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HomeMy WebLinkAboutINNKEEPER: THE CAREER OF CAL BOYKIN by Joe Pickle THE PERMIAN HISTORICAL ANNUAL Volume XXIX December 1989 • ',, "- ~!fi I Nit, • ( "04 - ti\ = 1 T. to (2/incQ cok (,),A,LA 4-ett-e \A .( 4 • •I . Innkeeper / Pickle 51 INNKEEPER: THE CAREER OF CAL BOYKIN By Joe Pickle By all rights Calvin Clay Boykin should have been a farmer; instead, he achieved a career as a polished innkeeper. Hand- some, gregarious and almost always impeccably dressed, he played out his role in a setting far removed from the sod. Early in life, however, his perceptiveness led and kept him away from the farm. He was the youngest of nine children when he was born August 4, 1903, to Byrd Alexander and Mary Catherine Kornagay Boykin at Robert Lee, Texas.' His parents moved to Miles in Runnels County soon afterwards, and it was here that Calvin achieved his meager schooling, "getting my foundation in that wildcat one -room schoolhouse - learning reading, writing and arithmetic. Mr. Pappawall taught me penmanship -- muscular motion." What seemed more practical, however, was laboring in the fields. One day he and his brother, Tommie, were shocking oats almost frantically, but when Tommie looked around, Calvin had disappeared. So he went to the house and found Cal cleaned up and dressed, with his scant belongings packed in a bag. Mystified and fearful of an emergency, Tommie asked: "What's going on ?" "I'm through," Calvin announced bluntly. "There's got to be a better way to make a living." Thus, at the ripe age of fourteen years, he took off in the direction of Amarillo where a brother lived. There he found 52 The Permian Historical Annual XXIX (1989) employment as a callboy for the Santa Fe railroad. Later he took a job with King Candy Company, but stirring hot candy wasn't much more appealing that shocking oats. He and his cousin, Brian (Biney) Kornagay, had noticed posters in front of the post office. Over pretty Hawaiian girls in grass skirts was the legend: "Join the Navy and see the world." They not only did not get to see the world, they didn't even get to see the Navy recruiter who had gone for the day. So, they stepped across the hall to the Army recruiting office and signed on. That is how Calvin came to be a part of the 157th Field Ar- tillery, training first at Fort Bliss, Texas and serving at Fort Lewis and Fort Casey, Washington. When he was discharged on October 3, 1921, Calvin had mastered basic skills in typing, record keeping, organization, chain of command, etc.' Besides, he had $204.41 in travel pay in his pocket. Instead of returning to Miles, he stopped in Amarillo, and he and Biney talked about boarding a tramp steamer and really seeing the world. But when the ship sailed, only Biney was aboard; Calvin had taken a job in a hotel owned by Col. Ernest Thompson. He was little more than a busboy at first, but soon he was making salads in the dining room. Next he was a night clerk, then a cashier. By this time, however, he was lonesome for home. Returning to Miles was a fateful decision, for it was there that he met Rubye Opal Heath, formerly of Rochelle (McCulloch County), and they were married August 12, 1921, in Miles. At first, he worked for Price Tailor Shop; then his father -in- law, Tom Heath, a travelling salesman, persuaded him to open a clothing store appropriately named Boykin & Company. Hardly had he become established in this enterprise than Heath in 1922 called from Roswell, New Mexico, where he was staying. There was an opening for a young man with hotel experience with the Nickson -Todd Hotels. Calvin interviewed for the job and was hired at the Gilkerson Hotel, and his career as a hotelman was on its way. He and Rubye relished the life, especially the emoluments of ti I, . Innkeeper / Pickle 53 the position, including use of a summer cabin at Pine Lodge, New Mexico. Later, Cal became fast friends with Jim White, discoverer of Carlsbad Caverns. Over in Carlsbad, A. J. Crawford, a crusty, penurious ran- cher and entrepreneur, had heard of Cal. On the basis of glow- ing reports about the young man and his ability to remember names and faces, he made Cal an offer to join the Crawford Hotel in Carlsbad. Cal's recollection of the first meeting with Crawford was when he went to the ranch for the interview. He found the wiry rancher, clad in coat and striped pants and starched laid -back collar, working livestock in a corral. He had a .45 caliber revolver strapped to his waist, this not being uncommon in that day. The rancher left off his chores long enough to talk with Cal. He made him an offer. Before Cal could resign, however, Nickson -Todd, aware of the Crawford proposal, gave him a substantial raise. This was an annoying if not painful development for the frugal Crawford, but when he crawled off a trainload of his cat - tle bound for market and contacted Cal at Roswell, he grudging - ly topped the offer and declared: "You're not working for anybody else