Tales from the Morgue

1946: Good Waitress Can Garner Big Money, Declares Teacher

March 20, 1946

If a waitress is willing to study to become a good one, she can make more money in six months than a college graduate can in a year, according to John B. O’Meara, who is instructing waitresses in Hotel Hilton how to give better service to the customers.

To prove his point, he is teaching the Hilton waitresses how to do everything from serving a cup of coffee correctly to how to open a swinging kitchen door.

O’Meara, who has been teaching waitresses service procedures since 1931, said a cup of coffee should be placed on the table with the handle pointing toward the right, so that all the customer has to do is reach over and take it.

Another thing he is teaching waitresses is how to acquire the “waitress swing.” This is not a new dance step but merely a graceful and correct way to carry a loaded tray so that the food does not spill and the tray is not, “dumped” all over the table. This “swing” technique consists of balancing the heavy tray in the palm of the hand by co-ordinating the swing of the tray with the waitress’s steps.

How to swing a dining room door without breaking an ankle is something else O’Meara offers in his course of instruction. The waitress is instructed to give the door a slight push with her foot then set interference with her elbow and go right into the kitchen without spilling her tray.

The hardest part about training a waitress to be good, he thinks, is trying to teach how to approach a customer and put him in a mood to enjoy his food. “Put some oomph into the greeting,” he instructs.

1952: Old Central Hotel Built On Site Of Ponce De Leon's Ranch House

March 9, 1952

Bob Chapman

These were the days when Indians whooped it up in this area, the overland stage rattled into the village and Juan Maria Ponce de Leon moved in and set up his sprawling adobe ranch headquarters, extending all the way from the north side of Pioneer Plaza to Main Street.

These are the scenes, incidents, atmosphere and color that make up the background of the old Central Hotel, first in the line of El Paso’s famous hotels of yesteryears.

Time when Kingston, N.M., was a lively flourishing and prosperous mining camp also is a part of the story.

The Central, confused even by the few remaining old-timers with the Grand Central, which was on the present Mills Building site and whose frontage was on Oregon Street, stood where now is the White House Department Store, McCoy Hotel and Plaza Theater.

The Grand Central was destroyed by fire on Feb. 11, 1892. A fire, July 4, 1896, wiped out the Central.

REMEMBERS FIRE – Deputy Constable Fred Delgado, who came here from Fort Davis, Texas, in 1884, learned to be a tailor and, in 1892, was working for Jesus Teran, who had a tailor shop on the ground floor of the Central, remembered the fire but not is date. He recalled he was burned trying to save the tailor shop sign.

Delgado, who was born in Presidio, Texas, was a member of El Paso Police Department some 51 years ago.

A portion of the Ponce de Leon ranch house, built in 1827, served as a apart and foundation for the Central Hotel, which, in the beginning, was a one-story affair. After the first Southern Pacific passenger train puffed into El Paso in 1881, a second story was added to the hotel. This was built of redwood lumber shipped in from California.

In an issue of The El Paso Times, Feb.6, 1937, in a column, whose heading was “Looking Back,” there is a story dated Dec. 5, 1893, about Mrs. Elizabeth Gillock, who at the age of 94, died the preceding day in her home in Ysleta, Lower Valley.

FIRST HOTEL – This story recited that Mrs. Gillock kept the first hotel in El Paso and that hotel was the old Central, which was where the Plaza Theater now stands. The story also said it was a part of the Ponce de Leon ranch house.

Mrs. Gillock, according to this story, posted all delinquent accounts on a tree in Little Plaza (Pioneer Plaza). This, doubtless, was her way of publicizing guests who owed her money.

Without giving her name, the story quotes a woman who came here in 1873 to this effect: “Mrs. Gillock owned the hotel and land around it. Her trade was gone with the 49ers, so she lived in the rambling hotel all alone. It was of adobe and almost in ruins. When the railroads came she sold her property for $17,000, I think.”

