This Actually Happened . . . No Fueling!
February, 1946
It happened right in New York and the inside-outness of it is this.
The tugboat strike had been settled and the fuel oil scare dissipated. But for a while and until peace was restored among the tugboats, it looked like we were going to run short and this yarn is about a fellow who was petitioning for a special issue of oil . . . not to get warm . . . but to keep cool. And what he wanted to keep cool was the beer he brews on West 42nd Street. Now there are some people who live in more sun-favored spots in our country who might not be aware that keeping warm is a very real problem for New Yorkers . . . in New York . . . in February, That’s especially true of the lucky guys who can get away from it all and go to Florida where they lie in the sun until they’re well done on both sides and basted with sun tan lotions until they look good enough to eat . . . and probably do . . . when they can find a place that has food to serve. But in New York in February . . . it’s cold and most of the howls that went up for oil during the strike . . . were for purposes of keeping the old homestead warm enough to take off your coat. That’s why it was strange to hear that Ted Scheuler asked the disaster control board for fuel to bring the tempera¬ture down, Since last Thursday, he said, his brewing beer has been running a temperature of 40 degrees and as any guzzler knows . . . it ought to be not more than 33. Of course . . . luckily for Mr. Scheuler . . . the strike was settled just in time and he was able to get oil for his refrigeration unit before his brew broil - - - oops, I mean . . . before his beer boiled over.
The top of this story as originally reported was worded this way: MOST FOLKS WANT FUEL OIL THESE DAYS TO KEEP WARM BUT TED SCHEULER IS DIFFERENT. HE WANTS SOME TO KEEP COOL . . . . . HONEST, NO FUELING!
But of course, I wouldn’t think of using that line . . .