The Key West Citizen Newspaper, December 26, 1946, Page 1

* automobile accidents totaled 162, VOLUME LXVII. Christmas Mount To 221 AS USUAL AUTOMOBILE * ° ACCIDENTS CAUSE or uuu MORE DEATHS THAN ANY OTHER (By The Axsociated Press) WASHINGTON, Dec. 26.—/} Prediction of the National Safety Council that 150 persons in the United States would lose’ their lives through accidents on Christ- mas Eve and Christmas was ex- ceeded by 71, the council stated today. i toll thus far reported from acci- It announced that the “set | dents had reached 221, and that! a good ‘many reports had not yet been received. Number of lives lost through and fires, falls and miscellaneous happenitigs accounted for the re- maining 59: Quick action by Night Manager Arnold J. Owen of the four- story Waldorf hotel in Balti- more averted what appeared would be another disastrous ho- tel fire. The instant he smelled ————— Fatallies From Accident No. 306 Eve And COMEDIAN DIES SL a p® = | we FIELDS W.-C. Fields, | 1 So teen NED RENN er Key Wh - |K. Brunot, of Pittsburgh, assum- smoke he sounded the hotel's alarm signal system, and he and Comedian, Dies ‘ SOUTHERNMOST NEWSPAPER IN THE UNITED STATES KEY WEST, FLORIDA, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1946 CHRISTM The Citizen Active Many AS CHEER FOR NEEDY DATES BACK IM | i Years In Yuletide Giving * YEARS Seeeeseassscgaenuassansassaesenagnesaeee Distribution of gifts among the | needy in Key West is almost as old a practice as the town itself. Jefferson B. Browne, in his His- tory of Key West, tells about the first formal religious services held in Key West on Christmas Day, 1832, when the Rev. Sanson ed his duties as rector of the Protestant Episcopal Church,j named St. Paul’s shortly after-j ward, Christmas cheer came to all of the small number of residents on the island at that time, and ever since then, even during the Civil War, the practice of dis- tributing gifts among the local needy has been continued. The Citizeh, under its various owners, has campaigned for the distribution of presents to needy children at Christmas time, and on various occasions presented the gifts itself. On one occasion, The Citizen, in the Armory building, White and ‘Southard streets, distributed 5,000 presents among Key West children, and on other occasions, beginning at 5 o'clock on Christmas morning, ‘distributed foodstuffs among the needy in Key West. For a good many years after the turning of the century, the; chief event in celebrating Christ- mas Eve and Christmas Day in Key West was the explosion of firecrackers. Far more firecrack- ES gE = SEES SEES SEES SSSA are no fireplaces. Doors and win- dows have been left open for him Remains Of Julius Grosjean Sent Yesterday fo Cornelia Ga. The remains of Julian I. Gros- jean was sent yesterday to Cor- nelia, Ga., for funeral services and burial. ie deceased is sur- vived by two sons, Arthur J., of Cleveland, and Julius. D, of Wooster, Ohig; one daughter, Mrs. Doyle ‘Narns, of Wooster; two sisters, Mrs. Albert Jacot, ; PRICE FIVE CENTS Gene Sanchez Fined For Assaulting City Manager Ellingson FORMER POLICEMAN IS in a city that has no Christmas! and Mrs, Alvin Dodez, of Wooo | niimttitiiitnnritintrntturisiiiititits, GUILTY OF AS. 4 trees. i “Christmas in Key West, the' southernmost city in the United ; States, is unlike any other in the | country. Christmas Eve slides softly over the coral island of Key West, along the streets lined with pink and white oleanders, through purple bougainvillea, porch vines and into homes gay with mail-order candles. There are no tinkling sleigh bells, no sugar frosting of snow on the roofs and no late Christmas shoppers peeking at an icy street over the tops of their damp white bundles. “The closely packed rows of houses are finally dark. The chil- dren sleep. But through the streets nofsy truckloads