Title	Sigars Family and Ox Team
Title-Alternative	Novelty Cards and Miscellany 11
Identifier	JPL10_380_007_a_M
Creator	unknown
Contributor	Simpson, Leslie. Post Memorial Art Reference Library; AZO
Publisher	Joplin Public Library
Description	The imaginative Sigars brothers, Vernon and Kenneth, constantly invented novel ways to promote and advertise a variety of things. They established the Ingenuity Company, whose motto was "The unusual is usual with us." Their home-made Conestoga wagon, pulled by a team of oxen named "Jop " and "Lin" appeared at fairs and parades throughout the region. Sometimes the entire Sigars family joined in on the fun. On June 15, 1933, Ellen (Vernon's wife), Hazel (Cecil's wife), little Ralph and Mary Catherine (later Jones), Vernon, and Cecil Sigars all posed with Jop, Lin, and the covered wagon on a vacant lot at the corner of 12th and Virginia just before a 1,200-mile promotional trip through Missouri and Illinois. The brothers also accompanied the Joplin Chamber of Commerce on goodwill trips to surrounding communities, taking along a truck equipped with loudspeakers and animated figures. A dedicated Democrat, Vernon ran against Republican Dewey Short for a seat in the U.S. Congress in 1940. He built a bandstand on top of an ambulance chassis, packed it with musicians from Joplin High School, and set out on the campaign trail. Short won the race, so Vernon remained in Missouri doing what he did best-promoting Joplin. After the old 1st Street Viaduct was demolished, Vernon Sigars worked so tenaciously to get another one built that the City named the new 2nd Street Viaduct in his honor in 1987. Sources:Joplin Globe. March 6, 1987.Renner, G.K. Joplin: From Mining Town to Urban Center. Northridge, Calif.: Windsor, 1985.
Subject	Sigars, Vernon; Sigars, Kenneth; Sigars family;
Language	English
Date-Creation	1933
Date-Current	8/24/2004
Type	Postcards
Collection Name	Joplin Historical Postcards
Source	From the collection of the Joplin Museum Complex
Coverage	Missouri -- Jasper County -- Joplin; Missouri -- Newton County -- Joplin;
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Contributing Institution	Joplin Public Library (Joplin, Mo)
County	Jasper County (Mo.) Newton County (Mo.)
Copy Request	Contact Joplin Public Library at 417-624-5465, or email jpl@joplinpubliclibrary.org