H. Y. Ellis, pioneer citizen, who came here in 1890 from Atlanta, Ga., with his father, Jesse M. Ellis, remembered the Central and the old red brick County Courthouse, scene of outstanding social events in those early days. Ellis said he attended many swanky dancing parties in that ancient structure.

FATHER WAS JP – His father was elected a justice of the peace in 1899 and served for four years. His court room was in the Bronson Block, present site of the American Furniture Co. building.

Ellis and his father slept in a room adjoining the court room. Ellis recalled lawyers had most of the offices in the building, R. C. Walshe being one.

Ellis joined El Paso Volunteer Firemen’s Association in 1901. He is the current secretary, Ben Levy, another pioneer, is president.

Jake Miller, president of the White House Department Store, who came here in 1895, remembered the old Central and he fixed the date of the fire that destroyed it – July 4, 1896.

“I remembered that because there were a lot of fireworks exploding throughout the downtown area, as well as in the residential sections,” Miller said.

NEWELLS ARRIVE – Enter now by a circuitous route Mr. and Mrs. George W. Newell, whose hometime, before they traveled west, was St. Louis, Mo. They landed first in Santa Fe, N.M. Mr. Newell was a hardware merchant and he opened a store there, operating this for two years.

The Newells had heard of increasing activities in the Kingston mining camp. So, the Santa Fe store was sold and they journeyed there.

Mrs. Newell, now past 82, said the same rock hotel where they first stayed, is still standing and carrying on.

“It was such a nice place,” she said.

Mr. Newell set up a hardware store, which he ran fro about two years. Mrs. Newell said he sold out just in time, because the bottom of the mining business started falling out.

“I hear this is picking up again,” Mrs. Newell said. “I am glad. That is such a beautiful spot.”

RODE IN STAGE COACH – Milton, the Newell’s son born in Kingston, was 5-months old, when the stage coach drawn by four mules, pulled up and stopped in front of the rock hotel where the family was waiting for it. At Hillsboro, N.M., they changed into another stage coach, also pulled by four mules and jolted along to a railway station. Mrs. Newell could not recall the name.

It was 11 p.m. on a December night in 1892 when the train arrived in El Paso. Mrs. Newell said they stepped out of the train into a bitter cold, blinding snow storm. They got into a hack and started the hunt for a hotel room. It was a discouraging procedure.

There was an opera company in town, booked for the old Myar Opera House, and so hotels, in addition to their regular run of guests, had to take care of members of the opera cast.

Swirling snow flakes had grown larger and thicker by the time the hack halted at the Vendome Hotel, then on the present site of Hotel Cortez. Mr. Newell got out, went inside and returned with the dismal report the hotel was filled to overflowing.

BABY WON MANAGER – “We can’t keep this baby out in this bitter weather,” Mrs. Newell said. “Let me try and see what I can do about a place to stay.”

Mrs. Newell took Milton inside. “Milton was such a happy, friendly baby,” Mrs. Newell said. “When he gooed and gurgled at the manager, he said for us to come in, he would find a room.”

Mrs. Newell could not remember the name of this manager, but she said he gave them his room and slept on a pallet in the parlor. (Parlor in those days. Not lobby.)

After being here several days, Mrs. Newell, taking Milton, went to St. Louis to visit her mother for three months. When she returned, Mr. Newell and a Mr. Gaston (initials not available) were in the grocery business on South El Paso Street. Mr. Newell was a hardware man. He didn’t like selling groceries.

They sold the place and bought the lease on the hotel in the Center Block building, cornering on Pioneer Plaza and San Francisco Street. It was a three-story structure then. The hotel part was on the second and third floors. Mrs. Newell said it was beautifully furnished. In the corner, where now is one of the Oasis café, was a grocery store owned by Stuart and McNair. The store was sold to Charley Slack, E. A. Stuart moved to California and later organized the Carnation Milk Company.

