Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 13 January 1952 — Page 19

Inside Indianapolis By Ed Sovola Ee :

“WE DON'T want. to rust out.” That’s thé unofficial motto of the Association

: of Retired Railway Employees. And if you walked

into the Indiana Heart Foundation offices, 1101 W. 10th St.,, you could see the members mean every word. Anyone who knows railroaders, though, has a pretty good idea that some of the stuff they spout is stéam of old railroad wrecks and exciting days of the past. That doesn’t prevent them from doing a service for the Heart Foundation that will save it about $4000 in mailing costs. Twelve retired railroaders have taken on the job of mailing 200,000 1952 Heart Fund envelopes that many of us will receive affer Feb. 1. They'll be “balling the jack’ for two weeks. Before I pulled on the main track where the men were working, I had a few words with Mrs. Katherine Pearcy, administrative assistant of the foundation, : oo oe o » “WE HAVE to report on time when they're here,” Mrs. Pearcy said, “They were told to come to work at 8:30 in the morning and to them, that means they start work at that time.” “Timber!” someone yelled. (In railroad lingo that meant someone was out of fuel—work.) Mrs. Pearcy dashed away for more envelopes and inserts. ‘ Just as®*we were about to resume talking, J. A. Mercer, retired after 52 years with the B & O Railroad, called Mrs. Pearcy. She went right over and rubbed his back. Mr. Mercer works better if hg. gets his back rubbed about every hour.

" Res

FOR THE HEART—Members of the Association.of Retired Railway Employees contribute their services to the 1952 Heart Fund to keep from "rusting." .

It Happened Last N ight

By Earl Wilson

NEW YORK®S Jan. 12—“Saved From a Fate Worse Than the Seventh Grade...” (By that, I, of course mean the eighth grade.) “, ..By a Broadway Talent Scout!” Such is the thrilling story of glamorous Olga San Juan, formerly of Brooklyn and 110th St, Manhattan. Ten years ago she was ducking teachers who ran into her when she was playing her maraccas in New York hot spots. Today as an established Hollywood personality she assures people that her two children will get plenty of schooling. “Then there will never be any plaque at the desk where you used to sit?” I asked her the other night in Sardi’s after she'd come from her Broadway hit, “Paint Your Wagon.” “It ‘would have to be at a desk where I usually didn’t sit,” said Olga. “What was the name of this school you didn’t attend?” “Junior High 101, at 110th St. I used to be sitting in school supposedly studying geography. But I was learning two songs I was going to sing Saturday night.” <> oo» oe OLGA BELIEVES she must have been 13 or 14 when she headed one of these “Latin combos” at the Astor Roof. A year or so later she was singing at the Copacabana-and nobody knew: her real age except one school teacher who dropped in one night. Olga’s father had died when she was small and she needed to help the family income. “The first time I met one of my teachers was when I was walking across the Astor lobby one day in high heels and with my hair up and all this goop on my face. “The teacher said, ‘Oh, I'm just here to meet some of my family’s friends from Puerto Rico’.” “When I got to the Copacabana, they wanted to publicize me and I said ‘Please don’t. I said I was under age and I might get in trouble. ® ae oo o “YI USED to sit around with the orchestra at the Copa. I was too young to go out on dates.

Americana By Robert C. Ruark

NEW YORK, Jan. 12—I will bet you a pretty play toy that I am the only bum around with access to a typewriter who has not given you a deep and searching dissection of the Bi sonhower decision to allow himself to be drafted as publican candidate for the presidency. The reason is ripe. There is nothing much that Ike has done or said so far that takes him out of the category of the ordinary adult of Republican persuasion. In a way, yr obt svt is just as much a candidate for the presidency as Eisenhower, except we have not yet declared our political allegiance. What Tke has said is simply: “I will run for the office if thef/American people draft me.” Well, perdition’s chimes, as we used to say before profanity was ruled if the American people come knocking on my door, or your door, the chances are that you or I will have a go at the nation’s top job, too, if we can qualify by age and birth certificate. I WOULD RUN for President if only to beat the tax structure. The way she's rigged today, only the President of the United States can lay up a buck for his dotage, due to that tax-exempt 50 grand they give him outside his taxable salary, and a very nice expense deal which allows him a house, a plane, a yacht and a fleet of limousines, plus a couple of free vacation spots. I'm not a‘ money-grubber, y'unnerstand, but it's not so much the honor today as the dough consideration. : The one popular beef against Eisenhower's continued coyness is his continued coyness. Some folks feel he is still blushing shyly behind the fan, and are somewhat weary of his. perpetual digging-the-toe-in-the-carpet. They want him to rear right back and declaim whether he is for what's right or ain’t he—what’s right being largely up to personal -interpretation, ‘Ike has finally admitted Republican affiliation, almost as if it were some kind of sin, and I can’t figure out why he bothered to hide that so long. They don’t

