Zero Deaths

Can't say death toll was something I considered when selecting my university.

1890s Greenville City Directory

Painless Opium Cure

Makes you wonder what was in the cure if they eliminated alcohol and drugs...

1890s Greenville City Directory

Kilby Cabin

I don't typically share personal history here, but this was a photograph I had no idea existed. Most of my ancestors were Appalachian folk who didn't leave much of a paper trail, much less photographs behind. This cabin was built by John Kilby in Culpepper Virginia about 1749. John Kilby is the Kilby "brickwall" genealogists (including myself) have been searching for over 30 years for any indication of his origin or even his parents' names. DNA tests conducted only tell us the terribly broad "British Isles." Wherever he came from, here are his family's humble beginnings in America. 

(LeGrange was the name of more recent residents)

How to Label Poison

January 1945 - The Slater News

"I went for pajamas in the second or third years of my married life, but I cut it out when my husband turned bookworm."

Greenville News - 1950-Sept-11

Corsets not just for women

Greenville News - 1948 Oct 6

Hippo Tonsils

Hippo Rosie misses her millionaire boyfriend

Greenville News -  1948 Oct 5

Peacock Syrup

The cure for your kid's sweet tooth.

Greenville News - 1919 April 12

Peerless Folding Ladder

Apparently they were 'peerless,' you can buy one of their step ladders today for $150!

Sanitary Food

Apparently sanitation was a big marketing point back in the day.

Genealogy & Computers

Hello 1980s!

Go-carts and Carriages

I wonder if they ever raced the baby carriages? :-P

Greenville News - Ad

Peter Pain in the Back

Greenville Piedmont -  1948 Oct 4

Rose-colored Glasses

I love history, but we must remember to take off the rose-colored glasses to keep the nostalgia in check. Events of the past few weeks prove that human nature hasn't really changed in 100 years.

D-Day

71 years ago was D-Day. Here's a first-person account of that significant day: "Just like the 4 of July. But more ducking."

Letter from Stephen Kwasnik - 1945 Dec 19

Summer Trip Planning

Traveling this summer? Don't forget to get a copy of the Official Automobile Blue Book.

Pre-GPS Directions

Would definitely need a full-time navigator to read the directions to you.

Teacher Conference

Pros: Good grades
Cons: Too vivacious and needs to stop swing dancing.

Decmeber 1937 - Elsie Baine to Evelyn Dill

Date of Creation

Archibishop Usher has it all figured out

Sunday School Report Card

I hadn't realized children received grades for Sunday school back in the day:

Parole

150 years ago today, Lee surrendered at Appomattox. Many prisoners of war were released on parole with papers like the one below:

Easter Card

1942 Easter card to Evelyn Dill from David McNeely

1942 Easter card to Evelyn Dill from David McNeely

Easter Suit

"The man without a new suit for Easter is as bad off as a woman with an old bonnet."

Greenville News - 25 March 1913

Bomb Spacing

Watching the Grass Grow

Dangers of Smoking

Slater News - 5 Dec 1946

Photo Shoot

"Perfectly natural action pictures, taken in a spirit of fun, finished in a post card size."

April 1945

Sign Off

Of all the 1940s correspondence I have been reading, Elsie's has been my favorite. She has fun with words. Here's one of her sign offs:

August 1943

Valentine Card

Cute Valentine's Day card from the 1940s. Based on all the letters, David McNeely was head-over-heels for Evelyn Dill, her not so much. They did eventually marry, but were divorced not too long after. She lived the rest of her life single. Happy Valentine's Day?

Return Address Rhyme

"Postman postman do your duty take this to my darling beauty."

Envelope - 22 Dec 1943

Suprise Inside

On quite a few of his letters to his sweetheart, he would add a surprise on the envelope.

Envelope circa 1943 from David McNeely to Evelyn Dill

Permission to Call

Lover's note asking to spend the evening with Ione Rowell.

Note - 1913 Dec 16

SWAK

He sealed almost every letter he sent her in this manner.

Idiom

Not an idiom that I was familiar with. Apparently "everything but the kitchen stove" pre-dates "everything but the kitchen sink"

150-year-old Fire

Keep that flame burning

Get Well Soon

It's cold and flu season. Here's some encouragement from the 1940s

Western Union Telegram

Western Union Telegram always get the song 'Communication' by Slim Gaillard stuck in my head.

Recording Studio

Ad for a NY recording studio on an envelope verso.