Holiday Time With the Porto Ricans
A traveler recounts a Caribbean Christmas in Porto Rico focusing on Three Kings' Day customs January 6 including gifts for the Christ child, feasting with roasted pig, plantains, yautia, bananas, and coconut desserts. Fresh fruit, music, and a serene sea setting frame a peaceful holiday escape.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Caribbean
New York Herald-Tribune
Porto Rico
Spain
America
Caribbean Sea
Francis Drake
Worth Waiting For Ore Depositor Gains Interest Surprise
A Rochester bank depositor hurried to cash his passbook dated back to 1905 only to be told of a delay in updating. After persuasion he allowed the teller to write the account. The passbook showed about $1,100 balance and the bank credited $1,463.89 interest, lifting the total to $2,052.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Rochester
N. Y
Perfectly Natural Exclamation Over Christmas Eve Dance Incident
Mrs Johnson overhears a neighbor claim a man shot and killed his brother in law at a Christmas Eve dance beyond Mount Piggy. Gap Johnson dismisses the idea amid local ribbing at Rumpus Ridge.
Lunatics Publish Magazine at Humberstone Asylum
The Lunatics Have Journal notes a magazine published at the Humberstone asylum in Leicestershire England with no interference from officials. It is not censored and copies are sold to interested readers beyond the patient population.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Journal
Lunatics
Humberstone
Leicestershire
England
Will Power and the Limits of Personal Resolve
The piece argues that few major life events hinge on will power. Sickness and love are not caused by effort, while marriage often follows comfort rather than choice. Death arrives inevitably, even for those with a steel will, leaving room for others.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Gage
Guam Talk Drawn From Native Speech Peculiar Tone Noted
The article recalls native Guam speech described as a singsong rhythm and limited vocabulary. It explains how one word like affa covers multiple meanings and shows how tone conveys intent, illustrated by a mother scolding a child and later greeting a friend with the same word.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Guam
Charles Victor Fischer
Adventure Magazine
How Missouri Became the Show Me State
A Detroit News explanation traces Missouri the origin of the phrase I m from Missouri you ve got to show me The 1881 law made it a misdemeanor for clergy or justices to marry without a state license and set eighteen as the marriage age If the groom did not know the bride s age she had to be shown to the license clerk The joke arose when she asked to be shown proving the age and the line You ve got to show me became famous
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Missouri
Detroit News
Early talking machines and minds behind sound
A brief historical sketch notes talking machines from the Thirteenth century to Edison. It cites Rev John Wesley in 1762 observing a Lurgan clock automaton that spoke phrases. It mentions Miller’s claimed experiments, Abbe Mica’s 1783 talking device, and Edison’s 1877 debut of the talking machine in Paris.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John Wesley
Lurgan
Ireland
Miller
Wesley
Love Is Blind Viola Refuses Barber Shop Return
Viola vows never to enter a barber shop again after an awkward mistaken encounter. She waited for her husband in a shop full of masked barbers, touched a man’s hand, and learned the towel lifted to reveal a stranger instead of her spouse.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Viola
Bank Director Who Directs An Aged Darkey
A dialect anecdote describes Henry boasting of a magnetious position as a bank director in a city section where he once lived. A drug store clerk questions his claim and Henry explains he directs visitors at the bank door.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Darkey
Henry
Lawdy
No Great Actors Today Says Old-Timer in Courier-Journal
An old-timer argues the fault lies with society not actors claiming that in the past actors unleashed emotion while modern performers are repressed. He notes the public supports the repressed school yet proclaims there are no great actors left.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Louisville Courier-Journal
Iceberg Warning Turns Calm in Crisis Aboard Ship
A nervous passenger asks the captain what happens if they strike an iceberg. The captain replies the iceberg would pass along as if nothing happened. The old lady is relieved by the odd reassurance.
