Thursday, February 2. 1958
MEDTORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE SEVEN
an Working 1,05 Feet Over Moniisittan Finds Variety bf Subjects
By H. D. QUIGG
a. P. Staff Correspondent
New York (U.R) Frank Pow
ell has spent 17 years at work
1,050 feet in the air over Man
hattan, scattering the ashes of
deceased human beings over the
city, settling bets, and greeting
every conceivable breed of visit
ing celebrity from kings to cab
bage heads.
He's the observation tower
manager at the Empire State
building. The 1,050 mark is his
lowest working level. He often
gets up near the 1,472-foot top
of the building.
Things are always happening
up above the ground so high.
"Just the other day," said
Powell, "this fellow comes up
and says, 'Are you Mr. Powel?' I
told him yes. - He says, Tm a
trumpet soloist. I'd like to play
my trumpet on top of the build
ing. All my life I've wanted to.'
He hands me his card Samuel
J. Coury, Salem Depot, N. H.
"Well, he seemed like a nice
chap. I told him go ahead. I
even went out and listened. You
know what he played? Tm Sit
ting on Top of the World.' Fine
tune.' When he left, I got to fig
uring he'd go home and brag
about it and have no proof. So
I got one of our giant souvenir
postcards and wrote on it that
this would certify Mr. Coury had
played his trumpet up here at
such-and-such an hour, and I put
the official building stamp on it
and shovel it in the mail to him."
Liltle Wager
Bet-settling is. an old story
with the observation tower peo
ple. The most frequent bet is on
how much the building sways.
Powell- has1 had telephone calls
from such places as London,
Mexico City, and San Francisco
to settle wagers on the subject!
Powell's answer:
"In a steady wind of 90 miles
an hour, it moves out of line a
shade less than an inch and a
half."
Tn manv cases the bet 'is On
whether it sways around 20 feet.
This is not too wild an assump
tion when you' consider it has
102 habitable stories. Powell
walked into the restaurant at the
86th floor observation terrace
one day and found a man lying
flat on his back, eyes wide,
breathing normal. ,:
' The man's friends were at a
table, staring glumly at him.
"Gorblimey, the" building tip
ped and I lost my balance," ex
plained the man, obviously a
visiting Englishman. "I can't
help it if the others didn't lose
theirs." ' .
Questioning developed that
the man had had a roush Atlan-
tic crossing but all the while the
ship was pitching his friends had
told him: . "This is nothing com
pared with what you'll get when
you get to the top of the Empire
State building. It sways 18 feet
and more," ;
Loose Bolt
. The man told Powell the build
ing had tipped just as he hung
up his hat. Powell examined the
hatrack. The bolt holding it .up
right had come loose. When the
hat was hung, the rack, had
swayed forward, and the visitor
swayed opposite it right on down
to the floor.
Powell has participated in
several scatterings of cremation
ashes. The original one was the
case of a,man born in Manhattan
whose family moved to an Indi
ana farm when heNvas young.
His will directed that his ashes
be loosed from the building's
top. His widow performed the
rite, waiting for a day with a
brisk wind.
The latest one was the case of
a New Jersey woman. The first
day she met her future husband,
hr took her to the top of the Em
pire State. They went there sev
eral times afterwards, and on
one of those occasions he pro
posed to her. When she was dy
ing, she told his she wanted to be
cremated and her ashes scattered
from the building top. He wept
as he carried out her wish.
The building will be 25 years
old next May. Nearly 16,000,000
persons have gone to its top. The
oldest was 101, the youngest 13
days.'
APPOINTED CHIEF
Portland (U.R) Capt. Paul J.
Shreve was appointed by Police
Chief Jim Purcell yesterday to
be chief of detectives succeed
ing Capt. William Browne who
is on accumulated leave and on
temporary assignment with the
government. 1
Use Mail Tribune Want Ada'
Man Returns Stolen
Clock; Note To Police
Tokyo rJ.R) A man re
turned a priceless, historic clock
stolen a year ago to a newspaper
in Shizuoka Wednesday night
with a note ridiculing Japanese
police as "slow pokes in criminal
investigation."
.The clock, presented by the
king of Spain nearly 400 years
ago, was taken from the Toshogu
Shrine in Shizuoka last year. It
was left in the office of the Shiz
uoka city newspaper by the man
who fled before he could be
identified.
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