“Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.” — Brian O’Driscoll, Rugby Player

Botanically, the tomato is a fruit. According to botanists at the New York Botanical Garden, fruits are usually sweet and eaten as a dessert.

In contrast, vegetables are savory and usually eaten as part of a main course.

More technically, a fruit is the edible ovary of a plant. The ovary protects the reproductive part of the plant from its youngest stage in developing a flower until seeds develop.

Common fruits include stone fruits like peaches, apricots, and plums. Bananas are among the most popular fruits in the world. Berries of all kinds and dragon fruit are also fruits. And tomatoes, the focus of this blog, are a fruit containing seeds.

How Tomatoes Became Vegetables

In the early 19th century, plantation agriculture in the American South grew tomatoes as well as other agricultural products. Southern growers shipped their tomatoes to market in the northern states until 1860 when civil war broke out between the northern and southern states.

During the war, northern merchants sourced tomatoes from the Caribbean. After the war ended in 1865, southern farmers wanted to re-establish their business exporting tomatoes and other vegetables to northern markets. So, they lobbied Congress for a 10 percent tariff on all vegetables imported from outside the United States, resulting in the Tariff Act of March 3, 1883 which imposed the tariff on “vegetables in their natural state, or in salt, or brine.”

Not so fast, importers John Nix & Co. argued. The same act also listed food imports not subject to the tariff, I.e., “fruits, green, ripe, or dried.” Nix & Co argued the tariff didn’t apply to tomatoes, because the tomato was a fruit.

John Nix & Co were among the first merchants to source produce from Florida, California, and Bermuda. At one time the company chartered a steamship to bring onions to market more quickly. Nix & Co. exported fruit to Europe and returned with potatoes.

Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304

On February 4, 1887 John Nix & Co. filed suit against Edward L. Hedden, Collector of the Port of New York to recover back tariff duties paid under protest for tomatoes imported from the West Indies in the spring of 1886.

The plaintiffs read dictionary definitions for the words ‘fruit’ and ‘vegetable.’ They also called two witnesses who had been selling fruit and vegetables for 30 years and asked them whether the words ‘fruit’ or ‘vegetable’ had any meaning in trade that differed from the dictionary definitions.

Neither thought the words had any special meaning in trade or commerce.

The defendant’s attorney read definitions of the words pea, egg plant, cucumber, squash and pepper.

Nix’s attorney countered with definitions of potato, turnip, parsnip, cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, and bean.

The defendant’s attorney requested the court to direct a verdict in favor of the defendant, and the court agreed.

Justice Horace Gray, delivering the opinion of the court, concluded that since the words fruit and vegetable had no special meaning in trade or commerce, they must have their ordinary meaning.

Botanically, he said, tomatoes were a fruit of a vine, like a cucumber or a squash. But in the common language of the people, tomatoes were vegetables, eaten the same way as potatoes, cabbage, or celery at dinner, and not as a dessert when fruit was more generally eaten.

And that is how a fruit became a vegetable, and southern farmers once again supplied tomatoes to vegetable markets in the northern states.

Illustrations & A Few Sources

Bright red tomato & cross-section of another tomato, Fir0002/Flagstaffotos; Autumn red peach; from Vilmorin-Andrieux & Co.; Edward L. Hedden; Horace Gray; from Vilmorin-Andrieux & Co. Lawrence M. Kelly. “What is a Fruit?” New York Botanical Garden. Aug. 6, 2014. “The Tomato Conundrum: How a Supreme Court Case Redefined Fruits & Vegetables.” The Holcomb Group.

If you would like to be notified about out my blogs as they appear, sign up for my newsletter. In addition to the link to my latest blog, the newsletter includes news about my writing and publishing.

The post When is a Fruit a Vegetable? Consider Tomatoes. first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Wednesday, April 22 is Earth Day. This year’s theme is Our Power, Our Planet with an emphasis on the daily actions that support our planet, an orb that floats in the darkness of space.

The Earth Day Revolution

On December 7, 1972 Apollo 17 astronauts on their way to the moon captured an image of earth that became the symbol Earth Day. Now called the Blue Marble, the iconic photo taken 28,000 miles away from planet Earth depicts a fragile planet surrounded by the darkness of space.

Two years before, Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day as a way to force environmental issues into public discourse. The Blue Marble demonstrated what was at stake. There is only one planet Earth.

“My primary objective,” Nelson remembered, “was to show the political leadership of the nation that there was broad and deep support for the environmental movement.” [EPA Journal]

On that first Earth Day, 20 million Americans, demonstrated against the impact of 150 years of industrial development. Those demonstrations were a response to environmental factors that could no longer be ignored.

In 1962, Rachel Carson published Silent Spring to raise awareness of the link between pollution and public health. Specifically, Carson stressed the hazards posed by pesticides, particularly DDT, which could kill hundreds of different species – insects, birds, and mammals, including humans. 

Scientists developed DDT in 1939. Its first major application was to clear South Pacific islands of insects that could cause malaria. It was also used as delousing powder. In 1945, the war was over, and DDT was available for civilian use.

Carson’s book described how DDT entered the food chain, how it remained toxic in the environment, how it harmed animals and the world food supply. Silent Spring became an unlikely bestseller. As a child, I remember watching crop-duster biplanes fly over agricultural fields next to the highway. In middle school, I read Silent Spring and wondered about the air I breathed that day.

Years later, as if to stress the environment’s fragile balance, two major events captivated public attention.

On January 28, 1969, Union Oil’s Platform A near the Santa Barbara coast had a blow-out. Within 10 days 80-100,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into the Santa Barbara Channel and onto the beaches of Santa Barbara County. At the time, it was the largest oil spill inAmerican history. Approximately 3500 sea birds as well as dolphins, elephant seals and sea lions were killed. Public response resulted in numerous pieces of environmental legislation.

That summer the surface of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught fire at a time when the public was watching. The Cuyahoga River was the site of various industries. The economy was booming though the river was polluted, and its surface was usually covered in oil slicks.

On June 26 an oil slick on the river caught fire and burned for half an hour. The fires were so common, no one thought much about it until Time magazine and National Geographic both published articles. The Cuyahoga River became a symbol of industrial pollution.

Earth Day & Environmental Legislation

The publicity surrounding these incidents and public outrage led to legislation to protect the environment, continuing public interest in the issue, and that first Earth Day in 1970. 

In 1969 Congress passed a National Environmental Policy Act requiring all federal agencies planning projects that would impact the environment to submit Environmental Impact Statements.

By 1980 Congress had passed the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, Resource Conservation & Recovery Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and established the Environmental Protection Agency. Congress also banned the use of DDT and leaded gasoline.

In 1990 President Clinton awarded Senator Nelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his leadership in founding Earth Day.

Environmental research and a better understanding of climate change and its effects led to the Paris Climate Agreement signed by 196 nations in 2016. The signatory nations pledge to reduce the rise of the global surface temperature. The United States withdrew from the Paris Agreement in 2020, returned to it in 2021, and withdrew a second time in 2026.

Fifty-four years after Apollo 17 astronauts shared the photo that became known as the Blue Marble, an astronaut on Artemis II took this photograph of earth appearing behind the moon. In 1972 the Blue Marble inspired people to see our earth as a fragile planet surrounded by the darkness of space. If we don’t stand together fighting for the environment of our vulnerable earth, this photo may come to represent mankind’s greed as darkness covers our planet.

Care for our environment is everyone’s responsibility. Our Power, Our Planet.

Illustrations & A Few Sources

The Blue Marble taken Dec 7, 1972 by an Apollo 17 astronaut; First Edition Cover of Silent Spring; Crop Duster Bi-Plane over Imperial Valley Farms, 1972; Union Oil Platform A; The Manitowoc Sailing up the Cuyahoga River, 2025; Environmental Protection Agency poster: Environment + Economy = A Win-Win, 2014; Photo by Artemis II astronaut of Earth from the dark side of the Moon. The Story of Silent Spring. NRDC. Aug. 13, 2015. Lorraine Boissoneault. The Cuyahoga River Caught Fire at Least a Dozen Times. Smithsonian Magazine. June 19, 2019. Gaylord Nelson. “Earth Day ’70: What it Meant.” EPA Journal.

If you would like to be notified about out my blogs as they appear, sign up for my newsletter. In addition to the link to my latest blog, the newsletter includes news about my writing and publishing.

The post Earth Day: A Revolution for the Environment first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

In the early 20^th century, the emerging field of Home Economics gave educated women an opportunity to become professionals within a respected field of expertise. As new electrical appliances became available in the early 20^th century, home economists became responsible for training housewives in their use. Home economists could translate technical knowledge into every day language and show women how to apply it. 

I have mixed thoughts about the emergence of home economics as a field. They probably stem from the home economics classes I had to take in middle school. While boys learned woodworking and tried not to hit their fingers with hammers. Girls learned to set a table properly and make white sauce without lumps. I’m sure the classes must have had other topics, but those are the ones I remember. The recipe for white sauce, by the way, first appeared in the 1950 Betty Crocker Cook Book. Milk, flour, butter, seasonings, and lots of stirring. Not surprisingly, learning to stir white sauce didn’t teach me any technical knowledge. But enough about my culinary disasters.

