I looked in the May 3, 1900 issue of The Chatham Record for some mention of Cinco de Mayo. No luck there, but this ad pinged my Root Beer antenna.
“During the last year I was suffering from nervous prostration. For weeks I grew worse, became thin, could not sleep, had no appetite, and was in a wretched condition. After taking several kinds of medicines without result, I took Ayer’s Sarsaparilla with more than pleasing results. My appetite returned, I slept soundly, my strength and weight increased, and now I am well and strong without the slightest trace of my old trouble. Indeed, I would hardly believe it possible the medicine to bring about such a change in a person.” – CLARA MEALEY, Winter Hill, Somerville, Mass., Dec. 21, 1899.
A little online research taught me that Sarsaparilla is a trailing, woody vine with medicinal properties. I also learned that sarsaparilla vine is NOT used to flavor Root Beer (I was thinking of sassafras).
All the same I wonder what ailed Clara Mealey that Ayer’s Sarsaparilla cured so quickly and completely?
