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- Arthur Barlow was born in Barnsville, Ohio on October 8, 1900 during William McKinley's Administration (1837-1901) . He was the oldest of six children and lived in Barnesville until sometime in 1907 when the family decided to move to Texas.
Arthur lived and worked on the Spring Hill Dairy Farm until he was around twenty years old. He attended school at Waverly, Virginia and completed two years of high school before the demand of helping his father on the farm dictated that he leave school. He would relate how he would have to get up at four in the morning every day and deliver a wagon load of milk to the railroad station in Waverly. When the train made its stop , he would have to load the milk cans on to the train. Because of his obligation to helping with the farm, he never became involved in sports. Of course, organized school sports were not as we knew them in the mid forties and certainly not as we know them in the mid nineties.
Arthur met Margaret (Margie) Harris and they were subsequently married in Sussex County, Virginia February 17, 1920. The ceremony was performed by James L. Foster. Arthur rented a farm and they moved into a farmhouse and continued farming. There is little known about the marriage and relationship for the four years they were married. There was one story that Arthur once told about he and Margie attending a funeral in Waverly. The funeral home had just purchased a motorized hearse and that day was the first time it was used. Margie commented that she wondered who would be the next person to ride in it. A few weeks later, Margie gave birth to a daughter, Marguerite on November 11, 1924. Margie had complications at the time of the childbirth and died shortly thereafter. She was the next one to be in the hearse! Arthur later related the story that it was several days before she could be buried and that she lay in her casket in the home. Someone had to be with her 24 hours per day to keep rats from reaching the body. This was customary in those days.
In 1925, Arthur left Marguerite with his mother and went to Columbus, Ohio to stay with his aunts, Martha, Inez, and Alice. (As mentioned previously, the aunts had initially come to Virginia shortly after the family settled there, as part owner of the farm.) While in Ohio, he worked in the nearby oil fields to earn enough money to attend an auto mechanics school in Columbus and stayed in the YMCA while attending the school. After completing the school, he returned to Virginia.
Upon his return, Arthur, his brother Francis and brother in-law, Frank Livesay (Mildred's husband) opened a Willis Overland and Whippet Auto dealership on Bank Street in Petersburg. It is believed that was during 1928 -1929 time frame. Then the big depression came in late 1929. They were not able to make it selling cars so they started an auto repair business located in Rose Alley between Sycamore Street and Franklin Street. It was during that time, the took on the Plymouth franchise. In 1931, they relocated at 113 West Tabb Street in Petersburg and named the business was Tri-Motor Sales. In 1933, they took on the DeSoto franchise as well. In 1939 , Arthur bought the other two out and continued the business on his own. His brother Francis was quite bitter about the arrangement and it wasn't until the 1970's that the relationship returned to normal. It is not clear to the writer as to the cause for the bitterness but I do know that it wasn't Arthur's fault. At the risk of getting ahead of the story, it should be emphasized at this point that Arthur was probably the most honest, trustworthy and kind man who ever lived. It is inconceivable to see him in any other light.
Sometime in 1927, Arthur's sister, Virginia (Gin), introduced him to a school friend of hers. This friend was Lillian Mae Cogle. Lillian, or "Lil", was the youngest of twelve children and lived with her parents on a farm in Prince George County, about three miles from Disputanta, Virginia. (See photo taken of first date) Arthur and Lillian were married in Petersburg, Virginia on September 15, 1928. The minister who married them was W.B. Jett.
The first born was Gene, on January 7, 1930. (Note: Lillian died on January 7, 1987). Life was not easy in the 30's for it was the time of the "Great Depression" in this country. Arthur was earning about $5.00 a week then. It became difficult to eat and pay the rent and the family ended up moving frequently because they couldn't pay the rent. When Gene was about 1 year old, the family lived on Suffolk Avenue in Colonial Heights. (See picture of house in photo section) They then moved to a house facing Central Park in Petersburg, then to one on Washington Street and finally to one on Wythe Street, directly across the street from Duncan Brown Elementary school. As of 1998, the only two no longer standing are the ones on Wythe Street. The second born was William Maurice, or Maurice as he preferred. He was born May 6, 1933 at home on Wythe Street in Petersburg just north of where I 95 crosses Wythe. The house is no longer standing.
In 1937, Arthur took a very risky (as he described it) step and bought a new house, located at 330 Jefferson Avenue, Colonial Heights, Virginia. It was all brick and had three bedrooms but no central heat. He told his son Gene that when he made that decision, he really believed that he would never be able to pay for it in his lifetime. The house cost $3,700 and his monthly payments were $15. Difficult to believe, but those were still hard times. Arthur and his wife Lil, and their two sons, Gene and Maurice moved into the house in August 1937. Marguerite remained with and was essentially raised by her grandmother.
Although never seriously ill in his life, Arthur did have his appendix rupture while at work one day in 1935 . He nearly bled to death before they got him to the hospital. After that, he had no serious illnesses until much later.