The problem women had in the early 20^th century was that, in general, women were considered to be less intelligent than men. Pioneers in the home economics discipline believed that with proper technical skills, women could prove their intelligence and gain respect without crossing male boundaries by, for example, attending chemistry classes.

Home economist Marion Talbot spent most of her career at the University of Chicago where in 1912 she created the Department of Household Administration. The topic of Sanitary Science had previously been a coeducational program housed in the Department of Sociology. But with Talbot’s innovation, the topic was reserved for women only.

“Home economics is the best subject yet found to teach the power of things,” Talbot said. “It is humiliating to be conquered by things.” Talbot and other leaders in home economics believed that as women gained scientific knowledge about food, cleaning, and efficiency, they could make informed decisions for themselves and their families.

Catherine Beecher said much the same thing in 1872:
“The care of a house, the conduct of a home, the management of children, the instruction & government of servants, are as deserving of scientific treatment and scientific professors and lectureships as are the care of farms, the management of manure and crops, and the raising and care of stock.”
But Beecher’s thoughts didn’t found a new academic discipline.

The mantra of the American Home Economic Association established in 1908 was that for women to improve their position, they must follow expert advice from home economists and denounce tradition. And yet, most women continued to perform the same domestic tasks as they did before, albeit with more modern design principles.

Mary Pattison observed in her Principles of Domestic Engineering published in 1915, “our hope is to bring the masculine and feminine mind more closely together in the industry of home-making by raising housework on the one side to the plane of scientific engineering, and by proving on the other, fuller individual returns for every complete and right domestic activity.” And yet, as this 1927 illustration demonstrates, male and female roles remained much the same.

Iowa State College became the first college to offer an undergraduate Bachelor of Science program in the study of household equipment. Between 1930 and 1955, Iowa granted 308 BS degrees. The school followed up with a master’s degree program that taught women how to understand and repair equipment. Both programs proved women could fully understand the new household technology.

Graduates of this and other collegiate programs found positions with utility companies and appliance manufacturers. In 1935, Betty Melcher who worked at Buffalo General Electric, observed “If Mrs. Jones swears she can’t bake a cake and threatens to throw her range out, it is my job to prove to her that she can and incidentally sell her on keeping the range.”

Of course, Betty didn’t need a home economics degree to sell electric ranges. But without it, she had no credentials for the job. In 1949, a woman without a degree in home economics couldn’t possibly know anything about how the new electric ovens worked, or teach middle school girls how to stir a white sauce. And if women and girls didn’t know these things, they would be as ignorant as the greater culture assumed.

It wasn’t until the second wave of feminism that young women had a choice denied to the founders of home economics. In 1960, women were six percent of doctors, three percent of lawyers, and less than one percent of engineers. In 2022, 37 percent of doctors and 15 percent of engineers were women. In 2024, 41 percent of lawyers were women.

Women have broken out of the domestic cage, and have choices Catherine Beecher never imagined. From my perspective, that’s progress. No stirring required.

Illustrations & A Few Sources

Ladies Home Journal, 1948; Home Economics Class at Goshen College, 1948; Vacuum cleaner Advertisement, Saturday Evening Post, 1920; Marion Talbot, 1911; Title Page for Beecher’s The New Housekeeper’s Manual, 1873; Country Gentleman, 1927; Electric Stove, 1949; College of DePage President Dr. Ann Rondeau by COD Newsroom, 2018. Glenna Matthews. “Just a Housewife”: The Rise & Fall of Domesticity in America. 1987. Barbara Spindel. “The Secret History of Home Economics Review: Engineering the Everyday.” Wall Street Journal. May 2, 2021.

If you would like to be notified about out my blogs as they appear, sign up for my newsletter. In addition to the link to my latest blog, the newsletter includes news about my writing and publishing.

The post Home Economics & Modern Domesticity first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

This is my second of blog celebrating Women’s History Month. The commemoration gives us many opportunities to cheer women’s achievements. Often, however, the ordinary activities of women’s lives are, if not overlooked, at least unsung. It is impossible to consider women’s history without noting women’s activities in the home, the often invisible work space where women have spent much of their time. Historically, thoughts on household activities were confined to middle class white women who had not only their own homes to look after, but also the education and training of household servants.

In the early American Republic (c.1790-1830), women were praised as Republican Mothers and Angels of the House. Their well-ordered homes were sanctuaries from the stresses men faced on a daily basis, a source of love in a cruel world. Beyond that, women were the custodians of civic virtue who upheld the morals of their husbands and children. Both roles were crucial to establish a model American Republic of domestic tranquility.

However, as Abigail Adams had warned, in exchange for their invaluable service to the young nation, women lost their separate identity at the time they married. With few exceptions, many women could not sign contracts, let alone vote. Married women could not own property. Children belonged to their fathers.

In 1841 Catherine Beecher, an unmarried minister’s daughter, published A Treatise on Domestic Economy. The book made Catherine a household name and gave her an independent identity and income. Catherine built on the model of Republican Motherhood to assert that only women’s efforts in the home could prevent society from fragmenting under the pressure of industrialization, immigration, and growing cities with their noise and dirt. Catherine believed that if women gave up efforts to actively participate in civil society, they could claim their rightful place as society’s moral leaders in education and philanthropy. Catherine emphasized that by creating well-ordered homes, women could hold society together.

Catherine’s vision of a well-ordered home was a structure that by today’s standards seems like more than a full-time job. The housekeeper aka wife must be knowledgeable about health, nutrition, cleanliness, appropriate clothing, exercise, manners, orderly habits, charitable giving, and able to supervise domestic workers. And everything must be done efficiently which is why Catherine included instructions for building houses and arranging work spaces, including this plan for laundry and food storage rooms. No detail can be overlooked, including locations for the ice closet which is next to the linen closet and the laundry area with its own stove.

You cannot make women contented with cooking and cleaning, and you need not try. — Ellen Swallow Richards

Ellen Swallow Richards is generally viewed as the founder of the discipline of Home Economics, a profession that welcomed professionally trained women scientists into its ranks while uplifting women who were still trying to figure out how to prepare nutritious food. She and her disciples explained to middle class women that thanks to improvements in science and efficiency, they can provide a healthy home for their families with such efficiency that not only could they forgo the necessity of servants, but also have time for themselves. But the women must be diligent in their efforts.

Ellen herself was a highly educated woman. In 1868 she entered Vassar College to study astronomy, receiving her bachelor’s degree two years later and embarking on a quest for a Master of Arts degree, which she also received after writing her thesis on her chemical analysis of iron ore. Armed with academic degrees, Ellen applied for several positions as a commercial chemist, but no one would hire a woman in such a masculine field.

Disappointed but undeterred, Ellen applied for admittance to the school that became the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was admitted as a special student. The designation made it clear that MIT would not open general admissions to women. It also meant Ellen did not have to pay tuition. In 1873, Ellen received a bachelor of science degree. For the next five years Ellen taught chemistry and established a Women’s Laboratory without a salary or official academic appointment.

In 1875 Ellen married Robert Richards, chair of the MIT mining & engineering department. MIT graciously allowed Ellen to continue volunteering her academic services and also to donate $1000 annually to further women’s scientific education. [Note: One thousand dollars in 1875 was the equivalent of about $29,568.36 in 2013.] Ellen developed a curriculum stressing chemical analysis, industrial chemistry, mineralogy, and applied biology.

Ellen decided that the best way to provide a career for other women scientists and to allow women to pursue interests outside the home was to apply basic scientific principles to the home with an emphasis on nutrition, food safety, appropriate clothing, physical fitness, sanitation, and efficiency in carrying out household tasks so women could pursue interests outside the home. Ellen Richards had the same basic approach as Catherine Beecher, though whether the two women would agree is difficult to say. Ellen would probably argue that her academic qualifications outranked Catherine’s thoughtful advice. In 1882 Richards published The Chemistry of Cooking and Cleaning: A Manual for Housekeepers. The Chemistry of Cooking sounds so much more official than A Treatise on Domestic Economy, even if both authors had the same goals of efficient households and women who could turn their talents to social problems in the greater society.

To Produce and Perpetuate Perfection—or as Near to Perfection as may be Attained in a Household

Just in time to spread scientific ideas about domestic economy, the first issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine appeared on May 2, 1885. In its early years, Good Housekeeping published numerous articles on food safety and food adulteration. In 1888, an article discussed candy contaminated with pulverized asbestos, and in 1902 there was an article about formaldehyde in infant formula, milk and cream.

As the century turned, running a household was becoming complicated. Some of the confusion was due to the increasing amount of household equipment powered by electricity. But a more powerful challenge was changing domestic expectations as professional women carved out a career path for themselves and their sisters. What would this new world look like?

