Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/623

 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 561 spite of great discouragements arising from the inherent difficulties of the situation, the iudift'ei'enee of tlie people of the district, Mr. Koehtitzky persevered in his efforts to estab- lish a system of drainage which should re- claim the overflowed lands of Little River. Ho carried on a campaign of education, becaiMc associated with the Luce family, which made the first attempts at constructing drainage canals on a large scale, and was finallj' success- ful in having much of the swamp land terri- tory organized into districts and the work of drainage actually begun. Under his direction many miles of canals were constructed and much land reclaimed. His efforts in this re- spect resulted in the organization of the Little River Valley Drainage Company, which has for its ob.iect the construction of a diversion channel which shall turn the waters of White- water, Crooked Creek and other streams which enter the lowlands from the Ozark plateau into the ilississippi river .iust south of the city of Cape Girardeau, thus preventing this water from spreading over the lowlands ; and the digging of a large drainage canal to carry off the water which falls on the swamps of Little river. This is a most ambitious scheme, which calls for the expenditure of several mil- lion dollars and which will probably result in reclaiming large bodies of land. IMr. Koeh- titzky was for a time the chief engineer of this company and did most of the preliminary work of organization. His chief attention at the present time is given to the development of large tracts of valuable lands which he has acquired and to the work of contracting in the digging of drainage ditches. ilr. Koehtitzky has never been greatly in- terested in politics, though he was a delegate to the Democratic convention in 1896 that nominated Palmer and Buckner, being the only representative from the Thirteenth Con- gressional district of Missouri. For a number of years he has made his home at Cape Girardeau, having formerly lived at a number of places in this section. He. with his family, is a member of the Pres- byterian church. Mr. Koehtitzky has done much for South- eastern Missouri. He is intimately acquainted with the country, is a clear and convincing writer, and has rendered very valuable service in making this section of the country known in other places and its opportunities appre- ciated. Few citizens of Missouri have con- tributed as much to the upbuilding of his great section of the state. One of the matters Vol. 1—3 6 about which he has strong convictions is the New Madrid earthquake of 1811- '12. He does not believe that in any way affected the level of the country, changed its water- courses, or left other permanent effects. He di.ssents from the views expressed in another part of this work, holding that they are based on imperfect data. C. E. Burton. It is one of the rarest oc- currences in this commercial age that a man of marked business ability takes a place in the ranks of our educators. The teaching profession engages citizens of the loftiest in- tellectual and moral qualifications, but those who follow it seldom find opportunity to ex- ercise their talents in the business world Wayne county is singularly fortunate in hav- ing at the head of her school system a man who is at once a born teacher and conspicu- ously successful in commercial pursuits, Mr. C. E. Burton, of Piedmont. C. T. Burton, the county superintendent's father, was born in Tennessee August 1-3. 1852. At the age of twenty he left his native state and went to Kentucky, where he con- ducted a store and engaged in farming. His marriage to Miss Ellen Walker, a native of the Blue Grass state, took place in 1874. Mrs. C. T. Burton was born in Carlisle county in the year 1854. Seven years after their mar- riage Mr. and Mrs. Burton moved to Mis- souri, locating first on a farm near Piedmont and later moving into the town. Here Mr. Burton established a mercantile business, which he conducted until 1908, when he re- tired. He and his wife are now living in Piedmont and it is their good fortune to have the four children who are now living of the six born to them all residing in Piedmont and its environs. These are: Maud, Mrs. Charles McFarland: Artie, Mrs. C. F. Shel- ton, and Daisy, still at home, besides C. E. Burton, of this sketch. Kentucky was the birthplace of Mr. C. E. Burton and the year of his nativity was 1877. Until he was four, he lived on the Kentucky farm. After his parents came to Missouri, he attended the Piedmont high school, from which he graduated at the age of sixteen. The next year he began teaching. At nineteen, Mr. Burton graduated from Wayne Acad- emy and has continued his work of teaching and studying ever since. He has tatight in the grades and in the high school, and is fa- miliar with every part of the work of the entire curriculum from the primary grade to the university.