Cape Breton's Magazine

other job, I worked in a plant, down in Boston there. Out in the Midwest, in Min? neapolis and places, this promoter had a nightclub he owned. So I used to get work in there. That kept me in pocket money. I stayed in a Y.M.C.A. down there. $12 a week. I used to pay $13. If you paid the extra dollar, you had the use of all the Y.M.C.A. facilities--the swimming pool, their gym--any activity you wanted to use --bowling alleys. They had racquetball places, stuff like that. The gym was just around the corner down the main drag, so that's where we worked out. I was based there (in Minneapolis). But then I'd fight over in St. Paul, which was the twin city. Then I'd go down to Kansas City and Missouri and St. Louis, South Da? kota; Butte, Montana; Omaha, Nebraska; and those places. Boxing. California. I was out there a couple of years. I really loved it out there in Minneapolis. It was beautiful. The people were lovely. And I loved the countryside there. My God, it was cold there in the winter? time though. I used to run and do roadwork around this lake.... And you couldn't take deep breaths, you know, or else you'd freeze your lungs. God Almighty. Nos? trils 'd be all icicles. My eyebrows'd be all full of ice. Coming back after running and you'd be all froze up. But you didn't mind; it was kind of a dry cold, like our out west in our country, prairies. be a part of the ( Feel the Excitement... ACTION! S But, I really loved it. And a lot of fine people. It was a real adventure for me. And I loved it. I guess I was 20 years old out there. So, did a lot of kicking around, met a lot of fine people. Pleasure meeting, like, you know. Jack Dempsey. Down in Harlem, Sugar Ray Robinson. Many famous fighters in the gym I met. Had the occasion to spar with some. Others I just met. Saw a couple of big fights there. Ar? chie Moore and (Floyd) Patterson, for the title--was at their training camp. I went to see Rocky Marciano training. So all in all, it was good to me. I really enjoyed it. My daily schedule--I was up at 6 in the morning. I'd go down to the cafeteria. Or, if the cafeteria wasn't open in the Y I was staying, I'd get all my heavy boots on and turtleneck sweater and toque on my head, long underwear on and everything else, your mitts. And I'd carry the 2- pound iron weights in each hand. So then I'd walk down--there used to be these all- night places--they were built like a lit? tle castle. All they served was hamburgers and coffee and that, you know. It's a chain. So I'd stop in one of them. It was about half a mile to the place where I ran at this park. I'd have a black coffee, and they'd give me a little cup of--like you see ketchup in, those little cups--of hon? ey. I'd put that in my black coffee. Drink my coffee and have my toast. I'd walk to the park, and then I'd do 3 to 5 miles of roadwork around the park. So then I'd jog home to the Y, change out of my clothes, shower up and that. Take all my wet clothes down to the laundromat, wash them and dry them, hang them up. Then I'd go down and have my breakfast in the cafeteria downstairs. I'd have a big grapefruit cut in half--I love grapefruit. And then I'd have my black coffee and may? be I'd have a couple of poached eggs and a piece of dry toast and another bit of hon? ey in my coffee. So I'd go up then and I'd lay back and re? lax. Lay down. Had a little radio--turn the radio on and go to sleep. And then get up, oh, maybe 12, 1 o'clock--have a cof- SJe -''O'ctbK DOIMU 7' rfo''itft ( OPEN 24 HOURS • 7 DAYS A WEEK"! 1111111 DONUTS 412 Welton street Sydney (562-5033) 1058 Kings Road Sydney River (539-3931) Sterling Mall Glace Bay (849-0988) Cor. Charlotte & Townsend Sydney (562-8085) 106 King Street North Sydney (794-8337) 31 Commercial Street Glace Bay (849-1144) Cape Breton Shopping Plaza Sydney River (539-1399) Prince Street Sydney Shopping Centre (539-4287) "Always fresh because you keep eating them!" IfMilif