“The Longview We Remember”
Below is the INTRODUCTION to the book “The Longview We Remember.” We have included it here on this web site to give a brief text overview for the Longview Farm Picture Gallery page.
R. A. Long’s plan was to have a beautiful farm that profited farmers by showing how to raise better livestock and crops and proving it would pay. He hoped all might benefit from Longview Farm’s leading edge.
Mr. Long joined the ranks of the gentleman farmer which at that time were seen mostly throughout New England and the areas surrounding New York City.
Mr. Long had made trips to large farms in the Midwest and found that none of them had been planned originally on the large scale that they’d grown to and therefore the buildings lacked harmony. He did not want to make that mistake with his farm.
Henry F. Hoit, a well-known local architect, planned almost sixty harmonious buildings suitable for farm needs and the climate in a park-like setting. They were white or cream stucco with brown trim and red tile roofs, built to be windproof and enduring. All the buildings were very important to the success of the farm – the commercial money return was dependent upon the satisfactory housing of the employees, livestock and crop storage. Mr. Long knew that happy employees would stay on the farm and do better work.
Mr. Hoit had already designed the R. A. Long Building in 1906 and in 1907 he designed the Long home (now the Kansas City Museum) which was Kansas City’s first million dollar home.
Mr. Hoit, along with Mr. Long and Mr. Tucker, selected the site, planned the entire layout of buildings and landscaping and followed through until it was completed. Mr. Long supervised the 2,000 construction workers often spending nights in a tent.
Longview Farm was ready for occupancy on June 1, 1914. It was called the world’s most up-to-date farm due to its own telephone system, water system and power plant. By 1918 the phrase “The World’s Most Beautiful Farm” was synonymous with the Longview Farm.
The Pergola was a reminder of Italian Villas and the Formal Sunken Garden reflected a French flavor. A rose walk arbor led to the pergola even more dramatic than the one at Corinthian Hall, and like its urban cousin, it was covered with wisteria. A large lily pond completed the pastoral scene.
The front drive had twenty-five pairs of glass-globed lights leading the way to the Mansion. There were seven miles of road and dozens of flower beds including the Sunken Garden. There were flowers in flower boxes at the windows, on the Pergola, Arches and Arbors. There was about twenty-five miles of five-board white fence along the roads and through the pastures.
The Grandstand and Clubhouse were Early American Log Cabin style. Many of the buildings were loosely based on the Spanish Colonial Revival. It was similar to the Royal Estates of Europe. Longview Farm was truly unique to this Midwestern area.
The Mansion cost $50,000 to build and was completed in 1914.
The Show Horse Barn and Saddle Horse Barn once housed the largest horse operation west of the Mississippi. The Show Horse Barn is in the shape of an “H.” Loula called it the “Harness Horse Barn.”
The Chapel held its first service in December 1915 with Dr. George Combs giving the sermon. The Gate Lodge was originally to be housing for the Chapel minister. Many special projects were done by the church members. They gave to the Penny Ice Fund in Kansas City, bought a bed for the St. Louis Orphan’s Home, adopted a French orphan boy, supporting him until he was grown and many other services.
The Greenhouse was started in the late teen’s to provide cut flowers and bedding stock for the farm and the Long’s home. Greenhouses were added bringing the total to five and a business was started. One Greenhouse was 87 feet by 450 feet. One rose house contained 48,000 rose plants and a large carnation house held 65,000 plants plus a house with gardenias and orchids. Their cut roses were awarded blue ribbons in 1925 at the National Flower Show. The favorite roses were: Premier, Madame Butterfly, Columbia and Milady. They were shipped all over the Southwest.
The field crops they raised were alfalfa, timothy clover and corn. During the winter months it took half a boxcar load of grain a week to feed all the livestock. They could not raise that much grain and had to buy additional. A large part of the farm was pasture. There was a plentiful amount of manure for fertilizing the crops. Labor was saved by baling much of the hay in the field in the early 1920’s. The hay was brought up to the baler with a bull rake and it was baled with a power baler right in the field. They found this easier to feed and store than putting it up loose.
