|
|
| Once
the most famous (and best paid) concert pianists of his era, Ignacy
Jan Paderewski made his first American tour in 1891. He often
gave benefit concerts and was nearly as famous for his philanthropy
as his music. His charisma in that era eclipsed that of present-day
celebrities and his abundant reddish-gold hair may have been the start
of the cartoon cliché of the “long-haired musician.” |
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Photo courtesy Wikipedia |
Ignacy traveled
to his various American concerts aboard a personal railroad car. He
was accompanied by his personal physician, chef, valet, piano tuner
and his wife (not necessarily in that order).
Back in the 1920s and 1930s, people liked to brag about being the
biggest or best business, hotel or item “between Ft.
Worth and El
Paso.” The phrase was well-used in Big
Springs, Texas (as it was then called).
One day, due to a winter railroad accident, the Paderewski Family
and entourage found themselves to be the “most famous people between
Ft. Worth and El Paso.” At least for that day. Their railroad
car was parked on a spur while the wreckage down the line could be
cleared. This siding was directly across from the stationmaster’s
house.
Now, it seems that the stationmaster’s wife had grown up in a large
hotel. This means she never had the opportunity to learn the culinary
arts. At least that was her story. Times being what they were, her
future husband presented her with the romantic gift of “The White
House Cookbook.” Although this particular book dated from the
administration of Grover Cleveland, food trends cycled slowly in those
days. In a few short years, Mrs. Lily Robinson (for that was her name)
became as proficient in her kitchen as a White House chef was in his.
Desert Dessert
One of Mrs. Robinson’s specialties from her cookbook was English Plum
Pudding – a dessert that required something like six hours to prepare.
Since time was abundant in Toyah,
Mrs. Robinson thought nothing of “whipping up” a batch of the stuff
for any occasion.
On that winter day when the Paderwskis and Robinsons suddenly became
neighbors, Lily just happened to have a batch of pudding on hand.
She carried over a few servings and she and her husband struck up
a friendship with Ignacy and his wife (the former Baroness de Rosen).
Thereafter, whenever Paderewski played a concert in Ft.
Worth or El
Paso, the Robinsons used Mr. Robinson’s lifetime railroad pass
to attend. They always got to visit backstage and the friendship only
ended with the death of the pianist in 1941. The Robinson’s marriage
lasted 61 years. |
Amelia: The
Party of the Second Part
The
second half of this story occurred a few years before the above.
This part can be pinned down to an exact month and year. The year
was 1928 and the month was September. The place was again Toyah,
but the guest was solo and arrived from the air with no entourage. |
Amelia Earhart
Photo courtesy Wikipedia |
Amelia Earhart,
who should need no introduction, was on a cross-country trip across
the U.S. that fall. Losing her map in her open-cockpit plane shortly
after leaving Sweetwater,
Texas, Ms. Earhart flew “blind” from that point, leaving Texas
entirely and arriving over Hobbs, New Mexico.
Without a proper field, Earhart was forced to land on the main street
of Hobbs and spent the night there. Refueling with (unbeknownst to
her) bad gasoline, she took off for Pecos,
which was on her original route.
Earhart’s plane started developing engine trouble. She made it to
Pecos, but
when it was time to leave, her plane started stalling again and she
was able to put down “in the desert surrounded by Mesquite bushes”
just a few miles west of Pecos.
Toyah wasn’t mentioned
by name in that account. Only a reference to locals that towed her
plane back to Pecos
where she spent the next five days getting her plane’s valves adjusted.
It’s possible that Ms. Earhart was unaware of Toyah’s
name, but the visit is documented by a photo taken of three Toyah
youngsters (sans Amelia) posing beside the plane. The photo appears
in the book Toyah Taproots, the town’s historical tome.
The plane’s registration letters match that of a plane preserved in
an aircraft museum as the one used in the 1928 tour.
Here’s to small towns
and their hospitality to famous uninvited visitors.
Sadly, there’s no record of Amelia tasting Mrs. Robinson’s plum pudding.
© John
Troesser
"15 Minutes of Separation"
November 11, 2009 column |
|
|
HOME
