Fight Night

A clipping of the fight advertisement that ran in the Muncie Evening Post, September 2 1931. As part of the process of researching and writing my book about the Klan-fighting editor George Dale, I've been penning short character studies and historical sketches most every morning. It's been a nice way to get into form—like training for a fight—and a way to work through ideas on tone and voice and practice integrating heaps of often-dry research into a readable narrative. Here's a piece from the dozens of sketches I've written, very much a work in progress, about George's love of fighting. It was a record crowd for boxing in Muncie. It was early September 1931, and the air was still warm, the last lingering clutches of summer. The air in the armory—everyone called it the "new" Armory back then—was even warmer as the stands filled, hot and thick with the smoke from cigarettes and cigars. The crowd was loud and it was ready. So was George Dale, now mayor of Muncie, victorious after his…