The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1941-11-13
HMk'nndhs1
FL iT%'si;
~ NORTH CALLAHAN

This was shown by the close cleo
ton. But he has come to be an ac-
cepted part of normal Gotham life.
NV most vivid memory of the little
mayor is the time / was chasing
him for an MISREPRESENTATION an
appointment. 1t was during my first
visit to New York, just when l was
busy gawking at all the sights. One
day / got a telephone call from my
newspaper telling me to interview
the mayor and get a picture of him.
Assigned as camera man was the
veteran Frank inertia of Acme News
pictures. One would think it would
be no hard thing for a big picture
agency to get an appointment but
after we had tried for two days, we
learned from his staff that there
was no time available for us to see
his Honor. "The mayor is all tied
up for at least a week, they said.
Well, Frank and l decided to go
after him and get the Interviewer
else. We learned he was at the city
hall so we dashed down there, set
up the camera in an ante-room and
then went to work on the staff. 1t
happened that Frank knew one of
the guards and | had scraped up a
talking acquaintance with a secre-
tary. After considerable argument
and persuasion, we finally succeeded
II getting permission to see the may
~r-if we could catch him on the run
incc he was due to leave town at
Don sharp. At 1880 A. M. we
were a%nxiously waiting in the main
all when we spied the Little Flow
70 coming out Of a meeting and
riding down toward us, surrounded
guards and attendants. Square in
Path we plunked ourselves and
scn he came up we addressed him
Xcitedly. He stared at US, then look
= his guards. They nodded and
Ia Guardia saw we had gotten
far-in fact it was the first he
wv of u trying to contact him
sreiled amiably and stepped into
nre-room as we requested. There
he posed for the picture and ans
r~sd all my questions. Our con-
'lnsion: he is a fine fellow.
-oOo-
On the corner of 4Sth Street
nd Lexington Avenue there is an
Intriguing place. 1t is the oldest
drug store in America. The name
is Caswell-Massey and tie owners
! proudly state - with evidence to
prove it - that their store is 165
wears old. Wondering how this ven-
cradle firm was wearing its age, I
dropped in there the other day. At
the shiny soda fountain, the loqu-
acious clerk informed me that l was
sitting where John D. Rockefeller US
ually sits when he comes in for q
soda. From this, it developed the
drug store is a rather exclusive
one, a fact which was also borne out
by the Is cents which my coca cola
cost. Eyeing a small bottle of colo
gne, l ventured to ask its price and
learned it was s25. An observation
that this seemed somewhat steep in
price brought the answer that Saran
Bernhard, Ellen Terry, Fanny Dav-
enport, Lillian Russell and Julia
Marlowe had paid this for the brand
and liked it. This lineup, of course,
was impressive enough.
The drug store is not large. And
most of it is modern. But one of its
visible slogans says it has been
serving the public since the time Of
George Washington" High in corner
shelves may be seer old p~estles, drug
jars and toilet articles, the only sur
vivors of early days On top Of one
shelf, an ancient brass bell reposes.
The clerk said that in the olden days
this was kept outside the door so that
forgetful persons who came late at
light to buy could give it a hearty
ring and thus awake the apprentice
who always slept on the floor above.
He then had to dress and rush down
20 serve the nocturnal patrons. Above
his shelf r hung time-worn por-
traits Of the Caswell brothers, beard
ed pioneer druggists whose faces
seem to resemble closely that of Abb
raham Lincoln who was an occasion
al customer. Only surviving member
of the founding family is Mrs. John
r. Caswell who now makes her home
in fashionable Newport. From this
social colony often come debutantes
and their mothers to purchase items
of elegance for identifying the face
and body. Macy's, Marshall Fields
and Wannamaker's also buy from this
store for their ~meticulous customers
/ The glistening soda fountain was
somewhat of a surprise. l had
thought the older drug stores did
not have such things. But the owner
said this firm had operated this
fountain ever since the store opened
in 1880. Around it are hung copies
If aged theatrical programs framed
: in glass. These printed bills all hold
advertisements of the store. A fril-
ly, antiquated n gave POIGNANT
minders of the days of cameo broa-
+, chea and old lara II mac from the