Van Winkle sleeps in city
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NUOStiOMS.
When he was born in 1 896,
thousands of books car ritd his
na'Vi'j. Few children or adults
hadn't heard Washington
Irvirvi's story of a man who
$U:ot for twenty years.
And so, his parents soon
Rip Van Winkle of 419 N. 27th
St. of his fictional counterpart.
-v "V' -
However, they never gave him
any reason for choosing that
particular name.
Some Lincoln residents may
remember his car dealership at
17th and 0 Streets. A neon
sign in front featured a
white-bearded, reclining man
and lead "Rip Van Winkle's
Auto Exchange."
3w Wk
Van Winkle is never sure
what will result from situations
where he must deal with
people who aren't familiar with
him.
Trouble with credit
When he shops at local
stores where he has credit, he
often encounters sales clerks
who don't know him.
After giving his name, he
gets reactions ranging from
anger "I'm very busy and I
don't have time for jokes!" to
amusement "You've got to be
kidding! "
Van Winkle must then wait
while they check his credit.
However, he said this doesn't
annoy him because he realizes
that they have a job to do and
might get in trouble with their
superiors if they didn't check.
On the other hand, his
unusual name sometimes has
been a benefit with strangers.
Once, when driving in
California, he committed a
minor traffic violation and was
immediately stopped by an
angry patrolman. But "as soon
as he saw the name on my
license, he called his partner
over and they had a good
laugh. Without any more angry
words about my driving, he let
me go and I heard him say,
'Wait'll we tell the guys at the
stationhouse that we stopped
Rip Van Winkle today!'"
40 years as dealer
As a car dealer for more
than 40 years, he experienced
similar encounters on his
buying trips to other states.
One incident that he recalls
was in Chicago in 1935 when
he was waiting with a load of
cars in an alley for another
dealer to come and lead him to
their destination.
Five police detectives were
suspicious and stopped in the
alley. One of them came up
and asked who he was and
what he was doing. As soon as
Van Winkle told him his name,
the detective gabbed him,
pulled him out of the car and
threw him in with the other
detectives, calling him a "smart
aleck."
They took him downtown
and shoved the frightened Van
Winkle into a cell. About a half
an hour later, he was brought
before the desk sergeant and
was able to prove his identity.
He then accepted their
apologies and went on his way.
Stilf asleep?
He spent more time
searching for the other dealer
who had just enteied the alley
as the detective pulled Van
Winkle from the car, and had
fled in fright.
Van Winkle was born in
Talmage, Neb., and lived there
until 1918 when he moved to
Lincoln. He is unmarried and
has been retired since I960.
He estimates that he
receives from 50 to 100 calls
every year from adults and
children asking, "Are you still
asleep7 and similar questions.
Although he said he thinks
the calls are "silly", he rarely
gets angry at a caller except,
where someone "starts to get
nasty."
"I'm not much of a guy to
make mad."
T'i. $
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Value
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Ti Xit I
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Reg. SI39
IL0I?x!S1Ll?J I 1323 "0" STREET Ph: 432-3356
f5G0 AHEAD. . .
summer nebraskan
tuusday, july Z1, T.J3
