Jefferson County Online A part of the IAGenWeb and USGenWeb Projects Who's Who in 1921 & 1922 Roy Louden

"The Fairfield Tribune"
Thursday, May 5, 1921
Page SIX

NO. 14

ROY LOUDEN

Yes, it's the same serious-minded Roy Louden you know. Never knew that he was a gay society bird, did you? Well, maybe he isn't now. But there was a time when Roy didn't have the cares of family, and of falling markets, and of salesmen who were not selling their appointment of Louden goods, an' everything. That was a bright time in Roy's young life and he graced numerous social functions as only one of his graceful carriage can grace them. Roy's facial beauty never caused many of the girls to rave about it, his beauty being of that rugged type something like Abe Lincoln's and John Huglin's. But his Chesterfieldan manners casued him to be regarded as an essential to any well regulated party in those more youthful days.

It was at one of these little parties that Roy got in pretty bad however. It all came about this way, according to the informant who claims to know all about it and gave the details to the cartoonist.

Roy attended a bit of a social function given by a lady whose name isn't Brown, but who may be called that as well as anything else. Roy was in fine form and was doing good. Even in those days he would find his mind wandering to business affairs and he had to watch himself to keep from showing a lack of interest at a party. But on this occasion he got along fine until he got to talking to the hostess on the subject of woman suffrage. 'Twas a subject Roy didn't give a hang about at that time anyway, so he got to thinking about a good time he'd had with some of the Louden salesmen back east a few weeks before.

Mrs. Brown had Roy served with a glass of some kind of an angel breath affair, charlotte russe or something of the kind with a lot of foam standing up on it. Roy was standing with his foot on the foot-rail at the fireplace, so it came rather naturally for him to raise the glass and with a "Here's how, Mrs. Brown," blow the foam off the top and start to drink it. The horrified Mrs. Brown almost went into hysterics, and Roy's best girl, who was present, cut him cold.

Roy sold his dress suit to an old-clothes man the next day and some way he hasn't cared much for the butterfly life since then.

Since that unfortunate lapse of mind Roy has kept his mind centered pretty closely on what is going on at the time. He can entertain you at his office during a friendly call, and at the same time figure out the cost per inquiry of a page advertisement in the Saturday Evening Post.

Some people have an idea that William Louden, or Bob Louden, or Marshall Miller, or some of the rest of them down at the big Louden plant have the most important jobs. Not so. Roy's the boy the whole success of the business rests on. You see he's head of the advertising department. And Roy has some little information regarding advertising. He can tell you off-hand what it costs the Louden company to make a sale from an ad in the Saturday Evening Post or the Lockridge Times, or from any other publication on earth, for that matter. And his knowledge of advertising lands him many a nice job here locally. Fairfield wouldn't think of putting on an old settler's celebration or any stunt of that kind without having Roy on the advertising committee. And's he's (sic) president of the Ad club, which is to say that the members of the Ad club know a thing or two about making square pegs fit in square holes.

By virtue of his position as advertising manager Roy does a bit of traveling in the east--goes back there and keeps the branch office men on their toes. Roy has been going east so long now that he has acquired the habit of speaking just casually and informally of "going down to Washington," and "down to N'York," just for all the world like a seasoned traveler. You can tell the untravelled fellow--he says "back" to Washington, and he calls it "Noo York."

Roy's job is a pretty good-sized one, but Roy is a sizeable sort of a chap and he seems to fill it pretty well. Incidentally, he finds time to help a bit with any sort of proposition which looks like it is going to help Fairfield. Of course, his first duty is to the Louden company he thinks, and he considers a Louden catalog a pretty good business bible; but if he preaches Louden goods he names Fairfield somewhere in the text.

Roy Louden is a pretty accommodating sort of a chap, and he tries to get along with everybody and everything. Like most other great geniuses, however, he has temperament which takes the form of dislike to certain things. Roy can't bear the sight of charlotte russe.