Ed Cameron, 340 Club Card #103-81

There many stories of the 340; so many in fact that neither Phil nor I know them all. Here is one that just turned up and it is a doozy:

In working on The True Story of the 340 Club I was reviewing the names of cardholders from 1981 with Phil when we came across one Ed Cameron. It turned out that neither one of us had ever heard of him. After some sleuthing Phil came up with this gem.

It turned out that an Ed Cameron was a member of the 7th Ward Republican Club where Phil works. Further, Mike Kendig, the Pabst salesman, and a friend of Cameron’s said that back in the early eighties Ed lived at 602 West King Street above the Lauzus Hotel. He also said Ed did not have a license so he often walked down West King to the Legion, the Forester’s, and Johnny’s Tavern. So, it would be logical that this Ed Cameron was the Ed Cameron who had Card #103-81.

Phil: “I assumed he must have walked by and saw a party at the 340 and came in. Well, one day Ed comes into the Club and I asked him about the 340 Club. He claimed to have never heard of it. I explained his name on the roster as cardholder #103-81. He asked again where it was at and after I told him he said:”You mean where Randy Brown lived”. Bingo! It turns out he went to school with Randy and one day saw him on the front steps. He said he stopped several times but mostly in the day. He doesn’t remember attending any parties. However, he did say that the 340 Club was partly to blame for him going to jail. He was working his way home when after a few too many he ran into Randy on the 340 stoop. Randy convinced him to have ‘one more’. So they went back down to Johnny's Tavern. The next thing Ed remembers is he is being awoken by a uniformed fireman. Still inebriated he is horrified at being rescued in the burning Lauzus. However he realizes the fireman is screaming at him not saving him. ‘What are you doing here?’ screamed the fireman. Ed asked where he was. ‘Your in the firehouse you idiot’. He was in the fire station up King Street (between 340 and 602), sleeping in one of the bunk beds. Apparently, after leaving Randy back at the 340 stoop, he stumbled in to the station unnoticed and crawled in an awaiting, warm, comfortable cot. They took him to jail for a few hours.”

Ed is looking forward to the reunion on June 7th and I look forward to meeting him! :)