PART OF THEATER – The present two-story building is part of the Plaza Theater property. Main entrance to the hotel was on San Francisco Street. The old Central Hotel backed up against the rear entrance, which then was in the vicinity of the north end of the Mills Restaurant and Confectionery.

Mrs. Newell recalled there was a Chinese restaurant at the east end of the Central. She remembered vividly the fire that left the Central a smoldering ruin, because volunteer fire fighters dragged hose through her hotel to battle the blaze from there. In their wake was considerably damaged furniture, fixtures and furnishings, she said.

The Newells had operated the hotel for about nine years when the building was sold. The third story was removed. Why, Mrs. Newell said she didn’t know and couldn’t guess.

BUILT HOME – Mr. Newell had bought property in the 100 block on West Franklin Street and built a home into which the family moved. Two other dwellings were added and a commercial garage at the corner of Franklin and North El Paso Street. Mrs. Newell lives in the dwelling at 110 West Franklin Street.

Milton, who gooed and gurgled the manager of the Vendome out of a room for his father and mother on that snowy, wintry December night in 1892, graduated in 1917 from Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., and now is a prominent electrical engineer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

His sister, Mrs. Roy Davis, 1020 Prospect Avenue, studied and is an expert on antiques, having her shop in her home. Mr. Davis, who was in the local Southern Pacific ticket office for years before he retired, is becoming proficient in this line. Their son, Dr. Roy Davis, Jr., Mrs. Newell’s only grandchild, is a graduate of the Medical School of the University of Texas, and is now on the staff of a Children’s orthopedic hospital in Miami, Fla.

George Newell, youngest Newell son, an accomplished musician and photographer, lives in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Mr. Newell, who was an active Mason, as well as a local pioneer hotel man, died here on March 19, 1936.

1900: Beautifying Our Public Grounds

January 25, 1900

EL PASO RESIDENCES CROWDED TOO CLOSE TOGETHER

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Alderman Whitmore Having Trees and Shrubs Set Out in the Plaza – A Citizen Says There Is No Reason in Such Narrow Residence Lots

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Chairman Whitmore, of the city council’s committee on streets and park maintenance, had men and teams at work yesterday on the city’s plaza and parks within city limits.

“I am determined,” said Mr. Whitmore, “to beautify our public grounds if it can be done through constant attention and patience. I have bought a number of young shade trees, which Street Commissioner Wales is having set out in the two big Plazas; and I have teams grading the ground around the city hall. After being properly prepared the ground will be sodded, so that the coming summer it will be converted with a pretty carpet of green grass. I also have eighteen hardy young umbrella chinas to set out on these grounds. This being done I want the city to have nice cement sidewalks put down on both sides of the city hall lot.”

In the park opposite the customs house Commissioner Wales had men at work yesterday setting out sixty five young poplars and mulberry trees, while twenty three young trees are being set out in the new park on North Oregon street, donated the city by the government. Frames are being put around the young trees to protect them until they grow vigorous enough to withstand the assaults of the small boy.

The people of El Paso will heartily approve of this movement to beautify the parks and public grounds of the city for El Paso is so crowded together that there are few front yards in the city that a horse blanket would not cover. As a consequence the eyes of those who cannot go to the mountains or a seaside grow hungry every summer for a sight of green foliage and broad green lawns.

“Just why El Paso homes should be packed together like sardines in a box,” said a city official yesterday “is beyond the comprehension of a sensible man. Property owners, in order to squeeze every dime possible out of a foot of land, laid out the city with residence lots only 25 feet wide, when not more than four or five residences should have been permitted on any block. But instead of providing for yards the people have built, huddled together as if there were not miles and miles of land for El Paso to spread out on. The only approach to a private lawn in the city is that surrounding A. Krakauer’s handsome new residence.

