In the break-bulk era on the Philadelphia waterfront we had a steady stream of cargo claims from breakage, loss or pilferage. As the backlog grew we hired a male steno typist to assist in getting current. Merton was unmarried and it was a time when gayness was still in the closet and he proved to be a crackerjack worker and also enjoyed the masculine waterfront environment. Voila! The backlog of cargo claims was current. One morning Merton failed to appear for work. His apartment super was called to look in on him. When they entered his apartment they found him in his birthday suit with five slugs in his body and a wardrobe of womens' clothes in his closet. He had obviously been moonlighting. We made the local papers for one day and the homicide detectives visited our pier office to interview our staff. The crime remained unsolved. I only mention this following my "Corner Man" story as both Merton and Arnold met tragic endings - and they both came out of our "small world" on the Philadelphia waterfront.
tjs
Next - TBA
(Above excerpted from Eagle Blue No. 28 -April 27, 2006 - Philadelphia Waterfront Profiles)
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