Author: Jenny Armendt

Riverboat Trip to St. Louis, August 1910

"All aboard for St. Louis"
“All aboard for St. Louis”

Jessie had a busy summer seeing relatives and friends. In the latter part of July, she and Sara took the train to Gates, Tennessee to visit Ethel, who I think was either a youngish aunt or an older cousin. She stayed  a week in the country with Ethel. But the big trip she was really excited about was a riverboat cruise up the Mississippi River to St. Louis. Jessie, her mother and Swayne, along with about 12 other friends formed the boating party.

The boating party
The boating party, Jessie (R), Swayne (L)

On Monday, August 15th, they left on the steamer Rees Lee for St. Louis.  Jessie and Sara shared a stateroom. There was a band on board and lots of dancing throughout the trip. After several days aboard the ship and several stops along the River (Caruthersville, MO; Hickman, KY; Cape Girardeau, MO; Chester, IL), they arrived in St. Louis at 6:30 in the morning on Thursday, August 18. They stayed in the Laclede Hotel, a grand old luxury hotel in St. Louis, now demolished, famous for serving riverboat and rail travelers. They only stayed one night in St. Louis, but while they were there they were busy shopping, touring around the city, and going to a big amusement park called Forrest Park Highlands. Friday afternoon they left St. Louis on the Rees Lee for the return trip to Memphis. Within a few hours the ship had struck rocks or land and run ashore. Another ship came to the rescue, and after some time, managed to pull the Rees Lee from the land, but almost immediately it became stuck on a sandbar. They spent the night on that sandbar, though Jessie said she couldn’t sleep a wink. After almost 24 hours on the sandbar, a tug was able to free the ship after unloading all its cargo. The steamer made several stops on its way back to Memphis, including a brief excursion up the Ohio River for a stop at the Cairo, Illinois landing. The party finally made it back to Memphis on Monday night. Jessie said, “My! how I hated to get off the boat, for I had one of the finest times I ever had in my life.”

In Cape Girardeau, MO. Jessie & Swayne are on the right
In Cape Girardeau, MO. Jessie & Swayne are on the right
The Rees Lee at the landing in Cairo, IL
The Rees Lee at the landing in Cairo, IL

The House Party, June 1910

A Night in June, 1910. Thomas Cooper Gotch. Newlyn Archive, UK
A Night in June, 1910. Thomas Cooper Gotch. Newlyn Archive, UK
House Party pp1 June 1910
Elizabeth, Willie & Jessie (R), House Party 1910.

Jessie was having a house party at the end of June, and she started planning and preparing for it at the beginning of the month. Cleaning, shopping for a picnic dress and “motocycle riding” with Elmo (and loving it) were some of her activities. She had her guy friends move a big stump into the front yard on the 13th, and on June 18th there is more talking and planning for the “lawn fete” and house party.

Jessie (L) and the Stump, June 1910
Jessie (L) and the Stump, June 1910
Jessie (L), Elizabeth and Willie, June 1910
Jessie (L), Elizabeth and Willie, June 1910

Finally on Tuesday, June 21st, Jessie and the gang met Willie Swift from Corinth, Mississippi at the depot. She was the first of Jessie’s guests to arrive. The next day they all went down to the depot to meet Elizabeth Pearson from Okolona, Mississippi. One of that day’s activities was a Tally Ho ride given in honor of her guests, in large horse drawn carriages that carried several people.

On Friday, June 24, 1910, Jessie hosted a Japanese garden fete in honor of her guests. She writes in her diary, “The yard was brilliantly lighted with Japanese lanterns. Had a fortune tent where an oriental beauty read the palms of the guests. Had a band to play all evening. About 50 were here. Had a fine time. We didn’t get to bed until late.”

House Party June 1910
House Party June 1910
Human pyramid House Party 1 June 1911
Human Pyramid, Jessie on top, June 1910

Another guest, Kate Craddock, arrived on the following Monday the 27th. They had a picnic lunch on the lawn, but at sundown Jessie’s yard became a “gypsy camp.” Sleeping tents were arranged and a delicious dinner of hamburgers and marshmallows was cooked over a campfire. 7 girls and 4 boys spent the night, though not much sleeping went on.

