Johnny Appleseed

The audio version of this article was first shared in Episode 45: A Bookchat about A Daughter’s Courage with Misty M. Beller & a Review of Heirlooms by Sandra Byrd

With autumn finally arriving for even the southern United States, my head is full of visions of apple orchards and apple dishes. So for today’s Pinch of the Past, we’re looking at the history of the man who made apples an American thing–the man best known as Johnny Appleseed.

Early Life

John Chapman was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, on September 26th, 1774, just two years before the American Revolution. Little is known about his childhood. His father fought in the Revolution. His mother died when he was young, and his father remarried.

When John was 18, he and his 11-year-old half-brother, Nathaniel, headed west into Pennsylvania, apparently living a nomadic lifestyle. Sometime around 1800, or a little earlier, John apprenticed under an orchardist named Mr. Crawford, where he discovered his love for apple trees.

John was in his mid twenties when he embarked on his business of starting apple nurseries. He acquired apple seeds for free from cider mills and headed west.

His Business

While legend paints Johnny Appleseed as a wandering pauper, wearing a coffee sack for a shirt and planting apple seeds in any likely clearing, John Chapman was a shrewd businessman.

In the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, private companies and speculators bought up huge tracts of land in what was called the Northwest Territories. In order to encourage settling, in 1792 the Ohio Company of Associates gave 100 acres to anyone who could establish a permanent homestead. Part of the deal involved planting a 50-acre apple orchard on each homestead.

John traveled into these territories and scouted out good places for apple nurseries. He bought the land, fenced it with fallen logs, and carefully planted his apple seeds. From time to time, he returned to these nurseries to tend the trees and sell saplings to settlers. Beginning in Pennsylvania, he eventually worked his way through the Ohio Valley as far as Indiana and Illinois, keeping just ahead of the waves of settlers. When they arrived, he had apple trees ready for them. He soon became known as the “apple seed man.”

For religious reasons, John did not practice grafting trees, believing it was harmful for the plants. Because apple seeds are so genetically unpredictable, most of his trees were basically wild apples, far too sour for eating. According to Henry David Thoreau, apples grown from seed are “sour enough to set a squirrel’s teeth on edge and make a jay scream.” Instead the fruit was milled for the juice, which was brewed into hard cider, a staple on the frontier where clean water, coffee, and tea were hard to come by.

His Religion

John was a devout follower of the Swedenborgian doctrine of Christianity. In fact, the first published writing about him was by the Church of New Jerusalem in Manchester, England, in 1817. It described him as a missionary for the church who traveled the wilderness planting apple seeds. John always carried a Bible and literature of his church; he loved discussing and arguing for his faith.

John was well-known during his life for his peculiar shabby clothing and habit of traveling barefoot–even in snow! He often preferred sleeping in the woods even when neighborly settlers would have offered a night’s shelter. He was not without means, as his nurseries could support him, but he chose to live simply. He traded apple trees for second-hand clothing, but would give it away again if he met someone he thought needed it more.

He was strictly kind to animals, even pulling his own handcart rather than owning a beast of burden to pull it for him. It’s said he didn’t even swat mosquitoes.

Rosella Rice wrote in her History of Ashland County, Ohio, that John wore a cooking pot as a hat, so his headgear served two purposes. Historians today find this doubtful as cooking pots were made of heavy tin in the early 1800’s, but Rosella Rice had met John in his later years, so who knows if it is accurate?

Legacy

John was well-liked by everyone as a news-bringer and friend, eventually picking up the nickname Johnny Appleseed. He traveled for fifty years until 1842 when he moved in with his brother Nathaniel’s family, who had settled in Ohio. Three years later, while visiting a friend in Indiana, he died of pneumonia on March 18, 1845. They say it was the only time he’d been sick in his adult life. John left a valuable estate of 1,200 acres of nurseries in Ohio and Indiana to his sister, Persis.

In spite of his planting “only” cider apples, we may have him to thank for the resilient American apple varieties today. The original trees brought from England didn’t do very well in the American soil. By his constant planting of trees from seed, it allowed nature to develop hardy varieties that thrived in the American climate.

