THE STATE
A Weekly Survey of North Carolina
Entered *i »ccond-cla» matter. June 1. 1933, at the Postotnee at Kalelith. North
Carolina, under the Act of March 3. 1879.
Vol. XV. No. 3 June 21, 1947
Canine Safety
Salesmen
There are four of them, anil they
are aided in their work by Police
Officer Ernest E. Pressley and a
pigeon by the name of Oscar.
Hi; GEORGE BUTLER
A CHARLOTTE traffic officer
and his trained pets — four
dogs and a pigeon— have be¬
come one of the nation’s most popu¬
lar traffic safety lessons.
Officer Ernest E. Pressley and
his proteges have performed in
scores of towns and cities in North
Carolina and in six Southern states.
Nearly a half-million persons have
chuckled at the act and a major
film studio is making a movie short
of the safety show. More than
150,000 North Carolina boys and
girls have passed a strict traffic
safety test and are members of
Pressley’s Junior Traffic Safety
club.
J. Edgar Hoover, chief of the
FBI. was so impressed with the
show that he directed a full page
story about it printed in the na¬
tional FBI publication.
The act was kept in Knoxville,
Tenn. for two weeks in order that
all the school children of that city
I could see it. Miami. Fla. also had
a long "engagement.”
Pressley's show, one of the two
of its kind in the country, is spon¬
sored by the Charlotte Police De¬
partment and the N. C. State Auto¬
mobile Association, the latter pay¬
ing all expenses of the show so that
it can be shown free to school chil-
l dren throughout the state. The
association recently presented the
officer with a white station wagon
in which to make his safety jaunts.
And the way calls are coming in
from schools, civic clubs, churches,
newspapers and such-like the sta¬
tion wagon is going to be kept “on
the go."
Safety lessons are taught in a
manner that kids will remember.
Pressley says to one of his dogs,
a year-old collie:
“Now, Lassie, suppose you were
a boy or girl on the way to school
and you came to a street that you
must cross. What is the first thing
that every child should do before
crossing the street?"
Lassie walks across the stage
where they are about 20 cards with
various traffic markings. Without
hesitation, she picks up a card in
her teeth — it is marked "Stop."
Oscar the pigeon which Pressley
describes as the "jay - walking
bird," demonstrates the results of
that practice by flopping wildly
about the floor as though mortally
injured. Lassie enacts the role of
the person who has been crippled
by either careless driving or a care¬
less driver. Lady, a bird dog. an¬
swers many questions — about
safety, kindness to animals, and
training dogs. The little terrier.
Elmer, is a specialist in balancing
on ropes and walking on wires and
Little Suzy can walk on her front
legs across two narrow tracks.
There are many other stunts and
part of the program is straight
entertainment, with no moral in¬
volved.
Pressley got the idea for his
show about 18 months ago while
watching the interest of his own
two children in the antics of his
hunting dog. Lady. The traffic cop
In the background. Officer Pressley,
of course. The little terrier is
named Elmer, and the other small
dog is called Suzic. The collie is
named Lassie, and the bird dog is
called Lady. There’s also a pigeon
in the act. but he wasn't present
when this picture was taken.
had previous experience as a trum¬
pet player in name bands such as
the John Scott Trotter and Hal
Kemp aggregations, affording him
the opportunity to pick up the
technique of showmanship. That,
together with the knowledge of
dogs which he had gained by train¬
ing them for the field, made Press-
ley a “natural."
But Pressley couldn’t buy a
group of "trick" dogs, already
trained, since most dogs schooled
for vaudeville arc taught to re¬
spond to a whip. "It wouldn't be
right," Pressley decided, "to sec
a policeman up there on the stage,
whipping his dogs through their
( Continued on-vage. 18)
THE STATE. JUNE 21. 1947
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