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| Banker's pork not in bank |
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| Question: Where was Farmer's Bank in Harrison? What is the hog story connected with the bank? |
| Answer: Farmer's Bank was located on the north side of the Harrison square, with an address of 101 West Rush. L. F. Eoff was principal organizer of the Farmer's Bank and was widely identified with the bank by area residents. He was known all over the country for the class of hogs he raised, too - some achieving national titles. |
| A big boned giantess hog of Eoff's once sold for $1,000 when it was less than 3 months old. Eoff's reputation really blossomed when the "Liberator" was registered and pronounced by experts to be the finest show boar around. "Liberator's" grandmother had sold for $17,500 - the highest known price ever paid for a hog at that time. That amount of money paid for a hog is simply hard to believe, but in banking news from the Farmer's Bank in the early 1900s, that amount is quoted - believe it or not. |
| Mr. Eoff was offered $1,500 for eight little sisters of this blooded hog. He also refused an offer of $5,000 for one of his boars. According to the banking news, "men who create and develop blooded stock do a splendid work for the community. Not only does it give the area a wide reputation, but encourages other local people to raise better stock." L. F. Eoff raised a class of hogs that were blue ribbon winners, and his judgment was accepted and sought after by well-known breeders all over the United States. |
| Lafayette Eoff said that live hogs had no value to the consuming public. The only interest of the consumer, upon whom the hog raiser depends for his ultimate market, was the grade of meats the farmer produces. And being a banker, he thought the food products derived from the hogs were rated by financial institutions as being one of the very finest collateral to loan money on. Every 12 months, he noted, showed a great addition to the returns that the farmer derived from their hogs. So, it seems hams and sausages must have ranked pretty high in Mr. Eoff's world. |
| His final written statement said, "I would like to make the suggestion to our local farmers that they give more of their time to the raising of hogs. There are many things that they may be fattened upon that does not amount to a great outlay of ready money. The farmers in hog country are always prosperous. It is a pleasure from day to day to watch a hog of good pedigree grow and assume a greater money value each 24 hours. In my estimation, there is no country where the breeding of hogs would be more profitable than the country adjacent to Harrison." Maybe this statement was true in the 1920s, but those today who have tried getting rich raising hogs probably have another side to this story. |
| L. F. Eoff married Daisy Coffey on June 24, 1888. Both were from Bellefonte and active in the community through the years. It is strange how the banking profession and raising hogs went hand in hand to establish Mr. Eoff's reputation - not only locally, but nationally. |
| The Eoff family has a long and prolific history in Boone County. More than 400 pages of Eoff history was collected by the late Flossie Eoff and is now in our genealogy room on the first floor of the Heritage Museum. Many other family histories are also on file, and we welcome your addition to this room anytime. |
| The Heritage Museum, open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., is located on the corner of South Cherry and Central Avenue. Come spend an afternoon at the museum. |
| This column appears Fridays in the Harrison Daily Times. Mail questions to Boone County Heritage Museum, P. O. Box 1094, Harrison, AR 72601. Marilyn Smith can be contacted at bchm@alltel.net |
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