Part 18: Riley's Journal Fragments: "There is Suffering and Misery Everywhere Throughout America."
The most productive nation in the world, yet unable to properly feed, clothe, and shelter a third of its population. --- Riley Shepard 1938
Part 17: Riley's Early 20s and His Journal: A Look Back
“They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.”---FDR I'm trapped at home like everyone else in Seattle due to the Corona Virus pandemic. Above are the headlines from Friday, March 20, 2020. It's a bit bleaker today, Saturday. Here is a link to a cartoon that explains what the virus does to the human body and why it's s
Part 16: Women, a Nudist Lawyer, Colonel Tom Parker, and Hillbillies.
My Dad introduced me to Colonel Tom Parker, telling Parker that it was my 16th birthday."Oh? Sweet sixteen and never been kissed?"
Part 15: Women, Sid Grauman, and Hillbillies.
In 1937 I went to California. I felt the need to explore new possibilities. Sid Grauman saw me perform at a theater and agreed to be my agen
Part 14: "I Remember Every Affair But Have Forgotten The Names of 11."
When I was a little girl, Dad told me about Alma. He announced, out of the blue, that his first wife committed suicide.
Part 13: A Wedding, A Short Con, and Drifting
Riley started this journal late in life, maybe in the 1980s. With some pages, he begins with his age, then he includes not only personal information, but historical information. Riley writes that in 1932, when he was age 14, Jack Dempsey retired from boxing. Then he writes about how Dempsey opened a restaurant at 49th and Broadway in New York City. He even knew the address and the building it was in, 1619 Broadway in the Brill Building. I love stuff like that. I'm sure he had
Part 12: More on Riley's Journal and His Escapes From The Labor Camp/Prison for Boys
I've had a revelation reading through my father's various escapes and how he hid from the authorities. I finally understand why Dad would ne
Part 11: Writers, Thinkers, & the Past is Never Dead
In the 1960s and early 70s, my father was writing a series of sex books under the pen name Zachary Quill. The books were classified as porn.
Part 10: Riley's Real Troubles Begin
Reading through the reports from The Eastern Carolina Industrial Training School for Boys, I noticed a dramatic change in tone after the Depression hit. In the early days of the school, 1926, 1927, 1928, reports were upbeat (not counting the poor horse and the tortured squirrel). But in 1929 the staff seemed overwhelmed. They had planned to grow all the food for the "school", but things weren't going as planned. The next door neighbors, a black farmer and his family, had a go
Part Nine: "Looking For Good Christian Men Who Have a Strong Interest in Boys..."
I was nervous and had trouble focusing when I entered the Wilson Library to study the place where my Dad was sent when he was a kid.