"ROLL THE PRESSES...!"

On a really personal note and it leaves me blushing to do so, but I must share with you, right now, an e-mail that I just received from another Iowa native (a native of Peru, Iowa) and whom I have only known through a Chat Room we both have enjoyed for several years. She feels as I do, if you are from Ioway, you are "sisters" from the git-go, and we are. Joy, who now lives in New Mexico, writes: "Well!!! I have read EVERYTHING you put on your Blog and I can't wait for the next installment!!! What fond memories I have of growing up on a farm in the 30's, and because of you, I am remembering small things that I have not thought of in years."

Well, dear friend, thank you for those kind words...but if these Blogs turn out to be a "fine kettle of fish" or "a peck of trouble," or even "a can or worms!" ... guess who is coming to New Mexico lookin' for you? Joy, you do my heart good 'n this is for you!

The clouds had opened up over Arcadia where Sadie and I live, the house was relatively neat and quiet...an ideal time to take to our favorite rocking chair and ponder a bit. First thought that came to mind was this: If the Wish Foundation asked me, a Senior Citizen, for just One Wish, what would that Wish be?

Not a Wish that the "normal" person would ask for but here is mine: I would love to spend a week or two in The Morgue of the Atlantic News Telegraph, looking up "facts, just the facts, Ma'am!" about stories that have been told once, retold, exaggerated, even forgotten. Probably, today, stories would be on microfilm rather than reading the actual newspaper; but either way, what pure bliss to leaf through the yellowed pages of this venerable newspaper that has been in existence since 1871.

Without a doubt, those pages would flesh out the mysteries, the truths and the untruths, the myriad of events that caused our townspeople to rush out to greet the news carriers, rain or shine. (I did, but you should have seen how cute our paper carrier was!) What fun to shake out the folds and wrinkles, grab a cup of something to drink, start on page one and proceed with focused intensity to the last page, the pleasure about equal to consuming that first bite of corn-on-the-cob fresh from a nearby farm.

FOR INSTANCE...read again: How many times did Wilno, The Great miss the net during his travels across the country in the 1930's? Wilno, the Great showed up in Atlantic as the main attraction for some now forgotten-about town celebration a couple of years running, and hit the net every time. Concede with me that being ejected head first from a red-white-and-blue cannon (would he have side burns?) landing some fifty feet away on a very skimpy net and to great applause is no small feat...and I think he tossed in a couple of somersaults the night the town beauty joined the burgeoning crowd. I have often wondered if I could find Wilno, The Great on the Internet. Fame is fleeting, but the thrill I felt in seeing Wilno slowly "streak" over our heads at 9 p.m. on a warm, balmy evening yet remains...

FOR INSTANCE...read again: Was that extraordinary (their words, not mine) elixir sold at the Medicine Shows that hit Talty's Pasture (one block from 210 Birch) every summer really 20% proof as bandied about by some of the audience members? Is that why the bootleggers/moonshiners suffered slow weeks of business when the Shows paid a visit and were only too happy to see the Final Performance of that group? Elixir sold legally or illegally, we kids cared not a bit and patiently tolerated the so-called commercials and endorsements from two or three really happy campers in the crowd. We were there to see the heavy dramas, the rollicking comedies, the six-piece band. Plus, you know, they did say that one of those boxes of Cracker Jax contained an honest-to-goodness diamond ring. Unbelievable? You betcha! But it was a great way to spend a warm summer evening under the stars on a blanket, in a pasture that was home to our Betsy, the Cow during the day. However, you can believe this: ACCORDING TO MY FANTASY WORLD...all the actors went on to the next town, to Hollywood and to Broadway, and we now more-or-less-cultured small-town people could say, "We knew them when! Who else can put on their Resumes they had Talty's Pasture as their first "Off-Broadway Show?" Jes' sayin'

FOR INSTANCE...read again: Remember "The Human Fly?" Forget Terminator 1,2,3 or Superman/Woman, The Road Runner...this "Fly" was awesome in the eyes of every kid under the age of ten and had yet to reach the age of "reasoning." With the spotlight on his every move up the side of the Whitney Hotel, we prayerfully questioned in our hearts (not our minds) what held him flat to the wall as he inch-by-inch crawled up to the top and over the edge of the roof? Velcro had yet to be invented, no helping hands were seen hanging out the windows to hasten "The Human Fly" on his way upward and over the roof. This mystery remains unsolved to this day...and if you are reading this and you know the answer, please DO NOT write, call, or e-mail me the answer. Just let me have this one delightful mystery to ponder upon in these Senior/Golden Years!

