The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1914-12-11
Story of Humphrey and the
Amusement Resort Which
He Purchased. ,-,
STRUGGLE FOR DEcENCY
How He Drove Away the Saloons,
Gave Everyone Value for His
Money, Kept the Place Decent
and Finally Won.
BY RICHARD sPILLANE.

him. Some persons may find pleas
ure and profit in filling the soil, but
hard as he worked, Humphrey made
little Roadway. He longed for the
comforts and opportunities of city life
and the more he dwelt on what the
city held in promise the more dissat
isfied he became with his lot. Final
ly he got so tired of cropping it,
as the agriculturists call farming
that he determined to sell out. He
put the farm on the market and got
a purchaser. Then he moved to
town.
One thing Humphrey liked was pop.
corn. He dotted on it as boy and his
appetite for it did not diminish as he
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 abhor7
rent to him, so, more to keep himself
engaged than with any thought of
going into the business permanently,
he made popcorn on his kitchen stove
and sold it to men who had stands
about town.
No one knows more about the art
of popcorn making than Humphrey.
The corn should be of special
growth and it should be kept three
years to season and it should be
cooked just so, or it will not have the
favor and delicacy that real popcorn
should have. The people who bought
Humphreys popcorn relished it, and
the sidewalk vendors developed
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 1t had cost many
thousands of dollars to build. The
men who started it expected to make
a fortune, but had been disappointed
At first it did fairly well, but gradu-
ally it's attractions paled. Then the
owners let it become a fly paper prop
osition. Every visitor got stuck.
Made Money and Saved 1t.
Humphrey sold popcorn to the
Beach 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
we'll there and at the stands in town
that Humphrey took up other lines.
He made old-fashioned candy and SUI
CARED peanuts and gradually built up
a trade in those articles that permit
ted him to add little to the money
he had put in a bank as result of
the sale of farm.
Although Humphrey prospered, the
owners of the Beach Park did not
The reputation of the big amusement
place did not improve. Roysterers
got to going there at night and occa-
sionally there were disgraceful
brawls. The bar did the biggest bust |
ness in the establishment. Every |
sideshow had ballyhoo man and most |
of the freaks we're fakes of the worst |
order.
AS the years went on, respectable |
people began to avoid the park.
There always is an element that de-
lights in riot and roar, but it is not |
altogether profitable. The owners of |
the park, facing a larger and larger |
deficit each year, became more and |
more disguised. They saw how wrong |
they had been in their estimates |
The city was not big enough to sup |
port so large an enterprise as the |
park. The best thing they could do, |
they decided, was to sell the prop |
erty.
1t is one thing to want to sell and
another to find a purchaser. Men |
willing to buy lakeside parks and
having money to pay the price are
scarce. To announce the amount of
the yearly deficit would not enhance
the value. The owners looked around
carefully and cautiously for a person
upon whom they could unload.
Somehow, the popcorn man came into
calculation.
Bought Beach Park.
1t seemed ridiculous when his name
was suggested, but investigation
SuOWeu he udu COllSlu6IdDI6 uOH6yy
and when the proposition was put up
to him he gave it consideration. He
looked the property over carefully.
He inspected the bar and frowned.
He looked at the fakes and scowled.
Everything that seemed profitable to
the owners met with his disapproval.
About the only thing that pleased him
was the location. He looked out over
the lake and his face cleared. He
gazed along the beach and seemed
pleased He watched some children
at play, and nodded his head APPROX
ingly. A few days later he closed a
deal for the purchase of the park,
and the men who had been holding
the bag for years breathed easier.
was the purchaser.
The popcorn man, not being partial
to strong waters, closed the bar the
first day he was in charge. In doing
ybic he baco1v docaivod largo MINI