A letter from a gentleman who worked with Tim Moore in the 40s

In the late 1940s I was a high school teenager in Rock Island, IL., which is located on the Mississippi River. I took a job nights at a company called Servus Rubber Co. in Rock Island. The company made rubber foot wear, boots, etc. My job was taking big chunks of rubber off of a belt and stacking them on pallets.

Next to me was a large black fellow who controlled the speed of a calender machine that flattened the rubber. His job did not require a lot of attention so he often found himself with time on his hands. He would appear at work with a white frilled shirt and frilled cuffs. Instead of standing around he would dance and sing. I asked him why he wore the outfits and he would tell me stories of holding attendance records in New York, on Broadway, for Black Comedy, and of his experiences as a champion boxer (sure your just working here because you love rubber products). He said he retired and wanted to come home by the river. Of course no one belived him, but we enjoyed him.

I told these stories to my parents and passed him off as the shop bull shooter. I went into the army during the Korean war and one day I recieved an extensive front page article from the Rock Island Newspaper about the new Amos and Andy show and this fellow Iv'e been talking about--TIM MOORE, He had been picked as one of the stars. My parents remembered the stories and sent me the news. After that I believed anything. I loved listening on the radio to the show, always a family event.

Dave Wilson

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