out,

" shoot you for being a Republican any more. Gen-

erally, they just don’t elect you. SDD.

IF IKE had a reason for burying his party bone it is probably a compliment to his common sense. He was possibly sweating out the eventuality that Truman would declare Republicanism

illegal, and maybe make it punishable by a jail

sentence. At times it has seemed the country was heading that way. i cr pi As for. Dwight David’s continued refusal to state his hopes and fears along the lines of feder-

al’and foreign policy, I see no cause for alarm.

We know very little of Ike's views, save by his

deeds, which have been ‘largely meritorious and

free of the taint of barn-burning, bootlegging or

Kailmen Go "All Out’ in Heart Drive

:The men, who call themselves “igefive loafers with petticoat-bosses,” started volunteer work as air raid wardens back .in 1942. William Ward, treasurer of the active loafers; does all the con-. tracting for the organization and the contacting of the members. v oF Db HE PLAYS no favorites. Any benevolent or worthy outfit such as the Red Cross, . Polio Foundation, War Relief that needs a land, Mr. Ward gets his men on the job. One time the Girl Scouts had to get a promotion going, and the Association of Retired Railway Employees saved the day. : - The officers were out in force. Besides Mr. Ward, C. D. Scarlett, president, was én the line. The veep, F. J. Beckman and the secretary, William H. Wallman, also had their fingers in the envelopes. The four men have a‘total of 194 years of service as railroad employees. They can look a long way down the -shiny rails.

. . ». oe on o

TO A MAN they agree the worst thing a" retired individual can do is settle comfortably in a rocking chair and stare into space. . “You have to hit the ball and keep the steam up,” laughed Mr. Wallman. “What do you make steam with these days?” countered Mr. Ward. © “Not water,” chuckled Mr. Wallman. H. E. Bostwick, who served in the SpanishAmgérican War as a Marine and ‘tHen rounded out his career with 37 years of railroading, explained how the group works. When they're called to volunteer their services, they don’t like to wait. “We had a job once and the folks running the show made us wait while they got the work organized. When we report, we're ready to work,” said Mr. Boyes Mrs. Pearcy nodded her head.

2. °. >. oe o ”, x oe

CARL SCHAFFER, who can recall vividly the stink and heat of the six years he spent as a locomotive engineer during the .building of the Panama Canal, didn’t miss a lick while he talked.

They're sharp. You can say sharp for their ap«pearance, too. ’

Under the, long tables were highly apolished

shoes. White shirts, ties; suits.were worn by the majority of the men. O. W. Cooper said appearance is another must to keep from rusting. A. L. Carney and R. A. Brennan, when they

heard the word, thought if’was time to break out

the cokes. E. B. Melvin seconded the motion and all were enthusiastic except Mr. Wallman, although I noticed he didn’t refuse the soft drink. William H. Rother is the oldest member of the association, and he’s still up and around at the age of 92. Mr. Ward said the average age of the membership was 70. I think Mr, Scarlett had the best thought of the afternoon. He said, “We may be retired but we still, want to be good citizens of our community.” . Timber,” gentlemen. I hope the track is clear and smooth for a long time in your community.

Olga Left Seventh Grade to Dance

“One night I was called to somebody’s table, I remember I was wearing a one-shoulder deal. A woman said, ‘Olga, you were wonderful.’ I looked at her—and I recognized her as being a -schoolteacher. “She said, ‘You know what would happen .to you if there was a leak.’ “I knew. I would have to go back to school. I told her I was making a movie test, and if {it came through, I would have time to go back to school. 2 “Well, it did come through, and I went to Hollywood instead of back to the seventh grade.”

