#duane street lodging house

[make-friends-with-the-rats]

In December of 1899, the halls of 9 Duane Street Lodging House echoed with the voices of newsies. This was the 30th annual holiday feast held for the newsboys and their guests. Kid Blink, among others, gave toasts and speeches, including one entitled "The Strike, When We Licked", no doubt celebrating their successful strike from the summer. The newsies were served a generous feast of turkey, boiled ham, celery, mashed potatoes, turnips, tea, bread and butter, and -- the newsies favorite -- pies.

[sources: 1, 2, 3, 4]

This year, to celebrate the 155th anniversary of the first annual Duane Street holiday feast, I have put together a list of prompts for the first annual Duane Street December. Happy Holidays!

tag: #duane street december

(transcribed list under the cut)

---

NEWSIES Duane Street December

First Snow

Favorite Character

Irving Hall/Medda's Theatre

Holiday Decorations

Family

Kid Blink

Mittens

Boots Arbus

Marbles

Best Friends

Cold Feet

Our Man Denton

Little Newsies

Snowman

Traditions

The Jacobs Family

Warmth

Something Unexpected

Snowball Fight

Jack Kelly

Little Brother

Bad Luck

Dreidel

Patrick's Mother

Turkey and Pie/The Duane Street Dinner

Gift Giving

Improvin' The Truth

Candlelight

Kloppman

Mistletoe

New Years Eve, 1899

[geonij31]

Hey Newsies Fandom, LETS TALK LODGING HOUSES (by someone who wrote a 13 page essay on them for a university class)

I’ve recently delved into the world of Newsies Fanfiction and I’ve been going a little crazy over some of the representation of the Lodging House so I thought I’d offer up some FACTS regarding some things I’ve seen. For this I’m going to focus on the N°9 Duane Street Lodging-House.

(If you want a basic idea without doing too much research or reading this post, just go watch the 1992 Newsies, it’s not perfectly accurate but it’s close enough.)

THE LAYOUT: the lodging house itself was 6-7 floors. The first floor was rented out to shops like some apartment buildings.

Floor 2: The second floor consisted of a large dining-room “where nearly two hundred boys can sit down at table” (Campbell et al, 1897, 122), as well as a kitchen, laundry room, store-room, servant’s room and living quarters for the lodging’s superintendent and their family.

Floor 3: The third floor contained the school-room as well as washrooms, leaving the two top floors for the dormitories.

Floor 4-5: Each dormitory was “furnished with from fifty to one hundred beds” (Campbell et al, 1897) with spring mattresses and plenty of comforters. There were also “private rooms” which were squared spaces quartered off by curtains for privacy. These beds, though more expensive, were almost ALWAYS filled.

A couple different sources mention the lodging house having a gymnasium (with a trapeze) but they can’t seem to agree exactly where the gymnasium was. My guess is it was on the 6th floor as mentioned in an article by The Journal. The attic was used as extra space for the winters when the dormitories were full.

COSTS: lodging was 6 CENTS (or 10 for a “private room”) and meals (breakfast and dinner) were the same price. Boys could have as many helpings of a mean as they wanted! Without paying extra! From what I could tell they didn’t serve lunch because the afternoon paper came out around noon and most boys just picked up something while they were out so they wouldn’t miss a prime selling time.

(Don’t forget that most papers cost 1¢ for customers so a newsie would only have to sell 6 papers to stay the night or get a meal)

AMENITIES: THEY. HAD. SHOWERS. They had access to both hot and cold water and free towels. Boys were expected to wash up after entering the lodging house. Also, as mentioned, there was a laundry room. From my understanding it was most often used to clean the sheets of the beds which were used every day, but there were also boys said to be around helping with chores, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they were also able to wash their clothes there when they wanted.

There was also a free clothes ‘closet’ with donated clothing for boys to access. It seemed most boys chose not to make use of it out of pride, but it didn’t go UNUSED. When a kid really needed stuff they would give it to them.

SCHOOLING: boys staying at the lodging house who did not receive a pass to stay out late were expected to attend the night school held there from 7:30-9. During the day the lodging house also held trades classes and other such courses for those who couldn’t attend a full day of school for whatever reason.

There’s so much more but that’s the basics of it and some of the stuff I’ve seen people get wrong (both in fanfics AND here on Tumblr) I’ve added photos from the Lodging house as well as some links of interest for those who want to go do their own research.