FOR INSTANCE...read again: Headline banner stating ...Ringling Brothers/Barnum and Bailey Circus Coming to Town! Every kid in town beat the alarm clock in waking up the morning The Circus came to town, via the Rock Island Railroad. In the company of Tootie and Tiny Maher (responsible teen-age daughters of our neighbors) we wee awestruck Cranston Clan members joined the other kids at 5 a.m., all nicely lined up across the street from the train cars that contained The Circus animals, clowns, barkers, tents. What a sight to behold, the majestic elephants were unloaded and began their parading, joined trunk to tail (just like in the movies!) to the Fair Grounds about a mile or so away. On top of the elephants were performers in flowing costumes, clowns were happily shaking hands with the "gaggle" of saucer-eyed kids. The grown-ups in the crowd ogled the acrobats and tightrope walkers in their flashy sequined costumes. We trembled, as one, when the fierce caged lions and tigers growled as if on cue and just for us. We laughed at The Circus roustabouts as they passed by carrying large scoops (by order of the City Council) and were completely dazzled by the Calliope blasting out that old familiar Circus tune. It was all too breathtaking; and if Tootie and Tiny (I will tell you their given names in another story) had not such a tight grip on my hand, I would have joined The Circus right then and there. Marching, at a safe distance, along side the procession which began at the depot unloading zone and slowly weaved its way through the north end of town to the County Fair Grounds on the east side of town, we all arrived in time to see the red-and-white Circus tents begin to take shape. The ballyhoo began, and a week of pure magic captured, forever, the hearts of every kid in town and some of those simply young at heart. The Ken Maynard and Tom Mix Cowboy Shows that followed later that summer paled in comparison....

FOR INSTANCE...read again: Whatever happened to the members of the Crooked Creek Gang that, in the years following the Civil War (when Atlantic was being settled by residents of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois) put new meaning into the phrase "Holy Terrors"? They have been referred to, in actual newspaper print, as "dangerous when under the influence of whiskey, their first love; they delighted in fighting, destroying property and terrorizing citizens by shooting up villages and the countryside. From drunken brawls, the Gang set its sights on thievery, arson, and other crimes against society, and the neighbors took to carrying guns for the protection of their lives and property." Well, shoot, by today's standards, just your normal hormonal young lad before he met the "right girl!" Some local Genealogy reports have got to be very interesting reading. "Hey, kids, guess what Gramps did one night?" I have a list of names of the five or six young scamps and not a Cranston family member among them, so relax! To their credit...nary a single computer hacker among the Crooked Creek Gang, so they can't have been all bad!

FOR INSTANCE...and this is the last, I promise! ...read again: Now, this is funny! You should know that the Atlantic Fire Department was/is a volunteer one and caused our fair city to be highly praised throughout the USA as the nation's Fire Prevention City for several years running. In the early 1900's, the annual Fireman's Ball was THE social event of the season. It was so exclusive that a Committee passed upon all those who were invited. The story is told that a certain lady had her heart set on going to The Ball but she was "black-balled." By some means she learned who had cast the ballot against her and went hunting for him with a buggy whip! She caught up with the young whippersnapper at the corner of Third and Chestnut (made famous years later when "The Human Fly" would scale the great (four stories) heights of the Whitney Hotel). Before the young whippersnapper could escape, our heroine gave him several sharp lashes with her whip before "sashaying off full skirts aflying around her trim and shapely ankles" (I am making some of this up, you do know that, don't you?). We may never know who that indomitable young lady was, but I just have to end this thoroughly enjoyable story (to me!) with a raucous, "You go, girl!" and exit laughing!
-30-

Yes...that is what I would wish for...