Category: Memphis, Tennessee

February and March 1917, Memphis

In the winter and spring of 1917 Jessie was 22 years old. Her life has been pretty much about dating, dancing, partying, and just having fun. She reads lots of books, she teaches Sunday School, she does some “good works,” but mostly she is just having fun. Life is about to change though. The war in Europe will soon spill over into Jessie’s life and become very personal. Not just yet though. So here is another ‘slice of life’ posting, or what I like to call cultural tidbits from Jessie’s life during February and March of 1917.

Parties! Parties! Parties! Jessie  wrote so many wonderful descriptions of parties and dances in her diaries, but only in the last few months of 1916 and the beginning of 1917 does she mention alcohol at the parties. It is always with code words, she never actually says alcohol or whiskey, etc., but it is obvious what she meant. On February 6, 1917 Jessie went to a wedding reception/dance that was “certainly a memorable party – absolutely wet, simply flowing, with lots of funny little happenings.” But on March 26th Jessie wrote that she went to a dance at the Tennessee Club where there was “such a world of stags. Am afraid they were rather disappointed for they all expected some glad water and there was none.”

On February 15th Jessie mentions that the government has moved the national aviation school to Memphis. Aviation shows were already popular in Memphis, so going out to the airfield to watch the aeroplanes becomes a popular activity.

The fancy dress Mardi Gras Ball was held at the Chickasaw Guards Club on February 20th, 1917. Jessie and her date ‘Coach’ are in the top right corner in the above newspaper clipping (The Commercial Appeal). Jessie and her mother made her costume. She was a “green leaf,” so her dress must have been green. Coach (R.L. Sullivan) was dressed as “a small town sport.” As you can see from the clipping, the costumes were quite creative.

It seems like Jessie’s picture was always showing up in the local newspaper! On February 28th Jessie and some other young women posed in Grecian style costumes for a newspaper spread on an upcoming pageant. The feature was published on March 11, 1917. The above pictures are the two halves of the top of the newspaper page. Jessie is in the photo of three women on a sofa. She is on the left.

On March 18, 1917, all the young men who had been sent to the border as part of the Mexican Border War returned home. No doubt the U.S. was preparing for entry into a larger conflict, World War I. The returning soldiers included the Chickasaw Guards in Memphis, of which Bud (or Frank), Jessie’s older brother, was one. All of Memphis seemed to turn out for the parade welcoming the young men home. Jessie described the scene:  “1100 soldiers led by the old Confederate veterans and boy scouts. Six aeroplanes flying above, dropping messages of welcome.” On March 23rd was the final regimental review of the First Tennessee Regiment, another parade down Main Street, and a march to Russwood Park (home of the Memphis Chicks baseball team). Jessie was among a group of girls chosen to pin medals on the soldiers, and once again had her picture in the paper.The descriptions of the pictures note that Jessie (top picture) is pinning a medal on one of the “Chicks” Frank Dooley.

Irby “Rabbit” Curry, Vanderbilt quarterback 1914-1916

And here are some random final notes. On March 6, 1917, Jessie had a date with Rabbit Curry. Irby Rice (Rabbit) Curry was an honored quarterback for Vanderbilt University from 1914-1916. He would have graduated in 1918 but enlisted in the military when the U.S. entered World War I in 1917. Some time between going out with Jessie and leaving for Europe, Rabbit married Dimple Jenna Rush. He joined the 95th Aero Squadron and on August 10, 1918 was killed in aerial combat over Perles, France.

‘Coach’ (R.L. Sullivan), one of Jessie’s best friends, was the football coach at Memphis High when Jessie’s younger brother Swayne attended high school and played football there. On March 11, 1917 Coach returned from a visit to Oxford, Mississippi, home of the University of Mississippi. He told Jessie he liked it fine. Perhaps he was interviewing for a job, because he was the head football coach at “Ole Miss” from 1919 to 1921, and the head basketball coach there from 1919 to 1925.