of young 4 folks ride singing, “I’m an Old Cow-Hand.” Occasionally , the ocean breeze carries a whisper of “Holy Night, Silent Night,” sung by a far-away group of carolers. The night is warm and the stars tre low. “Christmas dawns with a rest- less barking of firecrackers and a day of festivity is on. Cigar factories, the city’s leading in- jher residence at .723 Fleming street, after a short illness. ter; two brothers, Jim Grosjean and Julius Grosjean, of Wooster. Pritchard Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. DEATHS Mrs. Eliza McClintock, 78 Mrs. Eliza McClintock, 78, died at 7:30 o’clock this morning in Funeral arrangements, under the direction of the Lopez Fun- eral Home, will be © announced later, She leaves’ a son, William, of Ohio; two brothers, Robert Lee and Samuel McClintock, and one grandson, William R. McClintock. H. H. Wallace, 43 Howard H. Wallace, 43, died this morning ‘in his home at 828 Duval street, following a lingering ill- ness.’ Funeral services will be held tomorrow afternoon, beginning at 5:30 o'clock, in St. Mary’s Roman iia Ee SAULT AND BATTERY; ‘ , agesoncencerene ELLINGSON SUFFERS BADLY SWOLLEN FACE An altercation in the City Hall 4 j this morning brought a badly {Swollen black eye and a bloody ‘nose for City Manager O. J. S. |Ellingson and a $50 fine for for- {mer policeman Eugene Sanchez. |The stocky, 37-year-old ex-cop twas found guilty of assault and ibattery on the 62-year-old city , manager and father of an Army lic} captain. \ In sentencing Sanchez at 2:15 jthis afternoon, Municipal:| Judge ‘Enrique Esquinaldo told Sanchez: “You have committed a very serious offense. Mr. Ellingson is the head of our government here. }If matters were settled in this matter it would disorganize our JOHN W. BRICKER Bricker Comes | whole system of city government. I should fine you the maximum Out For Taft : . ever, you are a poor man. Ac- cordingly, I fine you $50 or 50 prescribed by law of $250. How- For President ‘evs is jou : dustry, are silent. Commercial Catholic Chi fishing boats bump their noses | - 1, kbar bg aon against the docks. \ Swarthy ; Burial will be under the direction (By Associmed Press) sponge divers attend morning | of the Lopez Funeral Home CLEVELAND, Dec. 26.—Gover- Ellingson appeared in court with his left cheekbone beneath two assistants rushed up the steps with fire extinguishers. No. blaze was encountered on! In Pasadena, Cal. ers were set off on Christmas (By Associated Press) Day than on the Fourth of July. the: Sst Gandsecond! floors. but | PASADENA, Dec. 26.—W. C.} And back 50 years ago the only fire was discovered on the third | Fields, comedian, widely known}'Christmas trees in Key West floor. It was fought with extin- | orough motion pictures and ra-| were. stoppers, which presented guishers until firemen arrived, 2%, tied Christmas Day in Las}a pretty appearance when glow- by which ti I : »| Encinas sanitarium, where he had|'ing with their many-colored pedi still ehlaee Saye window | been a patient for 14 months. He | lights. Wortivenrevebwstiet andinohody He born Claude William Dukan-| In The Citizen of 10 years ago, e fost and nobody ‘field January 29, 1880, and, when} js published a front page article “s” to Field. bea me asi ee entered the show’ business,| clipped from the New York ps ; 1dropped the first two’ syllables} rimes, ‘The ‘article is _ titled, Police Report 3 is surname and added an| «Christmas in the Far, Far South,” and is herewith repro- T f ° e For half a century bulb-nosed | duced: ral fic Accidents ae 1 eae epevuleed muniietoes “Santa Claus -halts-his panting ? 