Not To Be Open Sundays

New York, 1895

The younger element in the Jamaica Club want the club-house open on Sunday. The older members do not. The younger members wanted to pass the tedious Sunday hours at the club-house in reading and conversation. The old fellows thought it might lead to abuses. The youngsters claimed that when the old fellows went to Newport, Saratoga, and Lake George, in the Summer, they were not so particular how they spent their Sundays. It was a pretty hot contest. It requires a two-third vote to change the by-laws, A vote was taken Saturday night, and the youngsters were beaten, but by only a few votes, and they expect to carry their point later on. If they don't they threaten to join the Chub Club, which is always open.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, Feb. 8, 1895, p. 12.

Race Horse Driver Seventy-Two Years

1916

HUNTING BARNES OF IOWA IS OLDEST MAN IN SPORT.

Started as a Jockey When a Boy in Wisconsin — He's Still Spry at Age of 89.

WEST UNION, Iowa, Sept. 14. — Hunting Barnes of West Union is the oldest racing man now actively engaged in the sport both in age and number of years in the service. He is 89 years old, and is now racing for his seventy-second consecutive year.

Barnes was born in New York State, Oct. 12, 1827. He went to Wisconsin with his parents when a boy and started work at selling fruit on the streets of Milwaukee. Later he began riding horses.

At that time there were few established tracks, the racing being done on the public road, a straightaway course, with the running races generally only a quarter of a mile in length. In 1845 Barnes went across Wisconsin to Madison, Wis., and Prairie du Chien with a party of race horse men. They pitted their mounts against those of the French and Indian half breeds on these impromptu half mile tracks. In 1849 Barnes began driving harness horses.

In 1853 Barnes joined the rush to California, going around Cape Horn, but speedily got enough of it there, returning via Panama, where he rode a mule across the isthmus. However, he later returned to California and after the trip there rejoined his parents, who had moved in 1853 to Fayette County, Iowa.

He hired to two families from Fayette to take them across the Great American desert to the Pacific Coast, and getting other young men to go along they took a bunch of trotters and runners. He remained on the coast, riding and driving until 1865. One of his runners, a mare named Seed Wheat, was run by him there for three years without losing a race.

Barnes has lived in Fayette County since 1865, and in West Union for forty years. He was one of the men who about forty-five years ago, as members of a driving association, surveyed and had graded the first circular track in Fayette County, the one now on the Fayette County fair grounds in West Union.

Barnes recalls an incident of his early driving days that amuses him considerably. He had charge about 1850 or 1851 of a trotter, Badger Boy, that could make a mile in three minutes on a good track on days when he was in good trim. Barnes took this horse to the State Fair at Madison, Wis., and beat everything in sight. The next year he returned, and was barred out of the races, but the officials softened the blow to him by giving him a blanket inscribed "The fastest trotting horse in Wisconsin," and letting him drive around the track with the horse wearing the blanket.

Barnes had his horse hitched to a sulky weighing about 300 pounds, or ten times the weight of the average racing sulky of today. As he passed the stand the [la___*] said to him, "Mr. Barnes, you are [____ and*] spry, but you'll get killed riding in so light a cart as that."

He has raced every season since that time.

—The Saturday Blade, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 8.

*Missing a couple bits here. Possibly "you are young and spry" and "the lady there said to him," but I don't know that "the lady" makes much sense.

Girl's Letter Is Joke on Bachelors, but It Overwhelms Her With Mail

1920

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Miss Ethel Day, a pretty New York girl, has caused work for a few extra mail clerks and carriers in this city as the result of a little joke that she and two other girl friends played upon several thousand young bachelors scattered over the habitable globe a few months ago. Miss Day is now thoroly convinced of the potency of publicity, and so, incidentally, are the letter shooters and mail sorters in the Great Falls postoffice.

Last summer, while enjoying a vacation in the mountains with her two girl friends from New York, who helped her put over the joke, the trio decided to write the following epistle to a motion picture magazine:

"Editor: I am a girl 19 years old. With three other girls I herd cattle for a wealthy stockman. We get awfully lonely and would like to correspond with some Eastern men."

In one day's mail she received answering letters from Germany, France, Hawaii, the Philippines, Zanzibar, Africa; London, Texas. Maine, New Hampshire, Boston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Cleveland, Norfolk. Va.; Brunswick, Ont., Can.; New York, Montreal, Key West. Fla.; Jersey City, the U. S. steamship Savannah, India, and numerous other points about the world.

