In November 1937, A. J. Milligan had a bad day. While walking up town one day, he skidded off the sidewalk and into the street. Hours later, he discovered that his pocket watch was missing from the trousers’ fob pocket where he usually kept it.
The watch was a gold lady’s hunting case model, purchased in California and given to him by his sister and he was quite sentimental about it. (Note: a hunting case model is a pocket watch with a full lid over the glass face.) “Under such circumstances there was but one logical thing to do – put an ad in the classified column of the Journal. Classifieds always get results.” So, he placed the following ad in the Ridgeway Journal on November 18, 1937: “LOST – Lady’s size gold watch, tied with piece of shoestring. A. J. MILLIGAN.” Then he waited. “A blast of music by the orchestra will indicate a lapse of five days.”
He returned to the Journal office to report his results, smiling as he showed the editor his watch. When the editor asked him who found it, “I did,” said Mr. Milligan. “It was in another pair of pants at home. When I shucked my other pants, I forgot to transfer the watch to the ones I put on.”
“Moral: Classifieds always get results.” (Ridgeway Journal, November 25, 1937.)