Cholera Decimates Rookery on Sligo Estate in Ireland
The 1881 1832 cholera outbreak devastated the British Isles killing over 60000. At the Marquess of Sligo estate Ireland largest rookery deserted as disease spread. Birds fled to sea with many found dead along the coast before survivors returned.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sligo
Ireland
William Penn Venerated as Pioneer Real Estate Man
Real estate leaders argue William Penn was the country’s first prominent realtor promoter of land deals and endless advertising. He labeled settlers Adventurers and sold liberty and opportunity along with plots, underscoring the material basis of his enterprise and its lasting influence on American land sales.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
William Penn
Delleve
Philadelphia Public Ledger
Penn
England
Dean
America
Pennsylvania
Unfinished British Buildings Highlight Historic Delays
The article notes several famed structures in Britain remain incomplete decades after construction began. Westminster County Hall, the Home Office, St Pauls, the Law Courts, the Thames Embankment, Somerset House, and the Houses of Parliament all show uncompleted features such as towers niches statues and decorative details never finished or altered from original plans.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Great Britain
County Hall
Westminster
St. Paul's Cathedral
Christopher Wren
Thames Embankment
Somerset House
Parliament
Modernizing the Holy Land Aims for Jordan Valley Canal
The plan in Palestine seeks to electrify the region by raising the Sea of Galilee level and harnessing the Jordan River. It envisions canalizing the Jordan valley to the Dead Sea, irrigation for crops, 2000 miles of highways, Bagdad Cairo air route commercialization, and agricultural credit banks.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Palestine
Sea of Galilee
Jordan
Addison E. Southard
Jerusalem
Department of Commerce
Jordan Valley
Dead Sea
Bagdad-Cairo
Syria
Holy Land
Southard
Driving Calf and Patience at Harrington Ridge Maine
Horace Flint and his trained calf Patience are familiar sights at Harrington Ridge Maine. They haul vegetables and ride the rig in summer and now winter allows a pleasure ride with Patience or in the saddle. Patience stays near the house and enjoys camping on the piazza.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Horace Flint
Patience
Harringhton Ridge
Maine
Horace
Portland Man Gathers Twenty Seven Hornet Nests
Edward C Farnsworth of Portland Maine has added another hornet nest to his Insect Ingenuity collection bringing the total to twenty seven nests. He finds them on his rambles in the neighboring woods and displays them hung in two rooms of his home.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Edward C. Farnsworth
Portland
Maine
Farnsworth
Canal Rules Allow One Foot Deeper Suez Transit
The Suez Canal Authority raises the maximum vessel draught from thirty one feet to thirty two feet. Ships with a draft up to thirty two feet may now transit whereas previously drafts over thirty one were blocked.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Suez Canal
Tongue Trouble Betty Bites Tongue at Supper
A humorous remark about Betty known for a talkative tongue. She often bit her tongue while eating and once burned it on a hot object. After tears and sympathy she quips about removing her tongue while eating and reinserting it when speaking.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Betty
One Born Every Minute Sagas of Wall Street Suckers
A bucket shop receiver recalls two ploys targeting investors. A $75 dividend check from a closed bucket shop turned up with a salvageable sum. A later $400 check and buying order came from a sender whose firm had failed a year before.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Wall Street
Middle West
New York
Broadway
First Telephone Users Unable to Find Ears
In 1877 early users struggled to locate the sound source as inventors refined telephone design. The piece notes the challenges faced by early adopters in hearing and routing audio, highlighting a pivotal moment in communications history.
Early Delaware Telephone Pioneer Describes User Challenges
An early telephone introducer recalls the 1870s when few had seen or used a telephone. He details the effort to teach subscribers the correct use and the awkward learning curve as people learned where their ears were and how to properly operate the new device.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Delaware
Kew
Delicate gown made for Empress Eugenie described
The article recalls a gown made for Empress Eugenie to wear at a ball in Paris after the Suez Canal opening. Four women labored six months to embroider the trounces and gauze took two months to manufacture under the empress’s personal direction.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Eugenie
Suez Canal
Enpress
Delicate ivory dress with cobweb-like gauze
The piece describes a machine woven ivory white gown with 14 skirts and 35 yards of gauze per layer. A thousand yards of fabric used, 237 yards for each overskirt, with flounces like cobwebs and fine embroidery at the wrists. The material is so fine the overskirts pass through a bracelet and underskirts through a finger ring.
Keene’s Rise and Fall in 19th Century Speculation
The article traces James R. Keene's fortune from high stakes wagers including a bet on Bryan and ties with Jay Gould. It notes his losses in Western Union and wheat, a bankruptcy in 1884, and eventual rebound before dying in 1948 leaving about two million dollars amid ongoing fears of further failures.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jay Gould
William Jennings Bryan
James RR. Keene
Gould
Keene
Western Union
Tse
Industrial financier’s volatile career across rail and steel
A prominent financier rose and fell across multiple ventures in the era. He profited from Wination and American Sugar Refining, then gambled on Brooklyn Rapid Transit, lost and regained fortunes, and invested heavily in Third Avenue Railway speculation. He timed his peak with United States Steel but later suffered a sharp decline amid the Southern Pacific New York Times collapse.
Pineapple origins and Brazilian varieties praised
The pineapple, originating in the Americas and tamed in Brazil and Mexico, has fascinated travelers since the sixteenth century. Brazil holds the finest varieties with unmatched pulp flavor, and a midwinter season could fuel American shipments to a ready market.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Brazil
Mexico
Vanishing Day at Royal Academy Observed
London notes say the Royal Academy members went scarce on Saturday with visitors questioned about day’s bitterness. The Boston Transcript asks if Saturday crowds are more vindictive than others.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
Royal Academy
Boston Transcript
Also Mentioned on This Page
Original Realty
LE Mars
Plymouth County
Globe-Post
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