Illustrations & A Few Sources

Liberty in the form of the Goddess of Youth by Mabel Brady Garvan Collection 1796; The Artist & His Family by James Peale 1795; Floor Plan of Laundry & Food Storage Rooms from the New Housekeeper’s Manual 1873; Ellen Swallow Richards between 1890 & 1900; From the Boston Cooking School Magazine 1896; Good Housekeeping Cover by John Cecil Clay 1908. Glenna Matthews. “Just a Housewife”: The Rise & Fall of Domesticity in America. 1987.

If you would like to be notified about out my blogs as they appear, sign up for my newsletter. In addition to the link to my latest blog, the newsletter includes news about my writing and publishing.

The post Women’s Roles: From Republican Motherhood to Scientific Household Management first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Women’s History Month begins March 1. It’s a month designated to celebrate women’s achievements, talents, history, and aspirations. A month in which women’s efforts to achieve economic, social, and legal can be highlighted. So, it seems fitting to take a moment to highlight the timeline of events that led to this month with its focus on women.

The idea that women contribute to the historical record, have a history as valuable as the history made by men, and deserve the same legal and economic rights as men has always been an extremist one.

In 1776 Abigail Adams wrote a letter to her husband John who was attending a congress to discuss American independence from Britain while she remained at home running their farm and raising their children. I long to hear that you have declared an independency, she wrote, and by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could.

A sentiment to which John responded, As to your extraordinary code of laws, I cannot but laugh.

It wasn’t until the early 20th century that Americans slowly saw women’s legal status change.

The Socialist Party of America organized the first Women’s Day on February 28, 1909 on the one-year anniversary of the 15,000 women who marched across New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay, and the right to vote. In 1913 socialists in Europe and America declared March 8 as International Women’s Day, a date that continues to be observed.

The 1913 postcard on the left explains the reason women wanted to vote: For the work of a day, For the taxes we pay, For the laws we obey, We want something to say.

The American campaign for women’s right to vote began in 1848 and proceeded on a state-by-state basis until August 18, 1920 when the 19^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. Two days later the Secretary of State signed the proclamation granting American women the right to vote. A mere twenty-eight words marked the beginning of change in women’s legal status. “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” The amendment did not, it should be noted, remove systemic impediments that prevented American citizens from voting. Neither did it change the legal or social status of women. The struggle for equality continued.

Fast-forward fifty years. In 1971, Congresswoman Bella Abzug of New York introduced House Joint Resolution 52 to designate August 26 as Women’s Equality Day. The resolution stated, in part, that Women’s Equality Day is a symbol of women’s continued fight for equal rights, and, that the president is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation annually in commemoration of women’s suffrage.

In 1978 the Celebration of International Women’s Day morphed into a Women’s History Week. Nine years later, in 1987, the National Women’s History Project petitioned Congress to pass Public Law 100-9 to designate the entire month of March as Women’s History Month.

“If they don’t give you seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” — Shirley Chisholm

In 1968, Shirley Chisholm began her first term in the United States Congress. She was the first African American woman to serve in Congress, and in 1972 became the first woman and first African American to seek nomination as president of the United States.

During her tenure in Congress, Chisholm championed racial and gender equality, fought poverty, and opposed the war in Vietnam. In her later years, Chisholm said, “I want to be remembered as a woman who dared to be a catalyst for change.”

Women’s History Month is a time to remember the courage and accomplishments of women from all walks of life. Today’s blog is the first of three blogs for Women’s History Month. The movement to establish Home Economics as a profession is the topic of my next blog. And the last will touch on the social trend of trad wife, a movement based in current social media.

Illustrations & A Few Sources

We Can Do it by J. Howard Miller 1942; Abigail Adams by Benjamin Blyth 1766; Votes for Women Postcard c1913; Bella Abzug, 1970s; Shirley Chisholm, 1972. Women’s Equality Day. National Women’s History Museum. Aug. 26, 2013. Debra Michals. “Shirley Chisholm.” National Women’s History Museum. 2015.

If you would like to be notified about out my blogs as they appear, sign up for my newsletter. In addition to the link to my latest blog, the newsletter includes news about my writing and publishing.

The post March is Women’s History Month first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

On December 16, 1773, about 100 Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians and boarded three English merchantmen carrying a cargo of Bohea tea. The Americans used hatchets to open the 342 chests of tea and dumped a total of 92,000 pounds of tea into Boston Harbor to protest the Tea Act of 1773. The tea was valued at £9,000, or $1.7 million in today’s currency. The British were, understandably upset with Bostonians, and relations became tense.

Why did a tax on tea ignite so much resistance?

On the surface, the Tea Act doesn’t seem to have had malicious intent. The British Parliament passed the Act to give the East India Company a monopoly on the sale of tea, and undercut the price of the tea Americans smuggled into their colonies.

But it was more, because the struggle over taxation rights had been going on for almost twenty years. Delegates at the Stamp Act Congress of 1765 declared that “it is inseparably essential to the freedom of a people, and the undoubted rights of Englishmen, that no taxes should be imposed on them, but with their own consent, given personally, or by their representatives.” Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766, and replaced it with the Townsend Acts.

The Townsend Acts of 1766 and 1767 included indirect taxes on glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea. Americans vigorously protested the right of Britain to tax them when no American was a member of Parliament. Eventually, Parliament repealed the taxes, except the tax on tea. Parliament wanted the colonies to know, in no uncertain terms, that Parliament had the sole authority to tax the American colonies.

“No Taxation Without Representation”

In 1789 the recently independent American states ratified the United States Constitution. At the time, Benjamin Franklin famously declared that

Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.

Indeed, the United States Congress divided into the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.” [Article 1, Section 8]

And also All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives. [Article 1, Section 7] Thus, Americans were represented in Congress through their representatives, and since representatives served two-year terms, voters would be able to remove a representative if he did not represent their interests.

On July 4, 1789, President George Washington signed the first tax law of the United States into law. The Tariff Act of 1789 required foreign ships (i.e., British or French ships) to pay a 50 cent per ton duty on all shipping, whether manufactured or raw products, that were delivered to American ports. American ships delivering the same goods paid 6 cents per ton. [Note: In 1789 $1.00 was worth $36.83 in 2013.]

The average American didn’t notice the tariff’s impact. Moreover, the federal government was still quite small and didn’t require a great deal of revenue.

The First Tax on Income

Americans didn’t have a tax on their personal income until 1862 when President Lincoln created a Commissioner of Internal Revenue. To pay wartime expenses, Americans were taxed 3 percent on incomes between $600 and $10,000, and 5 percent on incomes over $10,000. [In 1862 $1 was worth $32.09 in 2013.]

Most Americans never noticed the new tax on income, but those who did, objected to it. In 1872, Congress repealed the income tax. Between 1868 and 1913, 90 percent of government revenue came from taxes on liquor, beer, wine, and tobacco. This was potentially problematic since the government was much larger than it had been in 1789. 

In 1909 President Taft recommended a constitutional amendment giving the federal government the power to tax incomes. Supporters of the amendment thought an income tax was a better method to collect revenue than tariffs. In 1913, Wyoming ratified the 16th Amendment to the constitution, and it went into effect, giving Congress the power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived.

Since then, it’s fair to say, income taxes have increased steadily. The Revenue act of 1918 imposed a progressive income tax to support the war effort.

And The Revenue Act of 1942, sometimes called the Victory Tax, was the most comprehensive and progressive tax in American history. For the first time, 75 percent of American workers paid a tax on their income. And to reduce the burden of coming up with a lump sum when the tax came due, the government required employers to withhold money from tax payer wages. Of course, if too much money was withheld, the IRS would refund the overage. By the time the war ended in 1945, 90 percent of American workers filed income tax forms.

My investigation into the history of American taxation with representation has enabled me to procrastinate on the process of actually completing my tax return. If you feel grumpy about taxation, remember that through your representative, you have a voice in the taxation process. It may not be a loud voice, but at least you don’t have to dump 342 chests of tea into the nearest body of water to get the federal government’s attention. You can vote.

Illustrations & A Few Sources

Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor by Nathayel Corrier 1846; No Taxation Without Representation, Clipart Library; Burning of the Stamp Act, Boston, 1903; Benjamin Franklin 1789 by Joseph-Siffred Duplessis & Jean-Francois Janinet; George Washington by Gilbert Stuart 1796; Civil War Envelope; The Fresh Cow by Charles Lewis Bartholomew, c1913; Detail from Two Tax Collectors by Marinus van Reymerswaele 1540s. Beverly Bird. “A Brief History of Taxes in the U.S.” Investopia. Sept. 3, 2025.

If you would like to be notified about out my blogs as they appear, sign up for my newsletter. In addition to the link to my latest blog, the newsletter includes news about my writing and publishing.

The post Americans & Taxation first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Valentine’s Day is almost upon us. A day associated with hearts, flowers, candy, and (if you are a certain age) a fancy “date” at a nice restaurant. But my clearest childhood memory of Valentine’s Day is those chalky Valentine heart candies. Strangely enough, the small candies still exist. And, as is the case with candy corn at Halloween, people either like them or hate them. 

