Taunton High School - Journal Yearbook (Taunton, MA)

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THE JOURNAL college he went into the barber business, later bought up a chain of barber shops, and then began manufacturing barbers' supplies and toilet articles. Besides Fat, he had on his payroll, Jack Wheeler, his chauffeur: Ruth Hastings, head clerk: Clinton Antine, superintendent of his man- ufacturing plantg John Scanlon, caretaker of his Florida estate: Leo Tep- low, foreman of his racing stables: and Nelson Broadhurst, who, with his wife, was the caretaker of his city home. He insisted on my staying overnight and going to the theatre. Wie then strolled down High Street, and I encounted numerous surprises. The first was a sign, MORTON WIENERT HAIRDRESSER The second was a subway station where George Haskins was collecting nickels. But the fatal blow was the sight of George Goward, a traffic cop on the corner of High and Cohannet Streets. As I stepped into the street to speak to him, a terrific force lifted me, and I knew no more until I woke in a hospital and found Doctor Elizabeth Hodges nearby. She said that nothing serious was the mat- ter with me, for by the wonderful pressure treatment, invented by Edward Hubbard, founder of the Pressure Set School, she had set three ribs and remodeled my head. She further informed me that I had been run over by a Blue Fly , the grand new one-hundred-thousand-dollar automobile designed and manufactured by john Nichols and Arthur Noia, and run by john Pimental. She handed me my bill and said my cure was guaranteed for a year. We walked down the corridor and saw Doris Molden pushing Lois Leonard, who was in a wheelchair, reading a copy of The Rehoboth Herald, owned and edited by Miriam Oxnard. Lois said teaching school had been too much for her and now she was receiving treatment for her brain. She informed us that George Canham had carried away all the honors in the big contest in last year's Brockton Fair. Next to the restaurant was Marjorie Dean's law office. She had re- cently dabbled in politics and was now representing the Taunton district in the Senate. The restaurant was run by Marion Miller and Ethel Traynor. It had all the modern improvements: electric waiters, air- planelandings, Cwould also accommodate autoplanesj and a beauty parlor where Caroline Casella and Gladys Powers made people look like flappers. We learned that Dorothy Taylor was cook and that Everett Parlow was bottle washer. When we crossed Taunton Green,a faker was declaiming the value of his wares in profound tones. He assured his listeners that there was 56

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, -c -:I 'ii' , nm if . Q '13 R, 'VX 4 4 Y' T il Ax ', f. TJ 'Q K X' .W-ff if it r I ' li' s . . Q ' V A , 3 f. FIX' YN NN -ky Jia. Q I T - 'mu L SQQ, ' .1 v 'V W 4 I I ' I z r 1 - l -z lim, - f f Zu..-N-Q -1 ELTON ST,KI'I.ES AST week after I arrived from a tour in liurope on which I was selling the famous Robbins Peanut Vending Machine, I made my way from Boston to Newport to get the summer sale. I was not disappointed to find it necessary to wait three hours in Taunton, for I had not seen the old town for eighteen years, two years after I graduated from T. H. S. Not far from the station, in a stately building fYOl'NCi'S BARBER SHOP-I sat down to rest and to have my beard curled. As I sat in the head barber's chair, I recognized George Rowland as the fat man with the curlers. just then a rippling voice attracted my attention, and someone in the exact likeness of Gertrude Ryan handed a package to Fat. Since he didn't look especially vicious, I thought it safe to query, Is she any relation to Gert Ryan? l7aughter, he replied. Then he recognized me. He showered my wig with Young's talcunl powders, shined my beard with Young's lotions, and dosed me with Young's perfumes. As I alighted from the only thronel had ever held, in walked Bradford Young, with his chauffeur, who was carrying two cases. Put them here, jack, he said,in such a way that immediately I knew he must be the Young on all the articles in sight. I handed him a leaflet, which explained the machine I was selling, and began to talk business. He called me into a small private office and, as he sat down, he saw the name Staples on the bottom of the card. VVell, we forgot all about peanuts and began to talk old times. The first thing he said was, Did you know that Stu White is a minister! I soon recovered from the shock, and he further explained that Stu had taken up chemistry asa side line and had made thousands with a popular''Non-sneezer mixture which he had invented. Then he gave me a bit of his own history, explaining that soon after he left 55

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THE JOURNAL immense value in his solid silver spoons with gold plated bowls, worth several dollars, for only thirty cents a piece. After a n1inute's hesita- tion I recognized Frank Cohen and beat a hasty retreat before I was in- duced to spend my last cent. VVe went to Russell Hathaway's Playhouse where Gladys MacDonald's Fair-Forty was playing. The leading chirper was Mildred Allyn. whose falsetto aroused the audience to mad applause. Belinda Snow and Bertha Williams were also wildly applauded for their clog dancing. Other members of the cast were Elizabeth Kiernan, Lillian Lamont, Helen Doherty, and Emily Thompson. Herman Spousta conducted his Imperial Orchestra in such a commendable manner that Mayor Katherine Davol, the mayor who was responsible for the great civic advancement, engaged him to play on the Green during her next campaign. I learned that through her cello and with Agnes Raycroft as campaign leader she had captivated the hearts of the voting populace and was elected mayor by the largest majority in the history of the city. As we left the theatre, I saw Howard Carroll and Maurice Klein's lunch cart across the way, where Norman Cameron was eating a hot dog. In the morning fat the New Central Stationl I purchased a Newport ticket from Linwood Brassell, and bought a paper from Frank Tracy. It was the Morning Chronicle,edited by Walter King. I saw Frank Kier- nan shining Leo Strange's shoes in a corner, and Herbert McAdam driving an electric express truck through the gates to the baggage room. Thelma Sheidow was ambulating up and down in police woman's uniform. Suddenly she started on a run down the platform, and I fol- lowed not far behind and saw Francis Andrews badly damage Maurice Cohen's eye. She succeeded in separating them and marched them away by the collar. Seated in the train, QI could not afford the aerial expressj I glanced through the columns of Taunton's leading paper. I read in the sport section that the city baseball team, The Red Herrings, owned by Lindsay Phillips, Albert Higginbotham, and Alfred Buhl, had gone bankrupt. I saw that Allen Freeman had set a new swimming record, not having landed for fifteen hours one Sunday afternoon. just then Ruth Hanley took possession of the seat in front of me, Cwhich I discovered was manufactured by William Marsden in Troy, New Yorkj. In our short conversation I learned that Dorothea Mehegan had married an English Lord and settled in Ireland, that Christine VVhite had recently been elected Governor of California, that Edith Pep- per and Eveline McRae were sailing around the world on a hunt for the elixir of perpetual youthg that Miriam Mackenzie had committed mat- 57