Omaha daily bee., 1915-06-27
BLIND WALTER Is
lOFP TO THE PICNIC
His Store" is Closed Because He
and 500 Others Attend the City
Mission Outing.
THEY FILL NINE STREET CARS

II you happened TO need a pencil
o. a pencil holder when you we're
lear Sixteenth and Farnam streets,
and IL you thought to yourself,
We'll, I'll just drop over and buy
one from this blind boy that stands
on the corner" you found. when you
arrived at the corner, that the blind
boy was not there.
Business as usual" Monday. But
Blind Walter" was off at the City
mission picnic.
The hot sun did not beat down upon
his patient head as he stood beside the
mail box and called out his wares. He
did not shift from one weary foot to the
other He was not jostled about by busy
crowds.
Goes TO Miller Park.
He was out at Miller park all day. He
sat in the shade of the trees and natures
soft breezes famed his cheek. He felt
the grass. He smelled the flowers, Kind
hands ministered to him. A king couldn't
have. had it better than Blind Walter
rest. comfort, kindness and everything he
wanted to eat from sandwiches to ice
cream and lemonade.
Walter was only one OF about 90 who
spent the day out at the park. They got
all early start so as to stay just as Iona
as possible. 1t was but little after y
o'clock in the morning when nine street
cars arrived at Twelfth and Howard
streets where the crowd was waiting.
These cars were furnished free by the
Omaha & Council Bluffs Street Railway
company.
Miss MCGEE was there with many vol
unteer assistants, including Mrs. George
Doane. Charles F. Robel, Tom Robel.
,hohn Robel Grace Robel and II. ]. Stir
hg But when the crowd saw those
CARS the whole police force couldn't have
held them back. It looked like storming
the trenches over in Europe. None of
those kiddnes was taking a chance on
getting left out of the picnic not after
) he had talked about Il and dreamed about
II for weeks.
And Such n Noise.
And away went the cars, the boys
whistling and the girls shouting. little
cripples holding their crutches and smil-
ing like baskets Of chips on the way
to1 a bonfire"
Such q noisel My It sounded like
Juvenile riot on wheels. But it was the
kind Of riot you read about, "a riot of
fun "a riot of Joy And the police
men along the route didn't stop the riot.
They just smiled And all the people
that saw the nine cars gliding along
smiled, and everybody was glad that the
folks were off for good time.
Miller park Nobody needed to be told
The conductors nearly had heart failure
keeping the kids from jumping off before
the cars stopped. And then away scam
pered a thousand feet over the grass
Some of the boys had been there before
and they assumed airs of great Inn
portance. leading their comrades straight
to the lake. whore. in q fifty. they were
in the water.
Are Enjoying the Outing.
The girls were soon absorbed in the
delights of Ring Around a Rosy and
other girl games. The small babies were
rolling in bliss on the grass, while their
tired mothers just sat and enjoyed per-
feet rest and the good fresh air and the
happiness of their little ones.
A committee Of small boys guided
Blind Walter around the park and ex-
planned everything to him. He had about
fifty pairs of sharp eyes to see things
for him. and fifty babbling tongues to
explain the beauties Of the park
Then came the eats" and the way
the sandwiches and potato salad and
things disappeared was a caution. And
the ice cream! 1t surely didn't have a
finance to melt.
4 Several base ball games were holly
contested, particularly that between the
\ M. B. Boosters" and king Arthur's
Boys"