Short Stories and Tall Tales: Book Iii

By E P WHITNEY PHD

The stories and tales in this book relate intimate relationships told in sensitive, non vulgar language. Some names and places are fictitious while incidents and relationships are based upon fact. Book I was withdrawn from the market to avoid any personal embarrassment as some stories were not sufficiently fictionalized. The objective is more to promote self awareness than to just entertain, even though some stupid things we do are amusing to say the least.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496951946

E P WHITNEY PHD

THE AUTHOR WAS A SARATOGIAN NEWSPAPER ROUTE BOY DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION BEFORE WWII. HE WAS DRAFTED WHILE STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL WHEN THE COUNTRY DESPERATELY NEEDED MILITARY PERSONNEL, AND SERVED WITH THE AMPHIBIOUS FORCES IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC. HE RECEIVED A DIRECT COMMISSION AS A NAVAL OFFICER AND GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE WITH A DEGREE IN ACCOUNTING. HE WORKED IN THE CORPORATE WORLD AS AN INTERNAL AUDITOR AND BECAME AN ASST COMPTROLLER. HE WENT TO GRADUATE SCHOOL, TAUGHT HIGH SCHOOL FOR TEN YEARS, AND THEN TOOK A POSITION AS A SUPERVISOR OF BUSINESS EDUCATION WITH THE NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT WHERE HE TOOK EARLY RETIREMENT; WENT TO GRADUATE SCHOOL AGAIN AND STARTED HIS FOURTH CAREER AS A COLLEGE PROFESSOR. HE WAS MARRIED TO THE LATE MARY CLAIRE WELLER WHITNEY FOR SIXTY YEARS, FIVE MONTHS, ONE WEEK AND FOUR DAYS. THEY HAD FIVE CHILDREN AND EIGHT GRAND CHILDREN. HE HAS WRITTEN THREE COLLEGE TEXT BOOKS AND THREE BOOKS OF “SHORT STORIES AND TALL TALES.” THE CURRENT BOOK III FEATURES A HISTORICAL STORY OF LIFE IN SARATOGA SPRINGS BEFORE WWII WHEN “THE RAILROAD RAN THROUGH IT”. THE AUTHOR AND HIS WIFE WERE PAST MEMBERS OF THE SARATOGA HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND SPENT MUCH OF THEIR LIVES IN THIS MAGICAL CITY WITH ITS FABULOUS SPRING WATER! HE REALLY, REALLY LOVES IT.

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SHORT STORIES

and

TALL TALES

BOOK III

E P WHITNEY, PHD

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© 2014 E P Whitney, PhD. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/17/2015

ISBN: 978-1-4969-5195-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-5194-6 (e)

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CONTENTS

A RAILROAD RAN THROUGH IT

The story of life in the railroad track crowd in the late 1930’s as viewed by a teenage paper boy; now in his late 80’s. Not a negative story of poverty, but a positive story of survival; and the changes in the magical city of saratoga springs.

IMAGES

The inside story at a small new england college that turned a sex scandal into an academic affair. Any attempt to match any fictitious character with anyone living or dead is a federal offense!

THE RETURN OF P O RAKE

The uncommon story of a soldier in viet nam that chose not to return home to the u. S. After the conflict ended. Judge not that ye be not judged

THE HALL OF FAME TEAM!

The story of the first soccer team at delhi A & T and a tribute to harry wilkerson

THE ARTIFICIAL PERSON

The story of an immaculate perception, criminally abused!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you to the art staff at the gazette responsible for the beautiful picture on the back cover in honor of my better half, mary claire whitney.

To lacy and the knott street office gang for all of the technical help.

To my fellow naval officers who participated with me in egress recap, the program to debrief pow’s from the vietnam prison camps, to help me to make it through survival training.

To my fellow faculty members and students who made life so interesting that i just had to write about it.

To my son clark who used his skills as a journalist to help me mold my notes into story form.

To the hall of fame team that taught me about the pitch.