It all began in Boston in 1847. Pharmacist Oliver Chase had a problem to solve. At the time, pharmacists compounded their products into various forms, including powders (sometimes sold as wafers or cachets), pills, or tablets. Customers, however, preferred to ingest their medications in the form of lozenges, and they particularly liked lozenges as a remedy for sore throats or bad breath. Unfortunately for the pharmacist, producing lozenges was labor intensive and involved the use of mortar & pestle to process the ingredients, kneading a sugary dough, rolling out the dough, and then cutting the dough into small discs.

Chase invented a lozenge cutter that could be pressed into the dough to create uniform discs. The cutter was probably a hand operated machine similar to this cutter from 1874. Press link here. Chase’s invention eventually led to his induction into the Candy Hall of Fame, because his machine made the commercial candy industry possible.

Oliver’s brother Silas was the first to recognize that the new cutter could be used to produce candy, and the brothers opened the New England Confectionary Company to produce what they called Chase Lozenges, later changing the name to NECCO wafers. [Remember those?] NECCO wafers tasted good, had a long shelf life, and were affordable. According to legend, civil war soldiers included the wafers in their knapsacks.

In 1866, another brother, Daniel, designed a letter stamping system that allowed phrases to be stamped onto larger candies shaped like scallop shells. These became known as conversation candies. Phrases included “How long shall I have to wait? Please be considerate.”

Smaller heart-shaped candies first appeared in 1902 and were a hit. The candies also could be used for games. At a Boston party in 1911, guests found their partners for the evening through the candy hearts which were broken in half. Each young lady received half of a heart. Young men had to find their candy match. Presumably a good time was had by all.

In 2010, NECCO decided to try new recipes, and replaced the banana and wintergreen flavors with green apple and blue raspberry. Other flavors included cinnamon, lemon, orange, lime, and chocolate. The traditional texture also changed from chalk consistency to one that was softer and chewer. Not only that, new phrases appeared. Instead of the familiar Be Mine, I’m Yours, or Kiss Me, the words Tweet Me or Text Me appeared. Consumers were not amused. Sales fell, and in 2018 NECCO went bankrupt.

The Spangler Candy Company purchased NECCO in 2018, but was unable to supply the Valentine market in 2019. Today production is back on track, and the Spangler Candy Company makes about 600 million conversation hearts annually. Other candy makers, including Brach’s, also make the sugared heart. In 2023, the National Retail Foundation estimated that Americans spent $28 billion on candy for Valentines, though much of that was probably spent on the many other varieties of sweet treats available in heart shaped boxes.

Illustrations & A Few Sources

Butterfly Valentine, 1940s/50s; Interior of Stylish Pharmacy, 1825, Wellcome Collection; Necco Hub Wafers Hoarhound Lemon Drops Ad, 1916; Necco Wafers, Information of New Orleans; Necco Sweathearts, Public Domain. Erin Blakemore. “A Brief History of the Conversation Heart.” Mental Floss. Feb 2, 2024. Gabby Romero. “The Sweet History of Conversation Hearts. Delish. Jan 29, 2024.

The post Be Mine, Valentine first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

As cats are always happy to demonstrate, the simplest container or bit of string or laser light can bring hours of frenzied enjoyment. Now that we are two weeks into a new year, I must admit that I find my enthusiasm for simple pleasures increasing. And what could be simpler than chasing a frisbee? Notice I specified “chasing,” not “catching.” But I digress.

In case you haven’t thought much about tossing frisbees lately, a frisbee is a plastic, oval shaped disc that can be tossed. A flick of the thrower’s wrist sends the disc spiraling towards a person, or a dog, who attempts to catch it. This simple activity is why the frisbee has outsold every toy except the oldest historical toy — the ball. Balls have been around for over 3,000 years. The official frisbee has been around since 1957, but the first recorded use of “flying ovals” was in 1871.

The First Frisbie

That’s not a typo in the heading. The first Frisbee was actually called a Frisbie after the Frisbie Pie Company. According to this origin story, William Frisbie opened the Frisbie Pie Company in Bridgeport CT in 1871 to sell pies. Nearby colleges, particularly Yale, were among his customers. The students enjoyed the pies, and after eating the pies, they enjoyed tossing the empty pie tins to each other. When a student let go of the pie tin, he yelled, “Frisbie.” If the origin story ended here, throwing Frisbees might have never become a national pastime.

From Popcorn Lids to Cake Tins: The Prototype

In 1937 Walter Frederick Morrison, a 17-year-old high school student, spent Thanksgiving with his girlfriend’s family. After the meal, Lucille introduced her boyfriend to a family game called “flipping.” Players tossed the lids from tubs of popcorn. The lids could glide in a flat, curved, or boomerang trajectory. Unfortunately, the lids didn’t hold their shape, and once the lid was dented, it didn’t fly very well. Undaunted, Walter replaced the popcorn lids with cake pans.

One day, Walter and Lucille took their cake pans to the Santa Monica beach. After a few games, someone approached them and asked if they would sell the cake pan for 25 cents. A pan only cost a nickel. Walter quickly realized he had a good business opportunity, and began selling Flying Cake Pans for a quarter each.

Frisbees by WHAM-O

In 1955 Walter sold his invention, now called the Pluto Platter to Wham-O, and on January 23, 1957, the same year the hula hoop was invented, Wham-O produced the first “modern” Frisbees. This month marks the Frisbee’s 69th birthday. You don’t see hula hoops much any more, but frisbees are everywhere.

Wham-O released their new toy, called the Frisbee Disk in 1958. Company designer Ed Headlock made a few improvements by adding so-called rings to the surface to stabilize flight. Wham-O marketed frisbee playing as a new sport. More games using frisbees were soon invented, including one of the most popular games: Frisbee Golf. Players throw the frisbee at a target from a teeing area. The course has up to ten holes. The game is so popular there is an International Disc Golf Association.

Just as popular is Ultimate Frisbee, called Ultimate because the name Frisbee is still under copyright with Wham-O. Ultimate is a non-contact international team sport governed by the World Flying Disk Federation. The sport is played in 103 countries and was under consideration for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. In 2022, Ultimate was removed from consideration for the 2028 Olympic Games.

Tossing frisbees has become like throwing a football in the backyard after Thanksgiving dinner or shooting hoops by the garage: an enjoyable pastime overshadowed by professional sports.

The frisbee was part of the first class inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1998. Other members of the inaugural class were the Barbie doll, Erector Set, Teddy Bear, Hula Hoop, Crayola Crayons, Etch-A-Sketch, Monopoly, Tinkertoy, Play-Doh, Marbles, and Legos.

I started this blog thinking about “simple pleasures.” Turns out frisbees aren’t as simple as I thought. There’s a definite skill set involved, and no-doubt very focused players. But the image of tossing a plastic disk to another person for no reason except enjoyment still stirs my imagination.

Why I’m Still Blogging

For those of you who enjoy statistics, this is my 16^th year of blogging and my 535^th blog. I enjoy writing blogs, because when I’m in the middle of a writing project, putting together a blog gives me a different focus and a sense of completion. This year’s post will continue my whimsical investigations inspired by my research, travels, and items that simply catch my eye, like frisbees, for example.

If you would like to be notified about out my blogs as they appear, sign up for my newsletter. In addition to the link to my latest blog, the newsletter includes news about my writing and publishing.

The Life & Times of Sarah Good, Accused Witch

Now Available as an Audiobook Narrated by Christa Lewis

Illustrations & A Few Sources

Cat in a Box by Lucus; Russell Terrior by Hynek Moravec; Frisbie Pie Tin by Doug Coldwell; Velina Plays Frisbee at the Beach by Velinassecretsnoflake; Wham-O Company Logo by dnh52; Wham-O Frisbee, Public Domain; Disk Golf Scottish Open 2007 by Conor Lawless; Ultimate Player Catching Frisbee by BecAM12; Frisbee Spielen in Meer by Sobot by Arquus. “50 Years Later, Frisbee Still Flying High.” The Virginian-Pilot. May 27, 2007. Troy Brownfield. “The Surprisingly Complicated History of the Frisbee.” The Saturday Evening Post. Sept. 10, 2021.

The post Playing Frisbee: From Pie Tins to International Sports first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

When I first encountered this 1907 Thanksgiving postcard, I thought it was a fanciful parade of turkeys. But the drawing is rooted in the reality of bringing turkeys to market.

My lack of knowledge about food sourcing was not and still is not that unusual. Growing up, the closest I came to any understanding of food sourcing came from watching Rawhide, a television series featuring stories around drovers bringing cattle herds up the Sedalia Trail from San Antonio to Sedalia, Missouri.

Turkey drives had a similar purpose: bringing turkeys to market.

By the early 19th century, turkeys were a common source of food. The birds hatched in the spring and were ready for slaughter in the fall. A single turkey could, with side dishes, feed an entire family, making turkeys an economical source of food on the farm. Some farms specialized in raising turkeys with one or more farms coming together to herd their turkeys to urban markets.