“In other cities you will find homes setting back 25 and 50 yards from the street and surrounded by broad beautiful lawns I have seen them with only one house on a block. People who have large yards around their homes enjoy some privacy and such yards make a city beautiful. In a majority of instances an El Paso man can sit in his own home and hear the gossip going on in his neighbor’s house, and summer nights his snore murders the sleep of his neighbors. There can be no privacy where homes are so crowded together, nor can there be much beauty and beautiful cleanliness.

“There are numerous small yards in El Paso, and some of these that are cared for by the owners are things of beauty and a delight to the eye during the spring and summer. They are covered with beautiful green grass, brilliant hues and fragrant flowers and shaded by the foliage of trees that show tender care. If every home in El Paso was surrounded by a broad green lawn well shaded or well cared yards this would be the most beautiful city in the west. But if we can’t have the yards and lawns, I am glad to see something is being done to give us pretty parks.”

Alderman Whitmore is going to experiment this year to see just what can be done toward beautifying the city’s parks and plaza. He believes that with careful attention and plenty of water all of the shade trees in the plazas can be made to flourish.

1924: County Would Jail Spooners To End Holdups

October 14, 1924

Authorities Believe Bandits Can Be Discouraged if “Necking” Parties Are Broken Up

Jailing spooners as a means of protecting them from bandits, who make a practice of robbing couples on “lovers’ lanes,” is one solution of a holdup problem that is being considered by county authorities.

By braking up automobile “necking” parties in spots where stickup men can operate with comparative freedom, it is believed by the authorities bandits will be discouraged and the average motorist relieved of the danger of being robbed.

Bring Complaints

Secluded and dark spots, which offer ideal sites for “petting” along Wombie boulevard, North Mesa avenue, the Newman road and the Country Club road. They also have brought frequent complaints, according to Commissioner Bob Oliver.

On motion of Commissioner Oliver the commissioners’ have instructed county speed officers to warn motorist parking their cars along the county roads at night without lights that they are violating the state highway law. A warning will be given for the fist offense. But arrests will follow a second offense, it was said.

A ride down to the county jail with an enterprising motorcycle officer should be enough to cure spooners of all future desire to disregard safety regulations and provoke banditry by parking in the dark, it is believed.

A woman lost her watch and rings and a man $10 in a “beside-the-road robbery” last week. As in the majority of such cases the holdup was not reported to the police and was only discovered by accident.

Fear Exposure

Fearing ridicule or exposure, couples who are being robbed by highwaymen under such conditions seldom complain.

“The nusance has been growing worse since the opening of new county roads,” said Commissioner Oliver.

“On receiving a complaint about one car last week I found the machine parked a little way outside the city limits, with two girls and two boys in it,” said Officer Falby. “They were apparently from well-to-do families. The girls insisted that their parents knew where they were, but when I took them to the home they changed their minds. After giving them a good scare we released them.”

1945: TV Sets Change Home Styles

December 14, 1945

With home television sets becoming more and more popular throughout the country, an entirely new school of furniture design has made its appearance. Purposes of the new television designs is to make a video showing as convenient and comfortable as possible for either, a one-man audience or an overflow crowd.

A visit to your local stores will reveal chairs, sectionals, and tables that glide easily on wheels or casters - chairs that look like ordinary armchairs but swivel around in any direction – enormous ottomans that conceal four little ottomans under their oversized, upholstered tops – tables and cabinets with swivel tops so that the television set may be turned to face any part of the room.

There are also cabinets that hold folding chairs which are handy to have when all the neighbors descend upon your living room to see an especially popular program – lightweight armless chars with cutout back rails so that they may be easily moved around – and many curved sectional sofas which are designed to seat six or seven television fans.

You’ll find small, individual folding tables to hold food and beverages, and many of these may be stacked together when not in use. All of these innovations are brand new – smartly styled in modern, 18th Century, or Provincial designs – and wonderfully practical for television fans.

Many of the stores are showing model television rooms featuring this exciting new merchandise and illustrating proper room arrangements for greater television enjoyment

1894: Who Is Maria Pino?