5 vagal e rarest ‘Com i ir fi outhern Three minor automobile acci-| talents of the modern entenaie Cerne bane States! at Key dents were reported by police! ment world. His. stocky, stove- West, Fla. He mops his’ brow Christmas Day and early ‘this pipe-hatted figure roamed over with a red handkerchief and digs morning. " + | thousands of theater stages and] into -his pack for an armload of A car driven by C. D. Bell ran; movie screens. The manner ‘ in} firecrackers. He knows that hun- | *\@ fire hydrant. [ be the Std othe sane prenicn he flicked ashes ‘from his pi etn senibe = Maevet Sen vemne a national gesture. tod fast, near the outskirts of! te a scomely SER SAE ie the city. A passenger, BE Whol teed oe, ce 7 ease a a mire, received minor bruises.; mouth with a dead pan aed : The car was damaged. j rising and falling inflection that _ At 7 o'clock Christmas i ai made him readily recognizable. vision street sing he saw an-| aS na a ie SE other car approaching him on the | paper or would place his hat on wrong sideof the street. The on-| his shouldered cane and then coming driver forced Averette to| hunt for it. He was the shady, the left side of the road and hit |but lovable, character whose him on a fender, causing him to} motto was “never give a sucker lose control. of his car, which hit} an even break.” é : The comedian was born Claude A city light pole was sheared | William Dukinfield in Philadel-! off cleanly sometime over the} phia, January 29, 1880. Later he holiday near Bayview Park, but| switched the initials and short- Averette disclaimed any connec-| ened his last name so it would fit tion with that mishap. | theater marquees. He left home at Bae ativiie ee eal and school at the age of 11.after | a dispute with his father. i paces en Saale SEC agi His radio feud with the Edgar street to : rect, he; Bergen dummy, Charlie Mc- ee nee Carthy, was a pecionat sensation, sou’ 01 r. ree lors} and for many radio seasons piled out of the Navy -vehicle| Fields would utter such epithets and ran away. as, “Why, you half-pint fugitive from a woodpile, I'd like to slice you into Venetian blinds.” Char- lie would answer, “It wouldn’t be the first half-pint you killed.” His capacity for liquor was fa- | bulous. : In 1937 a physician sued Fields ; for $12,000 for 23 days of hospital | treatment in June and July, 1936, when the comedian was critically ill. Fields claimed the fee should be more like $1,000 and contested \ the suit in a widely publicized trial. Fields was married in 1901 and was never divorced. His wife, (Continued on Page Four) Palace Theater CHARLES STARETT in “ROARING RANGERS” . News and Serial | TUBES REPAIRED by the Dill Electric Vulcanizer Lou Smith Auto Service —_— _aUUUUNENOUUUUHQQNUEENEG A CAEEU ATONE TATRA “Everybody Knows Brady” J. H. BRADY WHO NOW OPERATES POOR OLD CRAIC’S SERVICE STATION PHONE 9134 Division and Francis Sts. Your PURE OIL Dealer Tires — Tubes — Batteries Auto Accessories RTT LLL ELLE CALLE ul SUES: } «¢ DANCING -- “Nightly to the Music of (CRUNCH) and His STANLEY Orchestra Featuring SYLVIA at Piano Best Drinks— . Popular Prices Reservations: Phone 9287 ' passed off without untoward in- dreds of ‘stockings are hanging! on bedposts,,for him, for there; mass. Turtle hookers leave their catches to crawl patiently over one another in the cages. “Every Cuban returns to the home of his parents at 11 o'clock Christmas Eve for a feast of pork, black beans and rice—Lg Fiesta de Natividad. The father acts as toastmaster and calls on different members of the family to speak and sing. After this cele- bration the children are put to bed to await the coming of Christmas Day. bei “On Christmas Day pleasure boats are. filled. Tourists may take the ninety-mile trip to‘Cuba. They may tour Fort Taylor, an important military post in the harbor. Perhaps they make the sixty-mile,run to historic ‘Fort Jefferson, abdndoned since its story-making epoch during and following #he | Civil War.” ein Ciotteens! Eve | And Christmas | Pass Quietly Christmas Eve and Christmas cident in Key West. “J have never seen a quieter