A young lad from New York who evidently has the impression that Montana is still in "the wild and woolly West" asked Miss Day to put a good word for him with her boss so that he could come West and learn to punch cattle. Others spoke of wolves howling around the door.

A little Virginia lass has asked the following questions: "Do you dance? What style of dancing do they have in the West? (Imagine answering that one!) How are the folks out there, hospitable, friendly, sociable? How are the girls, the fellows? What are the chief entertainments? How do you spend your time?"

Now Miss Day for a little while thought it just lovely to receive hundreds of nice letters, but it is rapidly ceasing to be a joke. Each day her list of unanswered letters increases and all she needs is a permit to start a postoffice all her own. The problem could be easily solved by either ignoring the letters or sending them back unclaimed were it not for the fact that all her correspondents were so anxious for a reply that they carefully enclosed stamped, addressed envelopes.

However, Miss Day cheerfully says she will see the thing thru and answer every letter if she has to hire a couple of stenographers and a dictaphone and take a vacation for three months.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 5.

And They Didn't Exercise

1910

William M. Evarts, who lived until he was nearly ninety, said he kept his health by never taking exercise. The celebrated Dr. William George Mead, who lived to the surprising age of 148 years, spent nearly all of his time in the open air and played a little golf. Dr. Mead used to drink two or three quarts of water every day, and perhaps there is a suggestion in that. Old Dubois, who lived in Canada for the better part of 119 years on the north shore of Lake Erie, never worked and never took exercise. He spent seventy-five years of his life fishing with hook and line and ate nothing but baked apples and milk and brown bread and unsalted butter. Perhaps you can live that long if you do nothing but fish and eat what old Dubois did. But take notice that these long livers never exercised. — New York Telegraph.

Concerning Sprees

1916

Dr. Allan Hoben, of the University of Chicago, in his address here to the Teachers' Association, said that when "a person gets so that he doesn't crave to go on a spree, he is getting old." Therefore, when the "spree" fever ceases it is a sign that you are Oslerized and have on hand all the nails necessary for the coffin and your only work left is to construct your coffin. — East St. Louis Journal.


Oslerized (in case the word isn't familiar)

An old dog, so old that his blood had ceased to circulate and was suffering from a tubercular running sore in his head, was "Oslerized" yesterday after it had been pronounced that his usefulness was a thing of the past. — From 1906.

Pointed Paragraphs

1916

Leap Year is twenty-seven percent gone, girls.

Old men frequently give advice to young men — and occasionally they give up money to confidence men.

No husband is always wrong and no wife is always right. Remember this, you married disputants.

When a man offers you something for nothing you will save money by going out of your way to avoid accepting it.

Death at the Supper Table (and Other Unfortunate News)

1907

MUSKEGON, MI. — Charles Bromstra, 37 years old, while working complained of pain in the region of his heart and said he thought he would die. At the supper table he expired.

MONTROSE, MI. — A broken brakebeam tumbled 14 box cars of a Bay City to Durand train on the C., S. & M., four miles south of here. Four of the cars were reduced to kindling wood and the track torn up for a long distance. Nobody was hurt.

DETROIT, MI. — Florence W. McGill, upon looking into the bathroom, found her mother lying dead in the tub, face downward, with water covering her head. She had been taking a foot bath and it is presumed that she was overcome and fell head foremost into the water.

PORT HURON, MI. — Guests at the Windermere hotel, Gratiot beach, have complained because of the fact that the waitresses employed at the hotel bathe in the lake at the same time as the guests take their daily plunge. The lake being very large, however, no attempt has been made to put a stop to the practice.

LANSING, MI. — William Henry Harrison, a quaint character, 72 years old, who worked for years at Delta and refused to accept any employment from his employer, dropped dead on the street here from apoplexy. He had just emerged from Beck's clothing store when he toppled over against a passerby and was dead before he could be lowered to the sidewalk.

AMERICUS, GA. — Bram Goodwin, a Sumter county farmer, dropped dead in a cotton field. His brother Arnold summoned and at the sight of the body he fell on it and expired.

JOLIET, ILL. — William Myers, a young man of McKeesport, Pa., who was stealing a ride on top of a coach of a passenger train was struck by the viaduct under the Michigan Central tracks at New Lenox and beheaded. Two companions, with whom Myers boarded the car in the yards at Chicago, escaped because they were lying flat on the car roof.