anymore! "' In the meantime, Calvin Junior had been born in 1924 to Cal and Rubye at Roswell, so the three of them moved over to Carlsbad. They were just settled into a comfortable situation when their second son, Robert (Bobby) was born in 1926. A group of boosters from Big Spring, Texas, where oil had been discovered on the H. R. Clay ranch in November, 1925, by Fred Hyer, who was to become a close friend of Cal's, called on Crawford to urge him to build a hotel. They had a quarter of a block at the northeast corner of the intersection of Third (U.S. 80 highway) and Scurry (then U.S. 87 highway) and across from the courthouse and city hall (on U.S. 80). When they offered to donate the land, Crawford could not resist. Crawford confided with Boykin about the new undertaking and asked: "Guess who's going to Big Spring ?" Cal had no idea, and Crawford tapped him on the chest and said: "You!" i i 1 1 I� Innkeeper / Pickle 53 the position, including use of a summer cabin at Pine Lodge, New Mexico. Later, Cal became fast friends with Jim White, discoverer of Carlsbad Caverns. Over in Carlsbad, A. J. Crawford, a crusty, penurious ran- cher and entrepreneur, had heard of Cal. On the basis of glow- ing reports about the young man and his ability to remember ? names and faces, he made Cal an offer to join the Crawford Hotel in Carlsbad. Cal's recollection of the first meeting with Crawford was when he went to the ranch for the interview. He found the wiry rancher, clad in coat and striped pants and starched laid -back collar, working livestock in a corral. He had a .45 caliber revolver strapped to his waist, this not being uncommon in that day. The rancher left off his chores long enough to talk with Cal. He made him an offer. Before Cal could resign, however, Nickson -Todd, aware of the Crawford proposal, gave him a substantial raise. This was an annoying if not painful development for the frugal Crawford, but when he crawled off a trainload of his cat- tle bound for market and contacted Cal at Roswell, he grudging- ly topped the offer and declared: "You're not working for anybody else anymore! " In the meantime, Calvin Junior had been born in 1924 to Cal and Rubye at Roswell, so the three of them moved over to Carlsbad. They were just settled into a comfortable situation when their second son, Robert (Bobby) was born in 1926. A group of boosters from Big Spring, Texas, where oil had been discovered on the H. R. Clay ranch in November, 1925, by Fred Hyer, who was to become a close friend of Cal's, called on Crawford to urge him to build a hotel. They had a quarter of a block at the northeast corner of the intersection of Third (U.S. 80 highway) and Scurry (then U.S. 87 highway) and across from the courthouse and city hall (on U.S. 80). When they offered to donate the land, Crawford could not resist. Crawford confided with Boykin about the new undertaking and asked: "Guess who's going to Big Spring ?" Cal had no idea, and Crawford tapped "You!" pped him on the chest and said: • 54 The Permian Historical Annual XXIX (1989) So as construction began on the seven -story hotel in early 1927, Cal and Rubye moved their family into temporary quarters in the dilapidated old Wyoming Hotel, but no matter, a room in Big Spring was a treasured possession in those boom days. Cal oversaw building of the hotel, and when it was partial- = ly completed, he and Rubye and the boys moved to the second floor. Cal, at age 23, now became its manager. When the handsome structure was completed, it was called "the finest between Abilene and El Paso." Crawford paid $600,000 in cash for it, and instructed his protege to get busy *VA, fi earning back his investment. From the moment the hotel opened in 1928, it became the center of community activity and always was filled to overflow- Y' ., ing. Oilmen made instant deals in their rooms or upon a hand- shake in the lobby. Indeed, some who later became millionaires but who were at the moment broke used the sidewalk out front as a site for carrying on business. There were other enterprises and spontaneous eruptions that created problems. There was no way to prevent gamblers from infiltrating and starting a high- stakes poker game. Similarly, "ladies of the night" registered as guests, then entertained guests in their rooms, or, with a pimp, they posed as husband and wife to register. Somehow bellboys always knew how to procure a half - gallon of white - lightning from bootleggers. Cal at first hired house "dicks" (security persons) to control the situation, but in- evitably they succumbed to bribes and began to run their own operations. So he fired them and reached a tacit understanding with the sheriff and police chief that he would hold the lid down.