PART TWO
Reintroducing Dr. T. C. W. Magee to his native Washington Parish and publishing part of his memoir - "Recollections of T.C.W. Magee, D.D.S. Tulane University Dental School 1922-27" - in last week's column, I'm continuing this week with his wonderful remembrance of the Fair, back in the day. Because it might lose its luster in translation, I've opted to share the remaining portion of his writing of October 15, 1972, verbatim, with breaks for commentary:
"Along about 1958, I was asked to serve as The Mystery Man, and did so. An interesting angle was brought out later. Ilean, my assistant was in the audience during the nights they were trying to guess the identity. She knew it was I, but wouldn't tell, although some asked her whom did she think it was. Later, on learning who it was, when I was unmasked, they gave her a rough time because she had kept such a straight face and didn't tell. Emory Goff, one of Sheriff Dorman A. Crowe's deputies, would escort me to the stage at 8:00 p.m. each evening. Incidentally, he had that duty for a number of years. Being wrapped, hooded, and masked for the deception was rather uncomfortably warm especially because on top of it all I wore a raincoat. A Washington Parish Sheriff's car would pick me up promptly at the same hour each evening. With the siren sounding off, the crowds would open up for us to ride up to the stage entrance northeast steps."
Detonating my memory, my own dad was the Mystery Man at the Washington Parish Fair a little more than two decades later. His identity was a mystery to me, until after his unveiling on Saturday night, October 24, 1981. My mother and I were with friends - the Forets, Greens, Richardsons, and Weldons - in Baton Rouge for the LSU football game when she fessed up as to Daddy's whereabouts. Though it was a drubbing at the hands of Florida State - much like the match-up this season - Daddy joined us in Red Stick after his unveiling at the Fair.
"Not a native, but neighbor-born, from up the road, born in early fall; Migrated to New York State, where Uncle Sam gave him a call; He tried his wings in the forties; Used to being near uniforms, khaki, green and white; A take charge guy in full command; A lovely lady brought him to town; A beautiful daughter in whom he takes great pride; In the cities, Magic and Fair, he knows every inch of road 'tween here and there; Now daily found in the center, administering to those who enter; Try the letters L and Z." My father Col. Cecil Ellzey was native of Tylertown, a liaison pilot in World War II, the administrator of the Bogalusa Medical Center, and a retired U. S. Army Col. and National Guard battalion commander.
I thought it odd that we went without Dad to the game - he was a fanatic about football. And I also thought it strange that each night of the Fair Momma and Daddy rushed me out of the house. So out of character, for them. As it turned out, one of Sheriff Robert Lyons's deputies drove Daddy nightly in his patrol car, and he had to be "wrapped, hooded, and masked" just like Dr. T. C. W. recalled. Admittedly, if I had seen him, the secret might well have gotten out. After all, I was sixteen. But Daddy's identity was kept under wraps until he was unveiled. Waynard Fussell won $25 for correctly guessing, based on a slew of clues, his identity. Back to Dr. T. C. W.'s memoir,
"Referring to the fair again. A balloon was inflated and flown one year as a special attraction from which three parachutes were dropped. The balloonist built a fire inside the bag and the smoke and gases gradually filled the body until it carried its human cargo aloft. That was big excitement for our quiet rural (community) back in those days. Then a few years later, Charles A. Lindbergh, (who was proposing to fly a plane across the Atlantic), agreed to fly to our fair. He did so and would have landed but could not find a place he could land. He did circle around over the crowds several times low enough that you could plainly read the inscriptions on the sides: 'The Spirit of St. Louis,' which plane he later flew nonstop on his famous trip to Paris, France.
Another fair highlight was a football game in which Franklinton High School was the top heavy favorite to win over Bogalusa High. Dallas Wood, J.L. Pearson, John S. Burris, Don Bickham, my brother Doyle, and others made up the best material and team we had had in years.* It rained prior to and during the game and they wallowed back and forth in the mud with neither side being able to score. John A. Burris, finally in desperation removed his jersey, shoulder pads, and head gear, as they were coated with mud anyway. A forward pass was thrown and some hand was thrown up in the air deflecting it. A Bogalusa player, later to be Dr. George Haik, who had either fallen or been knocked off his feet and was lying flat on his back in the water, found the ball landing squarely on his chest. He automatically threw his arms around it and the game ended Bogalusa 6, Franklinton 0. That was the last year for the contest to be close enough to be questionable as from then on Bogalusa's superiority and material kept them winning."
*Doyle Magee eventually played football at Tulane in New Orleans, and participated in the Rose Bowl.
In memory of Cousin Doyle, Roll Wave! And enjoy the Washington Parish Fair!
Photo caption: Another view of the Washington Parish Free Fair on October 22, 1926, pictured in "The Story of the Washington Parish Fair 1911 - 1973" by Emma Burris and Elizabeth Ott Watts.