House party picnic at Overton
House party picnic at Overton, Jessie on R
Picnic at Overton Park
Picnic at Overton Park, Jessie kneeling  on L
The Circus at Overton, House party 1910
The circus at Overton, house party 1910

Wednesday June 29th, Jessie gave a picnic at Overton Park for the house party. Finally on Friday, July 1st, Jessie’s guests left. She was lonely, but by Saturday she returned to her usual routine. She, Mildred, Richard and Everette went auto riding through Overton Park and along the Speedway, one of the earliest expressways in the country. The name Speedway was later changed to the Parkway.

Speedway, Memphis c.1910. George Whitworth Collection.
The Speedway, Memphis.  George Whitworth Collection historic-memphis.com

 

Graduation and Halley’s Comet, May 1910

Noonday Rest, 1910, John William Godward
Noonday Rest, 1910, John William Godward

There was not much rest for Jessie in May of 1910. Despite the fact that she spent most of the first week sick in bed with tonsillitis, every day following seems to be filled with some special activity relating to the end of the school year in Memphis. On May 6th, Donna, Mildred and Jessie went to an elocutionary contest at the Goodwyn Institute. Their good friend Frank won, so the Merry Maids sent him flowers. On May 7th, Sara and Jessie went to the closing exercises of the dancing school at the Jefferson Theatre. And it continued from there — field day, basketball games, musical recitals, recitation recitals, rehearsals, club meetings, and so on. Since Jessie was graduating from Pope Elementary School and would enter high school in the fall, she had to take final exams in grammar, spelling, geography, civics, and arithmetic. On June 3, 1910, Jessie graduated from Pope School. She was class president and by her own account, “conducted the exercises.”  She also read her composition, Historic Memphis, which won the prize for best composition in her grade.

Halley's Comet during 1910 approach. Prof. Edward Emrson Barnard, Yerkes Observatory, Williams Bay, WI. Pub. in NY Times 7/3/1910
Halley’s Comet during its 1910 approach. Prof. Edward Emerson Barnard, Yerkes Observatory, Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Published in the NY Times 7/3/1910

On May 20, 21, and again on May 25, Jessie remarks in her diary that she “saw the comet” — Halley’s comet, that is. Her remarks coincide with the time that the comet passed relatively close to the earth (between May 14 and 22, 1910), making a spectacular sight. This was the first time photos were made of the approach of the comet, and the first time that spectroscopic data was obtained, analyzing components of the tail of the comet. One of the substances discovered was the toxic gas cyanogen. French astronomer Camille Flammarion claimed (and it was reported in the NY Times) that when the earth passed through the tail of the comet (May 19, 1910), the gas would poison the atmosphere and snuff out all life on the planet. This caused some panic amongst the gullible, and dollar signs in the eyes of some entrepreneurs (comet pills, gas masks).

ranchersuicidesubmarine & comet 1910CometComic1910

The New York Times published another article, this one by Mary Proctor, now trying to calm people’s fears.

nymag_1910_comet

Another interesting story related to the 1910 Halley’s Comet regards American author Mark Twain. Twain, whose birth name was Samuel Clemens, was born November 30, 1835, exactly 2 weeks after the comet’s perihilion in its apperance of that year. In his autobiography Twain said, “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don’t go out with Halley’s Comet.” Mark Twain died on April 21, 1910, the day after the comet reached perihilion.

 

The Memphis Music Festival, 1910

On April 26 & 27, 1910, Jessie was involved with the Memphis Music Festival at the Auditorium. On Tuesday the 26th she went with a friend and heard the Mendelssohn oratorio Elijah. In the next day’s performance, Jessie got to sing in the chorus. The soloists were world class, or at least well known in the U.S. — Corinne Kelsey, soprano; Janet Spencer, contralto; Daniel Beddoe, tenor; and Marion Green, baritone. The visiting orchestra was the Theodore Thomas Orchestra, now known as the Chicago Symphony.

Theodore Thomas
Theodore Thomas

Theodore Thomas, founder of the Chicago Symphony, was the first important American conductor. In 1890 he founded the Theodore Thomas Orchestra, which then became the Chicago Orchestra. Concert subscriptions increased yearly and were enough to fund the building of a permanent home, Orchestra Hall, on 220 S. Michigan Ave. The first concert in their new home was December 14, 1904. Thomas died on January 4, 1905, and the orchestra was renamed the Theodore Thomas Orchestra. In 1913 the title was changed to the Chicago Symphony.

