Remember the Alamo

I should have posted this yesterday, March 6, because on that date in 1836 the Alamo fell to General Santa Anna's Mexican Army after a 13 day siege. 187 Texans fought against 6,000 Mexicans.  So remember, "the Alamo" isn't just a college football bowl game.

Illustration from the Deseret Evening News, Salt Lake City, UT, August 29, 1903 

Article from The San Juan Islander, Friday Harbor, WA, November 26, 1904.

The Alamo, San Antonio, TX, photo by me

About a month later, The Army of Texas, commanded by Sam Houston, soundly defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto.  The battle cry for the feisty Texans at San Jacinto was "Remember the Alamo!" Now a giant 567.31 foot tall monument stands at the site of the Battle of San Jacinto near Houston, TX; it's the world's tallest monumental column, approximately 12 feet taller than the Washington Monument.

San Jacinto Monument, Harris County, TX, photo by me

More Information:
On the Alamo:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Alamo
http://www.thealamo.org/battle/battle.php
On the San Jacinto Monument:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jacinto_Monument
 http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=6702

Hood's Sarsaparilla Testimonials

Recently I published a post about a distant cousin, M. L. Cheuvront, who in 1894 had written a testimonial in an advertisement for Hood's Sarsaparilla cure:
http://miscellaneousmar.blogspot.com/2012/02/marshall-lloyd-cheuvront-in-agony.html

Hood's Sarsaparilla was a prolific advertiser in the late 1800's through the early 1900's so there were lots of testimonials. I decided to go back to the Library of Congress' Historic American Newspapers collection and look for other testimonials.  I found Hood's Sarsaparilla advertisements in newspapers from Florida, Hawaii,  Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, and Texas;  I'm sure I could have found them in every other state if I had more time.  Here are 21 more people who wrote testimonials.

Some Men:

    Mr. Harvey Heed, Laceyville, OH;    Mr. Herman Hicks, Rochester, NY;   Mr. A. H. Smith, St. Louis, MO     

Some Women:

Mrs. Andrew Gray

Birdie Buckholz and her Mother 

Mrs. Isa Griggs 

A husband and wife:

Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Richardson of Siloam, NY

Often Hood's Sarsaparilla printed half or full page advertisements with testimonials from several people.

Miss Jessie Fremont, Saddle River, NJ; Mrs. F. H. Andrews, S. Woodstock, CT; 

Miss Margaret Smith, Hebron, OH 

 Miss Etta Hilbert, Lawrence, MA; Deputy Sheriff R. D. Wheeler, Burlington, VT;

Rev. Wm. Hollinshed, Sparta, NJ; Miss Lettie Huntley, Cortland, NY

Mrs. Carleton, Ayer, MA; Mrs. Gee, Stoneham, MA; Mrs. Gray, New Bedford, MA

Miss Julia C. Tison, Jacksonville, FL; Seymour L. Hotchkiss, Wallingford, CT; 

Charles L. Clark, Westbrook, ME ;  Mrs. S. L. Carleton, Ayer, MA

The testimonials for Hood's Sarsaparilla Cure stated that it cured many illnesses and health problems such as spring humors, eczema, scrofula, catarrh, and loss of appetite.  Here are three examples of typical advertisements with testimonials/claims that it cured them of deafness, rheumatism and salt rheum (eczema):

Sources:

Library of Congress, Chronicling America, Historic American Newspapers, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

People/Newspapers ( in the same order as shown above):

Heed; Evening Dispatch. (Provo, City, Utah), January 25, 1894

Hicks; Daily Herald. (Brownsville, Tex.), January 16, 1894

A. H. Smith; The Courier. (Lincoln, Neb.), May 12, 1894

Gray; Evening Bulletin. (Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii), May 29, 1895

Buckholz; The Courier. (Lincoln, Neb.), April 13, 1895

Griggs; Evening Bulletin. (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii), May 18, 1895

Richardson; Daily Herald. (Brownsville, Tex.), August 25, 1893

Fremont, Andrews, Smith;  St. Paul Daily Globe. (Saint Paul, Minn.), April 17, 1895

Hilbert, Wheeler, Hollinshed, Huntley; St. Paul Daily Globe. (Saint Paul, Minn.), March 26, 1892

Carleton, Gee, Gray; The Pensacola Journal. (Pensacola, Fla.), April 28, 1907

Tison, Hotchkiss, Clark, Carleton; New York Tribune. (New York [N.Y.]), April 01, 1906

Vintage Leap Year

Editorial cartoonists in the past thought that the Leap Year/Day tradition of "Ladies Privilege" was very amusing. 

The Tacoma Times, December 23, 1903

The Evening World, New York, NY, December 31, 1904

New York Tribune, February 28, 1904

But not just cartoonists found the Leap year tradition an entertaining subject.  In the leap year of 1892, popular authoress, Edith Sessions Tupper wrote  "But some philanthropist, to whom women should be eternally grateful, ordained that once in four years they should have a whack at proposing.... Rouse maids and widows! the battlefield is open for conflict."