As you enjoy an apple pie this autumn, or slice a fresh apple for a snack, think of how that Red Delicious might be descended from one of Johnny Appleseed’s trees!

References

The Real Johnny Appleseed Brought Apples—and Booze—to the American Frontier

Was Johnny Appleseed a Real Person?

October 10, 2022October 11, 2022

The Fairy House on the Voorheis Estate

The audio version of this article was first shared in Episode 45 : A Bookchat about The Premonition at Withers Farm with Jaime Jo Wright & a Review of Above the Fold by Rachel Scott McDaniel

Todays’ Pinch of the Past takes us to the Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee, to explore the history behind a little hidden gem called the House of the Fairies.

Louis Voorheis

A man sits on a set of stone stairs, hand on his chin and facing away from the camera into trees — Louis E. Voorheis at the springhouse, also known as the House of the Fairies, circa 1930 NPS

In 1928, a successful businessman from Cincinnati, Ohio, wanted to create a mountain retreat, away from the crowds. Louis Voorheis settled on a 100-acre piece of land in the Smoky Mountains, about a mile away from Gatlinburg, TN, owned by Harve Oakley. The land included several mountain springs, as well as two creeks, Mill Creek and Scratch Britches Branch. (Incidentally, he ended up changing the name of Mill Creek to Le Conte Creek.)

An inventor who enjoyed playing with waterpower, Mr. Voorheis’ first project was to build a dam for hydroelectric power. And he was just getting started. He loved channeling the natural flow of the water on the property, using native stone and rustic wooden bridges. He built a swimming pool fed by the mountain waters, as well as stone fountains to decorate his gardens.

Stone retaining walls were built with the flow of the land. Everything was supposed to look beautiful, yet rustic and natural. He had a water-powered mill, an apple orchard, vegetable and flower gardens, and a horse barn.

The National Park

The land was already within the boundary of the proposed National Park when Mr. Voorheis purchased it, although it’s unknown whether he discovered that fact before or after he purchased the land.

However, as a businessman and a philanthropist, he came up with a solution. He worked directly with the Tennessee Park Commission and the National Park Service and arranged to donate his land, securing a lifetime lease on the estate for himself and his widow, if he died first.

In 1933, Twin Creeks Orchard became the only private property to be donated for the National Park. It was appraised at the time for $100,000, and the appraisal records, among other things, fourteen structures, a pump house, three septic tanks, 1800 feet of piping and valves, machinery in a shop, two 750-gallon water tanks, and a stone springhouse–the House of the Fairies.

The People on the Estate

A large, rustic house in a mountain setting with several stone chimneys — Voorheis Estate, circa 1927 NPS

The Oakleys and some of their family actually stayed on at the property as caretakers. Louise Cole Little, daughter of Homer Cole who cared for the orchard and vegetable garden and granddaughter of the Oakleys who sold the property, said in an interview in 2016 that Mr. Voorheis “cared very much for the people who worked for him.”

He built homes for his employees, as well as for guests. They ate food grown on the land, attended Mr. Voorheis’s wedding on the property in 1934, and when the land was donated, were allowed to live there until they could find employment and homes elsewhere.

Link to interview with Louise: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/life/2016/11/06/louise-cole-little-recalls-childhood-estate-s-now-national-park/93133738/

The Legacy

Bathers gather at the edge of a pool of water, near a brick structure marking a spring — Voorheis swimming pool, circa 1930 NPS

Mr. Voorheis died in 1944 at the age of 69, sixteen years after first buying the land for his mountain retreat. He was cremated in Cincinnati, but one of the caretakers of the estate, Clifford Oakley, stated that he buried the ashes on the property behind the Voorheis mansion. The exact location is unknown.

Some of the buildings still stand, serving the National Park Service as offices. Most of the beautiful landscaping has been overtaken by the woods, but the most notable remnant still preserved is the stone springhouse, hidden on a hillside behind the Resource Center and other buildings off Cherokee Orchard Road.

If you enjoy an easy hike, look up the Twin Creeks Trail and see if you can find your way to the House of the Fairies. (Or ask one of the helpful park personnel in the Resource Center.) It’s a quiet place, moss-covered and rundown. A piece of a man’s dream-come-true blending in with the woods around it.

