1909 Life of Riley

We were talking earlier about the phrase, the life of Riley, and there was a little article in the Patterson Morning Call back in 1909 that I got a kick out of when I was looking through the newspaper databases.

The article is titled, Wanderlust, quote unquote, Wanderlust gripped Mike, 13-year-old Italian boy found by brother yesterday.

And it’s a quick little article. Michael Katanis, the 13-year-old Italian boy who had been missing from his home, No. 8 Prospect Street since last Sunday, was discovered yesterday by his brother John.

Michael, according to his own story, had been, quote, living the life of Riley ever since he bolted. He ran errands for two or three men and obtained sufficient money to pay for food.

He had been sleeping in an empty freight car on the Erie Road. His brother met him accidentally in Eastside Park.

He was escorted to police headquarters for the purpose of receiving a scare and then taken home. John Katanis, the brother, said last night that he could not account for the youngster’s wanderlust.

He says he expects to keep him home hereafter, even if he has to tie him up. And I don’t know, these little windows on life that you get when you’re going through the old newspaper databases.

I mean, that kid sounds like he had a blast running away from home. I found something recently.

There was a guy by the name of J.W. Alpert who worked for the topographical something or other. They were mapping out the west and southwestern United States.

And there was a little clip that suggested he’d been reposted from Utah to, I believe, Virginia. But the way that they wrote it made me think that he was a spy.

And I so want to find out if J.W. Alpert was a spy. It was very interesting.

Old newspapers, man. It’s more than just language. There goes your weekend.

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