Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1923-04-12
New York. April srd. 1929


New York, April Ord, 1928
Dear Folks:
How about New York? Did you
ever have the craze to go there? Did
you ever get to wondering where
Wall st. is, what the Hippodrome is
like. How big is Central Park? What
does the inside of subway look like?
How you'd manage to cross Column
bus Circle, the worlds busiest inter-
section? Becase that's how | used to
be. Between the newspapers and
movies l got the go-to-New York
idea SO strong that the only cure
was to GO.
So one morning last fall bid you
all farewell, and in due course ar
rived at Grand Central Station. had
planned out just what I'd do first, so
neglecting even the important ques-
ton of a boarding place, | hunted up
those two story buses and took a
squint at Fifth Avenue from a high
front seat. That was great ride,
so next / tried the subway. But Oh
Boy! Such terrible noise, and the
air vase so bad / could hardly stand
it, Imagine going from And to 9Gth
street in about 10 minutes. l must
confess that's too much speed for my
country ideas, and | was good and
glad to go back by street car, even
though 1t took nearly an hour. When
it was time to eat, there was no ques-
ton which restaurant I'd visit. For
months l had planned the first meal
at the Automat, one of those nickel
in the slot places where you peek into
post office box arrangements to see
if you like the food, and then chance
a nickel that the box will open and
out comes the food. Anything from
roast beef to ice cream, or even cof-
fee, If you work the right coin box.
BY late afternoon there was no
way out of it, and / had to go hunt
up place to live. was indeed lucky
in getting a room within a few minu-
ties walk of Times Square-one of
those good-but-cheap places one
reads about. From the window we
can look up the street and see the
lights on the Astor Hotel roof-garden
Some class to that, guess? The next
couple of weeks aren't so pleasant to
remember, but l landed a fine job, in
spite of these New Workers not seem
ing very friendly to outsiders Con
ac count of not wishing to let anyone
show them what boobs they some
times are. l work in a lovely office
on the 18th floor of a building half
way uptown on Fifth Ave, and every
quarter hour we can hear the clock
in the Metropolitan Tower. At night,
especially OH rainy nights, when the
streets are SO shiny, its nice to walk
part way home and watch the people
hurrying here and there like SO many
ants. Everyone seems to have home
somewhere, but many of them ride
an hour or two to get cheap-rent
section.
l have certainly enjoyed this win
ter Everything is new, even the
people and the things they do are
different. l have watched the in
genuous way they clear away snow
and the foolish way they handle
ashes. l went to the Rodeo at Mad
ison Square Garden and saw the same
riders as at Pendleton or Cheyenne.
And Just between you and me that's
the only time / was truly homesick.
| have been to queer restaurants in
Village, to the Polo
Grounds, to all the best shows, to
public meetings, where people of ma
tional Importance spoke, and even
managed to get into private mass
of Tammany.
But the things I've done aren't a
patch to what l still want to do.
There is Washington to visit, and Mt.
Vernon, Independence Hall at Phila-
delphia, and of course Atlantic City.
But all these things take money in
large chunks. and it takes a long
time to save it, even on good pay. so
what should l do? About the time
l asked myself this question, l had an
idea. And now we come to the point
of this letter!
There must be lots Of people who
", 'uld like to visit New York-people
VII want to know how you get to
FRA nt's Tomb, how much it costs to
o % the Hippodrome, why there
REM any guns at The Battery. how
} ng i, takes to walk across Brook
Bn dge, Why Wall Street is so
r ,oked, how the Bowery looks to-
a v, and a thousand other things.
ia, you ever stop to wonder how the
VS. ZEN hana' les the $4,000 people
rho, all try 10 get into the closely
rol Iped theat. ~es between 8 o'clock
nd show time? | thought Market