Story of the estate: https://www.nps.gov/articles/featured_stories_voorheis.htm

September 26, 2022October 2, 2022

1900 Paris Exposition -a World’s Fair– Pt. 3

The audio version of this article was first shared in Episode 43: A Bookchat about A Gem of Truth with Kimberley Woodhouse & a Review of The Number of Loveby Rosanna M. White

In this Pinch of the Past we will be wrapping up the Paris Exposition Series with a look at what critics of the day had to say about the expositions and some numbers regarding cost and attendance.

Criticisms: Because it can’t all be moonlight and roses.

The Paris Exposition was said to be overly ambitious and costly undertaking, and not all critics believed this was best for the country at the time.

One such critic as Melchior de Vogué, a supporter of the 1889 Eiffel Tower. He criticized the architecture used throughout the fair stating that:

In 1889, iron bravely offered itself to us naked and unencumbered, asking us to judge its architectural potential. Since that time, it seems as though iron has experienced the shame of the first man after its original sin, and feels the necessity of covering its nudity. Today, iron covers itself with plaster and staff. It hides itself in casings of mortar and cement.

Some complained the buildings were to old fashioned for their new age exhibits or not sophisticated enough.

*La Porte Monumentale* and *La Parisienne*

The Porte Monumentale received heavy criticisms. To give you some vivid imagery of what the gateway looked like I pulled this quote from Architectuul.com.

“The gateway was consisted of a dome and three arches and as a whole adorned with Byzantine motifs and Persian ceramic ornamentation and colored glass cabochons. The gate was covered with 3200 blue and yellow small electronic lights.”

While this sounds beautiful it was said to be “lacking in taste.” Some actually referred to the gateway as La Salamanda because it so resembled the stocky and intricately designed salamander-stoves of the time.

Antique Cast Iron Wood Stove “La Salamandre”

Additionally, at the top of this gateway was a fifteen foot statue of a lady (La Parisienne) said to be the spirit of Paris; however, some found her modernized posture and dress offensive. She was loosely referred to as “the triumph of prostitution.”

Admission charges and cost

Bon for the Exposition Universelle de 1900.

One admission ticket costed one Franc. At the time, the average hourly wage for Paris workers was between 40 and 50 centimes. According to Chanvrerie.net, 100 centimes = franc. So, you would have to save up to two day’s wages for one ticket to the fair.

Additional admission fees for popular attractions were usually between 50 centimes.

Meals averaged at about 2.5 Francs

The Paris Exposition budgeted 100-million French Francs (20 million from the French State, 20 million from the City of Paris, and 60 million from the expected admissions, backed by French banks and financial institutions.)

The official final cost = 119-million Francs.

Admissions fees collected = 126 million Francs.

Unplanned expenses = 22 million Francs for the French State, 6 million Francs for the City of Paris

Total cost = 147-million Francs, or a deficit of 21 million Francs.

This however offset the cost to a degree, the long term additions to Paris’ infrastructure, including new buildings and bridges, additions to the transport system, two new train stations, and the new facade and enlargement and redecoration of the Gare de Lyon and other stations.

Other data

Exhibitors = 83,000+

Prizes of various degrees awarded = 42,790

127 congresses had attracted over 80,000 participants

The Exposition Eniverselle of 1900 was the last of its kind hosted in France. There were three following fairs in France, however these were not truly World Fairs because their focuses were on decorative arts and colonial possessions.

So, there you have it. A little taste of the World’s Fair in Paris. As always, I hope you’ve enjoyed this Pinch of the Past.

September 25, 2022September 25, 2022

1900 Paris Exposition -a World’s Fair– Pt. 2

The audio version of this review was first shared in A Bookchat about Beneath the Bending Skies with Jane Kirkpatrick & a Review of The Red Canary by Rachel Scott McDaniel

In this Pinch of the Past we will be looking at the different kinds of exhibits featured at the fair, including one very special exhibit from the United States and a truly unique exhibit that ended in tragedy.

The Palace of Electricity (behind) and the Water Castle (in front)

Types of exhibits included art, Industry, Decoration, Agriculture, Motion Pictures, World live recreations, Theatres and Music Halls. There was The Palace of National Manufacturers, the Palace of Electricity, and the Water Castle; but, no fair would be truly entertaining without the traditional—then new—Ferris Wheel.

