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Chapter Twenty-Seven
1929: The Depression
Cincinnati, Ohio
Broadstreet Hotel Sunday, September 25, 1920
5:59 AM
The ‘Jazzy’ music drifting from the Wild Indian that had crept through the slightly open window throughout the night and early morning, now replaced by bright daylight and the clip-clopping and grinding sound of iron clad wheels on the pavement of a horse drawn wagon along with the puttering of one or two motorcars.
Onto her right side facing the daylight, Agie’s back close enough to sense the heat of her husband’s body close upon his right side with the weight his left arm held between his wife’s side chest and upper arm.
Carefully removing Morrie’s arm, moving to her left side with as little movement as possible. Not touching, but now face to face, nude body to nude body.
Eyes half open, sleepily whispered “ ‘Mornng, sweetheart. How was your night?”
“Mmmm, absolutely wonderful! The best ever. You?”
“Good, honey. The best ever for …” Falling to sleep.
Sensing absolute contentment, within minutes, so then did Agie.
8:19 AM
Hearing the familiar sound of urine tinkling into the bowel of the toilet... and a few seconds later the tingling sound of Morrie’s brush rapidly circling his shaving mug forming a thick lather, then the slick sound of a straight razor gliding downward over his cheeks. Knowing what her husband, as did the wife, once again desire. And it was desire, but what Agie Pink desired was to be in their own home, in their own bed minus the effect of gin, and the excitement of a room-full on wild dancing and wildly dressed women amid the roaring excitement of the ‘Wild Indian’ that had driven her husbands unaccustomed amour to the— never before witnessed— sexual sensation and orgasmic conclusion as had transpired, apparently for and to herself and her husband but hours earlier.
Leaving the bed, then seconds later, as Morrie— still nude, came from the bathroom— Agie had begun the lengthy process of putting her, non-flapper, undergarments on.
“Morning, sweetheart…” disappointment showing within the tone of his voice “...I was hoping you and me could, uh…” nodding towards the crumpled bed.
“Me, too. I was, too…” hesitating for a momentary kiss on his smooth — after shave lotion scented— cheek, as she hurried into the bathroom for her own morning procedure “...but I’m anxious to get home to see if Lester has had any problem.”
“Maybe to have people see your new motorcar, too?”
Through the closing door: “Sweetie, you know I’m not that way!”
On the other side of the closed door: “I know, but maybe I am!”
9:43 AM
“You want to drive?”
“Of course, but I did yesterday…” Agie said “... so why don’t you bring us home today.”
“I’d love too, honey. Love, too!”
Retrieving the Hudson from the stable it had been parked in the afternoon before, paying the black boy fifteen cents for washing the machine…
10:23 AM
Once outside the City of Cincinnati and the cities accepted top motorcar speed of 3 MPH; “Hold on!” As Agie held onto her hat, Morrie accelerated the Hudson to the breakneck speed of twenty-two miles an hour. “And they say I can even get it to hit forty-five if I push it.”
This the fastest she’d ever travailed. “Well…” Agie said nervously “...I’d rather you didn’t.”
“All right, scaerdy-cat
10:31 AM
“Morrie?”
Carefully taking his eyes from the gravely road centered between rapidly moving greenery to either side of the Hudson, glancing at his wife, then forward again.
“Last night was wonderful, and I loved it…”
Removing one tightly held hand from around the steering-wheel, squeezing Agie’s knee, then quickly back to the steering-wheel.
“...you ever think about… wonder why I never became pregnant?”
“I did. But those times were so…”
“Quick.”
“Yes. And for me almost always were, uh, incomplete because I didn’t always… You know.”
“I ‘do’ know! And you do know that a woman always knows when a man doesn’t, uh leave something.”
Eyes intent on the road. “Anyway, I always thought that you knew how to, uh, take care of yourself, so you wouldn’t become… You know.”
His eyes intent on the road. Her eyes intent on him.
“I don’t, really. I do know that there are certain times, around our menstrual times that a woman wouldn’t, or shouldn’t, but I never kept track of those times because I did… do want a baby.” Sighing. “But think maybe I’m too old now.”
The Hudson slowing, drifting to roadside and stopping. “You want a baby? Never thought you wanted to be a mother because you’re so… So unlike any mother I’ve ever known— actually unlike any woman I’ve ever known. Everyone in town still thinks of you as that ‘female, New York City lawyer.”
“I do want a baby, Morrie! I might be too old now but if you… You want to be a father?”
“I never gave it any thought…” Quiet a minute. “I’m thirty-seven and I might be too old, but yes! I would love to be a father, if you’re the mother.”
