1934--Mandans Walkathon Ends after THREE Weeks!--(Mandan News) Mandan’s Walkathon of nearly three weeks ended unexpectedly with the midnight flight of the promoters, who left numerous unpaid bills, including the salaries for judges, cash prizes for contestants, $50 rent to the Mandan Park Board, plus lumber expenses owed to Frank Kiebert, resort manager. On the run are the organizers, W.C. “Smitty” Smythe and A.J. Bartlett, who slipped away in their Buicks after paying their hotel bills. The Walkathon came to Mandan from Portland, Ore., bearing the imposing title of the Fraternal Walkaton Ass’n. The Walkathon “folded” after the completion of 330 hours, leaving two unpaid and exhausted contestants, Earl Grosgebauer and Donald James, both of Mandan. Grosgebauer had furnished spectators with three minutes of drama during the weekend when the courage and tenacity of his partner, Rose Rausch, also of Mandan, kept him in the running. Miss Rausch was chained to him during the Chain Treadmill feature, which forced the final six “chained-together” contestants to walk at a faster pace for one hour and 40 minutes without a break. When Grosegbauer passed out and began to slump toward the floor, Rose held him up with her chains, resulting in blood flowing from the scraped off skin of her wrists and ankles. But, despite the pain, she still managed to hold up her partner for three long minutes until the treadmill event was finished. Grosgebauer was revived during the 15-minute rest period and was able to continue walking; however, the physical damage to Miss Rausch’s wrists and ankles were too severe for her to resume the marathon ordeal. (The 1969 drama film, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They” is based on a 1935 novel by Horace McCoy, and focuses on a group of contestants during a Dance Marathon. The movie stars Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin and Gig Young, who won that year’s Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rocky, the marathon’s MC. This is an excellent film, showing how brutal these events were for the contestants who were desperate for cash during the Great Depression.)
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 09:07:40 +0000
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