The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1922-10-26
ONE TIME BANNER
CUB SEES CHANGE
IN BENNINGTON
BILL" Pelley, now of the Movies,
in Reminiscent Mood
BACK IN BURG OF BIG NEWS
Fiction Writer Gives Credit to
Good Friends of Item
Chasing Days

Nlllidm dudley Pellev, novelist,
playwright, moving picture producer
and scene speciahst of New York, s..
lJohnsbury and Waterford. has been
spending few days in Bennington
where he was formerly for period
of two or three years attached to the
Evening Banner payroll
Pelley has progressed, At least he
has moved either forward or back.
ward and the change is apparent,
Formerly he had to spend fifteen or
twenty minutes on the street before
he could come back TO the Banner of
! flee and write a column about things
that never happened. Nowadays he
can write two columns without a
single fact and with no preparation
whatever.
One evening this week Mr.. Pelley
spent an hour at the Banner office
and produced the following, dedicat
ed to the old days when he chased
news items for the Banner:
II is a spiritual, medical and meta
physical impossbil.ty for any person
with sense OF (1) news values. ca
moral responsibility, (3) humor, IA
Keep long away from Bennington. Vt
Bennington is in fact such an Cx
cellenf town for news that nonpdreh
buns from New York, Hollywood, che
League of Nations and all pcints east
have to come back occasionally 10 in,
vestigate and ponder just why 1t
should be so.
first knew Bennington as 2 news
town back in the haicyon days when
Germany was reputed a peaceful and
industrial nation. The first news !
ever heard in or about il was that the
bloated capitalist who ran the local
paper would give me job at so much
week that he ought to have been
ashamed of himself this last To be
Interpreted in either OF the two wall-
known directions. 1t was rather
good news as believe at the time |
needed tho money.
From that day down into the prim.
rose present. Bennington has always
represented to me series OF news
thrills. Most of them were here be.
fore ! got here; goodly portion
came by accident; when in want OF
othe: 8. manufactured them. have
Always been kindly disposed toward
Bennington. 1t stood for most any
thing. 1t suffered long and was kind.
Look how long it let me live here,
albeit soaking me all it could get
The second big thrill Bennington
supplied was the discovery l could
rent a house here for eight dollars a
month; the third. that war had been
declared in Belgium and the Kaiser
would eat turkey in Buckingham
palace by Christmas OF the two. !
was most interested in the house
rent. Thereat | made subsequent
d!scoveries--a slew of them.
| learned that kindly soul by the
name of Bottum-they called nm
l"Colonel' | think because Of his gal
liant record in the civil war--at North
Bennington-ran grocery sto-o and
would trust me until Saturday night.
II learned that Bill Cullinan ran .
meat market and would throw In tho
paper and string when bought 4 dol
lars worth OF steak. Endress Broth
; ers sold cigars that would smoke, Tor
a dollar a barrel in those days and
when came in the Banner Office
; smoking them. the boss could always
locate me without loss of his valuaoie
time needed for the goyernorship. II
| wanted suit of clothes that
wouldn't rise up during the first resl
rainstorm, strangle me or part III nv
back seams with loud report, there
was Harry Cole. seemed PRETTY
we'll fixed and started in to earn my
money
did.
: News? The town was rich with It
How rich never appreciated uni
, the boss thought looked promiSins
| and promoted me to Main street and
| the front office. became tnr en-
reporter and got dubbed all oytr IN
place.
D came down in the morning ap'
. the first place visited was Ennres
. brothers. stocked upon creme
tncrp. NTtnlOS are Nttlt"' o"'N"
e a young reporter, smoking them
e people give him rich items in dam
I big hurry--to have him get out. TN
Endress cigar store was always goo
for two items (p Cal Endress nat
. gone over the Mohawk Trail the prio
6 Sunday in his roadster tyep tn
, same oneD aud GU the Fish an
3 Game Association was busteh an
4 Ed. Higgins was sick OF his job
- Next to Endress was Joe tyan
0 news room. Joe had usually been t
Troy the previous night and was ice
4 ing better that morning but MayW
Q McGurk usually knew where he an
s several others had body buried an
7 | rarely got out without "sticklu'
/ Mayme had one of the best memorie
- in town--when properly reminded
. And the only time when ! neve
caught her smiling was when he
Dodge hadn't been cranking right.
Firths barbershop was always goo