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William Haines, at the age of Lillian, now Mrs. James Stone,
four, with his sister, of New York City.
M
my first pair of downtown and
long get
OTHER, I'm ready for
trousers. Can I slip
some?"
Mother acquiesced. The thirteen-year-old son went straight to the clothing store. His purchase proved to be very light in color, with a stripe of marked degree. He also bought a dark coat, a black derby and a walking cane. Dressed, as he felt, within an inch of his young life, he calmly instructed the proprietor to charge the things to his mother, then went proudly home.
Imagine the surprise and consternation of mother, "William, you can't keep those things," she remonstrated, "you can't wear them; take them back to the store." ■ But William didn't take them back and William wore them. And all at the tender age of thirteen!
AS a mere boy in Staun^"* ton, Virginia, William Haines certainly possessed unusual traits and characteristics. In his early 'teens, he was very tall and thin. At the age of fourteen, his teachers say, he was just as tall as he is today. He was a quiet youth when among companions of his own age, which W;as a seldom occurrence; for young William much preferred the acquaintanceship of pei'sons older than himself. And, of these, he generally chose the fair sex.
74
HOME TOWN
Staunton, Va, Recalls the
Boyhood Days of its Native
Son, William Haines
William's mother was a dressmaker, and one of outstanding prominence in her home state. At one time, she employed as many as five dressmakers. And she kept abreast the last minute creations, visiting New York City two or three times a year.
WILLIAM HAINES never played baseball or football or any of the other athletic activities that most every boy indulges in early life. He did possess an eagerness and love for dancing and regularly attended dances in a pavilion at Highland Park, a sort of summer resort near his native city.
One of the boy's high school teachers says William used to come by her home and insist that she go with him to Highland Park and dance. And there were times, this teacher says, when she felt near collapse, so tired was she from indulging in dance after dance with William.
"When I was ready to go home," she said, "William would beg me to dance just one more time." The teacher was many years his senior.
And the future movie star was a rather good cook.
One of the dressmakers
employed by his mother says she has "eaten many a meal prepared by William Haines."
"He could cook well," she said. "He learned the art from constant association with his mother. He used to don cap and apron and work around the kitchen table. The first thing he did when he came home from school was to beg his mother to let him have things for making candy."
And William could sew. He used to make doll clothes for his sisters. William would get pieces of cloth from his mother, and in a short time the de
Staunton, Va., remembers William Haines as a young chap who didn't take a great interest in his studies. Billy liked dancing and practical jokes much better. Finally he ran away to find work in Hopewell, Virginia.