` On the first floor, on the east end, there was a sparkling new coffee shop. Except when he inherited operations, Cal avoided running the restaurant, preferring always to lease it on a com- mission basis. He absorbed enough to master the basic mechanics, and he had a fast rule with his operators: bring in the totalled tickets for the day and pay the hotel's ten percent in cash. When the cafe manager missed an appointment or had a sad story, Cal knew he was in trouble. Innkeeper / Pickle 55 To the north of the cafe was a ballroom which served as a place for town gatherings and civic clubs, as well as for gala and sometimes riotous dances. Across the hall west from the ballroom was a tier of offices snuggled back of the hotel desk. At the west end and facing south on Third were spaces for the Chamber of Commerce and a drugstore, also a tailor shop. The lobby contained facilities for Virginia Earnest, a public stenographer, who was constantly overwhelmed typing oil deals. There was no let -up in the instant congestion that followed the hotel opening. Hardly a day passed without a fight or brawl in the lobby. People were raising hell with Cal for a room, or showered him with complaints. He grew homesick for the tran- quility of Carlsbad and asked Crawford to transfer him "home." Crawford came to the point: "I sent you to do a man's job. I Now do it." Later, when Crawford did need him at Carlsbad, he (Crawford) was presented with a petition by a delegation of Big Spring leaders to keep Cal there. From the start, Cal accumulated a stable of capable staff members. Among the "old timers" were Elmer Dorsett, night i `" �' . .' • clerk, and on the day desk, Paul Liner. Walter Green was cap- tain of the bellboys. They ran a tight ship and were privy to ' 1 A many of the town's secrets. A penthouse was added in 1929, and the Boykins moved to the quarters on the roof called the "Ranch." When Calvin wanted to escape the frenzied activity below, he left word at the desk f „ that "I've gone to the Ranch." They almost abandoned it in the ' summer of 1931 when an early- morning earthquake shook the area. j '� The Ranch was a place of miracles, for in spite of all that anyone could do, Calvin Jr. and Bobby y insisted on using the roof as a playground. Watching from his second -floor dental of- 41 '' fices half a block to the north in the Petroleum Building, Dr. E. 0. Ellington often grew so nervous he could hardly hit a patient's mouth. Time after time, he picked up the phone. • "Cal, my God! You've gotta do something with those boys!" Finally an iron grill was put around the parapet, but it proved q ir r / 1 Vi r r_- 444 -' ': !1 The Permian Historical Annual XXIX (1989) f -: E skills. Moreover, they . .:,� fi an instant challenge to the boys c Once Calvin Jr. set up getting were constantly into other things. Cloverine salve. Not wanting to shop in the lobby selling iris, Cal bought the entire stock and discourage an enterprising on t sp had to <_ : persuaded his son to retire from the retail d n the a he and make similar accomodations for Bobby, laces to raise Rubye conceded were shipped off to her mother's two boys. Cal Jr. and Bobby so far as the �` farm at Rochelle. It was like an answered prayer that a hotel was not the best of p Jo Anne, . t " boys were concerned, but they did miss their sister, x to become u .= who was born in 1933. It did not take her long "Queen of the Crawford." e boom Cal had become so enmeshed in civic oticedlthe hi s o stock had such momentum that he scarced organize the Kiwanis Club `# market crash of 1929. He had helped organize AF &AM in and become a master Mason, having joined Carlsbad. He appeared in hometown theatrics, style sh and made endless celebrations. Cal and his hats in Wasson, were the first to dare to wear spats and derby the late 1920s. in the spirit At Ackerly, he and his cronies were so caught up of a rodeo that they entered the bull- riding event when Andy 's impressario, offered $50 to anyone Brown, the community ens. Even Houston who could ride the meanest bull in knew better than to crawl Cowden, noted for his excessive thirst, st ain at the moment and was aboard, but Carefree Cal was p P dashed instantly and violently to the hard arena of r So ow he struggled to get out of bed and eventually White Hospital in Temple for back surgery. con enticing As the boom cooled, Cal e of the first major quarter to head - ventions to boost revenues. Ass had quarter at the Crawford was the West Texas Druggists had tion, about the wildest group extant because the pharmacists access to pure grain alcohol to fortify their beverages. The West Texas Hotel al be be e preey dent of the Big Spring Chamber of In 1939, Cal cm pes Commerce, although its offices had been moved east of Third to Id i Innkeeper / Pickle 57 I . I. . I. 1 j . 