Miscellany, Nov. 1, 1954

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Family Reunion. In Wethersfield, Conn., Lawrence Cousineau, charged with disturbing the peace, pleaded for leniency on the grounds that his wife and both his sons were already serving jail sentences.

Oh, It's You. In Milwaukee, suing for divorce, Adolph Urfer said that he did not think his wife Ella was in the courtroom, then when she was pointed out to him, explained that they had been separated since 1938 and he did not recognize her.

Stable Door. In Monroe, La., city fathers voted to renovate the 44-year-old local jail after 90-lb. Prisoner Betty Grayson ripped the bars out of the window and escaped.

By Association. In Pawtucket, R.I., the Kennedy-Collins American Legion Post voted to abandon the word "comrade," its traditional form of address, "because it tends to give an unfriendly and un-American feeling to the organization."

Cause & Effect. In Ventura, Calif., after being sentenced to six months in jail for drunkenness and given five extra days for arriving drunk in court, Harvey D. Wilcox moaned: "That's what drives a guy to drink."

High Gear. In La Crosse, Wis., the city council adopted a resolution censuring the police force for racing squad cars on hotrod tracks.

Men & Supermen. In New Bedford, Mass., after police recaptured Jailbreakers Charles Cardoza and Albert Vincent, the prisoners explained that they had not heard police surround their hideaway because they were too absorbed in reading comic books.

Heady Brew. In Newark, the State Alcoholic Beverage Control Division announced that it had seized a set of moonshine-making apparatus, including "one felt hat used as a strainer."

Specialists. In Flint, Mich., a demonstration of fire-fighting techniques had to be called off when firemen were unable to set their model shack ablaze.

Wrong Number. In Ventura, Calif., arrested when he tried to cash a check made out to George Taylor, Forger John H. Keller claimed that he had picked the name out of the phone book, did not know that Taylor was chief of police.

Calling Cards. In Denver, after serving two jail terms for robberies in which he: 1) looted an automobile and left his Air Force identification tags behind, 2) looted an automobile and left his wallet behind, James A. Dickens was arrested for looting an automobile and leaving his three-day-old parole papers behind.