davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1942-03-29
Bv Nancy Hale.

Nathan Hale wac only couple Of years
out Of New Haven when he Joined up.
He'd hardly got started. He'd been
teaching school. you know, up at East
Haddam and then down In New London,
and 1t looked as II he was shaping up
into a fine teacher. He'd made lot OF
friends everywhere he went, and the
girls always liked him. They say he was
q good-looking boy.
Then the war came. Things had
looked bad to us Americans for long
time, but when the first gun was nreq
on that April day 1t seemed to light
sudden, strong fire In every ones heart.
It seemed to call out-"Americans!" The
bows brothers, John and Joseph, volun-
teered first of. It was patriotic
family-the father had been a deputy
in the old Connecticut Assembly.
The boy himself had signed up with
the school for year. He wasn't the
kind to let people down, but he did
write and ask to be released from his
contract two weeks early. He Joined up
In July as a lieutenant In Webb's 7th
Connecticut.
Well, you know how things went after
that. The boy was in camp near Boston
all winter. It wasn't an exciting siege.
But there was lot to do getting the
men to re-enlist. Most of their terms OF
enlistment ran out In December. Gen.
WASHINGTON was worried about 1t. Our
boy offered the men in his company his
own pay for a month If they'd stay
longer. Anyway, the stage was main
tanned.
He got a leave in the winter and went
home. Maybe that was when he got
engaged-to Alicia Adams. A lovely girl;
they have made handsome couple.
Was Made Captain.
When spring came the enemy evacu-
ated Boston and our Army went down to
New York, where real trouble was
threatening. The boy had been made
captain by that time. He was q years
old.
Our Long Island campaign was Just
this side of disastrous. Morale was none
too good afterward. don't suppose the
general was In worse spot In the whole
Evening star., 1942-03-29

tinguished Englishman made his first
visit to this city.
Since then. just 100 years ago. things
have changed considerably IN this
neighborhood, as one might naturally
suspect, and what Mr.. Dickens then said
about it would now seem like fairy
tale, If it were not, in the main, only
too true. This Is his description:
"The hotel in which we live is long
row of small houses fronting on the
street, and opening at the back upon
a common yard, in which hangs great
triangle. Whenever a servant is wanted,
somebody beats on this triangle from
one stroke up to seven, according to the
number of the house in which his pres
ence is required; and as all the servants
are always being wanted, and none OF
them ever come, this enlivening engine
is in full performance the whole day
through.
Clothes are drying in the same yard;
female slaves, with cotton handkerchiefs
twisted around their heads, are running
to and fro on the hotel business; black
walters cross and recross with dishes
in their hands; two great dogs are play
ing upon a mound of loose bricks in the
center Of the little square; pig Is turn
ing up his stomach to the sun. and grunt-
ing, that's comfortable; and neither the
men, nor the women, nor the dogs, nor
the pig, nor any created creature, takes
the smallest notice Of the triangle.
which is tingling madly all the time.
II walk to the front window and look
across the road upon long, struggling
row of houses, one story, high, terminat-
ing, nearly opposite but little to the
left, in a melancholy piece OF waste
ground with frowzy grass. which looks
like small piece OF country that has
taken to drinking and has quite lost
itself. Standing anyhow and all wrong
upon this open space, like something
Evening star., 1942-03-29
Words of Nathan Hale Recalled in Heroism of Today