NEW YORK — Mrs. Catherine Gillighan, at the age of 107 years and four months, is dead at her home in the Bronx. She had lived in New York 35 years, coming here from Ireland at the age of 79 to join her eight children. Mrs. Gillighan ascribed her longevity to her habit of eating onions at every meal and her refusal to worry about anything. She never tasted medicine.

LIGONIER, IND. — Pat Summers, one of the best known horse breeders in this section and owner of Edifice, was killed by lightning while in a barn at his stock farm near this city during an electrical storm. Summers had just returned from Kendallville where he was training a large number of horses for the fall track. Several valuable colts were saved by Summers' son from the burning barn.

— Daily Eagle, Traverse City, Michigan, Aug. 3, 1907, p. 5.

U.S. Army Blankets Adorn French Girls

1920

Have Been Made Into Cloaks Since Doughboys Had Them

PARIS, France, Feb. 26. — How the humble Army blanket, protection of the grumbling doughboy, has increased in value from 12 francs to 200 francs, and come to be apparel of French beauty along the boulevards, has been brought to light in Paris.

At a sale of Army stocks, a French grocer bought 2,000 American Army blankets for 12 francs each. He sold them for 11 and 20 francs each to a clothing manufacturer.

The clothing manufacturer made them up into women's cloaks and sold them at 70 francs each to a department store, which retailed them at 180 and 200 francs each.

Voila, la vie chere!


Woman, 102, Walks Miles to Hospital

NEW YORK, N.Y., Feb. 26. — Despite her 102 years Mrs. Fannie Cohen traveled alone and unassisted from her home to Bellevue Hospital, where she sought admission. She is suffering from ailments due to old age. Her home is several miles from the hospital.


Wants Husband Declared Dead

PORT HURON, Michigan, Feb. 26. — Mrs. Alice Reo has brought suit in Circuit Court to have her husband, Capt. Joseph Reo, declared legally dead. Captain Reo was in command of the Government survey boat Surveyor, and last was heard from May 25, 1910, when he left the boat at Cleveland. Mrs. Reo wants to acquire property held by herself and her husband.


Baby Adds Fifth Generation

Kansas Child's Great-great-grandmother Is Still Living

HARTFORD, Kansas, Feb. 26. — A son was born a few days ago to Mr. and Mrs. James Hartenblower of Eureka, Kan. This baby has two grandfathers, one grandmother, two great-grandfathers, two great-grandmothers and one great-great-grandmother.

The great-great-grandmother is Mrs. Mary Ann Rhoads, of Topeka.

Parrot Stories

1896

There was an old factotum in our family who used to sew for us, and who occasionally spent several weeks at a time at the house. She was somewhat of a character, had been married three times, and to distinguish her second dear departed was in the habit of calling him "my middle husband;" old maids she naturally did not approve of, remarking that they were the only things not prayed for in the Litany. The old woman was very deaf, and much shouting was needed to make her hear. One day many vain efforts were made to induce her to do a piece of work in a particular way, but she could not or would not see what was wanted, and at last, in despair, the lady of the house remarked to the nurse, "Oh, never mind; when she is gone, it must be altered." "Ah," remarked the parrot, in a loud, clear voice, "there's no fool like an old fool."

The parrot had on one morning been given a bath, or in other words, the garden watering can had been turned upon him, and he was placed in front of the fire to dry. There were two small kittens who also liked the warmth of the fire, and who were sitting one on each side of the cage. The bird walked first to one side, and looking down out of the corner of his eye, inquired, "Are you a good boy?" Then he sidled across to the other end of his perch and said to the other kitten, "And are you a good boy?"

One day two children of our family visited the house, and when alone amused themselves by mischievously pulling up some tulips, which grew in a pot in the room, by the roots, afterwards carefully replacing them. A little later Polly's master, to whom the plants belonged, came into the room, and immediately exclaimed, "Oh, look at my tulips; see how they are growing." Polly at once uttered two words, and only two; they were, "You ass!" I need hardly say that some time elapsed before the owner of the tulips was made acquainted with all the particulars of what had happened. — Chambers's Journal.

Slain By Naked Maniac

Iowa, 1900

James Fitzsimmons Dead, Three Others Injured

Cedar Rapids dispatch: Charles Mefford, a maniac, at 5 o'clock a.m. killed James Fitzsimmons, fatally injured John Drake, seriously and possibly fatally injured Mrs. James Fitzsimmons and then ended his own life.

