Another Look at the Exciting and the Mundane of Vintage Newspapers

It’s officially summer! So, grab a tall glass of some icy sweet tea and take a short walk while we explore some history, according to newspapers. Get comfy, Here we go…

Lipton Tea Advertisement, Deadwood Pioneer Times (Deadwood, South Dakota), March 27, 1937

Thomas Lipton (1848-1931), of Glasgow, Scotland, founded Lipton Tea in 1890, after almost 20 years of marketing his franchised grocery stores, all over the United Kingdom. Our opinion is that Lipton makes the best brewed sweet tea? What do you think?

Wanted, Belfast News Letter (Belfast, Northern Ireland), February 15, 1900

We wonder if £25 per year, plus room and board was a good deal in 1900 Belfast. Seems a bit low, but most workhouses weren’t known for their great pay scales. Regardless, this job opening was probably filled pretty quickly. Nurses have always been needed.

Avenue Advertisement, The Detroit Times (Detroit, Michigan), November 14, 1908

The Avenue Theatre, located at 430 Woodward Ave., Detroit, (the Spirit of Detroit Plaza and the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center sit on the site now.) The Avenue was the where Detroiters came to watch premium burlesque shows. W.B. Watson was a burlesque promoter, who produced many different shows. It’s unknown how long the theater ran burlesque shows, but we do know that the building was demolished in 1950.

Arrest Suspect in Bank Holdup, The Bakersfield Californian (Bakersfield, California), April 7, 1937

John Oscar Hetzer (1911-1978) was convicted of bank robbery and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. He entered McNeil Island Penitentiary, Pierce County, Washington on May 26, 1937. Upon early release, John served in the United States Army from September 23, 1946 to April 2, 1947. He died on May 13, 1978 in Multnomah County, Oregon and was buried at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon.

Beetham’s La-rola Advertisement, The Liverpool Weekly Mercury (Liverpool, Merseyside, England), August 17, 1912

This appears to be some kind of skin lotion. M. Beetham & Son produced a variety of products over the course of it’s existence and was traded on at least 3 continents. Mr. Beetham was a chemist working out of 7 Promenade, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England in the 1870’s and 1880’s. Other available information on Beetham is currently scant.

Married, The Fort Collins Express (Fort Collins, Colorado), August 27, 1902

Howard Joseph Livingston (1873-1957) and Edna Nebeker (1878-1961) were married on August 20, 1902 in Clinton, Vermillion County, Indiana. Howard was the son of Samuel V. (1834-1905) and Jennie (Tusney) (1840-?) Livingston. Edna was the daughter of Seymour (1846-1901) and Susan (Statts) (1845-1922). Howard worked as a dentist and Edna was a teacher in the Fort Collins, Larimer County, Colorado area for all of their married life. They had no children together. They celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary two months prior to Howard’s death in 1957. Edna died in Fort Collins in 1961. They are buried together in Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins, Larimer County, Colorado.

Camel Advertisements, The Northern Wyoming Herald (Cheyenne, Wyoming), August 3, 1921

No endorsement here. Please don’t smoke. That is all.

Warm Water Advertisement, The Fresno Morning Republican (Fresno, California), July 19, 1893

Who the hell wants a warm bath during the summer in Fresno, California??? Only 25 cents. That said, if you are deemed by the powers to be to be an “objectionable character”, you aren’t getting in and you have to just suffer the California summer heat.

Claxton’s Advertisement, Broken Arrow Ledger (Broken Arrow, Oklahoma), March 5, 1959

Mmmmm, pass the piping hot biscuits. Not much information is available on Claxton’s. Anyone from the Broken Arrow/ Tulsa area know what happened to it? Looks like it was situated about where the Hillside on Madison Apartments sit now.

Five Cases of Cholera, Los Angeles Herald (Los Angeles, California), September 14, 1895

According to other contemporary documents, the USS Bennington was serving Pacific Duty during the Spanish American War at this time and she was harbored in Hawaii at this time. She wouldn’t head back to mainland until March of 1896. By the way, the Dr. Rupert Blue (1867-1948) referred to in this article was later appointed to United States Surgeon General in 1909, by President William H. Taft. He was reappointed to the position by President Woodrow Wilson. The Blue brother referred to in the article was Victor Blue (1865-1928), then an ensign, retiring in 1919 as a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy. PSA: Oh, and don’t forget, cholera is a horrible disease. If possible, don’t drink contaminated water and you should probably slap every mosquito you see, just for good measure. Those bastards carry all kinds of bad ailments.

Electro Painless Dentists Advertisements, Akron Evening Times (Akron, Ohio), July 11, 1914

Apparently electro dentistry is still practiced, but very minimally. I still don’t like going to the dentist. There always seems to be something the dentist has to do that isn’t “painless.”

Here we are at the conclusion, my friends. Thank you for joining us on our brief trip back in history. Be safe and remember to love one another.

During our genealogical research, CMS Research & Genealogy comes across many stories that have nothing to do with our current project. We have tons of them and will be sharing them all with you on this blog. All the more reason to come back and visit us again!

June 23, 2023

CMS Research and Genealogy

CMS Research & Genealogy