In the early 19^th century, drovers herded thousands of turkeys in flocks of 7,000-10,000 birds. Vermont turkeys walked to Boston; Kentucky and Tennessee turkeys traversed to Richmond, and some birds ambled between Missouri and Colorado.

The roads were bad, the journey long, and the birds didn’t always make the wisest choices. Before the turkeys set out on their journey, farmers took steps to protect their feet. Some marched them through tar and then sand to adhere protection onto their somewhat fragile feet.

On the march with the turkeys were drovers, a wagon with corn for the turkeys and supplies for the drovers, and older children who often scattered corn so the turkeys would stay on the pathway.

Flocks of turkeys walked about 1 mile an hour, and could cover about 10-12 miles before they stopped for the night. Hazards along the way included mountains the birds had to climb and bodies of water they had to cross, usually in the air. Drovers had to keep the birds from crowding together, so they didn’t trample each other. And the flock had to be kept calm in order to avoid a stampede. Drovers used long poles topped with a red cloth to keep the fowls on track.

If darkness fell at any point — be it cloud cover, a rain storm, a covered bridge, or the sun setting — turkeys flew up to settle down for the night and roost. Weighing about 20 pounds each, the turkeys clustered together, often breaking tree branches or collapsing roofs.

Once the turkeys arrived at their destination, they might be marched into the town marketplace, or in later times, directly to the slaughter house. Turkey season began at the end of October and continued into January.

The Life & Times of Sarah Good, Accused Witch

Available at Your Favorite On-Line Book Sellers

Illustrations & a Few Sources

Turkeys on a Road, 1907; Thanksgiving from Harpers Magazine 1858; Thanksgiving Card with Two Turkeys. Andy Wright. “Back When Your Thanksgiving Turkey Walked Hundreds of Miles to Market.” Atlas Obscura. Nov. 23, 2016.

The post Turkey Drives first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Once again, Americans have turned back time. By the time this blog officially launches on November 3, 2025, it will all be over. Americans will have changed time at 2:00 a.m. local time Sunday,  November 2.

Wait — What?

You mean you didn’t know we could control time? Benjamin Franklin suggested the concept in 1784 when he lived in Paris serving as the American ambassador to France.

Franklin observed in a somewhat satirical essay published in Journal de Paris that if Parisians adjusted their sleep schedules to rise earlier, they would need fewer candles and less lamp oil, which would save them money.

“Your readers, who with me have never seen any sign of sunshine before noon, and seldom regard the astronomical part of the almanac, will be as much astonished as I was, when they hear of his rising so early; and especially when I assure them, that he gives light as soon as he rises. I am convinced of this. I am certain of my fact. One cannot be more certain of any fact. I saw it with my own eyes.”

The idea didn’t catch on.

Until, There Was Standard Railroad Time

To understand how Daylight Saving became a national mandate, we need to take a step back into the 19^th century. Prior to 1883, time was a simple matter. When the sun reached its highest observation point, it was noon. Of course, the sun can be fickle about its appearance. Sometimes, for example, there is cloud cover. And, the sun shines slightly differently in Boston, Massachusetts than it does in, for example, Charleston, South Carolina. Which meant that when it was noon in Boston, it was 11:43 a.m. in Charleston. At the time, it didn’t seem to matter, because it was unlikely a person in Boston would have a noon appointment in Charleston.

Except that railroad networks in North America were expanding, and differing local times made it impossible to compute accurate timetables. Enter Sandford Flemming, chief engineer of the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1878 he suggested dividing the entire world into time zones. There would be 24 meridians; each meridian would be 15 degrees away from the next meridian, creating a time difference of one hour.  On November 18, 1883, most railroads in the U.S. and Canada began operating on Standard Railroad Time in four different time zones: Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific. 

With a few adjustments, the Interstate Commerce Commission introduced legislation to Congress, and on  March 19, 1918 Congress passed the Standard Time Act.

Daylight Time

At that time [pun intended], the U.S. was involved in World War I, and looking for ways to conserve resources. In 1916 Germany and other European countries involved in the war had introduced the concept of Daylight Time to reduce expenditures for electricity and coal. On March 31, 1918 the U.S. followed their example and introduced Daylight Time. Of course, the amount of daylight in a given day remained the same. But moving the clock forward reduced the number of daylight hours people would still be sleeping, and increase the hours they would be awake. Thus reducing the need to generate electricity for light and use coal for heating.

Despite the patriotic reasoning, changing time twice in the same month must have been unnerving. If you can’t count on time, what can you count on? Farmers, in particular, argued that changing clock time didn’t change when cows needed milking, chickens needed feeding, or crops needed harvesting before the day heated up. Under public pressure, Congress ended Daylight Time after the war was over. The United States continued on Standard Time until the next major war.

War Time

In an effort to reduce electricity usage that was higher in winter than summer, President Roosevelt introduced War Time, previously called Daylight Saving, on February 9, 1942. The president noted Lost Ground Can Always Be Regained – Lost Time, Never! and admonished Americans to Avoid Time Off, Avoid Time Out, and whatever you do, Don’t Slow Up The Ship!

Congress repealed War Time the last Sunday of September 1944. But unlike the change in 1919, many states and cities continued to enact daylight saving, and created a patchwork of time zones.

Uniform Time

In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act and returned the control of time to the federal government. In 1967 Standard Time became mandatory for all states, and Daylight Time was mandatory from the last Sunday in April through the last Sunday in October. States were allowed to opt out of Daylight Time, which Arizona promptly did (excepting territory occupied by the Navajo Nation). Today Hawai`i, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands also remain on Standard Time.

Most recently the Energy Policy Act of 2005 stipulated the present calendar dates for Daylight Saving beginning on the second Sunday in March and ending the first Sunday in November. The map at right indicates regions that alternate between standard time and daylight time in blue, and those that do not in orange.

Is the matter settled? No. Every spring and every fall the debate over the pros and cons of daylight saving continues. Statistics from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine show that about 63 percent of Americans would like to stop saving daylight, particularly since not that much energy is saved. Lighting uses less overall energy than it did a hundred years ago, and increasing daylight hours only serves to encourage people to use either more air conditioning or heating, depending on the weather.

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

The Life & Times of Sarah Good, Accused Witch

AMAZON

Illustrations & a Few Sources

You Can’t Stop Time; Benjamin Franklin by Joseph Duplessis, about 1785; The Sun; Sandford Fleming by John Wycliffe Lowes Forster 1892; Time Zones of U.S. 1913; Poster Issued by United Cigar Stores Company 1918; Don’t Slow the Ship, NARA 1942/3; Map of Daylight Savings in U.S. 2023. “Did Ben Franklin Invent Daylight Saving Time?” The Franklin Institute. Sleep Experts Want To Stop ‘Springing Forward’ to Daylight Saving Time. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Ian R Bartky and Elizabeth Harrison. “Standard and Daylight-saving Time.” Scientific American. Vol. 240. No. 5. May 1979. 46-53. Veronique Greenwood. “The Dark Side of Daylight Saving Time.” Time. Nov. 1, 2025.

The post YOU CAN’T STOP TIME, BUT YOU CAN CHANGE IT first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Next week, April 20-26, 2025 is Administrative Professionals Week. It’s an annual event the last week in April, with Administrative Professionals Day in the middle. This year it falls on Wednesday, April 23.

Official celebrations for office warriors began in 1942 when the National Secretaries Association was founded. The nation was gearing up for World War II, and office workers were in short supply. The association hoped to attract more white female workers into office work.

The preponderance of women in the office began in the late 19th century as office machines became the norm. According to the 1888 Manual of the Typewriter, “The typewriter is especially adapted to feminine fingers. They seem to be made for typewriting. The typewriting involves no hard labor and no more skill than playing the piano.”

[Note the illustration on the right. The typewriter looks nothing like a piano.]

The federal government hired women during the civil war, because there weren’t enough men available to clip treasury bills. I don’t know what “clipping” treasury bills entailed, but it doesn’t sound too difficult. The government soon discovered a large pool of qualified women who could be paid a lower salary than men doing the same job. In 1866, federal law set the maximum annual salary for women at $900, while men were paid between $1200 and $1800. As then Librarian of Congress A. R. Spofford noted, women “could give good service for less pay than men on his staff, thus resulting in economy.”

Enter New Office Equipment

Just in time for the 1890 census a new office machine appeared. Herman Hollerith introduced his punched card processing equipment in 1889. The Census Bureau acquired the machines and subdivided the operations. Male employees complained about the pace of work and difficulty of using the machines. They often quit after their first day on the job. But, according the New York Sun women worked faster and had a more exact touch. Soon 80 percent of the census computers were female.

Women, it appeared, were also more adept at both stenography and typing. Their ability to do routine tasks made women ideal for repetitive work. Women’s jobs did not lead to upward mobility, and the pay was low. Marriage bars were also common. A woman was expected to leave paid employment when she married. Thus she would not be in the work force long enough to seek promotion to a better paying position.