This 360 ft high Ferris wheel can be seen from panorama photos of the exposition. With forty cars it could carry up to 1,600 passengers each voyage. It was called the Grande Roue de Paris but also took its name from the creator of the first giant wheel. George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. first presented his creation at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

The Globe Céleste

The globe was a blue and gold sphere, 148 feet in diameter that sat right beside the Eiffel Tower. Upon its sides were painted the constellations and signs of the zodiac. Unfortunately, this exhibit was also the sight of a tragedy when on April 29, the pedestrian bridge collapsed killing nine people and injuring several others. As a result of the investigation that took place afterward, the Committee on Reinforced Cement was created by the ministerial decree of December 19, 1900. At the end of the investigation, the City of Paris was held responsible because they conducted excavations too close to the bridge which led to its collapse.

Countries that attended

Rue des Nations. From left to right: Pavilions of Belgium, Norway, Germany, Spain, Monaco, Sweden, Greece and Serbia.

France invited fifty-six countries from around the world to come and highlight their achievement from the last century. Forty attended plus additional colonies and protectorates of France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Portugal.

The American Pavilion (center) at the 1900 Exposition

The United States Pavilion, built by Charles Allerton Coolidge and Georges Morin-Goustiaux, was a modest version of the United States Capitol Building.

The colored American. November 03, 1900. Source: Library of Congress

While the main focus of the US presentations were on commerce and industry, it also held The Exhibit of American Negroes at the Palace of Social Economy. This display exhibited the progress and growth of African Americans at the turn of the century.

This exhibit included four bound volumes of nearly 400 official patents filed by African Americans, a statuette of Frederick Douglass, and over 500 photos of African American men and women, homes, churches, businesses and landscapes.

In the next part of this Paris Exposition Series, we will be looking at the criticisms as well as some interesting data. That Pinch of the Past will be part of Episode 43: A Bookchat about A Gem of Truth with Kimberley Woodhouse & a Review of The Number of Love by Rosanna M. White .

September 17, 2022September 19, 2022

1900 Paris Exposition -a World’s Fair– Pt. 1

The audio version of this article was first shared in Episode 41: A Bookchat about Come Down Somewhere with Jennifer L. Wright & a Review of The Dress Shop on King Street by Ashley Clark

In today’s Pinch of the Past, we will be looking at the 1900 Paris Exposition which was a world’s fair held in Paris, France. The purpose of this event was to celebrate the achievements of the past century and look forward to the 20^th century, and featured exhibits from 40+ countries.

Grand Palais and Petit Palais, with Les Invalides in the distance

How it started.

France held an incredible exposition in 1889 (this is when the Eiffel Tower was built) and they basked in the glory of this event for the next three years; however, in June of 1892, Germany announced that they were planning an international exposition which would be scheduled in 1900 in honor of the new century. France was appalled that any country, let alone their rival Germany, would take the star of the show of 1900 so they planned their own, and–without apology–invited 56 nations, including Germany.

Entering the grounds

Grand entrance, Exposition Universal, 1900, Paris

The event spanned through the first Parisian summer of the 20^th century. The entrance was a 770 square foot, perforated iron dome called the Porte Monumentale. An average of 60,000 people per hour entered through this dome which was also capable of sheltering 2,000 in the event of rain.

Location, Location, Location

Panorama of ‘Exposition Universelle’ Paris 1900

The exposition was located on the banks of the Seine River and covered 280 acres. It was open from 14 April to 12 November and was visited by more than fifty million people. Several international congresses and events were held at the Exposition, including the 1900 Summer Olympics.

1900 Summer Olympics Games

The Bois de Vincennes—a large area set aside for sporting events—hosted the 1900 Summer Olympics.

This was not only the second modern Olympics games ever held, but it was the first to be held outside Greece. Oddly enough, the term “Olympic Games” was replaced by “International physical exercises and sports competition” in the official report of the Exposition.

When newspapers reported on the competitions they used terms like: “International Championships,” “International Games,” “Paris Championships,” “World Championships” and “Grand Prix of the Paris Exposition.” In fact, the International Olympic Committee had no representation or control over the events. Records come from various sources, listing different events, which adds further confusion to what was the Paris 1900 Olympics.

