McCormick messenger. (McCormick, S.C.) 1902-current, July 15, 1937, Image 3
McCORMICK MESSENGER, McCORMICK, S. C., THURSDAY, JULY 15, 1937
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB
HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES
OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELFI
“Another Molly Pitcher "
By FLOYD GIBBONS
Famous Headline Hunter
H ELLO, everybody:—This soul-stirring tale of a brave little
mother who was deathly afraid of guns, but afraid of noth
ing at all when corporation hirelings tried to grab a piece of her
home, is the Battle of Monmouth all over again.
You remember, or do you, how in that important engagement at Free
hold, N. J., away back on June 28, 1778, Molly Pitcher took the place
of her husband, John C. Hays, an artilleryman, after he was wounded,
and served his gun, thus preventing its capture by the British. That’s
a yarn that every red-blooded American gets a kick out of every time
he reads itl
It is mighty comforting, I want to tell you, to know there
are Molly Pitchers in every generation, stepping forward fear
lessly to take the places of their men when necessary. Just such
a woman is this distinguished adventurer.
Meet Mrs. John Doolin, of Lemont, 111. They call women the weaker
sex. O yeah? Just put their backs to the wall. If you want the proof,
read how Mrs. Doolin, single-handed, whipped a rather high-minded cor
poration that seemed to be trying to put over a fast one.
The Doolins Didn’t Need Courts.
Not long after a railroad came through the village of Lemont, where
the Doolins had their home, there were a number of ^accidents on a
sharp curve close to the Doolin property. The company wanted to straight
en the line by putting it across the Doolin yard. Surveyors staked out the
new right of way; workers appeared and began digging. John Doolin
ordered them off. Then he took the first train to Chicago and there con
sulted his good friend. Attorney Alexander Sullivan.
Mr. Sullivan told him the company had no right to put its
line on Doolin property without permission. But, he continued
(and here’s the catch), if the company succeeded in erecting
the poles and stringing the power wire, the only thing Doolin
could do would be to go to court. John Doolin didn’t have any
money to pay for long years of litigation so he beat it for home,
resolved to keep the company off his premises.
There, sticking up in the lawn, was a nice new pole that had been
put up while he was in the city.
John sawed the pole half way through. Then he borrowed a rifle
and ammunition from a neighbor. •
A few days later, on a bright June morning in 1903, a policeman ap
peared with a warrant charging John Doolin with destroying public
property. John marched away with the law, leaving three children cry
ing, a wife on the verge of it.
Mrs. Doolin and Shotgun Command the Scene.
No sooner was John Doolin out of sight than a crew of workmen
swarmed on the place and began digging so furiously you would think
they were being paid a dollar a shovelfull. Was little Mrs. Doolin going
to let them get away with it? Up to the attic she hurried. There, forget-
ting she shivered at the very sight of a firearm, she took from the wall a
shotgun that had hung undisturbed for many years.
With her children clinging to her and crying again, she opened
the window shutters and rested the ancient fowling piece on the
sill. Then, in a cold fury, she called down to the working men:
“Throw down your tools or I’ll shoot!’’
They stopped working and then began to kid her.
Then one bully, who appeared to be the foreman, ordered: “Come
on, guys, let’s go up and take it away from her.’’ Mrs. Doolin leaned a
little further out of the window and lifted the rusty shotgun.
“The first man who takes a step toward my house gets shot,’* shf
called. “Now all of you drop your tools, or I’ll start shooting.’*
Our Lady Tells the Boys Where to Get Off.
And, boys and girls, Mrs. Doolin meant exactly what she said. She
was a determined mother, protecting her home and babies in the ab
sence of her husband. Of course, she thought the gun wasn’t loaded,
but her finger was on the trigger and she was all set to pull it if any one
of those men made a move in the direction of the house. But their tools
went down.
The workmen sensed this was real drama, not a comedy, and
they became sober. One spoke up to say the company had sent
them there to rush up a couple of poles. Plucky Mrs. Doolin then
explained to them that they were on her property, that the com
pany had not asked permission to use it nor offered to pay for it.
