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Durham, Andrew Everett, 1882-1954

"Epistles from Pap: Letters from the man known as 'The Will Rogers of Indiana'"

. .
Week before last, Mr. Stoner and his comely wife came North but
not in a box car. Their mode of travel is a June, 1954-vintage,
air-conditioned Cadillac, just off the assembly line.
Your editor met Mr. and Mrs. Stoner at a dinner party at Old
Trails Inn being given by Mr. Andrew E. Durham in their honor.
Messrs. Stoner and Durham were members of the 1917 State Scottish
Rite Class at Indianapolis, and lived as neighbors west of the
City. . .
The Farmer's Game
Mr. Stoner talked freely of his boyhood days in Greencastle. He
and others of his age would gather evenings in the restaurants
around town to eat hamburgers or some such food. They invented a
pastime they called "the farmer's game". . . Slips of paper were
shaken up in a hat and each member drew a slip. All but one were
blank. The one who drew the slip labeled "treat" had to do just
that.
In due time the boys improved the game to make it as sure for
those "in the know" not to lose as the present day one-armed
bandits. There would be, say, five in the game, one of whom was
the "sucker". One of the conspirators would prepare the five
slips. He did that by writing "treat" on all five slips. In the
meantime each conspirator would have obtained a blank slip of the
same shape and quality of paper.


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