The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1941-10-16
JAS. CAUCHREN'S
DUMMIES GIVEN
MUCH PUBLICITY

corning James Caughren, of New
York City, son Of III. J. Caughren,
Of Osakis, appeared in recent
issue Of the New York Times, the
author being Julia Mccarthy.
Under the caption, Dummies
Birthplace a Weird Spot" and ac-
!companied by a two-column picture
Of Caughren and his partner, the
following story was printed:
Little window dummies, or dis
play mannequins, who ask Where
did come from, Mummy" seem
to stand no chance Of getting an
honest answer from their stony
Tipped, mink-draped mothers.
So this article aims to tell them,
and you, that some of them come
from the Pitta Studios in w. 21st
ST., and that their parents names
are James Caughren, 33, from Min
nesota, and Fernand Alvarez, 90,
from Portugal, to go back a little
further, the mannequins' grandpas
will be found to be ~ a genuine
Main Streeter, a schoolmate Of
Author Sinclair Lewis in Sank Cen
tire, Minn.-that's on the paternal
side. And (2) a bullfighter from
the island Of Madeira-that's on
the maternal, or Miss Alvarez side
Of the dummy dynasty.
Main Streets Mr.. Caughren (pro-
nounced Cochran) and Madeira's
Miss Alvarez are partners in this
weirdly beautiful venture that
would give you the screaming will
lies If you should visit their NOR
guelike atelier some moonlit mid
night.
Around the floor of their three
decker studios lie the dream crea-
lures the Minnesota-M Madeira COM
bination bring into this realistic
world: whole and half women in
pink, blue, yellow and brick color;
head-and shoulders-only women,
some with swans necks and heads
rising above bodies of gris.y
curves, others like hatracks with
five sets Of arms and hands (used
to display jewelry, scarves).
James and Fernand nearly got
married once. But they were al
ways so busy in the studios that
they never had time to get down
to City Hall-together. Each fin
ally wed someone else: Caughren is
married to Meredith Langworthy,
who has job with the Parkches-
ter project; Fernand's husband is
Lucien Henri, who, she says, Is a
Hollywood director.
Q. What becomes Of these dam
sells after their gay lives decked
with Jewels and furs in Fifth Aven-
ue window? A. tfrom Fernand)
stories Of the high-style type that
buy our mannequins order about
four sets a year, use and reuse
them, have them changed a bit and
refinished, finally sell them to
smaller, less well-known stores.
Biographies Of the partners:
Caughren left Main st. first for
Carleton College, at Mortified.
Mimi, later for, Chica's Art In
stitute He made two trips 20 New
York City-the first an ;outstand-
ing flop. He hitchThiked west and
after a dull Manhattan year selling
cigars, cigarettes ana magazines in
an uptown hotel Repeal gave him
a chance to paint mural for a
Sank Centre saloon! He came back
east on a train, designed murals,
costumes and Mosques for the Fed
eral Theatre Project. d
Fernand says her father, bull
fighter Alfonso Alvarez, whose five
children cried all through all Of his
arena performances, survived to go
first to South, then North Ameri-
ca, working as a glove-maker. His
family Joined him, in New York.
At Washington Irving High School
Fernand's talents became appar-
ent. She started out as an appren-
tice to Rene Bufano, designed rugs
and textiles, was head for a time
of the Miniature Golf Co.'s art
department.-Ex.