Well sir, when those men got the low down on the proposition they
took off their hats and cheered. “You win, lady, you’re a game guy,’’
they told her. “We ain’t doing any more digging until you get a square
deal.’’
With that they picked up their tools and went to town. Mrs. Doolin
had won her battle, but would the men be back tomorrow? Would the
’ company have her arrested for threatening its workmen? And what had
become of her husband?
Another Gun That <( Wasn’t Loaded.**
Pondering these questions, Mrs. Doolin went to the door and was
overjoyed to see her husband coming up the walk. He hadn’t been in jail
at all. The policeman had taken him before a justice of the peace, but
no one in the courtroom was willing to prosecute him. He thought he
understood why he had been taken away on a charge no one would press
,when Mrs. Doolin told him the men had been back. But when she
told him how she had pointed the shotgun at them and really intended to
pull the trigger, he felt a little faint. For that old gun was loaded!
Well, there was one thing about the old-fashioned corporation,
it always knew when it was licked. The very next morning the
worries of the Doolin family were over. Right after breakfast
two suave lawyers called to say how sorry they were it had hap
pened. There had been a mistake. The company was willing
to pay a good price for the land. And they paid, right on the line,
thanks to the little woman who didn’t know when she was licked.
This month the Doolins will be celebrating their fifty-fifth wedding
anniversary in Lemont. Around the festal board will be the children who
wept at their mother’s skirts while she repelled the raid on the home.
They have children of their own now.
©—WNU Service.
Witchball Used by Indians
If an Indian wanted to be rid of
a person without resorting to mur
der, he had a witch doctor prepare
an extra-special witchball which
could be thrown at the undesirable
person. While believing this was
supposed to result in a fellow In
dian’s death, says a writer in the
Cleveland Plain Dealer, the red
skins were convinced this had no
effect on white men and women be
cause of the comparatively large
amount of salt they consumed in
Iheir diet.
The World’s Oldest Race
The world’s oldest race, the bush-
men of the Kalahiri desert, nomadic
tribesmen, described as “living fos
sils,” are dying out. The bushmen
can claim a history of 25,000 years,
and they once inhabited the south of
Europe as well as Africa. They
have never abandoned their primi
tive methods, and they hunt with
bows and arrows. They cannot live
unless they kill game for food. When
forced to live a “civilized” exist
ence they die out, says Pearson’*
London Weekly.
'Way Back When
By JEANNE
FRED MAC MURRAY WASHED
CARS FOR A LIVING
"NJECESSITY is the mother of in-
vention, they say; and if that
is so I think someone should em
phasize that “Courage is the fa-
.ther of opportunity.” So many
times, when things look blackest, it
seems that only by drawing on re
serve strength can we keep going.
Suddenly we find ourselves face to
face with opportunity. Everything
looked hopeless before. We were
really almost ready to give up.
And, then looking back, we wonder
how things could have seemed as
bad as they were.
Fred MacMurray was born in
Kankakee, 111., in 1908, and spent
his boyhood in Beaver Dam, Wis.
He lived a normal small town life
for an American youngster. In 1925,
when he was seventeen, he was
awarded the annual American Le
gion medal for the student show
ing the most well-rounded develop
ment in scholastic subjects and
sports. His mother worked in of
fices to support them both, and
Fred attended Carroll college in
Waukesha, Wis., earning his way
by playing the saxophone. A bro
ken hip forced his mother to quit
work, and Fred left college to try
to blow a living out of his saxo
phone. They moved to Hollywood,
Calif., for her health and the boy
was glad to get a job washing cars
in a garage, to pay her hospital
bills. Before he could collect ftis
pay, the garage went bankrupt, and
Fred MacMurray faced a discour
aging period without a job. He
tried to obtain work in the picture
studios as a saxophone player, but
had no luck. Things looked very
black, indeed.
Then, he was signed up with a
band called the California Collegi
ans, whiclTworked its way to New
York city and was hired for the play
“Three’s a Crowd.” Fred had a
small bit which led to a slightly bet
ter part in “Roberta.” A talent
scout for Paramount saw him,
brought him back to Hollywood, and
he was given a contract which led
to his success in pictures.
