Oklahoma, and was a very busy man. Some time elasped before he was getting his letters well up into the northern part of the state. Needless to say he became discouraged having no resulting contact. Finally Pottawatomie County was in a group of addressed letters. In less than a week most letters had returned with no Henry Kroth on the tax list. The Pottawatomie County Clerk was late in writing as he needed to make some investigations which had the pay-off.
The County Clerk had heard the name of Henry's grandfather, in fact he knew him to be a stockholder in the First National Bank of Havensville, but he did not reside in Pottawatomie County.
Upon making inquiry of Mr. Nat Knox of Havensville, the County Clerk was given the Information that Henry Troth Sr., lived in Jackson County about ten miles southeast of Havensville and nine miles southwest of Soldier, Kansas, from which place he received his mail on the rural route and was also on a Soldier Rural Telephone line.
Upon receiving this information, Henry was so overjoyed that he immediately placed a call to his grandfather.
Since grandfather Kroth and his son Harley lived alone, the telephone often rang and rang unanswered. Harley had asked his brother Frank, who was on the same telephone line, to have some member of his family take the call. when this happened. On this occasion Frank's oldest daughter, Lilah answered the telephone. Lilah told the operator of the arrangement who relayed the word to Henry, saying he would talk with Frank Kroth, but Frank was in the field, but the daughter would take the message if he desired.
Henry's words were, "This is Henry Kroth of Ada, Oklahoma. Can you tell me the whereabouts of my father, William Henry Kroth?"
Since Frank and Henry corresponded quite regularly, Lilah knew Will's address of Antimony, Arkansas. She told Henry that he worked at a logging camp a few miles from Antimony. As before mentioned, Henry was a railroad employee, so in no time at all, with his pass, he was headed for Antimony, Arkansas, to realize his long anticipated reunion with his father. Upon Henry's arrival in the little logging town, he found that his father had been there for years and was well known. Henry was advised to secure a man from the livery stables to make the trip across the swampy roads to the "Logging Camp". When they neared the camp Henry asked the liverman to wait until he made sure he had found his father. Walking toward the mill, Henry took the entire group of working men in at a glance. He noticed one man in particular, that was older than the rest, who was working with a mule and log chain, bringing logs up from the stockpile to the mill. He selected this man as the one who might be his father. He stepped closer to the younger man standing near him and asked, "Does Will Kroth work here and if so, which man is he?" The young man pointed out the same man Henry had thought was his father. Henry briskly walked up to the man who was loosening the chain from a77 Next Page
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