®, 2 » oe oe Pd

HOWEVER, once in Hollywood, she did go to school for one term. Later she was tutored on the set. Today you can't tell Olga from a Phi Beta Kappa. Curiously, she went to a luncheon in Hollywood one day—a studio affair given for a visiting official. >] “I didn’t want to go. I had a bad case of sunburn. : “Across from me sat a fellow who came from around 120th St. in Manhattan. “I happened to know his brother. I said to myself, ‘Oh, great, this fs a Hollywood wolf.’ “Before I left the table, he said, ‘What do I have to do to get your phone number?’ I said, ‘Call Paramount, or keep trying.” However, thinking better of it, she gave him the number—and that’s how she became Mrs. Edmund O’Brien, about a year and a half later.

* o oe oe

OLGA WAS never a Copa chorus girl—she was a singer of production numbers, etc., at the very start. She had one disappointment in those days. She wanted to change her name and they talked her out of it. “I wanted to call myself ‘Cochita Gomez,’ or something like that,” she says. 2 Now she is thoroughly happy in “Paint Your Wagon,” which looks likely to have a very long run.

At Long Last. He Explains Ike Move

espionage. A statement of policy amounts roughly to campaign promises, and from what I have heard in the way of campaign promises, what the man says before rarely has much bearing on what he does after. As you recall, the give-’em-naughty-word speeches of President Truman, when he was rousting round the country in ’48, made no mention of inflation as we know it today, the Korean War, the RFC or the stickyfingered tax collectors. He did not even think a mink, much less mention it.

we oe oo WE WILL INHERIT Gen? IKe, if inherit him we do, én the simplest terms we ever collected a President, if Ike sticks to his current credo. It will be more like marriage than an election. “Come be mine, Ducky,” we will say. “We want you-‘as you are, faults and virtues notwithstanding.” “Okay,” Ike will say. “I'm your'n. Kiss me.” It will be sometime after that we discover what is in the pretty head we find on the national pillow, ‘but by that time it is too late. If it is all to the good, we rate a rouser. If it turns out sour, a self-administered kick. Many a lasting safari into matrimony has been built on less. ow oo oe ME, I LIKE Ike. I like the way he has played it so far, which seems to have been exceedingly canny, and I like the way he has protected his rear echelon from possible assault by the incumbents who know all the tricks of political assassination of eager beavers who speak fast and slap their tails over-briskly. “If you want me, come git me,” Ike says. “In the meantime, I got a job of work to do.” How you going to knock the man for saying. what you or I would say?

Dishing the Dirt By Marguerite Smith

Q—My African violets need something. They do not do well. I have been wondering if it is because they are in the room with a gas heater. Mrs. P. E. Tonkinson, Brownsburg.

A—Practically every violet expert says that gas fumes are next to fatal for violets. But (as regular readers may remember) I offer the horrible example I once observed of violets blooming their heads off in a house where gas fumes were so strong I could smell gas in the air. Not that I think it's specially good for: them! But I do think if you control other factors, especially soil, gas’ will ‘have less effect on your plants. Any reader who is having trouble with violets may obtain the free leaflets the TIMES has prepared

ianapolis Times .

’

The Ind

The New Guards Fall Asle

“@

BALL AND CHAIN—Prisoners at Jackson, ‘Mich., worn this striped outfit since 1885, era of the Nightkeeper.

By CARL HENN “WATCHMAN, what of the night?”

"A fascinating answer to this Biblical question lies in the records of a bygone

prison official known as the Nightkeeper—master of caged men during the hours of darkness at old Jackson Prison in Jackson, Mich. Many Hoosiers know of the Nightkeeper by reading The Reflector, Indiana Reformatory newspaper, which prints excerpts from his age-yellowed note books. Beginning in the 1880's, the Nightkeeper's pen traced a night-to-night account of the antics, the misbehaviors and human frailties he observed during his nocturnal duties. Late

in 1885, for instance: ” 2 2

“OCT. 18—Sometimes I can’t decide which is my greatest problem, the convicts or the new guards. I made my rounds just after midnight and found four of the five new guards sleeping. They will be given another chance, but I think I impressed upon them the importance of alertness while on duty in a prison. s n ” “OCT. 19—About four o'clock this morning I was called to the top gallery of the West ‘Wing by the cries of the men there. Andrews, No. 3222, had hanged himself and cut himself on the wrists and the throat. He was breathing when we cut him down from his crude gallows, but he died shortly after being removed to the hospital. I'm afraid he will ‘have to be buried in the prison lot because he has no one who cares about him.

