“Well, maybe a quick look at some early Philadelphia sports memorabilia, if that’s not too much trouble. He’s a lifelong fan of Philadelphia baseball.”
Interesting system-bartering our information in return for other information. I’d have to think about broader applications. “Seems fair enough. Of course, I don’t know a whole lot about sports, but maybe he can tell me what he’s looking for. Five o’clock, you said?”
“Yup. Want me to hang around?”
“At least long enough to introduce us, please. You’re welcome to stay if you want-two ears are often better than one, particularly when it’s all Greek to me.”
“Not a problem. I’ll bring him up when he gets here.”
CHAPTER 15
Shortly past five I could hear Shelby’s laughter and the deeper rumblings of a second voice approaching. Eric snapped to attention at his desk. Shelby played right along with him. “Eric, this is Barney Hogan. I believe Nell is expecting us.”
They waited as Eric knocked on my half-closed door and then popped his head in. “The electrician is here, Nell.”
I suppressed a smile-I wasn’t used to all this formality. “Send him right in, Eric. And thank you.”
Shelby entered first, then stood aside as Barney extended a hand, and I stood to shake it. He was a paunchy, sixtyish guy, wearing work clothes, and he looked a bit battered by the years. “Barney Hogan. Shelby tells me you’ve got some questions about the wiring here?”
“I’m Nell Pratt. Yes, she’s right. You’ve heard about the accident at Let’s Play? In light of that, I thought I should make sure nothing like that could happen here. We had a full assessment done a few years ago, but I wasn’t directly involved at the time and didn’t get all the details. I’ve looked at the original electrical report, and I’m not sure how to interpret it-I’m hoping you can help. I made copies of the relevant parts, if you’d like to take a look.” I handed him a slim sheaf of photocopies.
“Would y’all like coffee?” Eric asked from the doorway.
I glanced at Shelby and Barney, who shook their heads. “No, we’re good, Eric. You can go on home now.”
“You sure?” he asked. When I nodded, he went back to his desk to collect his things, and I turned my attention back to Barney. I let him read the documents I’d given him for a minute or two before I asked, “Can you tell me if any local codes or regulations have changed since that study was done?”
“Not much. And this looks pretty solid-I know the company, and they’re honest. At least as far as the evaluation-I won’t go so far as to swear their prices are fair.”
“I looked over the report, but I’m not equipped to understand most of it. Can you give me a quick summary?”
“No problem. What you’ve got here is an old building-what, a hundred years old?”
“A bit over,” I answered.
“Okay, a century old, and there’ve been several overhauls over the years, right? Brick and concrete construction, which makes it a pain in the patootie to run new wires. I think when you folks were thinking about renovating, they might have planned to do some serious demolition and then run new conduit in the new construction. That didn’t happen, right?”
I shook my head. “It was a good idea, but we didn’t have the money. Still don’t. I guess what I’m asking now is, is there anything that is a potential hazard right now or that’s likely to deteriorate and become one in the near future?”
Barney sat back in his chair. “That’s hard to say. Electrical demands have changed in the last few years-lots more computers, better lighting. Nowadays they don’t necessarily draw a lot of power, but it all adds up. And since you’re not putting in new lines, the old ones get more and more loaded. If they’re running where they shouldn’t be, they could be subject to wear. And you can’t discount the occasional mouse chewing on wires.”
I shuddered. “I don’t even want to think about that! We do have a current contract for pest control, at least. Unfortunately, mice like old paper and leather.”
He looked at me levelly. “So what do you want me to tell you?”
I thought for a moment. “Well, you’ve already said that the last report looks solid, which I’m happy to hear. And we aren’t in any danger of blowing fuses or breakers or whatever we have now?”
“Have you had a problem with power failures?”
“No, not that I can remember.”
“Then you’re probably doing all right, as long as you don’t add much. Not that I wouldn’t recommend a thorough overhaul. You could probably save money in the long run if this place was wired more efficiently and you put in low-energy lighting fixtures.”
“That’s a good point. Shelby, you listening?”
She nodded. “I am. It might be nice to work up some numbers showing how the cost savings would offset the installation costs. Barney, can you help us out there?”
“I could.” He looked at Shelby, then at me. “I told Shelby I’d be happy to take a look at this stuff for you, but she may have mentioned I wanted something in return.”
“Yes, she said that,” I replied cautiously.
Barney smiled. “What do you know about Philadelphia baseball history?”
I hadn’t expected that question. “Not much. I don’t really follow sports.”
Barney looked disgusted. “You’ve at least heard of the Phillies?”
Was he being sarcastic? “Yes, of course.” I’d have to be blind and deaf not to know our city’s own baseball team. Even the William Penn statue atop City Hall occasionally sported a Phillies cap. Hard to miss.
“They weren’t always the Phillies, you know.” Barney got a faraway look in his eye and seemed to be settling in for a long story. “They’re the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports. They were founded in 1883, but in the very beginning they were called the Quakers. That name was used on and off, as well as the Phillies, up until 1890, when they made the Phillies name official. They even had a permanent home by 1887-the Baker Bowl. Over twelve thousand seats it had. First one burned down in 1894, and they built a bigger, better one on the same spot, with more than eighteen thousand seats. Won their first pennant there, in 1915, and they kept on using it until 1938. Betcha don’t know where it was?”
I shook my head. I could find the current stadia only because they were obvious if you drove past Philadelphia on I-95. I’d never been to an event at any of them.
“Little over three miles from here, up Broad Street. Nothing left now-coupla gas stations, some factories. What was still standing was torn down in 1950. Ah, but it had a great history. Babe Ruth-you’ve heard of him?” He was looking at me with a twinkle in his eye, clearly enjoying educating me. “He played his last major league game there. Woodrow Wilson was the first president to ever attend a World Series game-right there in the Baker Bowl.”
Clearly I was in the presence of a rabid sports historian. I could sympathize with his enthusiasm. “I never knew! So tell me, what is it you want in return for sharing your electrical expertise?” I was pretty sure I could guess.
“I want to know what kinda stuff you got in your collections, about the team and the Baker Bowl.”
“Surely there are better sources than the Society for information on the team?”
“I’ve looked.” He ticked them off on his fingers. “The Atwater Kent-they had a good show there about local baseball a couple of years ago. The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. The Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society, out in Hatboro. Even Comcast, and the architects for the new park.”
“So what can we add for you?”
“My great-great-grandpa played for the original Quakers, the first couple of years. My great-grandpa went to a lot of games in that park, starting out as a toddler-he remembered seeing Ruth play there. I want to know more about the team and the players, maybe find a few photos. I bet you might have some records here that nobody knows about. You’ve got great stuff about the city, going way back. And Shelby here tells me a lot gets misfiled somewhere. So, say I was to look in one of those boxes that just says Philadelphia photographs, who knows what I might find? Especially if I know what I’m looking for?” He regarded me expectantly.