every day Of my childhood. Sometimes
I used to touch the bronze face. 1t was
a smau-scale replica of the Nathan Hale
statue at Yale.
must have been told his story, be-
cause always knew 1t. But my father
never went on about it. II you know what
mean. There his story was; for what
it might mean to you. Some of my
other ancestors were the kind of char
acters that have a whole legend Of
anecdotes surrounding them, stirring, or
uproarious. But the young man with
his hands bound had died at 81, patriot,
as stark and all alone and anecdoteless
as young men of 81 must be.
Once was set upon the knees OF an
old gentleman whose grandmother was
Alicia Adams She had married and
had children, and lived to be 88, a pretty.
sparkling old lady. And when she died
she said, Where is Nathan?" But about
the young man himself there were no
family "reminiscences, no old little jokes,
no tales beyond the short, plain story
Of his life and death. He had had no
time to do anything memorable but die.
Nevertheless :. 1t was my job as
child to fill the kitchen scuttle with
coal from the cellar. I was not brave
child, and to me the corners Of the cellar
seemed menacing and full of queer. NOV
ing shadows-wolves? robbers? I can
not remember when first started taking
the thought of Nathan Hale down cellar
with me, for a shield and buckler. I
thought, IF he could be hanged, can
go down cellar"
The thing was, he was no impossible
hero; he was a member of the family,
and he was young, too. He was a hero
you could take along with you into the
cellar of New England farmhouse. You
felt he'd be likely to say, Aren't any
wolves or robbers back there that I can
see"
Well, am grownup now and know
very little more about Nathan Hale than
I did then. There are, of course, mass
of details about his short life. A de-
voted scholar named Seymour has spent
years In collecting material about him.
There's a wartime diary. He played
football and checkers at camp He drank
wine at Browns tavern and cider at
Stones. But when you add all these
little things you only affirm the peculiar
simplicity Of the story.
Hale is a symbol of all the young
American men who fight and who die
for us. He is symbol partly because
he was the first Of our own heroes In
the first Of; our own wars. He was
Evening star., 1942-03-29
BY John Clagett Proctor.

very hard. without limbs, and Of a dark
or black color"
Years afterward, in 1871, when the
grade in front of the Treasury Building
on Fifteenth street was being estab-
lished, pieces of the roots of one Of a
group of three sycamores, which once
grew near the southeast angle of the
Treasury, were uprooted. Indeed, it has
been related by J. Goldsborough Bruff
that these trees were hale and green
many years after the original Treasury
Building was destroyed" But when
remains of these trees were unearthed
in 1871, they were remembered by Mr..
Bruf and by Fielder Dorsett, the latter
a veteran of the War Of 1812-1815.
Visit of Charles Dickens.
Charles Dickens, the celebrated novel;
ist, visited this country in 1842 and again
in 1868. Upon the former occasion, his
arrival here was chronicled In the Ma
tional Intelligencer Of March IL, when
the statement is made that Charles
Dickens, author Of the admirable story
of Oliver Twist and other of the most
popular works of fiction known to the
history of English literature, arrived in
Washington on Wednesday evening last,
accompanied by his lady. and took lodg-
ings an Fuller's Hotel These estimable
strangers will remain in this city a few
days and then proceed to the South, as
far probably as Charleston"
Fuller'S Hotel occupied the site of what
is now the Willard Hotel, where a hotel,
or tavern as they called it in the early
days, was kept as far back as 1918 by
Joshua Tennison, a group of buildings
having been erected here by John Tayloe
two years before.
In 1924 it became the Mansion House,
when it was conducted by John Strother.
Later Basil Williamson became the pro-
prietor, when it became known as Will
liamsons Mansion House. Frederick
Barnard succeeded Williamson, then
came Azariah Fuller about 1888, and he
was still the proprietor when the dis
Evening star., 1942-03-29

To step backward to avoid danger Is
always the aiscrete thing to do, but step
IN reverse, in city development and
Identification, after years and years OF
improvements have been made, Is GER
tainly an unfortunate one to take, eSpe-
cially when the step can be avoided
And so it seems to the writer's way OF
thinking, that the placing OF a war
building on the flatiron plot of ground
on Pennsylvania avenue between Four
teenth and Fifteenth streets, IN front OF
the Willard Hotel is certainly move
that should have been avoided when
there is so much available ground else
where that could have been taken for
this purpose Naturally, this building
cannot help but disigure this great his
toric thonoughfare along which every
President of the United States, from
Thomas Jefferson to the present time,
have travelled over to take the oath Of
Office, and President jefferson even went
50 far as to supervise the first Improve
ments made to this avenue, and gave
personal direction to the planting of four
rows OF IOIlUdIuy pOpldl oCCo IlloU tol
years adorned its course from the Treas
ury to the Capitol.
Indeed, no boulevard in the New World
Is as notable as this one, over which the
victorious Union Army marched in grand
review on May % and "a, 1865. Eighty
thousand men, representing part of the
Army 6f the Potomac, were in line the
first day, at the head of which rode Gen.
George Gordon Meade. Sherman'S army
came the second day, at the head of
which was William Tecumseh Sherman,
with the sleeveless veteran, Gen. o. o..
Howard, and Gen. John A. Logan con-
licuously present. In the reviewing
stand in front of the White House were
President johnson, Secretary Stanton
and Gen. U. S. Grant.
AS has been said, not even
I'm the glory that was Greece,
And the grandeur that was Rome;
mot even when Napoleon marched his
eagle-bearing legions back to Paris from
the wreck of empires and the destruction
Of dynasties, did the hours keep pace
Evening star., 1942-03-29
Along Early Pennsylvania Avenue

