The Key West citizen., 1952-12-18
CONCH
CHOWDER
BY RAYME z

John Hurney for the holidays from
Riverside Military Academy takes
me back in memory to 19S7-193S
when my brother Robert was
prep school student at the same
place. Gen. Sandy Beaver was
head of the school then and still
is according to the letterhead.
Part of the time the school is at
Gainesville, Ga, and for the win
ter, moves to Hollywood, Fla. Bob
came to visit me in Coconut Grove
on weekends. One night he arrived
with a bevy of cadets, one
Cuban boy. They were all excited
about maneuvers they had gone
through the day before. They were
supposed to run through an orange
grove in pseudo-attack, and fall
prone at the signal of the officer
in charge. The four visitors and
my brother had been haulted over
the Goals for not hitting the dirt'
when ordered. The reason was be-
cause just as the signal came,
big fat diamondback rattler coled
behind some bushes made one
spring and then coiled up for an
other. The Cuban lad killed it.
and with the dead evidence they
finally convinced the squad leader
that they didn't deserve "court
martial"
LIKE OLD TIMES to see Lor-
raine Adams Lundgren (MrS. Rich
ard Lundgren) she admits she is
a member of the Stork Gub-to-be.
Her father, A. Maitland Adams,
is delighted to be joining the
Grandpa Club. Her husband will
arrive tomorrow from Virginia
Beach near Norfolk, Va. He gets
out of the Navy in April, Lorrie
said. She enjoyed the summer but
says it's too cold up thataway in
winter. Also returned to Key West
for Christmas is Shop Hopper
Jaxon's husband, that handsome
Ronnie Jackson who arrived Tues
day night at s p. m. Billy Nc
Cleod, Jaxon's step-son gets in
Friday. .and Gloria Muniz is
practically floating around on
Cloud SO already. Gladys CHATS
Jaxon) siad her parents, Mr.. and
Mrs. william Herfurth are also
arriving for the holidays on Dec
ember q, her fathers birthday
when he reaches 65 and retire
ment. The Herfurths may live in
Key West.
CHRISTMAS MAIL brings news
of 1t. Cmdr. and Mrs. J. r. Thomp-
son (Tommy and Alma) who are
now on the West Coast. Alma
writes that she remembers the
good times we had together es-
pecially last Christmas Their ad-
dress is 1887 Clark Avenue, Dow
ney, Calf. Wonder how Bomber is
doing in California? He was the
best trained command dog in
town. Claude can hang his head
by comparison. Cards from Wimpy
and Emma of my favorite snack
place and from Marionne Simone
with appropriate choo-choo trains
for travel symbolism brighten my
Uttered desk. Another one with a
New England Church on it, not a.
Chinese pagoda, comes from DR..
and Mrs. Aubrey Hamilton and
little Martha and Elizabeth not
ing open house s to midnight,
Christmas Eve with a notation
Egg nog 200 years old the
rum, NOT the eggs!" Yggy and
Polly Carbonen have that Christ
mas spirit again.
THE 40 DEPT. reminds me
to remind you that Jay Wray,
panto- mimic pants into the Pre-
view lounge after Raiah Robgoid
closes. ! see from the blurbS on
the agents publicity that Paul
Bruun of the Miami Beach Sun
commented that Jay was the "big-
gest one man show around"
Bruun used to be a colleague of
mine when l was writing about
show business and as a critic he
was tough as they come. so
this must be a real hooray for
Wray. Meantime, am dropping
around TO see the Rajah. his
real name is Kitchens and he's
/ WelShman Welsh people are
noted for being mystic. Comes
next Chowder, maybe there viii
be room for an adventure story
with setting in Jamaica where |
was visiting when Rajah Roboid
was known TO the natives as The
Magic Man" The J. Edgar Will
ingS and the DR.. Harold Reillys
and some others including Chow