When Bertha met Harry

Last updated on 2/24/19

Bertha Jones was the daughter of George W. Jones and Rhuama Alzina Morehead.  She was born 14 Feb. 1887 in Van Wert Co., Ohio.

On the 28th of May 1907, she married Harry Samuel Hay in Portland, Indiana.  Harry Samuel Hay was a local baseball celebrity.  I imagine he had a few groupies-he wasn't a bad looking guy.

Bertha and Harry had six children:  Orville (1908), Harry (1910), Katherine (1913), Aletha (1917), Helen (1918) and Margaret (1920.)

The notice of their marriage made the rounds through area papers and some said that Bertha Jones was "one of the best-known young ladies of the Crown City."

"Crown City" sounds like a casino or maybe a large hotel where there is a lot of entertainment, but Crown City is what local newspapers referred to the City of Dunkirk.

The Indianapolis New, 29 May 1907

Great Umpire calls Sammy Hay "Out!"

Harry Hay's last couple of years were tragic.  His wife, Bertha Jones Hay died the year before from an accident at work (see newspaper clip at bottom of this post.) Family tradition says that Harry Samuel Hay had Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS)-A nervous system disease that weakens muscles and impacts physical function.  His obituary says that he was suffering from paralysis prior to his death, so it was possible that he did have ALS.

The Indianapolis Star, 24 Jan. 1924

The Submarine

According to baseball reference (https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Pitches#Pitching_motions), The submarine pitching style comes from an arm angle even lower than sidearm. Before releasing the ball, the pitcher drops his shoulder towards the earth and whips his arm, much like a softball pitcher. Depending on the pitch used, the ball might have little to a lot of movement. Submarine pitchers are most effective against same-handed batters because the ball looks like it is rising or running in on the hands. Submarine pitching can still be effective on opposite-handed batters because of the tailing action which makes the ball run away from the batter.


Harry Hay apparently was pretty good at it. According to The San Antonio Light, he won 50 of 54 games in one season.  The Indianapolis News reports this same news under the title, Pitcher Hay's Record Good and adds an extra line that says (in bold) "...pitched fifty-four games last season and won all but four of them, according to the records as kept by himself."

San Antonio Light, 26 December 1907 

The Muncie Evening Press (Indiana) said that Harry Hay's "raise ball is known and feared all over Indiana" (2 June 1907.)  The "raise ball" or the upshoot was a pitch thrown by "....submarine-style pitchers...it is essentially an inverted sinker" according to Peter Morris, author of A game of Inches: The Story Behind The Innovations That Shaped Baseball.

I don't really know if Harry Hay was ever given a tryout with the Cincinnati Reds, but he must have been good enough to at least generate the rumors.  Check out this article from the Palladium-Item (Richmond, Indiana) from October 18, 1907 that thought it might happen.

When Harry Hay's death was reported, several different newspapers reported that he did play big lead baseball.  I contacted someone from the Reds organization and they said they had no record of a Harry Hay playing for them.  My personal opinion is that he didn't play for the Reds-he just pitched against them and won.  

Alton Evening telegraph, 6 May 1924

Other newspapers that reported that Harry Hay played ball for the Cincinnati Reds were Des Moines (IA), Oakland Tribune (CA), Casper Star-Tribune (WY), Chicago Tribune and several other Indiana & Illinois newspapers.  My assumption is that the original source was just repated over and over and never verified.  An early example of fake news?

Harry Hay-The Underhand Wonder

I figure it's time for me to delve into my mother's side of the family tree.  My mother's side has a cast of interesting characters that is worthy of some time here.

First up?  Harry Samuel Hay (see Orville Cedrick Hay's Family Tree)

Harry Samuel Hay was son of James Stark Hay and Lutisha Eller.  He was born 24 Nov. 1878 in La Porte County, Indiana.  He married Bertha Jones (daughter of George W. Jones and Rhuama Alzine Morehead.)

Harry Hay's life would be unremarkable except for one thing...He was an underhand minor league pitcher who beat the Cincinnati Reds twice.

The Indianapolis News, 27 Feb. 1908

Here is a short blurb that gives a tease before the first meeting between the Reds and Harry's team:

Cincinnati Enquirer, 28 June 1907

The first game, Dunkirk (Harry's team) won 12-7.  The second game seemed to be more of a pitcher's duel.  Of course, we don't know if the reds played their regulars in these games, but it looks good in the paper.

The Indianapolis News, 10 Oct. 1907

Lawson Murder Trial-The Defense

Good Lawyers, for those accused of murder are probably difficult to come by since those you are defending are not always innocent.  Defending someone who may be guilty of murder, especially murder of a child would require someone who is dedicated to the "fair trial" concept and to the idea that the burden is on the prosecution to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

In case of the Lawson trial-in which they all were acquitted the defense was made up of some interesting characters who had their own issues.  I'm posting some articles about each and letting these articles speak for themselves,

First up is...

Next up is 

Finally, The Ugly man William C. Kelly

Place Names

Last updated on 2/12/2019

Arkansas

Thompson:  Thompson was a small community that consisted of a store, a post office, a railroad stop, a tie yard, and a full community center.  It was located near a ford on the White River in Northwest Arkansas.  The White River was probably a creek at this location.  Supposedly the town got it's name from Lewis W. Thompson who built the store in 1884.  The town no longer existed after the Second World War.

Sources:  History of the Thompson Townsite, Madison County Musings, Winter 1998 & Boston Mountains Still Echo Sounds of Vanished Hamlets, Northwest Arkansas Times, 26 Oct. 1975.

Missouri

Nevada: Nevada is the county seat of Vernon County, on the main line of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway and on the Lexington Southern and the Nevada & Minden divisions of the Missouri Pacific Railway, 107 miles south of Kansas City and 280 miles west of St. Louis.  It lies in the heart of an exceedingly rich agricultural, stock and fruit region, and overlies extensive beds of bituminous coal.   Source:  The Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, Vol. IV, 1901

Vada: Roy Peterson lived in Vada, Missouri when he met Bertha Lawson.  Vada is a small community in Texas County, Missouri.  According to Texas County Place Names, 1928-1945, a post office was located there from 1918 to 1929 and Vada is a shortened form of Nevada Jackson, the postmaster's daughter.