Daily Kennebec journal., 1925-08-19

The most extraordinary HONEYMOON
tour In the world. Such might be the
characterization OF the five-year hike
which Mr.. and Mrs. c. J. Flynn of will
mington, N. c.. are making They have
been over two years on the road, all of
that time THE Man Around the
World has been shackled and chained
to his 7S-pound pack. With their ar
rival in Augusta Tuesday afternoon
they have but one more state capital
to visit and they will have visited all
4S Of the states and obtained the sig
natures of the governors and the state
seals. Mr.. and Mrs. Flynn have an
appointment with Governor Brewster
at the executive department at the
State House this forenoon and then
they will be on their way to Mont
pelier. VT, the last state capital to be
visited before they sail across the At
lantic to travel through the British
Isles, the Continent and then Asia and
Africa.
Twenty thousand miles of highroad
lie behind this couple, who were mar
ried at Wilmington, n. c., on June 5.
1923. and the next morning started on
the five-year jaunt. Flynn is manacled
to his heavy pack by his right wrist.
This is to alloy the suspicious of the
skeptical as to his carrying the pack.
The shackles are double locked and
soldered and tha keyholes plugged
with molten metal. and every link of
the eight-foot chain is welded. 1t is
possible for Flynn to take the pack
of his shoulders and hef1as eight feet
Of leeway to enable him to pitch camp
and sleep free Of his burden.
Wounded War Veteran
Flynn is a wounded veteran Of the
World War and he and his young bride
were prompted to start their extraor-
dinary adventure In an effort to re-
store health to the war vet who, be-
sides shrapnel and bayonet wounds
which he received in the Belleau Wood
and Argonne fighting IN 1918, was Sc
yerely gassed. He served overseas
with. the 11Sth Infantry of the S0th
"Old Hickory" Division. He is MEM
ber of the American Legion and his
membership card for 1925 is in post
in a little Oklahoma town where he
and his partners were at the begin
ming OF the present year.
Mrs. Flynn carries 2s-pound sack
of her own and is an able and COM
petent appearing helpmate for her
hiking husband. The little lady isNbut
% years old and is petite and attrac-
tive little woman with bobbed hair
and of the present day American ath-
1etic girl type. She is pleasurably
anticipating the trip through Europe
as she can speak little Spanish and
ts confident that with her husbands
conversational French, picked up IN
two years service with the American
Expeditionary Force, they will get
along bravely. Mrs. Flynn-'Lulu,"
her husband affectionately calls her
also admitted diffidently that she
could speak few phrases In Chinese
Third Member of Party
The strange pair of perpetual
honey-mooners are accompanied by
Frank Merrill, also of North caro-
lima. who is minus his left arm just
above the elbow, due to an accident
some nineteen years ago. Mr.. Mer-
rtlI was formerly an entertainer on
the Keith circuit and has much IN
common with Flynn, as, though ne
was physically incapacitated Tor
service in the fighting units, succeed
ed in getting "over there" as an en-
tertainer with the Overseas Thfat-
rical League.
Credentials testifying to the gen.
uineness of their stunt and to their
own character are carried pasted on
to a long roll of oilcloth. The trio
also carry a big bound record book
in which are the collected sigma
lures of the mayors and chiefs of
police of every city which they visit,
also the autographs of the governor
of every state in the Union, except
Maine. and Vermont, and these two
will be added this week. and the
signatures of secretaries of state.
The city and state great seals are
also a part of the official data col
1ected. The book, which the mixers
had with them in this city last even
- l.. 41.o eaoond Cor heir two Years. |