cktimes.ca Archives for Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent
Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent
THE EARLY 1900'S WERE CHARMING AND UNIQUE
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
"Caught between a golden past and a golden future, we are always betrayed by the dismal present". These words written by the American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of our favourite literary expressions as it sums up so succinctly how almost all of us regard our past, present and future.Although we have never advocated the foolish belief that the past was always a wonderful, golden time, we ask you, for this week only, to have "a willing suspension of disbelief" and allow us to transport you back in time to the" halcyon days" of Chatham which appear, to us at any rate, to be in the early 1900's. After all, November of 2009 is not exactly brimming with happiness and joy so a little "vacation" to the past won't be all that bad.
Due to the abundance of wood in the late 1800's most houses in Chatham were of frame construction and most of them had the all important verandah or porch.
It's importance rested on a number of concepts. From a physical point of view, it was a place to escape from the heat of the home on those warm summer evenings. From a social point of view, it was a place for the entire family to sit, relax, discuss, argue and, although the term, (but not the concept) would have been foreign to Chathamites of the early 1900's, to "bond". They were also wonderful places for neighbours to chat, to gossip, to get to know one another and to keep up with the local and world news. How many of us have trouble even recognizing people who live more than a few doors away in this new millennium?
Once darkness descended and the mosquitoes became bothersome, families would retreat indoors and often gather around the living room piano for, alas, there was no television.
One, strolling down a Chatham street in the early 1900's, would not be subjected to the loud, raucous and relentless beat of that one "song" (that defies all logic and plays on every car radio, all the time), but rather joyful voices, from a variety of homes, raised in song that represented family and friends who, although frequently off-key, were never really out of tune or touch.
To get milk for the day, one took the milk pitcher out to the milkman who had large cans of milk on a horse-drawn cart. He calmly and accurately measured the required amount from a tap into tin pint or quart measures that was to keep your family until he returned in a day or two.
Coal oil for lamps was delivered in much the same fashion. One" oil man", who was a bit of a legend in Chatham at the turn of the century, was Jimmy "Coal oil" Armstrong. Jimmy would sit between two huge barrels or kegs on his "oil cart" and , feeling no less important than a rich oil sheik, would dole the oil out with a spigot into waiting containers held by appreciative customers.
For one week in the spring and another week in the fall, many Chatham families in the early 1900's had a dress maker come to prepare clothing for the upcoming summer or winter. For young girls this usually meant one new "good dress" and another "everyday one" for school.
The term "Calling Day" for most of us is a very unfamiliar term; however, for residents of Chatham at the turn of the century it conjured up excitement, romance and even a hint of mystery. In North Chatham (north of the Thames River) during the early 1900's "Calling Day" was assigned to Wednesdays. In preparation for the weekly event, the house was made spic and span, special cookies and refreshments were made and all was in order. With best dress on, the hostess "sat in state" in the parlour waiting for callers from the other parts of the city. In the hallway a special plate was placed for the "Calling Cards" and the hostess could choose whom she would allow "to call upon her" that day. A strange ritual by our standards, but a very essential and important one in the early 1900's.
Chatty porches, brimming milk pitchers, eccentric coal oil deliverymen and elaborate calling cards were all part of that "golden past" we love to fantasize about. We all know that it probably was never ever like we are wont to imagine but, then again, what is wrong with drawing back the mists of time every now and then and escaping . After all there are worse things that we could do.
Jim and Lisa Gilbert are local, national and international award winning educators and historians.
