Sidebar: The Allure of the Automobile

The introduction of automobiles would soon reshape work, commerce, travel, and family life across Missouri and beyond. Lawrence wasn’t chasing those changes, but he wasn’t resisting them either. He was watching and learning—much as he’d always done.

In June 1915, Lawrence volunteered to drive a brand-new Cadillac “8” from Kansas City to Clinton for W. H. Hurley, a wholesale feed and grain supplier, who had just purchased the car. With its eight cylinders instead of the usual four or six, this model, according to the Henry County Democrat newspaper, was “the greatest achievement in motordom,” and Hurley must’ve known that Lawrence would jump at the chance to try something new.

It gave Lawrence a glimpse of what was ahead—machines designed for speed, range, and power. Clinton had seen buggies and work wagons for many years. A multi-cylinder Cadillac rolling down Main Street was something else entirely. Lawrence felt that excitement and leaned into it. This wasn’t just about horsepower. It was about what could be improved, even reimagined. The experience of driving the Cadillac stayed with him. It was a signal that everyday life was changing.

On a winter afternoon in January 1928, Lawrence Brown was driving his Willys-Knight car when he collided with another vehicle at the corner of Third and Ohio. Both cars were damaged, and a telephone pole broke in half from the force of the impact. Luckily, no serious injuries were reported.

Later that year, on September 10, 1928, Brown's son Herbert was involved in a more serious accident at Third and East Jefferson Street while driving his father's Oakland sedan. He was taking his sister to school when a Ford coupe, driven by Frank Calvin, reportedly failed to stop at a traffic sign. The crash resulted in one passenger, Glen Bellisime, being bruised and cut, requiring medical attention from Dr. Peelor. The Oakland's axle and fender were bent, while the Ford was nearly destroyed.

In August 1930, while returning from a picnic at Buzzard's Roost in Mark Twain State Park, Lawrence encountered a 43-inch timber rattlesnake in the road. Blinded by the lights of his Willys-Knight car, the snake was unceremoniously clobbered with a club. Though large, it had few rattles—an odd detail in a dramatic moment, but the event was covered just the same in The Henry County Democrat.

In 1938, O. E. Raef of Raef Brothers Auto Agency invited four well-known Clintonians, including Lawrence Brown, to join him on a trip to Lansing, Michigan, to get four new Oldsmobiles, three touring sedans, and one club coupe. They traveled on “a special train of Pullman cars.” For the return trip home, each invited man drove their new Oldsmobile. It was the 18th new car Lawrence bought from Raef Brothers, proof that Lawrence enjoyed new cars.

No one knows how many cars Lawrence purchased over his lifetime. There is no question, though, that he loved cars and driving. He most often opted to drive great distances rather than take a train. One of Brown’s grandchildren noted that “Grandpa always drove fancy new cars, mostly Oldsmobiles and Buicks.