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Christmas A Century Ago

Here's something I haven't done in a long time:  A deep-dive into the Holland City News archive on the Hope.edu website!  Let's take a gander at Christmas time in 1921:

"The Christmas Season of 1921 comes to a world which I think we all realize has now set its feet fairly and firmly in the way of rehabilitation and of return to the safe ways of progress and construction. Our own country may well regard itself as peculiarly fortunate both in its own bounteous resources and by reason of the opportunity which it has enjoyed of making its own good fortune and means to help others. At this Christmas Season, I hope and am very sure that our people will return devout thanks for the blessings that have been bestowed upon them, and renew their pledges of service and usefulness of earnest effort and safe advancement in behalf of the best things in life" 

The front page of the December 22, 1921 issue of the Holland City News opens with this writing from President Warren G. Harding.  A poignant calling, I suppose, to a recovery after a Great War and an influenza epidemic - history repeats itself in 2021, after the United States has staved off a coup, withdrawn its forces from a 20 year conflict in Afghanistan, and is still dealing with a different respiratory pandemic.

Hinting at a future Dispatch from Tulip City, there's a tiny mention of the Masonic Temple on West 10th Street, and how crews hoped to be done with construction by summer 1921.  There's a mention of the Christmas tree lighting in Centennial Park, with the tree being furnished by the Daughters Of The American Revolution, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton Chapter (not Angelica nor Peggy).

Page 4 tells us of a man from Grand Rapids who has never ridden a train, smoked tobacco, nor drank rum and hopes to live a long, healthy life while not doing any of those things.  Page 5 opens with a small blurb about Prohibition, saying that "in view of the 18th Amendment," all saloon ordinances are considered obsolete - in other words, because the 18th Amendment superceded any state or local laws, the laws within the City of Holland no longer had any applicable value.  Seems like a rather wordy way of saying "Y'all motherfuckers can't drink anymore."

Page 6 gives us something pretty darn cool:  An ad for Meyer Music.  I had no idea that Meyer was that old.  Sure, I got stuff from them when I played the tuba in 1999 and 2000, and my mom bought stuff from them when she played the flute in the 1970s, but...man, the company is over 100 years old.  That's awesome!

Page 9 tells us a story of a couple of moonshiners or bootleggers who crash their car in Saugatuck, and hold a farm family hostage at knifepoint.  Those Allegan County boys...they sure know how to have a good time!


Works Cited:
Holland City News, "Holland City News, Volume 50, Number 52: December 22, 1921" (1921). Holland City News: 1921. 51. https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/hcn_1921/51

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