Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the many facets of Fool Killer lore. FOR PART ONE, INCLUDING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT IN THE 1850s, CLICK HERE.
PART 68 – Some of the Fool Killer’s targets on both sides of the aisle in the February 1914 edition of James Larkin Pearson’s version of the folk figure:
*** The Eugenicists of 1913 and 1914.
*** Kentucky’s Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper for its hypocritical editorials blasting air pollution from factory chimney stacks while simultaneously hyping the tobacco industry despite the “air pollution” caused by smoking.
*** Republican and Democrat newspapers for amping up their combined attacks on Catholics. (Pearson found Catholic priests as disgusting as politicians, but found the newspapers’ attacks hypocritical.)
*** Joe Knowles, artist and Forest Survival enthusiast, for failing at his stunt of going into the Maine forests naked and insisting he would not only survive but would emerge after several weeks having made himself clothing that would be fitting for High Society. Knowles did survive but looked like a wild man and his clothing was like something Fred Flintstone would wear.
*** Miss Bana Douglass of Stratton, Maine. She was inspired by Joe Knowles’ stunt and announced her plan to go naked into the Maine forests herself in the summer of 1914. She too claimed she would thrive and create all the clothing and comforts of home for herself. The Fool Killer jokingly predicted that the Maine woods would be loaded with men that summer, all of them hoping to meet up with Bana Douglass.
*** What Pearson and his Fool Killer called “the Four Percent” (today we call them “the One Percent”) for their callousness toward the suffering of the working class and the poor. Continue reading
THE LIVES OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (1974-1975) – This was a series of four 90-minute (with commercials) dramas depicting America’s magnificently unorthodox genius at various stages of his life. Eddie Albert and Melvyn Douglas (husband of Helen Gahagan Douglas) depicted Franklin in his 70s and 80s, with flashback storylines in each episode. The Lives of Benjamin Franklin won five Primetime Emmys including Outstanding Limited Series. 
PART 67 – Some of the Fool Killer’s targets on both sides of the aisle in the January 1914 edition of James Larkin Pearson’s version of the folk figure: 
1. TIMOTHY PICKERING (1795-1800)
U.S. President: Calvin Coolidge Vice President: Charles G. Dawes Speaker of the House: Nicholas Longworth Chief Justice: Former President William Howard Taft 
1st – The ROSE BOWL GAME was broadcast on radio for the first time. This game pitted the undefeated UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE, then from the Southern Conference, against the undefeated UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON HUSKIES, then from the Pacific Coast Conference. The Huskies led 12-0 at Halftime, but the Crimson Tide came from behind to win the game 20-19 in what has been called “the football game that changed the South.” 
THE PESHTIGO FIRE – This piece of neglected history may be one of the most Balladeer’s Blog-ish topics in Balladeer’s Blog’s sixteen-year history. On October 8th, 1871 Peshtigo, Wisconsin burned down in a monumental conflagration that killed OVER FIVE TIMES AS MANY PEOPLE AS THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE KILLED! 
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