Campbell, H., Knox, T. W., & Byrnes, T. (1897). NEW YORK NEWSBOYS-- WHO THEY ARE, WHERE THEY COME FROM, AND HOW THEY LIVE-- THE WAIFS AND STRAYS OF A GREAT CITY. In Darkness and Daylight; or Lights and Shadows of New York Life; A Pictoral Record of Personal Experiences by Day and Night in the Great Metropolis (pp. 111–138). essay, Hartford, Conn. The Hartford Publishing Company. Retrieved November 23, 2024, from https://archive.org/details/darknessdaylight00campuoft/page/137/mode/1up.

^ Chapter IV: NEW YORK NEWSBOYS— WHO THEY ARE, WHERE THEY COME FROM, AND HOW THEY LIVE— THEY WAIFS AND STRAYS OF A GREAT CITY.

Riis, J. A. (1890). How The Other Half Lives. Charles Scribner’s Sons. November 23, 2024, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45502/45502-h/45502-h.htm#Page_82

^Chapter XVII: The Street Arab

Riis, J. A. (1908). The Children of the Poor. Charles Scribner’s Sons. November 23, 2024, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32609/32609-h/32609-h.htm#Page_122

^Chapter XIV: The Outcast and the Homeless

Smallest saving bank in the world. (1896, February 16). The Journal, pp. 19–19. Retrieved November 23, 2024, from https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84031792/1896-02-16/ed-1/?q=Great+Depression&sp=19&st=image&r=-0.421,0.085,1.842,1.398,0.

[racetrackmybeloved]

thinking about how much pain crutchy must be in

like. his crutch is clearly too short for him. did he get it before hitting his growth spurt and now can't afford a taller one? is he waiting until he grows even more so that he doesn't have to keep on buying new ones? bending over sideways like that constantly must hurt him SO much.

and combine that with carrying stacks of papers all day? the other kids can transfer their papers to their other arm when they start to get tired, but he can't.

someone give crutchy a back massage please and thank you

sidenote: i wrote 'someone get that boy an ibuprofen' as a stupid tag and then thought hm did ibuprofen exist yet and no it did not (until the 1960s)! paracetemol didn't appear commercially in the US until 1950. production of aspirin started in 1899, and it was advertised and distributed to doctors and hospitals at this point, but was not available to the public without a prescription until 1915.

HOWEVER newsboys did sometimes go to hospitals - in 1897 a newsboy named john kelly staying at the duane st lodging house had a sore throat, and the superintendent sent him to the hudson street hospital. and in 1900, after a fight between two newsboys led to one of them stabbing the other in the neck, the injured boy was sent to the hospital (he was apparently fine). that was a very long winded way of saying that it IS feasible for crutchy to have gone to a doctor and gotten a prescription.

so yeah maybe our boy crutchy was actually taking aspirin !

sources woo

[chaosfairy18]

Bumlets thoughts! The boy was spinning today and my friend told me I should share my thoughts so here we go :) So, Bumlets, one of the background newsies of the 92 movies that was cast for his dancing talent (did you know Dominic Lucero was a background dancer for Michael Jackson, Paul Abdual and Madonna?) and doesn't get to say much, but he for sure has fabulous hair.

He is also named after an actual resident in the Duane Street Lodging house around the time of the strike (there is an entire article I once found on Tumblr and when I find it again I'll try to reblog it) and there it is mentioned he kind of speaks for the other newsies there and is called "The King of the Bums" which is very cool to me I do remember that article being a bit before 1899 so I had some thoughts... What if before Jack came along and became leader not just inside the lodging house but outside to the other boroughs, Bumlets was the one to speak for the matters of the newsies in the lodge, specifically for Kloppman. In turn Kloppman trusts him with locking up the lodge sometimes (I saw that in the fic: "Inside the Lodging House: Hard Truths and Annoying sounds" today and loved it) and if there is a problem with one of the boys he asks if he could talk to him first (as most don't react well to adults as it is). At some point Francis Sullivan, newly named Jack Kelly comes along and is more outwardly a leader, kind of more agressively a leader where Bumlets was usually quiet, polite and not particularly ambitious, he just wanted to help if he could and if someone else wants to be the actual leader he is fine with that too.

Another thing is he has leather suspenders (which you can see in Seize the Day reprise as he is right in the front) which for me means he is putting thought into his appearance and also into buying durable things (here we have a saying roughly translating to "better buy something good than buy twice", so saying you should rather buy expensive long-living things sometimes) even if he's not wearing the fanciest clothes apart from it they still seem well maintained and that just is something you notice. The buyers probably do that too.