The Ghosts of my Friends, 1916

On November 24, 1916, Jessie gave a luncheon in honor of the debutantes. She had several activities planned. During the luncheon and after each course, the girls each received a favor which represented a prediction of the future or a personal insight of some kind. Jessie drew a dipper – for the dippiest debutante. It was also predicted that she would marry a farmer, and that in the winter of 1917 she would have a love affair that would almost break her heart, but all would end well. Next, all the girls had their palms read. Jessie was told she “was fickle, but very sincere and frank.” And finally, as Jessie said, “we saw the Ghosts of my friends.” The Ghosts of My Friends was a novelty autograph book. The directions at the front of the book were: “Sign your name along the fold of the paper with a full pen of ink, and then double the page over without using blotting paper.” The ghost of your friend would then be revealed. Jessie must have bought this book especially for this luncheon, and the ghosts of all the debutantes were revealed in it that day!

Constance Wait’s ‘ghost’, November 24, 1916
Sarah Perkins’ ‘ghost’, November 24, 1916
Jessie Latham’s ‘ghost’, November 24, 1916

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After Jessie’s signature in 1916, the next entries were her husband’s signature in 1934 (Percy A. Perkins), followed by her children. My 9-year-old mother Frances signed in 1935, and my uncle Percy signed as an 8 or 9-year-old boy.  The next date listed in the book is with my signature (Jenny Klein) in 1960. I was 8. My brother Vic, who was 12, signed on July 6, 1960. My sister Karen signed in June, 1964. She was 10 at the time and is the last entry, and because we no longer had good drippy fountain pens, Karen designed her own ghost. (My youngest sister Judy missed all the fun, being too little to sign.)

Percy A. Perkins, 1934
Frances Perkins, 1935

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jenny Klein, 1960
Vic Klein III, 1960
Karen Klein, 1964

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was an earlier similar book titled Your Hidden Skeleton. Jessie must have gotten this book around 1910. She began having people sign her book, friends and family, on June 1, 1910. By June 4th the book was full. But inside, I was thrilled to see her mother’s beautiful penmanship and ghost, and also her father’s signature, F.S. Latham, and her brother Swayne’s autograph. A clever, but a dead entertainment.

 

Mrs. F. S. Latham, June 1, 1910
F.S. Latham, June 1, 1910
Swayne Latham, 1910

 

 

Debutantes, Memphis 1916

Jessie Latham, Memphis debutante, 1916

Debutante:  a young woman, typically from a wealthy or aristocratic family, who is making her formal entrance into society.

It is an old fashioned tradition, dating from late 18th century England, and at its inception was a tool to marry off daughters. Even today, the young women are dressed in almost formal bridal attire, usually white but with no veil, and presented to a select segment of society in which an available and appropriate bachelor might espy the lovely young lass and take her off her father’s hands. That sounds mighty sexist. And in fact it is, or it was. I don’t know. But I think most young debutantes today might think of the affair more like a huge party that celebrates their passage into adulthood. (Do men do that?) In all truthfulness, I too was a debutante in 1969 or ’70. I grew up in the South in Knoxville, Tennessee, and my mother made me do it, and she made my two younger sisters do it as well. My mother was Jessie’s daughter after all.

Jessie had mixed feelings about becoming a ‘Deb’ thinking that it was too expensive, or silly and trivial. After going to all the debutante parties and balls for the previous few years, and seeing most of her close friends become debutantes, she decided to do it. On October 22, 1916 her announcement came out in the newspaper. The picture above was the photograph in the announcement. The caption under the photograph read Miss Jessie Latham. Miss Latham is one of the loveliest of the debutantes who will be formally introduced to society this season at the Chickasaw Guards’ ball on Thursday evening, Nov. 9. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F.S. Latham and will be the recipient of many social affairs previous to the ball, the first of which will be given Wednesday, Nov. 1, by Mrs. L.Y. Kerr at her home on Overton Park Avenue. From her diaries I get the impression that Jessie loved being a debutante after all. She was a very social person and rarely tired of going out, so all the luncheons, card parties, dances, and the final ball were completely delightful to Jessie.At the debutante ball. Jessie is in the second row, third from right. Dr. Coppedge, Jessie’s date for the ball, is in front of her on the floor, second from right.

Just the girls, Jessie is seated on the first row, second from right.

Summer of 1916

There were two big events for Jessie in the summer of 1916. First, President Woodrow Wilson called up the U.S. Militia to the Mexican Border. This was part of the border war during the Mexican Revolution. The nationwide call up was in May, and by the end of June it seemed all the boys from the Memphis area were leaving for some kind of basic training before they went to the border. Jessie’s oldest brother Frank (Bud) was deployed as well.

