Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Sharp Dressers, Dull Town




When I was a lad I was acquainted with a preacher, a friend of my father, whose name was R.R. Sharp.  This occurred in the mid- to late 40s.  

Mr. Sharp was holding a revival meeting in a small town in Southern Nebraska.  The meeting had been advertised in the local paper, and the evangelist had submitted 
a cut in order to run his picture in the advertisement.

The editor was amazed at the minister's likeness, so he made it a point to contact Mr. Sharp during his stay in town.  He related that there was a local business man who, in likeness, was his double; yet they were exact opposites!

The newsman arranged for the gentlemen to meet in front of the local vendor's place of business, and that is where Mr. Sharp met Mr. Dull.

I have had this picture for many years.  Mr. Sharp is on the left, Mr. Dull on the right.

9 comments:

Eddie Eddings said...

Love those old photos!

Vee said...

It's been said that everyone has a double out there somewhere, but looking alike and also having opposite last names is a "wow." Were this to be discovered now, they would be asked to appear on some TV show.

Sharkbytes said...

Are you pulling our legs?

Shelly said...

Wow! Now that is a story and picture that makes me smile~

vanilla said...

Eddie, I very much enjoy going through Mama's old picture box from time to time, though I have organized it somewhat over the years.

Vee, one supposes that in Nebraska back in the day recognition by the local newspaper was the nearest such oddities came to being media sensations. Besides, five minutes on TV will soon be forgotten; things published in newspapers have a way of lasting a long time.

Sharkey, not at all. The characters and the incident were real.

Shelly, I enjoyed telling it and I am glad you smiled.

Grace said...

Funny story...

Secondary Roads said...

Sharp and Dull and they look so much alike, it's almost too good to be true. The newspaperman appears to be more camera aware than the evangelist. There's probably a parable there. What do you think?

vanilla said...

Chuck, amazing coincidence, should you believe in coincidence. I rather thought the preacher was "hamming it up" a bit for the camera, while the business man seems to be, well, stodgy.

vanilla said...

Grace, I always thought the story was quite funny.