The purifying system near the Lake filtered 50,000 gallons of water a day and pumped it to the 100,000 gallon water tower. It was distributed by gravity.
The Brood Mare Barn originally had sixteen box stalls before it was turned into a milk barn. Mares from all parts of the country were brought to Longview’s famous stallions.
The Dairy and Milk Barns were modern with sanitation and convenience as the main concept. There was proper ventilation and lighting and the manure disposal system was unique. The Southern Pine cork bricks in the stalls were to give the cows a softer, warmer bed than concrete. Each cow had her own automatic watering device. The Longview Dairy was used as an example of a model dairy by several dairy experts.
Flora’s Queen’s Raleigh was the wonder sire head of the Jersey herd. His get (off-spring) won more blue ribbons in the show ring than the get of any other Jersey sire. He was bred on Longview Farm.
Sly Puss was Grand Champion at the 1920 National Dairy Show and was said to be closest to perfection in conformation of any cow ever exhibited. In 1925 Longview became the first American breeder to breed and exhibit the Grand Champion cow at the National Dairy Show. She was Raleigh’s Oxford Thistle. Longview’s Breeder’s Young Herd (five get-of-sire) was undefeated for the third year in 1920. All were sired by Flora’s Queen’s Raleigh.
The Work Horse Barn completed in 1914, was 260 feet by 42 feet and held thirty work horse teams. The floors were covered with creosote-treated oak bricks. The barn had box stalls, standing stalls, and the usual wash rack, feed room, harness room and an office. From the huge hay storage above there were hay chutes down to each stall. By 1921 all but three Percheron draft horses had been sold and they had 35 mules.
The Blacksmith/Carpenter Shop was proof that Longview believed in keeping things repaired and that was the secret of the neat-as-a-pin appearance of the farm as a whole.
The Hog Complex was built in 1915 as in Hoit’s plans. The main Hog Barn had two stories with rooms for slaughter, feed cooking, lard rendering, sausage and curing. They raised as many as 750 hogs at one time for market and show. Part of the barn was steam-heated to cut losses during farrowing.
Silts was their tremendous boar, known for passing on his phenomenal length of leg, size and ranginess to the Longview Duroc-Jerseys.
Mr. Long wanted to keep prices down so farmers could afford to buy the improved stock he was raising to better their herds. The Pig Club was one way of doing this. Farm boys in the county “bought” a purebred Duroc-Jersey for $25 in the spring and gave a personal note that came due in the fall when the pig was sold. The boys raised the pigs from spring to fall and then they had a public auction with all present and sold the pigs. Some years the pigs averaged $120 ... which left a nice profit for each boy after paying off the note.
It also gave the boys the incentive to start raising high quality pigs. Many went on from that start and built up good herds. They had four hog sales each year. Buyers from all over the United States came and in the early 1920’s over 300 head of Durocs went to South America mostly to the Brazilian government. Finally, in the 1930’s, the hogs were sold due to the Depression.
The Grandstand and Clubhouse were built in 1916. The greenhouse manager’s residence and a residence by the Brood Mare Barn were added in the early 1920’s.
The informal entrance by Gate Lodge #2 was used mainly by Mr. Long. He enjoyed the picturesque drive along Little Blue River, across Mouse Creek and up the Informal Drive.
Longview Farm sold over $260,000 worth of produce in 1920. All four departments: Jersey Cattle, Duroc-Jersey Swine, Hot House Flowers and American Saddle Horses showed an income increase in 1920, with the Saddle Horses almost doubling their income.
The wages paid at Longview were said to be comparable to those in Kansas City. In the early years, a motion picture machine was set up in the Chapel basement and a “picture show” was shown every Thursday night to the farm people. Loula spoke highly of her people. Some that she mentioned ... with more than twenty-five years at the farm were: Russell Parker (Greenhouse and farm manager), Dave Crawford and Jake Sechler. She also praised the Willing Workers for their work.