Squirming closer to his seat, holding his face in both hands. “Who else would be the mother of our baby, silly. I love you!”
“This is why you seemed to be so anxious to get home, so we… So you and me could…”
“Only, my sweetheart, only of you do it like you rally want to do it and not like you’re being forced to.”
“Like last night, maybe?”
“Yes… Well not exactly like last night. Well, yes, like last night without all that jazz and martinis. Well, yes, maybe sometimes with a dalmatian would be alright.”.”
The Hudson steering back onto the road. “I suppose, then…” he said sadly “...’never with oysters either, then.”
“Yes… Well before, you know, would be okay.”
Seeing the ‘Kringels's’ sign ahead, Morrie steered into the areas only motor-car service station within any direction.
Friday 12/31/1920
The first U.S census began in January of 2020 showing a population exceeding 100 million, at 106,021,537.
No symptoms and possibly not time enough to show, on this last day of 1920, Agie and Morrie Pink— though happily and enthusiastically attempting, were rather sure that they would not be unable to add to the 106,021,537 population of the United States of America on this year.
But then in 1921…
July 18, 1921: Babe Ruth’s 587 foot home run against Tigers set a career home run record. It was the bottom of the eighth inning in a summer contest at Detroit’s Navin Field when Babe Ruth sent a Bert Cole pitch over the fence at the deepest part of the ballpark. The historic shot officially set a world record.
“So? Think we should, you know, keep trying.”
The ball game over. “Sweetheart...” turning the radio off “…it isn’t exactly like work, you know. If and when it happens…” Morrie said “...it’ll happen, and if it never happens, guess maybe that’s Gods way of telling you and me we aren’t meant to be parents.”
Business was good. Life was good. The—now considered middle-aged Mister and Mrs Pink a loving, generous couple and revered citizens of Loveland. Having a baby would be nice, fantastic, in fact, however considering their ages, neither wife or husband were devastated as months marched on showing no sign of pregnancy.
1923: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, starring Lon Chaney is released. Women's one Piece swimming suits begin to be worn. The Ten Commandments produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, and the First baseball game is played on April 18 at Yankee Stadium.
Agie and Morrie did not attend the first baseball game played at Yankee Stadium, but did drive to Cincinnati to see — up to this time, most ‘flickers’ were of a young woman, usually named ‘Nelly’, tied to railroad tracks by a villainous appearing man with a long mustache— but the ‘The Ten Commandments’!’ Never before scope and scene of huge masses of Hebrew slaves passing through the parted Red Sea, all in grainy-filmed silence projected onto a movie screen, where but for the rising and lowering tempo of side-stage piano, the filled to capacity audience sat in near open mouthed awe.
July10–21, 1925
‘Scopes Trial’, also called the ‘Monkey Trial,’ ; a highly publicized eleven day trial that took place when a Dayton, Tennessee, high-school teacher, ‘John T. Scopes’, was charged with violating state law by teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
“So, what do you think?”
Neither Agie or Morrie particularly religious.
“I believe the school teacher is right.”
“So you don’t believe the ‘Adam and Eve’ story.”
A progressive, intelligent woman. “Never did.”
Prohibition, legal prevention of the manufacture, sale, and transpiration of alcoholic beverages in the United States from 1920 to 1933 was widely despised by millions of Americans willing to drink liquor illegally, which gave rise to ‘bootlegging’ — the illegal production and sale of liquor and the ‘speakeasy’, an illegal, secretive drinking establishments, both of which were highly capitalized by organized crime.
Loveland, Ohio: 1926
‘Slick’! That the only name he had given and the only name he was known by.
‘Slick’: The man stood, possibly five-foot-six. Smoothly shaved but for a thin, ‘Adolphe Menjou’ type mustache that Morrie Pink referred to as Slick’s ‘french tickler’. Parted dead center, Slick had pitch-black, heavily pomaded hair pasted sleekly onto his scalp. Always nattily dressed, the shoulder holster containing a snub-nosed .38 police special neatly concealed beneath the pinstriped suit jacket.
Apparently a self designated route, for the past two years Slick would appear near the beginning of each month approaching from the north giving rise to the thought that he was based somewhere in the Cincinitti area; arriving unannounced, but expected, driving an unobtrusive,— with darkened rear and side windows — shiny-black, 1923 Packard Twin Six chassis, 14.8-liter, 265hp ‘Touring Car’ capable, so it was assumed, of reaching a speed of sixty[five miles per hour. Actually, although Slick was hesitant to try, the special chassis could easily reach an unheard of —at least for a ‘Touring Car’ — ninety miles per hour…Although there was really no need for excessive speed as the city coppers still drove those old four cylinder Chevies that would blow their motors if pushed to even thirty-five and the paddy wagons were still horse-drawn. Also, though unknown, structured within the outer trunk panel was a half inch thick iron shield. The rear seat, passenger seat and trunk partition had been removed allowing room enough for sixteen specially made padded, circular slotted wooden containers constructed to hold twenty, sixteen ounce, pint Mason Jars each; giving Slick a pre-sold, rolling inventory of 320 pint jars of moonshine whiskey and bathtub gin … And within easy reach, beneath the front seat a sawed-off double barrel, shotgun.
