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The desire to fly, or at least a fascination with the idea of flight, seems to be a universal human trait. Flying is often associated with freedom – birds have the freedom to come and go as they please, effortlessly taking off into the sky on a whim – and perhaps because we do not have wings, in many cultures flying can represent mystery, magic, and power. Ancient stories from around the globe, such as the Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus, the legend of King Bladud of Britain, and the African story of Kibaga the warrior, reveal that humans have been dreaming of flying for ages. Centuries of careful thought, creativity and persistence have made it possible for us to actually achieve these dreams and create true modern day stories of humans that have taken to the skies.

While it can be fun to fly a kite or watch a boomerang soar through the air, it takes much more effort and invention to actually lift a human into the sky. The first successful ventures in modern aviation were made by hot air balloon and hydrogen balloon, as described in this brief timeline:

Hot air balloons have a long history, and they are often brilliantly colored and exciting to see, especially en masse. It’s interesting that hot air balloons are a unique sight in modern skies, considering they have been around for longer than airplanes, which have become such a common sight that many people take them for granted today. In the United States, most people associate the history of aviation with the famous American Wright brothers, who launched the first successful assisted takeoff flying machine on December 17, 1903. Similarly, it was a pair of French brothers – Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier – who launched the first successful hot air balloon, thanks to the mischievous petticoat of one of their wives:

While hot air and hydrogen balloons can defy gravity because they are lighter than air, functional aeronautical inventions that are heavier than air are even more impressive.

The French are also accredited with the first successful attempts at the flight of the helicopter:

The airplanes that we are familiar with today have come a long way from the first experimental flight inventions.  Humans have never stopped working to achieve the power of flight, which is so seemingly effortless for birds…

Many early flying machines resemble bicycles with wings. Flying in one of these contraptions might be compared to hang-gliding. However, it’s difficult to imagine riding a hang-glider all the way to the North Pole as American aviatrix Ruth Law (1887-1970) had planned to do:

Law enrolled in flight school in 1912 and bought her first aircraft from Orville Wright that same year. Not only did Law set the record flight time from Chicago to New York, she was also the first female authorized to wear a military uniform and she piloted the first official airmail delivery to the Philippines – and she is just one of the many notable women in aviation history.

One of the west coast’s most daring aviators of the 20^th century, Silas Christofferson (1890-1916), is pictured here, ready for takeoff in his flying machine:

June of this year will mark the 100^th anniversary of Christofferson’s famous Oregon flying stunt: In 1912, he successfully launched his biplane off of the roof of the Multnomah Hotel in Portland, and flew straight to Vancouver, Washington, making the 8 mile journey in 12 minutes.

Other triumphs in aviation can be found in the pages of history as well, paving the way for the flight system that we are familiar with today.

After the first successes, people began to imagine bigger and better planes, as well as multiple uses for them:

The trajectory of aerial inventions hasn’t stopped since. As airplanes and helicopters have become part of our everyday sky-scape, the world has turned its attention to even more far-reaching vistas with the invention of rockets and advances in extraterrestrial travel. Perhaps someday flying through outer space will seem just as ordinary as traveling in an airplane. Next stop – Pluto!

To some, 2012 is just another year, and February 29^th is just another day. But then there are those of us, writer included, who find rare excitement in the 366^th day that exists only once every four years in the Gregorian calendar. Well, that is, once every four years unless the year is evenly divisible by 100 and also not evenly divisible by 400…Confusing? This clip from The Daily morning Astorian helps to explain:

Leap Years spice up the monotony of the common 365 day calendar, providing reasons for celebration and defiance of social norms, at least during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as covered by America’s historic newspapers. Dances and balls were often held in support of the tradition of Leap Year proposals, where women would propose marriage to the mate of their choice (discussed in one of our previous blogs: “Searching for Love in All the Right Pages”), and parties were thrown to celebrate the rare day. Leap Year proposals actually date back to the 17th century, and Leap Year newspaper feature writers still speculate about the tradition today.

