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That could be all of the La Clede history, but I found some interesting facts about its first proprietor, Caleb Price. On April 12, 1865, Confederate Mobile was officially compelled to surrender to Union forces. The mayor of Mobile, Robert H. Slough, is said to have ridden out to meet the Union soldiers in a carriage flying an oversized white flag. (I’m sure he didn’t want any mistakes concerning his approach.) One of the two men who traveled with him was Caleb Price. Price was a well-connected businessman prior to the Civil War, and he continued to have ties to Union businesses throughout the war, which allowed him to keep his finances flowing. According to The Last Siege: The Mobile Campaign, Alabama 1865, Price was included in the surrender negotiations because of those Unionist business ties. Mayor Slough continued to serve until August 1865, when he was removed for a line of reconstruction-friendly mayors. One of those, Caleb Price, was appointed mayor of Mobile in 1868 by the Governor of Alabama. He was on track to be reappointed for another term in 1870, but politics is politics. George F. Harrington, whose ties to railroad and wharf money were stronger than Price’s Union ties, was appointed instead. Price didn’t take it well, and he had to be arrested before he was convinced to leave office. After all the war and conflict and perceived failure, the next year, he opened the La Clede, which lasted nearly a hundred years, his building still in use today. Politics and business connections are finicky, but Price made the most of it. Sometimes those played out in his favor. Sometimes they didn’t. The Apostle Paul had connections, too. He was a Roman citizen and used that status when it was in his favor. He also used his training as a Pharisee in his favor, and he used his revelation of the gospel from Jesus Himself in his favor. Each of these gave him unique opportunities to spread the gospel. Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), to win those under the law. To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 1 Corinthians 9:19-22
I pray that this week we are aware of the opportunities around us to make connections with others on behalf of the gospel. It may be favorable business connections or a friendly community. Or, it may be conflict or even perceived failure. But I encourage all of us to look beyond ourselves and ask God what connections we need to make. The Apostle Paul didn’t save everyone. Some are out there waiting for us.
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