From the officer worker’s perspective, there were advantages to office work. At a time when women’s other professional employment options were teaching and nursing, office work provided a third alternative. Young women seeking office careers stayed in school longer and the salary was attractive compared to other opportunities for women with a high school education. A file clerk making $12 a week could aspire to run the office with a salary of $80 a week.

And, of course, there was the scarce position of “Private Secretary.” For the employer, having a private secretary was a sign of status. Being a private secretary was equally prestigious.

From 1952 to 1957 Ann Sothern starred in Private Secretary, an early television sit-com about a secretary who helped her boss succeed. The character’s backstory was as a single woman and WAC veteran of World War II. Her office was state of the art with IBM typewriters and telephone gear from Western Electric. In short, she was the perfect office wife.

The more recent period drama Mad Men set in a 1960s advertising agency depicted a time of transition, if not change. Character Joan Harris, for example, ran the office at the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency. The element of change occurred in Peggy Olson’s story as she rose from typist to copy writer.

Times change. So does equipment. Office workers are as likely to be men as women. But the necessity of having people in the office who understand the filing system, can keep up with daily details, and a myriad of other seemingly small tasks doesn’t change. Office workers keep the organization running smoothly.

Say ‘Thank You,’ &

Celebrate Administrative Professionals Every Day

Sandra’s Books: Sea Tigers & Merchants. Ambition, Arrogance & Pride. Saxon Heroines. Two Coins. Rama’s Labyrinth.

Illustrations & A Few Sources

Victory Waits on Your Fingers, 1941; Jewett Typewriter, 1902; Typist Examines Ribbon, 1918; Ann Sothern as Susie McNamara, 1954; Busy Office Lady. Mary C Brinton. “Gendered Offices: A Comparative-Historical Examination of Clerical Work in Japan and the United States.” Sharon Hartman Strom. “Light Manufacturing: The Feminization of American Office Work 1900-1930.” Industrial & Labor Relations Review. Vol. 43. No. 1. 53-71.

The post Administrative Professionals Day – Celebrate Support Staff first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

I remember getting my first library card. I was six years old, and had to stretch to reach the check-out counter. My mother brought me to the library every week so we could check out books. But I wanted to be a big girl and do it myself. There was, however, an obstacle. The librarian wouldn’t issue me my own card until I could print my name, and printing wasn’t my strong suit. The day I succeeded was a milestone in my life. I still went to the library with my mother, but I could check out my own books.

Every time a research library grants me access to its magic, I mentally echo Lucy Van Pelt’s declaration in Peanuts: “Happiness is having your own library card.”

At the time, I had no idea how important libraries would be in my life. Public Libraries. School Libraries. University Libraries. Research Libraries. And now, On-Line Libraries. I really like libraries. I like finding information. I like the quiet. I like nodding at other patrons, each on their own quest for knowledge. Even now when I do much of my research via online portals, I still like physical libraries and all they represent.

National Library Week, April 6-12

Growing up, I thought everyone had access to a library. This was and is hardly the case. Those who could afford it had private libraries. Ever wondered about the libraries in stately homes like Downton Abbey? The books were collected over generations. Publishers printed catalogs they sent to their patrons. When enough people subscribed to the book, the publisher printed it, sent it, and the patron added the new volume to his or her library.

Today we assume that public libraries are available and free to use. We expect them to provide more than books – though we often don’t provide adequate resources for the tasks we expect. Libraries provide computer and internet access for those who don’t have such personal luxuries. They offer meeting spaces. Librarians still offer story hour for children. Libraries allow those without shelter to access heat in winter and air conditioning in summer. Seventy-five percent of public libraries offer career services. Libraries also offer classes in English as a Second Language and General Education Development courses leading to a high school equivalency diploma. To celebrate these and innumerable other services offered by public libraries, the American Library Association sponsors National Library Week.

The First American Subscription Library

Libraries open to the general public didn’t always exist. The first library in America was a subscription library in Philadelphia founded by Benjamin Franklin and other members of his Junto club. Also known as the Leather Apron Club, Franklin established Junto in 1727 as a venue for the mutual improvement of its members. The twelve members discussed questions of morals, politics, and natural philosophy. Initially, the club met at Nicholas Scull’s Bear Tavern.

In their broad ranging discussions, members often disputed among themselves about facts that could be investigated in a decent library. Books were too expensive for any one member to have an adequate private library. However, if members pooled their resources they could purchase books and share them among themselves. On November 10, 1731, ten members paid forty shillings each to establish the Library Company of Philadelphia. The Library Company still exists as a non-profit research library in Philadelphia.

Andrew Carnegie’s Library Endowments

In 1848 Andrew Carnegie and his parents emigrated to Pennsylvania where he began his professional career as a bobbin boy in a textile mill. He worked twelve hours a day, six days a week. His wage was $1.20 per week [about $44.00 today]. In 1849 Carnegie became a telegraph messenger boy earning $94.00 per week, a substantial raise. Carnegie did well at his new job, but what changed his life was Colonel James Anderson’s decision to open his personal library of 400 books to working boys every Saturday night. Carnegie went every week, and resolved that if he became wealthy, he would provide similar opportunities to other working boys.

As it turned out, Carnegie became a self-made millionaire. In 1901, Carnegie sold his shares of U. S. Steel Corporation for $225.64 million [about $8.53 billion today], and embarked on a new career as a philanthropist.

In particular, Carnegie established over 3,000 libraries around the world. The first Carnegie Library opened in 1883 in Carnegie’s home town of Dunfermline, Scotland. Two years later, Carnegie donated $500,000 to establish a public library in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Carnegie had specific criteria for his library donations, and would only build and furnish a library if the city agreed to maintain and staff it. In keeping with Carnegie’s belief that dispensing wealth to benefit society must support the community’s responsibility, funds were granted only after the local government provided a site for the library and passed a law that future book purchases and staffing would be paid for through local taxes. Carnegie also required his libraries to be public libraries with no costs for patrons.

Requests for funding came from all over the country, with justifications ranging from a need to counteract the influence of saloons to providing the same resources as a rival town. Carnegie donated over $60 million to support libraries.

But, How Can I Locate A Specific Book?

At the time public libraries became more common, patrons could not wander the closed stacks to find a book. They had to ask a librarian for assistance. Traditionally, any book acquired by a library was assigned a specific permanent place on the shelf which might be based on the book’s height or date of acquisition. Consequently, library stacks were generally closed to patrons. No idle wandering allowed.

There were, however, book catalogs that listed every book in the library. The catalog might be a handwritten ledger or a printed pamphlet. In the late 18th century small cards or paper slips replaced the ledger. The first catalog cards might have been French playing cards which were blank on one side. In 1791, French bibliophiles developed the French Cataloging Code which in 1876 evolved into the Dewey decimal system which is still used in smaller libraries. Open shelving for public perusal became practical.

Melvil Dewey, a founding member of the American Library Association, developed a system based on decimal numbers so books could be shelved in relation to other books. His work led to the Library Bureau, an entity that focused on machine cut index cards and the trays and cabinets that contain them. With the new system, library location designations became standard, and patrons looking for books on a specific topic perused the cards that directed them to a book’s location. As a history major and graduate student, I spent many hours collecting location information from the card catalog before heading for the stacks.

Meanwhile, the Library of Congress developed its own classification system which is now in use at most academic and research libraries. Even as Dewey developed his classification system, librarians at the Library of Congress with over a million volumes to classify found the new system too restrictive and began developing their own system in 1897.

Without libraries what have we? We have no past & no future. —Ray Bradbury

In our present cultural climate, libraries and public access to information are increasingly under attack with school libraries and public libraries the most affected. According to the American Library Association, in 2023 pressure groups targeting targeting school and public libraries emphasized books representing the voices of black, indigenous and people of color [BIPOC], and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual [LGBTQIA].

“Every challenge to a library book is an attack on our freedom to read.”

— Emily Drabinski, ALA President 2023-2024.

Celebrate National Library Week next week

Visit your local public library & see everything they offer. It’s free.

Monday, April 7 — Right to Read Day

Tuesday, April 8 — National Library Workers Day

Wednesday, April 9 — National Library Outreach Day

Thursday, April 10 — Take Action for Libraries Day

? ? ? ??

Sandra’s Books: Sea Tigers & Merchants. Ambition, Arrogance & Pride. Saxon Heroines. Two Coins. Rama’s Labyrinth.

Illustrations & A Few Sources

Child Reading, from A Child’s Garden of Verses, by Jessie Willcox Smith 1905; “Drawn to the Library” National Library Week shared by ALA; Abbotsford House Library by Michael D. Beckwith; Benjamin Franklin 1767; Andrew Carnegie 1895; Andrew Carnegie’s Philanthropy as a Gold Shower by Louis Dalrymple, 1903; Melvil Dewey, 1891; Card Catalog at Univ of Michigan Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library by Elizabeth Skene. “Banned & Challenged Books.” American Library Association. Georgia Jensen. “Public Libraries are Essential Resources.” truthout. July 7, 2024.