Apparently, if a man were to refuse a woman’s marriage proposal on Leap Year day, he would be obligated to give the woman a silk gown and a kiss…but only if she was wearing a red petticoat when she popped the question. Of course, red petticoats, silk gowns, and strict gender roles are now antiquated notions, generally speaking. In today’s society, women can propose marriage, if they wish, on any day of any year, and women around the world now exercise freedoms that were once reserved for men only. For example, starting on February 29^thof this year, the 19^th annual Algarve Cup international women’s football tournament will be held in southern Portugal. The United States women’s national soccer team will be in attendance, among teams from several other countries. Also, modern women across the United States are free to vote in all political elections, and in fact, Oregon women have been eligible to vote since 1912, making 2012 the Oregon women’s suffrage centennial.  The political cartoon below illustrates an interesting relationship between leap year, traditions, and votes for women as perceived in 1920:

Businesses have historically used Leap Year hype for advertising purposes, and consumers were free to celebrate the many sales that were held on Feb. 29^thas well. While several businesses continue to offer deals on Leap Year day, it’s doubtful that we will ever see a 29 cent sale in the 21^st century.

While social traditions and market prices provide interesting food for thought this leap year, it is impossible to overlook the most curious implication of Leap Year day, which applies to all of the people born on Feb. 29^th!  What is it like to technically only have a birthday every four years, if that?

Surely  you could celebrate on Feb. 28^th or March 1^st, but would it be the same? The limited occurrence of February 29^th must make Leap Year birthdays all the more special…

While “Leaplings” or “Leapers” – as people born on Feb. 29^th are often called – do not have a precise birth date anniversary every year, they do have the privilege of being the only people who can join the Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies.

One thing is certain: babies born on February 29, 1916 in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, gained an advantage over the rest of us thanks to their rare birth date:

As the world continues to leap and bound into the future, remember that 100 years ago on Feb. 29^th, people across the nation were celebrating the special day.

What will people be saying about Leap Year 100 years from now? Will they be looking back at our current newspapers to find interesting Leap Year clips? Perhaps we should start some new Leap Year traditions this year to give them something more to think about? Until then, happy birthday to all of the Leaplings out there, and have a happy and safe Leap Year!

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Also, in the spirit and honor of Black History Month, don’t forget that content from the Portland New Age, Oregon’s first African American newspaper, from 1896-1907, is available for searching and browsing online through Historic Oregon Newspapers, and offers a unique perspective on the history of African American culture in Oregon. A brief essay on the history of the New Age can be found here: http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/history/newage/ .

Search and browse through historic African American newspapers from all states here: http://libguides.marist.edu/AfricanAmericanNews .

As the 2012 presidential campaigns continue to attract media attention, federal recognition of Washington’s Birthday (also known as Presidents’ Day in Oregon and other states) on the third Monday in February leads us to reflect upon the past presidents of the United States, naturally starting with George Washington. As the nation’s first president, Washington has received ample attention in history classrooms across the country as well as in the pages of Oregon’s historic newspapers, not to mention tributes to Washington at the national capital and his image on the dollar bill.

Over time, Washington has developed a reputation as a hero – a legendary, larger than life leader who took it upon himself to assure life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for the American people. Despite this romantic notion, Washington was indeed a human man, and his efforts would have been futile without the support of his colleagues and constituents. A humanizing element is added to Washington’s story when we remember that he had a family (learn more about Martha Dandridge Custis Washington):

And even the Commander in Chief needed to seek shelter during the Revolutionary War:

After the Revolutionary War was won, the U.S. Constitution was ratified and Washington was elected president and served two terms. According to the White House Historical Association, “to his disappointment, two parties were developing by the end of his first term. Wearied of politics, feeling old, he retired at the end of his second. In his Farewell Address, he urged his countrymen to forswear excessive party spirit and geographical distinctions. In foreign affairs, he warned against long-term alliances” (Beschloss and Sidey).

Washington set the first presidential example and since has been a prominent role model for America’s presidents, but do people today continue to base their vote on the policies, philosophy, or likeness of Washington, as expressed in this assertion about Warren G. Harding?

Either way, it’s interesting to think about the values and reasons that guide our presidential choices. Would the history of the United States be much different if perhaps one of these proposed candidates had been elected as opposed to Warren G. Harding in the 1920 Presidential Election?

Or what if the Democratic nominee, newspaper publisher James M. Cox, had won the election? Would the history of America’s newspapers be any different?

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Washington laid the stepping stones for all of the nation’s future presidents, and he initiated many of the presidential traditions that are still practiced today:

While many American traditions have persisted over time, much has changed since Washington’s reign, so you might wonder – what would Washington think or say if he were here today?