The second big thing for Jessie in the summer of 1916 was her 3-week trip to Chicago. She stayed with relatives in Evanston (her cousin Mary Katherine attended Northwestern) and almost everywhere she went she took the L, or elevated train. Incidentally, the oldest sections of the Chicago L started operation in 1892.

Chicago L Northwestern car, 1907

One day she ate lunch at Marshall Fields then went to the Art Institute and spent the afternoon. These are some the the paintings she mentioned liking in her diary. As you can see they were all fairly contemporary for 1916.

The Song of the Lark, Breton 1884
Sunlight, John White Alexander 1909
Early morning Tarpon Springs, Inness 1892

Jessie was invited several times to dances at the old Edgewater Beach Hotel. An outdoor dance floor close to the shore of Lake Michigan was an especially nice attraction unless the waves were rough.

Ty Cobb, 1913

Always a baseball fan for her local Memphis Chicks, Jessie got to go to a couple of White Sox games at Comiskey Park. In one game the Sox played Detroit and Jessie saw Ty Cobb play. According the the Baseball Hall of Fame , “Ty Cobb may have been the best all-around baseball player that ever lived.”

Comiskey Park, 1910

There were so many restaurants and theaters that Jessie visited. Several times her dates took her to Bismarck Gardens, a beautiful restaurant and entertainment venue under the trees.

Bismarck Gardens, 1914
Bismarck Gardens

Lucky Jessie also got to attend the Ravinia music festival near Chicago. Ravinia itself was fairly new, opening in 1904 as an amusement park, and reopening in 1911 as a primarily classical music festival. One evening Jessie  saw the opera Lucia di Lammermoor performed by the “Metropolitan Grand Opera Co.” Conveniently, the train stopped right at the entrance gates to Ravinia.

Ravinia 1910
Ravinia program 1916

 

More clippings and photos from February-April 1916 in Memphis

Jessie Latham, Flower Market at Court Square in Memphis, April 10, 1916

On April 10, 1916 Jessie wrote in her diary: Such a wonderful time to-day! I was a flower girl. All of Court Square was changed into a flower garden and ever so many of us girls sold flowers all day. I sold a world of carnations, roses and little bouquets.  —  This is such a wonderful photograph. I believe it was taken by a newspaper photographer and may be the picture that Jessie reported was in the newspaper the day after the market.

Now, going back in time a few months to January and February 1916. Jessie began rehearsals for a big production of The College Hero in January. The performances took place February 15 and 16 and according to Jessie, it was a great success. Jessie was a dancing girl and also a college widow.

Dancing girls in The College Hero, February 15-16, 1916. Jessie is on the right.

Here is one more newspaper clipping, this one of the Fancy Dress Ball given by the Chickasaw Guards on March 7, 1916 (see previous post). Jessie’s picture seems to show up in the newspaper quite frequently! She is in the middle row on the right next to the standing woman. Her date Dr. Coppedge is behind her.

Fancy Dress Ball, March 7, 1916

 

Chickasaw Guards Fancy Dress Ball, March 7, 1916

Jessie Latham and Dr. Coppedge, March 7, 1916, Chickasaw Guards Fancy Dress Ball

While looking through some of the newspaper clippings and photos that my grandmother Jessie saved from the early 1900s, I found that I had a photo from a costume dress ball that Jessie described in her diary. On Tuesday, March 7, 1916 she wrote, “To-night will long be remembered as one of the most wonderful times I ever had in my life. Went to the Chickasaw Guard Fancy Dress Ball. I went with Dr. Coppedge. He was “The Dude” in an orange and black striped suit. I went as “America First” in red, white and blue. Got more compliments to-night than ever before and the whole night seemed like a wonderful dream.” Interesting that my grandmother called her 1916 costume ‘America First.’ This was shortly before America entered the War in Europe and ‘America First’ was a policy and slogan used by President Woodrow Wilson (among other presidents). A few days earlier on March 3, 1916 she ended her diary entry with “Dr. Coppedge called later to ask what sort of a costume I am going to wear to the fancy dress ball. He is going to take me. I racked my brain to-night trying to think of some-thing unusual.” Within four days Jessie (or someone) had made her patriotic costume. As far as Dr. Coppedge’s costume, perhaps it was based on the character ‘Sammy the Dude’ in the 1916 silent film Reggie Mixes In.’