meteoric that has fallen down from
the moon. Is an odd, lop-sided. one-eyed
kind OF wooden building that looks Like
a church, with Flagstaff as long as
itself sticking out of steeple some
thing larger than q tea chest.
Under the window is small stand
Of coaches whose slave-drivers are sun
ming themselves on the steps of our door
and talking idly together. The three
most ebtrusive houses near at hand are
the three meanest. On one-a shop,
which never has anything in the window
and never has the door open-is painted
in large characters, "The City Lunch"
At another, which looks like a backway
to somewhere else but is an Independent
building in itself, oysters are procurable
in every style. At the third, which is q
very, very little tailor's shop pants are
fixed to order; or, In other words, panta-
looms are made to measure. And that is
our street in Washington"
Mr.. Dickens, Of course, omitted names
as unimportant. but the city directory Of
shop" referred to was conducted by j. G..
Griffith. and he was important enough,
by the way, to carry an advertisement in
the directory in which he turned the
trick on the author by capitalizing his
expression, "At the Very Little Tailors
Shop" which the advertisement con-
tanned
Naturally, Mr. Dickens saw a different
Washington when he visited here again
in 1868, for during the meantime the city
had grown in population from 23364 to
109, ,l99 not including Georgetowns
1884 Many important buildings had
been erected and extensive improve
ments had already begun. The Star had
made its appearance 16 years before and
local events were receiving more space
and consideration than formerly, and, Of
paramount Importance, its advertising
columns denoted that it was well on q
paying basis.
When the squares and lots were di-
vided up between the Federal Govern
ment and the original proprietorS,
Square 226-the one south of the Will
Evening star., 1942-03-29

with the march Of 50 mighty torrent
of warlike power as swept in unbroken
tide along Pennsylvania avenue for two
wide -arching May days in 1865"
And no doubt, as mighty as this pa
fade was, it will not compare with the
one we shall see when this present con-
flict is over, and our victorious boys are
reviewed in similar manner.
But as we see Pennsylvania avenue
today, after the grand review and so
many inaugural parades, and after so
much time, labor and money has been
spent upon it, one can hardly visualize
what it looked like when the Federal
Government first moved here IN 1900.
Indeed, David Burnes, one Of the origi-
nal proprietors, had then only recently
ceased farming the ground in the vicinity
of the Willard Hotel, the ground upon
which it stands having previously been
his property, and only discontinued doing
50 upon the demand of the Commission
ers to desist. Much Of the District was
then substantially as the Indians had
left 1t, and everywhere throughout the
city. there was to be seen evidence Of the
forest primeval. Old Tiber Greek, to the
south Of this locality, flowed westwardly
along what is now Constitution avenue,
and an early inhabitant, In his recollec-
tions. tells us:
II have many times waded cross the
creek at low tide, and in crossing
sometimes found few middle-sized logs
imbedded in the mud pretty near the
channel. I would mark place on the
shore opposite to where I discovered
them, so that when the tide was high ]
swan over to them, dived down and
pulled them from the mud and rolled
and floated them to the other side, ano
when the tide fell we cut them up and
hauled them home These logs OF
trees must have lain there for many
years. for when we cut them they were
Evening star., 1942-03-29

