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36

No order of this magnitude was without its lighter moments as I've tried to indicate now and then and this job was no exception. In September there was a meeting of the Lake Erie Transportation Club and it was held at "Cash" Davis' farm. The farm sounded a lot fancier than it was. It was located on an east-west country road a couple of miles south of Wesleyville perhaps along the northern border of the present Behrend Center. The house was square, clapboard and ancient but without the charm of a real landmark. It was near the rather dusty, gravel road and there was a big open porch across the front. I don't think anybody farmed the place but Cash had bought it to use as a sort of country retreat; in fact, few of us knew that he had such a place. My recollection of it is that it was extremely plain and even crude, poorly furnished and unattractive. But it was a "retreat" all right and a good, remote spot to do a little plain and fancy drinking. This the boys did and afterward we partook of some sort of a supper. I look my Filmo 8 along and got a few shots which is my only record of this event, which was attended also by some New York Central men. I was very sparing in my photography and can identify very few who were there. From the New York Central there was Bill Hamilton and Tex Weinberg. From the New Haven I spot Jim Bracken and Ed Kelly. And from GE there is Maurice Guynes and Swede Palmer, the Air Brake Dept. commercial man and a famed story-teller. One of his most famous stories, known countrywide, was about the man with a harelip explaining the utter futility of something by comparing it to the worthlessness of a pair of male nipples. He would make a regular production out of this and would be invited to parties (like this one) mainly for the purpose of having him tell just this particular story--and it would invariably bring down the house even if his audience had heard it before. I'm sure there were many others there such as Cash himself and Jay Walker, many more, but I failed to get them on my film which was a pity. I believe this is the only picture I took of either Ed Kelly or Jim Bracken and I can't get prints off the 8mm film. 

However, the real fun we had with the New Haven boys occurred after our long sessions at the plant, when we'd repair to the City Club, establish ourselves at the bar, and settle down to a drinking session which would last usually for 1 1/2-hours after which we'd drift downstairs to the Den and have dinner. I've described these sessions before so I shan't repeat. However, I shall conclude this 0361-0366 account in 1937 by setting down a few of the anecdotes recounted by some of the New Haven men at these affairs.

Jim Bracken, a good Catholic, told a story of riding an extra-rough locomotive and when it began to nose quite violently, the fireman said to the engineer, "Well, let's get out the beads."

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