Mr. Long established the Long-Bell Demonstration Farm in De Ridder, Louisiana in the early 1900’s. This was one of several demonstration farms in several states. It was a 500-acre piece on his cut-over pine land ... showing that raw cut-over land could be turned into farms. It produced corn, oats, cotton, cane, legumes, vegetable, berries and grapes. They raised Shorthorn and Hereford cattle on pasture that was abundant for eight or nine months of the year. The lespedeza (legume used for feed) they grew was more than enough for the three-month winter. Later they brought down Duroc-Jersey hogs from Longview and F. J. Bannister’s farm. Farm tours were given once a month with farmers from all over the United States attending. The farm proved you could farm on low cost land in that climate with a long growing season. There had been many doubters and misconceptions about the summers there. This experimental farm was of priceless value to the average farmer who could not have afforded the risk.
Newspapers called Longview Farm “horse heaven.” It was very true that the horses there were genuinely loved and well-cared for. Looking back, let’s begin with their first well-known horses.
In 1894 Mr. Long bought Redbuck, a reddish chestnut saddle horse. He was ridden and driven mainly by Mr. Long and was a very well-schooled horse.
Mr. Long bought Model Jr. for Loula – her first love. He was a double-gaited (would trot and pace) dark chestnut with four white stockings and a blaze. She taught him to kneel and lie down. She drove him and he loved to kick and run – even when pulling the sleigh! She rode him and he loved to take off without notice at a dead run! The boys that hung out by the drugstore on Independence Boulevard would make bets on whether Loula and Model would pass at a trot or at a dead run!
In 1905 Mr. Long bought Loula her first show horse, The Dude, a bay Standard-bred.
In 1906 she acquired Shoo Shoo and Hoo Hoo, Hackney horses.
The best road horse of that time, The King, a brown gelding, was added to the stable in 1908. Only the best handmade carriages and harnesses were bought.
Sensation was bought in 1908 and was the first “-ion” horse.
Then in 1909 came the Long’s highest priced horses so far, Beau Brummel, a bay trotting stallion acquired for $4,500. He also bought Beaucaire, a Standard-bred – changing his name to Aviation – for the same price.
Other horses were added, but in 1909 Loula found Revelation – her favorite horse. She found him in Chicago and thought he and Sensation would make a good pair. He was a bright-bay gelding with three white socks and a blaze and his breeding was that of a trotting stallion and a plow mare. They bought him as a three-year-old for $1,500 and Dave Smith agreed with Loula as to the potential of the poorly bred horse when he saw Revelation driven.
On a trip to London in 1910 they bought Carnation, and Fascination (their names after Loula renamed them). She showed The King there and received a first and a second. Over 3,000 entries from all over the world exhibited at that show.
Another year they bought and imported Adoration and Importation ... then came Ovation.
Loula was known for her love of adventure. Even falling off a horse did not frighten her.
When she was twelve and visiting Aunt Fanny in Kentucky Loula went out early one morning and saddled up a three-year-old filly no one was permitted to ride. The filly bucked but Loula stayed with her and the filly settled down. Loula rode her for about an hour. Aunt Fanny had a fit when she saw who Loula was riding ... telling her to get off or she’d be killed – that the filly had never been ridden before! Aunt Fanny’s son, Herbert, couldn’t believe that Loula had ridden the filly until he saw the saddle marks on her coat.
In 1912 on a trip to Colorado for several weeks she bought a gray cow pony that caught her eye, naming her Speculation. She rode her in a quarter-mile dash against cowboys held at the ranch out there and won! Her parents didn’t know she would be in the race. They couldn’t believe it was her they were seeing but were pleasantly surprised to see it was her!
She tried jumping with her father’s jumper – Lady-like – and was clearing five-feet when she dislocated two fingers while just galloping the mare!
That didn’t stop her from exhibiting with a splint on two fingers in her first show at Madison Square Garden three weeks later in 1913. She was the first woman to drive a winner in the Sporting Novice Roadster Class. She was the lone woman in that class as she drove her black mare, Aspiration, like someone who was going to a fire. She said she didn’t want to drive as though she were going to a funeral and blasted into the ring – thrilling the crowd!
After that event, Barnum and Bailey asked her to join their circus but she said no. She remarked that she thought they wanted to make a lady Ben Hur out of her!