1 Calvin C. Boykin, Manager of the Crawford Hotel, Big Spring, Texas, in 1930. i 11 the thirteen -story Settles Hotel.' Speaker at Cal's installation 1 banquet was Elliott Roosevelt, son of the President. W. T. ; (Tanlac) Strange, temporary manager, had returned to his ar- I" ; chitectural calling and J. H. (Jimmie) Green succeeded to the of -_" I fice. He and Cal made an indefatigable pair. They importuned the Civil Aeronautics Administration to sanction a north -south , - airline from San Antonio to Denver, via Big Spring. With Floyd 1 ,- Hardesty, oil operator, Cal flew to Tampico, Mexico, seeking a L - sub- border airline anchor. He maintained a ticket office in the d hotel when American Airlines commenced service in 1931. Fre- st quently he was scurrying to the airport to greet such celebrities e • as Will Rogers, Eddie Rickenbacker, and Eleanor Roosevelt. r, p f His hotel also was entertaining such personalities as Gen. i ' 10 John J. Pershing, Gene Autry, Douglas (Wrong -Way) Corrigan. 1 i. i i ii.... , , 58 The Permian Historical Annual XXIX (1989) Among more pleasant duties was presenting a bouquet of red roses to Linda Darnell, the movie starlet, in 1937. He had other experiences in this field, having been named in 1936 to shepherd the Texas Centennial Belles, a bevy of beautiful young women.' He was in on the campaign to obtain what became the Big Spring State (mental) Hospital and later the Big Spring Bombar- dier School, which banished the Depression for the hotels and eclipsed even the demands of oil boom days for rooms. The Crawford also became the home of Radio Station KBST when it went on the air October 10, 1936. Not only was he active at home, but Cal was a leader in the West Texas Hotel Greeters and in the Texas group which honored him as one of its outstanding managers, as did the Hotel Greeters of America. Small wonder that in 1933 Cal received an invitation to be interviewed in Dallas by Conrad 1 Calvin Boykin in 1972. , li i s 3 Innkeeper / Pickle 59 I Hilton. Cal had a conflict and declined, but Hilton wrote: I "Regret you were unable to come for the interview. Make s another date and come at our expense. I would like to talk with l you. " In that same year the East Texas oilfield had skimmed the cream from the Howard - Glasscock oil boom, especially in the face of competition from the larger Settles Hotel. Ironically, he and Rubye were later to move to the Settles penthouse when he became part of a coalition with Frank Hofues and others in a four -hotel operation just before and during the World War II "1 years. A. J. Crawford, ever ready to pluck a bargain, bought the old i Llano Hotel in Midland in 1939 and made Cal a partner. They ' poured $150,000 into remodelling and refurnishing, and just in I time, for Midland was named home of the first Army Air Force II, "? , -' Bombardier School in Texas. Rooms were at a premium. Later 11 the hotel, renamed the Crawford, was converted largely to of- fices during a feverish postwar oil boom.10 III ' � - When Calvin came to Midland to take active management of ' 4 z the Llano (Crawford), he was greeted by the wealthy rancher �' and civic leader, Clarence Scharbauer, Sr., whose name was borne by the leading hotel across the street. Cal was nervous I about what might be in store. "Glad to have you," said Schar- bauer. "If you need anything or help, just let me know." 1 About the same time, Hofues had acquired the old Hotel Col - orado in Colorado City and left management up to Cal. With ;i �; experience he gained with the military in Midland, Cal had i,: previously turned the Settles into a military -civic center which I € , became known world -wide as fledgling bombardiers were ferried i to the European and Pacific theatres. There was a story of a l young bombardier graduate stationed in London who remarked 1 about the speed of the hotel's elevator, whereupon a voice from the rear piped up: "Ever ride the Settles elevator ?" ! !. After the war, Cal and Rubye settled back into management of the Crawford at Midland. He became a member of the First Methodist Church and the Rotary Club and was featured on the d cover of the Texas Hotel Association magazine. He became a Vi ' I °4 I , i'i.' I } 8 60 The Permian Historical Annual XXIX (1989) captain in the Midland Sheriff s Posse and the (Chamber of _ s Commerce) Wranglers." He and Rubye acquired ten acres just outside of Midland and named it the Circle B Ranch, indulging in Palomino quarter � horse breeding and boarding a few horses for friends. With a j ,� touch of farmer still in his blood, he p lanted two hundred peach and other trees and in good years showered friends with fruit. The Boykins might have taken root in Midland had not the city limits been extended beyond their tract and a livestock ban im- posed on them.' pressure They sold to oilman Bum Givens and, exhausted by p of the war and oil -boom days, elected to try something less hec- tic. They signed a two -year contract Hotel o loraodoo in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, and turned the resort hostelry into a year- around operation. It was a case of be- ing ahead of times because the era of winter sports had not dawned. by With the contract expiring, Cal was ripe for an approach Duward H. (Tiny) Reed, whom Cal had ko n from dehad days as a school administrator in Big Spring. become dean and then president of Eastern New Mexico Univer- sity in Portales which