Delaware Valley College - Cornucopia Yearbook (Doylestown, PA)

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THE GLEANER 11 voyage was interesting because it marked the ending of American influence and the change to that of the lands we were to visit. Two months later my wanderings brought me to the city of Peking, a traveler who had witnessed much but not enough. My guide made me realize everything in his forceful maner of expression, brought about through the extensive use of his hands. The habit of being led became so strong that I followed him everywhere. One afternoon my walk halted me in front of huge crowd, addressed by a speaker who ranted without ceasing in the monotonous tongue of the country. His attire did not approach that of the natives and his features bore no resemblance of a Mongolian. I questioned the guide about the man. Him Moskowitz, plenty good Amehcan man, he replied, Plenty talk. Talk and Yapping Moskowitz were one and inseparable. After the meeting dispersed I sought speech with the orator. It was granted and I made known myself. Joy, expressed in an enormous grin, spread over his face. Well, well, well, too good to be true, were his first words. Its a long time since I saw a friend to talk to. What was all this meeting and fiery talk about, I asked him. Well, its a long story. After I started on my first job I found it too lonesome with no one to talk to. So I hunted for another place. I found one through the Rural New Yorker. The emperor of China wanted a man to raise Calla lilies for use in the court. I applied for it and here I am. The meeting this afternoon was for the benent of the crowd. You know these Chinese don't talk near neoughf' I did not doubt his last state- ment, for they never had a chance when he was around. Say, I'll tell you George, I saw Katz about a year ago. He was head gardner for the Mandarin of this district. Mighty good job, too. He came here direct from New York where he went to business college. He quit because he could not get off on Sunday afternoon. The impatience of my guide and my own desire to go, made me break his talk abruptly. Poor old boy, he would be at a loss if there was no one around. I re-embarked from one of China's minor ports bound for Australia. In the days when farming was my only joy Australia had appealed to me . Now I was about to see for myself the wonder of this land. Our slow moving craft left us at Sydney, to shift about as well as we could. I engaged a room. at a hotel

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10 THE GLEANER my old classmate. I asked him what he was doing here and he casually mentioned he was proprietor of the sanatorium and doing very well indeed. You see, George, after becoming famous on the Keith vaudeville circuit I thought I might use my popu- larity in a different way than just traveling around and amusing people I could never know. So I hit upon this novel idea and thought I would try it., Well, you see, the results speak for themselves. I put my mania for colors to use and built it on a hill so people could see it for' miles around. It wasn't very long before I had the place fullf' He ended the story of his success with a sweeping gesture of the born actor. I felt no need for the climate of Denver and, after a few days, started for my destination. The sunshine of California seemed more attractive and I decided that here would be a resting place worthy of a man who lug- ged a right good pile of wealth. To me, motoring was a pleasure from my youth on up. Had I not enjoyed the rear seat of the old Farm School milk truck, even tho the old machine puffed like a horse with heaves on every little pull? So motoring I went, through all the usual routes and places of interest until I heard of Petaluna and the wonderful industry there. I came to a decision that the place must be visit- ed and I did. The acresi upon acres devoted to poultry- ing were staggering to contemplate. VVhat had given such dimensions to this industry? On visiting one of these plants I noticed a man deeply engrossed in a poul- try magazine. As I approached he turned around and handed me the article he was reading and exclaimed, See, sir, there is the truth at last. Thats how Petaluna got on the mapf' I noticed the headlines. They an- nounced to me How to Keep Your Chiken Young by Wm. Schneider. The substance of the article dealt with the early experiments of the writer with a devise that fastened over the beak of a chicken in such a way that the beak could not be blunted. His statistics show- ed that the devise prolonged the life a chicken three hundred per cent. So Snitz had made good. I knew of no way to see him in my now limited time so, I re- turned to San Franicsco. ' 'The limit was not yet reached because my wallet was still distended with greenbacks. Should I go across the seas to the south or visit the shores of Asia? The next boat to leave was bound for Chinese ports and, when it left, I was comfortably at homo on board. The

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12 THE GLEANER and prepared to enjoy my stay. That evening my desire was to visit the theatre, the first one since I returned to civilized land. On my way down town I met the frequent placards Boxing tonight, .Iackson's Arena. Boxing was my favorite pastime, so I decided to forsake the theatre for the ringside. After great difficulty I finally managed to reach' a seat next to the ring. The fight opened on the stroke of eight and the card proved tow be a good one, referred by f'Shimky Bruno, one time middle-weight champion of Mexico. I gave no secondthought to anybody, as I had no acquaintance there. The referee stepped forward, a short, stocky man, and announced the preliminary. Gentlmen, in this corner we have Abe Dodger, champeen lightweight, of Melbourne, and in that cor- ner we have Kid Nee, of our city. The announcement seemed but a repetition of the ones made years before by Sydney Brunwasser, erstwhile dappler in the iistic art. VVhen I last saw him he was pulling away on a freight car from the farm on which we worked. Strange hap- penings had brought me to another of my old, friends. The evening wore on and the fights went by but I sat there dazed. After the bouts I went to the manager and asked to see the referee. . Alright, but donit get flip with that fellow. He's grouchy on the light-heads, and, with this admonition, I sought my man . He no sooner saw me than h.e rfan across and shook me by the hand. Had my appearance changed so little as to be so easily remembered? Well, Georgie, how's the boy? was his first ques- tion. VVhat itch drove you so far? He eagerly answer- ed my questions and I soon knew his whole history. He had landed in Mexico and started a general clean-up. Af- ter his fame was spread he went back to the States a.nd met Groman out in Arizona, where he had charge of a number of tractors. From there both had traveled to Australia, intending to start for themselves. But the gloves claimed Bruno and Groman went in for himself. You ought to see 'Dutchf was his comment. That boy's got some place. I arranged with him to see our clasmate and we both visited him. We found him in his office, superintending farm operations. Groman was so eager to relate his history as the rest. Afterihis advent ino Australia he had patented a devise to burn crude oil in engines and got a fine start. He assured me that it was the only life and I agreed with him.