Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1914-11-26
Story Of Humphrey and the
Amusement Resort Which
He Purchased.
STRUGGLE FOR OEcENcy
How He Drove Away the Saloons
Gave Everyone Value for His
Money, Kept tho place Decent
and Finally Won.
Nv RICHARD sPiLLANE.

Rim. Some persons may find pleas
ure and profit in dlling the soil, but
hard as ne worked. Humphrey made
little headway. lie longed for the
comforts and opportunities OF city life
aHd the more he dwelt on what the
city held In promise the more dissat.
isfied ne became with his lot Final
Iy he got so tired of cropping It,"
as Che agricuIturists call farming,
that he determined 10 sell out. lie
put the farm on tho market and got
n purchaser. Then he moved to
town.
One thing Humphrey liked was pop
corn. lie dotted on II as a boy and his
appetite for IL did not diminish as he
grew older. When he got to town
and looked around for some work
with which to employ his energies. he
did not find so many openings as he
had expected. Idleness was abhor-
rent 20 him, so. more to keep himself
engaged than with any thought OF
going into the business permanently.
ne made popcorn on his kitchen stove
and sold 1t TO men who had stands
about town ... .a ..a.
No one knows more about the art
OF popcorn making than Humphrey.
The corn should be of special
growth and 1t should be kept three
years to season and IL should be
cooked Just so, or it will not have the
flavor and delicacy that real popcorn
should have. The people who bought
Humphreys popcorn relished 1t, and
the sidewalk vendors developed q
trade In popcorn they never had
Known before. Humphrey made lit
tie money--not much, but enough to
make him ambitious to broaden his
field. Out at the lakeside was big
pleasure park. It had cost many
thousands of dollars to build. The
men who started it expected to make
a fortune. but had been disappointed.
AT first 1t did fairly well, but gradu-
ally its attractions paled. Then the
owners let it become fly paper prop
josiiion. Every visitor got stuck
hiade Money and Saved II.
Humphrey sold popcorn to the
s,esch Park people. That was one Of
the few things sold at the park for
which the people got the worth of
their money. His popcorn sold so
well there and at the stands in town
Chat Humphrey took up other lines.
Tie made old-fashioned candy and gu
CARED peanuts and gradually built up
2 trade in those articles that permit
ted him to add little to the money
he had put in bank as a result OF
the sale of a farm.
Although Humphrey prospered, the
owners of the Beach Park did not
The reputation Of the big amusement
place did not improve. Roystererf
got TO going there at night and occa
sionatly there were disgracefu
brawis. The bar did the biggest bust
mess in the establishment. Every
sideshow had a ballyhoo man and mos
OF the freaks were fakes OF the wors
order.
AS the years went on. respectable
people began to avoid the park
There always Is an element that de
Nights In riot and roar, but 1t is no
altogether profitable. The owners o
the park. facing larger and large
deficit each year. became more an
more Disguised. They saw how wron
they had been in their estimates
The city was not big enough to sur
port SO large an enterprise as tn
park The best thing they could do
they decided, was to sell the prof.
erty.
II is one thing TO want TO sell an
another to find a purchaser. Me
willing to buy lakeside parks an
having money to pay the price al
scarce. To announce the amount {
the yearly deficit would not enhanc
the value. The owners looked aroun
carefully and cautiously for a perso
upon whom they could unloal
Somehow. the popcorn man came int
calculation.
Bought Beach Park.
Il seemed ridiculous when his nan
was suggested. but investigate
showed ne had considerable none
and when the proposition was put ,
to him he gave it consideration. 7
Hooked the property over CAREFUL
lie inspected the bar and frowne
lie looked at the fakes and scowle
Everything that seemed profitable
the owners met with his disapprovi
About the only thing that pleased hi
was the location. lie looked out ov
tie lake aud his face cleared /
gazcd along the beach and seem
pleased He watched some childr
at play and nodded his head appro
ingiy. A few days later he closed
deal for the purchase of the paI
and the men who had BEEN holdil
the bag for years breathed easi'
Humphrey was the purchaser.
The popcorn man, not being part
40 strong waters, closed the bar d
first day he was In charge. In dol
this he basely deceived a large nuI