Alaska was still a territory in 1913, but that didn’t stop it from having a fun-fill July Fourth, judging from the coverage in the Alaska Daily Empire in Juneau on July 5 and July 7. In the capital city, between 3,000 and 4,000 people gathered to watch a baseball game, and the area’s three ferries […]
Prayers for Missionaries: This Week in History
Members of the congregations of three churches – one Baptist, one Presbyterian and one Methodist – gathered in Raleigh, North Carolina, to pray for missionaries, the Raleigh Times reported June 25, 1900. The missionaries were serving in China and the Far East during the early days of the Boxer Rebellion. The service opened with a […]
Alexander Krieschwzi Goes to Trial for Murder: This Week in History
Seventeen-year-old Alexander Krieschwzi was on trial for the murder of his father, Lewis, the Evening Journal in Wilmington, Delaware, reported on June 9. 1908. The teen was “a respectable-looking lad who did not appear to realize the seriousness of his position.” The elder Krieschwzi was murdered March 15, 1908, following an argument. According to the […]
YMCA Campaign Raises $28,000: This Week in History
Among stories of crime and politics on the front page of the Colorado Springs Weekly Gazette on May 10, 1906, was a story of local interest. A YMCA campaign had raised $28,000. Denver’s Simon Guggenheim made a generous $500 contribution to the organization’s Fifty Thousand Dollar Campaign, pushing it past the $28,000 mark. Other large […]
California Columbian Club Prepares for the 1893 World’s Fair: This Week in History
California possibly would be the best represented state at the World’s Fair in Chicago, the Los Angeles Times declared April 9, 1893. The state’s building would be the largest structure on the fairgrounds that wasn’t built specifically for the exposition and was, in the opinion of the Times, “the most beautiful and attractive edifice within […]
Will Jim Crow Survive?: This Week in History
“‘Shall Jim Crow Prevail?’ The Burning Question,” an AP story in the Dallas Express asked March 29, 1919. The question followed the bombing of two buildings in Southside Chicago. In 1896, the Supreme Court decision Plessy vs. Ferguson made separate-but-equal legal. The question on the minds of many that March was whether the institution would […]
Chicago’s Ayer Building Fire: This Week in History
“Horror in a Fire,” the headline on the Chicago Tribune read March 17, 1898, in reference to the destruction of the Ayer Building that was located on Wabash Avenue. The fire started on the third floor of the business complex in the storehouse of wallpaper dealer Alfred Peats and within 10 minutes was a “furnace […]
Panama Statehood Considered: This Week in History
Republican senators eagerly agreed to a conference to discuss the Panama Canal Treaty, the Arizona Republic reported Feb. 18, 1903, bringing Sen. Matthew Quay’s dream of Panamanian statehood one step closer. Quay hoped to carry the statehood bill through an appropriations bill. “It is said tonight that the consent of the senators without committing themselves […]
Socialite Vivien Gould Marries an English Lord: This Week in History
Socialite Vivien Gould, daughter of financier George J. Gould and his wife, was prepared to marry her fiancé, Lord Decies with the “pride of wealth,” the Miami Herald reported Feb. 5, 1911. Gould and Decies were scheduled to marry two days later in New York City. “The affair now promises to be more gorgeous and […]
This Week in History: New Year’s Day 1920
One hundred years ago today, people were celebrating the start of what would be dubbed in the United States as the Roaring 20s. What should have been a cause for celebration was slightly tempered. This was the last New Year celebration before Prohibition would go into effect Jan. 16, 1920. In Boston, revelers gathered at cafes […]
Christmas Shopping in a Bygone Era
The commercialization of Christmas began during the Victorian era. Retailers encouraged consumers to shop for the holidays instead of giving homemade gifts, and shop employees also decorated their shop windows with lavish displays to attract passersby. The tradition of Christmas shopping was born. So what were the popular gifts in this bygone era? Let’s find […]
Photography Book Examines 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition
Michael Finney makes his book debut with 1893 Chicago’s Columbian Exposition: Arts and Culture on the Doorstep of the 20th Century, a collection of photographs taken during the fair. It also includes Finney’s commentary and modern photography. The inspiration for the collection was a book of official photographs published in 1893 that an antique book […]