Life in Memphis, 1915 to January 1916

The Marx Brothers in “Home Again”

“I love you so much, you dear little Dutch.” My grandmother Jessie used to say this to me and my siblings, and my sister Karen carries on the tradition. While transcribing Jessie’s diary entries, I came upon this exact quote in the entry for March 16, 1915. It turns out that one of Jessie’s serious boyfriends, Doug Brooks, said this to her and it is a quote from a 1915 show called The Clock Shop – A Musical Fantasy. I don’t recall Jessie mentioning this show, but I did make note of some of the more interesting vaudeville shows or movies she saw and wrote about. For example, on March 9 she saw Norma Talmadge in the silent film A Daughter’s Strange Inheritance. The next day (March 10, 1915) Jessie went to a vaudeville show at the Orpheum. She commented that “The sketch Red Kate was certainly strange. It went backwards.” Thursday, March 3, “…went to the picture show, awfully spooky pictures such as Snatched from a Burning Death.”

Hypocrites, 1915

One week in April 1915 Jessie saw three entertainment legends. “Had a date with Coach to-night. We went to see the Hypocrites. It is supposed to be the most wonderful picture ever shown. It was certainly marvelous. I was rather shocked myself at the nakedness of truth. We went from the sublime to the ridiculous and went to another picture show to see Charles Chaplin in The Tramp. He was a scream from beginning to end.” (Jessie, April 19, 1915)  The film Hypocrites was written and directed by Lois Weber (1879-1939). It was quite controversial because of the full nudity of The Naked Truth, as portrayed by a naked Margaret Edwards. Weber’s personal reputation along with her innovative use of editing and double exposure effects convinced those in charge to go ahead and distribute the film.  A week later (April 26) Jessie and Wiley saw Fanny Brice in a vaudeville show at the Orpheum.

Charles Chaplin, The Tramp

On May 7, 1915, the British ocean liner Lucitania was sunk by a German submarine killing 1,128 people. This event was important in turning popular sentiment in the U.S and elsewhere against Germany during World War I.

1903 Memphis Egyptians
1921 Memphis Chicks

On June 26, 1915, the Memphis Chicks baseball team was drawing in the crowds, including Jessie and her friends, and was for a time in first place. The Southern Association of Minor League Baseball operated in the U.S. from 1901 to 1961. An earlier team, the Memphis Egyptians, had won the Southern Association Pennant in 1903 and 1904, but a Memphis team did not win again until the Memphis Chicks won the Pennant in 1921.

John R. Thompson, founder of Thompson Restaurants, 1910

September 15, 1915, Jessie wrote:  “Wiley took Clint and me to town, Thompson’s, and got us sandwiches and dough-nuts. They surely tasted good.”  According to Historic-Memphis.com, J. R. Thompson opened his first restaurant in Chicago in 1891, was very successful and expanded throughout the U. S.  Within 30 years Thompson’s company had become one of the largest self-service lunchroom chains.  In 1915, he opened his first restaurant in Memphis at 11 South Main.  Thompson stressed cleanliness, nutrition, quality, and low prices. His motto was: “Eat Thompson’s Way for a Better Day.”

Jessie’s friends Virginia and Clara, 1915

Reading a record of day to day life in 1915 Memphis, over two decades before antibiotics were available to the public, I am again reminded how much more fragile life was just 100 years ago.  On the 24th of October of that year Wiley was to have had a date with Jessie, but he “…phoned he couldn’t come. His hand is so much worse. They lanced it to-day. Were so afraid it was blood poison. How sorry I am that he is laid up.” Wiley’s hand improved and whatever infection he had, his own immune system beat it. Shortly after Wiley’s episode, what Jessie called the Grippe, or the flu, was beginning to spread among Jessie’s friends. On December 14th she mentioned that Clara had “La Grippe.” On December 15 Doug became ill. Then Wiley came down with the flu on December 20, followed by Sadie and Virginia Yerger on December 22nd. A few years later the Spanish Flu pandedemic of 1918 would kill 50 million people, or 3 to 4% of the world’s population at the time. The outbreaks of influenza in France, the UK, Norway, Germany and the USA in the years 1915 to 1917 may have been early manifestations of the so-called Spanish Flu (Early herald wave outbreaks of influenza in 1916 prior to the Pandemic of 1918 ). That incarnation of the influenza virus was especially deadly for the young and otherwise healthy.

