July 15, 2010

100 years ago in Racine ...

Here's the news reported in the July 19, 1910 edition of The Racine Journal ...
  • A 20-year-old Racine man was shot and stabbed after a fight at De Mark Bros. Saloon. Antonio Bonadio, of Forest Street, was shot by two men from Kenosha while their father stabbed Bonadio. Johanne Frazee and his sons were wanted by the police.  Bonadio and Frazee were cousins. The story was front-page news, taking up two full columns in the 8-page weekly paper. The headline: "Italian feud may result in murder."
  • The Caledonia train station was robbed for the third time in five months. Trunks and packages were found opened in the station and the contents strewn about.
  • The second annual banquet of the Taylor Orphan asylum alumni was held in the institution south of the city. The orphanage was made possible through an endowment by the Hon. Isaac and Mrs. Taylor in the seventies. Since that date hundreds of homeless children have been cared for, given an education and otherwise equipped for life's work. There 35 children in the home in July 1910.
  • "The Racine Chautauqua was marred by an accident Sunday morning at 9:30 o'clock when Mrs. Caroline Poulson of 1553 Sixteenth street was thrown from the steps of an open car to the ground and suffered a severe injury to her spine. It is doubtful if the unfortunate lady can recover, as she is sixty-eight years old. "
  • The strike at Molders will be called off on August 1 and the strikers are expected to return to work.
  • The Universal Crushed Stone Co. set off a largest blast of dynamite in Racine County history at Ives. The blast was heard for miles around the surrounding country and could be plainly heard in the city. It was composed of 10 tens of dynamite and several hundred pounds of other explosives. Enough limestone was loosened to last the company for six months.
  • Description of the Racine Journal: "The Weekly Journal is an eight-page seven column paper, containing interesting correspondance from country towns and the news of the adjacent county and county seat up to the morning of publication. ... The Weekly Journal endeavors to give the news of the day unbiased. Its miscelleneous news matter is compiled by competent writers, and the serials published from time to time are always of interest and are from the best authors. Its correspondents are instructed to give news of interest from their respective towns and avoid all local gossip with offensive personal allusions. ...
  • The subscription price of the Weekly Journal is one dollar ($1.00) a year, in advance, and the several premiums offered are valuable.

Anonymous reporters wrote local news in a column called "City Happenings." Here's a recap of the July 19, 1910 column ...

  • The carpenters and contractors report that the present summer has been the best in several years. Many new homes and buildings are now under course of construction in various parts of the city.
  • Miss Helen O'Laughlin of 834 Main street, while turning the corner of Main and Fifteenth streets last evening in her father's touring car ran into a telegraph pole. The machine was quite badly damaged.
  • This morning a horse attached to a wagon, property of the Thomas Livery, became frightened and started on a wild run down Wisconsin street. The beast ran into the stables and entered without doing any damage.
  • Henry Allen Cooper, present congressman from the district, who will be a candidate for re-election and William H. Bell, of Hamilton avenue, who will run for assembly of the first district, have placed their nomination papers in circulation.
  • Reports from the St. Mary's hospital this morning are to the effect that little Charlotte Hermes, of Summit avenue, who was dangerously injured in a fall a few days ago, will recover. The physicians consider the child's case a remarkable one.
  • Several small boys set fire to a plat of grass between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets on Center street last evening, and for some time it looked as if near by houses were in danger of being set on fire, but a large gang of men put the blaze out.
  • Mrs. Albert Hansen of the Rapids Road entertained a number of her friends, among those present, being Mrs. F.B. Stafford, Mrs. Joseph Hecht, Mrs. E. Wuertzberger, Miss Ethel Schlosser, Miss Minnie Smith and Miss Lydia Wuertzberger.
  • Milk Famine ...
Racine is in the throes of a milk famine. The summers has been so dry that the grass in the pastures has died and the cattle have been unable to get fresh fodder. Consequently the milk supply has become limited. Ice cream dealers are the first ones to be struck by the famine.

A. Matson and Son, one of the largest ice cream dealers in the city, with head quarters on Washington avenue, ordered fifty quarts of cream this morning from A F Crane, a milkman. The cream was to be used in the making of ice cream for tomorrow's business. Mr. Matson was informed by his milkman early today that it was utterly impossible to supply the order as his cows were not giving much milk and that which was secured he was forced to give to families having small children.

The disappointed merchant then called up every milk dealer in the city, but was unable to get one quart of cream or milk.
  • The county insane asylum, with its 200 hundred unfortunate inmates, was the main subject of discussion. For years, the heating apparatus and ventilation have been inadequate and during the winter months half of the structure was cold and the inmates could not help but suffer. The county board of supervisors agreed to spend $10,000 installing a heating system and modern water system.
  • The newspaper included a column called "Items of Condensed News - A Resume of Happenings in Tabloid Form for Busy Readers Who Like News in Abbreviated Shape." The column is simply a collection of unattributed paragraphs from around the country and world. One example include, "England is alarmed over the speedy increase of the drug habit, all classes of society being affected."
  • 'Of Interest to Women'
It also included a column titled, "Of Interest to Women." The July 19, 1910 column began, "Are Women Changeless? - Prof. Haeckel, with that customary skeptical attitude of the German philosophers toward feminist movement, says: "The women are still fond of paint and feathers and wearing jewelry and of scenting themselves as they were 3,000 years ago. Time and civilization have had no effect on them. Their weapons of then are their weapons of today. They are beautiful, but no more so than they were, and it grieves me to think that they lay such stress on clothes and other outward adornments. But it always has been so and always will be so."

The professor's last sentence cheers us. We are glad that they will always be so: that is, that they will continue to look as pretty as they can, which we do not take to mean that they will always wear such grotesque hats and unpleasant looking gowns as they so often do now.

We live in fervid hope that some day woman with her accumulating intellectuality will throw off the slavery of fashion and attire herself (each one) in the garment that becomes her.

We even hope this for men, but with less confidence.

...
It will be a gloomy, dull, dead era when women cease to regard wherewith they are arrayed, but it will be a glorious awakening, a regeneration, on apotheosis, when they appear like the flowers of the field, each blossoming forth in such splendor as her gifts of face and figure make fit, and no garb shall exceed the limitations of its wearer ...
  • Programme For Health - The programme for a day's hygienic life may be laid out as follows:
  1. Upon waking go to the open window and take several long breaths of pure air
  2. Drink a glass of cold or hot water
  3. Take exercise for 20 minutes
  4. Take warm sponge bath followed by cold plunge
  5. Light breakfast - no meat
  6. Short walk - one mile or two
  7. Work.
  8. Light lunch - no meat
  9. (Frequent drinks of water during the day.)
  10. A little rest after lunch.
  11. Work.
  12. Recreation for one hour, combined with out-of-door exercise. Two miles walking.
  13. Slight rest.
  14. Dinner.
  15. Recreation.
  16. Two glasses of water.
  17. Exercise for 15 minutes.
  18. Sleep for eight or nine hours.