When the enemy was planning to at
tack, and where. Nobody could tell him.
The general let it be known that he'd
welcome volunteers to spy.
Now people didn't take kindly to the
word spy" around these parts. It
didn't mean excitement or glamour or
any Of those things. 1t meant some
thing degrading. But the general said
he wanted "a spy. Well, our boy volun-
teered. His friends tried to talk him out
Of 1t. They spoke Of the indignity; they
also told him he'd make a terrible spy
a frank, fine boy like him.
But to him the task was necessary.
Its being necessary seemed to him to
make it honorable. He was sent through
the enemy lines dressed like q Dutch
schoolmaster.
He didn't make such a bad spy, alter
all. He got what he went after. In his
shoes he hid drawings that would have
been valuable to our Army. He was on
his way back, crossing their lines, when
he was caught. The British found the
information on him. He admitted he was
a spy. You know what q spy gets. They
hanged him the next morning
He wrote some letters to the family at
home. They were destroyed before his
eyes, they say. But, in his last moment,
they let him say what he wanted TO-
And later one of their officers told one
Of our officers what he'd said.
Only One Life.
There he was, at Turtle Bay on Man.
haitian Island, with the moose around
his neck. He'd got caught on his first
big job. He wasn't going to get to marry
Alicia Adams, nor do any more teaching,
nor finish fighting this war. He stood
there in the morning air, and told them
who he was, his rank and all. And then
he added, II only regret that hare but
one life to lose for my country"
You could tell the story like that be-
cause it is sample story, and when
you'd finished you'd have told about all
there Is to tell about Nathan Hale.
There isn't even contemporary picture
of him. Most of the friends to whom
he wrote didn't keep his letters. He was
just a young American who'd gone to
war, who'd lived for 81 uneventful years
before he died for his country.
One of his brothers, Enoch, was my
great-great-grandfather.
When I was q child q small bronze
statue, about 4 feet high, stood in the
corner OF the living room at home. 1t
was that of a young man, with his
wrists tied behind him and his ankles
bound. I passed 1t several times day
Evening star., 1942-03-29

lard Hotel-was given to David Burnes
in 1892. Burnes died intestate in 1899,
and the property went to his daughter.
Marcia, who married John P Van Ness.
William M. Duncanson became guardian
for Miss Burnes and decided lots 2-7 to
Isaac Polack in 1902, and Mrs. Anne
Burnes joined in the conveyance.
Lot was on the northwest corner Of
Fourteenth and E streets, and 2, 3, and
were between that and lot No. g. which
was at the northeast corner Of Fifteenth
and E streets where was erected the
Washington Light Infantry Armory. the
cornerstone being laid April %. 1884.
Lots and were to the north Of lot
6. The Avenue side originally included
Evening star., 1942-03-29

lots 9 to 13, but these were subdivided
into Is lots. This transaction notes the
first sale of property in this block.
One of the earliest references to this
square, aside from the transaction men,
toned. occurred in 1911, when, on Sep
tember II Of that year. at the time OF
the eclipse of the sun. this unusual sight
was viewed from Peases Garden.
However. from this time on to the
building of the Light Infantry Armory,
there were no buildings erected in this
square of any particular Importance. In
erecting the armory building, this once
famous organization showed rare judg-
ment In not only planning for adequate
quarters for its meetings, drills and social
functions, but also in providing for q
revenue producer in the form of an up
to-date theater, OF which the city was
greatly in need. for the only amusement
houses then In the city were the Ma
tional Theater, Ford's Opera House, at
Louisiana avenue and Ninth street: the
Theater Comique. at Eleventh and c
streets, and the Dime Museum, at 1l06
D street, where now stands the old Post
Office Department Building. The
Comique was strictly mans house, and
the Dime Museum was just what the
name implies-more Of a sideshow than
anything else, with an occasional sparring
match and the like thrown in as added
attractions.
Early Theaters.
BY this you will see that there were
then In the city only two theaters which
could be frequented with perfect pro-
priety by the ladies and their escorts
and where a first-class performance
might have been seen, these being the
National and Fords Opera House.
Because of the need Of such a struc-
ture, pains and money were not spared
in erecting this building and from the
time the first spade was sunk in the
ground to the completion Of the build
ing it was in every way the achievement
Of Washington enterprise and capital.
Prior to the completion Of the theater
1t was leased to John w. Albaugh, who
was the manager Of our National The
ater and Of the Holiday Street Theatef
Of Baltimore. He seems to have had q
habit Of leasing new theaters, for subse-
quently. on September 30. 1895. we ind
Evening star., 1942-03-29

-Copyright, Yale University Press.
war then he was for those three weeks
right after the battle of Long Island.
There we lay, facing the enemy across
the East River, and no way of knowing
what they had up their sleeve. Surprise
was what we feared. The answer to that
was companies of rangers, to scout
around and find out what was up.
Knowlton's Rangers were organized, and
our boy got switched over to them. He
wanted action, you see.
But the Rangers weren't enough. The
general wanted to know two things
Evening star., 1942-03-29
THERE WERE GIANTS IN
THOSE DAYS."