Theodore Thomas Orchestra, 1897
Theodore Thomas Orchestra, 1897

Below is a modern photograph of Orchestra Hall at 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. Notice the two plaques above the lower windows on either side, and beneath the engravings of the composers’ names. They read “Theodore Thomas Orchestra Hall.”

Orchestra_Hall_Chicago

 

Baseball in Memphis, 1910

1910 Memphis Turtles
1910 Memphis Turtles

Jessie was a big sports fan. She played basketball, she liked watching football, and she loved going to baseball games. On the last two Fridays in April of 1910, she mentions going with some friends to the ballgame at Red Elm Park (later renamed Russwood Park). Memphis has had a minor league baseball team since 1877. When Jessie went to see them in 1910, it was the Memphis Turtles, part of the Southern Association. Previously the team was the Memphis Egyptians. The Turtles played in Memphis from 1909-1911. After that and for most of the years until 1997, the Memphis Chickasaws or “Chicks” played in the Southern League. From 1920 to 1950 the Memphis Red Sox played as part of the Southern Negro League and the Negro National League.

1910 Memphis Turtles
1910 Memphis Turtles
Merle Whitey, 1910 Memphis Turtles
M. Whitey, 1910 Memphis Turtles

 

Russwood Park, Memphis. c.1915
Russwood Park, Memphis. c.1915

*Information on minor league teams in Memphis is from Baseball-reference.com.

*Photo of Russwood Park from the Commercial Appeal newspaper in Memphis.

Aviation Meet, April 6-10, 1910, Memphis Fairgrounds

Airplane races 1910
Airplane races, Indianapolis, June 1910

AviationMeetposter1910On Wednesday, April 6, 1910, Jessie writes in her diary, “Had half holiday at school. We all went to the Aviation Meet at the Fairgrounds to see the aeroplanes fly. They were grand. It was simply wonderful. Had a swell time.” The Wright Brothers had made their first flight only 7 years earlier in North Carolina, and interest in the possibility of human flight was spreading. Several American aviators took part in the very first aviation meet to ever take place in August 1909. It was in France near Reims and officially known as Le Grande Semaine D’Aviation de la Champagne (The Champagne Region’s Great Aviation Week). The American pilots returned home with the idea of forming teams and having aviation meets across the country.

Belmont Park Air Show 1910
Belmont Park Air Show 1910

The Memphis Aviation Meet was one of the first of its kind in America (the first one was in Los Angeles in January of 1910). They were incredibly popular with the public, and often at these meets, as in Memphis, it was the first time an airship or aeroplane had flown in the region. There were accidents and some fatalities, and though no one was killed in Memphis, it was an accident that brought the event to a close. Nevertheless, the fact that so many people got to see the aeroplanes and airships fly with their own eyes, a thing that most people thought was impossible, helped to convince the general public that flying was possible.

Chicago Aviation Meet 1911
Chicago Aviation Meet 1911

Thanks to Antique Airfield – Website of the Antique Airplane Association and the Airpower Museum.

Thanks also to Memphisflyer.com – Ask Vance, the blog of Vance Lauderdale: “The 1910 National Aero Meet in Memphis.”

February & March in Memphis, 1910

Little Colonel's HeroLittle Colonel's Knight Comes RidingThese two months of Jessie’s life were filled with her usual activities — school, basketball, music, her clubs, church, and her friends. In February Jessie read  her new book, Little Women, and continued with the seemingly endless (!)  Little Colonel  series. She read The Little Colonel’s Hero, and in March she read The Little Colonel’s Knight Comes Riding. February 5th she joined the Junior Beethovens at a box party to see the Russian pianist, Josef Lhévinne. Jessie, a pianist herself, was quite impressed with his playing. On February 12th Jessie saw the play Dorothy Vernon of Hadden Hall. It was based on the novel of the same name about a girl’s life and romances in Elizabethan England. According to Amazon and the New York Times, Dorothy Vernon of Hadden Hall by Charles Major was the third most successful novel of 1902. DorothyVernonofHaddenHallJessie attended parties on Valentine’s Day and on George Washington’s Birthday (where the party goers powdered their hair!). On March 5th Jessie saw the comic farce Charley’s Aunt, and according to her, “it was the funniest thing I ever saw. I laughed till my sides ached.” Charley’s Aunt, written by Brandon Thomas, was hugely successful from it’s first performances in England in 1892, and on Broadway where it opened in 1893 for an extended run. On March 19th Jessie saw the pianist “Sherwood” and the singer Marie Stapleton (the actress Jean Stapleton’s mother) perform at the Women’s Building. On Easter (March 27, 1910) Jessie mentions that she got some eggs and other Easter things, as well as some Christy pictures. Howard Chandler Christy (1873-1952) was a very popular illustrator of the time.