 

It is no wonder that Washington tends to get the most attention on Presidents’ Day, which is also a celebration of his birthday, but don’t forget about all of the other influential presidents in history! For example, February 22nd may be Washington’s birthday, but Abraham Lincoln was also born this month on February 12th:

Presidential recognition and speculation has become a national tradition in the United States, as can be traced through historic newspapers. This year on Washington’s Birthday/Presidents’ Day, in addition to searching the Chronicling America and Historic Oregon Newspapers websites for the name of your favorite pre-1923 president, take some time to think about all of the American traditions that have remained in place over the years, as well as the dynamic social and political changes that have occurred in the United States since Washington’s day. And don’t forget that behind every president – past, present, and future – stands we, the people.

Works Cited:

Beschloss, Michael and Hugh Sidey. “George Washington.” The Presidents of the United States of America. White House Historical Association, 2009. < http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/georgewashington >

Fashion is cyclical. It responds to the time and culture in which it exists. Fashion is an ever changing trend that will be completely different from the year before and will call upon its own past for inspiration in the future.  Current styles obviously differ from the popular wears of the early 20^th century, but there are similar concepts that exist between the fashion trends of today and yesterday.

For instance, those who control the fashion industry still seem to think that body parts can just go in and out of style as easily as a cardigan or mini skirt, as the Day Book from Chicago seems to tell us.

Remember when feet were an unpopular accessory during the Ugg Boot surge? Yeah, I’m hoping to forget that also.

The popularity of a certain style of skirt dictates the popularity of a certain style of shoe or shirt to go with it. According to the Day Book, ankle muffs were really only worn due to the popularity of shorter, wider skirts during the winter season.

Fashion can be recyclable. Thrift stores and consignment shops are more popular and trendy today than they’ve ever been. Borrowing clothes and styles from family is also very trendy. Wearing an old sweater that you found in your grandma’s closet is like wearing a badge of honor. The popularity of recycled fashion has apparently been around for quite some time.

There are those among us, however, that will always oppose the concept of fashion, or even condemn it.

But I think it’s safe to say, however, that fashion isn’t going anywhere.

The end of every year brings the promise of a better year to come. Many begin to plan out their obligatory, “New Year’s Resolutions,” which usually range somewhere between losing weight to quitting their job and volunteering in Kenya.  No matter how you slice it, people want to start each year from scratch, with a clean slate, and with an opportunity to reach goals that might have been abandoned during the previous year. New Year’s Resolutions stem from all of us wanting to kick old vices to the curb and improve our lives, which explains why so many resolutions are similar and really don’t change much over the years. Take for example this New Year’s cartoon from the Wichita Daily Eagle. Two men vow to quit smoking for the New Year, placing a $50 bet on the resolution.  One of men must smoke, so he takes a small blimp up in the air where his friend will never catch him. But the blimp catches fire when he lights his cigarette, falling to the ground where he is caught in the act by his friend.

And in another New Year’s comic, a man resolves to stop swearing, but from the time he wakes up until he arrives at work he is put in many situations that would provoke him to swear.

Many people, like the characters in these comics, fail to keep their resolutions for very long, so it’s always encouraging to see when people actually succeed at their intentions, as unusual as their resolutions might be.  This gentleman resolved to not cut his hair until a democratic president was elected and has the mane to prove his dedication.

Or this Eugenic couple, who vowed to be physically and mentally fit in order to improve the genetic make-up of the human population.

There is always the hope that the New Year will bring joy and promise to all, no matter what their resolutions may be. From all of us at the Oregon Digital Newspaper Program, Happy New Year!

As we approach the fourth night of Hanukkah and with Christmas just around the corner, it’s time to put together the last minute touches for the holidays. Hanukkah presents wrapped? Check. Stockings hung on the fireplace? Check. Alarm systems on the house active? Check?

You may not have noticed, but so many Christmas stories and movies employ the familiar theme of burglars robbing people during the holidays: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Bad Santa, Home Alone and all of its sequels. Our society seems to have a fascination with people who are perpetually on Santa’s “naughty list.” Take for instance this article from the Evening public ledger in Philadelphia, PA.

And this news clipping from the Scott County kicker in Benton, Mo. is another example of the bad guys making the top stories over the winter season.

Christmas robberies make for great stories. There’s a sense of holiday spirit, adventure, and the good guy always getting the last laugh. Take for instance this story from The Sunday Oregonian about a young woman who saves Christmas day from a robber set out to ruin it all. Betty, a young and brave girl headed to see her mother, encounters a robbery in progress while she’s traveling. Thanks to her quick wit, she’s able to trick the robber into leaving his captives, allowing her to take them all to safety.

So this holiday season, avoid becoming part of a headline, and have a safe and merry season. From all of us here at Chronicling America, lock your doors!

