April 7, 1910 Rev Irl R. Hicks, by the official canvass was elected Mayor of Wellston by a plurality of thirty-two votes.

 

Irl R. Hicks was born in Bristol, TN in 1844. At the beginning of the Civil War he enlisted in the first Tennessee Confederate Cavalry. During the war he taken prisoner where he was detained until the end.

When released he returned to Tennessee and studied for the Methodist Ministry at Andrew College. He was ordained in 1871, being sent to St. Louis. He later withdrew from the Methodist church, joining the St. Louis Association of Congregational ministers.

By 1908 he had won a reputation as a forecaster. He received an offer from many including a Boston syndicate who speculated in wheat, corn, cotton and other commodities. This man told Mr. Hicks the syndicate had followed his predictions for a year and had learned that if they had based their trades on those predictions they would have made millions.  The representative offered him a tremendous sum if he would stop publishing his forecasts and give this syndicate all the exclusive information.  Rev. Hicks declined all offers.

Pictured on the right is the home of Rev. Irl R. Hicks (ca 1899), 6207 Lotus (was Arthur Garfield Ave), Wellston Mo. (submitted by his Great Grand Daughter.) The Astronomical Observatory was located on the 3rd and 4th floors.

Rev. Hicks left the pulpit, not to officiated as a minister in 1887, becoming a weather prophet. He devoted his whole time to scientific, literary, family and religious publications. He became president of the Word and Works Publishing Co, which published Words and Works, a monthly family magazine and metrological publication, and Hicks' Almanac. Word and Works contain monthly prognostications of weather. The almanac carried weather predictions for twelve months.

Rev. Hicks based his theories on certain movements of the heavenly bodies, conjunctions of the planets and like formulas worked out by himself through thirty years of study and experiment. He made up his forecast at the end of the year for all the following year. He never studied astronomy or meteorology in school, but "learned by reading and observations, mostly by observation." The United States weather bureau experts scoffed at what they called Hicks' "pretensions," but this Wellston prophet kept on with his almanac gaining followers until his profits enabled him to buy an abandoned church and set up his own publishing house. 

Rev. Irl R. Hicks passed away in his home at the age of 71 from pneumonia.

Dr. Hicks had a daughter and two sons, all attending Wellston Central School. He and his children (as adults) were very active in supporting our school.

His son, Dr. James D. Hicks founded the Normandy Osteopathic Hospital at 7840 Natural Bridge Road. During the "super fund" cleanup days, it turned out the hospital was close to a 'found' clean up site and was forced to close. He then opened up a new Osteopathic hospital on Dougherty Ferry and 270 (in St. Louis) which was renamed by the American Osteopathic Association's Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program to Des Peres Hospital.

Carrollton subdivision in Bridgeton (in its time) was one of the biggest developments in the US. Dr. Hicks was instrumental in the development of this area. The subdivision was torn down by Lambert Airport in 2000 to make room for a new run way. His wife, Dorothy served as Mayor of Glendale, MO keeping politics alive in their family.