She broke the world’s record for the heavy harness half-mile race for tandems at the Springfield, Ohio show in 1914 with Aviation and Affection (a chestnut gelding).
Longview Saddle Horse Manager, John T. Hook came to work at the request of Mr. Long in 1913 and established a Saddle Horse nursery which became a Mecca for horse shoppers. It had fifty of the best brood mares in the United States. Their advertising slogan said that they sold their show horses and showed their sale horses. The Saddle Horses numbered 109 in 1921.
Mr. Hook had a famous hat trick he pulled in which he would lose his hat on purpose as the horse he was riding was starting to rack. It made it appear that his horse was racking faster than the others. That was his trademark.
Easter Cloud won the first $10,000 stake ever offered with John Hook up (riding) at the Kentucky State Fair in 1917. In five years Easter Cloud was only defeated once – at the age of thirteen. The chestnut was the last horse that John was up on and that was in an exhibition at a show in 1936 when Easter Cloud was twenty-eight years old and John was fifty-eight.
John, inspecting a group of colts before they were gelded, liked the way Chief of Longview looked at him and moved and John’s good judgment stopped the veterinarian from gelding him.
John was with Longview for twelve years before taking the job of designing and operating the Carnation (Milk Company) Stable in California. He quit riding in 1929 due to trouble with his legs.
My Major Dare was a rich mahogany bay with a way of moving all his own. John thought that he was the most beautiful horse ever to walk around a ring. Major would begin a workout or show with a display of dancing and plunging to show how energetic he was feeling. He was the first American Saddle Horse to sell for $10,000. That was when Mr. Long wanted the best stallion in the country and bought Major in 1913. In 1921 he was valued at $25,000 with thirty-two first place ribbons in thirty-six times shown.
Bim was the black attendant of My Major Dare. At Longview Farm Bim would sleep on the second floor of the stable with the other men. However Bim would refuse to leave Major when they went to the horse shows. He would wrap up in a blanket and sleep on the thick bed of straw in Major’s stall. The big stallion would take care not to step on his attendant. In the morning, Major would pull the blanket from Bim and rub his nose on Bim until he was awake! Loula said that there wasn’t a more loyal attendant. She said a competent attendant makes a quality show horse but a good horse could be ruined by a slipshod or uneducated attendant.
“The Great Parader” – Chief of Longview was bred, born, raised and trained on Longview Farm. The copper-colored chestnut was sold to Mrs. Matson as a three-year-old for her daughter, Mrs. Roth, in 1925. It was the highest price ever paid for a Saddle Horse. He had won the five-gaited stake at the American Royal the day before. It was his first time off the farm and his first show.
Lonnie Hayden had raised, trained and brought the Chief to greatness. He was hired by Roth’s to again train and ride the Chief in 1927 after the Chief was not consistent in his winning. Things turned around and he was World Champion stallion four times. At the time of his death he was the only horse to win the $10,000 stake at the Kentucky State Fair two successive years – 1928 and 1929. He was never beaten in fine harness. His fame as a model five-gaited horse was so wide that he became Ralston Purina’s advertisement for their new horse feed.
The Longs were paid over $45,000 for four full brothers and sisters of the Chief. Chief’s sire was Independence Chief who was bought for $250 to use as a tease horse. His homely head kept him from the show ring although he had good breeding and was beautiful otherwise. He out-produced the $10,000 stallions with offspring that were more famous and earned more money.
Chief was retired by Roth’s in 1932 at the age of ten at the American Royal. He died in 1939. It is said that he was the best Saddle Horse ever bred at Longview Farm.
When watching the Saddle Horses show, Mr. Long would always be able to admire something about the other horses. He tried to see the class through unprejudiced eyes.
Other Saddle Horse Champions were: Kentucky’s Best, Maurine Fisher and La France.
Loula once said she had always made pets of her horses ... proving that show animals could be pets and still win – contrary to popular belief.
In 1920 she won thirty-one Championships and three Reserves in sixteen shows. Longview Farm had forty-five harness horses by 1921.
Loula loved Saddle Horses but the doctor had told her she couldn’t ride any more because of her asthma. After months her asthma improved and she resumed riding but she had already become fascinated with the harness horses’ high action.