Beginning of the balloon event at the 1900 Summer Olympics (Bois de Vincennes)

Still, data shows that 997 competitors took part in nineteen different sports. These included women competitors for the first time. Some of the events were the first and only time to be held in what was considered Olympic history. These one-time events include a 660 ft swimming obstacle race, underwater swimming, motorcycle and automobile races, angling, ballooning, croquet, and cricket.

Hélène Pévost, French women’s tennis champion at the 1900 Paris Olympics, the first games in which women competed

Of the competing athletes, 72% were provided by France which is 720 of the 997. Needless to say, they won the most gold, silver and bronze medal placings. However, the country to come in second for the largest number of wins was that of the United States with just seventy-five of the 997 participating athletes.

In another race, the winner was a pigeon who flew from Paris to Lyon in four and a half hours (which according to Google maps is about 28 miles.)

Other interesting competitions included a balloon competitions race. The winner of this race traveled all the way from Paris to Russia—a total of 1,196 miles—in 35 hours and 45 minutes.

A combined Swedish-Danish team defeated France in the Olympic Tug-of-War competition.

In the next part of this Paris Exposition Series, we will be looking at the different kinds of exhibits. That Pinch of the Past will be part of Episode 42: A Bookchat about Beneath the Bending Skies with Jane Kirkpatrick & a Review of The Red Canary by Rachel Scott McDaniel.

September 5, 2022September 5, 2022

St. Augustine Lighthouse Part 2

The audio version of post was first shared in Episode 39: A Book-chat about The Bride of Blackfriar’s Lane with Michelle Griep & a Review of Until Leaves Fall in Paris by Sarah Sundin

Today we take a peek at the women who served at St. Augustine Lighthouse, World War II and beyond.

***St. Augustine Lighthouse***: Photo credit-Darcie Fornier

The New Lighthouse

By 1871, rising sea levels made it clear the lighthouse tower which had stood for 130 years would eventually be washed away. A new 165-foot lighthouse was built farther from the water, and was completed in 1874. It housed a beautiful, first-order Fresnel lens that shone three fixed-flashes 19-24 nautical miles out to see, depending on the atmospheric conditions.
A large keeper’s house was built near the base of the lighthouse. The head lighthouse keeper and the first assistant each had two rooms downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs for their families’ use. The second assistant had a single bedroom upstairs that straddled the entrance hall below in the middle of the house. The house featured no indoor kitchens due to the heat and fire hazard, so instead two outdoor kitchens flank the house. A basement provided storage, as well as cisterns for rainwater.
Lighthouse keepers took shifts keeping the light shining all night, climbing every two and half hours to refuel the lamp and wind the mechanism that turned the massive lens. They maintained the structure and even tended the navigational buoys offshore. Their families were respected members of the community and often entertained rich tourists staying in St. Augustine who came across the bay by cart or by rowboat to visit the lighthouse. Older children had to know how to tend the light in case some emergency incapacitated all the keepers.
Two women served as keepers at the St. Augustine lighthouse, both after they were widowed. Maria Andreu’s husband fell to his death while painting the lighthouse in 1859, and she took over. Thirty years later in 1889, a second assistant keeper died of tuberculosis, and his wife Kate Harn stayed on in his place.

**The Keeper’s House**: Photo credit–Darcy Fornier

World War II and beyond

Five years after the lighthouse lamp was converted to electricity 1936, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. A Coastal Lookout Building was constructed at the St. Augustine Light Station, but it didn’t receive too much attention until a German submarine sank a U.S. ship off the coast of Jacksonville in April of 1942. While citizens used blackout curtains, the lighthouse reduced candlepower. In June, another German submarine dropped four men carrying explosives just a few miles north at Ponte Vedra Beach. They were caught and executed within weeks, but after that Coast Guard patrols on the beach were constant. Armed guards watched from the lighthouse 24 hours a day. Barracks for the Coast Guardsmen and a large shed for their Jeeps still stand on the lighthouse property today, now housing a museum and a WWII-themed snack shop.
By 1970, the keeper’s house was no longer in use, and a fire destroyed the interior. In 1980, the lighthouse was nearly bulldozed to make way for development, but the local Junior Service League fought to keep it operational. A vandal shot the Fresnel lens and broke 19 of its prisms, so in 1991 the light was replaced with an airport beacon.
Finally in 1993, the restored original lens was once again lit in the lighthouse. Today, the lighthouse and the restored keeper’s house operate as a non-profit museum. Its daymark, which identifies it during daylight for navigation purposes, is black and white stripes swirling up the tower with a red lantern on top. Its beacon sweeps in a thirty-second rotation, still keeping watch over the St. Augustine waters.

