Scrapbook Pages
Sin-A-Man City
OR
A Pretty Spicy Place
Written By:
Ann Nichols, Kay Carpenter, Walter Conley, Connie Long and Sara Stewart
This is a work of fiction and all characters are products of the authors’ remembrances, any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely intentional. May 1969.
Many a tale of woe has been told and many a mournful song has been sung of people who fail to follow the footpaths of good. We feel it is necessary at this time to give warning to those about to embark upon the ark of life; for fear that your futures may sink like those of the people of Sin-a-Man City.
The city of Sin-a-Man was not always a city of vice and corruption. Once little children could play in the parks, once people had no fear of crossing the streets -----but that -----yes, that was before the arrival of ------MR. SIN!!!! No one knew where he came from, no one knew who he was. One day the town awoke to see a big black limousine pull into town, driven by MR. SIN’S chauffeur, Charles Colbert, and since that time Sin-a-Man has never been the same.
No one knew what MR. SIN wanted until it was too late, then nobody cared. The town was a nice quiet place. It had a few rough spots, but that was all. Famous people came from far and wide to shop at some of Sin-a-Man’s famous department stores. Most famous of these being Bealy’s Boutique ran by that famous gourmet of clothes Bealy Carter. Mr. Carter also had that little pinch of imagination it took to run a place of business and with designer Felipe Birdine and Royce Davis catered to such international figures as Mrs. Sharly Hankins, wife of…of…well who remembers his name anyway; Hermion Pierce known for her impersonations of Goldie Hawn; Peggy Howard Butts and Susan Howard Butts, the widely acclaimed Howard sisters.
There was also Billykin’s Department store managed by Willy P. Herman with his assistants Kathy Lemon, Maria Ashcraft, Crystal Perkins, and Kathy Naron.
Of course, who could forget the great Follower Department Store --- always first in design---ran by Gary Stermer, Mary Lou Dickens, and Judy Price with Debbie Pruitt serving as fashion consultant.
Besides having a great variety of stores in which to shop, Sin-a-Man also was very conscientious about the beauty of their town. Walter Marigold Conley headed the “beautiful town program” assisted by his creative co-workers Eddie Eldaberry Harmon, Bill Hyacinth Harmon, and Daisy Bill Smith. Of special assistant to Mr. W.M. Conley was his vivacious secretary Cactus Ann Castro. Although Cactus Ann did give assistance when needed, she sometimes created rather sticky situations.
The beautiful town of Sin-a-Man was soon to discover; however, that an evil force was working against them---a force soon to make itself known in a most unusual way.
One day in the midst of the busy season for service stations a very unusual occurrence took place----a service station run by girls appeared on the scene. Pam Underwood, Ann Greening and Ann Nichols, not to mention Scooter Burkett, opened one of the finest service stations in town. At first glance this seemed to be a legitimate operation until all the service stations went out of business because everyone was going to the girls’ service station to watch Scooter Burkett wash the windshields. It seemed as though the gruesome MR. SIN was just beginning to show his hand.
1
As if this were not enough, MR. SIN soon gained control of Tightwad Tidmore’s Bank and Trust ran by Bruce Tidmore and his cashier-wife Beverly Caldwell Tidmore.
Before the townspeople knew what hit them, MR. SIN controlled Green’s Glorious Gardens for Gracious Graves owned and operated by the town’s only mortician James Green and his grave digger Susan Hale, and converted it into his gambling operating syndicate. He obtained the help of the Sin-a-Man Chamber of Commerce President and Vice-President Carolyn Phillips and Kay Carpenter, respectively, who were as usual unsure of what was happening around them.
With the Chamber backing him, MR. SIN continued to gain more control over the town. He took the hospital where Ramona Montelongo and Jane Ray were administrators and dismissed all patients including Carla Duncan, Evelyn Castillo, and Janie Garcia.
From the hospital, MR. SIN moved on to the library where he forced Debi Leonard and Billie Carter to order Lynn Finley’s latest release Loopholes in the Law, The Theory of Sex Education in a Public School by Ginger Gilliam, and Jewel Taylor Love’s bestseller A Marriage with Love.
