Your Memories

A few years ago a woman named Cynthia wrote with this absolutely fascinating story:

       I believe my great uncle (Russel Conn) and his wife (Verna Blattner Conn) may have been working at the Howard, most probably in the mid to late 1930s until very early 1940s. I believe they were there when she became pregnant with my cousin sometime around 1940. My uncle, born in 1890, had been a backstage type (set design, construction, back stage managing) and Verna or Verne, born in 1907 (conceived during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake) would have been a performer. Of course, you never get the straight scoop (or I didn't when I was younger) but most probably she was stripping by then, either as a feature performer or part of the chorus (although she decidely did NOT like being thought of as only a member of the chorus.   She had started out as a child dancer (a student of Gracie Allen's mother, Pearl) in the San Francisco area and performed with other Allen dancers at the Pan Pacific Exposition in 1915 when she would have been about 8 years old. She started out with Fanchon & Marco in California in about 1922 at 15, and I know was in San Francisco in 1924; at the Baker in Portland in 1925, and the Lyric in Dayton in 1929, although perhaps by then with someone other than Fanchon & Marco.
       I vaguely remember my grandmother (Russ' sister) saying that when Russ' and Verne's son was due, she (my grandmother) had gone to Boston to help out. That would have been in February 1943. I was born in 1950, and I believe Russ and Verne had moved back to California in the late 1940s and were active in little theatre and light opera set and costume design in the San Jose area. My first remembrance of them was when they came for a visit to Ohio in the 1960s, and my conservative family wasn't into discussing "my stripper great aunt" with me.
       I'm not sure what originally took them to Boston and the Howard, but it was undoubtedly a job offer for Russ. I believe they would have been relative newlyweds at that time, and I know they were married in New York City in the late 1930s, I think.

A few years later, we heard from David in California about Cynthia's post

I am an estate liquidator based in San Dimas, CA and came across a file folder of original vaudeville and burlesque photos and ephemera during the course of an estate clean-out. In the folder were a number of photos and programs relating to Verna Blattner Conn, nee Verne of THE GINGER GIRLS. The information I found on your site helped me fill in some of the blanks. I was curious as to her background and Cynthia’s post was very helpful. I have attached a photo of Verne dating from the 1920’s, as well as a copy of an old Los Angeles burlesque theater program with Verne on the cover.

By the way, from all the information I had poured through, it appears that Verne was with the theatrical troupe, THE GINGER GIRLS. The Ginger Girls were prominent on the theatrical circuit during Vaudeville's heyday as all-around dancers, comedians and singers. Many old newspaper articles can be found online about The Ginger Girls, including the one of performer Winifred Greene, who in 1912, committed suicide in her dressing room at Kansas City's Gayety Theater immediately following her on-stage song, the "Skeleton Rag". Another article reported that year earlier in 1911, they were performing their comedy dance routine in New York's Tammany Hall while the building was on fire, perpetuating the theatrical maxim, "the show must go on" (fireman were pouring down water on the smoldering stage while The Ginger Girls continued to dance). It appears that Verne (billed as "The Beautiful French Doll") did not join the troupe until the 1920's, becoming a starring performer (taking the overall role of 'soubrette' once held by the aforementioned Greene).

We put Cynthia in touch with David, who offered to forward digital copies of any more of her aunt’s theatrical pics.

John sent this Scollay Square story, along with two only-in-Boston tales

Scollay Square... was before my time, but my Dad (1919-2010) had a lot of stories about it, from when he was young and foolish. A friend of his was a former vaudevillian (he and his wife were a roller skating act) who owned a costume rental place called the Broadway Costume Co., which I think was not far from there. My Dad had a number of other friends who were performers — and several of them had planned to go to the Cocoanut Grove the night it burned down. They didn’t go only because my Dad ended up being asked to come to work early the next day, or something like that — otherwise, he’d have been there. He said that some of his friends were able to get out, because being performers, they knew how to get to the backstage exit — but many people didn’t make it!

In an unrelated bit of Boston history, my Dad and I were in the right-center field bleachers at Fenway Park for Game 6 in '75. We got a great view of Carbo’s homer and a fantastic look at Evans’s catch off Joe Morgan in the top of the 12th. As for Fisk’s historic shot, I’m afraid I misjudged it — I saw it off the bat but thought it was going to be off the wall! I still have my ticket stub.

From a reader named Jerry

I enjoyed your website. My great uncle, Arthur O'Brien was a stagehand at the Old Howard from approximately 1913 through 1947. Family lore tells me he was a born again christian who attempted to convert all of the female dancers. I am not sure how true this is. If any of your contacts from the Old Howard remember my great uncle and have info to share, I would love to hear from them and have their help in piecing some family history together. Thanks!

