Tag: gossip

Old Ad of the Week: That Wide-Awake Look

I read a lot of old newspapers, which means I see a lot of old ads. Some of them are too good to keep to myself.

Source: The San Francisco Examiner; May 4, 1941

 

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Old Ad of the Week: These Dreadful Hickies!

Hickies = Old term for pimples.

I read a lot of old newspapers, which means I see a lot of old ads. Some of them are too good to keep to myself.

Source: Chicago Tribune; Sept. 25, 1938

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Cora: The Party Line (10)

Read the full Cora Stallman series here.

Thursday, Aug. 27, 1925. Coles County, IL

Untangling the events of Cora Stallman’s last day alive is no simple task.

The most obvious solution would be to get sheriff’s records or a transcript of the inquest testimony. Many years ago, I contacted the Coles County coroner’s office, hoping to do just that. The coroner himself was kind enough to search for me. Sadly, nearly all documents related to Cora’s case had disappeared in the intervening decades. “Sometimes the basement floods,” he said with some regret. Continue reading “Cora: The Party Line (10)”

Old Ad of the Week: Darn That Gogo Carsons!

I read a lot of old newspapers, which means I see a lot of old ads. Some of them are too good to keep to myself.

Source: Chicago Tribune; Sept. 25, 1938

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Cora: Until the Corn Grew Too High to See Them (9)

Read the full Cora Stallman series here.

Thursday, Aug. 27, 1925. Humboldt, IL

On the first day of Cora Stallman’s inquest, Edith Lilley was in the witness chair twice. Both times she had plenty to tell — and yet, she hardly figures in the resulting newspaper accounts. Her testimony was mentioned only at the ends of articles, when it was mentioned at all. Maybe this oversight was due to when she testified, halfway through the event, after people had been sitting in the stuffy town hall for hours. Or maybe it was simpler than that. A farm wife, despite knowing Cora as a person and friend, could not compete against the allure of learned experts — even ones who knew her only as a body. The newspapers wanted to hear from doctors and scientists, so that’s who they put on the front page.

Continue reading “Cora: Until the Corn Grew Too High to See Them (9)”