Jefferson County Online A part of the IAGenWeb and USGenWeb Projects Who's Who in 1921 & 1922 Samuel Edward DuVall

"The Fairfield Tribune"
Thursday, August 4, 1921
Page SIX

NO. 24

SAMUEL EDWARD DUVALL

Some forty-odd years ago a small boy might have been found at almost any hour of the day, or any other working hour, loafing about the laundry of Hop Skip Lee, back in a little Ohio town. His interest in watching the Chinaman at the job of ironing clean, starchy garments was so great that he even denied himself the pleasure of working on the family woodpile at home, so that he might be at the laundry. School held no charms for him, and he was even willing to give up going to Sunday school on those Sunday mornings when the Chinaman chanced to have his laundry open.

That little boy was the hero of this truthful narrative, one Samuel Edward DuVall, the same Samuel Edward at whom you are swearing when you are cursing "the laundry" for putting a saw edge on your collar or tearing the button hole out of your shirt. His interest in the laundry business has continued through all these years and he is just as unwilling now to work on the family woodpile or go to Sunday school as he was back in Ohio forty years ago. He gave all of his time to the business then, and he is doing the same now.

That is to say, Samuel Edward is giving most all of his time to the laundry business. All the rest of his time is given to lodge meetings. For, be it known, he is something of a joiner: belongs to the Mason, Knights of Pythias, Elks, and all the rest of them; is said to be an honorary member of the D. A. R., the W. R. C. and the W. C. T. U. When he comes down the street wearing all of his lodge badges he looks like a returned hero of a dozen wars with medals from each.

But, to return to the subject of washing dirty linen, Ed wouldn't give up the Chinaman's shop back there in Ohio. His parents had intended to have him study for missionary work in the Sandwich Islands but indiscreetly showed him a picture of the natives. They were not wearing enough clothing to be interesting to an embryo laundryman and Ed would have none of the missionary stuff. Finally they dragged him out to Ottumwa and put him in a machine shop or something of the kind, thirty blocks from a laundry. Ed stuck for a while but ran away to Fairfield in a short time and went into the laundry bisness. He's been here in the same business ever since--some twenty-one years. And there's people here will swear that he's as good a laundryman as ever tore the buttons off your shirt.

There's just one way in which you can get the mind of Samuel Edward off of the laundry business. If you chance to talk lodge fraternalism to him--tell of something about the family of a brother in distress. Edward will leave his iron to burn up some plutocrat's silk shirt on such an occasion and give you his undivided attention, for he's strong for this brotherhood business.

Figuratively speaking, Samuel Edward isn't much latitudinally. Longitudinally, he makes some little showing, as may be seen by the picture accompanying this article which was drown from very careful measurements. In fact, Ed is what you might call stout, not to say corpulent, obese or fat. He's what you may call a pretty sizeable sort of a chap.

But, if Samuel Edward has broadened out some during these years he has only been trying to keep up with that laundry business of his. You may not be interested in laundries but it wuold (sic) be an education to you to visit the one in Fairfield for it is equpped with everything a laundry can have for the execution of good work. Samuel Edward feels proud of that laundry. A while back he took a trip back to the old home in Ohio. Said he wanted to see old Hop Skip Lee at work in his hand laundry again, give Hop Skip a cigar and thank him for being an inspiration to him.

One thing, although Ed has to stand about as many kicks as the clerk at the gas company's office, he's never lost his pleasant disposition and obliging manner. He's always got a pleasant smile and jolly word for you. And, if you happen to know Samuel Edward personally, you bear the pain from your saw-edge collar or the annoyance from your torn out buttonhole in your shirt, and refrain from swearing at the laundry because--well, just because you happen to know Samuel Edward DuVall and can't get away from that good humor of his.