August 26, 1894

A BABY THOUGHT TO BE HERS LEFT AT HOTEL DIEU

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Mr. William Rex Tells an Interesting Story – A Blonde Woman With a Mexican nape Applies for Lodging – A Baby is Born and a Strange Mexican man appears on the Scene – Sister Stella Knew the Woman at Socorro

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“This child has no father nor mother. It was born July 15. It has not been baptized.”

Such were the words of a note pinned to the scant clothing of a little baby found on the door sill in the vestibule of the Sisters’ Hospital yesterday morning.

The woman who sweeps the hall discovered the wee thing resting there when she opened the door, and excitedly called Sister Stella. That good woman of course took charge of the little one and gave it such nourishment as could be procured at a moment’s notice.

“I was so frustrated,” she said to a TIMES reporter yesterday afternoon, “that I did not think to telephone your office in order that if possible someone might be found interested in the little fellow.”

But a TIMES reporter had learned early in the morning of the disappearance of just such a baby and it did not require many hours to decide whether or not the two were the same. The story of the disappearance of one and the finding of the other is an interesting one and is given to the readers of the TIMES as it developed during the day.

Yesterday morning Mr. William Rex, the well known blacksmith on the corner of Oregon and First streets, came to the editor of the TIMES in great distress. He said that a little baby had most mysteriously disappeared from his house and he feared the mother had killed it.

“And I would not have that happen at my house for the whole town,” he declared with all the emphasis of the kind hearted emotional German that he is. “It would break mine heart,” he continued. Then, in answer to a leading question or two he told:

On the 8th of the current month a young woman apparently 28 years old came to his house. She was a bright blonde and rather handsome. She said that her name was Maria Pino, and that she was a teacher of Spanish in the schools of Albuquerque. She frankly stated that she expected soon to become a mother and that she wanted a furnished room. Mr. And Mrs. Rex were agreeable and she was soon domiciled in the Rex house. She said that while she is an American she had married a Mexican named Pino, who had been city clerk at Albuquerque, and that he died about a year ago. She spoke both English and Spanish and there was no evident discrepancy in her story.

When she had just one week in the house the services of a midwife were needed and Mr. Rex secured them in the person of Mrs. Michaels. And between 9 and 10 o’clock on the morning of the 15th Mrs. Pino gave birth to a fine large boy baby. The mother’s lack of happiness at greeting her offspring was not in keeping with the German idea of such occasions, and Mr. Rex confided to his wife his opinion that “she does not seem to love the baby.” He was even more surprised when he saw, the next day, that the young mother applied mustard plasters to her breast with the avowed intentions of “drying up” the nourishment that nature there would provide for the child. When Mr. Rex protested Mrs. Pino replied that she could not be bothered with the child while she was teaching. Later she was heard to say that she wished the baby was dead. Then he became alarmed, and the conferences between the husband and wife were frequent and earnest.

Last Wednesday, just one week from the coming of the unwelcome baby, there came to the house an old man who claimed to be the young woman’s step father. He said that he was a saddle and harness maker and that he lived at Las Cruces where he carried on his business, adding to it that of shoe mending. During his stay he slept in the room with his step daughter. He was a Mexican of about sixty years and wore a full beard, which with his hair, was very dark. During his stay the woman was heard more than ever to express the wish that the baby was dead. Then Mr. Rex became so depressed that he went and told his troubles to a policeman. He confided to Officer Saunders his fear that the woman and the man together would kill the baby. The officer promised to keep a watch on the old man, which he did. Thursday night the old man told Mr. Rex that he would go to Las Cruces on the early train Friday morning. This was communicated to the officer. When the Silver City train left Friday morning Officers Saunders and McBride wee on hand to nab the old man if he appeared with the baby. But he was not to be seen.