o n = “OCT. 20 — Guard Peters came to me last night with the report that an escape attempt is being planned by a group living in the East Wing, Second Gallery. We went immediately to the cells and found them all sleeping. The informer who told Guard. Peters of the escape plot is not reliable and is an agitator; a complete. in-

vestigation will be made of the -

matter.

u ”n o “OCT. 22 — There is serious trouble in the prison. Four men cut through the roof of the West Wing and escaped over the wall. It seems that the informer, Motter, No. 1617, was paid to report a false escape plot while a genuine one was in progress. If I had the author-

‘ity I would throw the black-

to help you by sending a stamped, self-addressed

envelope to Marguerite Smith, Dishing the Dirt, THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES; Indianapolis ‘Ind.. One leaflet takes up’ such questions as soil, water, sun, etc. The other suggests remedies for

some of the commoner violet troubles, ~~ “°.

guard in the hole and have him serve his. entire sentence there.

He has 12 years to serve. x

» ” ” “OCT. 28—One of the escaped convicts; Nelson, No. 1827, was captured last night hiding under a bridge. He had suffered a broken leg in His jump from the prison roof and his fellow convicts ran off and left him. He will» not talk about the escape. When his leg is mended we will get the story out of him, I guarantee you.

» " ” : “OCT. 24—The night just past "

., :

idiots in {he West Wing set up a howl just after midnight and the rest of the prison joined in with them. When I went to investigate I found that two large sewer rats had crawled into a food box in the cell of Anderson, No. 3446, one of the anani.acs. When he saw the rats he went even further out ofe his mind and aroused the entire prison. We didn't get them quieted until almost dawn. = = " “OCT. 25—Guard Milner reported three convicts last night for gambling. Jorski, No. 1315; Yarnell, No. 2376; and Barlow, No. 3335, were caught behind the bath stalls playing with dice. I recommend the strap in this case because these men have been caught and warned on a previous gambling violation, “OCT. 28—1I was called to the south tower last night by Guard Vanderpool. He had seen someone toss a bundle over the west wall. We took torches and searched the area but found nothing. It could have been a gun, drugs or food. Perhaps

we'll never find out. E-3 ” ”

“OCT. 29—More trouble last night. Apparently the bundle tossed over the wall was a can of whiskey. An argument and fight started in the dining room between Dinsmore, No. 2963, and Jones, No. 1827. Both men were very drunk. We took them to solitary and then checked their cells. In the cell of Jones we found an empty gallon can which reeked of corn whiskey.

» o 2 © “OCT. 30—I am still having guard trouble. Two of the new guards were found sleeping last night on their posts, Some of these new men try to work their farms all“day and work here at night. It cannot be done if efficiency is to be maintained.”

” EJ n THE COLORFUL jottings of the Nightkeeper were the work of a stately, 6-foot-2 Civil War Veteran named John H. Purves, whose broad shoulders were strong enough to bear the night half of prison responsibility for more than 30 years before he retired. Although he walked with a stout cane because of a Confederate bullet in one shinbone, Mr. Purves remained: an upright, hearty man until he died at age 84. His record” of the dusk-to-dawn routine at Jackson Prison

" brought the old gentleman post-

humous fame in certain circles throughout the country. The Nightkeeper’s Record now is published in 17 prison -newspapers, originating with The Spectator, which is published by inmates of State Prison of Southern Michigan at Jackson. There was" limitless variety ‘to the incidents and characters ® pictured in the journal.

» un ” EJ MR. PURVES often wrote, for instance, about the escapades of Hannibal the Bear. A lumberjack from the wilds of lower Michigan, 30-year-old Edward Hannibal was a giant of a man who played havoc

1 ; Sm

. Hannibal

FIR CURIE TNT TB

NIGHTKEEPER'S GRANDSON—Clare Pu

oners when he lost his temper, a frequent occurrence.

