Newport, Rhode Island, USA is full of Kilroys. David Kilroy Sr. Owns "The Landing" "Frasch's Bakery", "The Cobblestone" and other establishments. He is also a "Roofer" a hard working man who repairs roofs. I don't mean that he just owns the company, he works right along with his crew and during the day he is usually wearing overalls with many splashes of coal tar (pitch) on it. He is one of the funniest people I know. His brother, Gary Kilroy, owns "One Pelham East" and the night club on the top floor of the same building. He also is an old friend of mine. Gary is presently engaged in sailing around the world. There are bunches of Kilroys all over the city, fine people, every one that I know. Some are quite wealthy, but, continue to work because, as David puts it, "What the Hell would I do with myself all day long if I quit working?"

To make a short story longer, David told me, once, that the WWII Kilroy responsible for the "Kilroy was here" graffiti is (or was) a cousin who lives in Massachusetts in a little town near Boston. He was a plumber, by trade, before the war and went back to it after the war. He was in North Africa and then , before D-Day, in England, at the Normandy landings of D-Day and throughout the remainder of the European war up front or in reserve right up until the german surrender. Being a plumber, he srote "Kilroy was Here" near every plumbing fixture he encountered, kitchen sinks,, bathrooms, lavatories, water pipes, drain pipes, etc. What started off as a personal bit of humor in a very grim world, soon took on a life of it's own. Other soldiers, having seen his prolific scribblings, imitated him and began writing, "Kilroy was here" on just about every where and every thing imaginable. David says that he doesn't think his cousin originated the little guy peering over the wall. I remember having seen the little guy all over Dayton Ohio, where I lived from 1942 to 1946 with "Mop. Mop" written underneath. I don't have any idea where he originated.

STAVENGER BILL:

Okeh (pronounced O.K.) is a Choctaw Indian word. It means, "O.K." Look in the Dictionary. Mine says "American Indian" , but, I remember seeing it in another dictionary that was more specific, and gave it's derivation as "Choctaw, American Indian. The Chctaw's I seem to recall, live in West Virginia, Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky.