bad Wallace boys years ago!" Then she said, “Well, this is my property and I don’t
remember giving you permission to play here. And what’s more, that water you’re
playing in is polluted - you could get typhoid or something. And what makes you
think you can go into my old garage." Oh, she sounded like a tough lady all right.
Then one of the smoother-talking boys assured Mrs. Henderson that we had never
done any damage to the field and that we sure would like to have a clubhouse and that
we were sure glad she told us about the water. She relented and said we could use
the field and in the meantime she would talk to her son, a lawyer, about the garage.
Several days later she presented this document for our signature:
THIS AGREEMENT, made and signed in duplicate this 8th
day of July, 1937, by and between LOUISA P. HENDERSON,
party of the first part, and the undersigned “FIVE FAYETTE
STREET BOYS", parties of the second part,
WITNESSETH:-
That the party of the first part hereby grants permis-
sion to the parties of the second part to use without
paying any rental the garage located on the rear of her
home property for the purpose of a meeting place; said
parties of the second part may also use the level ground as
a playground, on condition that they keep off the banks of
the stream and stay on the north side of the stream.
The parties of the second part agree that they will
keep the garage and the playground in a neat condition,
clean snow off the pavement when necessary, and vacate on
two weeks’ notice.
WITNESS the hands and seals of the parties hereto
the day and year above written.
WITNESS:
Mattie Cooper
Louisa P. Henderson
Bernard McGann
Victor Malloy
Leo McGann
Joe Wilkinson
Wm. Rohrer
Thenceforth we were a “club" - the 7-Up Club, for we were actually seven in
number. The other two were Penny Shaffer and Tommy Williams. What was the
club’s purpose, other than playing in Mrs. Henderson’s lot. Just getting together and
talking about...Oh, nothing much, really.
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