Of all the words ever written in the\u00a0Fort Worth Star-Telegram\u00a0\u2014 and there have been many \u2014 few were as poignant as those left behind by Louis J. Wortham, the original publisher and editor of the paper formed in 1909.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo let it suffice to say in this moment of shock and sorrow, that a mighty oak has fallen this day in the forest of humanity, and that the living men of this generation will not look again upon so majestic, kindly, and noble a specimen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those words were written in the aftermath of the death of Paul Waples, who was killed in November 1916 when the car he was riding in collided with an Interurban railcar near his home on the East Side.<\/p>\n
Waples, who was 66 at his death, was the president of the Waples-Platter Grocery Company, initially begun by his father, who supplied groceries to railroad workers laying tracks in North Texas. The company became known as Waples-Platter Grocery Company with the addition of Waples\u2019 brother-in-law Andrew Platter.<\/p>\n
From Fort Worth, Waples-Platter Grocery Company grew into a wholesale powerhouse, serving grocery houses in five states and bringing to market products like the internationally renowned Ranch Style Beans.<\/p>\n
It was from this empire that the\u00a0Star-Telegram\u00a0was born. In fact, there would be no\u00a0Star-Telegram\u00a0\u2014 certainly not in 1909 \u2014 without Paul Waples, who fronted Amon Carter and Wortham the capital to get the\u00a0Fort Worth Star\u00a0off the ground \u2014 a $50,000 investment made by Waples and associates. That\u2019s close to $2 million today. When Carter came back to ask for more to acquire the rival \u2014 and financially more stable \u2014\u00a0Telegram, Waples reluctantly doubled down.<\/p>\n
Carter was said to have worn down Waples through sheer persistence, talking about the potential acquisition relentlessly.<\/p>\n
Waples structured the ownership so that Carter and Wortham each received 10% of the new company \u2014 even though Carter had no cash to pay for his share. He secured it with borrowed collateral, including a piece of swamp land in Florida.<\/p>\n
Had Waples not agreed to invest capital, Amon Carter likely would have left town for a job in New York.<\/p>\n
Fate and Paul Waples intervened.<\/p>\n
That contribution to Fort Worth history \u2014 not to mention Ranch Style Beans \u2014 should have been enough for history to recall this \u201cman of affairs.\u201d Yet, Waples is a forgotten figure.<\/p>\n
Said B.B. Paddock: \u201cIn matters of statewide interest he had no limitations. He did whatever was essential to success regardless of the expenditure of time or money. He did not wait for others, but performed his part and more, believing, as he did, that every man should give a part of his time, a part of his talent and a part of his money for the good of society and for the benefit of mankind.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is the very definition of servant leadership.<\/p>\n
Said another: \u201cPaul Waples was always the first to volunteer whenever a public service was needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to his service to his family-owned company, Waples was president of the Fort Worth Board of Trade \u2014 a precursor to the Chamber of Commerce \u2014 a director in the American Exchange National Bank of Dallas, a trustee of Texas A&M University, and chairman of the Democratic State Executive Committee. He was also chairman of the executive committee of the St. Louis World\u2019s Fair in 1904.<\/p>\n
In his role with the state Democrats, his was a prominent voice against Prohibition, viewing the measure as excessive government intrusion. Moreover, he believed it inflamed class, regional, and cultural divisions and distracted from broader economic and governance priorities. His stance aligned with urban, commercial, and business constituencies who feared Prohibition would damage commerce and invite corruption.<\/p>\n
More than 1,500 attended his funeral services here. More than 5,000 were in attendance for his burial service in Denison.<\/p>\n
Waples was remembered as a man to whom others turned without hesitation. One minister recalled knowing a man who called on Waples no fewer than 100 times seeking financial help \u2014 always on behalf of someone else \u2014 and never once left with less than he had asked for. \u201cThey are going to miss Paul Waples,\u201d the minister said, \u201cwhen the winter winds begin to sweep across the Texas prairies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among those remembered in his estate \u2014 valued at $500,000 (almost $15 million today) \u2014 were the estimated 170 women who worked for him at least two years. Each of them received $1,000, the equivalent of $30,000 today.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only reason he didn\u2019t stand among the great national figures,\u201d said the pastor at Waples Methodist Church in Denison, which still stands, \u201cwas because he chose not to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Said the\u00a0Star-Telegram\u00a0in its farewell: \u201cWhosoever comes to write of Paul Waples, comes to write of the great.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, so, we have come to do just that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Of all the words ever written in the\u00a0Fort Worth Star-Telegram\u00a0\u2014 and there have been many \u2014 few were…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":532103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,9604,7371,123439,36789,7372,13814,235842,13813,6270,358,7453,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-532102","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-entrepreneurs","10":"tag-fort-worth","11":"tag-fort-worth-star-telegram","12":"tag-fort-worthian","13":"tag-fortworth","14":"tag-john-henry","15":"tag-paul-waples","16":"tag-people-of-influence","17":"tag-retail","18":"tag-texas","19":"tag-top-story","20":"tag-tx","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-of-america","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115932998484338670","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}