Ah yes, it’s that time of year again, the holiday season is officially upon us. Christmas music is playing in all the stores, Santas are appearing in every mall and hoards of people are clamoring to find the right gifts for their loved ones.  With constraints on time and money it’s nearly impossible to buy thoughtful gifts for everyone on your list. Christmas cards provide a great and affordable way to show people that you’re thinking about them this holiday season, and it’s easy to add a personal touch to cards with a nice hand written message or by slipping in some family photos.

The Christmas card has been a traditional holiday exchange for many years, but the origins of this beloved practice remain somewhat shrouded in mystery.  According to an article from The Bourbon news, the first Christmas card can be attributed to three different men.

But in a separate article from the Warren Sheaf,  (from Warren, Marshall County, Minn.), only one man is credited with this holiday invention.

And even still, The Rice Belt Journal does not credit the cards to any one man, but instead states, “About a hundred years ago the first Christmas cards were used. These were printed in London and consisted of a visiting card with the words “A Merry Christmas,” printed on it.”

So who had it right? Well it seems all three publications got it partially right. According to György Buday’s book, The history of the Christmas card, the first Christmas card was designed by John Callcott Horsley, (JC Horsley), in 1843 at the request of Sir Henry Cole. In London, two batches of cards were made available, totally 2,050 cards sold for a shilling each.

In 1875 Louis Prang became the first printer to offer cards in America. Here’s an ad for Christmas card booklets from The Evening Herald in Klamath Falls, OR.

So when you’re out shopping for the perfect gifts, remember that Christmas cards are a great way to show someone that you’re thinking of them this holiday season.

Season’s Greetings from all of us at the Oregon Digital Newspaper Program!

All too often Thanksgiving can feel like a pit stop on in the holiday highway starting at Halloween and ending at New Year’s.   The Christmas decorations are up before we slice the pumpkin pie and people are waiting in line for Black Friday sales before the turkey as settled in their bellies.  So let’s take a moment to look at Thanksgivings past and some of the things we can be grateful for.

Not having to kill and clean our own turkeys for the Thanksgiving feast.  The turkey may be the king of Thanksgiving, but uneasy lies the head that wears that crown.  Finding a bird in a hermetically sealed bag that does not share a likeness to an actual living creature can be a great relief for those preparing their Thanksgiving feats.  The comparison of the bird to the children adds a nice Hansel and Gretel twist to this Thanksgiving photo from the Omaha Daily Bee.

When there are too many cooks in the kitchen or when you have some time to relax, it’s nice to have a little entertainment whether it be the Thanksgiving parade or a good football game.  Not everybody agrees that football is a fitting Thanksgiving activity.

“When our Puritan fathers thought it wise and well to give thanks to God for the benefits showered upon them little did they think that in after years this, their day of greatest worship to the Creator of every good and perfect thing, would be turned into a day for the purpose of distributing football trophies among the youths whose muscle was their religion and whose halfback was their God.” San Francisco Call November 28, 1895.

We might not enjoy the hours of traffic and flight delays required to get to and from our Thanksgiving destinations, but we can be assured that as we sit in traffic, snug in our cars listening to music and reading books, that we are traveling in ease and comfort compared to holiday travelers 100 years ago.

Whether you serve a turkey you harvested yourself from the nearby foothills or a soy-based turkey substitute, the fundamentals of Thanksgiving remain the same.  We are given one day to gather together with the people we care about and take a moment to appreciate everything that life has to offer.  That is something to be thankful for.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Like the ghosts and jack-o-lanterns we see everywhere this time of year, mummies have become an icon of Halloween.  Although mummies make their appearance alongside the werewolves, vampires, zombies, and Frankensteins in all of the Scooby-doo cartoons, they are rarely the members of the monster community that captivate the imaginations of the modern viewer.  Mummies are typically depicted as being slow, clumsy, and less-exciting versions of zombies.

Mummies were not always the second-class monsters that we think of today.  During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century mummies were the monsters that captivated the minds of authors, artists, musicians, scholars, fashion designers, and homemakers. The interest in Egypt can be seen in every aspect of American culture: the Washington Monument in DC, Louisa May Alcott’s Lost in a Pyramid, or the Mummy’s Curse, or  in the daily news.  Hundreds of articles can be found in Chronicling America and Historic Oregon Newspapers that provides a little more insight into this misunderstood monster.  In the April 22, 1906 Sunday Oregonian, George Ade described his travels in Egypt, where he encountered a young American student of Egyptology who had some experience with mummy trafficking.

