Los Angeles herald., 1907-02-24

1
know, to sit idle while the procession
Of life is flowing by.
He always had liking to turn right
into the swift current, and yet to see
him today, save for the softened voice
that comes with age, you would hardly
realize that here is a man who came to
California in the early sos, who existed
through all the excitement that per-
tained to the fabulous mining deals and
who was one of the first Californians to
! have the nerve to send big stable of
sunset bred youngsters to the effete
east.
And today this self-same man, who
has made his fortune in the turn of
hand or the tick of a clock, who has
lost large portions of those fortunes
only to regain them again, is contented
| to discuss the breeding of this yearllng
or the chances Of that one.
But don't imagine that Lucky has
lost his ambition. He has always had
more than his share Of the real Ameri-
cans get-up-and-go, and now, in what
would be the shadow of most mems
lives, 1t is oozing out in the form of
dreams of the finest race track on the
Pacific slope.
Luckys air castles of years ago of the
upbuildng of Arcadia are about to be
realized. This is what the old man is
waiting for, and if anybody tells you
that he will let go his grip until he has
seen for himself what his mind has pic
tured, you tell that fellow he doesn't
know what he's talking about.
Born In Ohio
| Lucky Baldwin has a merry swing to
| It, A name that comes out of the west,
supported by a man who is truly west
ern, for all his birth in Ohio, the name
and the personality behind 1t did more
to establish the fact to the men across
the Rockies that there was California,
that there were gold mines and race
horses than any other factor.
Baldwin is softened down in many
ways. Time has left it's touch on him,
but it has not taken the fire from his
eye nor the character from his face.
It's easy enough to tell, once you have
seen him. why he has had name to
conjure with.
| 1t was born in him. But for all that,
he is easy to approach affable of man
ner and willing to engage in conversa-
tion leading in the past. Not that he
| lives in the days of long ago, or mournS
Ohio claims the honor of being the
birthplace of the man who was later to
astound the world by his marvellous
ability to turn nothing into gold. Six
miles outside the city of Hamilton lived
the Baldwin family. Baldwin sr. was
wealthy farmer, as wealth was counted
| in those days.
| He had what Californians would call
| a good ranch, and it was there his boys
got their start. The old man, it ap-
pears, had bit of sporting blood in
| his makeup, for he had some shifty
performers on four legs, and the
younger Baldwin came by his liking
| for the sport of kings honestly.
There was one thing that had a
great deal to do with our future" said
| Lucky, as he mused over the past.
| Father gave each of the boys a piece
| of land. We could do anything with
| 1t that we wanted to, raise any kind
of crops, and the profits were all ours.
That was a great thing. 1t was the
best education we could desire"
Luckys First Race
But the Baldwins did not stay for
| any length of time in Ohio after the
growing up of the family. They moved
into the northern part Of Indiana, race
horses and all. Those were troublesome
times. Black Hawk marched his army
close to the Baldwin family, and Lucky,
with the balance of the crowd was
moved into a nearby fort or stockade
for safety.
Fate had no intention of permitting
this 15-year-old boy to be scalped.
Nothing like that So the Black Hawk
wave of terror passed by on the other
side.
How did you make your first
money!" was asked Lucky recently.
a.,
Indiana prairies until 1 had $1000,"
came the answer Then 1 had some
thing to go on
And 1 suppose you did some racing
when you were youngster?"
Il have had horses ever since / was
Is years old. The first race 1 was ever
interested in? Let me see. I'll have
to tell you a story to explain that.
We were living in Indiana at the time.
and he could go some. One day a
couple of fellows from Chicago drove
up and asked for food.
"They had nag that looked as if
he had seen his best days about the
time of the ark, and the trappings
were not much better.
FINALLY they wanted to see what
we had in the way of horses and sug-
gested a race. That suited me. They
bet everything but the clothes on their
backs. l rode down my own horse and
won. They came way out there to
play me for a sucker but all the same
1 had to stake them to enough to get
them, back home.''
And Baldwin actually chuckled as
he thought of the discontinue of those
seasoned experts in the game of graft
who were prepared to fleece an inno-
cent Indiana lamb out of house and
home.
There was the start of his luck-the
element that gave him his name.
Racine, Wis, saw Lucky for a brief
time, while he ran a general merchan-
disc store and sold knitting needles to
the old ladies and farming tools and
plug cut tobacco to the men. But the
gold fever got IN in the grasp, and
as he had a brother who was picking
up a few shekels in California he just
had to come and see for himself
1t was on August 10. 1853, to be