“The Wonder Horse” ... Revelation was acclaimed the world’s most well-known and well-liked harness horse and the first horse to be retired in the show ring. He was Harness Horse Champion many times and showed in tandem with Hesitation winning many blue ribbons. Reputation and Revie won at least one Championship as a pair. He also worked with Temptation. Realization was his mate in pairs, tandem and four-in-hand and they won many times until Realization died. Revie sometimes showed in six different classes. Loula said she had never known a more loveable creature and he always did his best.
He was retired in 1925 after a fifteen-year show career. He returned to Longview to lead a restful life with his friends, Baby List and Buck (Fascination). He appeared in a Gay Nineties Class ten years later at the Royal when he was twenty-nine years old. He died a month later and a monument was erected over his grave in front of the Show Horse Barn.
Loula reflects back on her loss: “I thought that since Revie had lived to such a good old age, I wouldn’t feel too sad when he went away, but anything a person loves never seems old, and one is never ready to see it go. Revie went away early one morning. We had friends for dinner that night, but I didn’t even go to the table. There was such a big lump in my throat that I just couldn’t swallow. I had lost one of the most faithful pals anyone ever had and I felt sad and lonely” ... as told in My Revelation.
Captivation was as outstanding a heavy harness horse as Chief was a Saddle Horse. She was a chestnut with four white stockings and a white stripe on her face and was born on Longview in 1929. She won her first stake as a four-year-old. She was undefeated for five years in harness. Two years before that Invasion was the only one who beat her. She had been Champion twice at the Garden in New York, once at the World’s Fair Horse Show, the Royal Winter Fair and many others. Loula wanted to retire Cappie while she was at her peak rather then as a has-been. Cappie won the Championship the night they retired her at the age of eleven. Dave Smith insisted Loula drive Cappie for the ceremony although Dave had always shown her.
Aviation won many blue ribbons in the Tandem and Runabout Classes. He was sometimes shown in the pairs class with Animation, a Hackney.
There was a second Animation who was a chestnut Standard-bred mare and had her first show at the Garden in 1920. She was out of a small, spotted mare by a Standard-bred stallion but was very successful in the roadster classes – winning a Championship that first show at Madison Square Garden. She had extremely high action and never broke stride. She won the Heavy Harness Championship in 1921 at the National. Loula also took top honors at that National for the best three harness horses from one stable: Animation, Reputation and Temptation. Animation was still owned by Loula when she was retired and lived out her life at Longview Farm.
Loula postponed showing in 1941 during World War II. She only had three of the original 1941 show string when she returned to the American Royal, but had added six new ones.
She once told people during World War II that the best way she could assist her country would be to cook for the Germans!
Another great harness horse Champion was Invasion and a few of the Hackney ponies: Affectation, Carnation, Concoction, Fascination, Justification, Radiation and Recognition.
Loula said, “The American Royal is different from any other show in the country – it is not strictly a horse show ... (there were) cattle, mules, pigs the 4-H Club has a very important part. One of the things that makes the American Royal a great show is the large and enthusiastic crowds that attend. There is seldom a vacant seat at any performance” ... as stated in My Revelation.
Loula Long Combs was named Queen of the Tanbark in 1909 at the Fort Worth Show. She also was called the First Lady of the Tanbark in the 1950 Volume of Who’s Who and Where in Horsedom. That publication also pointed out that Longview Farm was the first to prove Missouri horses superior at the big shows across the country.
Loula was always a hit in the show ring, and the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden was no different! She received her first blue ribbon at the National in 1913. She took blue ribbons every year at the National as reported in the November 12, 1951 issue of Time magazine. At that time Loula said, “The Garden has been so nice. They haven’t scheduled any of my class on Sunday, so I won’t miss anything.” She would not show on Sunday. She won nine events at that National.
Newsweek magazine November 13, 1950 covered the National with a lengthy section on “the most remarkable woman in the National” pointing out that she had won four blues and a total of seven had been won by the stable on the whole. She recalled the fact that her father allowed her to first start showing only after she promised she wouldn’t pick up bad language and she said she never had.