Mefford was 20 years old and had been insane for a number of years. Two years ago he was in the Independence asylum for a short time, but escaped and was never returned. He was not generally considered dangerous. Saturday night about ten o'clock, while clad in nothing but a shirt, he darted out of his home, a raving maniac. He was seen two or three times between then and midnight, but the police failed to find him.

Shortly before 5 o'clock Reginald Andrews, the janitor at the Old Ladies' Home was awakened by crashing glass. The next moment Mefford stood before him. stark naked, swinging a neck yoke. He warned Andrews that his time had come and swung the neck yoke in an effort to brain him. The latter dodged and grabbed the weapon, threw Mefford on the bed and choked him until he begged for mercy.

Then Andrews agreed to give him a bath, a suit of clothes and some breakfast, which apparently satisfied him. Rushing through the house, Andrews locked the twelve or fourteen old ladies in their rooms, notified the police by telephone, and then ran across the street, to the home of Joseph Drake for assistance.

Drake dressed, picked up a revolver, and they started out. As they did so Mefford, carrying an ax, was seen to plunge through a window in the home of James Fitzsimmons, about 150 yards away. As he entered the room Mrs. Fitzsimmons uttered a scream. Mefford swung the ax and brought it down toward her head. Her uplifted arm saved her life; the arm was broken in two places and she sustained a serious scalp wound. Mr. Fitzsimmons hurried to the aid of his wife and his skull was crushed with the ax, death resulting immediately.

The maniac then rushed into the room of Miss Katie, who escaped with a few scalp wounds. Starting down stairs he was met by Drake who snapped his revolver four times at the madman, each time upon an empty shell. Mefford grabbed the revolver, ran a few blocks and killed himself with the one load the revolver contained.

—Humeston New Era, Humeston, Iowa, July 4, 1900.

Just Wanted To See Her Money

1908

And The Little Old Lady Had Her Confidence Restored

She was a little old lady, so little and so old that with considerate friends she would never, never have been allowed alone in the hurried throng on the busy streets. She was such an old little lady that she had only just learned that there had been trouble in the banks, and she had made such haste as she could to be sure that her money — all the money she had saved — was safe.

"Have you got my money?" she asked tremulously when she finally reached the teller's window.

"How much did you have?" asked the teller kindly. No one could help being kind to such a little old lady.

"Twenty-five dollars," she answered. "Two tens and a five. I didn't wish to take it out," she continued apologetically, "but I should feel better if you could just let me see it."

So they showed her carefully "two tens and a five." Her faded eyes brightened, and with a grateful "Thank you," she left, every line of her bent little figure showing happy contentment and confidence, for she had seen her money.


Has Good Opinion of Women

"Men have no organization in the world that is doing as much for the world at the present time and for civilization as the National Federation of Women's Clubs," said Prof. Zeublin of Chicago in an address at Minneapolis. He said that woman is not only stronger mentally, but she is superior to man physically, and the day of her equality with man is at an end as she is in every respect his superior

Five Hens Lay Eggs in Deep Snow Nests

Feb. 1920

Fowls Dig Their Own Snug Roosts on Roof of Barn

HILERTON, New York — It being the warmest day of the winter, Chester Wasselton, a poultryman of this village, opened the door of his hen house to allow his hens to come out and enjoy the sunshine. Late in the afternoon Wasselton went to the hen house and seeing the hens were on the roosts closed the door.

Next morning the poultryman heard a loud cackling which came from the roof of the hen house. He secured a ladder, placed it against the structure and climbed to the roof, which was covered with three feet of snow. Wasselton says that when he reached nearly to the peak of the roof he was surprised to find five of his white leghorns buried in the snow. Furthermore, he says that when he removed the hens he was dumbfounded to find that each hen had laid an egg.

Wasselton placed the eggs in his coat pocket and threw the hens from the roof. He expresses the opinion that the hens flew to the roof the night before, dug their way down to the shingles through the snow and, as it was warm, made no effort to leave.


Cake 14 Years Old, Served At Wedding

First in Family to Marry Won the Fruity Confection

ST. LOUIS, Missouri — A wedding cake made fourteen years ago was served as a breakfast following the wedding her of Miss Geraldine Isabelle Buchanan, of California, Mo., to Lieut. Austin Smith Parker of Greenville, S.C.

The cake was made from a recipe for Chinese fruit cake and preserved in brandy to be served at the first wedding in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Buchanan, parents of the bride.