This is the fourth Of q series Of articles
about men and women who worked. fought
and died that America might live; men and
women who made America great By contrib
uting their own greatness to country which
was founded and has endured on the prin-
ciples Of life, liberty and the pursuit OF hap
piness as the right OF every man. The nftn
article in the series will appear next sunday.
Evening star., 1942-02-19

always felt that he could do much
more good for his country in the
air. The Marine Corps would not
release him, though"
Comdr. Leo Cromwell Thyson, 81,
who fell into Japanese hands at
Peiping, China, is another native
Washingtonian on the Navy's list
of probable prisoners. He holds
both pharmacy and medical de-
grees from George Washington Uni
versity and joined the Naval Re-
serve Medical Corps during the last
war, serving both on conveys and
at the Annapolis Naval Hospital.
Later he Joined the Naval Medical
Corps and for 10 years was sta
toned at the Naval Dispensaary
here. Comdr. Thyson has two
brothers, H. George Thyson and
Paulus Thyson, and two sisters,
Mrs. Blanche Harrison and Mrs.
Grace Southworth, living here.
Veteran Of Many Battles.
Chief Marine Gunner Lee is a vet
eran OF the First World War and saw
service in more than 20 battles
against bandit forces in Nicaragua.
He established himself as almost
q legendary figure for his courage
and Leadership -. Q marine ana -
Evening star., 1942-02-19

during the First World War and
was president of his naval Reserve
unit in Pittsburgh when recalled
to active service
Wolfsheimer's Mother Here.
The mother of Ensign Wolf
sheiner, q Naval Reserve officer on
active duty, also was hearing news
of her son for the first time since
before the japanese attack when
called by a Star reporter. Ensign
Wolfsheimer, IS years old. lived
with his mother, Mrs. Rena Wolf
sheimer, before he reported for ac-
tive service in January, 1941, had
been wrecking superintendent
here for Hechinger g. Co. At Guam
he was working as civil construc-
ton engineer for the Navy, helping
rebuilt the Guam school and hos
pital and laying out water sys-
tenn and roads. Born in Baltimore
In June, 1915, he was graduated
from Cornell In 1885 with honors.
Pvt. Kaufman Is 20 years old, .
son Of Mr.. and Mrs. John w. Kauff-
man, ST, Of 1921 North Abingdon
street, Arlington, Va. He attended
WaShington-Lee High Scohol In Ar
lington through the 18th grade and
was graduated from Carlisle Mill
tary School at Bamburg, S. c. His
father Is with the Washington real
estate firm Of Waggaman e. Braw-
ner.
Radioed Mother December z.
Mrs. Kaufman said the last she
has heard from her son was on De-
cember 2, when he sent a radiogram
which indicated he was in good
health.
His greatest ambition was TO get
in the air corps" Mrs. Kaufman
said. He went to Ottawa last year
and tried to enlist in the Royal Ca
madam Air Force and shortly after
he enlisted In the Marine Corps last
May, the Canadian ofi1cials noti-
fed him he had passed his physical
examination.
"He tried to get out of the Ma
rine Corps to join the r. C. A. F. He
Evening star., 1942-02-19

needed anything-"Sure, send us
some more Japs!"-pointed with a
distinguished Marine Corps career
to his heroic stand with his men on
the Pacific aton.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps
as q private in 1923, gained adrnis-
sion to the officers school at Paris
Island and 10 months after enhsting
won his commission. Since, he has
won official recognition by Navy
medals in action in China and
Nicaragua and has served at many
posts, among them Quantico, San
Diego, Honolulu, Peiping and Wake
Island.
Presumed He Was Taken.
Maj. Devereux's mother, wife,
sisters and brothers have long been
aware that he must have been taken
prisoner, in the absence Of oiicial
word since the last message from
Wake, December "a, admitted "the
issue is In doubt"
Also among those believed by the
Navy to have become japanese
prisoners when Wake Island fell are
Maj. Potter, Capt. Tharin, 1t. Lewis,
1t. Robinson, Sergt. Paszkiewicz and
the three civilians.
Maj. Potter, whose home is An
napolis, was born there May 20,
1906 and. was graduated from the
Naval Academy In 1927 to be ap-
pointed . second lieutenant in the
Marine Corps. He has served In
Nicarasna, the Philippines and