Copyright © 2021 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
On February 14, 1925, the “Pasadena Post” reported, “While Mr. Moses has watched carefully the painting of the curtains, much credit for their final perfection must go to the assistant and scenic artist, F. B. Fulton. Mr. Fulton believes the scenic work to be some of the finest he has ever produced. 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 from Chicago so that no mistakes in installation could be made.”
Harry Naile and Fitch Fulton were repeatedly mentioned by Moses in the 1920s. Other projects with stage carpentry and installed by Naile include the Tacoma Scottish Rite and the Binghamton Scottish Rite. In regard to the Binghamton project, Moses wrote, “I insisted on having Naile on the job…He and Mrs. Naile arrived on the 1st of October and we then proceeded to get things going.” Between 1924 and 1925, Moses, Naile and Fitch Fulton bounced from one project to another. Although, I have written about Naile in the past, here is a recap as he plays a more prominent role in the storyline at this point.
Harry Elmore Naile was born in Pierceton, Indiana, on June 15, 1879. He was one of four children born to Mary Elizabeth Orr (1854-1900) and Louis Phillip Naile (1855-1918). His siblings were Roy, Grace, and Ralph. He also had a halfsister, Loretta; Naile’s father remarried after the death of his mother. I have yet to find any information about Naile’s early life or when he entered the theatre profession. However, he came by the trade naturally as his father was a house carpenter. It is not a surprise that he was born into the trade. Like many young men at this time, he headed west and settled in Colorado Springs.
In 1907, he married Georgia E. Robinson in Colorado Springs. She was the only child of William W. Robinson (1863-1926) and Mary A. “Mamie” Rogers (1869-1954). Her father was a painter, and possibly provided an initial introduction for the couple. At the time Harry was twenty-seven years old and Georgia was nineteen years old. The couple spent the majority of their marriage apart, with Harry lodging in various hotels and boarding houses for work as a stage carpenter. By 1913, the Polk County directory listed “Naile, Harry E. (Georgia), removed to Chicago, Illinois, from Colorado Springs.” In 1916 he was working for Sosman & Landis on a New York project with Nicholas J. Pausback.
Naile remained in the Chicago area for much of his life, working as both a stage carpenter and stage mechanic. By 1918, he was at the Chateau Theatre on 3810 Broadway. His WWI draft registration noted that he was 5’-7” tall, with a slender build and blue eyes. No hair color was mentioned at all. By 1920, the Naile was living at 57 East Van Buren Street.
After the Pasadena Scottish Rite project, Moses, Fulton and Nail worked on a project in San Jose, California. Of the project, Moses wrote, “I started for San Jose on March 27th and found Naile had everything in good shape.” The trio also worked in Los Angeles on the “Fullerton job.” By 1930, Naile was still living in Chicago, now at the Kenmore Beach Hotel, 552 Kenmore Avenue. 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. Of Georgia’s own passing the Colorado Springs “Gazette Telegraph” printed, “Naile- Mrs. Georgia Naile, 2612 W. Cucharras, passed away Tuesday at a local nursing home” (12 March 1975, page 4).
Both Georgia and Harry are buried in Colorado Springs’ Evergreen Cemetery.
To be continued…