Can't forget his boyfriends either (that here is just who I think he would be cute with) which would be Skittery and Swifty <3 He and Skittery stickfight in Carrying the Banner (which looks so fun), then they stand next to each other at the Rally and for Swifty in the scene where Snyder is looking for Jack in the lodge they are always beside each other and there are probably more scenes but those are just the ones coming to mind and me and my friend have been going feral over them. But I think that's better for another post eventually, just wanted to add it!

Another fun fact: Dominic Lucero was in fact the same age as Max Casella and therefore also 25 in 1992. Live with that knowledge folks.

Thanks for reading this!

[bumlets-appreciation-blog]

Duane Street December Day 8: Boots Arbus

(Post Deletion Repost)

Boots truly did love the other boys in the lodging house, but finding peace and quiet while living with them was nearly impossible. Someone (usually Jack) was almost always causing a ruckus, and Boots had a hard enough time reading when it was quiet. The noise made it nearly impossible, and while he knew a delayed start with reading was better than never learning at all, Boots thought it would be nice to be able to keep up with the rest of his friends.

This desire was how he ended up sitting on the roof of the lodging house in December, wearing clothes he’d borrowed from Jack and Bumlets, as well as his own shirt and coat. When he told the older boys what he’d planned to do, Bumlets told him he’d be checking on him from time to time, and Jack had said, “I’m not sharin’ my bed with you if you get cold,” something they both knew was a blatant lie. For all that Jack complained about his cold feet, he would never let anything happen to any of the younger boys.

The book itself was something he was a little nervous about. Dracula had been recommended by the clerk at the used bookstore in the square, a pretty redhead around Jack’s age, and Boots had found it difficult to reject her suggestion, especially after she smiled at him and mentioned it was her favorite. It’d probably be a while before he felt comfortable talking to girls outside of selling papers, but at least he knew not to talk about nude corpses in front of them or their parents.

He still wasn’t sure about the story itself, but the way it was written was fun, at least. The shopgirl had called it an “epistolary novel,” and it made him feel like he was reading about true events, especially the news articles. He hadn’t expected to find an American cowboy in a story set in London, but Quincy was his favorite character (though he wouldn’t tell Jack and told Bumlets as much when he’d poked his head up to check on him earlier).

Maybe it wasn’t a story Boots would’ve picked out on his own, but it was nice. He had peace and quiet, an interesting book to occupy his time, and some cookies and hot chocolate that the cook had sent up for him when she learned what he was doing. It was starting to get dark, which meant he’d probably have to head inside soon but for now, he enjoyed his own little slice of heaven. ——————————————————————————

A/N: I’m gonna be honest, the main reason I included the shop girl was so I could drag Jack for that scene. As for why a two-year-old book is in a used bookstore, I just assume that rich people are weird like that. There actually is a bookstore in the square in the movie, Solomona and Hart, and I have a list of businesses in the square on my phone somewhere. Literacy rates for African Americans were pretty low at the time, mostly because slaves weren’t allowed to read and former slaves were likely unable to teach their children the basics before they were old enough for school. I personally think Boots can read large print but struggles with small print, which is why he can read headlines but asked Jack about the content of Denton’s article in the KONY scene.

[daveysjackie]

What if there's a reason for Medda's maternal behaviour to Jack?

What if years ago, when she was simply another one of the Bowery Beauties, long ago, she was swept off her feet by one of the patrons? He would be at almost every show and it didnt take long for a young Medda to be ready to give up everything to be with him.

What if she discovers she's pregnant? She is overjoyed at that but when she tells her lover, he makes an excuse, leaves and is never seen again.

What if Medda was determined to raise her child, social stigmas be damned? She has savings left by her last family member who passed away a few years back and she uses it to buy the mortgage to Irving Hall. One of her fellow Beauties gives her an old crib her family no longer uses. The others make baby clothes in their spare time.

What if Medda goes into labour far too early and when her baby is born, she already knows they're not destined to be together long? Yet she cherishes the week she miraculously gets with her baby boy, committing everything about him to memory and having a little portrait of him made.

What if Medda, a week after giving birth, is burying her baby boy? She has a mortgage she can just barely afford, clothes and crib that will never be used, has to pay for the sudden funeral. Yet all she can bare to think about is that this isn't fair and her Jack should be in her warm arms and not in a cold coffin.

What if Medda suffers with extreme depression for weeks? She can barely even leave her room, let alone ensure that Irving Hall continues to put on performances. The Beauties help where they can but it's getting difficult.

