Craggy, weather-beaten Claude L. (for Lafayette) Fallwell had lived a full life, and he wanted a full epitaph. Now past 70, he had crossed the country in a covered wagon, been cowboy, cook, farmer, fruitgrower, preacher and proprietor of a farmers' market. Fallwell ambled down to the La Grande (Ore.) Evening Observer (circ. 3,700) and asked how much it would cost to buy enough space to tell his whole story. He finally settled for a two-column want-ad a week, at $15 for each ad.
Last week Fallwell's "epitaph" was the publishing sensation of northeastern Oregon. Reader response to the first installments...
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