Indian America: A Gift that Keeps on Giving

From the time she was a young child, Jane Hall had an interest in Native American culture, particularly that of the Hopi Tribe, a northeastern Arizona sovereign nation. My mother adored her childhood home in Arizona; she had learned about the Hopi from her father, Dick Wick Hall, who spent time with the tribe as…

Whatever Happened to Jane Hall’s Ocelot?

For much of my childhood and young adulthood I had an ocelot for a sibling. In fact, many of my friends remember that more than anything else about our family.  My mother, Jane Hall Cutler, was devoted to Menasha Skulnik — she named him after the famed Jewish American actor in spite of her Catholic…

Where Is Dick Wick Hall Now?

Once again, the town of Salome, Arizona, and the surrounding community will celebrate Dick Wick Hall Day.  Years ago, I was fortunate to participate in these festivities with each of my daughters. My grandfather’s most visible legacy still lies in Salome (where he’s pictured here), and in the other towns of the McMullen Valley among…

Such Mad Fun: Here’s the Prologue — “All the Things You Were”

I picked up the book carefully, wary of the mold on its faded cover. Rodents had gnawed through the corners and the edges of its pages. On this oppressive June day when the humidity intensified all sweet and sour odors, the book smelled terrible. It was headed for the landfill, but the playful inscription to…

Poplar Springs– “That Great Pile of Rocks”

  On this exciting September afternoon the Calverton train was likely met by Rose and Randolph Hicks’s farm manager in their Ford Model T or their Locomobile. He may have picked up a few provisions at the Calverton Market and filled his tank at W.H. Spicer’s gas station. It was a crowded car as they all five headed…

“I want to be famous” — Jane Hall says farewell to her father’s mentor

It did not take Jane long to plunge right back into juggling school and her social life once she returned to Manhattan at the end of September 1933. At the newly coeducational Day Art School at Cooper Union (no longer called the Woman’s Art School), Jane signed up for Ornamental Modeling, Advanced Composition, Perspective, Advanced Design…

Dick Wick Hall – “A man who made the whole world laugh”

To learn more about Jane’s father, Arizona’s favorite humorist in the 1920s, scroll through to earlier posts. Check out the Such Mad Fun Gallery. And see The Laughing Desert: Dick Wick Hall’s Salome Sun. Available on Amazon, this replica of the syndicated 1925-1926 news sheet is packed with stories, poems, humor, hometown philosophy, and engaging illustrations that…

“Old ladies and old gentlemen are my weakness . . .”

  Daysie Hall’s will made her sister “Mrs. Randolph Hicks of New York” the custodian of her two children “with full power of attorney to take care of their interests in the way she deems best.” In June 1930 Rose and her 60-year-old husband prepared to become parents for the first time. One thing was clear,…

“I’m caught in the mesh of the desert’s grip. . .”

They were devastated and lay awake for hours night after night listening to the sound of ocean waves breaking less than half a mile away. How could they possibly be orphans? And yet the resilience mustered by 15-year-old Jane Hall and her 18-year-old brother Dick would prove extraordinary. Both were about to leave behind their…

“With you, my heart and soul have flown . . .”

“An American Paper for the American People – The Great Newspaper of the Great Southwest—The Paper for People Who Think.” The Los Angeles Examiner was bold in its claims and, on February 18, 1930, for the Hall family, it was  also the paper to read. On the front page of Section Two a short article proclaimed:…

“Take It on the Chin”

“Mother decided to drive it right home from the store,” Jane recalled in August 1928 when Daysie Hall bought the boxy Six -Cylinder Special. They named the Studebaker “Teresa,” but before Dickie had even seen it, they had an accident on the less-than-perfect roads. Autos still had no turn signals or rearview mirrors, driver’s licenses did not require a road test, and danger…