What if Medda is eventually encouraged to just take a quick walk, just to give her a change in surroundings and as she's on the walk, she meets a man by the name of Francis Sullivan? They bump into each other and he insists on buying her a pastry from the bakery to make up for it. And he was going to the bakery anyway because he wants to surprise his wife. So they walk and talk. She learns that he and his wife have recently moved to New York. That eventually they want to settle out west. And she divulges, vaguely, the pain that has plagued her and he tells her that tonight, over dinner, he and his wife would pray for her son and for her. She invites him and his wife to one day visit Irving Hall before they go their seperate ways. They never meet again but she never forgets his kindness.

What if one day, years later, there's a frantic knocking at the back door of the hall? When she opens the door, there stands a skinny little boy of 7, fiddling with the cross necklace he wore and she nearly cries because he looks just like her Jack that she buried so long ago. He hands her a note, from Francis Sullivan Sr, that explains that his wife died a year ago and that he will be sent to prison for something he has done. It begs her to take care of his boy because he has no one else left.

What if Medda takes him in? She doesn't have much space in her room so at first, she gets him to sleep on the small couch, an old prop no longer in use in the Hall. And in the middle of the night, she hears little footsteps cross the room. Little Francis climbs into her bed without a word and falls asleep right there, in her arms.

What if Medda can't take it? He looks so much like her Jack and her heart hurts and in a way she feels she's betraying her baby. So after a week, she tells Francis of the Duane Street Lodging House: how there will be loads of boys there he can make friends with, he can hawk papers with them to make money. And yet, even as she drops him off outside the lodging house, the note from her friend niggles in her mind and she tells him to come visit next weekend.

What if that's how their bond forms? He visits almost every weekend, sometimes bringing a friend, most of the time by himself. Until he disappears. At first, Medda thinks perhaps it slipped his mind or he just didn't feel like it. Weeks turn into months and Medda is half convinced that the innocent little boy has died, all because she couldn't put her heart aside to care for him.

What if he returns suddenly, looking very haunted? He tells her of his time in The Refuge and how terrible it was and how the warden Snyder said he would be listening out for any news about Francis to lock him up again. And he tells her his intention to change his name so he'd be more difficult to follow.

What if Medda is the one who suggests Jack and his eyes just light up and it fits him so perfectly that she can't help but wonder if he is, in some way, her baby boy? He takes the name Kelly from an article in that day's paper and thus Jack Kelly is born.

What if Medda watches him grow into the young, brave, dreamer, leader he becomes? He ends up in the Refuge again but escapes with the indirect help of the Governor, a story she loves to hear him talk about because he has a natural gift for tales.

What if after the strike, after almost losing her second Jack, she tells him about his namesake? And he and Medda visit the baby's grave together. And while she still grieves for that baby she lost far too soon, she realises that, through Jack Kelly, she was given another chance to be a mother.

What if.

[bowling-alleycarpet]

Hey, I'm a huge fan of thinking of Crutchie as Jewish. But do you have a citation for the historical Crutch Morris being Jewish. Or are you basing this on Marty Belafsky?

Based on history! We don’t have one exacting citation, but a common hypothesis based on the pieces of citable information we do have.

The most conclusive simply being the fact that the overwhelming majority of people named Morris, a very Jewish name originating from Moshe, are themselves; especially given the time and place in history, when 40% of newsies who answered the 1901 NYC census were Jewish and there weren’t abundant legal or marital ways for a man’s name to be changed in the usa like there are today. Could this have been a false name like Jack Kelly or Blink? Of course, (though I doubt he would have recorded a false name when he was an elected official of the newsboy union) so, as with all other information, this has to be taken with a grain of salt.

We also have one photograph that is commonly associated to be Crutch Morris that many past historians have made the presumption from:

[im going to edit this to add the picture give me a few minutes sorry]

This photo is commonly MIS-ASSOCIATED with Louis Hines’ work documenting New York’s working children in the 1930s. THIS IS INCORRECT. It appears nowhere in his published work. So much as a reverse image search tells us this is actually an undated photograph from the New York Historical Society Archive. @newsieshistory (their presence here is greatly missed) was able to match up the windows in the background to those on the Duane Street Newsboy Lodging House (the actual lodge house the one in the film is based on, where Kid Blink, Crutch Morris, Dutch[y] Johnson, [Swifty] the Rake, Bumlets, Snoddy, Pie Eater, Snipeshooter, among others really lived according to both articles on the strike and nyc census records), while it was operating as a newsboy lodge house, sometime c. 1890-1920. This could be another newsie that lived there during those years meeting the description of Crutch from the rally article, but its as close to a known photo as exists.