On January 3, 1916, Jessie went to a vaudeville performance at the Orpheum and saw the Marx Brothers. As she says, “The show was dandy. The Four Marx brothers in Home Again were remarkably clever. One could certainly play a harp.”

Richard Armistead (?)

And finally, lovers. My last post Boyfriends, 1915 left out a very important person – Richard Armistead. As Jessie writes in her diary on January 2, 1916, Richard was her “first real sweetheart.” They started dating in 1909, and in all that time he went with no other girls. Here is the last part of her diary entry for January 2, 1916: “Had a late date with Richard. The dear boy is more in love than ever before. Says he will never change. Every few minutes he says, ‘You know I’m a fool about you.’ He doesn’t talk very much. When I’m with him I’m perfectly happy, forget most every-thing else in the world. He plays the part of a lover so wonderfully. He said, ‘God pity me if it’s possible for me to love you any-more.” I left Richard out of the Boyfriends post because he disappeared from Jessie’s life for months at a time. Then they would go out and Jessie would seem so in love, then they would have a blowup and Jessie would say she never wanted to see him again. There was something that prevented Jessie and Richard from having a consistent romantic relationship, but she never says in her diary what that is. He swore to Jessie that no other woman would ever interest him, and it appears from looking for his death records, that Richard died in 1937 having never married. That’s sad. But I also know that my grandmother Jessie kept Richard’s name card and his picture in a beautiful gold jewelry box that I inherited, and that he gave Jessie for Christmas in 1912.

Boyfriends, 1915

Jessie had a lot of boyfriends, and by that I mean friends who were boys (or men). She was outgoing and vivacious, related well to men/boys and loved to be around them. Quite possibly it had to do with being the middle sister to two brothers whom she adored. And don’t get me wrong – she had lots of girlfriends too. That’s apparent from her diary. She had a wide circle of friends and didn’t much like to be alone.

When Jessie started dating Wiley Graham in April 1915, she wrote a comment in her diary regarding his looks that caught my eye.

March 25, 1915:  “… He is so good looking, it is seldom that I like really good looking boys.”

Jessie and Wiley(?), c.1915

First of all, Wiley was not quite a boy. I believe he was four years older than Jessie, and for most of 1915 Jessie was 20 years old. And secondly, is that Wiley in the picture above with my grandmother Jessie? I don’t know, but I hope it is since I think this fellow is quite attractive.  Jessie, however, was attracted to something different. It mattered more to her that the guy she was with be interesting and smart.

For most of 1915 Jessie’s most serious beaux, that is, the men with whom she had a more romantic relationship, were Doug Brooks from Deeson, Mississippi and Wiley Graham from Memphis. But Doug traveled a lot on business, and Wiley was probably frustrated that his proposal of marriage was not taken seriously by Jessie, leaving plenty of time for Jessie to go out with other men (or boys, as she liked to call them).

Here is a small gallery of some of Jessie’s ‘boyfriends’ in 1915.

Left to right – Doug Brooks, Jessie Latham, (Edgar Poague?) – 1915, Deeson, MS
Doug Brooks (center) with Jessie on the right,1915, Deeson, MS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is that definitively Doug Brooks? I think so, but I have deduced that from the things I have read in Jessie’s diary and some of the captions in Jessie’s photo album from that time period. As for Edgar Poague, I know from Jessie’s diary that he was a good friend of the Brooks family and was with them quite a lot during the houseparty at the Brooks plantation in Deeson the summer of 1915. Likewise with the identification of Adolph and Alex. Jessie was truly great friends with them both and enjoyed their company, but for her it was not romantic. She identified Adolph in her photo album, and I recognized the pictures from the description she writes of a day Alex, Adolph, she and another girl went ‘kodaking’ in downtown Memphis.

