Origins of Thanksgiving Across Worlds and Ages
A humorous historical survey traces Thanksgiving from ancient harvest rituals of Rome Greece Egypt and Israel through English Harvest Home to Dutch and Dutch American observances. It notes early colonial choices in Plymouth and Massachusetts and the shift to civic proclamations by 1677, highlighting varied dates and practices.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Plymouth Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
New England
Plymouth
Philip
GEORGIE ON THANKSGIVING
A nostalgic look at Thanksgiving praising Pilgrims and liberty. The poem laments bosses, thieves, and monocled plutocrats while celebrating freedom, charity, and civic virtue. It rails against wealth inequality and calls for honest citizenship and religious virtue across the land.
Purveyors of Truth and Quality in Everyday Life
An assortment of items appears, including an advertisement praising Syrup of Figs and Elixir of Senna as a safe, natural laxative manufactured by the California Fig Syrup Co. and widely sold by druggists. Other fragments quote a humor piece about a talking phonograph and a Harper’s Monthly note praising a young Mary Wilson, plus a meditation on existence and memory from Amiel.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
California Fig Syrup Co
Board of Examination
Indiana
Mary Wilson
Mary
Harper’s Monthly
He Shines in a Kickers Joke and Haircut Confusion
Farmer Hardapple jokes about Chicago barbers being mind readers after a barber correctly recalling Cynthia's haircut. Wife Hiram confirms the barber had never met him. The humor centers on mistaken recognition and a playful line about football.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cynthia
Hardapple
Chicago
Hiram
Tom
Tege
Upward Start After Changing from Coffee to Postum
A Tennessee woman shares a personal tale of relief after abandoning coffee for Postum. She describes early stomach pain and nervous strain from coffee, then reports improved digestion, strength, and energy after five years on Postum, claiming her nerves and appetite have stabilized.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bhe
Parlor Pig Joke and Humorous Exchange
An observant wife notes the janitor of the flats may become interested in their eldest daughter. The husband dismisses her pipe dreams. The piece closes with a quip: Why is a pig in a parlor like a house on fire. Because the sooner it is put out the better.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Splider
Everybody's Magazine
Mary and Bobble Converse with a Cow in Garden
Bobble aged five spots a cow in his mother's flower garden and shouts Scat Scat. Three year old Mary excitedly tells him to scow wobble and acow. The cow calmly continues to eat.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mary
Bobble
A Cheering Motto. Pedler’s Joke About Home Mottoes
A humorous exchange from the New York Weekly features a pedler asking a mother if she would buy mottoes for the house, claiming it cheers a husband to see a free motto on his wall. Mrs. De Jagg retorts that she would buy one if it says Better Late than never.
Not Working Nor Sister Sense in The Delineator
Nellie apologizes for her new baby sister and claims she hasn’t got sense yet. Her mother objects and Nellie counters that the baby has sense but it isn’t working yet. The exchange reflects playful family dynamics described in the Delineator.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Nellie
Couple in quarrel over love during honeymoon
AHI jovial couple banters in Young's Magazine about love and breath during their honeymoon scene. She asserts love is gone. he incredulously recalls moments of affection and laughter as they joke about pausing to take a breath.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Young's
Secrets of Trade Hammock Prompting A Hidden Request
A Philadelphia Ledger fragment shows a dealer testing a girl with a sly joke about a hammock sized for two. The dealer asks without or with and she speaks softly, revealing an order that hints at a double meaning in the trade dialogue.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia Ledger
Receptive Mood Debate at Yonkers Newspaper Office
A caller with long hair enters the Yonkers newspaper office asking if they accept articles. The editor, with a whiskered face, replies in a rustic tone asking whether the submission is kindling wood or vegetables.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Yonkers Statesman
The Last Thing He Did Sketch Quote
The Sketch records a wry exchange about a powder shed fire risk. A character jokes about Fancy old Bill entering a gunpowder shed with a lighted candle, highlighting irony and danger in a bygone era.
The Constant Box Dialogue in a Notebook Scene
A fragment features Ned and Ted debating a name in a notebook as they recall a past engagement or a Pullman car, with a line about whiskey making a mam crooked. The exchange hints at memory and misremembered details in a casual vignette.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ted
Ned
Also Mentioned on This Page
Mrs Edward Dunroy-Ree
Ele
Tabernacles
Solomon's Temple
England
Hans
Gretchen
Spain
New World
America
Georgie
Libbarty
Dotty
Denver
Noma Palace
Sutin
Stove Raeaian
Danesbrs
Hulgomb & Hart
Os Gutaball
Deave
B. E. Dein
We Chemical Paar
Lorz & Se
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!