George Christopher was a farmer. He believed in the centuries-old idea that virtue is found close to the soil. When time came in the mid 1900’s to build his political fortunes, he constructed them in the farming areas of outstate Missouri. Christopher surprised many by winning when he did and the way he did, winning when the farm vote justified his faith in rural Missouri. He knew what he was talking about when he spoke of the farm vote, unlike many politicians who speak of that voting bloc in abstract terms. For twenty five years he was a tenant farmer in the Butler area. Tenant farmers aren’t generally known for becoming wealthy, but George Christopher managed to put enough aside so that he was able to buy a farm near the community of Amoret. He spent the rest of his life farming 975 acres in Bates County.

AOWM – January 23