Horse Aged 41 Years Dies

1920

Was Thoroughbred Animal Known as John Paul Jones

MIDDLEBURY, Vermont — John Paul Jones, full-blooded Morgan horse, driven for years by Frank R. Stone, known as one of the oldest-in-service hotel porters in the country, is dead. Mr. Stone found John Paul dead in his stable.

The horse was in his 42nd year, according to his owner, and up to the time of his death seemed in south health, eating cracked corn and hay as well as any young horse.

He had been used in drawing baggage between the Middlebury depot and the Addison House, where Mr. Stone had been employed since 1866.


Prison if He Weds Within Two Years

1920

LOS ANGELES — Gordon D. Mills, who, according to Prohibition Officer Dodds' report, stole 146,519 nickels, 6,443 dimes and 796 quarters from telephone booths, will be on probation for two years, provided he does not marry Mrs. Florence McAllister or any other woman during that time. Mrs. McAllister said he thought Mills honest and that he was tempted and could not be blamed.

Hale, Hearty on 86th Birthday, Pretty Good "For One So Old"

New York, 1911

HALE AND HEARTY ON 86TH BIRTHDAY

Mrs. Elizabeth VanKeuren, of 235 Monhagen avenue this city, recently celebrated her eighty-sixth birthday anniversary. Mrs. VanKeuren's old age does not stop her from being quite active. When the Times-Press representative called upon her she had just finished peeling potatoes for dinner.

"I am in perfectly good health with the exception of an occasional attack of rheumatism," said Mrs. VanKeuren.

Her hearing, for one so old, is excellent, the only sense which seemed to be impaired is her seeing, she being totally blind in one eye.

Mrs. VanKeuren's husband, who died a few years ago, lived to reach the ago of ninety years, and every member of Mrs. VanKeuren's family lived to be older than eighty-four years of age.

—Middletown Daily Times-Press, Middletown, NY, Aug. 5, 1911, p. 5.

Teen Breaks Arm Five Times

1909

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — Forbidden by his parents to play football after he had broken his left arm three times in the game, 15-year-old William Eminger found that he could not even watch the game with safety to his delicate member. He was a spectator on the sidelines at a high school game and the team in a scrimmage fell over his chair. Eminger's arm was broken when one of the players landed on top of him. This makes the fifth time the arm has been broken. The only time football was not responsible Eminger broke it falling out of bed.


Love's Young Dream

LOS ANGELES, Cal. — When Levi Hall, who is of the impressionable age of eighty-nine years, went to call on Miss H. W. Coe, a fair and sprightly maiden of seventy-five summers, he was greatly surprised when John Moore, ninety years old, emerged from an adjoining room and began to belabor him with a stout hickory cane. Hall hurried from the home of his inamorata to the receiving hospital, and then to the police station, where he caused the arrest of his rival on a charge of battery. Hall does not believe that Miss Coe will think any the less of him because he retreated.


Makes High Flight Record

POTSDAM, Germany — Orville Wright, the American aviator, broke his own and all other records for high flying. He reached the unprecedented height of more than 1,600 feet, although an official measurement was not taken. He had a red-letter day in a double sense in his experience as an aviator, taking up Crown Prince Frederick William as a passenger and more than doubling the altitude record which he made recently over the same field.

Man Lives Without Stomach — Predigested Food

1909

Man Lives Without Stomach

NEW YORK — William Smith, whose stomach was removed three weeks ago in the Bushwick Hospital, Brooklyn, has left the institution cured, the surgeons say. There is no reason why Smith cannot live, it is said, and his only handicap will be that he can eat nothing except predigested foods.


Stove Discharged Rifle

EVANSVILLE, Indiana — A stove, which Mrs. Mary Gregory was trying to set up this afternoon fell against a loaded rifle in the corner. The weapon was discharged and Mrs. Gregory was shot in the abdomen and is said to be dying tonight.


Whisky is 86 Years Old

SPENCER, Indiana — Workmen engaged in tearing down the old Owen County courthouse found a gallon jug of whisky, 86 years old, buried in a crevice in the foundation stones under the building. The liquor is in possession of the county auditor, who has purchased a spoon preparatory to dealing the liquid out to county officials and others.


Hurled From Auto Into Tree

NEW YORK — When a speeding automobile struck a tree near Coney Island five men were in the machine, but after the accident the ambulance physicians found only four men, all of whom had suffered broken ribs or other injuries. When one of the four recovered consciousness he inquired for the fifth member of the party and a search revealed an unconscious man hanging over a limb of a tree, to which he had been hurled by the collision.