Navigating the Heartache WWI Brings
Hettie Bartlette, the main character in my novel Angel of Mercy, was born in Ontario in 1892. Despite being 27 at the end of the third novel in the series, Adjustment Year, she has memories of only two prime ministers. Laurier was Canada’s seventh prime minister, taking office in 1896 when Hettie was four years…
Having a family member “in service” or being in service yourself was common before the end of World War I. Domestic servants were needed to run the expansive homes of the upper middle class and wealthy prior to the invention of many electric conveniences. While today we may think of working as a maid, for…
How did you celebrate your last birthday? Chances are you had a party that featured a cake decorated with candles. Did you ever take time to think where these traditions got their start? If you guessed in the Victorian era, you’d be wrong. Most are much older. Let’s examine the origins of some of our…
One hundred years ago today, people were celebrating the start of what would be dubbed the Roaring 20s in the United States. What should have been a cause for celebration was slightly tempered. This was the last New Year celebration before Prohibition would go into effect on Jan. 16, 1920. In Boston, revelers gathered at cafes…
The commercialization of Christmas began during the Victorian era. Retailers encouraged consumers to shop for the holidays instead of giving homemade gifts, and shop employees also decorated their shop windows with lavish displays to attract passersby. The tradition of Christmas shopping was born. So what were the popular gifts in this bygone era? Let’s find…
Kids Say the Darndest Things may be a television show, but kids have been saying what’s on their minds – and amusing adults – for centuries. In 1903, the Sioux City Journal in Iowa asked the city’s school children to pen an essay on Thanksgiving turkeys. A sampling of the essays were published on Nov.…
Families in the 19th and early 20th centuries often had large families. What affect does birth order have personality? This is a question I considered while creating the Steward family in Angel of Mercy. Birth order and personality wasn’t something people considered until the 1920s. That’s when Austrian psychiatrist Alfred Adler first theorized that birth…
Dreading that next trip to the dentist? You’re not alone. Patients a century ago, equally dreaded the visit, but thankfully, dentistry had modernized considerably by the early 20th century. At least, you could reasonably expect pain medication and a speedy drill. Let’s take a look at early 20th century dentistry. Dental schools got their start…
As the new century dawned in 1901, fashion was quickly changing. Soon hemlines would rise while necklines would fall, and dress styles began to hug a woman’s body. Wedding fashions, however, did not change as drastically and were somewhat behind the times compared to streetwear. Wedding traditions, on the other hand, are surprisingly recognizable. Let’s…
Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is now prevented by vaccine, but in the early 20th century it was still a surge that affected farmers and gardeners. Popular belief is that rust causes tetanus. It doesn’t, but the bacteria that causes the disease is found in soil, manure, dust and saliva. The bacteria enters the body…