Christmas,” Sheriff Berlin Saw- yer said today. “Not an arrest was made, and even on Christ- mas Eve everything went off or- derly.” * Noche Bueno was observed not only by Cubans but by Ameri- cans also. County Clerk Ross C. Sawyer said that on every Christ- | mas for 35 years he has enjoyed lechon, and that he believed that | practice was observed in Key} West more generally this Christ- mas Eve than ever before. He; said that in one bake shop alone he saw more than 50 pigs that! were being baked for residents. Many house parties were held | Christmas Eve night. At least! two groups of musicians made the ; rounds of the town, playing, either in homes or on sidewalks. } Christmas carols were played chiefly, with’ “Silent Night” ; leading in popularity. One trom- bone player said that, at 2 o'clock Christmas morning, he | played “Silent Night” so fre-| quently that he was able to sound | only four notes the last time he played it. The Friendly Neighborhood | Service Store Where You Can Get Electrical Appliances, Drug Sundries Stationery, etc. POOR OLD CRAIG SERVICE STORE Mrs, Al Armengel, Manager 1019 WHITE STREET SS ALLEGED MURDERER, AND DEAD BROTHER FORMER KEY WESTERS The murder of Herbert Mel- ton, 29, and Wendell A. Rob- erts, 30, by John Melton, 36, in Miami yesterday was es- pecially tragic to many Key Westers since the Melton boys were born and brought up in this city. John Melton shot the other two men after a drinking par- ty during which remarks re- flecting on Roberts’ plumbing ability were allegedly made. Roberts worked in the Mel- ton plumbing shop. Travers Melton, a third: brother, also was in the group but was not harmed. All three Meltons are the sons of Nathan Melton and- nephews of Leon Saunders of this city. They attended school in this city and moved to Miami when their mother, the former Nellie Saunders, and father, an employe of the Florida East Coast Railway, moved there after the 1936 hurricane. Travers was & member of the Navy Shore. Patrol here until a few months ago, residents here said. SEAT COLERS ROY'S KEY WEST AUTO PARTS 121 Duval Street ome Phone 442 1 FLASH! Survivors are the widow, Mrs. Malvina D. Wallace; mother, Mrs. | States senator-elect from this | came to see him-in «bis his eye badly swollen and discol- ored. He testified that Sanchez office nor John Bricker, also United, Lillie Wallace; brothers, C. E, and| State, today declared he had with-' shout receiving back pay for his Moreno Wallace; sisters, Mrs. Hil-| drawn from the race for candi- dg Regan and Mrs. H. N. Hume;|4ate on the Republican ticket in son, Charles M. Wallace. Mrsi:E, R. Arnold 76 Mrs. Emma Rosabelle Arnold, 76, of 909 ‘United street, died hight at.the hame ofjtt is believed also, be ; A 4 , cause of in;law and -daughter,} Bricker’s i i a aA r, popularity among Re- Mr, and’ Mrs; ot Wasig, in a publicans in many states, particu- are) ‘went several larly along the eastern seaboard weeks ago for medical treatment.jand the middle western states, ie widow of ‘A. W.|that many former” Bricker Sup-| who. was: weil!Porters will line up for Taft on cigar manufactur- in Key West for y afternoon, and +Hé*funeral will the rector, the Rev. James MacConnell officiat. ing. Burial will be under the di- rection of the Lopez Funeral Home. Besides Mrs. Witzig, Mrs. Ar- nold leaves ‘another daughter, Mrs. Mario Viera; two sons, Wil- liam and George, and eight grandchildren. Mrs. Mary Waite, 65 Mrs. Mary Louise Waite, aged 65 years, died yesterday morn- ing in Jackson Memorial Hospi- tal in Miami. Funeral services will be held Sunday afternoon at 4 o'clock from the Chapel of the Pritchard Funeral Home, Evan- gelist Harry Gregory conducting the services. Burial will be in the family plot in City Cemetery. Survivors are the husband, William W. Waite; one sister, Mrs. Lila Carey; three nieces, Mrs Almeda