**Inside the keeper’s house**: Photo credit–Darcy Fornier

To the seafarers hundreds of years ago, lighthouses could mean the difference between life and death. In our days of GPS and radar navigation, we don’t rely on their light. But I find them inspiring. No matter how dark the night, a light still shines.

August 22, 2022August 22, 2022

St. Augustine Lighthouse Part 1

The audio version of this Pinch of the Past was first shared in Episode 38: Guest Tracie Peterson and a Review of This Hallowed Ground by Donna E. Lane

Today’s Pinch of the Past once again visits a historic landmark in my hometown. It’s over four hundred years of history, so I’m only going to touch on a few high points in the story of the St. Augustine Lighthouse.

The Watchtower

Across the bay from the town of St. Augustine is Anastasia Island, which proved the perfect place for a watchtower looking out over the ocean. In 1737, an earlier wooden watchtower was replaced by a 30-foot tower built of coquina, a local sedimentary limestone which is soft when quarried, but hardens in the air.

Watchmen used a spar and halyards to signal the town with what direction ships were approaching. Ships from the north might mean enemy British troops.

In 1763, at the end of the French and Indian War, the British took control of Florida. They added another 30 feet of wooden construction to the St. Augustine watchtower. Documents and maps from the period mention a lighthouse on Anastasia Island, but not much is known about its operation.

In 1783, just 20 years later, Florida returned to Spanish rule at the end of the American Revolution. The Spanish tore down the wooden addition to their tower and refortified the stone construction. Once again, it was used only as a lookout rather than a lighthouse.

The Lighthouse

When the U.S. acquired Florida, they put the watchtower to use as a lighthouse. Using Winslow Lewis Argand lamps and reflector panels, U.S. lighthouses cast light far short of their European counterparts. In an effort to combat this, the watchtower received a 10-foot addition in 1852, bringing it to 40 feet in total.

One year later, the U.S. Treasury finally paid for a Fresnel lens which cast the light much farther out to sea. The invention of the Fresnel lens had revolutionized lighthouses, and they came in six orders, with the first order being the strongest and largest lens. St. Augustine received a fourth-order lens. Whale oil fueled the single lamp inside.

During the brief Confederate occupation of St. Augustine, the lens was stolen and hidden to interfere with Union shipping. But in 1867, the lens was restored, and the keeping of the light transferred to so-called professional who were transplanted from the North as part of Reconstruction.

August 6, 2022August 6, 2022

Sears and Roebuck pt. 3: Medicines

The audio version of this Pinch of the Past was first shared in Episode 37: Guest Naomi Craig and a Review of Diamond in the Rough by Jen Turano

“This special Branch of our business is in the charge of competent chemists and Regis Country and Europe in handling and compiling drugs and chemicals. That have strict instruction to examine thoroughly.”

Under special medicines they had Arsenic complexion wafers. The ad reads, “These wafers are from the precision of a famous French physician, and are perfectly harmless when used according to the directions… they are an excellent remedy for rough, discolored skin.” one box costed 40c per dozen, a total of $4.25.

Beef, wine and Iron. “Universally known for its great strength giving and flesh producing qualities. Made from finished imported sherry wine, freshly made extract of beef and pure salts of iron,

Blackberry Balsam. “This is a remedy that should be kept in every family in readiness for sudden attacks of bowel troubles and especially in times of prevailing cholera. It cannot be excelled in curling release conditions of the bowels. It’s cleansing, regulating, quieting and healing.”

Cod liver oil. Imported from Norway. Carefully selected for the livers of cod. Has a pleasant bland taste. Used to treat weak lungs, coughs, and colds.

