named after James H. Wathen, usually called the "Major." He attended El Paso's elementary schools and graduated from our high school in 1895. Receiving an M. D. from Northwestern University, he served internship at the old Wesley Memorial Hospital. During a five-year period, from 1907 to 1912, he was assistant eye surgeon at the Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary. Be practiced medicine in Chicago and in Los Angeles until 1917.

From then until 1930 Dr. Worthington devoted his energies to the Chicago Reciprocal Insurance Exchange. The old Belt Automobile Indemnity Association, which from its founding until January 1, 1924 had its headquarters in El Paso, was a member of that exchange.

 

Famous Visitors

We attach to the Name and Fame chapter about local sons, an interesting list of famous visitors to El Paso:

WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN, orator, political leader and Secretary of State in Wilson's cabinet, lectured at the Grand Opera House, Wednesday, February 8, 1905. His subject: "The Value of an Ideal." He stayed that night at the Campbell House.

BLIND BOONE, sightless Negro concert pianist with a phenomenal musical memory, visited the McKinley School and played a concert in the Grand Opera House about 1906.

SAMUEL L. CLEMENS, better known as MARK TWAIN, stopped at the Campbell House the night of January 12, 1869, while on a lecture tour. He was simply resting up here and changing trains, but he sat up late that night and wrote a lengthy love letter to his girl Livvy in New York. It was published in the Atlantic Monthly for November, 1947 on pages 37-38, including the El Paso dateline.

JAMES M. COX, campaigning for president in 1920, halted his train here for twenty minutes and made a rear platform address at the railroad crossing. His running mate, a little known politician named Franklin D. Roosevelt, did not accompany Mr. Cox.

GEORGE CRAIG, present governor of Indiana, was a speaker at an annual Community-Legion banquet just prior to his election as national commander of the American Legion. No less than nine national commanders have addressed these dinners during their terms of office: Ossie Lee Bodenhamer, 1930; Edward A. Hayes, 1934; Ray Murphy, 1936; Harry W. Colmery, 1937; Daniel J. Doherty, 1938; Stephen F. Chadwick, 1939; Raymond J. Kelly, 1940; James F. O’Neil, 1948, and Lewis K. Gough in 1953.

ULYSSES S. GRANT, touring the nation after his round the world trip, held a reception at the Campbell House on Monday, April 19, 1880, after which he departed on the Illinois Central for Bloomington.

FLEET ADMIRAL WILLIAM F. HALSEY, JR., late in World War II the fighting commander of the greatest naval force ever assembled, and upon whose flagship Missouri the Japanese signed their surrender document, visited El Paso the afternoon of March 9, 1950, and was

Page 297

Go to previous page

Go to next page

Go to El Paso Story gateway page