https://caspercollege.cvlcollections.org/files/original/0967cad7d3cac33b956b4d64aac89412.pdf a53758594ae0b93ea7065744d8174a9e PDF Text Text I’ll be like that soon, Ellis thought, as he watched the hawk skip and bob in the pale, warm summer sky. No fences, no boundaries, no more Uncle George and Aunt Minnie, fat Virgil or bitch Sissie. Just freedom like the sparrow hawk. Ellis glanced at his watch again. Twenty minutes till two. Well, he thought, now is as good as time as any. He reached over and scratched the old brown dog beside him. “A couple more hours and we’re even with them Curly,” he said. “Even for the last twelve years we’ve spent on their rotten, stinkin’ farm. Then Ellis put the barrel of the gun against his temple and slowly squeezed the trigger. Overhead the sparrow hawk screamed. THE ELEGY Richard F. Miracle The town of Holton seemed to be in a trance tonight or so it would appear to a stranger. It was Friday which on a normal week would be very active, but tonight the populus stayed at home and waited. The people had known three months ago it would be like this. It wouldn’t be the first time, but it was supposed to be the last. On the second floor of the hotel a man could be seen looking out to­ wards the end of the town. In most respects he was the average man in every . His only difference was the peculiar smile on his face. Tonight was his night and his alone as far as he was concerned, but then he was not the only one concerned. Then there was a rap on the door and he new it was time to leave. With the moves of a cat he walked over and opened the door. “My escort for tonight, I suppose?” asked Chester. “Yes sir,” replied the guard. “I will get my coat and we can be off immediately, for I do not want to be late,” said Chester. Upon reaching the front of the hotel Chester looked up the street to see no more than a very quiet town. The glummest of feelings could be perceived in the light of a million stars and a full moon. “The town could pass for a ghost town tonight,” said Chester. “Yes, I believe it could,” replied the guard. “By the way, sir, is it al­ ways this quiet when you come here?” “Yes,” said Chester, “this will be my thirteenth trip in the last six years and it is always the same. Also between here and our destination you will find the same number of blocks. Tonight I will finish naming the blocks.” “What names do you give them?” asked the guard. “Well, as I have said, I started six years ago with my first task,” said Chester, “and each time I return I name another block. This first one is �named after Jack Madrid. A home town boy was Jack and the people still remember what he was. Jack being my first I remember him very well, but the others I try to find a symbol in their block.” “Did you ever hear of him?” asked Chester. “No,” said the guard, “I haven’t.” “Well never mind,” sneered Chester. “The next two blocks are quite a rarity in that they are brothers. That is they are named after Earnest and King Hall. I bet I am the only one on record to be accorded the honor of brothers. Now to remember Earnest I think of the big buildings in his block and how the people of this town earnestly believe the town will grow. Now look at the middle house in this third block, doesn’t it look like a cas­ tle?” asked Chester. “It is a big place all right,” remarked the guard. “The appearance of the next block is that of the rough life the town has had to go through. It fits nicely the name of my next person who went by the monicker of Callous Harding. He was a fighter in a way and you might say the same about this block, neither one wants to give up its hold on life. Callous even fought me, but I jolted him into reality. “Number five here is the one that I was given a bigger writeup in the paper than Happy Spedman. After it was over the newspapermen inter­ viewed me for the first time. When the paper came out and every one found out that I was naming these blocks the people here got pretty mad. I was worried that I might lose my job, but the excitement has long been for­ gotten. Looking into the next block there rest the prettiest house and also Artie Maxon the number six man. Now Artie was almost perfect in all his ways except he made that one fatal mistake. He got to the point of being too perfect and finally broke under pressure. I always had great respect for him as I like to be neat in my work too, and take great pride of a job well done. “Never was I so happy though as when I slowed Speedie Johnson down. No one felt sorry for Speed though. 1 guess that was because of the record he had run up and everyone wanted him off his feet. Speed never did have any education and this made the people mad. Speed was number seven, and I guess that is all that can be said about him.” “Don’t you have anything to remember him by, sir?” “Remember Speed? No, but take Hex Tully, he was easy to keep track of. Why his wife was waiting for him, and also about thirty newsmen and even a telivision station. If you ever want to write aa human interest story, look up the facts about him. His wife never gave up hope until she saw the lights. Yes. sir, quite a story there. By the way did you know I had a woman on my honor roll?” “A woman, sir?” “Sure, why that was the biggest honor to be bestowed on me in the past years. Jane Lastly was her name. She was the sweetest looking little thing. �I even felt a little pity, or no, I guess you could say love for her. I even set up the small memorial on the corner of this block. Almost all the people were against it and for a while 1 thought they might win out over the rest of us. They didn’t though, so she became my ninth.” “Did you regret it afterwards, sir?” “Nope, I have never regretted any of my actions. Have you noticed how big this tenth block is?” “Never paid it the slightest attention, sir.” “Very few people do but the size always reminds me of Nope Ander­ son. He was a great hunk of man. A lumberjack by trade and a good one, too. He got sidetracked somehow and then we had to meet. He took it like a man with not even a peep out of him. Now Scape Peerson who happened to be a friend of Nope’s was just the reverse. He cried, pleaded, and then went into a fit. I couldn’t see why Nope even put up with him. “Scape was number eleven for me. It was about this time that I felt I would get the chance to name all the blocks. You just don’t know how it feels to accomplish this great feat. “The last time I was here it was for Tardy Bendal. I was almost late for him. I am like the postman in that nothing can hold me back from keeping my appointments. Tardy was just a run of the mill type person though. I suppose that is why I didn’t place much importance in his case. “I guess that brings us up to the last and final block. In a few minutes it will carry the name Lucky Hartfiels. I hope you have liked my explana­ tions and have taken care to remember the names of the blocks,” said Ches­ ter. “I guess I can always look up the names on the record if I forget.” “Yes, 1 suppose you can. Well, I must get inside and see to my equip­ ment. Sure don’t want to disappoint anyone who is waiting.” The town of Holton was waiting and they didn’t have long to wait that night. The lights of the town all went dim at the same time and they knew. DAILY TIMES May 14, 1952 Early Edition Last night Chester Elegy the state executioner was killed by a short in the lever that sends electricity to the chair. The intended victim Lucky Hart­ fiels will be held over until the electrical system is repaired and a new exe­ cutioner is appointed. This was to be the last excution as it is expected that the state legislature will pass the bill next month to do away with capital punishment. � Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Print magazine story Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "The Elegy" Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/</a> The Casper College Archives has archived this story to encourage the use of its Expression Literary Arts Magazines for digital humanities and other related educational uses. Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1964 Description An account of the resource Story by Richard F. Miracle published in the fall 1964 Casper College Expression magazine. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard F. Miracle Language A language of the resource ENG Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. 1964 Fall. Expression Literary and Arts Magazine, CCA 04.ii.c.2022.01 WyCaC US. Casper College Archives and Special Collections. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CCA_04.ii.c.01_Expression1964_Fall_Miracle Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Extent The size or duration of the resource. 3 pages