Omaha daily bee., 1910-10-02

N4$SRI years ago than most Oh tne men
theaters now. He knows 1t at first hand
because he was here, penniless out of
job, with a wife and a honeymoon on his
hands and he had TO find out something
about the business to get away from here.
In his dressing room Sunday night Mr.,
Ross, clad as Immediately and fasudiously
in street clothes as he ever is on the
stage was found reading a New York
theatrical daily.
See there" he said, holding up the sheet,
my wife is now at the head of the Tele-
graph popularity contest-see-Mabel Ross
Fenton, 1900 votes. My wife is down on
our ranch near Asbury park taking care
Of some new greenhouses. We've got the
finest roadhouse in the country near there,
leased out to a man who runs it. My wife
didn't want to go into this little vaudeville
venture, and this is the first time we have
been separated in years. The team of Ross
and Fenton has always worked together
That team started right here in Omaha
! back in 1857 Yes. sir, came here from Dead
wood where we were married. l was
young chap and doing my turn along with
the rest of them i'm a music hall joint in
Deadwood when Miss Fenton came on from
the east. If she had known what she was
getting into she never would have come,
I'm sure Of that. She seemed like a superior
sort Of a girl right at the start, and I
wasn't slow to see that she didn't like the
surroundings. The place was cheap and
! tough. with sawdust on the floor and every
thing disagreeable. I volunteered TO take
care Of her and turned her over TO my
landlady until We were married That was
just four days later, and we started out
for Omaha together.
The first place ] ever worked in here
was a saloon on Twelfth street, run by a
fellow named Sandy Mcknight. Sandy had
few vaudeville turns to attract customers
and he offered me a dollar and half a
night to sing for him l was at that for
| two or three nights singing to amuse a
| gang that hung around the town until a
! fellow named Henry Farris theatrical
magnate of those days drlfted in with his
! partner After l did my turn FarTis re-
marked to his partner that | knew some
| thing about the business and could be Sc
cured for the music hall, Those two ran
some sort Of theater down in the lower
end Of town, I've forgotten just where 1t
was, and l was Offered a job
The first night ] was on the stage and
my wife sat In the front row, but after that
night we went on together as Fenton and
Ross. The team was formed and it has
hung together ever since Afterwards we
changed It to Ross and Fenton, because IL
was more euphonlous that way We got
| just twenty a week-the two of US. That $
not much Of a salary, but we didn't stay
there very long. We packed up and went
east ras soon as We had enough money.
That's how the team was organized; Ia
do a specially act in Omaha variety
show when Omaha was a wild western
| town. Since that we've seen a good many
other sorts OF theaters and sDeaking OF
stage marriages, this is one that has LASTED
Omaha was a queer place then. OF
course II Is natural for a western town e
grow, but few Of them change in the samt
way that Omaha has. Just seven years ag,
with the Weber and Fields all star com
pany, Mrs. Ross and / were here again
It was a very different place then from
what il was when We left It. and IL hal
changed almost as much since then as be
fore
1T has grown so much more metropoli
tan. For example, / can step out in tn
morning and get New York paper onl!
day old and IL seems almost like beinl
at home. And your stores / don't believ
lyou will find better department stor