She once said that she would “keep on exhibiting as long as they make buggy seats wide enough!” ... as told in the November 22, 1948 issue of Life magazine. That article about the National Horse Show told of her winning seven events.
In yet another article in the November 24, 1952 issue of Life magazine, she was called the “kindly empress of U. S. show rings.” She had taken nine blues in that National.
The National Geographic Magazine, November 1954, printed an article about the National Horse Show in Madison Square Garden calling Loula “the undisputed ‘empress dowager’ of America’s horse shows.”
In the November 12, 1956 Sports Illustrated, Loula said, “After sixty years I still get nervous each time I enter a ring. I still catch my breath at the sight of a blue coming toward me and I suspect I will for the next twenty-five, God willing.”
She retired from the ring in 1961, at the age of eighty, having shown sixty-five years. It was said that she resembled the Grande dame of an earlier era.
In her show ring career she showed in approximately twenty-six states, Canada and England. Her full-length gowns and feathered hats were her trademark in the ring. She said a good, big hat helped add to the general movement of the carriage. She showed against such greats as the Wanamakers, Vanderbilts, du Ponts, Dodges ... and won.
Loula received many letters throughout the years – some of admiration, several purposing marriage, some from horse lovers who couldn’t afford a horse.
Loula and her niece, Martha Ellis, were great friends because they were both horse lovers. Loula told stories of how when Martha was only five years old she noticed the hock action on the horses. Then when Martha rode in a wagon pulled by a goat she was critical of the goat for having no hock action!
Trainer Dave Smith said it took three months to get a horse ready for the show ring again after being “let down rough.” To keep them fresh, the shoes were pulled and the horses were allowed to run the pastures for six months until May. Then they were started out easy in the late summer.
Loula did whatever was needed to protect her animals and keep them comfortable. It was her belief that her animals, just like people, respond to kindness. She said that horses are honest – if they don’t like you, you know it.
Loula liked to retire her horses while they were at their peak. She said that a horse that is used to being called out for a blue ribbon becomes melancholy when he’s reduced to taking anything less.
She always prayed for her horses when there was a need because even if the prayer wasn’t answered to her liking she said she received comfort anyway.
She always had two Boston Terriers with her when she showed. An orchid corsage was also always part of the picture. Merry Legs and Gin were descendants of a long line of Bostons who had ridden with Loula. All of the dogs seemed to show great interest in the activities of the judges until the decision was made. The exception being when Vin and Vanity got into a territorial fight on the carriage during the line-up at a show!
One of the City Stable boys, Horace, had a pet pigeon, Amos, who would sit on the horses’ backs, come when called, fly with the horses to where they were being exercised and then back to the stable with the horses. Loula was amazed by the pigeon’s devotion to the horses.
Loula’s pet pig, Mary, would go out hunting with the Russian Wolfhounds. Because of her weight she would have to rest awhile after running a ways and could never catch up with the dogs but as long as they were in sight she was happy! After Mary had to go to the Hog Barn to live it made Loula sad to go see her as Mary would jump around and get so excited. She longed to be with humans and Loula said she would never again have any animal as a pet that couldn’t be with her its whole life.
It was said that her philosophy of life was: to respect your fellow man, hold God in reverence, be kind to animals. Be a good sport, a humble and generous winner, a brave and cheerful loser, follow the rules, play a clean game. She pointed out that it takes the sorrow to make us really appreciate the happiness. She believed that her faith wasn’t lessened when a prayer wasn’t answered because sometimes she prayed for things that might not be good for her.
She didn’t let losing a class make her unhappy although she would be disappointed with the judge’s decision. She said if she’d let it make her unhappy she would have given up horse shows long ago instead of enjoying it all those years.
Loula didn’t take her blessings for granted. On a trip with her father when she was young she saw the horrible shacks where the less fortunate lived and was even more thankful for all that she had. Her sympathy toward the less fortunate was shown many times to her employees and she had benefit horse shows to raise money for the Boy Scouts, Animal Rescue League, Animal Protective Association, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Red Cross and many others. She took but a small part of the credit for the shows as she said the trainers and stable boys did most of the work.
