Kosciusko, 1955.

This morning I was doing a little searching in a couple of reels of microfilm and not only did I find exactly what I was looking for (info on a family home; an obituary), but I also found some entertaining tidbits, especially in the March 10, 1955 edition of the Kosciusko Star-Herald. Like what, you ask? Well. . .

1. From the Personals:
Mar. 8
Dear John:
Please come back home! Didn’t realize it meant so much to you!
--Mary

Feel free to suggest what it is Mary and John were arguing about. My guess is that she threw away his bottle cap collection.

2. There is a section called “At the Hospital” that lists everyone currently in the local hospital! No wonder everyone in a small town knows everyone’s business. In 1955, it was in the paper!

3. A shoe ad from Penney’s offers “SHOES for the entire FAMILY!” What is notable is that in every description of the shoes (baby shoes, pumps, something called "vamps,") there is the added detail that they are also “sanitized.” I am all for shoe sanitizing (especially at a bowling alley), but I am not quite sure why new shoes needed to be sanitized--or why this was a selling point!

4. I was delighted to know that in 1955, ear-piercing was becoming popular:
The old-fashioned custom of pierced ears is returning. The Jewelry Industry Council says that manufacturers report an increasing demand for earrings to fit pierced ears. The council says two factors probably influence the revival: comfort and economy. When today’s woman invests quite a bit of money in earrings, she wants to make sure they won’t get lost.

When I told Elisabeth this, she told me about the method her mother used in order to pierce her ears: some crazy screw-in earrings called “self-piercers.” From the ever-interesting Wikipedia:

Another method for piercing ears, first made popular in the 1960s, was the use of sharpened spring-loaded earrings known as self-piercers, trainers, or sleepers, which gradually pushed through the earlobe. However, these could slip from their initial placement position, often resulting in more discomfort, and many times would not go all the way through the earlobe without additional pressure being applied. This method has fallen into disuse due to the popularity of faster and more successful piercing techniques.

Funny that this method has fallen into disuse. It sounds so effective. . .and so pleasant.

Pass the Puff Paste, Please.

In looking for a 1898 murder case this afternoon, I was browsing the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, hoping that a Mississippi murder would’ve made the biggest regional paper. While I didn’t find what I was looking for, I did find a great section of the paper called “Women and. . .Society.” It’s no murder, but this section does feature the following:

• Beauty advice, including a long treatise on how lemons are the key to beauty. Did you know that a “dash of lemon juice in plain water is an excellent toothwash, removing not only tartar, but sweetening the breath, and a teaspoonful of the juice will drive off a bilious headache before the sufferer can say caterpillar”? (I’m sure the headache cure has nothing to do with the caffeine in the coffee and everything to do with the power of lemon juice.) I also learned that the juice of a lemon mixed with a teaspoon of baking soda after each meal will “pull the flesh right off the most persistently fat woman who ever worried over her weight.” I know it’s wrong, but I have been cackling over the phrase “persistently fat” for the last hour.

• Society notes, which are less society and more gossip:
--Mrs. Parsons is very much better.
--Miss Lizzie May Smith will go abroad this summer.
--The friends of Mrs. Julia Iverson Patton will regret to learn of her illness.
Sound familiar? This is the 1898 version of Facebook status updates! They are just as boring 111 years ago as they are today.

• The news that scandal rocked the Kentucky town of Jefferson when Miss Belle Berry decided to run for mayor. The story starts with this charming line: “No wonder the world asks what will women do next when The Louisville Courier-Journal publishes the following story as authoritative.” Please!

• And finally, I am gassing up my time machine so that I will not miss this cooking class menu: “Bouillon, puff paste, oyster patties, Richmond maids of honor, cheese sticks and cheese fingers.” And yes, of course I looked up what Richmond maids of honor were. Thank goodness they’re included: the menu is now saved! The rest of that stuff just sounded like torture. Nothing can precede “paste” or “patties” and be good in my book.

Women and. . .Society. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 9 Mar 1898. Page 9. Accessed via ProQuest Historical Newspapers, 27 May 2009.