Ben Richardson in the LA Times

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The screen painting above is by Ben Richardson, Baltimore, Maryland.
The image was most generously contributed to this site by
Tom Lipka ~ from his collection. CLICK for larger image!

Los Angeles Times, 26 March 1972

Here is another newspaper article that was found by a relative in the Los Angeles Times, dated 26 March 1972. After this, Uncle Ben could brag that he was famous from coast to coast. There is a delightful picture of Ben standing, playing his big banjo, one foot kicked high in the air, with a caption reading PARKING LOT TYRANT - Ben Richardson, manager of a Baltimore parking lot, serenades his customers on the banjo. Apart from such interludes, he is a stern disciplinarian with a blacklist for the hapless customers who run afoul of his rulings. (AP photo)

RULES AND CRUSADES,
Parking Lot Despot Accepts No Excuses, Baltimore

(AP) Ben Richardson is a parking lot despot with an unbending devotion to rules and penchant for patriotic campaigns. One mistake - a wheel nudged over the yellow parking line or a cigarette butt dropped on the lot - and another name goes on Richardson's lengthy blacklist. The wiry 67-year-old parking lot manager keeps copious notes on those he has banned from his downtown lot. "The guy in the green Ford, the one with the big dent in the back," one entry reads. "He parked his car at least a foot over the line. This is not the first time he has done this. He says he is sorry. That is too bad. Get that car off this lot."

NO EXCUSES

Richardson usually does not give second chances. He doesn't accept excuses. "You park here, you accept the rules. You want to park in a dump, that's your business," Richardson said. Parking lot customers accept this philosophy, as well as Richardson's "crusades," because he takes good care of their automobiles and his location is convenient. The small, tough-looking lot manager lost the fingers on his right hand in an industrial accident when he was 15. Three years later, he decided to surmount the handicap by teaching himself to play violin and the banjo. He occasionally holds impromptu serenades for customers.

FLAGPOLE PROJECT

"He always has something going," said a Gas & Electric Co. executive who parks on a monthly basis at the lot. "One month he wants the flagpole on top of the Gas & Electric Co. building painted and the next he is after us to fly the flag every day, rain or shine." Richardson's biggest project, however, is a beautification campaign which began last summer. He started by planting marigolds around the parking area. To draw attention to the campaign he hung beer cans, pop bottles, candy wrappers and other debris on the fence and trees around the lot. About mid-summer he began regular weekday broadcasts from a loudspeaker system hooked up to his car.

BANJO OR FIDDLE

"When I was ready, I'd give them a shot of music to get their attention. Most of the time I used my car radio, but sometimes I'd get my banjo or my fiddle out and warm them with that," Richardson said. Then switching the system to voice, he would deliver his message. "Your attention, please," his voice would boom. "This is Ben with an important message. Throw your garbage in a garbage can. Do not throw it in the street. This ain't no pigsty. This is America. This is your country. Be proud of it. And don't let me catch you throwing anything on this parking lot. That is all."

FIRED 7-8 TIMES

Company officials and a number of customers have complained about Richardson's maverick tactics over the years. The veteran parking lot employee says he has been fired seven or eight times in the year he has managed the lot. But the prospect of being fired again does not seem to bother Richardson. "I don't care," he said, "because every time the owner fires me he has to give me a $5 raise to get me back. There ain't no one who can run this parking lot like me."

But there was someone who could manage the parking lot as well as Ben, without the antics. Upon the final firing of Uncle Ben, his older brother got the job. That incident led to a final "brotherly" rift lasting until a reconciliation at Ted's deathbed.

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"RICHARDSONs from Hounslow Heath ~ Ben Richardson, The LA Times"
Thanks to Ritva Väänänen at Ritva's Gallery for the background.
Copyright © 2001-2003 Edna Richardson Barney, All Rights Reserved