1931 Old Waldorf Bar Days by Albert Stevens Crockett

PART V Faculty and Proctors I

T HE FIRST principal of this head chapter of the Amer- ican School of Drinking, so to speak, was Michael · Killackey, a colorful Celt, of rare wit, courage and per– sistence, whose official title was Wine Steward and Head Barman. He held that position for many years. But there was one day not long before the Astoria part of the hotel and the brass rail Bar opened, when not only Killackey, but John Doyle, assistant steward of the hotel, trembled in fear of immediate decapitation. Their discomfort was attributa'ble partly te a sudden severance of relations between the hotel and a bellhop named O'Reilly; partly to the facility with whtch "John– nie" Kenny, a Sun reporter of those days, found and utilized "good copy." O'Reilly, whatever his efficiency as a bellboy, was a lad of ready resource. Often he had to act as a guide in showing visitors about the hotel. If a stranger asked a question, O'Reilly was always ready with a reply, and the tales he had told of the origin and meaning of certain [ 67]