I am certain there is more, but I’m currently in the process of moving my historical documents out of google drive to fight the ai so I do not currently have access to my archive, I will attempt to add more tomorrow.

[lmelodymusicl]

Jack Kelly Headcanons (92sies)

Here are some headcanons for Jack Kelly (92sies)

Canon Era

Jack’s parents were born in Ireland and immigrated to America during the 1860s. His father was Francis Sullivan and his mother was Maureen Kelly.

Jack’s relationship with his parents was very complicated. His mother was always sweet and kind to him, but his father was always horrible and abusive to him. 

Jack’s mother told him stories about the Wild West when he was very young. That is where he gets his cowboy persona from. 

Jack and his father were always fighting, and it was always over the smallest things. His father was always drinking and getting into fights with random people on the street.

One day when Jack was ten years old, he and Maureen were walking down the street. Suddenly she started coughing and wheezing. When Jack saw this, he was worried and called out for help. But by the time the doctors arrived, it was too late. She had already died from pneumonia.

Jack’s relationship with his father worsened, and I don’t have much to say except the fact that his father ended up in jail for killing somebody. It was where he felt that he had to become a newsie so he could support himself. It was during this time where Medda took him in to live with her.

Jack has been sent to the Refuge twice, and it was horrible.

By the time he was eleven, he moved into the Duane Street lodging house, and it was by this time he met Racetrack, Crutchy, and all the other boys. It was also where Racetrack taught Jack how to stand up for himself. They’ve all remained a close bond. 

By the time Jack was sixteen, he met David Jacobs. At first David wanted nothing to do with Jack, but eventually they started becoming friends.

Has a close bond with Les, David’s little brother.

Is currently in a relationship with Sarah, who is David and Les’s older sister.

[riding-palominos-every-day]

So Smalls lives at the Elizabeth Home for Girls. She joins the boys to get her papers and sell with though; they're just more fun than the other girls.

She stays at their lodging house in the evenings, but can't stay the night (rules are rules). Some of the boys who have spare clothes let her borrow them, pants and shirts are more comfy than her old dress. Her hair's already cropped short, easier to wash that way.

After a while, she starts to wonder if the Elizabeth is really where she belongs. Oscar Delancey's already mistaken her for a boy once, and she didn't correct him- she got a little rush of excitement, in fact.

Then one night, after a lot of thinking, he goes to the front desk at Duane Street and hands over a few cents. Kloppman understands immediately. Some of the other boys are surprised at first, but they don't question him. Tommy Boy simply invites him to have the bunk above his, and that's that.

[ao3feed-newsies]

Duane Street December Day 4: Holiday Decorations

by, Superhero_fanatic by Superhero_fanatic Kloppman decorates the Lodging House for the holidays. Words: 253, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Series: Part 4 of Duane Street December 2024 Fandoms: Newsies (1992) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen Characters: Kloppman (Newsies) read : https://ift.tt/0qpywg6 - December 04, 2024 at 08:16PM

[undescribed1mage]

Archive Warning(s), Rating, & Category: None, Teen & Up, Gen

Fandom(s): Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: The Musical

Relationship(s): Racetrack Higgins & Jack Kelly, Crutchie & Racetrack Higgins, Crutchie & Racetrack Higgins & Jack Kelly

Character(s): Racetrack Higgins, Jack Kelly (Newsies), Crutchie (Newsies)

Additional Tag(s): Whumptober 2023, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Based on Newsies: The Musical (UK), Nightmares, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Racetrack Higgins Needs A Hug, Post-Strike (Newsies), Panic Attack, Jack Kelly's Penthouse (Newsies), Brother Feels, Big Brother Jack Kelly (Newsies), Title from a Mumford & Sons Song, Crying, happy first bthb bingo 2 me

Summary:

If it were even three days earlier, Racetrack Higgins wouldn't have thought twice about climbing up the fire escape around the back of the Duane Street Lodging House up to Jack’s penthouse. If he had had this nightmare, one about his family, not just his mother like usual, but Joey, Crutchie, Jack too, making it the worst one he's had in like — forever, before the strike then he would've gone up and spent the night curled up with Jack and Crutchie, relying on their quiet snores to lull him to sleep.

Or — Racetrack has a nightmare after the strike.

