Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-04-09
MILLIONAIRE's FIRST PHOTO:
SNAP SHOT OF A. BRoKAW

SNAP SHOT OF A. BR0KAW
Abraham Brokaw. of Bloomington
was photographed last week.
This simple fact may not be much
appreciated here, but it is seven
days wonder i'm Bloomington.
Abraham Brokaw is one of the
lquaintest characters i'm Illinois. He
pays more money i'm taxes than the
president of the United States re-
ceives as "a salary. and yet Russell
Sage * glass of fashion and mold
of form compared To Abraham Bro
kaw. of Bloomington. Well meaning
and big-hearted strangers i'm Bloom
ingtOn have been known To dig down
in their pockets after their loose
change when they saw what they be-
lieVed was n most worthy cause OF
charity approaching. but have chang
ed their minds with great suddenness
when some bystander told them that
the deserving person whom they
were about To give aims was the
richest man i'm Illinois outside of
Chicago.
Mr.. Brokaw mates styles and fash
iouable clothing and all things that
suggest pomp and circumstance. He
was never photographed i'm his life
until the other day kodak tiend who
had been stalking him for a month
finally ran him down as he stood in
nocent and unsuspecting in the bright
sunlight talking To his friend and
neighbor. W. W. Stevenson. brother
of former Vice President Stevenson.
While well advanced i'm years Mr..
Brokaw has eyes like Il hawk. and al
though many times trailed by am
bilious photographers has always am
ticipated the attack and spoiled the
picture by turning his back at the
critical moment. But this time the
played in great luck.
He secured his position unnoticed.
and while Mr.. Brokaw was trying 10
convince Mr.. Stevenson of the sinful
ness of wearing ''boughten clothin
out of the store" the button was
pressed and the picture was taken.
The photograph is much better than
any one taken in gallery would be.
even if Mr. B-okaw would permit
himself to sit for picture. which
will happen the day after the tiger
has changed his spots and the Ethi-
opian his hue. The picture the snap
shot artist obtained shows Mr.. Bro
kaw in his everyday garb and in his
attitude as the citizens of
have known him since
the time the memory of man runneth
not to the contrary.
Mr.. Brokaw's clothes were always
made at his home by his good wife,
I. In
as her husband did. and who made
coats and trousers after fashion
her own. When the gar
ments wore out at the knees and ell
bows "a large. vigorous patch was i'm
applied. and il made no diff
ference whether the patch was the
color of the garments il was sewn
ON or not. When the patches wore
out more patches were applied. with
the result that one suit of clothes
lasteds Mr.. Brokaw good long time.
Mr.. Brokaw came to Bloomington
from New Jersey in 1886. When ne
landed in Bloomington he was pennl-
less. He went To work doing chores
and odd jobs and saved every nickel
that came i'm his hands. He took
look around the town and decided
that certain block of land was
bound i'm time TO be the center of the
city that was growing up out of the
prairie. He bought this piece of
land for SIS and an old wagon. His
wisdom was indicated some years
later when he sold this property for
$40 600. The Peoples bank now stands
on one corner of this land and the
block * the center of the city. He
has almost invariably invested his
money i'm farm lands and mortgages
and year by year his wealth has
grown until the amount of his mon
pv has to he written in eight figures
Since 1886 he has been one OF the
of Bloomington. He al
Navs wore the same sort of clothes
and the only change in him is that of
age. He talks and walks and pur-
sues the same even tenor of his ways
without a shade of change from one
wear TO another. His habits of life
arc so methodical that they have
passed into proverb in Blooming-
ton. One of the traditions of Bloom
ington hath il that once man there
asked another man what time il was
and the man addressed said II was
fifteen minutes of the noon hour. y
dispute arose and the two men went
up the street 10 look at the court
house clock, and it showed that II
was twenty minutes of twelve The