Jessie and Alex c.1915
Jessie and Adolph in Memphis 1915

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coach “Sully” Sullivan and Jessie

Another of Jessie’s suitors was Coach Sullivan, known as Sully. He was actually the football coach at Central High School, and Swayne’s current football coach. He looks to be quite the catch, nevertheless Jessie just thought of him as a great friend.

 

Cars, Comedy & Names – June 1914 to January 1915 in Memphis

Jessie, younger brother Swayne, mother Jessie Swayne & father F.S. Latham

We all know that names become fashionable and go out of style. A naming trend that must have been common in Memphis at the time, at least among Jessie and her acquaintances, was names that can be used by either sex, or names that are typically used for one sex being used by the other sex. Jessie herself has a name that has always been a female name in her family’s history, but it can also be a male name when spelled ‘Jesse.’ Here are some people that Jessie knew:

Ethel – She is Jessie’s cousin and was named for her uncle Ethel (who died young) and grandfather Ethel.

Clinton (called Clint) – a girlfriend from Deeson, Mississippi and the sister of one of Jessie’s beaux.

Aunt Jim – I don’t know who this is, but Jessie mentions her from time to time.

Freddy – a girl in Jessie’s circle of friends who has dated….

Blythe – a guy in Jessie’s circle of friends.

Ashley – a guy.

Jessie’s older brother Frank (“Bud”) at 20. He was named after his father.

Bernice – a boy Jessie knows in Gates, TN.

Carroll – a Memphis boy that Jessie knows.

There was another interesting naming tradition in Jessie’s family. Her brother Swayne’s given name was his mother’s maiden name, Jessie Gray Swayne. When Swayne married, that tradition was carried on in his family. One of his sons was given the name Davant, his wife’s maiden name.

The first roof top night club in Memphis opened in 1914. It was the Alaskan Roof Garden on top of the Falls Building, Memphis’ tallest building at the time. Quickly it became a favorite place for Jessie and her friends to go dance. The music was great – W.C. Handy and his band played there regularly and premiered St. Louis Blues there in 1914 – and the breezes off the Mississippi River were cool on those sultry summer nights in Memphis.

Many automobile companies lived and died in the early 1900s. Since I like to keep track of all the kinds of cars Jessie rides in, here are a few more that she named:

Lozier 1914

Lozier – The family car for one of Jessie’s friends, the Lozier was the top of the line in luxury cars  from 1900-1915, and for a time was the most expensive car produced in the U.S.

The American – the American Motor Car Co. was founded in 1906 and went bankrupt in 1913. This car company pioneered the underslung design with the chassis below the axles rather than perched on top.

1914 Buick

Buick – Jessie talks about her friend Babe’s big 6 cylinder Buick.

Packard 1916

Oakland Roadster – From 1909 to 1932 the Oakland Motor Car Co. operated in Pontiac, Michigan. In 1914 the roadsters the company produced were large 6 cylinder vehicles on a 130″ wheel base.

Packard – A luxury automobile produced by the Packard Motor Car Co. of Detroit, MI. Packard autos were produced from 1899 to 1956.

Ford – Ford produced the Model T from 1908 to 1927. It was advertised as a more affordable automobile. Several of Jessie’s friends drove Fords. Coach Sullivan, one of her beaux, must have driven a large Model T because she calls it his “mighty Ford.” Max Sansing can carry several people in his Ford, but Doug (one of her most serious boyfriends) drives a 2-seater.

Model T Speedster 1914
1914 Model T 2-seater

 

 

 

 

 

If you read Jessie’s diaries, you know that she goes to the  “moving picture show” a lot, most days in fact and sometimes more than once a day. She loves the movies. In December 1914 and also in January 1915 Jessie remarked that she had gone to see a Keystone Comedy. Mack Sennett founded the Keystone Studios in 1912 in California. He was the originator of the slapstick comedy routines seen in the Keystone Cops films. Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson, W.C. Fields, and Carole Lombard, among others, all worked with Mack Sennett at Keystone Studios early in their careers.