• • •
POET LAUREATE OF ENGLAND
WAS A PORTER IN A SALOON
W HAT romantic occupation
could you possibly predict for
a boy so adventurous that no one
could control him, so reckless that
the aunt who took care of him after
his father and mother died inden
tured him to a merchant ship at the
age of fourteen to curb him? That
was John Masefield’s start in life
and today he holds the highest hon
ors England can give any poet.
Born in Ledburn, Herefordshire,
England, in 1874, he sailed the seas
for three years. Leaving the ship
in port at New York city, he took
any odd job he could get. He
worked in a bakery and in a livery
stable. He was porter in Luke
O’Connor’s saloon at, the Columbian
hotel near Jefferson Market jail.
Then he moved to Yonkers, at the
north end of New York city, where
he worked in a carpet factory, ris
ing to the magnificent position of
“mistake finder” at $8.50 per week.
It was at this time, in his early
twenties, that Masefield started to
write poetry and in 1897 he left for
London. His first volume of verses,
“Salt Water Ballads,” was pub
lished in 1902 opening with “A Con
secration,” in which he announces
himself as the champion of “the
dust and scum of the earth.” Books
of verse and novels followed, one
upon the other, and John Masefield
became established as one of Eng
land’s greatest poets.
So, remember John Masefield be
fore you pass judgment on that
neighbor’s boy who is such a holy
terror or that young scamp who
works in the saloon across the rail
road tracks.
Q—WNU Service.
AROUND
*. HOUSE
I©
Items of Interest
to the Housewife
Cooking Sour Fruit—Sour fruit
will require much less sugar, and
be more digestible, if a dessert
spoonful of syrup and a pinch of
bicarbonate of soda are added aft
er cooking.
• • •
To Prevent Scorching—Leave
one small section of a gem pan
empty when putting gem batter
in pan. Fill this section with wa
ter and gems will never scorch.
• • •
Cheese Savoury—Spread sea
soned cream cheese on small
rounds of previously cooked short
pastry. Over the cheese place a
round of tomato and a dash of
mayonnaise, and top each with a
Smart Lace Spread
PpJ|#gj»|gg
&SS •ViiS
fesEiR'
A true reflection of your own
good taste is this stunning open
work design, one easily achieved
by crocheting simple, single me
dallions of string. A stunning
dresser or table scarf, or per
chance a cloth could also be your
choice. It may be done in one or
a combination of colors. Pattern
1443 contains detailed directions
for making the 8% inch medal
lion shown and joining it for a
variety of articles; illustration
of it and of all stitches used;
material requirements; color sug
gestions.
Send 15 cents in stamps or
coins (coins preferred) for this
pattern to The Sewing Circle
Needlecraft Dept., 82 Eighth
Ave., New York, N. Y.
slice of olive. Place in paper
containers, sprinkle with finely-
grated cheese, and garnish with
cress.—Miss E. Frus, Wimbledon
Park.
• * *
Keeping Brassware Bright —
Brass ornaments will remain
bright longer if, after polishing,
they are given a thin coat of white
shellac.
• • •
To Freshen Coconut—Shredded
coconut, which has become dry,
can be freshened by soaking it
in sweet milk a few minutes be
fore using.
• • •
Banana Toast—Place sliced ba
nana between two* slices bread,
spread with shortening. Place in
baking pan in hot oven until light
ly browned.
* • •
Why Pans Warp—Aluminum
cooking pans are frequently
warped out of shape by repeatedly
putting cold water in them while
they are still hot.
* * •
Measuring Sugar—One pound of
granulated sugar equals two cups.
One pound of powdered or con
fectioner’s sugar equals two and
one-half cups.
WNU Service. /
Foreign Words ^
and Phrases
Resurgam. (L.) I shall rise
again.
Presto mature, presto marcio.
(It.) Soon ripe, Soon rotten. .
Lis litem generat.(L.) Strife be
gets strife.
Hominis est errare. (L.) It is
common for man to err.
Contra fortuna no vale arte nin-
guna. (Sp.) There is no fence
against fortune.
Fide, sed cui vide. (L.) Trus^
but see whom.
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