SYNOPSIS

Short stories and tall tales - book iii by e p whitney, is the third fiction published by the author after his third retirement. Book iii features the lead story, a rail road ran through it which is an historic view of saratoga springs during the great depression from the perspective of a newspaper boy in that era. The other stories and tales are personal and vicarious happenings to the author that are embellished and woven into a true to life report of the time as perceived.

There is no attempt to create a literary masterpiece; just simple stories and tales reflecting the culture of the time. The changes in america are so great that if the present were viewed from back in that time, it would be considered as science fiction. The past to the young people is just as strange and unbelievable to them.

The cultural changes are just as dramatic as the changes in technology. Right wrong has changed to win loose. Build a better mouse trap. Has changed to buy a better stock. Self indulgement has over shadowed care for others, and poor has reached a higher level; but the spring water in saratoga springs is still free!

A RAILROAD RAN THROUGH IT

CHAPTER I

Saratoga Springs in the 1930’s

1929 Was the start of the great depression. The young nation that had firmly established itself as a world power by providing the deciding force in the war to end all wars was now suffering the pains of over extension.

Much of the work force was unemployed and many children went to bed hungry. There was a huge bread line at the capital buildings in washington, demanding that the government do something to ease the pain; but there were also elegant mansions along the hudson river with a society basking in luxury. There were many paradoxes throughout the nation, but none more pronounced than in saratoga springs in upstate new york.

Saratoga springs was a most beautiful city with its world famous mineral springs and its thoroughbred race track. Some of the most fabulous night clubs in america could be found along the shores of saratoga lake; the piping rock, reilley’s lake house and le loupes to name a few. The north broadway section was a fairyland of extravagant houses that served as the summer residences of the race track crowd. Congress park, union street and broadway were meticulously groomed and adorned with flowers and shrubs during the racing season. There were also the less affluent sections of the city as well.

The D & H railroad track came down from montreal along the east side of loughberry lake, crossed over maple avenue at the alley way up to catherine st, one block before n0. 3 School, then across broadway, splitting church street and van dam streets; then around the old firehouse and over lake avenue to the train station, one block west up the hill from the four corners of broadway and lake avenue, then recognized as the center of the town.

The railroad was the character of the city. It connected the city to the outside world. It wasn’t just a settlement in an emerging nation, it was a destination for people from all parts of the world, especially from europe; people of wealth and means too, i might add. With this affluence of course, came those of less wealth and means to build and serve for a share of this wealth.

The connection between the distant big cities and the settlements around it was the roadway system that was expanding to accommodate the massive switch from horse and buggy to automobile.

Route nine was the main roadway through saratoga to the railroad tracks that separated north broadway from the rest of the city; then down van dam street (now part of the city center) past eddy’s store to maple avenue and on north to glens falls. There was an elevation up over the railroad tracks as one entered north broadway, adding to its grandeur. (And possibly emphasizing its distinction as being "on the other side of the tracks.)

At the maple avenue and north broadway crossings and at several other city crossings, there were gate keepers up in gate houses on stilts where the gate keepers would lower and raise the gates to give right of way to the privileged trains. At other areas of less traffic, there would be blinking lights and angry bells to warn cars (and horses of course as well as people) not to cross the track.

More often than not, some car would become impatient and more often than not, some car would be struck. Usually it would be the freight train that would be the destroyer and the accident would be less severe, but a fatality or two would be commom place. Passenger trains made a wicked noise and swished by in seconds; so saved time was hardly worth the risk. But, freight trains would take forever and even stop, blocking the roadway for some unknown reason. The temptation to beat tne freight was greater and the number of accidents were greater as well.

The freight trains seemed to be one of the biggest crosses to bear for this impatient, upward bound society. More than once a young boy man on his way down town which was on the other side of the maple ave crossing and blocked by one of those blessed freights, would roll under a freight car to quckly get on to the other side. Gate keepers would be screaming words we dare not repeat and frantic car drivers impatiently waiting would blow their horns and bang on their