The Washington times., 1936-07-27
! THE VOICE OF
Broadway
-ByLOuiS SObOI-
Odds and Ends!


"And Eddie Cantor-believe II
or not-is sure that there viii
never be another thrill like the one
he got not over q month ago wher
nurses brought out, instead Of the
expected boy baby, another girl"-
from a Columbia BroadcaStinf
publicity release, dated July %
1895.
Holding out on us, hey!!
The much Odder Mr.. Mcintyre
and the winsome Mr.. Wilful Corun
have been annoying me consider
ably lately with their Boosting rel
erences to Gallipolis, Ohio. anc
Boonville, Mo. Occasionally, I ma!
have annoyed them with veileC
hints of early boyhood days il
Waterbury, Conn.,, and New Haven
Conn.,, but it has occurred to mt
there is no such sound swing RIM
to Waterbury or New Haven q!
there is GallipoliS and Boonville.
have, therefore, adopted town.
LithopoliS. Ohio. Bring on YOU
Gallipolis and your Boonville, my
hearties-I match you with Litho
polls.
There are $50 inhabitants in
LithOpOliS, OhiO-rarely more
never less. There are 2O8 houses,
not counting barns and garages,
which are kept in constant re-
pair, occasionally and rebuilt
but never Is there q new house
added. No new folks have drifted
into LithOpOlis from other Sec
tons, yet because Of the equa-
ton Of birth and death. the
population remains around $50.
Paling fences divide the front
yards. Well designed and cared
for flower gardens grace back
and front Of the homes, and at
the end Of Main Street Is a
stately cemetery shaded by pop
lars, spruce and elmS. The bust
ness section of the town is con-
fined to q single block of stores
"A general store, drug store,
butcher shop, millinery shop
hugging the post office, a black
smith and hardware store which
also sells plOwS and cOffinS.
There are four churches at
which to pray to your God, or be
prayed at and for, by your favorite
minister. There are two business
Streets-one of which is Main-the
other has always remained un.
named. On the unnamed street
there is one Shop-run by an en-.
terprising woman named Alta
Jungkurth-who makes tomb,
stones. I must tell you about these
tombstoneS. The people of Lithop
oils have an idiosyncrasy. They re
place crumbling tombStones from
time to time with more up-to-date
memorial StoneS-and the old ones
are put to use for street pavement
or perhaps as flagstones for your
garden walks. There is one step
leading to a porch which reads:
Mr.. Meierhaus who left this
world in 1912"
I understand that in this
town was born and lived, Mabel
Wagnalls, daughter of the pub
Usher Of the Funk and Wag.
nails dictionary. In her read.
ing she came across the works
OF someone who called himself
20. Henry" and promptly wrote
to his publishers and inquired:
"IS o. Henry man, woman or
wraith~ The publishers for
warded this letter to the au-
thor who wrote in turn to her
and there developed from this
o famous platOnic friendship
which enriched American litera-
ture with some Of the most in
teresting and vital letters that
BIZ Porter ever wrote. Upon
his death, Miss WagnaIls
erected memorial library
which is the outstanding struc-
ture in town.
LithopoliS, Ohio, is seven miles
from the nearest railroad Juno
ton and If you think it's a myth
study large map and look fol
1t-just south Of Columbus.
Miss Hazel Flynn is a handsome
enegetic young lady connected
with the publicity department Of
the Radio City Music Hall. Re
Gently, she made the mistake Of
being in an automobile crash from
which she emerged shaken ir
nerves and in body. "You must
have a complete rest" urged a
close friend. II want you to move
out to my home in Queens where
you will have the place to yourself
in complete quiet, with not q
soul around"
The other day, in the dark,
early hours of the new morn,
Miss Flynn heard the dog bark
ing-fOllOwed by considerable
cOmmOtion. Sirens screamed
shots rang out. She ran out just
as the police shot down q man
trying to enter her house. Miss
Flynn is now seeking a more
reStful place in which to recover
somewhere in Times Square, for