In August I posted about a terrible accident between a surrey and the interurban train. The case for damages for Mr. Rosbeck's family (who was killed) was being heard by Judge Sain Welty 100 years ago today and little Oswald Alwis was brought to the witness stand. Poor Oswald was just 10 years old and completely silenced by the grandeur of the courthouse and the solemnity of the Judge and the men at the bar. Counsel's questions were met with silence and then gulping sobs and tears.
But Judge Welty knew how to talk to a small boy (even though this was his first year at the circuit court bench!). He asked Oswald, "Do you have a pony?" and the answer was in the negative. "Do you have a dog?" Yes, Oswald did have a dog. "Is it a big dog or a little dog?" It was a small one. By the time Judge Welty had finished finding out all there was to know about this dog, Oswald had calmed and could be led to answer questions about the accident in the comforting presence of his new friend, Judge Welty.
Sain Welty and his daughter Elizabeth Welty Forman, landscaper, were residents of Founders' Grove Neighborhood.