Mack Sennett, known as the King of Comedy, founded Keystone Studios (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

And finally, on Sunday, January 10, 1915, Jessie’s brother Swayne, who was two weeks away from turning 17 years old, got his first real job. Jessie wrote in her diary: Swayne decided he wanted to get out in the woods – to go to work. At noon today Mr. Kerr gave him a splendid position – as rodman for a surveyor across the river from Cairo, Ill. Chappy was over all afternoon and we all helped Swayne pack up. He was gone by supper time. Mother just cried and cried, in fact we all did. Sure will miss Swayne, he is always so bright, and he certainly is a sweet good boy. I sure love him. 

 

Spring 1914 in Memphis

The cast of Endymion, Central High School in Memphis, 1914. Jessie is the 2nd girl to the right of the garland.

Here is another ‘slice of life’ posting, cultural tidbits from Jessie’s life in the Spring of 1914.

On April 2nd, 1914, Jessie wrote in her diary that she and her friends ran from school over to Bowers grocery store at noon to buy food for a picnic lunch. They bought pickles, sweet rolls, adnas, fig newtons, Saratoga chips, chocolate cakes, Tit-bits, and candy. I have not found any reference to adnas in my research, so I have no idea what that is. Fig Newtons have been around for a long time, and in fact were first patented and made in 1891.    Saratoga chips are the original potato chips invented in 1853 by Chef George Crum at a restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York.   Tit-bits was a general interest magazine with articles, as the sub-title read, “from all the most interesting books, periodicals and contributors in the world.”Jesse Reno in 1859 and Charles D. Seeberger in 1897 are both credited with inventing the escalator. Reno’s 1859 version was powered by steam. Seeberger, with the help of the Otis Elevator Company, entered his invention in the Paris Exhibition of 1900 where it won first prize. At different times both he and Reno sold their patent rights for the escaltor to the Otis Elevator Company.  Jessie notes on April 4th that she and her friend Sara “went through all the 10 cent stores & rode the moving stairs or rather ‘escalator’ in the new Kress.”

Family history says that Jessie’s mother was very funny and often cracking jokes. Jessie had a good sense of humor too. One of the final senior assignments in English class was Shakespeare’s Macbeth. On April 28th Jessie wrote, “I read all of Macbeth this afternoon. When I finished I was sure glad for “If ’twere done, then ’tis done and its good if ’twere done quickly.”

Reading Jessie’s diary I am often reminded that driving and riding in a car in the early part of the 20th century could be dangerous. There was no driver’s ed. or driving school. A driving license cost little and people learned to drive on the road. On the evening of April 25th Jessie notes that they got their car out of the shop. The Latham’s Hudson had been in the shop for a while, and must have had some body work done because the auto was repainted dark blue from its original black. Five days later on April 30th Bud wrecked the car again. At around 11:30 that night he was bringing several of his work colleagues  home from working late at the bank (or so he told Jessie) and must have been speeding, because the car skidded out of control throwing several of them out of the car and injuring some of them. Jessie was sure that was the end of their Hudson. The running board and the back wheels were ruined, but the Lathams had their car back from the shop again within a couple of weeks.

I am also reminded that everyone’s health was more fragile in the early 1900s before antibiotics, vaccinations, and sanitation improvements. On Mother’s Day (May 10, 1914), another one of Jessie’s friends died. Susie Fleece was her name, and though Jessie didn’t identify the disease, Susie seems to have died of tuberculosis.

A graduation gift to Jessie Latham from Helen Spengler.
Some of the gold pins Jessie got for graduation.

Jessie graduated from Central High School in Memphis on June 2, 1914. She received many presents which she lists in her diary on June 1, 2 and 3 – “a perfectly exquisite diamond ring from mother and dad, a silver card case all filled with money, just beautiful, from Aunt Minnie,” many gold pins, a parasol, stationery, gauze fans, silver hat pins, gold dress clasps, slipper buckles, and so on. As Jessie would say, everything imaginable! On June 1, Jessie took part in her senior class play. They performed Endymion, and though she didn’t specify the author, I believe it was an  Elizabethan era play by John Lyly (c.1588) based on the Greek myth. The auditorium was packed and according to Jessie they had to turn hundreds of people away as there was not even any standing room available. There were 83 classmates in the production and Jessie was a Dryad. The next day, June 2, Jessie graduated. Her class sang two songs as part of the ceremony, Glory to Isis ( Aida) by Verdi and The Heavens are Telling by Haydn.