After getting Jerry's email I contacted Terry Mixon, who remembered Arthur, and wrote the following:

I believe there was a stagehand at the O.H. in 46 and 47 by the name of Arthur but I don't remember his last name. Could have been O'Brien. If he is the one I remember, he was a nice guy, and he palled around with a stage hand named Maxie. I think Maxie's last name was Potash or something like that. The head stagehand( the one that ran the lights) was named Kelly. Al Kelly was also the one who told us if a censor was in the audience. I seem to remember that the girls thought Arthur and Maxie were an odd duo as Arthur was very Christian and Maxie very Jewish. They use to kid that maybe they were trying to convert each other. But they (the girls) never said that where Maxie or Arthur could overhear them.

We found Arthur!

Seven years after Jerry emailed about Arthur, I got an email from my old friend who was known as "Mister Boston," a postcard collector (whose last name is also O'Brien.) He was doing a genealogy search for information on his father’s family, searching through the WW 2 draft card registrations. "I haven’t found him yet but came across an Arthur Michael O’Brien (no relation to me as far as I know) who worked at the Old Howard. I thought you might like to see it."

First, the email from Joe

I just found your website and thought that this might have a place there. I have had this bit of "Old Howard" memorabilia for the better part of my 66 years. I believe it was originally acquired by my dad. It is a plaque (it was used for many years as a 'hot plate' in our house) ... It appears to be made of some kind of bakelite material. It's about 4 1/2 inches wide by 6 3/4 inches long and 1/4 inch thick and, so far anyway, indestructible. The text indicates that it predates the final destruction of the building but I can find no information to confirm the actual year it was produced. It has no identifying marks other than what appears to be a signature attribution just below the sketch. It is a beautiful piece and one of my treasures. Joe

Our response

We told Joe that "this etching comes from a booklet titled 'The Old Home Town' which was published by The Hawthorne Press in Boston in 1945. But... while I have the booklet (which includes the Old Howard etching) I have never seen the page reproduced in any other book, nor was I aware of the strange (but completely believable, given this is Boston) ritual of having to rope off the sidewalk to maintain title to the land."

Anyone who can vouch for this old law - or who has seen a similar hotplate - is encouraged to email.

I am an 83 year old ww2 veteran living in the North End of Boston. I used to go to the Casino Burlesque theater and loved it especially a featured star called Peaches" In my opinion the most naturally beautiful stripper with a statuesque impeccable body who specialized in a shimmy act You mentioned making the girls look better than they were well, when peaches would be down to her pasties and g-string she had a length of satin material turn around and have her back facing the audience with the satin stretched across her majestic buttocks and the the lights would turn purple the drummer would work the cymbals to sound like water flowing and peaches would shake and shimmer and shimmy nobody before or since ever did that in their act.I used to enjoy going to Scollay Square for the shows the food the drinks what a waste it was to demolish that wonderful oasis of fun and replace it with that monstrosity called government Center. I still have a western leather jacket I bought at Johnny Walkers across the street from the Casino and it looks like new.
Joe, the ex sailor

Thank you, Joe, for your service to our country and for the eye-witness account of Peaches. if anyone can help with any photos of this beauty we both would appreciate it.

Get your shine box...

At a one of my slide shows on Scollay Square I met Joe Moscaritolo, who proudly showed off this photo. That's a 12 year-old Joe giving a man a shoe shine in Scollay Square (we don't think it was Billy Batts). Joe said "I charged a nickel, but the sailors would give me 25 cents. And if they had a girl on their arm, they would pay me 50 cents, to look like a big shot!" The photo, which Joe says was taken in 1943, we can see some sailors making their way to Joe's stand, just a few store fronts away from the famous Rialto Theater on Tremont Row. Perhaps to find a girl to impress?

From Paula....

My father Leo Shray along with my grandfather Saul Shray owned and ran the place. My uncle Milton Shray also worked there. Unfortunately, when Dawn quoted me there were some mistakes made. My father used to serve Pastrami sandwiches piled high and that came along with french fries and a pickle. My father used to say "Make them thirsty and they'll drink more." He was quite a man. He had a heart of gold and everyone loved him. At his funeral there was an over flow into the street. The Rabbi said if someone came and didn't know my father and had seen the crowd who had come to say good bye, they would wonder who had died? A king. At the house men from the bar came with a paper bag full of money. They had taken up a collection and brought it to my mother. My mother thanked them and asked that they donate the money to cancer.

From John P...

According to John "The photo appears to be taken during a fire prevention parade in the 1940s. Behind it in the line are what appear to be a Pumper and Rescue and Lighting Units. For many years the Fire Prevention Parade was a big deal. Often fire apparatus would come from other communities to participate in the Boston parade. There were usually demonstrations of firefighting techniques and equipment. A special favorite was the "Dandy Drillers" an exhibition team of firefighters doing "High Wire" style evolutions with ladders and ropes including the "Slide for Life." These always took place in October during the anniversary of the great Chicago Fire."