According to Ade’s acquaintance, mummy prices varied greatly depending on the state of preservation, the status of the individual who was mummified, and the quality of decoration on the casket.  A Ramesses or Ptolemy would be sold for upwards of $1,000, while the mummies of more modest grandeur would be sold for $60-$125.  Ade’s friend offered to sell him a mummy who was “probably a tourist,” for the bargain price of $7.50.

If you wanted to see a mummy, but lacked the  funds to travel all the way to Egypt, you could visit the Lewis and Clark 1905 Exposition in Portland, Oregon.  There were several mummies on display at the World’s Fair, but it was the “Rockafeller mummy” that seemed to attract the crowds for its uncanny resemblance to the famous oil magnate, John D. Rockafeller.

If the thought of having a real mummy in your living room was a bit too gruesome, there were other ways to bring the fashionable mummy craze into your home.  Several newspapers, including the Saint Paul Globe, ran articles on the scarcity of mummies and the effect on the art world.

Mummies were popping up everywhere and rather than making people jump and exclaim “Jinkies!” they were regarded as a sign of sophistication.  Literature and operas written in Europe and the United States increased the popularity and fascination of the mummy.  Richard Carle and Robert Hood Bower’s 1904 Broadway musical, The Maid and the Mummy, was equally as praised for the music and the acting as it was the costumes.  The mummy was so successful at capturing the imaginations of the general public that its influences could be found in popular fashion.  The November 22, 1908 Washington Times ran this full-page article, which advises ladies not to “tilt a disdainful nose and look offended” if she is referred to as a mummy, but rather “smile with a conscious superiority and accept it as a compliment.”

The demand for mummies was so high that it was difficult for suppliers to fill their orders with the genuine item.  Several articles, like this one from the September 30, 1906 Los Angeles Herald Sunday Supplement, warns of the fraudulent mummies being manufactured and sold to Americans seeking genuine Egyptian antiquities.

Like all celebrities, the mummy fell from stardom and has faded into the collection of monsters roaming the streets on Halloween night in search of treats.  Perhaps it is time for a revival of interest?  Find more exciting Halloween stories in the news at Chronicling America!

The origins of certain food items usually make for good conversation. Potato chips were invented in 1853 when a customer complained that his french fries were too thick.  Ketchup is a derivative of a Chinese fish sauce.  Sliced bread became commercially packaged around 1928.

Peanut butter is one of those foods that seems like it has always been around and well-loved by Americans.  Surprisingly enough, not only did peanut butter not become popular until the late 1800s, but even when it did make a widespread appearance, people didn’t necessarily go nutty over the condiment.  It was a tough market to crack and things didn’t always go smoothly for peanut butter marketers.  It took a few years for consumers to come out of their shells and incorporate peanut butter into their daily grind. … Okay, the puns will be finished… in a Jiffy.

Chronicling America affords us with incredible resources to investigate the first commercial appearances of peanut butter.  We can search freely through historic digitized newspapers from across the country to find the very first mentions of this new product.  Of course, advertisements for peanut butter are fascinating in their own respect.  They reflect the economics of the time, the relative value of peanuts and peanut butter depending on national demand and interest.

Interestingly enough, early peanut butters were used as a protein supplement for vegetarians.  Take, for instance, this early mention from 1898, predicting the rise of peanut butter sales:

Or this blurb describing peanut butter as a “butter substitute”:

The general public was skeptic of this new spread at times, as seen in this (somewhat unappetizing) description:

A bit of controversy was sparked when peanut butter hit the market.  This stemmed from the assumption that peanut butter was meant to replace regular dairy butter in all uses and applications. In theory, this could cripple the dairy market.

It could be that people were confused by the label “butter” and associated peanut butter with dairy.  For example,

Eventually, peanut butter gained popularity and became a staple for nearly every kitchen.

And of course, mentions of this new food made their way to Oregon, with one of the first appearing in 1899:

 

These are just a few examples of articles addressing the creation of peanut butter.  Hundreds of pages exist in Historic American Newspapers for you to search and browse, either on this topic or any other subject that interests you.  I suggest investigating the rise of the peanut and its multitude of new uses at the turn of the century.  You’ll be surprise at what you find. Peanut bread, anyone?  –Sarah E. North  (I’d also like to thank the UO Map/GIS Librarian, Kathy Stroud for the lunchtime conversation that inspired this post.)