Hea appeared at Jackson son in the fall of 1883, after mauling a peace officer who tried to arrest him for being drunk and disorderly. The lumbering brute immediately informed Mr. Purves that his ‘size and ferociousness entitled him to be called “The Bear,” a name which the Nightkeeper thereafter accorded him. But such presumption did not sit well with the Nightkeeper. He wrote: :

“Bear, indeed! He shall learn shortly that we have a very effective treatment for bears. 1 have chalked!:the man in his cell.” = Custom at that time called for the misbehaving convict to have a chalk mark placed above his cell door, informing guards the man was to have no privileges until the mark was erased. Hannibal the Bear proved to be as rough as he had boasted. un ” " HE PUMMELED ofher prisoners unmercifully, attacked convicts or guards who attempted

to restrain or oppose him and

earned himself a place in solitary confinement time after time. He was whipped, more than once. But it became apparent that the Bear was not vicious so much as naturally violent. If left alone, he could behave himself. Unfortunately, other prison-

ers took delight in teasing him. /

into a rage when they could do it without physical danger to themselves. They knew better

than to let Hannibal the Bear

get his hands on them —hands that once moved, unassisted, a 450-pound © anvil across the prison blacksmith shop, Hannibal "especially disliked being ‘disturbed while asleep. Once, a handwritten sign was

' found hanging from his cell was a hectiq one. Several of the with routiné and the other pris-

door: | 1 Ca “It anyone is” found around

SUNDAY, JANUARY 13, 1952

es reads the old journal.

here tonight, they will be found around here in the morning.” The big fellow claimed he had been framed by the sign, because he was illiterate and couldn’t have manufactured it. Mr. Purves apparently believed him, because he failed to mention any punishment being passed for the offense.

® # 2 HANNIBAL the Bear spent more than half his time in solitary. His sentence was extended again and again because of his offenses, until the Nightkeeper's sense of justice became offended. Mr, Purves wrote, In 1885:

" ” u “NOV. 8 — If Hannibal can stay clear of trouble for one 30day period he is to be released to a logging camp. Hannibal is a hard worker .and he readily agreed to try to stay on good behaviour for a month.” The plan failed, five days

ep...

“- NATIVE MUSIC—Orchestra leader

PAGE 19 °

NIGHTKEEPER—John H. Purves

from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m

short of its goal, as shown by, this entry: .

EJ EJ ” “DEC. 4—During coffee time last evening Hannibal the Bear violated the good disciplinary

record he has had for the past

four weeks. He cursed the coffee boy because the coffee was cold and the boy cursed him back. Hannibal hit him and started a fight in the dine ing hall. I am sorry to report that Hannibal is once again in solitary.” The necessity for sternness,

however, failed to diminish the

Nightkeeper’'s innate sense of sympathy. He wrote: “Last night it was my duty to remove Hannibal the Bear from solitary confinement. I went alone because I can talk with him when no one else is around. He asked for some food, and I took him to the kitchen to get him something. Then I took him to his cell and he jumped in his bed and cove ered his head with blankets, I'm leaving a note for the day captain to see that Hannibal is bathed: and shaved this morne ing. Hannibal finally managed te restrain himself long enough to be released from Jackson Prison. Ne never appeared there again, at least during the Nightkeeper’s time. The personality of Mr. Purves is revealed in the Nightkeeper's Reécord as surely as though he had deliberately written - about himself. A sense of humor was mixed with the shrewdness and common sense displayed by this entry:

» LJ » DEC. 11—On the last three nights I have found a cigar with a note attached in my desk. Each time the note contained the phrase: “May the Lord bless you.” I am sure this .incident will result in the request of a favor, and I will be waiting for the guilty person to show himself. The only possible way he could have gotten the cigars is by stealing them, and when he reveals himself he will be duly punished.”

Spike Jones seems to have

‘gone slightly native during his holiday visit to Hawaii. Spike got -

all drove u in Ye legal shyla 3, will the hoip grown- beauties, playpd the ukulele as the girls accompanied his =~ melody by honking something out on’ those rubber horns. a Ae Ae : i sid 3

> siingy GEE Cae » #o » mid

» : = Can ale

of some home.