The Clio messenger., 1914-12-11
Story Of Humphrey and the
Amusement Resort Which
He Purchased.
STRUGGLE FOR DEcENcY
How He Drvve Away the Saloons,
Gave Everyone Value for He
Money, Kept the Place Decent
and Finally Won.
BY RICHARD sPILLANE.

him. Some persons may find pleas
ure and profit In tilling the soil, but.
hard as he worked, Humphrey made
little headway. 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 1t as boy and his
appetite for it 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 to him, so, more to keep himself
engaged than with any thought of
going into the business permanently,
he made popcorn on his kitcheI 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 a special
growth and it should be kept three
years to season and it 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 it, and
the sidewalk venders 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 a 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 it did fairly we'll, but gradu-
ally its 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 a 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 busi-
ness in the establishment. Every
sideshow had a 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 1t is not
altogether profitable. The owners Of
the park, facing a larger and larger
deficit each year, became more and
more disgusted. 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 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
showed he had considerable money,
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 ckildren
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.
Humphrey was the purchaser.
The popcorn man, not being partial