Bell, Mrs. Ruby Hymanj Mrs. Maud Roberts; one nephew, Clif- ford Roberts. ve PIONEER HOTEL 151 N.E. FIRST ST. In the Heart of Miami The Rendezvous of Key West SERVICEMEN and CIVILIANS "Best For A Night's Rest” 1 Block West of Bus Depot FLASH! Arturo Does It Again! Now x: DELMONICO RESTAURANT Introducing the Greatest SMALL BAND in the SOUTH Featuring .. SAX, CLARINET and VOCAL by CLAUDE KELL— That Great PIANO STYLIST, LORINE MARTELL Dinner Music: 6:30 to 9 - 10:00 to 2 A.M. Coming Ser The Greatest Tenor Saxophonist in the Country—AL STALPE service as a policeman before he : : was discharged by the Civil Serv-+ 1 hi Si ets Ohio. ed Ellingson to go to the city ae a Hee tee ie comptroller’s office, the city man- pointed Se sei ace Taft elie Boe ordee ne pay vote of the delegates from Ohio.| uy E refused,” Ellingson said, adding that he got-up from his desk ‘and started to leave the room to keep an» appointment with the fire chief. **You’re going now’;"the city manager quoted Sanchez as say- Ing. “No, I'm not,” Ellingson said he 4;replied.. The city manager told the court he then started to turn Late Bulletins {and talk to Sanchez, whom he ha@! the convention floor. (By Associated Press) pa INDO-CHINA WAR PARIS. — Uprising in Indo- China has reached a full-war) scale. Thousands of natives, among whom are said to be many former Jap soldiers, are armed,| and their leader said, “We will! fight to the death or until we are given liberty.” 68 LOSE LIVES SHANGHAI,.—Sixty-eight per-| sons lost their lives in crashes of} three transportation planes near | this city yesterday. The accidents were blamed on a heavy fog. FIGHTING IN CHINA NANKING.—It was reported | today that communist troops | have captured two railroad cen- ters in northern China. din front of the city mand desk. “When I did, he hit me,” El- lingson said. Since Sanchez pleaded not guilty to the charge of assault and battery, the only other per- son in the room at the time of the altercation, Mrs. Jane White, payroll clerk, was called. She said she did not see the blow struck and was looking out the ge | window when she felt Mr. Elling- son fall against her. She then ran and phoned the police. . Sanchez denied hitting the city manager. He was arrested by Patrolman Joe Cerezo who was coming up the City Hall stairs. Lt. Ray Atwell responded to the phone call and took Sanchez in- to custody. He s jailed on a 250 bond which was shortly PRESIDENT RETURNS | WASHINGTON. — Pres ident) Truman is expected to be back in} the White House early this eve-| ning. He is making the trip by| plane from Kansas City, Mo. Southernmost Garang? in U. S. TWINS 1130 Duval Street Phone 168 Body and Fender Work Genuine Auto Parts for All Cars DANCE FRIDAY and SATURDAY— 9 UNTIL? to the Music of HANSON’S “Piece Melody Makers ORCHESTRA at the VFW CLUBHOUSE FLAGLER at 2ND No Cover — No Admission Auto Repairs, Painting, | caiy on paid by his brother, Joseph San- | chez. The former policeman, who told the court he wanted no jury ial or counsel, since it was “just an argument,” earlier said he had been waiting for Elling- son for an hour and a half to point out to him that a city ordi- nance requires payment of $175 GE | per month for policemen instead of $150. He contended the city manager had put him off repeat- the matter. Sanchez | said: | “Ellingson said, ‘I'll look into |this when I get time.’ I told him he had been greasing his car and jchanging tires since 9 o'clock |while I’ had been waiting for him. When he kept putting me off, I guess I lost my temper.” | Have your Dodge. Chrysler, Ply- | mouth or DeSoto Car REPAIRED EFFICIENTLY AT YOUR DEAL- |ERS—at the RIGHT PRICEII!! |NAVARRO Inc. | Opposite Bus Station | ED ' | CASA CAYO HUESO | (The Southernmost House) | 1400 Duval at South St. DINING ROOM and | COCKTAIL LOUNGE ; Opens 5 P.M. Daily. RESORT NRTA RE A PEED i