Category Archives: Local History

From the June 27, 1889 issue of The Chatham Record:

Tin Coffee Pots Healthful.

“Tin coffee pots are as healthful to use as silver, and they will last just a long,” said a workman in tin recently to a reporter for the New York Mail and Express.

“How are these tin pots made?” asked the reporter.

“They put the tin on Russia iron. The way it is done is to take a sheet of Russia iron and dip it into red-hot tin. Upon this molten tin is a lot of tallow, which cleans the tin and gives it lustre. If it were not for this tallow the tin would be all full of little bunches. Very often we find the tin sheets very greasy when we get them. This comes from the tallow. Russia iron is the same material as is used for the body of a stove. This is usually triple-coated, sometimes more. The best tin is imported. For some reason or other it cannot be made in this country. The Yankee tin made here is what we call cooked tin, and cheap articles are usually made with it, such as five-cent goods. Tin tea or coffee pots must be well dried after using, and kept very clean, and they will then be good for a number of years.

This article from the July 20, 1893 edition of The Chatham Record neglects to mention what became of the offending rattlesnake. I infer it went something like this: “Rattlesnake, meet garden hoe. Garden hoe, meet rattlesnake. You guys good?”

Here’s how they dealt with snakes in Chatham County, NC.

I found this article from the December 5, 1889 issue of The Chatham Record a little hyperbolic on my first read. Further investigation however reveals that General Daumesnil made quite a reputation in Napoleon’s army, and his wooden leg figured prominently in his post-war likenesses.

Je suis embarrassé!

I found this exchange in the February 23, 1899 edition of The Chatham Record.

“I’ve come to kill a printer, ” said the little man.

“Any printer in particular?” asked the foreman.

“Oh, any one will do. I would prefer a small one, but I’ve got to make some sort of a blad at a fight or leave home, since the paper called my wife’s pink tea a ‘swill affair.'” — Indianapolis Journal.

I looked up  what I thought might be the word “blad” from the barely legible text and found the definition: “a promotional flyer or mockup for a product, especially for a book”. Sounds reasonable. I’ll go with that.

Incidentally, when I combed the internet in search of a more readable version of the text, many of the search results were blog posts stating “I want to kill my printer”. Yikes.

Good news, everyone! Here’s a joke from the “Merry Side of Life” column in the March 6, 1902 edition of The Chatham Record:

I’d make a Twitter joke here, but given that carrier pigeons went extinct in 1914:

“For one dollar with order we ship bicycles to any address subject to approval.”

This ad from the May 7, 1903 Chatham Record makes it look like the bike costs one dollar with a negligible shipping fee of $10.95. By that math, a $300 bike would cost $3585 with shipping.

Good thing I got that backward.

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?

If you ever get to go to Cuba, take a copy of this ad from the May 8, 1902 issue of The Chatham Record and see if they price match.

I just want a sticker of that “Floradora” band for my luggage.

This ad from the October 21, 1886 edition of The Chatham Record rings true for me but I can’t put my finger on why. Maybe I’m so credulous because a raincoat either works or it doesn’t; there is no placebo effect when it comes to rain gear.

The FISH BRAND SLICKER is warranted waterproof, and will keep you dry in the hardest storm. The new POMMEL SLICKER is a perfect fishing coat and covers the entire saddle. Beware of imitations. None genuine without the “Fish Brand” trade-mark. Illustrated Catalogue free. A. J. Tower, Boston, Mass.