A BULL STORY

I have a pet bull. I call him Roughhouse. A friend of mine was
going to Mt. Pleasant in his truck, so I had him haul old
Roughhouse along. Roughhouse has quite a record. He has never lost
a demolition derby. He is quite playful. We kept him in the stable
at McMillan Park at night. Charlie Brown and Snoopy stayed with
him. They are great pals. The C. Ber’s Patrol at Mt. Pleasant
also watched him at night. When old Roughhouse saw his pictures on
those Russell Engines, that got him worked up. He didn’t like
his picture on those engines and tried to upset them but failed, as
they were too heavy. Old Roughhouse says, ‘I am a Bull, and
full of it.’ He says he sure had a great time exchanging
stories with all of the old engineers from all over. He says they
talk his kind of language. Old Roughhouse says some of those
fellows from Pa., Kansas City, and Missouri gave him some stiff
competition, but he still believes his Master Dugan has them
bested. Old Roughhouse likes to mulch corn very much and heard
about the large corn a fellow grew up at Wellman, Iowa. He wanted
to go up there and eat some of that corn, but I was afraid to take
him, for fear he would see that Russell Steam Engine Mail Box and
get one of his demolition fits, and that wouldn’t be nice. Oh,
he’s got it bad about Russell Engines. The last night we were
at Mt. Pleasant, Old Roughhouse put on a demonstration and insisted
he be put in the cavalcade of power, so Stanley Mouser had to give
him a number. He insisted he be between Bill Sater’s two
Averys. When his turn came up to pass, the announcer, Glen
Holquist, looked as though he didn’t know what he was seeing.
‘Oh,’ Glen cried out, ‘That’s a lot of Bull!!’
Jim Miller of Mt. Pleasant wanted to trade his Mini Bike for old
Roughhouse. I couldn’t hear him. Old Roughhouse and Warren
Conrad would have a tug of war every day, but Warren’s Reeves
wasn’t able to out pull Roughhouse. Herbert Hult wanted to
trade his button for Roughhouse. I and Oliver Rhea took old
Roughhouse up to Van’s Lunch one morning. Everybody came out to
play with old Rough-house including Bill. He wanted to curry him.
La Von said, ‘Dugan, take your bull back to the park or I
won’t have any business today.’ The two news ladies, Helen
and Billie, wanted to get Rough house’s picture, but he
wouldn’t let them. He would charge every time they tried to get
his picture.

Anyway . . . when Oliver and I got back to the park with
Roughhouse, he got one of those demolition fits and turned
Oliver’s station wagon over. It caused him to get home a day
late to Pa.

I will close so much for the Roughhouse, Snoopy, and Charlie
Brown story. I could go on and on and fill this magazine, so I
better quit.

I want to wish the Iron Men Album, it’s staff and all my old
steam buddies from the four corners everybody at Mt. Pleasant, a
very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.