Evening star., 1935-08-20
"Best Days" Here in COS
Miss VERONA Bradner, Now rs, Recalls
Lizzie LIE Grange and Others.
gay days Of reconstruction,
when gamblers were big
hearted gentlemen, saloons
Il took the place of clubs. So

TINE gay days of reconstruction,
when gamblers were big
hearted gentlemen, saloons
i took the place Of clubs. So
ciety rode behind housekeeping hack
neys and crime held Hell's Bottom by
the throat, were the best days in
Washington in the memory Of VERONA
Bradner, who grew up in q house
filled with famous personages and
circus freaks.
The Capital in the Cos was an en-
crossing place for the daughter of
hotel keeper, and Francois Bradner
ran the Franklin House. But. my, it
was long time ago, Miss Bradner
sighed yesterday.
III soon be rs. I don't remember
much" she said.
But then she told Of visit of
President Jo.lnson, the special plank
ing her father had to put under the
bed Of the fattest lady in the world,
man who played the flute with his
nose, the arrival in Washington of
the first man who had the courage
to play the xylophone, the tame ma
turity Of the Australian wild chill
dren," and Nellie Grants love OF
lavender and purple.
While she talked under an old
Georgetown tree. she waved a silver
spoon given her on her seventh birth
day anniversary by the first woman
who ever played a black face act In
variety.
Lizzie lie Grange Recalled.
Lizzie lie Grange-what fine
lady she was. 1t wasn't long after
the war. when she first came to Her.
man Hensey's Theater at Eleventh and
the Avenue, where The Star Building
Is now.
She stayed with us for long time
and this spoon she gave me Is about
the only relic I have left.
III never forget the day President
Johnson came to see her. The bellboy
told my mother he was downstairs to
see Miss lie Grange. My mother told
the boy to show Mr.. johnson into the
parlor, since it was public. Then she
and Miss LIE Grange went in and the
President was so delighted with the
actress he gave her $lO0 and a dia-
mond ring"
The roster Of freaks who STAYED
with the Bradners was long. It was
the day of glory for P. T Barnum
with his newly organized Barnum 4
Bailey Circus. His troupers. as well
as those Of the Forepaugh Circus.
whose successor. the Hagenback-Wa
lace-Sells-Forepaugh Circus. was here
last week, came regularly to the Frank
lin House and later the Tyson House,
at Seventh and P, which Bradner ran
from 1869 until 1879.
The first tight-rope walker in the
United States. the original Siamese
twins. tiny Admiral Dot (Forepaugh's
rival of Barnum's Gen. Tom Thumb
Blind Tom, the black piano PLAYER
from Warrenton; the human skeleton.
zanie. the vegetarian cannibal; the
albino woman and a host of others
were among Miss Bradners earliest
acquaintanceS.
Ihey all behaved like normal peo-
pie. except for the two Australian
Wild children'-neither wild nor chill
oren, who were fed raw meat once >
DAY by their manager, kept in an attI ,
room when they were not performing
and slept on the floor.
Mrs. Battisby, the fat lady. 700
pounds. was the wife OF the living
skeleton. Practical Mr.. Bradner nut
boards under her bed to keep 1t from
crashing through the floor.
She had heart of gold" Miss
braoner recalls. One Of the cir.
cuses had cannibal woman from the
South Seas, who died and left a cop-
per-skinned, mean-tempered daugh-
Ter named Zanie. Mrs. Battisbv
adopted the girl and raised her, but
sne was vicious and hard to handle :"
Mrs. Bradner was careful about
Whom her two daughters knew among
the neighbors.
We wern't snobbish or anything.
but my mother felt proud of the
business We were in. There were some
places, anyway, where it wasn't safe
for little girl to go alone on the
street. For instance, upin Helrs Bot
tom, around Tenth and Eleventh and
Q and P streets, where it was really
wicked. That was the real crime
center Of the city then"
Washington in Grants time was a
paradise for gamblers. They ran ele-
CANT, beautifully appointed places and
entertained the elect.
Gamblers were good people. They