The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1934-06-15
ZEKE'S BEER
GARDEN
g
By r. K. WILKINSON
@ Bell wNU Service.

1 III LA ~ hhOWn <<Chc ldlIOE LOI a
| score of years.
i He is an old man now, one of
Dexter's oldest inhabitants.
He should, at his age, be retired
from active business, should be spend
! ing declining years as most old men of
Dexter spend tEem-spinning yarns
with Elmer Stone and Sam Cook on
the veranda of the SuncOok hotel, or
seated comfortably before the open
fire of his own home with glowing pipe
and pleasant dreams.
That's how 1t should be, for 1t is
these simple things from which Dex-
! ter folk derive their greatest pleasure.
But Zeke cannot retire and live on
his savings, for no savings have been
set aside for this purpose.
Some say he lacked in thrift and
foresight during the days when his
little grocery store. with its lunch
counter stretched across one side of ii.
knew lively business.
| Some say he was shiftless and lazy.
But those of us who have been close
| ~ dSSO(ldtCu Will Zchc hLOW THAT
none of these accusations are founded
on truth or fact.
Zeke might not have been attentive
to business, but he was never shiftless
or lazy.
His life has been one filled with
| little deeds of kindness.
And from them he derived his keen
est enjoyment
Zeke Taylor has been friend to every
man who crossed his path.
Quite forgetful of his own future,
he has helped this one in distress,
counseled that one In matters of grave
Importance, lent moral and financial
support to countless charitable move
ments and unself1shly denied himself
when some stricken brother was sore
ly in need of aid.
But now that Zeke is aged, these
things are forgotten.
store for chat, and found him sunk
into the depths of gloom.
He was, he told me, contemplating
bankruptcy.
His creditors were pressing.
Business was going across the street
to the new modern lunch room, re-
Gently opened.
The old man was sorely hurt, in
wardly wincing at thoughts of failure
and being on the town.
1t was about this time that the tax
payers of the United States were, in
a manner of speaking, quite steamed
up over the beer and light-wine issue.
1t seemed almost inevitable that three
point two would be legalized.
l mentioned this to Zeke and he
frightened considerably.
One thing led to another and 1t
wasn't long before Zeke's ordinarily
lively imagination took on new lease
Of life and began to function.
| / followed him through the rear door
of the place and into the space beyond
There was green lawn here and
a shade tree or two.
Almost instantly | sensed what was
| in the old mans mind. A beer gar
den! A real old fashioned beer gar
| den!
The spot was ideal; the location per-
feet; the old and musty surroundings
especially inducive.
Moreover. there wasn't another
store or lunch room In town so nat
urally and adequately equipped for the
| purpose.
We discussed the idea at length.
| And the more we talked the brighter
became the look in Zeke's eyes
His enthusiasm and eagerness, re-
sembling that of child. brought a
| lump to my throat.
/ fell in with Zeke's plans quite
whole-heartedly. And when a frown
suddenly appeared on his face at some
abrupt thought, l actually became
| alarmed.
The establishment Of beer garden
would, he remembered, entail the ex-
penditure of a sum of money. And
| Zeke at the moment was absolutely
pennilesS.
| OF course, l agreed to provide the
necessary funds, an act which, l be-
lieve. has given me more pleasure than
any equal expenditure prior to or
after that day.
There was no need, l told myself,
to let Zeke know that the money |
| invested was the extent of my entire
savings; that. should the beer garden
experiment go to seed, | would be as
penniless as he.
And so. in the utmost secrecy, we
went ahead with our plans.
None of the dozens of folks who
passed daily to and fro in the street
before Zeke's store so much as sus-
pected that in the plot beyond the rear
| door real and enchanting beer gar
den was being constructed.
Zeke, despite his decrepitness,
worked like a Trojan.