Howard Herron Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield

Howard Herron 9 4
said he wanted to move in right away. He said, "You can't, Mr. Nuckols.
You have to wait until we have it painted and redecorate it and everything.
It will take about four days," they said.
So they repainted it and decorated it up and he lived there until he
died. He was happy. He walked down, he'd shovel snow from that Parks
Home clear around here to this street. ~e'd get up early in the morning
and he'd come up here and walk around the square. The fellows he used to
trade with, the harness maker and the blacksmith and my brother-in-law,
or my brother and my sister-in-law. They ran a restaurant or cafe on the
west side of the square right, where that Kay's store used to be, and
she'd always put a piece of pie and then he'd go on down there. Mrs.
Church spoiled him too. We had him come down to our house for dinner on
Sunday and holidays and shortly after dinner he'd soon get tired and he'd
say, "Howard, if you ain't real busy, I'll just let you take me home."
He was happy and we took him home. Mrs. Church wauld put a piece of pie
back for him. They were all that way. Course it wasn't as populated
over there as they are now. It's a big thing now. There was only half a
dozen, maybe ten at the most over there in them days.
Q: Howard, who is the most important person you ever met?
A: Well, I don' t know, that would be hard to say.
Q: That's hard to say.
A: I m et some captains in the navy who was great men.
Q: Did you ever know any governors?
A: Yes, I did know Governor Dunn, no, Governor Horner. Everybody liked
Governor Horner. He was a fine man. He was a Democrat but the Republicans
and Democrats and everyone, all he had to do was run and he got elected.
When he died, he died of a heart attack and his entire estate was $600
and he could have been a millionaire. If it had been anybody else. . . .
but Horner's entire estate was $600 and he was an honest man. The funny
part of it was the Illinois State Journal was a Republican paper and the
Illinois State Register was a Democrat paper and they were both for
Horner. It didn't make much difference what politics they had, they were
for Horner. He was a good man and I went to a football game over in
Champaign the day they dedicated the stadium there and that's the day
that Red Grange ran wild over Michigan.
This side of the river there was a little place there that sold chili and
hot dogs. We pulled in there and Horner was there with his driver, he
(Horner) was a bachelor and his driver and a couple of fellows he had
with him were getting a hot dog. There was a little kid standing there
and he was looking at Governor Horner. Governor Horner was a pretty good
sized man and you wouldn't even think Horner was even noticing that kid.
But Horner said to that kid, "You want a bite?" And that kid took a bite
and he said, "Now you can have it, 1'11 get myself another one." That's
the things he would do. He was just a good man.