But yesterday morning when Mr. Rex got up the step father and the baby had gone. When he made inquiries of the mother she very quietly remarked that her father had taken the child and gone on the early Santa Fe train, and that she would go on the noon train. This did not satisfy Mr. Rex, whose suspicions had already been aroused. He feared that the child had been killed. To make sure that it was not on the premises he searched the water closet and every other place where a diminutive body might be hidden. Then he began to walk the town over and think. Finally he came to the TIMES. He had previously seen the young mother leave on the train for Albuquerque.

After it had been learned by a reporter of the TIMES that a baby had been left at Hotel Dieu, it was suggested to Mr. Rex that he and Mrs. Michaels, the midwife, visit the hospital and see the child. This was done and there was no doubt in the mind of either as to its being the one born in the Rex home.

The note accompanying the child was written evidently by a woman who designedly made the writing a “scribble,” as Sister Stella puts it. The clothing the child wore was common, as was also the blanket in which it was wrapped. Sister Stella says that if there is no error in the description, she has known the woman, Mrs. Pino. She knew her in Socorro, and her husband died last October.

Mr. Rex says that from all he saw while the two were in his house, he is forced to the conclusion that this old man is the father

1943: Tony Lama Promises Usual High Quality

July 15, 1943

“Uncle Sam says no more fancy frills on cowboy boots, but he didn’t say we should cut the quality of Tony Lama cowboy boots,” Tony Lama, proprietor of this well-known boot manufacturing and shoe repairing concern, said Wednesday.

“As a matter of fact, you’ll get the same fine wear and comfort from Tony Lama boots that you have always gotten,” Mr. Lama said. “This is due to the fine quality materials and expert workmanship used in the making of these boots.

“Evidence of the reputation we have obtained for Tony Lama boots is the fact that these boots are shipped everywhere in the world. We have received orders from all over the United States and even orders from India and other foreign countries.

“Only expert bookmakers are employed in the making of these cowboy boots. All are interested in their work and take pride in it. All are buying War Bonds and taking part in other patriotic endeavors,” Mr. Lama continues.

“In addition to making quality boots, we also do fine shoe repairing. Conserve leather for the war and get your old shoes repaired here. We are the leading shoe repairer of the Southwest and this is also due to the fact that we do good work. Our prices are most moderate on shoe repairing.

“Come into our shop and see our cowboy boots or for good shoe repairing. The address of Tony Lama’s is 109 East Overland street,” said Mr. Lama.

1964: Raymond Dwigans, LBJ School Roommates

September 25, 1964

Waiting at the airport to meet President Lyndon B. Johnson Friday will be a prep school roommate who knew him as a likeable, gangly 16-year-old working his way through school.

Custom Collector Raymond H. Dwigans was sitting on his steamer trunk at San Marcos Academy when a woman walked in, introduced herself as Mrs. Sam Johnson, and announced that her son would be Dwigans’ roommate for that year. It was 1926.

The two boys hit it off well and have maintained a friendship and occasional correspondence since the two years they were together at San Marcos, before Dwigans headed west to attend Texas Western College in 1928. Here he was on the varsity football and baseball teams for three years and later was named president of the “M Association.”

Dwigans organized and still heads the Border Butane and Oil Co. he served for a while as county sanitary engineer and in 1952 was elected county commissioner from precinct 1. He is married to the former Dena Kirpatrick and the couple have one son. They live at 4715 Cumberland Circle.

The customs collector was appointed by the late President John F. Kennedy on Dec. 4, 1961.

1926: Boys Of City Shake Hands With Champ Jack Dempsey

April 18, 1926

Dempsey Advises Young America To Care For Health, Strength

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SPENDS BUSY DAY

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Heavyweight Champion All Set For Match At Juarez Coliseum Today

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Greeted and cheered by young and old El Paso, on his arrival here yesterday, Jack Dempsey, world’s champion heavyweight, spent a busy day winding up with a visit to the Country Club last night.

Between shaking hands, refusing cigars and drinks, and changing clothes, Dempsey was kept on the jump from the time he alighted from the train at the Union depot, coming directly to the Times-Herald office, where he wrote a story and assisted in making up The Herald sport pages.