felt the need for a first -class hotel. Civic leaders there offered to name the hotel the "Cal Boykin" if only he would operate it. There was one hook; Cal had to pump $90,000 of his own money into furnishings. Cal Boykin Hotel was such a fine facility that Gov. Edward aseac Meacham came the e dedication on July 14, 1951. As popular outset, it soon began to fade, for the hard fact was that it was bracketed by the larger cities of Roswell and Carlsbad which were wet, and, alas, Portales was dry." just in time to Cal struggled with it, but in 1953 he gave up, j hotel enterprise in Levelland, take over another community on April 15, 1953. Meantime, the Cal Boykin in Portales was palmed off for a (again, the Calvin Boykin), , Texas (ag time as a men ti dormitory for ENMU. In Horn, utilizing 1950s, g the food and Rubye rvc e talents he had mastered in Ho out of rnutilizing I 61 / Pickle 0 " } ` they had also in hotel management. Before long, moved brief - d e to San Angelo to op �f s s ed neg ement of the hotel there. Later they assumed m operate the old Naylor Hotel which had been urbished and renamed The o"�n � Ina h The thought of a ref was uppermost retB Cal dabbled as a booking agent for Lewis and Lewis t 1 - • B of Chicago, operating under the name of Boykin and Lewis. mon entertainers he listed were the Harlem Globe Trotters, Y A and Lawrence Welk. � Li He turned an Spring for one of the Globe Trotter re He turned back to Big OW fell on the evening of the game• bookings, but a heavy ear, Cal was obliged to I , Because Cat's ticket taker didn't app to come both cashier and ticket - taker. a was s bsor in his work that he did not see Sheriff Jess ease him. The sheriff stuck his finger in . his of an dbe Trot "Stick 'em �" Calvin jumped higher than any )t uP e had settled in San Antonio. Their Meantime, Cal and Ruby Gid Smith, was operating a next -door neighbor, Gilbert L. ' minature railroad at Brackenridge Park, billed as the "world's d longest minature railroad." Cal was in d and bo nto r- it, and he gloried in donning his overall He also o !C tooting the whistle for the "Brackenridge l hilosophiesdfd not always dove -tail Y doubled in brass as station His 1963, he P of the management. P slit in 196 , those of his partner, so that when they p it in in a 63, he with t P :.1 e citizens wanted e hustled off to Laredo where �e railroad. But border economy and habits were such that the ven- s ture was doomed. Thus, with Cal's health failing, Rubye took apartment complex there." h over management of an Calvin Jr. thought this w'aLo °OOmuch 0 College Station where 0 mother, so he persuaded them there were better medical idst of the move, was easier for him ' watch after them. In the they learned that A. s J. Crawford, their mentor - benefactor, had died at the age of 101 years." a part of Rubye's makeup, for soon she was Idleness was not p and No. 2 apartment complexes f managing the Monaco No. 1 an 62 The Permian Historical Annual XXIX (1989) and, with the help of Cal, the Posada del Rey. Just as his health was improving, the units were sold by Allan Zidell of Dallas to a penny- pinching Florida group. Weary of contention with the new owners, Cal and Rubye quit." They paused in 1972 to be honored at a fiftieth wedding an- niversary celebration given by Calvin Jr., Bobby, and Jo Anne. This was followed for a time with easy days in which Cal concen- trated mainly on his activities in the Brazos Shrine Club. Once more they decided to move, this time to Austin in 1974. A chain of familiar events repeated, and Rubye succumbed to an offer to manage Woodcliff Apartments. As his strength returned, Cal took over the operation. This time it was Rubye who fell ill; she died in 1976. Perhaps some mysterious homing instinct brought him back to Miles, some strange urging to re- identify with his beginnings. He had broken these ties as a youth to find satisfaction and fulfullment in another field. This brief return proved but a rein- forcement for him that there still was a better way to make a liv- ing than farming. So he shook the dust of his homeland from his feet and head- ed back to a more lively setting in Austin, and a new experience for him in real estate development. There remained some attachment to his roots as he watched big machines sink plows and blades into the soil. Waiting around for arteries of utilities to be buried and streets carved out of the undulating hills was not for Cal. The spick- and -span en- trepreneur mounted to the driver's seat of a crawler -type tractor, and he roared off in his personal conquest of "Mt. Cat," as he put it. Ultimately, time and jostling over the rough terrain uncovered a latent problem that was diagnosed as prostatic cancer. Thus began a season of confinement in hospitals and convalescent homes with interludes of respite in Jo Anne's apartment. One suspects that had he been in his prime, he would have found some way to convert hospitals and homes into hotels - -with himself as manager.