[WRITTEN FOR WHUMPTOBER DAY 17: "LEAVE ME ALONE." AND THE @badthingshappenbingo PROMPTS "LEAVE ME ALONE." AND PANIC ATTACK.]

[Happy Bingo 2 me woah]

[make-friends-with-the-rats]

I found another map! Bird's-eye-view of Manhattan and adjacent districts, New York City, c 1903(?)

Red: The Brooklyn Bridge Yellow: The New York World Building Green: Duane Street and the Newsboys' Lodging House Blue: Baxter Street, the location of the Jacobs family's tenement apartment according to the original Hard Promises script

Here's a closer view of the lodging house (green) and "Newspaper Row."

Newspaper Row, or Park Row, ia adjacent to City Hall Park and was the location of the World (yellow), the Sun (obscured by the Tribune), the Tribune (blue), and the times (red) in the late 19th century. [source]

Newspaper Row, c 1900. Left to Right: the New York World, The Sun, The Tribune, and the New York Times.

The New York Tribune, founded by Horace Greely in 1841, was the original location of the Horace Greely statue featured in Newsies. It was dedicated in 1890 and was later moved from the Tribune to City Hall Park in 1915 where it still stands today.

Horace Greeley Statue Outside New York Tribune Building, c January 1, 1900. and Greeley statue in City Hall Park, c 1915 - 1920.

The New York Sun, at which Bryan Denton and Katherine Plumber work, was located beside the Tribune on the intersection of Nassau and Frankfort streets.

"The Sun," 1893 black and white halftone print.

The Newsboy's Lodging House, or the Brace Memorial Lodging House, was opened in 1874 by the Children's Aid Society. It stood at the intersection of three streets: William Street, Duane Street, and Chambers Street (all three of which I have highlighted in green in the above map). In 1899, the lodging house's address was 9 Duane Street. [source]

Newsboys' Lodging House, c 1899.

If you travel up north, you can also locate on this map the Irving Place Theatre, otherwise known as Irving Hall or Medda's Theatre.

Originally opened in 1860 as Irving Hall, Irving Place Theatre was rebuilt in 1888 as "Amberg's German Theatre." It became known as the Irving Place Theatre in 1893. [source]

The theatre's address was 118 E. 15th Street and was located between 14th and 15th streets, at the southwest corner of 15th street and Irving Place. Irving Place Theatre was demolished in 1894 to build the Zeckendorf Towers. [source]

Top: Irving Place Theatre, undated. Bottom: Irving Place Theatre, c 1912.

---

(link to reblog with the refuge added)

[betterto-die-thanto-crawl]

Francis Jack "Cowboy" Kelly Sullivan

FULL NAME: Francis Sullivan 

ALSO KNOWN AS: Jack Kelly, Cowboy

BIRTH DATE + AGE: August 16, 17 (canon)

ZODIAC: Leo GENDER: male (cis or trans, depending on verse) PRONOUNS: he/him SEXUAL ORIENTATION: bisexual FACECLAIM: tba 

BIRTHPLACE: New York City, New York 

CURRENT HOME: Newsboy Lodging House at Duane St., Manhattan 

LANGUAGE: English 

OCCUPATION: Newsboy, leader of the Lower Manhattan Newsboys 

SPECIES: Human 

PARENTS: Mary Abigail Rose (Máire (MAW ra) Abigeál (AHBI ghel) Róisín (ROW sheen)) Sullivan (née Kelly) and John Andrew (Seán (SHAWN) Aíndriú (AHN dryu)) Sullivan

SIBLINGS: none 

OTHER(S): none

Jack Kelly’s childhood was good enough. His family was poor, crowded into Irish tenements in Lower Manhattan, but they always found a way to smile. His mother was a light, and his father’s laugh made anyone want to join in with his laughter. Jack grew up with stories about far away lands, cowboys and adventurers, craftily told by his father. These stories inspired him to start scribbling and drawing on any scrap of paper he could find until he perfected his talent for drawing. Their home was a home full of joy, even if the walls were thin and the room was small. They were together, and really, that was all that mattered. But when his mother fell pregnant, tragedy struck when she tripped and fell going down the tenement stairs, landing hard on her stomach, causing her to go into labor far too early. She miscarried and passed along with the baby, leaving Jack and his dad on their own. His dad broke, turning to drink in the evenings after work until he got into a fight at a bar one night and killed someone. He was carted off to jail, leaving Jack on his own. Born Francis Sullivan, Jack chose a new name, Jack (from his mother’s nickname for his father John) and Kelly (from his mother’s maiden name). From the start, he was on the run as Snyder sought to throw him into the Refuge before finally finding a refuge of his own among the newsboys of the Lower Manhattan “Newsboy’s Lodging House”, on Duane Street. From there, he would continue to dream of cowboy adventures and try desperately to escape from his family and the legacy they left him as Snyder continued to hunt him through the streets of New York. But he had friends and he wasn’t alone anymore, and his dreams carried him forward even when New York City wanted to hold him back. Someday, he knew, he would find his Santa Fe.

