Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
At the beginning of 1922 Thomas G. Moses was working in Tacoma, painting scenery for the Scottish Rite. Of the project, he wrote, “Harry Naile showed up the latter part of February. We then started to get things into the Temple and it began to look like a job. I did a picture of Jerusalem for the asbestos curtain, and it came out very good…On the completion of our contract and on the eve of our departure, the trustees gave us a dinner in our honor, which was attended by Harry Naile, it was very fine – we certainly felt honored….completed our work on April 1st, got all settled and with Naile and the Madam, we started south. Enjoyed the trip very much; had two days in San Francisco, then took the boat for Stockton. On our arrival, we found the large hotel was laboring under the delusion of war rates. So, we found a small apartment, very nicely furnished, and we certainly enjoyed it. Naile had good accommodations at a small hotel.” Moses and Naile were traveling from one project to another. This had remained the standard practice at Sosman & Landis from the beginning; a scenic artist and carpenter were paired for most on site projects. Occasionally, if a job required more hands, a second scenic artists was sent on site. For Moses, this was frequently Ed Loitz. However, stage carpenter’s such as Naile also filled in as the primary scenic artist’s assistant after the construction was completed and a second set of hands was needed on site. This speaks to the versatility of the Sosman & Landis stage carpenters at the time.
Harry Elmore Naile worked as a carpenter and assistant to Moses from 1922-1925. I have yet to determine how long he worked at Sosman & Landis in that capacity, but he was repeatedly mentioned in Moses Memoirs at this time. Projects in addition to the Tacoma Scottish Rite completed by Naile included the Binghamton Scottish Rite (1923) and the Pasadena Scottish Rite (1925). In Binghamton, it was Moses, Loitz and Naile. Of the project, Moses wrote, “I got settled at the Marion Hotel, Loitz and Naile got quarters up near the Temple.” Basically, Moses showed up to painter, while Loitz and Naile prepared everything for his arrival. Moses had specifically asked to work with Naile in 1923. In regard to the Binghamton project, he wrote, “I insisted on having Naile on the job, so Hunt allowed me to send for him. He and Mrs. Naile arrived on the 1st of October and we then proceeded to get things going.”
For larger projects, local labor was added as needed. So, in Binghamton, Naile hired a crew. You see, Moses was painting a variety of scenery at the Binghamton Scottish Rite, including drops destined for Eldorado and Wichita. Of this group, Moses wrote, “Naile and his men are not giving me full service and I am getting desperate, as to my ability to pull the contract through with profit.”
Born on June 15, 1879, he was the son of Mary Elizabeth Orr (1854-1900) and Louis Phillip Naile (1855-1918); one of four children born to the couple. His siblings were Roy (1886-?), Grace (1891-?), and Ralph ( 1897-1958). His father was a house carpenter who later remarried after the death of his first, so there is also a half-sister, Loretta (1908-?).
Harry grew up in Pierceton, Indiana. He met and married Georgia E. Robinson (b. 28 Jan. 1888) 1907. Georgia was the only child of William W. Robinson (1863-1926) and Mary A. “Mamie” Rogers (1869-1954), born in Kansas. Her father was a painter, and likely the link that connected Harry and Georgia. On June 1, 1907, the couple tied the knot in Colorado Springs, with Edgar W. Work performing the ceremony. He was twenty-seven years old at the time, and Georgia was only nineteen years old. Interesting fact: Colorado required the grooms to be over 21 years old when applying for a marriage license, but the brides needed to be only eighteen years old. Regardless, the couple spent much of their marriage apart, with Harry lodging in various hotels and boarding houses for work. The 1913 Polk County directory listed “Naile, Harry E. (Georgia), removed to Chicago, Illinois.
His 1918 draft registration card listed Harry as the stage mechanic for the Chateau Theatre at 3810 Broadway in Chicago, living at 514 E. 42nd Street. His was described at 5’-7” tall, with a slender build and blue eyes. Interestingly, no hair color was listed; the first omission that I have encountered to date.
In 1920, he was lodging with several theatrical performers at 57 East Van Buren Street in South Town Chicago. I have yet to track down where Georgia was living at this time, or if she returned to stay with her parents when he was on the road. The couple had no children, so it was not as if she needed to stay in any one place for long. When opportunity presented itself, she also traveled with her husband, such as to Binghamton, New York.
By 1925, Moses and Nail were working at the Scottish Rite Theatre in Pasadena, California. The Pasadena Scottish Rite had purchased a used scenery collection that needed to be touched-up, supplemented, and installed. Nail was in charge of both the used stage machinery and scenery installation. Of the work, Moses wrote, “Harry Naile is coming along with his work fairly well, and we will finish on time without a doubt.” Naile was also mentioned in “Pasadena Evening Post.” The article reported, “The final work of hanging and installing the curtains will be under the supervision of Harry Naile, a member of the Sosman & Landis company. This work demands such expert workmanship that Mr. Naile was brought form Chicago so that no mistake in installation could be made” (Pasadena Evening Post, 14 Feb. 1925, page 16).
After the Pasadena Scottish Rite project, Moses and Nail worked in San Jose. Of the project, Moses wrote, “I started for San Jose on March 27th and found Naile had everything in good shape.” They then worked in Los Angeles on the Fullerton job. That was the last mention of Naile in Moses’ memoirs, and I have located no mention of Naile in the newspapers during the remainder of the decade.
By 1930, Naile was living at the Kenomore Beach Hotel, 552 Kenmore Avenue, in Chicago. The 1930 US Federal Census listed Naile as a superintendent for a theatrical supply company, although it remains unclear as to which firm. He died shortly after the US Federal census recorded his employment.
Naile passed away on September 15, 1930. He was only fifty years old at the time and had been married to Georgia for twenty-three years. I have yet to locate any death notice or obituary, giving any cause for his passing.
Georgia was left a widow at forty-six years old and never remarried. She lost her father only four years earlier. Her mother also lived a long life, remaining a widow for almost three decades. I believe that Georgia returned to Colorado Springs where she lived with her mother. Georgia was a widow for forty-five years.
Of Georgia’s own passing the “Gazette Telegraph” in Colorado Springs reported, “Naile- Mrs. Georgia Naile, 2612 W. Cucharras, passed away Tuesday at a local nursing home. Arrangements later” (12 March 1975, page 4).
Both Georgia and Harry are buried in Colorado Springs’ Evergreen Cemetery.
To be continued…
