Caton convinced me to go “estate-saling” yesterday — I was not going to, having so much to do, but we had haircuts at two and a birthday party to attend at four so it seemed like the day was shot, anyway. In the end, it was a good thing because we picked up a fabulous scrapbook with numerous pasted items as well as loose items (read: available for thesis exhibition purposes!) all dating from between the 1880s and the 1910s. It was entertaining trying to get inside the head of the paster. The clippings are almost all from newspapers of the time (including some from The Oregonian — we guess that means that the scrapbook was assembled in Portland, though there is other evidence of Chicago and Boston). The subject matter consists of sentimental poems and songs, articles about the Spanish-American War and World War I, and, best of all, reports of amusing and/or scandalous events that seemed to be collected solely for their entertainment value.
A sample follows. For those of particularly delicate political sensibilities, keep in mind that this was a product of its time.
The Emerson Street wire of the Weston Electric Lighting Company parted last evening opposite the Hawes Place Church, South Boston, and for an hour made things lively on that street. A Chinaman named Joe Tang, an East Broadway laundryman, lifted the wire as he passed along, and turned a flipflap for his meddling. He shouted out “Demme thing blokey,” and flew through the street, with his pigtail sticking out like a billiard cue. A man came by lazily, with a can of lager beer in one hand. He was sent whizzing to the other sidewalk, while the can shot off like a comet with the beer for a tail. The writer doubted these facts and tested the power of the wire. After picking himself up, he was ready to believe anything. Lieut. Merrick, after the case was reported to him, detailed an officer to look after the dangerous line, as it was powerful enough to kill, had anyone grasped it strongly. After much trouble, it was lifted over a fence, and the owners of the wire were notified, as there was danger of it doing fatal injury or setting fire. The officer received two shocks while handling the wire with sticks.
