Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-06-26
DICK MARTIN DEAD.

ulCk MAkIlN UEAu.
 We'll Known Printer and Good Eel
 low Dies Suddenly.
 About fifteen years ago there arr rived in Waterbury little. low sized man, whose hair was thickly sprin- kled with gray and who might pass for a man of from 40 to 50 years ot age. A printer by trade, he quickly secured work at the Waterbury Paper
 Box company on Canal street. He gave his name as Richard Martin and his former residence as somewhere in
 New York state. He was a sort of recluse for his first few months in this city and kept to himself, eating alone, sleeping alone and making no attempts to form acquaintances. Shortly after his arrival he wandered into J. E. Watts cafe on South Main street and asked politely if he could read one of the daily papers. The per mission was granted and every day from that time up to last evening, when the end came, Dick Martin, as he came to be known, was as regular as scholar at school in reading the New York papers in this cafe. His quiet, unasSuming manners attract ed the attention of the regular pat rons of the place and they began to make inquiries about the little old man, as they called him. Finally af- ter weeks had passed by he asked permission to join in one of the social games that was in progress, which was also granted, and from that time he began to make friends and hold them. Everybody liked him and the party was not fully completed unless Dick Martin was with them. Jolly of
 nature, bubbling over with good fel- lowship, friend to everybody, the first to go down in his pocket to as- sist an unfortunate, it was no wonder that he made friends and made them to keep. He was not a college edu- cated man, but he was one of the old
 school, that has read much and re- tained what he had read. AS the l years rolled on, Dick was taken into | the confidence of MT Watts and had 1 charge of his place in the absence of the proprietor on many occasions. | He was as faithful in this work as | he was a true friend, so faithful in deed that many of his best friends enjoyed many an hour trying to pro- | voken him into a violation of the rules of the house, which always end ed in failure. He was as good as they | make them and that expresses the
 whole thing. l After being employed at the Canal l street establishment for some years
 he entered the employ of the Water bury Printing company on Bank street where he remained for nine years. He never had been a union printer, but at this time the unions | were booming in Waterbury and Dick | like all the rest would not remain outside the ranks. From the Water
 bury Printing company he came to | the Democrat office where he re- mained but a short time when he
 took position in the composing room of the Waterbury American, where he was employed up to the time of his death. He was good | workman, conscientious and regular as clock. He worked yesterday until
 the usual hour for quitting and then, as was his usual custom, wandered
 down to the Watts cafe. Here he joked with several of his friends and sat down at one of the tables to en- | joy a game of cards before his sup per. Suddenly he was seen to turn white and topple over in his chair.
 Kind hands seized him while and ann bulance was summoned and he was 1 conveyed to his rooms in the Mortar
 ty block on East Main street. Here | the Elks took charge of him and Dr Moriarty and a nurse were summon
 ed. He was unconscious from the l time he was first attacked with the | paralytic shock until his death which
 came at 1:20 this morning. The fu- neral arrangements have not yet been
 made.
 In the death of Richard Martin,
 printer, a man of mystery has passed
 away, and those who were his closest | friends for years, are wondering II
 they really knew Little Dick" as he was familiarity known, as well as they believed they did. Not one of his friends to-day could sit down and
 write out an obituary notice that
 would give facts that were facts, with
 possibly one exception. Even this one | friend is at sea as regards his entire family history, and even in his most
 loauacious moments Dick Martin
 kept the time lock on that portion of his life before his arrival in Water
 bury closely guarded. Many times
 would he discourse on his boyhood days down around Brooklyn and New
 York. but just when you would ex- meet that he was about to tell you just how he left his native city and came to Waterbury, the gates would shut and you were left in the dark
 as much as though he had never
 spoken. Born and raised as he was
 in New York state and all his early life spent in and around the city oi New York, 1t was impossible to in-
 duce him under any pretext to take
 A few days vacation 10 revisit his old haunts. There was just one ex- ception to this rule. for he made it a rule. and that happened last year
 when the Elks held their annual con-
 yentton in Buffalo. His love for the
 one organization, aside from the ty-
 geographical union to which he be-
 longed, persuaded him 10 break this ironelad rule and he went with all
 the others from this city and enjoyed the time spent in Buffalo. He did not
 return, however, with the others. foI
 he paid a visit ostensibly to his old
 home. He took no friend with him and whether he saw any of his rela' tiyes or whether any are still living he was evasive when pressed for ar
 - c...o. ,,-,s bia aarIv life as