More memories

From Pete, "Down East"

The Old Howard was an integral part of my teen years...Just before the Old Howard was demolished, Frank [Francis W. Hatch, composer of "Some Coward Closed the Old Howard"] visited the site, slipped the foreman some cash and they saved two seating units from a loge. That evening before Frank left for the North Shore - Beverly - he took a rented pickup over to the demolition site, loaded the seats and drove them to Maine. I neglected to say this was a Friday in early summer so Frank was commuting weekends. Every summer after Labor Day before the "6 monthers" left Castine for warmer climes, Frank would have a big party at his home for which he usually wrote a skit or one-act play. This year some of Castine's "high society" elderly gals enjoyed the show sitting in Old Howard seats.

Bill, who hosts his own site of personal and historical memories

In 1944 I was a 17 year old merchant seaman on a ship in Boston Harbor. Every night we'd go in to Scully Square, take in a show, walk the streets and frequent the bars which didn't require age ID. One night I was so drunk I was running, diving and sliding on my stomach and chest over the ice and snow. A Boston cop on duty at Scully Square tried to get me to stop to no avail. He finally gave up and went on his way. Anywhere else I would have been arrested for public intoxication.

Thanks, Bill. His website is www.billstrain.com

From Ron

When I was in high school, sometime about 1955, a few friends and I skipped school and went to the Old Howard in Scollay Square. We were excited--the featured stripper was named Candy Barr and she had quite a reputation. But at the same time we were nervous that we might get caught, or worse, get into trouble in that run-down section of Boston. Being from a small conservative town about 12 miles north of Boston, this was all new to us.

I remember that as we entered the Old Howard it was so dark inside we had to stand at the back of the theatre for quite some time to let our eyes get adjusted to the low light. And once they did and we looked around at the audience, we realized we were entering a strange environment of undistinguished gentlemen.

A burlesque comedy act was on, so we snuck down the right-hand isle and grabbed some seats at the very end of a row just opposite an exit door. We figured it was safer to have two options in case we needed a fast exit. I was seated in the first seat just off the isle and noticed a set of metal steps that ran up the side wall to a door on the second level. It looked like an inside fire escape, but I didn't give it much thought.

Candy Barr came on next and we were mesmerized by her act. A real live pinup girl that exceeded our wildest 15 year-old imaginations. But before we knew it, it was over and she was gone. We sat there, arguing over whether to stay for another act or leave while our luck was holding out. Just when the temptation to stay was winning, the door at the top of the metal staircase opened and several strippers stepped out onto the metal platform and started down the stairs toward us.

We sat there with our mouths open. Was this luck, or what? Four beautiful strippers, dressed in scanty costumes covered only by loose wraps, were going to walk right by us. We could reach out and touch them if we dared!

The last one in line was none other that Miss Candy Barr herself. My heart was beating so fast I figured I'd be the youngest person in the theatre to have a heart attack. And, just as she hopped off the last step, her high heels caught on something and she stumbled toward me. I started to rise to catch her but it was too late. She bumped into me and we both went sprawling back into my seat.

I was sitting there with Miss Candy Barr in my lap!

She smiled at me, murmured something about being sorry, and was up and gone in a flash. But the memory of her body heat and smell lingered for a very long time. All the way back home on the MTA and for several days afterwards.

Of course, I was a local hero for a short period of time--too short. But as I look back on that event I have to smile at how naïve I was and how wonderful it was to be 15 in 1955.

Thank you, Ron, for that wonderful, well-written memory, although the date of your "encounter" with Ms. Barr means you likely went was the Casino Theatre on Hanover Street. The Howard was shuttered in 1953 so the owners of the Casino renamed theirs "the Old Howard Casino."

A question which received an answer

Our mother's father had a younger sister, Miss Ruby KERR, who married a Hobart PHELPS. They were married a long time and had several children. One son became a famous builder of church Organs, Lawrence PHELPS. What I just was reminded of is that, in his younger adult years, Hobart PHELPS, was an entertainer in Scollay Square. It seems his "act" was to dress up as a woman and .. actually I don't know what he did once he got on stage. (I think it was at "the Old Howard" but I'm not positive.)

He must have done this for a while, as his wife, my mother's Aunt Ruby, would make his costumes for him (When I married in 1967, Aunt Ruby, being a very good seamstress, volunteered to make my bridesmaids' gowns for me) Have you ever come across the name of Hobart PHELPS? He might not have used his real name - while entertaining - so he probably had a "stage name." My grandfather was born in 1888, so Ruby was born around 1898, so Hobart was probably born around 1895. This means he probably "performed" there, possibly from the 1920's to 1940's.

