When I moved to Perry County, I started hearing about a well-known local character by the name of Johnny Fable. It was quite a while before I discovered that “Fable” is the local pronunciation for the name Voepel. I will be writing about two men called John Voepel today. One of them, the father, was born and baptized with the name John Voepel, and the other, despite having a different name, came to be known as Johnny.
John Carl Voepel was born on January 24, 1870, so today would be his 154rd birthday. John was the son of Frederick and Maria (Schreiber) Voepel. He was born in Marion County, Missouri near the city of Palmyra. Because he was born so early in 1870, John managed to barely make it into the 1870 census. He is described as being 5/12, or 5 months, old. His father was a farmer in the Union Township of Marion County.
John was 9 years old in the 1880 census. He was said to be “at school”.
John was still single when the 1900 census was submitted in 1900. He was 30 years old at the time. I almost did not find this census entry because Ancestry.com has his surname transcribed as Toepel. John is not given an occupation.
John would get married later in 1900, so we will now take a look at the woman who would become his bride. We find her being born and raised in Perry County. Her name was Christiane Emilie Schilling, who was born on June 17, 1871. Emilie was the daughter of August and Mary (Schoenborn) Schilling. Emilie’s mother was born and raised near Palmyra, and that likely explains how today’s couple became acquainted. Emilie was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. We can take a look at her baptism record here.
Emilie is found in her first census in 1880 at the age of 8. Her father was a cooper in the Brazeau Township, likely in Frohna.
In 1900, Emilie was 27 years old. This time, her father is called a farmer.
On November 4 1900, John Voepel married Emilie Schilling at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. I mistakenly forgot to get the church record for this wedding at the museum this morning, but I can display this couple’s Missouri marriage license.
Our German Family Tree lists 4 children in the Voepel family. All of them were baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg, so John must have remained in Perry County after his wedding and did not return to the Palmyra area. The last of the 4 children is called a foster son. In the 1910 census, we find the Voepel’s with 2 children. John was a farmer in the Brazeau Township.
When the Perry County plat maps were produced in 1915, we find the John Voepel farm located just north of Altenburg. The name on the parcel of land is spelled Fable (the phonetic spelling of Voepel).
Another child was born in 1910, and the foster child, who was born in 1906, was baptized in early 1911. Then in 1920, we find this Voepel household. The foster child, named Thomas Karl Eduard, never shows up in a census entry, so I suspect that child did not spend much time with the Voepel’s.
Next, we find John and Emilie in the 1930 census. Just their youngest son, Bernhard, was living with them.
The 1940 census indicates that the Voepel’s were living in Altenburg with just their son, Bernhard. John had no occupation, but his son was the owner of a tavern. This son was the one who became known as Johnny, and his tavern was called Johnny’s Place.
When Johnny opened his bar, it was located in the building that once was the Oehlert Furniture Store.
We have this photo of Johnny and his father, John, inside his tavern when it was at this location.
The last census entry we can view is the one taken in 1950. By this time, Johnny had married Concordia Meinz. Johnny was the head of the household, and his father and mother were living with him. Johnny owned the bar, and Concordia was a tavern helper.
Johnny’s Place later moved to the building that originally housed the Weber Hardware Store. That building was used for several different types of business over the years, but Johnny turned it into a tavern.
I can also show a photo of the inside of this bar. Johnny and John are standing at the right.
Emilie Voepel died in 1955 at the age of 83. Her death certificate below says she died at the St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau as a result of peritonitis and a strangulated hernia.
John Voepel died in 1958 at the age of 88. We can also view his death certificate. It mistakenly says he lived his entire life in Altenburg, although it also says he was born in Palmyra.
John and Emilie Voepel are buried together in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg.
The building housing the second location of Johnny’s place may be the place in Altenburg that has been owned and operated by more different people than any other building in town. It has been a hardware store, a variety store, and a tavern. At the present time, this building houses the business, Candy and Curiosities, which just opened last year.
And let’s not forget that the upper floor of this building once housed Dr. Edward Lottes’s dental practice. Folks often joke about how patients of Doc Lottes would stop at Johnny’s Place to consume Johnny’s version of Novocain before heading up the steps to have their teeth fixed.