The post “Your Library is Your Paradise” – Erasmus first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Thanksgiving will soon be here, and the feast whether vegan, gluten free, or traditional probably will include the perennial dessert favorite: Pumpkin Pie.

Pumpkins and their various preparations have been part of the American diet since the first English colonists arrived in New England. One of the earliest recipes for a pumpkin-based dessert appeared in The French Cook, published in England in 1653. The author’s recipe for Tourte of Pumpkin is deceptively simple:

Boile [sic] it with good milk, pass it through a straining pan very thick, and mix it with sugar, butter, a little salt and, if you will, a few stamped almonds; let all be very thin. Put it in your sheet of paste [pie crust?]; bake it. After it is baked, besprinkle it with sugar and serve.

The writer leaves out the part about stewing the pumpkin all day before extracting the pulp.

In 1796 Amelia Simons published American Cookery, the first cookbook published in America. Simons offered several pumpkin pie recipes.

No 1. One quart stewed and strained, 3 pints cream, 9 beaten eggs, sugar, mace, nutmeg and ginger, laid into a paste [pie crust] No. 7 or 3, and with a dough spur, cross and checker it, and baked in dishes three quarters of an hour.

Paste Recipe No. 3:
To any quantity of flour, rub in 3/4ths of its weight in butter (12 eggs to a peck). Rub in 1/3 or 1/2, and roll in the rest. Put in deep pie pan

During the 19th century, pumpkin pie transitioned into an iconic dessert that should be on all Thanksgiving dinner tables. The addition was partly due to Northwood, a novel by Sarah Josepha Hale published in 1827, that listed pumpkin pie as part of a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

A poem published in the Massachusetts Ploughman and New England Journal of Agriculture in 1850 further declared:

But here beneath bright Freedom’s sky
A land that valor won,
We’ll sing our famous Pumpkin Pie,
From morn till setting sun!

Enter Libby’s

In the late 19th century Libby McNeil Libby was a canned meat company, particularly known from its canned corned beef. In 1906 Libby’s also produced condensed and evaporated milk. In 1912 Libby’s published its first pumpkin pie recipe to sell more evaporated milk.

“Pumpkin Pie: 1 ½ cups cooked and strained pumpkin, 2 eggs, ¾ cup sugar, ¼ cup molasses, ½ tablespoonful cinnamon, ½ tablespoonful ginger, 1/8 teaspoonful salt, 1 cup (1/2 can) Libby’s Evaporated Milk, with 1 cupful water. Mix pumpkin, molasses, sugar and spices together. Add the mixed milk and water, then add the eggs thoroughly beaten. Mix well and put into deep pie tins lined with pastry. Bake 45 minutes in a moderate oven.”

In 1929 Libby’s acquired Dickinson & Co. which specialized in canning peas, corn, and squash. Over time, the demand for canned peas and corn declined, but Libby’s popularized canned pumpkin with the pie recipe on the back of the can.

Today Libby’s produces 85 per cent of canned pumpkin in the United States. During the 1950s Libby’s introduced the pie recipe still found on the back of the can. In 2019, Libby’s added a second recipe to the label which added sweetened condensed milk and reduced the amount of sugar so the pie filling would be easier to mix.

The World’s Largest Pumpkin Pie

Every year there are contests for growing the largest pumpkin, and also for baking the largest pumpkin pie. In 2010 the Guinness Book of World Records recorded that the pie baked at the New Bremen Pumpkinfest held the title. As far as I know the title still holds.

The massive dessert used 1,212 pounds of canned pumpkin; 109 gallons of evaporated milk; 2,796 eggs; 7 pounds of salt; 14-1/2 pounds of cinnamon, and 525 pounds of sugar. The pie crust consisted of 440 sheets of dough pressed into a pie pan produced by Arctect Fabricating, a welding company. The pie was baked in a special oven for 13 hours. When it was finished, the completed pie weighed 3,699 pounds, was 20 feet in diameter, and produced 5,000 pieces of pie.

A picture of the massive pie is here

If you want to see the pie emerge from its special oven, here it is.

? ? ? ? ?

Sandra’s Books: Sea Tigers & Merchants. Ambition, Arrogance & Pride. Saxon Heroines. Two Coins. Rama’s Labyrinth.

Illustrations & A Few Sources

Thanksgiving Postcard, 1910; American Cookery cover; Libby’s Cooked Corn Beef ad; Pumpkin Pie with Libby’s can. Ellen Terrell. “A Brief History of Pumpkin Pie in America.” Library of Congress Blogs. Nov. 20, 2017. Sarah Wassberg. “Secret Behind Libby’s Original Pumpkin Pie Recipe.” Food History Blog. Nov. 25, 2020.

The post Hooray For The Pumpkin Pie first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

This is a drawing of the Old Anchor Tavern in Lynn, Massachusetts. the drawing was done in 1866, but the tavern opened in 1643. The tavern was situated in Saugus on the road to Boston, making it convenient for both townspeople and travelers. I find it interesting that this tavern, essentially, looks like a large house.

Last year I wrote two blogs about 18th century taverns because the characters in Sea Tigers & Merchants spent a fair amount of time at Ship tavern. Geordie Crowninshield and Lizzie Rowell began their “romance” in one of the upstairs rooms, and many of the characters stopped in the great room for food and beverages. You can access those blogs here and here. I researched the venerable sites of entertainment, libation, and business conferences until I was comfortable with the setting.

So, Why Am I Doing More Tavern Research?

My current as yet unnamed writing project is a prequel to the Salem Stories series. The project takes a step backward in time to investigate the conditions and people in Salem during the 17th century when ancestors of the Crowninshield and Derby families first arrived in Salem. For example, Mary Hodges who married Richard Derby in the first chapter of Ambition, Arrogance & Pride was a descendant of William Hollingworth, whose father was a member of the founding generation.

To supplement the family income William Hollingworth’s wife Eleanor petitioned the General Court for a license to operate “house tavern” in 1670. Business was good and Eleanor’s humble house tavern became known as the Blue Anchor. Initially, Eleanor served her only home brewed beer, but over time, meals were also available.

Every Town Requires a Tavern

Taverns were an extremely important part of Puritan town life, so much so that the 1656 General Court fined any town that didn’t have a tavern, then called an “ordinary.” The record notes that four years later, the town of Concord was fined, because it didn’t have a “common house of entertainment.”

Taverns were usually located close to to the required church meeting house. Church meetings were all-day affairs with a nooning break. Congregants walked vast distances to meet their church attendance requirement, and the only readily available food was at the tavern. Churches did not have heat in the winter; taverns had great roaring fires.

Many people think Puritans opposed alcohol consumption. Not true. Everyone – men, women, and children – drank alcohol with their meals, even if it was only small beer. Men of high social standing routinely owned taverns. For example, Deacon Nathaniel Ingersoll, lieutenant of the Salem Village militia, also operated Ingersoll’s Ordinary. The tavern did a brisk business on militia training days as well as church days. Likewise, on Sundays, Nathaniel Ingersoll was licensed to sell beer and cider by the quart, so long as the man managing the tavern was “godly.” Good thing Nathaniel was a church deacon.

Despite the substantial amount of alcohol consumed on a daily basis, Puritans condemned drunkenness as a sin. An 1658 law stipulated that no tavern owner could allow anyone to be drunk in his establishment or to drink excessively. The law defined that excessive drinking was “above half a pint of wine for one person at a time, or to continue tipling above the space of half an hour, or at unreasonable times, or after nine of the clock at night.”

As for the person who overindulged, “every person found drunken, viz. so as he be thereby bereaved or disabled in the use of his understanding, appearing in his speech or gesture, in any of the said houses or elsewhere, shall forfeit 10 shillings and for excessive drinking, 3 shillings and 6 pence and for tipling at unreasonable times or after 9 of the clock of night, 5 shillings for every offense in those particulars, being lawfully conducted thereof, and for an of payment, they shall be imprisoned till they pay, or be set in stocks one hour or more.. as the weather will permit not exceeding 3 hours.”

Tavern Designs

The Parker Tavern in Reading Massachusetts was built in 1694 in what was called the Salt Box Design typical of so many colonial houses. From the front, the structure appears to be a typical home with a flat exterior. But from the side the pitched roof explains the “salt box” comparison.

[Aside: Salt boxes were wooden boxes for storing salt. they were designed to hang On an interior wall and had a slanted lid.]

Salt box structures had two stories in the front and one story in the rear with a chimney in the middle. Windows were placed to admit natural light. Inside there is an entrance into a great room and a rear kitchen. Salt box design also allows for easy expansion.

Is My Tavern Research Complete?

I don’t think there’s anything more to add — It’s time to write the story.

? ? ?

Sandra’s Books: Sea Tigers & Merchants. Ambition, Arrogance & Pride. Saxon Heroines. Two Coins. Rama’s Labyrinth.