Why? One might ask.
Slick had owned and operated two small speakeasy’s, but between weekly payoff’s to local police, and occasional ‘completely’ destructive raids by ‘G-men’, he’d come up with the thought of a constantly moving, rolling speakeasy — actually showing more profit wit less effort without the need to contend with rowdy drunks, coppers payoffs and concern over the U.S. Governments damned 18th Amendment. (The 18th Amendment to the Constitution prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors)
September, 1926: Indeed, coming from the north— though there are farms and scatterings of houses, Slicks entire customer base were the individual small business along this route of his chosen ninety mile loop, then angling north-westerly into the mountains and highly wooded areas where he’d stop at the two contracted moonshine still operations, where he traded the empty Mason Jars for full Mason jars.
Eventually, after about seven hours on the road, Slick would pilot the Packard back to Cincinnati.
Slick’s first stop was at Kriss Kringle’s Garage where, exchanging the five empty Mason Jars for three jars of Moonshine whiskey and two of gin for $3.50 each for a total o $17.50— Kriss will keep, for his own use, two whiskeys The one remaining whiskey and two gins will be sold to two of the garages customers for $4.25 each, equalizing the cost of Kriss’ two jars to a total of $5.75 or $2.87 per jar, actually making Mr. Kriss Kringle a moonshine sub-contractor.
Slick’s cost, by the way, was $1.05 per pint showing him a profit, after all 320 pints of gin and liquor had been delivered for $3.50 each — would be $1,128.00 less $1.05 per jar giving him a gross profit of $792.00, which was just fine with Slick as his rolling speakeasy did not attract the attention of either police or ‘G-men, which he would have no problem outrunning, and the steel shield hidden in the trunk panel would stop anyone taking a pot-shot at him. More importantly, he had not come to the attention of any of the larger organizations… the ‘big guys’ that might want to butt into his penny-ante Moonshine operation.
Eight miles down the road a stop was made at Pink’s Hardware for Agie Morrie’s delivery of their monthly order for two jars of gin — legal or not, the Pink’s still liked an occasional martini — and a mile and a half further south there’s Three Springs and ‘Mazie’ Eats’ where four Mason jars of whiskey were delivered that Mazie sold to any diner requesting some thirty-five cents a shot and as a pint contains sixteen ounces, Mazie’s profit margin was higher than Slicks.
May 20, 1927
Charles Lindbergh piloted the Spirit of St. Louis down the dirt runway of Roosevelt Field in New York on what most people doubted would be a successful crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. Yet Lindbergh landed safely in Paris less than 34 hours later, becoming the first pilot to solo a nonstop, nearly 2,000 mile trans-Atlantic flight.
“Can you believe that!” Stated not as a question but an explanation. “Crossing the entire Atlantic Ocean all by himself!”
“And in only thirty-four hours!” Agie added.”
“Amazing! Just amazing!”
October 6, 1927
6:30 PM
The evening that changed the world with the presentation of the New York City premiere of ‘The Jazz Singer’; the ‘talkie’ that marked the transition between silent movies and a Hollywood production where sound is as important as what is being seen.
The Jazz Singer, featuring the most popular entertainer at the time in all of America: AL Jolson.
After The Jazz Singer’s popular release, eventually finding it’s way to Cincinnati, Morrie and Agie Pink, planning on spending the night, had rented a room at the Broadstreet Hotel intending to see — ‘and hear’, The Jazz Singer, stood in line through two complete showings before being allowed into the theater.
1928
World wide events transpiring, but nothing much affecting the occupants of the city of Loveland, Ohio… Well, other than on May fifth, Walt Disney character Mickey Mouse premieres in his first cartoon, ‘Plane Crazy’.
303
1929
The front page of the Oct. 30, 1929 New York Times exclaimed the massive loss on Wall Street. It also worked to ease fear among panicked investors.
Wall St. Panic
As stocks crash
This ends Volume Two of “Road to Woodstock ‘69 “
Volume Three to follow eventually bringing us “back to the future”. Sounds like a great name for a movie.
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