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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
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