W. S. Penley as the original Charley's Aunt, by Alfred Bryan
Original Charley’s Aunt, by Alfred Bryan
Sailing Close, Howard Chandler Christy
Sailing Close, Howard Chandler Christy

 

 

Happy Birthday, Grandmother!

Jessie Latham
Jessie Latham

Today is Jessie Latham Perkin’s 120th birthday. Happy birthday, Grandmama! We miss you! There are SO many things I wish I could ask you now!

Jessie had a long life with good health. She died in 1991 at the age of 96. To her grandchildren she was a happy, playful, loving and positive spirit, just as she is in her diaries as a young woman.

 

Entertainments — January 1910

IlTrovatoreLibretto1910sIt’s a different world in 1910, where a 15 year old girl goes downtown with her friend to dancing school, then to see the grand opera Il Trovatore, and finally meets up with some boys for sodas before going home. There were all kinds of cultural offerings available in 1910 Memphis. Jessie saw several plays in January. At the Bijou she, Sara, Emma and Othella saw Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch. The next weekend Jessie, her mother and Emma went to Higbee School (for girls) to the Drama Club’s presentation of The Top Landing: a farce in one act by Robert C.V. Meyers.higbee-leftside

The day after that she went to the opera. Jessie says the opera was at Houck’s which was a piano store on Main Street. But right next to it was the Royal Theatre. Perhaps that is where she saw the opera. In the picture below (Main St., Memphis 1911), Houck’s Piano Co. can be seen at the bottom left. Right next to Houck’s is the Royal Theatre. (click/tap on photo to enlarge)  royal-1911-2

About a week later Jessie and Emma went to the Lyceum to see Little Nemo, which Jessie claims was the finest play ever seen in Memphis. Little Nemo was a fictional character in the popular comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland.LittleNemo In 1907 an extravagant production with a score by Victor Herbert, and costing an unprecedented $100,000, went on tour with good reviews and sold out houses. A mythical character, the Whiffenpoof, was introduced in the show, and the word itself became very popular with the public. A hit song came out with the same name, as well as a popular singing group.

Jessie continued to read the books in the popular Little Colonel series by Annie Fellows Johnston. First she read The Little Colonel in Arizona, then The Little Colonel’s Christmas Vacation, and at the end of the month The Little Colonel:  Maid of Honor.

LittleCol.XmasVacaLittle Colonel in ArizonaLittle colonel Maid of Honor

 

Great Daylight Comet of January 1910

Great Daylight Comet of 1910, Lowell Observatory
Great Daylight Comet of 1910, Lowell Observatory

1910 was an exciting year in astronomy. Halley’s Comet was expected to become visible in May of that year after an absence of 75 years, and there was great anticipation of that event, both scientifically and culturally. But something unexpected happened first — the Great Daylight Comet of 1910, so-called because it could be seen in the daylight with the naked eye.  First seen by workers in South Africa earlier in January, by the end of January and the beginning of February it was at it’s most impressive display in the Northern Hemisphere. These two black and white pictures were taken at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. The vertically aligned picture was captured on January 28, 1910 by Carl Lampland and Vesto Slipher.  Jessie notes in her diary on January 24th and 26th that she saw the comet in Memphis.

Great Daylight Comet of 1910. Lowell Observatory.
Great Daylight Comet of 1910. Lowell Observatory.

Below is a picture of the Daylight Comet of 1910 and Venus, January 27, from Biskra, North Africa, after a drawing by W. B. Gibbs.

comet-1910artists rendering

Another artistic rendering of this event is a drawing by H.P. Wilkins, Daylight Comet Of 1910, © Sir Patrick Moore.

Daylight Comet of 1910, Drawing by H.P. Wilkins
Daylight Comet of 1910, Drawing by H.P. Wilkins (1896-1960),