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"SET 'EM UP,
BACIGALLUPI!"
by Bill Cherry |
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By
the time 1937 had rolled around, the W.L. Moody, Jr., family had its
fingers in many Galveston-based
ventures. The was the American National Insurance Company, of course,
a dry goods store, a chain of hotels, a couple of banks, a printing
company and a cotton compress. There was even the Rex Laundry.
I figure that back then about one-fifth of Galveston's
workers were Moody employees. So employee esprit de corps was important.
Mr. Moody's favorite business partner was his son Shearn. Mr. Shearn
decided to build esprit de corp by encourage team sports for the employees.
And he named it the Moody Club.
He built a big gym and some tennis courts and a four lane bowling
alley. Mr. Shearn hired renowned bowling professional, Edward Bacigallupi
to design and operate it. |
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Edward
Bacigallupi
Photo courtesy "House of Moody" |
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The
bowling alley made its debut around Christmas in 1937, and by the
following Christmas, an incredible 48,000 games had been played by
Moody employees
And you know, back then there were no automatic pin setters. Teenage
boys, called pin boys, put the pins in place. And it was a pretty
dangerous job. Sometimes a wise guy would throw a ball before the
pin boy could get back on his perch. If the ball didn't get him, flying
pins would.
When
the war broke
out in 1941, our government decided to help finance it by issuing
war bonds. But with the economy tight, a lot of people had to buy
their bonds on the installment plan. They'd buy savings stamps at
the post office or the bank. When they had accumulated enough stamps,
they'd trade them in for a bond.
The Moody Club bowlers came up with their own unique way to raise
money to buy war bonds. Here's how it went.
As soon as a bowler rolled the last ball of a frame, but before the
pin boy was off his perch to reset the pins for the next frame, the
next man up had to yell at the top of his lungs, "Set 'em up, Bascigallupi!"
If the pin boy got there first, the bowler lost, and he had to buy
another war stamp.
What a challenge. And wouldn't you know, it raised a lot of money.
Soon "Set 'em up, Bascigallupi!" became the greeting that one bowler
would yell to another when he saw him in a crowd or across the street.
It was no longer reserved for just the bowling alley. That tradition
continued long after the bowling alley had been torn down and Edward
Bascigallupi had passed away.
That exclamation was like a fraternity hand shake or the secret code
to gain entrance to the club house.
You know, it's been a long time since I've heard someone yell, "Set
'em up, Bascigallupi!" But I remember the smile on the face and the
glee in the voice of the man when he was able to beat the pin boy.
And it was all in the name of Galveston Island's own way of expressing
and sacrificing for patriotism. |
Bill
Cherry's Galveston Memories
September
3 , 2007 column
Copyright William S. Cherry
All rights reserved
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Bill Cherry, a Dallas Realtor and free lance writer was a longtime
columnist for "The Galveston County Daily News." His book, Bill
Cherry's Galveston Memories, has sold thousands, and is still
available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com and other bookstores.
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