In response to the above, this email was received in October, 2008: Ruby Kerr and Hobart Phelps were my grandparents. Their daughter Muriel was my mother. My Grandmother used to make ballet costumes for the Boston Ballet when I was a little girl and often made me dresses, etc. As older children we did hear that Grandpa used to dress up as a female for some type of show. We were never given details.

Does anyone have the details? Email us here.

Another visitor seeking answers

I have a strong connection to Scollay Square even though I was born right around the time its' days were becoming numbered. My Grandfather, John F. "Terry" Kinsella worked as a stage producer, lighting director, special effects coordinator, in other words, a jack of all trades at the Old Howard, The B.F. Keith and other local theaters. He also worked on Broadway in New York City and specialized in creating and designing sets that could be easily broken down and transported for Broadway Shows that were going on the road.

My Mom and Aunt have told us many wonderful tales about their experiences "with Dad" when they went to work with him at the various theaters in Scollay Square. They lived in the West End of course! He became very good friends with the likes of Jimmy Durante, Lou Costello and many other famous Vaudeville actors (my Grandmother, a singer, didn't like her husband being associated with burlesque by the way so no matter what, as far as she was concerned, it was all and always "vaudeville."

My Mom and Aunt were taken to Joe and Nemos for a hot dog by none other than Jimmy Durante. He adored both of them and they have fond memories of him and many other personalities they encountered while spending days with dear old Dad.

Although he did just about everything, including "acting," his claim to fame was his ability to work wonders with lighting and sound. I have to ask my Mom who the actress was, but there was atleast one famous Broadway actress who insisted on having my Grandfather handle the lighting for her shows because, as she put it, "he made me look 10 years younger."

I am hoping to some day find someone left who knew my Grandfather. From the sounds of things, he was a quite a character and he was pretty well known throughout the stage business.

How about it? Does anyone have information on Mr. Kinsella? Email us here.

Where hopefully nobody knew your name...

In 1938, soon after the great "New England Hurricane", my mother, just recently out of the hospital from major surgery, left New York by train to meet my father's ship in Fall River. (Father was a merchant marine captain). In New Haven CT, the train tracks were covered with debris, wrecked boats etc so all passengers were switched to buses. Mother arrived in Fall River and found that the pier, at which father was to dock, had been washed away. His ship was sent to Chelsea. How mother got to Boston and on the MTA late in the evening I do not know. I only that she was weary and feverish and got off the MTA at Scollay Square. She asked the lady in the change booth where she could find a hotel and was referred to the Crawford House. It didn't take any imagination on mother's part to realize that the hotel catered to "working girls." She locked herself into her room, slept soundly and called the pier in the a.m. leaving only a telephone number where my father could reach her. (Never mentioned the name of the place.) Obviously the number was well known on the pier because as soon as my father stepped into the pier office he was informed that his wife was at the Crawford House. He phoned immediately and demanded to know what she was doing in that establishment and to stay in her room until he could get there to escort her out.

From Paul

I'm the family historian and you've mentioned things in the book that parallel my family history and fleshed it out in some ways for me. When I read about J.J. Hawes's studio on Tremont, it rang a bell. I then searched through old photographs of my great great grandfather and found that a few of them were taken by Hawes, with the 19 Tremont Row address printed on the back.

There's no date but it had to be taken sometime in the 1860s-70s because by the looks of him, he must have been in his late 20s to early 30s in a couple of them; he was in the Civil War when he was 23-27, so it's probably shortly after that.

My great great grandfather, Charles Howland, was born in 1838, so he wasn't old enough to have been at Papanti's to meet Dickens in 1842, but coincidentally, he married Dickens's niece, Amy, years later. He lived in Rockland, MA so it must have been a big deal to make the trek into Boston to get his photo taken on Tremont Row on at least three occasions. Besides the literary connection to Dickens, he was also cousin to both Emerson and Longfellow, and was a direct descendant of Mayflower Pilgrim, John Howland. His obituary mentions that he met Lincoln, was the civil engineer who built the Marshfield/Brant Rock sea wall, and that he was the McPherson G.A.R. Post's chaplain in Abington, MA, for fifty years, up until his death in 1933.

I've spent half the day tracing Charles Howland's mother's (Deborah Cushing) side of the family and found out that not only was her grandfather, Elijah Cushing, a captain in the Revolutionary War, but his first cousin was William Cushing, a MA Supreme Court judge who was appointed to US Supreme Court Justice by Washington himself, and he also swore Washington into office in 1793. He ran against Sam Adams for Govenor in 1794 and John Adams said of him: "I Shall be happier if Cushing succeeds, and the State will be more prudently conducted." It just keeps getting better.

On the bawdy side of Scollay Square lore -- my father often talks about hanging out in the square, eating at Joe and Nemo's, going to the Olympia, and on one particular day while playing hooky from Braintree High in 1954, he got his first tattoo at Dad Liberty's (Dad's, he calls it) --- a dagger piercing his arm. He was 16 at the time.