Cute little ditty
The little poem, above, by R. Alex Wells was published in The Oklahoman, Jan. 30, 1910, 100 years ago yesterday.
Curious about the inspiration for the poem, I searched the archives of The Oklahoman.
I found a report on Jan. 1, 1910, that Professor Percival Lowell, of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ, had stated in an address given in Boston that a previous mapping of the canals on Mars had counted 177 canals, but that number had increased to nearly 600 canals by his count. According to him, this was a result of construction by Martian inhabitants.
An internet search identified Professor Percival Lowell as a respected astronomer who developed the theory of life on Mars.
On The Oklahoman’s editorial page for Jan. 10, 1910, this item appeared:
“Squire Brown says: P’r'haps those marks on Mars are merely reflections of Oklahoma City’s “suburbs.”
The newspaper reported on Jan. 31, that: R. Alex Well’s poetry or ditty in Sunday’s Oklahoman was favorably commented on by his many friends. Mr. Wells writes poetry only as a sideline, as the traveling gentry say. He is a partner of Watton & Wells, photographers. Mr. Well’s poem appeared under the caption , “Hello Mars.”
I can imagine that both Professor Lowell and Alex Wells would be surprised by the recent photographs sent from Mars by the Mars Exploration Rover Mission.
Mary Phillips
mphillips@opubco.com
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