Light bulbs: In 1905, did danger lurk in those little glass globes?

This photo of the intersection of Eighth and Broadway was taken by Otis Howell of the Hannibal Courier-Post in 1956. At left is Scyoc Pontiac. At right is a double-building, 801-803 Broadway. The Ruoff Saloon was located at 803 Broadway. Joe Ruoff was killed by a bolt of electricity in 1905 while working at this saloon. Steve Chou collection.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

The lighting of individual homes and businesses via the incandescent light bulb was a new and awe-inspiring phenomena during the first years of the 20th century.

In fact, having a house or business wired for electricity was news-worthy, as evidenced by a sampling of briefs published in early Hannibal newspapers:

July 6, 1901: “The electric illuminations at the new court house which were turned on for the first time last night, made the grand temple of justice a scene of splendor.”

Oct. 18, 1901: “The residence of Louis Rupp, on the north side of Locust street, near Bird, has been wired for incandescent light.”

April 30, 1902: “Dr. Thomas Chowning has had his residence (at 1103)  Center street wired for incandescent lights.”

June 17, 1903: “The mammoth electrical sign for the Knights of the Maccabees arrived yesterday morning from Chicago and was placed in position in front of the hall on Broadway this afternoon. It is a circular sign and is six feet in diameter. On either side are the letters “K.O.T.M.” which are illuminated by incandescent lights.”

Dec. 21, 1904: William Harkins has finished the work of putting incandescent light fixtures in his residence on Glascock Street.”

And last but not least:

Monday, July 31, 1905: “The Federal building is being wired for incandescent lighting. The work was inaugurated today by William Jones putting a force of men to work taking up certain parts of the tiling floors. A.E. McPherson has the contract for the wiring.”

On that very evening, at 9:30 p.m. July 31, 1905, as darkness cast shadows in his saloon at 803 Broadway, 37-year-old Joseph Matthaeus Ruoff reached up to turn on the incandescent light fixture above the bar.  He held the bulb with his left hand, and tried to turn the button with his right hand, “when the current passed through him and he fell back dead. He could not let go of the globe but pulled it back with him. In the fall the back of his head struck against a hard substance behind the bar and cut quite a gash. He was unable to speak.”  Source: Hannibal Morning Journal, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 1905.

Drs. William H. Hayes, who lived at 609 Church, and Dr. William Cloyd Guss, who lived at 104 N. Sixth, were summoned, but nothing could be done to save the beloved saloon owner.

That same evening, Charles Dreyer, who operated a saloon at 801 Broadway, reported that he was severely shocked while turning off a current in his saloon. And Paul Munger, who conducted a saloon at Seventh and Broadway, also received a severe shock in a smilier manner and almost at the same time. Rufus China met with a similar accident at his residence, and other minor accidents were reported that suggested that something was wrong with the wires. Source: Hannibal Morning Journal, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 1905.

Hannibal’s capacity to provide electricity was still in its infancy, and it was unclear what caused the electric surge.

The Hannibal Morning Journal of Aug. 2, 1905, opined: “Has the city in the new electric light plant a death trap? The sacrifice of one life and the narrow escape of several others Monday night would indicate that grave danger lurks in the little glass globes in almost every home in Hannibal.”

Ruoff roots

Information published on Find A Grave indicates that Joseph Matthaeus Ruoff emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1889, settling in Hannibal.

A year before that, another German immigrant, George Riedel (1831-1892) was the proprietor of City Brewery, located at the intersection of Lincoln and Grand. His son, Henry George Riedel  (1874-1970) was a brewer. Henry took over the management of the brewery upon his father's death.

By 1892, Joe Rouff, born in 1868, and his brother, John Rouff born in 1873, were working together as brewers for Riedel’s City Brewery.

Toward the end of 1902, J.M. Friedrich, a native of Bavaria, purchased the Riedel Brewery Plant and moved to Hannibal. Newspaper clippings of that era indicate that about that same time, the Ruoff brothers left the employ of the brewery, and set out on their own, each opening a saloon.

John Ruoff opened a saloon at 229 Broadway. Conrad C. Kriegbaum previously operated a saloon in that location. John Rouff and his family lived upstairs. The building was on the southeast corner of Broadway and Third streets.

Joe Ruoff purchased a saloon from William Schweitzer, located at 200 Market, corner of Market and Houston, directly across from the Market Street fire station. He hired Benjamin F. Broaddus  as mixologist.

Just before midnight, on Saturday, Jan. 30, 1904, Joe Rouff was going about his routine of closing the saloon, in conformity with the city ordinance stipulating no liquor sales on Sunday. Unfortunately for Rouff, some of his customers didn’t take kindly to his request to leave. The Hannibal newspaper of Feb. 1, 1904, reported: “A man named Dick Revell turned on him and stuck a knife in his back. The blade penetrated some little distance and striking one of the short ribs on the right side, broke, leaving a part of the blade in the wound. A surgeon was called who removed the knife blade.”

The wound was painful, but not life threatening.

As Mr. Revell left the scene, no immediate arrest was made.

Perhaps because he sought a more customer friendly atmosphere, Joe Ruoff soon moved his saloon to 803 Broadway, recently vacated by *August Scheineman. Ruoff and his family continued to live near the City Brewery, 108 Grand Avenue. (In 2024, the house number is 830 Grand.) This the building where the fatal accident that claimed Joe Ruoff’s life occurred.

Rouff family

John Ruoff was named by the executor of his brother’s estate, and as guardian for his nieces and nephews. Ana Katherine “Kate” Rein Ruoff, 1869-1921, was  Joe’s widow. She was confined to a hospital at the time of her husband's death, and was not able to raise her children. For a time, both Joe and John’s children all lived upstairs together over 803 Broadway. John Ruoff took over ownership of his brother’s tavern, and ultimately became owner of the building at 801 Broadway as well, which was known as the Ruoff building. It served as home to the IBEW lodge upstairs, and in 1959 it was offices for State Employment Services, among other state agencies. The building at 803 Broadway remained the Ruoff Saloon at least until 1937. The buildings were torn down in the 1960s to make way  construction of the Federal Building.

• In early September, 1900 August Scheineman had an immense watermelon on exhibit in his saloon at 803 Broadway: It weighed 72 pounds. The Hannibal Morning Journal of Sept. 6, 1900, reported: "The melon was shipped to Mr. Scheineman from Columbus Junction, Iowa, by Andy Protzman, formerly of this city. It attracts much attention.”

In 1923, John Ruoff traveled to his home country of Germany to visit with friends and family. This photo accompanied his passport application. John Ruoff was a brewer for the City Brewery on Grand Avenue, before opening a saloon in Hannibal in the early years of the 20th Century. His brother, Joe Ruoff, was killed by a bolt of electricity in 1905 while working at his saloon, located at 803 Broadway. John Ruoff stepped forward to raise his brother’s four children and take over management of the saloon.

Mary Lou Montgomery retired as editor of the Hannibal (Mo.) Courier-Post in 2014. She researches and writes narrative-style stories about the people who served as building blocks for this region’s foundation. Books available on Amazon.com by this author include but are not limited to: "The Notorious Madam Shaw," "Pioneers in Medicine from Northeast Missouri,” “Hannibal’s ‘West End,’” “Oakwood: West of Hannibal,”  and “St. Mary’s Avenue District.” Montgomery can be reached at Montgomery.editor@yahoo.com Her collective works can be found at www.maryloumontgomery.com