The decade of the 1880s proved among the most disastrous, desperate, life-threatening (and life-taking)–as winter in North America was at an extreme, the whole decade long. Climatologists have theories we understand today, but were unknown to our Victorian American ancestors. If you read a fictional book set in the 1880s, that touches on a mild winter, be surprised. Today, March 11th, is the anniversary of “the big one”.
In the third and final article about Nineteenth Century Ice Cutting, I share some of the highlights of the history surrounding a Boston entrepreneur’s ice company, both domestic and foreign. Historic sources share insights and facts that make ice a pretty cool subject to study! See vintage images of ice cutters at work.
True sleigh rides are a thing of antiquity that most of us consider romantic. Did you consider how expensive such an outing could be? Or dangerous? No wonder a newspaper columnist of the day, in good humor, suggested an alternative.
Vintage paintings, photographs, and newspaper articles shed light on this sport, transportation, and social outing.
When did U.S. Marshals begin? What were their responsibilities? Can you believe President George Washington signed the Marshals into law for the purpose of working the National Census? Over time, their job description changed, but they’ve been the one law enforcement position with a time-limit. At the turn of the century, Marshals still didn’t have universal badges. My new release, coming December 20, 2016, is a U.S. Marshal turned small-town Sheriff. He’s learning his problems aren’t smaller or easier.
The Marshal’s Surrender
Coming December 20, 2016
In 1893, expectations surrounding courtship made it improper for a couple to show affection for one another in public. Baltimore apparently outlawed simple signs of affection in their city parks, raising the alarm in New York City where Central Park was a key location for courting couples to go about their courtship (which included simple things like sitting on a bench together, a man’s arm about his sweetheart’s waist). This article includes a newspaperman’s interview with two different Central Park policemen, one who favored strict laws prohibiting such displays of affection and one who was most tolerant. Step back in time and enjoy an entire vintage newspaper article and historic images of Central Park in the late 19th century.
