contest, or if it was just a testosterone-laden event.
Either way, this “Friday Funny” reinforces that gross stupidity is not a new invention of today’s generations. It’s just that in 1905, they could not film it with their pocket-sized phone and go viral.
Notes, Sources, and References:
- See caption.
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