Chasing Horse Ghosts-telling Greyhound's story pt. 8 - Harness Racing Museum #2

Greyhound just before his 32nd birthday. Image from the Heitbrink Collection, courtesy of the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame, Goshen, NY.

My research adventure continues at the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame in Goshen, New York. 

So excited to dig in to these treasures! This image is from my work in the library, going through books and items from Leone Putnam (Heitbrink Collection).

August 10, 2023 (Thursday)
Today I dove back into Mary Lou’s boxes (there are 5 total). A real treasure trove of items. There were a ton of pictures in today’s box. Among them were probably a dozen amazing, candid shots apparently taken for LIFE Magazine. They are really just beautiful and include some amazing portraits of Greyhound and Jimmie Wingfield separately and together. I plan to contact LIFE--I’m hopeful these photos remain in their archives and that I can get permission to use some of them in the book. They are so stunning.
       I feel like I’m getting to know Greyhound better and I’m growing attached to him. A day or two ago I started stepping into his stall each morning when I arrive to say good morning and each afternoon when I depart to say good night. This afternoon I stood in his stall and again ran my fingers over the worn "cups" in the wood between each bar of his stall door. I imagined him licking and chewing at the spaces, wearing them smooth over time. I traced the lines of his teeth marks on the wall and even the window, I imagined him running his teeth along the surface, maybe pawing at the door, anxious for Dooley (his friend and caretaker) to set his food in front of him. It gives me a glimpse into his mind, a feeling for his personality. I’ve long suspected Greyhound was a very intelligent horse but this behavior tells me he certainly was a horse that needed attention, a job, something to occupy his mind. 

August 11, 2023 (Friday)
Today I continued in on some of the items from the family of Leone Putnam. These were things she saved, magazines and news clippings, photos, and letters. There were cards and letters to Greyhound from his many fans. Also many condolences on his loss. Many of the letters were from adults, recalling memories of when they’d seen Greyhound race (and yes, even the adults addressed and wrote their notes directly to Greyhound). One young girl from Holland drew a lovely picture of Greyhound and sent it to him.
       Of particular interest was the correspondence between Dooley/Leone and a journalist in Sweden. He sent articles he’d written for a Swedish publication called Expressen. He also sent hand written or typed translations of the articles. These garnered some new insight not so much about Greyhound’s life but the months following his death. Leone writes about how terribly they miss the great gelding, one can feel the sorrow and emptiness of loss in her written words. I feel privileged to read these personal notes.
        As I collect more information, my excitement grows for this book. I feel so honored to be the one who tells his story for this generation. It has been 83 years since the Great Greyhound raced.  Rebecca and I talked at length today about the impact Greyhound had on the American public in his day. It was so evident as I read letter after letter written by people whose best memory was of the Great Grey Ghost streaking around the track some thirty years before.

Below: Some of the correspondence received by Greyhound, Dooley, and Leone.

August 12, 2023 (Saturday)
Day six at the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame. It’s gone fast. Everyone has been so friendly and helpful which is awesome. Today I went through files and files of photographs. There were some I’d seen but many I had not. Some I was familiar with as they’d been used in multiple publications but I did not necessarily know when/where the picture was taken.
       One interesting tidbit are some photos from 1957 showing the marker for Greyhound’s grave already in place, along with Volo Song and Winnipeg. A quick internet search did not give me the death date for either horse although a notation on AllBreedPedigree.com mentioned that Volo Song fractured a leg in an exhibition and was euthanized. A date was not given but I imagine it was around 1944. Winnipeg’s listing did not show a death date, either. But I know from my reading that he was in retirement at Baker’s Acres in 1942 (he would have been 20). Either way, he would have also been buried by the time the 1957 photo was taken. Perhaps with Baker ailing in 1957 he wanted to ensure the marker for his beloved Greyhound was exactly as he wanted.
         The big treasure today was Leone Putnam’s hand written notes for the manuscript she was working on. Interesting tidbits of information, things that only she and Dooley would know. It was amazing to have such a personal look at Greyhound through her eyes. I’m grateful she put this work into recording as much history as she could. It is so valuable, a real treasure I’m honored to have seen. 

Some of Leone's notes: 

       Some of the notes appeared to be memory prompts--a couple words that I imagine triggered a memory for Leone to expand on later. Due to this very common technique, some information was never fully recorded and cannot be accurately deciphered as only Leone knew what those one or two word prompts meant. Still, there is a ton of information there and holding Leone's notes in my hands helps me feel closer to her, Dooley, and Greyhound.

      I looked around the museum a bit before I left--it really is an amazing place. A shorter day today for me being the weekend. Tomorrow the Museum is closed. I’ve just two more days to wrap this up.

Next post: Searching for the remains of Good Time track on the 88th anniversary of Greyhound's Hambletonian!

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