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ALL OUR YESTERDAYS

A right way, a wrong way, and a Redway

by Billy Gillen

Believe it or not, Tom Redway juggled five apples without a drop a distance of 31/2 miles back in 1932. Read it yourself if you want. It's right there in "Ripley's Believe It Or Not."

But I wondered about the rest of the story, and did some research.

It turns out Redway was much more than the self-declared "first juggling marathoner." He was a talented and fondlyremembered community and regional Vaudevillian.

Ms. Carolyn Chouinard, the North Salem, Mass., town historian, remembers his performances there as early as 1926. "Tom didn't need a stage," she said. "Barber shops, fire stations, drug stores, church socials or bars were fme. He always attracted a crowd. It was much better than TV."

Dynamic and humorous, Redway and his spouse, Nina, made a mark that lasted.

Jules Thomas (Redway) Chauvin, was born in Montreal , Canada , in 1886. A former Canadian League Baseball star and World War I veteran, he performed comedy, juggling, clowning, magic, knife throwing and calligraphy. He worked the Kent Circuit with Nina, a striking beauty noted for dancing and a routine described as "paper tearing."

The couple named their house in North New Salem "Rosy Ridge. " They built an adjoining high-ceilinged room for juggling.

Along with a quick wit and other performing skills, Tom he was a ventriloquist. When Joe Truman's cow fell through the barn floor, neighbors could not extract the poor animal. Thinking clearly, Redman imitated the bellowing of an impassioned bull, which gave the cow the incentive to haul herself out!

But the depression hit them hard financially and they never recovered. Nina died after a long illness in 1947, and Tom continued alone. He lost an eye to glaucoma in 1950, but that only slowed him done some. He stayed close to the comfort of Rosy Ridge until his death in 1960.

One hopes that the rewards of a career in the footlights shown brighter in their hearts than their pauper's legacy. Nina indicated that at one time, saying, "It is far better to be a has-been than a never-was!" Tom just said, "There's a right way, a wrong way and a Redway!" *