Charles LeRoy Lewis - Special Collections - University of Baltimore

LEWXS;099 II:1:45
to put a delegate in from over here. They used to call
Roosevelt Park before they named it, and of course
Roosevelt Park after the first Roosevelt, but it used to be
West Park. West was a prominant Republican politician.
Hawes: Was there samebody they answered to . . . was there
some more powerful person in Baltimore that they answered to?
Lewis: Well, back in those days . . . I'm trying to think
. . . Sonny Mahon, padgett, those fellow Democrat leaders. ~adgett,
he was down toward South Baltimore, Brooklyn. Sonny Mahon was in
around Fremont Street and in through there. I trying to think
of the politicians over East Baltimore. Then after he
passed on Willie Curran come along. Well, them people used to
give out Christmas baskets and everything else, And, of
course in those days the 'R' hotels were headquarters for
the Democrats. That was always a Democrat headquarters
there, at the 'R' Hotel.
Harvey: How do you figure that they were never able to
elect a councilman from Hmpden?
Lewis: Well, I really don't know why and I wouldn't want to
say - I don't know; there wasn't many out here that run for
it. I don't remember; only token running like Buck Griffiths
he run and Lizzmos: of course that was in late years.
Frank Robey" only elected and he was a Democrat. Frank was
elected to the Clerk, and he had it until he died.
Frank lived in this neighborhood; foreman worked in the
mills, worked his way up, store and he went into the laundry
business here on Hickory Avenue where they tore out.
down there. And he never carried this district in an election.