Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1916-02-10
CRIPPLE INVITES
PRESIDENT To
CELEBRATION
(By United Press Association)


NEW YORK, Feb. 3.-Should Pres
ident Wilson today accept Mollie
Fancher's invitation to him to attend
at her Brooklyn residence the cele-
oration Of her iftieth year in bed,
hopeless cripple, the Chief Executive
viii see little old woman in an old
fashioned four-poster, parrot on eth
ar side, a canary at the window and
an unobtrusive dog and cat somewhere
about. The President has not indicat-
de whether he will accept the invita-
ton Fifty years ago to-day little
16 year old girl, was put to bed in a
room at 100 Gates Avenue, Brooklyn.
She still is in bed She never has
been out of it, not once in fifty years.
She. never will be out again, except on
one occasion; and that occasion Mollie
Fancher laughs at, when she takes the
trouble to consider it at all.
Mollie has three children" three
fine "boys" Loretta, the eldest, is 20
and slowly dying in the glum silence
/ #. q. GRABBED old cage. His plumage,
anee brilliantly green; and his eyes,
once sparkling and sly, are as dull as
mis- conversation. Loretta is a sage
+ soul. He has ruled countless families
IF short lived cats and dogs to Mollie
Fancher's entire satisfaction. Alto
gether Loretta has served Mollie well
as son for twenty years; and he
loves her and she loves him; poor,
misnamed old man that he is.
Joe, a mere STRIPPING of II years,
is cock o the walk these days; and he
rules in high feather, with a cultural
chuckle and raucous clack that wins
1 smile from Mollie and a baleful glare
from his brother. Dickie Boy is a
mere infant; sort Of adopted on pro-
baton, you know; but though small
and somewhat frowned upon at first,
he has sung his way into the hearts
Of Mollie, Loretta and Joe in the eight
years he has been at it
And they don't have a bad time of
it at all, that quartet. They talk
about every thing, Mollie taking the
lead and choosing the subject, Joe
Cackling along empty headedly, Lor-
eta grumbling and blinking, while
modest little DickieBoy just pipes up
once in awhile.
The late Stellar McElway, founder
and editor of the Brooklyn Eagle was
one of Molie's best friends. Most of
her childhood friends. like McElWay,
have died in the last few years and
Mollie says sometimes now she ''al-
most feels like forgotten old woman"
"At first, right after the accident"
said Mollie Fancher to-day, II wanted
TO die; but soon got over that. Many
queer things have been said and writ
ten about me, but nothing is true ex-
cept that | am crippled old woman
who has been in bed fifty years. One
man here in Brooklyn years and years
ago wrote book about me telling that
| was a clarivoyant and lot of other
stuff. IF I'm a clarivoyant or any of
The queer things he said about me,
don't know it. About the most wond-
erful thing about me, (and it isn't
wonderful at all because anybody can
prove it,, is that my life has proved
that the human soul is greater than
the body"
MoIlie Fancher is an ardent suffra-
gist, reads great deal, has some
very decided opinion about the war
that are far from anything even re-
motely resembling neutrality; and is
much alive and Extraordinarily act
i've woman, considering that she has
at been out Of bed for half hundred
years.