Early 20th Century BFFs.

[**The following refers to two bartenders who worked the bar onboard the *SS Eastland* in 1915.**] >Ed Bartlett and Le Roy Bennet, a pair of burly, jovial fellows who had been friends for twenty-plus years, tended the bar. Semi-professional boxers in their youth, the men still bore the scars of pugilism on their chiseled faces and big, calloused hands. The bartenders’ affection for each other was apparent as they poured drinks or pinched toddlers’ cheeks. The two men had been inseparable since 1895, when they faced off in the ring at George Kerwin’s Saloon. Bartlett and Bennet had battled to exhaustion that night, until the fight was called as a draw, neither man ever besting the other. An ironclad friendship forged itself that night, and the two bartenders worked side by side ever since. __________________________ **Source:** Bonansinga, Jay R. “Chapter Five – Sladkey’s Leap.” *The Sinking of the Eastland: America's Forgotten Tragedy*. Citadel Press, 2005. 51. Print. __________________________ **Further Reading:** [SS Eastland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Eastland)