Soon after MR. SIN’S tough guys forward Grime’s Grecian Health Spa, owned by David Grimes and his newly acquired masseuse Ellan Scoggins, out of business and set up classes on “How to be a MR. SIN Tough Guy”. Naturally the first to enroll were Don Adams, Gene Woods, Gary Marquart, Kenny Parks, Jimmy Hamby, George Blythe and Dale Eaton.
MR. SIN’S operations expanded in to all phases of the city-----The Four Sin’s Boarding House run by Luscious Linda Horton, Curvatious Cathy Kubicek, Saocharine Sara Stewart, and Comestible Connie Long was MR. SIN’S next objective and with the help of the Sin-a-Man Centennial (editor, Kurt Beyers; co-editor, Carol Whitmire; and reporters Mary Ann Wiseman and Glenda Sims), he soon forced the management into his way of thinking.
By this time the Sin-a-Man police force was beginning to suspect that evil play was afoot, a good deduction at this stage. So the Sin-a-Man chief of police Frankie Denham and deputies Steve Francis and Joe Lindsey and the meter maid Barbara Scott began to investigate.
They soon found that MR. SIN’S syndicate was far too big for them to handle alone. So they did what law enforcement officers everywhere normally do. Run---for help to the G, G, C, for G, R, of B, G, or the Good Guy Committee for Getting Rid of Bad Guys headed by that handsome, debonair, suave, and sophisticated, Sexy Rexy Sullivan and his beautiful, buxom bride Brenda Seaton, and his G, G, C, composed of Paul Will Wilson and his wife Mary Attwood Wilson; Sam the Ham Poe; Billy-Boy Addison, Charley the Mouth Morris; and Ray May McClary.
This highly organized and efficient band of crime fighters came to Sin-a-Man with one thought in mind------STOP MR.SIN (also have a little fun on the side).
Traveling incognito, Sexy Rexy went to Mac’s Supper Club (Proprietored by Sammy McSpadden, one of MR. SIN’S buddies). Sexy Rexy was taken to his table by head waiter Jimmy Gosset. His waitress Kathi Hallman brought him a drink------ginger ale-----natch.
2
Sexy Rexy sat down to enjoy the show and noticed that the band leader was Doug Beaty who had been in trouble with the law lately. On closer look, the entire band composed of Janice Stewart, Kathy Clawson, Will Dettenhaim, Kenny Roper and James Rose had been at least one time offenders (tut, tut, tut).
Sexy Rexy’s attention was then drawn to a couple in the far corner. It was that notorious twosome Curtis Phillips and Janet Poole, Sexy Rexy’s extra sensitive radar ears picked up their conversation, a discussion on the matter of a ring (smuggling, probably).
The band hit the downbeat and out came Ray Carl Phillips singing swinging soul and two beautiful soul steppers came out into the spotlight: Pamy Essary and Nancy Cato.
Sexy Rexy stayed until the special entertainment for the night was over-------he just couldn’t miss Bobby Willard singing that old time favorite “Katy”. After the audiences’ spell was broken at the ending of Mr. Willard’s song, Mac motioned for Sexy Rexy to come into the back room. Sexy Rexy cautiously followed Mac into a dimly lighted room and saw the infamous MR. SIN for the first time. MR. SIN invited him to have a seat, but since Sexy Rexy had on sun glasses and the room was dark he couldn’t find one so he continued standing. Mac gave him another drink but Sexy Rexy, not wanting to take a chance, threw it down the handily located drain----this was the last mistake Sexy Rexy was to make; for little known to him and even to MR. SIN and his companions, the terrific mixture of the drink that went down the drain was ignited and blew up the dam at Lake Borlene and the waters were at this moment rushing to destroy Sin-a-Man City and its occupants.
Sexy Rexy pulled a fast one on MR. SIN and ripped away his disguise. Shocked and dismayed Sexy Rexy never knew what hit him for the flood broke in and finished its destruction of Sin-a-Man City and only two boyhood companions know the truth of MR. SIN. Sexy Rexy found that GARY PAUL NEWSOM was actually the evil MR. SIN. I know his last thought must have been “If only-----if only I had used my genius for the G, G, C, for G, R, of B,G, this would have never happened.”
And so my friends, as the sole survivors of Sin-a-Man City we would like to leave you with these wise words of wisdom:
Like waters over the dam, so are the sinz of our lives.
Signed and attested by:
Erma Fay Eddy
May , 1969
3