Essence of Jamaica Ginger. This actually doesn’t sound bad, especially compared to other medicines listed here. It is made of ginger root and contains stimulating, warming, haling properties of good ginger. Treats stomach and bowel trouble. Sold at 36c per bottle.

They also sold herbal tea and fig laxatives.

Dyspepsia powders were sold promising to treat sour stomach, heart burn, indigestion, and “belching of wind.” Must use for 2 plus weeks. Powders were sometimes made of carraway and mint.

Female pills sold for $8.50 with 120 pills in each bottle. These pills were made of herbs like pennyroyal, tansy, and cottonwood bark. They come with a warning that they are very powerful and should be used cautiously.

They also sold worm cakes and worm syrup for children, liver and kidney treatment pills, and nerve and brain pills. Obesity pills were sold with direction to drink water and exercise. Petroleum jells like Vaseline and Cosmoline were posed to treat cuts, bruises, burns.. Pink pills for pale people to “cure pale or sallow complexions.”

Also sold were Sarsaparilla, toothache wax, witch hazel toilet cream, and root beer (as a blood purifying, healthy, temperance beverage.) Included in the family’s remedies section was a tincture of opium (laudanum). Paregoric, peppermint, sweet sprigs to nitrate and glycerin, tincture of arnica, and several extracts like lemon peel, vanilla, and ginger were offered along with licorice powder for a laxative. Turpentine for internal and external use. Ammonia, Epson salts, insect powers, rat killer for other household needs.

The above listed medicines really give you a glimpse into the past, however, I’ve seen some of these on the health food store shelf. For example, we use mint and ginger to soothe upset stomachs, fish oil for brain health, and prunes for natural laxatives. What do you think of the items offered in those days? Are there any you use today that are similar, perhaps a favorite tea?

Here are a few comments from 1897 customers of Sears and Roebuck’s.

Much pleased with watch.

Chapel hill, NC Jan 13, 1897

“ Gentlemen” I hereby make my grateful acknowledgement to you for the receipt of the watch ordered by me some days ago. I am much pleased so far it is all you claim for it; it’s a “Fairy Gem”. it keeps splendid time. I am yours, A K. Barwick.

Highly pleased with suit.

Chilhowee, Tenn., Jan 18, 1897

Messrs. Sears, Roebuck, and co.

The goods I ordered came duly to hand. Please accept my thanks for shame. My son is very well pleased with the suit. It fits him very nicely.

Thank you very much, I remain very respectfully Ellen McMurray.

Pleased plants

Sangamon, Co, Ill.

Messrs. Sears, Roebuck, and Co. I received your gun on the twelfth. It came promptly on time. I am mighty well pleased with it. It beats their $40 guns in this town. So, I thank you very much.

Your’ truly, Eli Newby

Here is the full ink to the 1897 Sears, Roebuck, and Co Catalogue if you would like to brows further.

July 25, 2022August 1, 2022

Sears and Roebuck pt. 2

The audio version of this Pinch of the Past was first shared in Episode 36: Guest Parker J. Cole & a Review of Hope Between the Pages by Pepper Basham

House Hold Items

“Sears, Roebuck and Company is a retail giant with 19th-century roots as a mail-order business operating in rural America.”

You’ve seen the old hurricane lamps. Well, they weren’t run on nothing. Kerosene oils were in high demand back then. Sears and Roebuck sold this as well. According to one ad: “We do not sell less than a barrel of kerosene oil… no charge for parrels. Barrels contain about 52 gallons.”

They also sold family oil tanks with a capacity of 60 gallons. These had pumps included with them and were made of galvanized metal; they held things like gasoline and kerosene.

Oils like lard, cylinder, engine, machine, linseed, java and Baltic oils, turpentine, etc. were sold in containers ranging from 1-52 gallons.

As for paints, there were liquid floor paints which were, “improved for the 1897 new colors. Made from the best pigment, but latest and most improved machinery.” They also offered roof, fence, and barn paints which came in colors like, dark drab, Yellow, terra cotta, leather, lead, maroon, and oxide red.

They also had a section for lead paints(!)

