August 20, 1935-Bossy Gillis Still Running For Mayor – And ‘Off At The Mouth:’
The Washington Daily News—Tuesday—August 20,—1935
Bossy Gillis Still Running For Mayor – And ‘Off At The Mouth:’
By Ernie Pyle
NEWBURYPORT, Mass. -Remember Bossy GIllis? You know. the red-headed, blah-blah, bad-boy mayor of Newburyport who made a million front pages a few years ago.
Well, Bossy's still alive and still gunning off at the mouth. Not only that, but he's gonna run for mayor again in November. And thinks he'll win. But the townspeople think he won't.
Just on the north edge of Newburyport, out where it's all sand and vacant lots, Bossy has two flling stations. They're right across the road from each other, so he can get the business going both directions.
Huge black and white signs, hand-painted and poorly, say "Bossy Gillis, seven gal-Jons for $1.”
“Fill her up." I said to the boy, and is Mr. Gillis around?"
"That's him there in the truck," said the boy.
And there he was, big as life and even bigger. dumping a truck-load of gravel alongside his station. Mr. Gillis shut oft the engine and climbed out.
"Glad to know you," he said. “Any relation to C.C. Pyle? Guess he made a lot of dough. But I reckon it’s gone now. But he knowed how to put it on big."
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Bossy is a burly man, not very tall, but thick, and very red. He had on a pair of indiscriminate pants, dirty white suspenders, faded blue shirt open at the neck — or what corresponds to Bossy's neck — a fat straw hat that had become the color of tobacco juice, a two-day growth of red beard, and a gold tooth. He was still talking.
"Yeah, business is pretty good…I've got a lot of competition... but what the hell…if I get to be mayor again I'll be settin' all right …sure, I'm gonna run this November…
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…I think I'll win... I've got a lot of friends in this town... four years now since I was mayor and they're wantin' me back…some people thought I made too much noise, too much blah blah, but I say what the hell... If you give 'em a good administration what the hell... I can't help it if I got a lot of publicity… like one of the New York newspapermen said once, he says 'Gillis, you're good copy’…you’re damn right I'm good copy. blah blah blah... and I give this town a good administration.. HIYA COMRADE!”
Bossy nearly blew my head off with a big yell and a wave of his hairy arm toward a car going past at 50 miles an hour.
"It had an American Legion sign on it... no, I didn't know em ...listen at that damn woman... asks if this is good gas…what kind of gas does she think it is ... boy, check that oll (the boy, already had; that's probably where the "Bossy' comes from)... gonna stay all night In Newburyport? ... you're stayin' in an awful town…if I’d a knowed you was comin' to see me I'd a shaved... hurry back."
And on goes Bossy, sorry he's out of the limelight, hoping to get back in. But the townspeople say he hasn't got a chance.
Maybe I just happened to hit his enemies, but there's a composite of what they said:
"Bossy's thru. Sure hell run again. He's run the last two times and got beat. He ain't got enough up here in the dome. Naw, he wasn't a good mayor. Just made a lot of noise. But I guess he didn't do much harm. He always said he gave Newburyport a million dollars worth of publicity, and I guess he did. Not very good publicity, but I guess it didn't do us any harm. Maybe some good. But he's thru. He ain't got a chance."
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Newburyport has the appearance of being just about Bossy's speed.
It is a city of some 15,000 people, about 35 miles north of Boston, right up in the corner of Massachusetts on the New Hampshire line, and on the ocean. In America's early seafaring days, most of the clipper ships were built in Newburyport.
But it's not much of a sea town any more, and the fashionable beaches are up and down the coast away from it, and the city seems run down and the people have a Saturday night-in town look about them, and it's my personal opinion that a little more of Bossy wouldn't do them a bit of harm.
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