The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-09-29
ON SECOND THOUGHT
BY JAY E. HOUSE
(From Philadelphia Public Ledger.)

Greenfield, Ind, Sept. 20.
Les go a-vistin' back to Grigsby Station,
Back where we used to be so happy and
pore"
When James Whiteomb Riley wrote
the chaplet of verses from which the
foregoing is a quotation he had.
Greenfield in mind But Mr.. Riley
preferred Indianapolis as a steady
place of residence and spent prac-
tically all of the years that brought
him fame and prosperity there. 1t is
much easier and infinitely more COM
Portable to grow lyrteaIly tender over
a country town than it is to live in II
after one has acquired advanced
tastes in food, drink, amusement, en-
tertainment and interior decoration.
We, too, would have preferred to go
on to Indianapolis tonight 1t is only
twenty miles or SO, and they say
there is only ono detour. They said
the same thing at Richmond this
afternoon, and Adelaide and 1 now
are in controversy as to whether
there were five or six. adelaide says
there were six I have already won
one controversy on this trip, which is
a good average for me, SO 1 assume
there were six detours between Rich
l-ond and Greenfield. But do not
intend to concede the point at this
time. Some time in the future, per-
L
preferred to go on to indianapolis.
We preferred to do so before We saw
the hotel here. Now we are Sorrier
about it than ever. But one who goes
a-shrining must visit his shrines.
1t was from Greenfield that Jim
Riley went out to fight his initial
battles with the world, first as an
itinerant sign painter and afterward
as d member of a company of enter
tanners engaged in proclaiming the
virtues of certain proprietary rem
edy. 1t was to Greenfield he re-
treated after he had suffered his first
lived in Greenfield and died there.
So did "The Raggedy Man" and others
of his bucoiic characters. Riley got
his types at first hand, but his In
diana dialect always seemed bit
overturned to me. Years ago l
wasn't an Indianian in town who
could speak Riley's dialect. The clos
est imitation of Riley's dialect I
heard was given by printer from
Vermont. Be that as it may, Green
field was the locale about which Riley
wove much of his poesy. A vale of
green skirts the town on the east.
That is Brandywine creek and it's con-
tiguous flora. THE Old Swimmin'
Hole is just upstream from the point
at which the national road crosses the
Brandywine and is only a quarter of
mile distant from the towns busy
center. I meandered down for a
glimpse of it. THE Old Swimmin'
Hole" is no Atlantic City when it
comes to that, but it is up to the
average of natures natatoriums as
they are exe4nplified in the smaller
where a man with a nice tiled bath
room, and maybe a shower. in his
home in Indianapolis might write a
fine bit of verse about it.
There is one thing to say for Green
field: it hasn't forgotten its most dis
tinguished son. If the chance visitor
to Greenfield does not mention the
fact that it is Riley's town he is re-
minded of it. This lack of restraint on
the part of rural community is unique
and refreshing. Usually one who
wishes to extract information concern
ing a famous man from a native of
the b'gosh community from which ,he
sprang must do it with a Jimmy and
an electric flashiight. But Greenfield
talks readily of Riley and takes pleas
ure in doing so. When I expressed a
desire to see abe "Old Swimmin Hole
three different gentlemen volunteered
to guide me to it. The old Riley
homestead, the house in which Whit
kept Colonial house on Greenfield s
main street. 1t still is in the family;
one of Riley's sisters lives in it. 1t is
open to visitors and contains many
articles of interest to Riley's admirers.
A few will remember that subsequent
to Riiey's death a COLLECTION for the
purpose of erecting a statue to his
memory was TAKEN AS 1 remember it,
the school children of the country
were asked to contribute a penny
apiece to a memorial fund. Pretty
nearly every pupil supplied his penny.
The statue, a faithful bronze of the
Hoosier poet, stands on the green
sward in front of the court house in
Greenfield. 1t is the most conspicu-
Gus single object in the town. 1t
depicts Riley clothed in the sartorial
accessories of his reading tours, which,
it will be rememb ered, were a double
breasted frock coat and a cape over
coat.
We slipped quietly thru the presi-
dental timber belt of Southern Ohio
without untoward incident. In Dayton
1 was reminded of the fate of Jimmy
Cox, who went into a presidential
campaign with a half interest in q
tannery and came out of it with a
shoestring. Xenia, the most grace
full country town we saw in Ohio,
brought back memories of William
Dean Howells. 1t was in Xenia that
Howells' father ran the village paper.
Here Howells learned to set type. His
last novel was placed somewhere in
the vicinity of the town. I remember
reading in Howells' "reminiscences that
his regular stint in his fathers office
was a galley of BREWER a day, After
he had set his column of type he could
do as he chose. but he needs first
/ must perform the task assigned to
him. I think 1t was Xenia, Adelaide
thinks Howells came from Mount
Pleasant. I leave it to the managing
editor. If 1t wasn't Xenia he can kill
the excess baggage in this paragraph.
If it was, he has my permission to let
it ride as it is written.~
An incident that happened in Day
ton made the day for me. Beca use
it seemed to be the most convenient
place, we went into the restaurant of
the, railway station for a hasty lunch
con. While waiting to be served we
fell SnpculafinR TO the identity