The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1896-05-29
NAMES TALLEST MAN.
Houses without = Ladder-H.


Also Rides u Bicycle.
The tallest man in the state of Maine
rides a bicycle, says the Lewiston Jour
nal. He's also general repairer of BIZ
cycles for the village Of Phillips.
These two facts may not especially be-
long together, but they Immediately
answer a vague question that arises in
the mind of the reader. If the bicy-
Gle gets discouraged at any time Names
champion tall wheelman can do his own
doctoring.
Mr.. w. H. Kelley, of Phillips, is a
modest man. Although he has many
accomplishments and in his character
Of head surgeon Of the village repair
shop, can mend anything from a watch
to a jigger wagon, he doesn't boast OF
his requirements. But as to his height
he feels that he can safely lay claim to
being the champion giant of Maine.
Many tall men nave come and seen
and braced shoulders and chalked with
him on his shop door until the scratches
OF the i~ntertangled lines look like a
spider web. But loftily above them all
is the sc"atchmark OF the towering man
Of the house. He never yet has to look
up to gaze into the eyes OF a man stand
ing on, his level except once when a cir
Gus brought a giant to town. The
giant heard that there was q citizen out
SIDE who was taller than he. So, by
his request, MI. Kelley was passed in.
The circus giant stood on the vantage
ground OF an ascending slope, he wore
a bearskin cap, high-heeled shoes, and
had his shoulders padded deliberately.
But even under the disguise the by
ISLANDERS could see that he was not a
fair match for the local Polyphemus,
had he stripped Off his plumage and
come down off his perch on the en-
bankment.
MI. Kelley, dressed for the street,
measures from the ground to the top Of
his head six feet and ten inches-as
near seven feet as any man in Maine
has ever grown. He is symmetrical,
too, Weighing considerably over zoe
pounds, yet without any su%pertluous
flesh.
Mr.. Kelley is a muscular man, and
oS31AS HtS VI ~ III VI l1iot AK Alo 'Sl
formed surprised even his townsmen.
At a lifting match not long ago the
weight was q stone post weighing 90
pounds. Several alleged strong men
had tackled it and had wiggled it along
a few feet at a hitch. Mr.. Kelley, how
ever, grasped the iron link, affixed TIC
the post and walked nearly 2O0 feet with
tho Nynipht fno11v toccinr IL copoiocc1 y
a considerable distance. Il could nave
carried it further" said he, nonchal-
emily, but thought twas far enough
for a sample"
Mr.. Kelley's workshop is fully as in
teresting as it's owner. He is a me-
chanical genius with a knack for fixing
anything that may be brought to him,
and he can make almost anything that
he is requested to, whether he has ever
seen it before or not.
Fer instance, much Of his machinery
was improvised by him. The little,
t%Wo-horse power marine engine has
been rugged up to drive a hanj-saW
that plays over two widely dissiuiiar
wheels. The upper is a bicycle wheel
"A1A OoAl oStt1 ii1SS, thS Ao"O1 10 oAo vi
the wheels Of a moving machine, the
combination working excellently. Mr.
Kelley also has his grindstone rugged on
ball bearings, and has recently com
pleted a ~sand-papering machine that is
exciting the admiration of all the neigh
bors.
Besides his general work of repairing
Mr.. Kelley is a painter, and it is on rec
ord that he painted the side of one cot
tage house in the village without using
a ladder.
All of the Phillips giants shop appur.
tenances are suited to his height anC
the benches, horses and vices are as
long-legged as a giraffe.