They offered toilet paper in rolls, claiming, “We sell only in original cases and will not break cases under and circumstances. A year’s supple of toilet paper costs you but little in our economics factory. We would suggest that you club you order with neighbors and make up for fright shipment for sever hundred pounds.”

Brands like Little Jewel, which was a special medium size perforated role, fair grade paper. 100 rolls per case.

Era, climax, envoy, and winner the biggest roll of the best teas with a 1,000 sheets perforated special grade at half price.

Other papers included clover leaf, crescent, Diana, and the puritan which they claimed was guaranteed free from injurious chemicals and came in very lark packages.

https://www.google.com/books/edition/1897_Sears_Roebuck_Co_Catalogue/_gdrCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sears+and+Roebuck+catalog+1900&printsec=frontcover

July 18, 2022August 1, 2022

Sears and Roebuck pt. 1

The audio version of this Pinch of the Past was first shared in Episode 35: Guest Elizabeth Musser & a Review of Lost in Darkness by Michelle Griep

“Sears, Roebuck and Company is a retail giant with 19th-century roots as a mail-order business operating in rural America. Sears grew into one of the nation’s largest corporations, redefining the American shopping experience in the process. Its 130-year history embodies the rise and fall of American consumer culture” from the History Channel article SEARS

The information below is from an 1897 Sear and Roebuck Catalogue. They sold medicines, groceries, hardware, building material, and appliances like refrigerators. They also supplied clothes, carpets, curtains, and books. Pretty much anything you needed for your house. In addition to house hold items, Sears and Roebuck sold sporting goods, saddlery items surveyor instruments, and electrical goods. They shipped over land and sea, and offered the option to return and insure goods.

Groceries

Coffee. The promise: “All our roast coffees are choice. We avoid complaints by giving in all cases and at all prices, coffee that looks good, taste good, saves money and presets your temper. A trial order will temp you to order again. Give this department an early trial.”

Kinds of coffee:

Arabian Mocha

Peaberry Mocha

Mandehing Java

Old Gov’t Java

Ceylon Java

African Java

Mocha and Java blend

Golden Santos peaberry

Choice Santos

Golden Rio

Select Rio

Good roast santos and Rio mixed

You could order your coffee crushed, ground, or whole bean they also sold green coffee, cocoa, and teas.

Tea: India—in 1 lb. packages.

“The worlds Fair created a widespread demand for these very choicest grades of teas. We offer the best known and by all odds, the most select and delightful of the scores of attractively named teas on the market. The lover of a drink—the finish that can be brewed—will be charmed by its delightful flavor.”

Light of Asia

Star of India

Lalla Rookh

Monsoon White

Monsoon Yellow

Nabob or Naban

Other beverages include lemonade mix, lime juice, grape, Thompson’s Hygeia Wild Cherry Phosphate, Ginger ale, wild cherry phosphate (mix with water).

For baking they had a huge variety of extracts. Raspberry, strawberry, pineapple, rose, celery, almond, cloves, orange, peach, banana, peppermint, winter green cinnamon, lemon, gooseberry, plum, blackberry, coffee, chocolate, sherbet, quince, pistachio, nutmeg, sarsaparilla, mead, current, tropical melon, ginger, walnut mandarin, tutti frutti, orgeat, allspice, coriander, curry, lavender, lime fruit. These were all packed in glass bottles with corks and paper labels.

Jellies and Jams were shipped in pails. “Prepared from ripe fruit, currents, strawberry, raspberry, quince or grape. Jellies were also shipped in 20 and 30 lb. kits.

Fruit butter was put up in hermetically sealed cans containing 5 lb. each. “Will keep for years in any climate. Clean and wholesome.” Flavors: apple, peach, plum, quince, and pear.

Celatine boxes of gelatin for making jellies.

For table sauces they offered Worcestershire, Indian soy, Tabasco, catsup, and horse radish.

I love reading through old newspapers, magazines and catalogues. It gives me such a unique glimpse into the every day lives of the people at that time. For the 1897 Sears and Roebuck customer, it seems they had a plethora of items available to them, some very much like our own today and others, thankfully, different. I hope you’ve enjoyed this peak at the goods provided to Aermicans in the 1897. We will continue in the next episode looking at interesting house hold items of that era.