The Salt Lake Herald, January 1, 1892

Los Angeles Herald, December 25, 1892

An article in the Los Angeles Herald on December 25, 1892 gave this bio for Mrs. Tupper:

        "Mrs. Edith Sessions Tupper is a daughter of the Hon. Walter Loren Sessions, ex-member of      

         congress and prominent in New York politics, and was born at his home in Chautauqua county, 

        N. Y., about the beginning of the civil war. Her early opportunities were of the very best.  She  

        was reared in an intellectual atmosphere, educated at Vassar and acquired all the varied  

        knowledge and social standing possible to a congressman’s daughter in Washington city.  Ten 

        years ago she married Mr. Horace E. Tupper, a railroad manager, and went to live in Chicago, 

        where she launched into journalism and made a brilliant success from the start.

        After doing much good work for The Herald, Tribune and Inter Ocean she removed to New 

        York and soon became known as one of the most versatile writers in the country.  In poetry she 

        has decided talent for society verses as they are called and her lines beginning,

              Painted and perfumed, feathered and pink,

              Here is your ladyships fan,

        have been much quoted.  As a closing personality it may be added that she weighs 150 pounds, 
        is most “unfashionably healthy” and has a wealth of light brown hair that is the admiration of  

        all her friends and the envy of many."

Some books she wrote were By Whose Hand?,  Heart's Triumph, and The Stuff of Dreams.  Her short stories were published in many magazines; some magazines that published her stories were All Story Weekly, Love Story, Breezy Stories and Women's World.

Happy Birthday George!

Illustration honoring George Washington

From the newspaper

The Rice Belt Journal, Calcasieau Parish, Louisiana

February 19, 1904

There is some interesting history behind the holiday Presidents Day.  The official federal holiday designation is Washington's Birthday.  You can read all about about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington's_Birthday

http://usparks.about.com/od/historicalparks/a/Presidents-Day.htm

http://www.snopes.com/holidays/presidents/presidentsday.asp

Free Hatchet Giveaway

In Honor of Washington's Birthday!

Alexandria Gazette, Alexandria , Virginia

February 19, 1904

The story about George Washington and the cherry tree was first told in the biography A History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington by Mason Locke Weems in 1809.

"The following is a case in point. It is too valuable to be lost, and too true to be doubted; for it was communicated to me by the same excellent lady to whom I am indebted for the last.
"When George," said she, "was about six years old, he was made the wealthy master of a hatchet! of which, like most little boys, he was immoderately fond, and was constantly going about chopping everything in his way. One day in the garden, where he often amused himself hacking his mother's pea-sticks, he unluckily tried the edge of his hatchet on the body of a beautiful young English cherry-tree, which he barked so terribly, that I don't believe the tree ever got the better of it. The next morning the old gentleman, finding out what had befallen his tree, which by the by, was a great favourite, came into the house; and with much warmth asked for the mischevious author, declaring at the same time, that he would have taken five guineas for his tree.  Nobody would tell him anything about it. Presently George and his hatchet made their appearance. "George," said his father, "do you know who killed that beautiful cherry tree yonder in the garden?"  This was a tough question; and George staggered under it for moment; but quickly recovered himself; and looking at his father, with the sweet face of youth brightened with the inexpressible charm of all-conquering truth, he bravely cried out, "I can't tell a lie, PA; you know I can't tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet." "Run to my arms, you dearest boy," cried his father in transports, "run into my arms; glad am I, George, that you killed my tree; for you have paid me for it a thousand fold. Such an act of heroism in my son is worth more than a thousand trees, though blossomed with silver , and their fruits of purest gold. "

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parson_Weems

Weems attributed the story to "...an aged lady, who was a distant relative, and, when a girl, spent much of her time in the family...," who referred to young George as "cousin."  The Cherry tree story has never been independently verified and is believed to be a parable/fable concocted by Parson Weems to illustrate Washington's honesty.  Personally, I could believe it.

The history for Corby's Mother's Bread, the company who offered the free souvenir hatchet, is convoluted.  Corby's Bakery was sold/merged to/with Continental  Baking Corporation in 1925. Continental was originally Ward Baking Company in New York.  Continental also bought Taggart Baking Company the original maker of  Wonder Bread in 1925.  The corporation went through many mergers and is now known as Hostess Brands, the maker of "Twinkies."

Read more about the history of William S. Corby and his company in the book American Biography: A new Cyclopedia, volume 47, on pages 180 - 183 :

http://www.archive.org/stream/anewcyclopedi47boarrich#page/n9/mode/2up

Here's a more recent article about the bakery:

http://alextimes.com/2011/11/out-of-the-attic-ever-wonder-where-wonder-bread-began-on-lee-street/entry/10/142/

Read about Wonder Bread here:

http://www.wardbakingcompany.com/Ward_Baking_Company/Home.html

http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/wonderbread.htm