The last of the benefit horse shows was attended by exhibitors from as far away as Omaha, Nebraska. It made her proud to be a horsewoman.
After being thanked for thousands of dollars raised by her Longview Benefit Shows she gave credit to those who attended the show and said that the ones who care for animals have compassionate and charitable hearts. She chastised horse owners saying that they couldn’t support show horses if they couldn’t give the horses a secure and restful retirement after they’d spent their lives working for the owners.
She spoke of horses in My Revelation saying, “When God took such infinite pains to create the grace of movement, the shiny satiny coat, and such perfection of conformation ... it seems so much is lost if those gifts last for only the brief life span of a horse.
We wonder whether in that afterlife, there may not be ‘Green Pastures’ of surpassing loveliness, watered by the crystal heavenly stream, where we may find again these animal friends. Does not the faithful service they render mankind merit such a reward?
A dream, you say. Who knows?”
Loula accredited her happiness to parents who raised her with religion, family love and high ethics. She called her parents – “My Daddy” and “Our Little Mother.” Everyone called her Lou except her parents. She and Sallie were taught by example and the standards were never forgotten. Sallie was ladylike and proper and Loula was a tomboy that rode astride before it was considered proper.
She and Sallie took piano lessons when they were ten and twelve years old and she said that Sallie was very good but the teacher told her parents that they were wasting their time with Loula!
The only time that Loula swore was when she was about ten years old and as she told in My Revelation. She saw a man beating a mule and he said, “It’s a damn shame they won’t pull,” and she replied, “It’s a damn shame for you to beat them!” She then called a policeman who arrested the man. She felt very guilty about it and cried when she told her mother when she got home. Her father had told her the horses would go the first time he heard any rough language so she always watched her language after that.
There was the time when her mother told her she was ashamed of Loula for chewing gum while driving the park four: Revelation, Realization, Hesitation and Consternation, at the Dayton Show. Loula called them the “-ions.” Mr. and Mrs. Long considered chewing gum in public to be very unladylike. Loula seldom chewed gum but was a little upset about the class being called early and forgot to throw it away. She rode with Dave in the driver’s seat. The rush to get to the class on time caused the horses to be nervous and the horses were too fresh because there wasn’t time for a pre-show work-out. So they took hold of their bits and were pulling and wore out Dave Smith’s bad arm (caused by a former broken collarbone) and Loula had to drive them. She talked to them and they let loose their bits and took the blue ribbon. But Mrs. Long told her that the faster the horses trotted the harder Loula chewed the gum! She never chewed gum in public after that because she didn’t want her mother to be ashamed of her.
Loula said she was never sorry she married Pryor Combs although some were skeptical before the marriage because of her love affair with horses and horse shows. She described him as most understanding with regard to her horse shows. He even suggested she use her maiden name since that was the way she was known. They did decide the entries would be in the name of Loula Long Combs.
The Horse Show and Tea held for many of the world leaders on October 31, 1921, was at the time of an American Legion meeting in Kansas City and it was a record number of world leaders for this meeting.
Mrs. Long passed on during the American Royal and Loula was greatly touched by the huge baskets of flowers that were put in their vacant box at the shows every day. She talked about the void left in her life in My Revelation, “... since then there has been an empty place in my heart which nothing could ever fill, for when the mother goes, the very heart of the home is silenced, and it is indeed a lonely place.”
When her father died she remembers, “... a large part of my life went with him. He seemed to know even the thoughts in my mind and the longings of my heart, with an understanding that was almost superhuman. I couldn’t understand how it was possible for the sun to shine or birds to sing when Daddy wasn’t there.” ... as told in My Revelation. She also pointed out that it was a loss for all the people that he had helped through the years. In Mr. Long’s own words, Longview meant recreation, business and beauty. It was months before she resumed her visits to the stable but was helped out of the grief by her husband, Pryor, and her belief in a reunion in the Hereafter.
Loula had a boundless love for Longview Farm. She said it brought her peace and she helped others to show thanks for such a place to live.
Come back in time now with those who were there as they bring back Longview Farm as they remember it …