[walkman-cat]

:DD

putting this under a cut because it is LONG

[not-so-brief backstory wbwb]

Splasher was born in a village in an island in the cyclades. He lived with his parents, grandfather, and brother (Stathis, older than him by 6 years).

he learnt to swim from a young age, and since then loved water and swimming

Greece was quite poor in the late 19th century, and in 1895 Splasher’s family moved to America in hopes of better opportunities and good fortune (Splasher was 5-6, Stathis 12)

New York City was overwhelming in comparison to Splasher’s village, and only Stathis knew any English (and it wasn’t quite enough), but his parents eventually found jobs and Stathis began selling newspapers for Atlantis (a greek language newspaper around at the time. it was also monarchist :/). Splasher joined him when he turned 7.

Despite living in a crammed tenement, and having to do backbreaking work daily, Splasher’s family was happy. His pappous would tell him stories about sea monsters and heroes, and his parents would tell him about everything they would do when they ran into fortune (Splasher wanted to return to Greece, and buy a house by the sea and swim every day and maybe meet the monsters in his pappous’ stories).

One day in October of 1896, it was storming. Splasher was playing in the puddles (he likes the sound of when you throw a rock into water, and likes the sound of splashing even more), and Stathis was trying to convince him to come home before he caught cold.

When they eventually returned, they found their tenement building on fire (it’d been struck by lightning). Their tenement was near the top, and their parents and pappous were killed.

Splasher and Stathis went to live with another Greek family (family friends who they’d met on the boat to America) for the winter; but having two extra mouths to feed, even when they make some money, is tough, and in the spring of 1897 Stathis and Splasher left the family and started living on the streets (or, more accurately: Stathis took Splasher and left when he began to feel unwelcome)

They continued to sell newspapers, eventually moving from Atlantis to English language newspapers for better revenue and also to learn more English (Splasher could understand some of it and could speak a little, but couldn’t read; Stathis could read a bit and understand far more, but hesitated speaking it because of his accent)

in the summer, one day when the selling hadn’t been so great for a while, Stathis left Splasher alone in Greeley Square with a promise to return with food. he never returned.

lost, hungry, and without his only family, splasher went back to where the family he’d stayed with in the winter lived, only to find that they’d moved. Instead he finds Buttons’ family living there, who see his stack of papers and think he’s lost his way to the Duane St. lodging house, so when Buttons comes home they make him show Splasher the way.

Splasher and Buttons became friends on the walk there despite the language difference, and Buttons stayed the night at the lodging house so Splasher was less alone.

The rest is history :] (Splasher in my head is 10-ish during the strike) [notes and more ramblings wbwbwb]

Splasher’s been terrified of thunder, lightning, and fire ever since his house burnt down and usually spends thunderstorms in a fugue state. He still loves rain, though. And swimming.

teaches some of the other newsies how to swim

Buttons gave him the name Splasher early in their friendship. His real name is Ευάγγελος, but nowadays he only ever uses it when speaking to greek people who aren’t newsies.

Stathis was arrested for stealing food and sent to the refuge. Splasher finds this out from one of the older newsies (haven’t decided who) who was there with him. (They’d heard so much about him, and had promised to keep him safe if when they got out is Stathis didn’t make it)

What Splasher doesn’t find out is that Stathis died trying to escape. (He believes that Stathis left and went back to Greece. It’s better than thinking about the alternatives.)

Loves the other newsies fiercely, but misses being spoken to in Greek, so he seeks out other Greek families. Also hawks the headlines in a mixture of Greek and English.

Is the darling of the Greek elderly of lower manhattan. He regularly personally delivers many of them papers and he’s got a deal with this one γιαγια and her family where he gives them newspapers in exchange for meals (he’s also missed Greek cooking). Some of their behaviours are rubbing off on him.

