With my oldest recently turning 16, we had three separate birthday parties. Needless to say, this took up a bit of my time. But I got to wondering where the tradition of birthday celebration came from. So, here’s a little history lesson on Birthdays.
In ancient Egypt, Egyptians celebrated the birthdays of what they considered their gods. Once a pharaoh was coronated he was considered a deity thus the date of coronation is considered his birth as a little “G” god.
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.
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
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.)
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 theGare 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.
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.
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 20th century, and featured exhibits from 40+ countries.
Grand Palais and Petit Palais, with Les Invalides in the distance
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.
“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.”
“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.”
