By Morris Rote-Rosen
The Carnival: The lost and found department returning a crying boy to his father ... William J. Norton: "This is the biggest crowd I ever saw", referring to the opening night .. Anna Barrington chaperoning "Pat Kelly", that Spanish-American war veteran, around the lot ... That ever accommodating, big, good-natured "Joe" Paro, a gentleman in any emergency ... And "Jim" Jenkins well past the three-quarters century mark in life, who knows more about carnival equipment than any fireman in the department ... John Evans with that look of satisfaction at his customers at the miniature train.
"Newt" Williams taking his baby daughter around the lot, going from one stand to another ... John Closs, pop corn bag in hand, interestingly studying the penny pitch ... The craned necks at the high striker and the groan when the bell fails to ring ... Russell Flower, hands in his money apron, carrying on a steady flow of words, like any side show barker ... Mrs. Fred Elwell and Mrs. Wayne Potter, the smiling hostesses in the cake booth on the opening night ... "Bill" Pritchard, an interesting study, as he crowds his way to the entertainment platform to catch the magician cheating.
Easton Owens, smearing mustard on a hand full of "hot dogs" ... The little tots on the new ride the "Pull-Away" and enjoying it ... The little boy and girl, riding the ponies, hanging on to the saddle horn, traveling into a land of make-believe ... Two visitors on the lot. Says one: "I'm from Buffalo", said the other: "I am from Pennsylvania" ... And Belleville, New Jersey was well represented with several campers from Lake St. Catherine ... The well behaved Granville children on the lot is a puzzle to a member of the vaudeville group.
Arthur Woodard, between parking cars on the lot, running around, checking on two cars containing two babies. "Their mothers asked me to keep my eye on them," says Arthur, "but how can I quiet their yells with the cars locked?" ... That gracious Polly Gibbs, praising Granville and the firemen for a good job in conducting the carnival. Miss Gibbs is from Louisiana and has a summer home in Hebron ... Dr. Harold Winkler, a volunteer helper, was initiated at the ticket booth of the Octopus ride. When he cashed in at midnight, Saturday, his eyes were baggy, his hair mussed, his walked zigzag and he was a push over for a ten second count. Harold would rather pull teeth any time than work one night at the carnival.
Little girls grow up. There goes Clarissa Olson, that little girl who used to romp around with her daddy "Dick" when they lived in Granville. Now an attractive young lady ... And little Shirley Wait of West Pawlet who used to perform on amateur nights, and we had to lower the microphone for her, now a cute little blonde lady, leaning on the arm of Chief of Police "Dick" Stanton ... The lumber jack trying to ring the bell of the high striker awarded with a lei for his futile efforts ... The firemen and wife teams working for the carnival: Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Hughes and Mr. and Mrs. Leon Stark ... "Ted" Lutz and "Jack" Edwards in the doll booth crying their wares: "Spin the wheel, something's got to come; 10 cents, only a dime; watch it spin, 7, 9, 11. There she goes!"
"Jim" McDonough stopping for a few moments to reminisce about the old fair grounds and race track located on the present carnival lot, so many years ago. "And I can tell you where the old floral hall is now. It is one of the Weinberg buildings on the lumber yard." And we thought all the time that "Jim" McDonough was only a "boy" ... Walter Curtis, piano tuner from Rutland shouting: "Remember when we were in show business, Morris, back in 1906?" ... Walter was dreaming of the old days of the motion pictures, the one night stands, and the minstrel shows ... The "good old days" in show business, gone but not forgotten by old timers.
Daniel Benjamin of the Ray Brown studio, snapping candid shots of the people at the ringside on boxing nights ... Will E. Roberts and little John Vanderwalker, childhood and age, hand in hand, patronizing the fish pond and the ice cream stand ... Walter Hughes hadn't lost a duck at the duck pond the first two nights. "I teach the ducks to 'duck'" says Walter ... Fire Chief Moloney, a well man otherwise, walking around with a carnival headache, trying to keep things going ... The old woman, sitting on a bench, smoking a pipe, and dreaming dreams.
