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Both Willie and I got in some tennis that summer. Tennis had long been my game although I'd played golf just about as long--or since I was around ten, I guess. But I was a fair tennis player, maybe being in tennis what a golfer would be who shot in the 80s. Willie did most of her playing with Betty Cain out at Hunter's Lodge while I played mostly at Jay Spencer's. Jay played well and was in his late forties, had a great personality and was a good host always. He was ready to play anytime he could get anybody up there who was any good at all and we had some good matches. On August 6th, Perk and I took three out of four sets from Jay Spencer and Jay Walker, who happened to be in town from New York. One evening, Mr. Dill of Erie Forge and I played the two Jays and lost 4-6, 6-1,3—6 but we all got thirteen games. I drove Jay Spencer to the train 1ater and he insisted we drive back four blocks on Beach Street to see if a poor cat was dead that we'd seen lying in the road. I decided he was a mighty fine man. On another occasion, Jake Brauns and I played with Messrs. Spencer and Dill, and afterward "absorbed as powerful a highball of Canada Dry and Gordon gin as I ever met before." Mr. Dill was Jay's nextdoor neighbor and star salesman for the Erie Forge which accounted for the hard liquor during Prohibition I should imagine. On a subsequent evening, our whole family went up to Spencers and Bab was immediately taken over by the Spencer and Dill girls, Bab being a hit everywhere. Mother had a pleasant time with Mrs. Spencer while Mr. Spencer and I played Willie and Dave Conway, the Penn Mutual Life agent, and we beat them finally 9—7. Dave proved to be a very good player and Willie did well also, with her serve working well. The Spencers were nice people and I'm sorry we got out of touch with them but they were about one generation beyond us. Nevertheless I've kept in touch with Jay slightly over the years in civic affairs mainly.

We always looked forward to having Willie's parents visit us. I was very fond of Willie's mother and had a lot of fun with her father in addition to liking him also. And so the month of July was a pleasant one with them here with us. The "Colonel" was a great poker player and we would manage a few games whenever he came. We always played Penny ante-Nickel limit, so nobody could get hurt very much. The Colonel's first poker party in Erie that summer was at Bob Walsh's. Bob's wife was in Texas recovering from TB and Bob had a room out on West Tenth Street where we had the party as I recall. The other players were Jake Brauns, Perkinson, Brandenstein and Joe Parce of Erie City Iron. Except Brandy, who was a teetotaler, we drank a lot of potent beer and I came very close to getting tight. Under the influence of the beer, I told a dirty story or two and later had misgivings about it because I was still a Puritan at heart. The Colonel loved a good story and he used to tell one that the boys would insist he repeat every time there was someone in the party who'd not heard it. It was really a combination 

Transcription Notes:
I changed "Mr. Bill of Erie" to "Mr. Dill of Erie" near the top--thomasc