Everything wrong that happens to him is because of the evil eye. Bad selling day? Someone gave him the μάτι. Injury? Someone gave him the μάτι. Headache? Evil eye. Other than this he isn’t particularly superstitious.

will aggressively ftou ftou ftou everyone around him (usually before the headline comes up). (ftou ftou ftouing being a way of protecting someone from the evil eye/bringing good luck) (usually this is done by parents/grandparents to children, but is also done generally and splasher doesn’t really care). the other newsies were initially confused as to why he was pretending to spit on them thrice but when he explained many of them also began ftou ftou ftouing (albeit with more saliva)

He once ftou ftou ftoued race and he won the bets he made at the races. Since then it’s become tradition for race to ask him for a ftouing before he goes to the races (not exactly how it works but Splasher doesn’t care, he likes the routine of it).

still trusts adults a lot more than he should

is used to being told what to do, and flounders when something new happens because Things are Unclear

the nuns somehow found out he’s Greek Orthodox and since then they often “forget” to give him any food/coffee in the morning. he hasn’t realised why he’s often left out and thinks it’s just because someone gave him the mati. Besides, his friends always share :)

sometimes tells the stories his pappous told him to the others (albeit with more of a focus on the sea monsters than the heroes, and with a lot of ad-libbing).

also teaches them greek curses (and later teaches davey some Greek when he asks)

anyways thanks to everyone who enabled me wbwbwbwbwb

would. would anyone care if i rambled about greek splasher wbwbw

[chaosfairy18]

For @newsiesficchallenges day 6: headcannons

Due to the actual Bumlets of circa 1899 being referred to as "King of the Bums" and someone who speaks for the lodging house on Duane street I think before Jack came along and became leader that was Bumlets' job. At least mostly. He wasn't so much representing the Lower Manhattan Newsies to the outside as representing any wishes or complaints to Kloppman (or anyone else working in the lodge). He isn't feeling like he needs to be a leader so he stepped down when Jack wanted it but before that he knew he could help and stepped up. I also saw in a few fics that Kloppman would trust him with keys to lock up if there was ever anything so that would fit too and I am taking that. If there are any internal complaints he is still someone the others go to for advice or help.

Also his leather suspenders tell me he has at least some kind of higher standing and is very mindful of his appearance and how he talks.

[bumlets-appreciation-blog]

Duane Street December Day Seven: Mittens

(Post Deletion Repost)

Knitting wasn’t exactly Esther’s forte, but she hoped Jack liked the mittens all the same. She’d tried matching the color to his red bandana and had tasked Les with figuring out what size they should be. Jack may not be Jewish, but it didn’t stop him from bringing over some old paint from Irving Hall so Les could show him how to make menorahs out of his hand prints. They’d even roped David and Sarah into the impromptu craft session, though Esther had to put a stop to it when Sarah smeared paint all over Jack’s face, and he worked some into her hair in return. It was difficult to be stern when her children looked so happy and she was sure they could hear the smile in her voice while she lectured them about making a mess.

She’d gotten the idea for the present when the boys came home Sunday from selling papers. David and Les were fine, but Jack’s bare fingers were bright red and practically frozen from the cold. Esther had made him sit by the stove, piling him with every blanket in the apartment while Sarah set about making him some hot tea. Jack, as it had turned out, had given his gloves to a younger boy he called Snipeshooter and wouldn’t be able to replace them for a while. Jack was fed two helpings of soup and slept on the settee that night with Les plastered to his front and wasn’t allowed to leave until he’d had some coffee and a warm breakfast. Once he had gone, Esther immediately went to her yarn basket and set to work.

The mittens would hopefully be done tonight, and with any luck, he’d stick around long enough for her to give them to him. Hanukkah had already ended, but she hoped he wouldn’t mind an early Christmas present. He’d called himself “a lapsed Catholic” when Mayer had asked but spoke so highly of the Christmas dinner at the lodging house that she imagined he still celebrated parts of the holiday. Either way, Jack was a sweet boy, if still a little awkward from time to time, and deserved something nice. Even better, he deserved something nice that would also prevent him from losing his fingers to frostbite.

Esther, it seemed, had been blessed because she finished off the mittens right before she heard the sound of the boys coming up the stairs. Sarah helped her wrap them in paper and twine and managed to slide the package onto the table, in front of Jack’s usual seat at the table, right before they came tromping in. The look on Jack’s face when he saw the gift was an adorable mix of flustered and confused, but it paled in comparison to the softness in his eyes and the love on his face when he saw what was inside. Jack didn’t hug her very often, but as he wrapped his arms around her and whispered a “thank you” into her ear, she thought it made the hugs they did share even more special.