The inebriate, who couldn't punch a hole through a cobweb, challenging the world to combat, wrestle, box or rough and tumble. Meekly he was marched two steps ahead of Dr. Bennett, the captain of the fire-police to disappear on Quaker street ... Everybody loves a fight judging by the rows of spectators around the boxing ring until the last bell of the last round ... For the first time in carnival history the Tuesday boxing card featured two heavyweights in the main bout and their "socks" weren't exactly love taps ... Carmen Fragnoli, who refereed the main bouts is remembered by some as a formidable lightweight himself when the American Legion conducted boxing in the old barn which stood back of the Race Milling company building.
Ed Vail, who with Leon Stark, popcorn, and sometimes corny jokes, standing in the opening of their stand and calling out the horses of a make-believe harness race. The stand was once the judges' stand on the Middle Granville race track when John Reil conducted harness racing there ... When a boxing program is announced every kid in Granville wants to put the gloves on to show how good he is. The answer to why the United States of America never lost a fight ... And the sportsmanship of the two little principals in the Dennison-Doty boxing bout, when they threw away their gloves and shook hands at the end of the bout, drew rounds of applause. It is America in action.
George Woodard in the food booth, the only fireman having ladies working for him. "You lucky dog," shouted a passer-by ... Hattie Thompson, 78, enjoying a stick of cotton candy like the little girl beside her ... Mrs. Arch Drake and Mrs. Henry Adams sharing the same pop corn bag ... Jack Brown, pianist and accordionist with the vaudeville acts, who nearly froze to death the opening night, returned Wednesday night in his winter wear and almost roasted to death ... George Staten, who did a comedy acrobatic-dancing-singing act, was the hit of the week's entertainment. Reason: He was ten years with Olsen and Johnson of the famous "Helizapopping" show.
Mayor "Ted" Brown who hadn't had a chance to shout "bingo" in the last sixteen carnival weeks finally broke through Wednesday night, and, while he won the prize, "Bill" Bigelow, a kibitzer looking over his shoulder, shouted "bingo!" for him and robbed "Ted" of the thrill which comes once in seventeen years ... The few firemen who have lost interest in responding to fire alarms and in doing their part at the carnival would do well to ask for retirement to make room for younger and more willing volunteers.
From a "Main Street" reader in Albany comes a communication which reads in part as follows: "July 22nd, you write: 'Local governments are being deprived of the power and authority', etc. It would be more factual and truthful if you said that Granville always votes to send a representative of the Republican Party to Albany. Come November, Mr. Rote-Rosen, et al, will be working strenuously to send another Republican Legislator there for 1948-49. There are few Democrats there and 'tis your fault." And he concludes that he is writing more "with sorrow than in anger".
We try to keep politics out of "Main Street" but we must answer this one, also more in sorrow than anger. Sorry because the writer is no doubt a supporter of the "New Deal" which elected a man to the vice presidency and which kept him in office for about twelve years for the purpose of spawning, and now propounding a theory of "Wallaceism" for the destruction of our way of life and our present form of government. It is the "New Deal" that produced a Wallace to organize the communists, the radicals, the parlor punks (some spell it with an "i") and all their fellow travelers, culminating with the expose that key men in the "New Deal" were kept for the purpose of forming an espionage ring for the Soviet to destroy our democracy.
Having voted for Roosevelt during the war "not to change horses in midstream" with the hope that it would return our fighting boys sooner, we can atone for our "sin" by working strenuously to support and elect "Tom" Dewey at the November election, and help, in a small way, to return the government of the people to the people and to help destroy a form of government which for the past sixteen years has placed the United States of America on the brink of destruction and annihilation, thanks to the wishy washy namby-pamby foreign and domestic policy of Harry Truman. We still have the privilege of voting as we please, but let's not forget, that our country comes first, last and always while we still have that vote.
Just about when we are catching up on our seven nights loss of sleep from the Granville carnival, the Woodmen of America of Wells, have sent out an SOS call to assist them with their carnival next week Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Being a native of Wells six months of the year it is a pleasure to rub elbows and work with such good fellow as Ruel Park, Beauford Hopson, Stuart Park, Durward Lodbell, Willis Scott and others. And besides, where can one have a better time than at the Wells carnival and Old Home celebration, to say nothing of the supper at the Methodist church. We'll be there fellows!
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