Monday 12 May 2008

Oh, Mother: Monumental Characters

I haven't seen a hard copy of The Post Magazine, but I know they ran photos of the main characters involved in the mothers' memorial saga that I wrote about. Here are a few more from my personal collection. This is Daisy Breaux as a debutante:


You can see why she was so popular. She was a stunner, and quite the little firecracker.

Here is her third husband, Capt. Clarence Crittenden Calhoun:


They had courtroom sketch artists even back then. Here's sculptor Clark Noble on the stand, as depicted by the Evening Star's artist:


And here are some of the defendants and their lawyers outside the courthouse after the judge declared them not guilty:


From left it's attorney Richard Merrick, defendant Mrs. W. Clark Noble, attorney L.R. Maddux, defendant Mrs. Anna Hillenbrand, attorney Mrs. L.R. Maddux, and defendant James F. Bird. What I find interesting about the photo is that their was a husband-and-wife defense team. And also that Clark Noble himself wasn't there. But remember that he suffered a heart attack as the verdict was read. Another weird detail: When they were declared not guilty the youngest juror got up and asked for all the defendants' autographs.

If anyone knows more about the case, or anyone involved in it, I'd love to hear. Drop me an e-mail at john[at]voxford.com. Thanks. And if you'd like to take part in a web chat Monday at noon Washington time, just go here.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

John, what became of the 4-foot high limestone pyramid that was mentioned in the beginning of the story? Does it still exist? And what's on the site today?

John Kelly said...

@mike m: I don't know. It must have been somewhere close to the mansion that the Calhouns built but the mansion was torn down to make way for houses in the 1950s. The only element that remains is the gatehouse on Woodbine Street (worth driving past, by the way). I spoke to the owner of that house and he said he's never encountered any trace of the pyramid.