State

lie made Grandpa and Grandma Laugh BILL NYE Two outstanding literary characters associated with the history of Caro¬ lina were William Sidney Porter (O. Henry), and Edgar Wilson (Bill) Nyc. Their paths never crossed in life, and when Nye died in February 1896. O. Henry was then on the Houston (Texas) Post. He wrote such a touch¬ ing tribute to the memory of Nye that it was copied by the press throughout the land. Thousands of miles separated the two men in life, but when O. Henry died, they brought him back to his na¬ tive State and he rests in Riverside cemetery in Asheville, not a dozen miles from where rests all that is mortal of Bill Nyc. Was Born in Maine Nyc was born at Shirley, Maine in 1850. When a young man he was ad¬ mitted to the bar and moved to Lara¬ mie, Wyoming, in search of clients and adventure. He did not find the clients; but he found plenty of ad¬ venture. However, as he expressed it. he entered public life and became a justice of the peace. He said that when a man entered upon a public career that he might expect criticism; that he himself had been criticized, so severely on one occasion after he became a magistrate, that he remembered it for two full weeks. The Denver Republican was the brightest paper in the West, and as Nyc sat in his lonely and clicntless law office, he wrote a laugh-compelling story and sent it to that paper. It was published promptly, with editorial comment; and the editor sent Nye a THE STATE. December 9. 1961 check, wrote him an encouraging letter and told him to write something else. Here is a model which should be fol¬ lowed by other editors: This incident led Nyc from law into literature. If he had continued in the law his would be an unremembered name among ten thousand other mcdiocrcs. whereas in literature his became "One of the few. immortal names That were not bom to die." He became editor of the Sentinel at Laramie, and so continued until friends who appreciated his genius, secured for him control of a new paper which he named the Boomerang. Its editorial sparkled as a diamond; it attracted wide attention, and ere long it was being quoted all over the country. Nye was pure genius, but unlike most geniuses he had a mania for hard work, and while serving as editor of the Boomerang, he published a book of clippings from his articles, labelled it “Bill Nye and Bommcrang; or the Tale of a Sad Eyed Mule ” This fixed his fame upon the field of national humor. Misfortune now laid a heavy hand upon him and he was stricken with spinal meningitis. For months he hovered between life and death, and his convalescence was tedious. Dur¬ ing the period when he was slowly re¬ gaining his strength, he authored Forty Liars and Other Lies. This book had such a tremendous sale that he came cast to cash in on the national reputa¬ tion which had come to him. Became Associated with Riley He took to the lecture platform and became associated with the Hoosicr poet. James Whitcomb Riley. The two toured the country. Riley reading from his poems. Nye giving selections from his writings; his peculiar mannerisms and behavior adding to the humor of his works. His very appearance con¬ vulsed his audience and laughter would sweep the audience as soon as he appeared. Nyc said that he and Riley gave a dual performance: "First BILL NYE I come on and talk until I am tired; then Riley comes out and talks until you are tired." He wrote up one of his lectures for the press: "Some think the lecturer will improve. The lecture was free, and several came in to get warm. Those already warm did not come in. The janitor thinks if our peo¬ ple had begun early enough, the lec¬ ture could have been averted." He said a lecturer must not only be able to talk well, but he must be a drafts¬ man as well — that is. he must draw well. Then he went with the New York World, and here probably his best work was done. Then the Associated Press began to distribute his weekly syndi¬ cated letters, illustrated by McDougal, an artist on the World staff, who drew a caricature of Nyc as an emaciated little man, bald headed, wearing large glasses a figure which became so well known throughout the country as to need no identification. After Nyc came to Carolina, many letters bear¬ ing neither name nor address, but carrying merely the caricature, were delivered to hint through the post of¬ fice at Arden, N. C., for the postal service knew both the man and where he lived. While writing for the World he sent in an expense account to his paper, some of the items being: To rent a dress suit for use in seeing Washington (in the interest of the paper) . S 4.50 To paid for dispersing turtle soup from the lap of same 1 .00 To having a fur collar put on said coat (in the interest of the paper) 9.00 To amount loaned a gent (in the interest of the paper).... 5.00 Six meals . 90 Laundry work (in the interest 23