“Don’t – if you would be a champion – smoke cigarettes or drink liquor,” Dempsey advised El Paso newsboys in a talk given before a mob of youngsters and grownups at Hotel Paso del Norte.

“A clean body and mind is the first thing to be considered in any championship material. Remember first to be good boys and keep your health and strength while you work or play. If you do this you are made of championship material.” Dempsey advised his young admirers, whose faces glowed with pleasure as the champion gripped each small hand in his own powerful right “mitt.”

FEELS RESPONSIBILITY

“I never used to think much about drinking,” said Dempsey afterward, “But when I got the championship and began to realize how small boys were regarding me, it gave me a sense of responsibility that I never dreamed of having. That’s the real reason why I don’t drink or smoke. If I have to set an example I’m going to set a good one.”

During his two mile training joust yesterday morning Dempsey called on his friend, Harvey Wilcox, at the Lone Star Motor Car company offices. A crowd of big eyed youngsters kept him company.

Following his talk to the newsboys he drove around the city, going to Juarez at noon where he and members of his party were guests of S.G. Gonzales at luncheon. Included in the party with the champion were Floyd Fitzsimmons, Michigan City prize fight promoter; Mr. Grant, Dempsey’s legal adviser; Jerry Landeau, trainer; Gus Wilson, Curley Morgan, County Clerk W.D. Greet, John McIntosh and Detective Sergt, Charles Matthews.

After luncheon Dempsey was the center of attraction at the Popular Dry Goods company store, where he again greeted young El Paso with hand-shakes, cheery smiles and championship advice.

GOES TO RACES

Following the reception at the Popular the champion was a guest of honor at the Juarez race meet opening. Along with Gen. E.B. Jackson and Mayor Almeida. Dempsey was honorary judge of the revival handicap, feature event of the racing card.

After the races, Dempsey returned to his hotel in El Paso, dressed for dinner and was again the guest of Mr. Gonzales for dinner.

Immediately after dinner he motored around the city with friends and was the guest for a short time of El Pasoans at the Country Club, leaving early and retiring for the night at 10:15 p.m.

His schedule for today included a five-mile walk early this morning, followed by a shower and rub down by his trainer ad the playing of several social calls on El Paso friends.

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THOUSANDS OF FANS ARRIVE FOR MATCH

Thousands of fight fans from all sections of the southwest are making El Paso and Juarez their Mecca today to see Jack Dempsey, heavyweight champion of the world, step ten rounds with Farmer Lodge, the St. Paul heavyweight, and two of his partners and Marty Cutler, who trains with Lodge.

The fight marks the opening of the new Juarez Coliseum, a fight stadium that seats 12,000 people.

Dempsey will enter the ring about 5 o’clock this afternoon while the first bout on the program gets underway promptly at 4. The champ will be escorted by the same entourage that has accompanied him on all of his recent trips.

Lodge In Good Shape

Farmer Lodge, his husky opponent, is in the best condition of his career, according to his manger, Lloyd Stannard.

“The big boys eye is entirely healed up and I am sending him in there to give everything he’s got,” Stannard said last night. “He is familiar with the champion’s style and I am confident that he will be there at the finish. Lodge has been promised a fight in the Coliseum on May 30 if he makes an impressive showing against Dempsey.

“Lodge trained with Dempsey formerly and established the record of being the only sparring partner that the champ never knocked out. Lodge also went 15 rounds with Firpo in Buenes Aires without being knocked off his pins.

“The St. Paul boy’s problem is condition and I am satisfied that he is right on this score. Hard work will get Lodge up among the real contenders. I regard this Dempsey tour as the first step toward a hard campaign.”

Dempsey Visits Track

Dempsey’s opinion of the Farmer was indicated yesterday when he slashed to pieces the schedule made for him by the El Paso promoters and arranged his affairs so that he could get as much rest as possible.

