Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 247, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 October 1919 — Loves His Melon. [ARTICLE]

Loves His Melon.

Watermelons have been high in price this season, but “Uncle Joe” Cannon has gone right ahead eating them. It is a habit acquired by him when he was a small boy in North Carolina. Consequently the eighty-three-year-old statesman waits each year for the arrival of the watermelon season, and just as soon as the ripe ones begin to arrive Unele Joe may be seen sticking a big chunk of something red Into his mouth. Sometimes he goes at it “coon fashion” and plays a solo with hls lips on a long, rod slice, throwing away such implements as knives and forks. Uncle Joe can tell when a watermelon dhumps right and knows by the color and general appearance whether the melon is sweet and juicy or was pulled too green.