Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1900-12-25

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$%WA MY% cure ces at
,MRWdsS%. ssGAsfHgSN> the time, the
ENSRRsss$, s,.,e z e,ssz5sss...,.0Ss$$ inauguratio
n of Col. w. II.
Cooper as President of the Bald
headed Club, did not attract the at
tention usually bestowed upon such
happenings. The recent Inaugural
tion of the Governor of the State led
to an examination of the Clubs
records for the purpose of compar-
ing the two events.
The Inauguration was postponed
for several weeks to enable Presi-
dent Cooper to make a foreign voy-
age to Cadiz, (Trigg county, to Wis
it the scenes Of his childhood for
the first time since he became fa-
mous. After he returned loaded
down with honors and real estate
from the public highways, another
delay was caused by the absence of
Col. Bill Howell in Paris (Tennes-
see,) Col. Howell was very anx-
ious to introduce his cousin Willie
and so it was decided to await his
return from foreign parts.
Promptly at the usual hour, the
retiring President, Col Bassett,
called the meeting to order and rec
ognized Col. Howell to present the
new President to the dignified body
over which he would in future pre-
side.
COL Howell, with his usual mod
esty and reluctance to speak, came
forward after shaking off his ex-
treme diffidence and in a voice of
mingled pride and emotion gave
testimony to the sterling qualities
of Col. William Tecumseh Cooper,
the Red Bearded Child of Destiny.
He told how he had fought his way
to high honors, compelled at every
turn to overcome obstacles that
would have appalled, less courag-
eous heart. Born in the town of
Cadiz when a mere child, the son of
hotel-keeper who was wealthy
but honest, young Willie was rails
ed in the lap of luxury and the laps
of festive drummers that infested
his fathers hotel He very early
developed a wonderful precocitv.
When less. than two years old, he
escaped the vigilance of his nurse
and emigrated from the nursery to
the public Office of the hotel one
Sunday, where he made the
acquaintance of several commercial
travellers who were waiting for the
church bell to ring. Crawling into
the lap of one of them, he began his
financial career by collecting a
handful of nickels for being so
smart. A part of this capital was
judiciously invested in confections
and Willie acquired an appetite for
candy that led him to become a
candy merchant in after life. The
future President S career was mete-
oric. He flashed across the hori-
zon of Cadiz in way that startled
the natives with his brilliancy and
then settled down to a steady
growth of mind and body. He early
developed an inventive genius and
several OF his inventions asxa child
have proven of lasting benefit to
mankind, Among these were 50
different excuses in a single year
for missing Sunday-School. While
still small boy an episode in his
career gave him a dislike for hair
and he determined to become a
bald-headed man. One Sunday af-
ternoon he Voluntarily exiled him
self from home and IN company
with number of playmates dis
ported himself in the waters of
Little River When he returned
home he was called upon to explain
his absence and when his father in
terrogated him concerning the
river young Willie with a straight
face established such a strong
alioi that his father was
about to apologize for mentioning
the subject of ofswimming, whenWillie