Indications were last night that the bowl would be crowded to capacity before the champion entered the ring. The best seats are practically sold out and the ticket office literally swamped with orders last night.

Ample parking space will facilitate the handling of the crowds and people will be on hand to take care of the cars.

Instead of being three men as originally intended Dempsey will battle a quartet of fighters in the Juarez Coliseum this afternoon.

Lodge, who is the big number of the afternoon, meets Dempsey in a four-rounder, Cutler, another heavyweight will fight the champion two rounds, Jack McGuire and Marty Farrell, two members of the champion’s camp, will also step two rounds apiece with the champ.

A last minute switch was made in the semi-final because of an injury to Mike Vasquez’s foot.

Jose Rivers will get a chance to even matters with Sammie Sandow, the featherweight champ of the southwest, in this number.

Jack McDonald will referee the main event and Cip Payo will split up the preliminaries with bob Smith.

Dempsey’s own story of the plans which he wrote on his arrival yesterday, follows:

By JACK DEMPSEY

Heavyweight Champion of the World

I intend to defend my title in September, even if I have to stage the bout myself or fight one of my own sparring partners. There has been a good deal of talk about the heavyweight situation in recent months. Promoters have bobbed here and there who made a lot of talk about staging a fight for big money, but when it came to putting up the guarantee, none of them was able to deliver.

I’m frank to state that I am disgusted with the situation. The first real fight that comes along, I don’t care who it is with, I’ll take it. I have been running around the country, seeing first one promoter and then another, without having any luck, and I have about made up my mind that I will quit worrying about it.

Tex Richard, I understand, is on his way to see me. We will probably meet in El Paso. I expect him to make me an offer for a Tunney fight, as I know that he is not interested in a Wills match. If he does so, I will gather possible that the papers, at least my share of them, will be signed right here in El Paso.

Either Will Do

It makes no difference to me whether I fight Willis or Tunney first, so long as I get a fight.

When I leave here Monday afternoon for Asheville, N.C. I will probably take Tillie Kid Herman with me. The El Paso boy is fast and a tough puncher – just the type of man that I need in my camp at present.

We will work for one month in Hendersonville, a little town outside of Asheville. George carpenter will have his camp there at the same time. By the end of the training period, I expect to be in the best condition of my life.

In addition to Herman, I will take Marty Farrell, McGuire and Joe Stosel to work me out. McGuire has and I intend to find out how tough he is Sunday afternoon in Juarez.

Wants To Sign

I would like to sign for a fight before I enter the Hendersonville camps, as that would give me something to work toward.

This Farmer Lodge, whom I meet in Juarez Sunday, is a tough man when he is in condition. Lodge has plenty of natural fighting ability and is a hard puncher. His only handicap is difficulty in keeping down to weight, but I understand that he has shown rare condition in his El Paso workouts.

The St. Paul boy has an extraordinary amount of speed and can make any of the heavyweights extend themselves.

I’m glad to be back in El Paso. I’ve always had a warm spot in my heart for this town because El Paso people are so cordial in their greeting. I would welcome an opportunity to defend the title in Juarez or El Paso and the opening of the Juarez Coliseum may pave the way to such a match.

1941: Mattressless Bed Too Hard

June 19, 1941

E.P. Tenant Given $50 And Costs

R.J. Herren was awarded $50 and costs in Justice of Peace Court Wednesday because he and his wife allegedly were forced to sleep two nights on a bed without a mattress.

Mr. Herren was awarded the damages in a suit for $149 and costs against Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bernard, East Yandell Boulevard, in which he charged he and his wife were forced to undergo hardships while he was looking for a new place to live.

He said Mrs. Bernard raised his rent, and when he told her he could not pay she ordered him to move, although he offered a month’s rent in advance.

After a couple of nights Mrs. Bernard removed the mattress from the couple’s bed, forcing them to sleep on the springs, he testified.

The following night she removed the bedstead, Mr. Herren said.