Business as a DeSoto/Plymouth Auto Dealer was fair to good. He never really got rich and there were good reasons. When World War II broke out in December of 1942, automobile manufactures stopped making automobiles and began producing war related machines, i.e., airplanes. tanks, trucks, etc. Auto dealers were able to get spare parts for repairs during the war years. Tri-Motor Sales also doubled as a parking garage for the Hotel Petersburg, located about a block down the street. With the parts, repair business and the parking, Arthur and his business were able to survive through the war. The first new cars after the war were the 1946 models and there was a tremendous demand. They were slow arriving and as one might expect, greed enters the picture. Most dealers in Petersburg and elsewhere sold their cars for what the market would bare and to the highest bidder. (That was beginning of customer distrust for auto dealers.) Arthur Barlow did not do that. During the war, customers came in and put their names on a list for delivery after the war. Arthur honored that list and never deviated from or asked for or accepted one penny over the list price. The first shipment received were DeSotos and the first customer on the list was Dr. Hill, who lived in Colonial Heights. (See picture in Photo section) The car was a four door Deluxe, robin's egg blue and sold for $1380. Since Arthur had extraordinary integrity, he would never get rich like the others, and besides, money never really meant that much to him. He lived with the average of about $400 net profit from the new cars at that time. That, and the fact that there were three Plymouth dealers in Petersburg at the time, didn't help matters. There was his dealership, Tri-Motor Sales, a Chrysler/Plymouth and a Dodge/Plymouth dealership. Everyone thought that a little much for Petersburg, with a population of about 35,000 at the time. Most of the other dealers in town retired with a great deal of money as a result of their indiscretions right after the war. Most of them were good people too.
Arthur didn't have many hobbies. Mostly his work and hunting, although he talked hunting more that he ever really went hunting. His family recalls that he did buy a few expensive (for that time) hunting dogs, and shotguns only to give them away later. His experience and heritage as a farmer led him to rent a lot adjacent to his house in Colonial Heights and have a rather large garden. He even rented a horse from someone and did the plowing. (See picture in photo section). Gasoline powered garden equipment was not invented yet, except for large tractors.
Arthur had an excellent reputation and was convinced by his friends to run for a position on the City Council of Colonial Heights. He handily won the seat and served for several years. He was also very active in Wesley Methodist Church in Colonial Heights and was Chairman of the Board of Stewards for a number of years.
Business or perhaps the management of his business was not very good in the later 1950's and early 1960's. After exhausting nearly all of his assets, Arthur sold his dealership in 1962. Shortly thereafter, Buck Royster, the owner of Ted Curry Motors, the Dodge/Plymouth dealership, offered Arthur a position as Manager of Used Car Sales. He took the job and was subsequently moved to General Manager of the Dealership. He retired from that position in 1972, at the age of 72.
Arthur's wife Lillian had not been healthy for years and was essentially housebound along about the time Arthur retired. He remained home taking care of her until she died from emphysema on January 7, 1987, her oldest son's birthday.
Arthur remained in his home and later in 1987, discovered a walnut size knot on the inside of his right thigh. After examination, it was discovered to be a malignant tumor. He was treated with kemo therapy and within a few weeks, there was no trace of cancer. He returned to his doctor for a final checkup and a routine examination revealed that his aorta was swollen as large as two hands clasped together. In other words, it was very close to bursting, which is usually fatal. He was immediately taken to the hospital and operated on the next day. The operation was done in the morning and lasted four hours. A section of the aorta was replaced with a vinyl "Y" joint. Later that evening, he asked his son, Gene if he could get out of bed and walk a little. Keep in mind, he was 87 and only hours after a major operation ! Gene went to the nurse station and asked the same question. She said it was O K if he felt like. He did ! Two weeks later, he was driving his car.
As the years passed, Arthur's knees began to get weaker primarily from the lack of activity, making it difficult to walk. On his 90th birthday, his son Gene had invited him to a weeks vacation in Alaska. He was ready to go. A week before the trip, he was working in his garden and was bitten by some type of insect. The results were an infected elbow and three days of hospitalization. Needless to say, the trip was postponed. When the next opportunity came around, Arthur's legs were just too bad to travel. He was using a walker to get around and was still living by himself, preparing his meals etc. In mid 1993, he was no longer able to completely take care of himself so the family hired someone to stay with him five days a week. This continued until his 94th birthday when he and his family agreed that even with home assistance, he could no longer remain at home. On November 10, 1994, he was admitted to the Colonial Heights Convalescent Center. His attitude about the entire matter was outstanding. He said that he realized there was no other alternative. This was the classic Arthur Barlow. Always positive ! It wasn't too long however before his life support system began to shut down. After four months in the nursing home, Arthur died of congestive heart failure on February 10, 1995, four months to the day that he entered the Convalescent Center.
As the years pass, only those of us who knew him and loved him, and perhaps those descendants who might find it interesting to read this Chronicle will remember Arthur Barlow and his contribution to society just by being the person he was.
The Progress Index
Petersburg, Virginia
February 11, 1995
ARTHUR MOORE BARLOW
Arthur Moore Barlow, 94, former owner of Tri-Motor Sales and General Manager of Ted Curry Motors until his retirement at age 72 , died February 10 of congestive heart failure at the Colonial Heights Convalescent Center .
Mr. Barlow had been a resident of Colonial Heights since 1937. He was born in Barnsville, Ohio on October 8, 1900. His family moved to Sussex County, Virginia in 1907.
He began his career as a farmer near Waverly, Virginia. After the sudden death of his first wife, Margie Harris, he left the farm and went back to Ohio to live with his aunts and work in the oil fields while attending automotive school. Upon completion of the school, he returned to Virginia. In 1928, he married Lillian Cogle of Prince George. She passed away in 1987.
Arthur Barlow was a member of Highland United Methodist Church and was Chairman of the Board of Stewards for a number of years. He was also a member of the Colonial Heights City Council for several years.
Survivors include his two brothers, William of Disputanta and Richard of Colonial Heights; a daughter, Marguerite Hatch of Hopewell, two sons, Gene of Oakton, Va. and Maurice of Colonial Heights, seven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
Arthur Barlow was a kind and gentle man who was admired by all who knew him. His presence will be missed.
Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 13, 1995, in Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg with the Rev. Dr. J. Floyd Wingfield officiating. The family requests in lieu of flowers, contributions be made in his name to the Highland United Methodist Church Building fund or to the charity of your choice. Arrangements by the E. Alvin Small Funeral Home in Colonial Heights.
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