Illustrations & A Few Sources:

Old Anchor Tavern; Puritans Drinking from Pewter Mugs; Cross Keys Tavern Interior, Shelby County KY 1933; Puritan Sitting in Stocks while another is Whipped; Parker Tavern; Salt Box; Salt Box Side Elevation; Quill Paper Icon. Edward Field, The Colonial Tavern, 1892. Rachel Silva. “Everything You Need to Know About Saltbox-Style Houses.” Decor. June 22, 2022.

The post Puritans, Taverns & the Sin of Drunkenness first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

School days, school days, dear old golden rule days,

Readin’ and ‘ritin’ and ‘rithmetic, Taught to the tune of a hick’ry stick,

You were my queen in calico, I was your bashful barefoot beau

And you wrote on my slate, I love you Joe, 

When we were a couple of kids.

Will D. Cobb and Gus Edwards wrote School Days in 1907 from the nostalgic perspective of an older couple who probably grew up together in the same rural town. Many of us still look back on our “school days” with a bit of nostalgia, if only because we were younger then.

Rules for Teachers

As children and teachers return to classrooms, the poster “Rules for Teachers” also reappears. These rules were probably not as consistent as the posters make them appear, but the sentiment was probably universal. People didn’t become teachers due to good working conditions, but because they needed a job. The rules reflect social attitudes towards teachers — and they aren’t as pleasant as they appear on the Hallmark Channel.

The Rules in 1872

1. Teachers each day will fill lamps, clean lamp chimneys.

2. Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day’s session.

3. Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to the individual tastes of the pupils.

4. Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly.

5. After 10 hours in school, the teacher may spend the remaining time reading the Bible or other good books.

6. Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.

7. Every teacher should lay aside from each pay a good sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining years so that he will not become a burden on society.

8. Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity and honesty

9. The teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for 5 years will be given an increase of 25 cents per week in his pay, provided the Board of Education approve.

Notice that male teachers are allowed time for courting purposes, but female teachers who marry will be dismissed.

I was intrigued that male teachers should not go the barber shop. Perhaps when a quarter was still worth a quarter, it was too extravagant to spend two bits on a shave and a haircut, even if it was only on a Saturday. Fun Fact: A shot of whiskey also cost two bits.

The Rules in 1915

Times changed. These rules seem more directly aimed at women.

1. You will not marry during the term of your contract.

2. You are not to keep company with men.

3. You must be home between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless attending a school function.

4. You may not loiter downtown in ice cream stores.

5. You may not travel beyond the city limits unless you have the permission of the chairman of the board.

6. You may not ride in a carriage or automobile with any man unless he is your father or brother.

7. You may not smoke cigarettes.

8. You may not dress in bright colors.

9. You may under no circumstances dye your hair.

10. You must wear at least 2 petticoats.

11. Your dresses must not be any shorter than 2 inches above the ankle.

12. To keep the school neat and clean, you must sweep the floor at least once daily, scrub the floor at least once a week with hot, soapy water, clean the blackboards at least once a day and start the fire at 7 a.m. so the room will be warm by 8 a.m.

It occurs to me that if a female teacher cannot keep company with men, she is unlikely to marry. This restriction on marriage continued into the 1930s when married female teachers were routinely dismissed, because a married woman had someone to support her. If she continued to teach, she would deprive someone else of a job. In addition, a married  female teacher was likely to become pregnant, and have to leave her job anyway. After World War II began, many women went to work in factories, thus causing a shortage of teachers. Suddenly, married women were less undesirable.

Why Couldn’t Teachers “Loiter” in Ice Cream Parlors?

But, why couldn’t teachers “loiter” in ice cream parlors. I suppose if a teacher had a dish of ice cream and left, that was okay, but she could not loiter on the premises. [Loiter: to stand or wait idly, without apparent purpose.]

Apparently ice cream parlors had a reputation as dens of iniquity. In 1895, a man from New York testified to the Senate that he knew of several ice cream parlors that were covers for prostitution.

In the early 1900s, ice cream was considered a “foreign” product, and ice cream parlors a recruiting location for prostitution and human trafficking, which was then called white slavery.

In Chicago, there was a curfew ice cream parlor hours, because, according to a 1911 report, ice cream parlors attracted gropers, flirts, and girls who told boys they could be ‘had.’ 

Wishing students and teachers, whether in-person or on-line, a successful and happy school year.!

“You’re off to great places! Today is your day! You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away!“

— Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go

Sandra’s Books: Sea Tigers & Merchants. Ambition, Arrogance & Pride. Saxon Heroines. Two Coins. Rama’s Labyrinth.

Illustrations & A Few Sources:

School Days 1905; School Bus by VectorOpenStock; The Celebrated Triumph Dovetailed & Doweled 1881; September-Back to Work-Back to School-Back to Books, 1940, NARA; 1880s Ice Cream Parlor; Theda Bara, When a Woman Sins, 1918; Recipe for Courtship, 1805; Ice Cream Cup by Killarney; Symbol of Education by Rflor. Erin Blakemore. “Why Ice Cream Parlors Were Once Considered Evil.” Mental Floss. Jul 15, 2017.

The post Rules for Teachers — No Loitering in Ice Cream Parlors first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Are You Ready for Prime Day?

If you haven’t already started reviewing Amazon’s extensive inventory, you can shop til your fingers drop on Amazon Prime Day from 12:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time tomorrow, July 16. This year the July shopping spree for Prime members ends Wednesday, July 17 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.

The first Amazon Prime Day was on July 15, 2015 in honor of Amazon’s 20^th Anniversary. That’s right, Amazon opened its digital doors on July 16, 1994. Now, after 30 years, it seems as if Amazon’s brown packages sporting the Smile logo with an arrow from A to Z have always been delivered to our doors. But in 2015, it was a novelty to order products without having to go into a store, even if the product was a book. I once lived in a town without a book store. I had to order books through book club catalogs and wait several weeks for their appearance. But, I digress.

So, yes, Amazon started shipping in 1995 with the motto Get Big Fast and the slogan Earth’s Biggest Bookstore. There was another company that sold books on line, but only Amazon delivered them.

How Amazon Became Amazon

Why is Amazon called Amazon? It might have been called “Jeff’s Books,” or its original name—Cadabra. Turns out, the word Cadabra sounded too much like cadaver. And I’m pretty sure “Jeff’s Books” was never in the running. In 1995, websites were alphabetical, so having a name that began with the letter “A” was a good marketing plan. [Back in the days of telephone books, names like “Acme” were popular for the same reason.]

Legend says Jeff Bezos named his new company after the world’s largest river as defined by the volume of water it discharges. The Amazon was the world’s biggest river, and Bezos wanted to build the world’s biggest bookstore. He did more than that. Excluding ebooks, media and services, Amazon is now the world’s biggest online retailer with over 600 million products listed. Amazon sells 12 million of these with third-party sellers supplying the remainder.

Amazon even carries “tiny houses” – some with free delivery and easy payment plans. More about that on my next blog.

In March 2023, Amazon’s web site attracted 2.4 billion visitors. “Window shopping” has never been so convenient.

In 2005 Amazon introduced Prime, a subscription service that includes free one-day, two-day and, in some cases, same-day shipping, video streaming, gaming, groceries, Whole Foods discounts, and various other perks for members, including being to shop on Prime Day. Globally, Amazon Prime has over 200 million members.

From Customers’ Carts to Their Doorsteps

Amazon’s product delivery system is based on fulfillment centers. Once a customer places an order, it is transmitted to a fulfillment center where it is packed into boxes. The packages are loaded onto large trailer trucks for the drive to an Amazon air site. Once the plane lands, the products go to a sort center to be organized by zip code, and loaded onto trucks going to delivery stations. Next the products go into delivery vehicles which could be USPS, UPS, or FedEx and routed to the customer’s door.

Sometimes same-day delivery is too slow. So in July 2022, Amazon introduced Amazon Prime air drones that, in certain regions, can deliver products within an hour. If you look closely, you’ll see the drone above is carrying a package labeled Amazon Air.

A recent blog by Adlucent says 61% of Americans start shopping on Amazon, because a.) they can see almost every possible product, many with reviews, in one place; and b.) Prime membership gets them free, fast shipping. The most popular shopping categories are electronics, home goods, and books.

The shopping experience has come a long way since the first Sears Catalog appeared in 1888. More about that consumer revolution in my next blog.

?️ ?️ ?️

Sandra’s Books: Ambition, Arrogance & Pride. Saxon Heroines. Two Coins. Rama’s Labyrinth.

Illustrations & A Few Sources

Cats in Amazon boxes by Sheila Sund; Amazon Prime logo by Amazon.com; example of tiny home by Ben Chun; Amazon Prime Air by MarcelX42; Amazon Prime Now logo by Jay Suresh; Amazon delivery drone by Wikideas1. “Why Consumers Pick Amazon.” Adlucent. Patrick J. Kiger. “How Does Amazon Deliver Stuff So Fast?” How Stuff Works. Aug. 9, 2022. Christopher McFadden. “A Very Brief History of Amazon: The Everything Store.” Interesting Engineering. Mar. 17, 2023.

The post Amazon Prime Day & Other Trivia first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.