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| Ben Thompson and his wife Marcia, in the office where
he edited this Journal, conducted the duties of business manager of the Central States and put together the Who’s Who series. Photograph
from Who’s Who in Indian Relics # 5 (1980). |
Ben Thompson passed away at the age of 94 on December 17, 2017.
Ben was born the youngest of seven children on May 1, 1923 in Owensville,
Indiana, to Amelia and Charles Thompson His father was an insurance salesman
and hobbyist at collecting arrowheads. Ben met his childhood sweetheart,
Marcia Gordon in 1937, when he was just 14 years old, and they became lifelong
partners. In 1946 they eloped to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and they remained
married until her passing on November 12, 2011.
Ben is best known for his fine Indian artifact collection as well as his
devotion to collecting and sharing that passion with others. His interest
in Indian artifacts developed in early childhood with his father. In order
to enjoy his collecting passion during his lifetime, Ben worked as a Donut
shop owner, Tour Bus Guide, Dog Breeder, Clock factory worker and finally
as a Chrysler Corporation Quality Engineer. Ben retired from Chrysler at
the age of 55 after working there for 30 years.
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| Figure 4. Ben Thompson circa 1992.
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| Figure 4. Ben Thompson circa 1992.
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| Figure 5. Ben Thompson circa 1984. |
He teamed up with fellow collector Cameron Parks, around 1970, to continue
the Who’s Who in Indian Relics series started by Hubert Wachtel in
1960. Together they published Volume 3 in 1972 and Volume 4 in 1976. After
the unexpected passing of Cameron Parks in 1978, he went on with the help
of his wife, Marcia (Fig. 1), and published Volumes 5 (1980), 6 (1984) and
7 (1988). During this time Ben was very active with his collecting. Sometimes
he drew pictures on the artifacts in his collection (Fig. 2), which today
gives them increased collector interest and shows them to once have been
part of his large collection. On artifacts that did not lend themselves to
his artwork, he did apply his tag, which further identifies the artifact
to his collection (Fig. 3). Ben also developed an interest in historic items,
and built up a large collection that included beadwork, pipes and many other
interesting Indian related artifacts
Through the years he was involved in numerous organizations including the
Masonic Lodge, the Scottish Rite, the Kirkwood Park Board as well as serving
on the Board of Directors of the Cahokia Mounds Museum Society. He became
a Kentucky Colonel. He held several positions in the Greater St. Louis Archaeological
Society (GSLAS). He additionally served the Central States Archeological
Society for many years as Editor of this Journal as well as Business Manager.
He was an avid contributor to this publication, including many articles and
pictures.
Ben attended the Collinsville Show for many years, always colorfully dressed
while displaying and selling reprints of the Who’s Who series. He also
sold old books through his company, American Indian Books. As editor of Who’s
Who in Indian Relics, many of Ben’s artifacts can be viewed in the
various editions. He did not show his artifact room until Volume 6, and it
was again shown in subsequent Volumes 7-10 (see Figures 4-8). Figure 3. A
hematite cone showing a Ben Thompson collection sticker.. Number corresponds
to his catalog Collection of the author.
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| Figure 6. Ben Thompson circa 1988.
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After retiring, he and Marcia traveled the South and Midwest tirelessly,
attending numerous shows and visiting other collectors. His various entrepreneurial
instincts allowed him to enjoy his love of collecting and collectors his
entire life. Like most, he parted with things through the years. He sold
much of his flint collection in 1982 at auction, and sold his historic items
at the Santa Fe Indian Auction in 2010. After most of his collection was
dispersed, he and Marcia moved to a villa at Friendship Village near their
home in Kirkwood, Missouri. In early 2010, he was honored by the Central
States Archaeological Societies for his contributions and achievements (Fig
10). After Marcia’s passing in 2011, Ben moved to an apartment at Friendship
Village, where he lived until he passed away.
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| Figure 9. Charles Washington Thompson 1876-1961.
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Ben is survived by his children; (Debbie) Thompson and Rachel (Beth) Thompson,
four grandchildren; Nicholas (Michelle), Luke (Paola), Sean (Caroline), and
Ashley (Brandon), as well as, four greatgrandchildren. Ben wrote of his father
(Fig. 9): My father lived all his life in Owensboro, Gibson County, Indiana.
He taught me to hunt arrowheads on our farm when I was just a small boy.
During the 1930s and 1940s he visited farmers selling insurance and always
tried to buy their Indian relics. This was when they were more plentiful.
His collection of Indian relics was a great joy in his life. I can remember
him coming home and saying “Look what I acquired today!” We would
gather around and marvel at the relics which he would proudly display.
In the preface to Who’s Who in Indian Relics Volume 6 Ben wrote: Some
of the deceased collectors that I list here are only a memory – great
people who had great collections. Sadly, Ben has now joined that list
