September 9, 1915 - All men are alike. It is almost useless to try and please them.

This letter started as a bit of a mystery because as you can see from the envelope there is only part of the date; the year. It took reading and thinking about a few things before I have come to what I think is the correct time of the year. First, it was sent to Lakewood, NJ where Helen would go in the summer with her family. Second, he spoke of the New Year. With the previous clue I decided he must have been speaking of the Jewish New Year. In looking up when that fell in 1915. Erev Rosh Hashanah was on September 8,1915. Here is the handwritten letter with the transcription below.

Friday

Dear Helen,
The last Fra had a quotation to the effect that “work is a blessing, and that winter and rain are as necessary as summer and sunshine. By a similar course of logic, sickness is as necessary as health; but whether that is so, the fact nevertheless is true that there is a large percentage of sufferers here from colds, grippe and pneumonia.

Barnet and his mother are just convalescing, and Myra is producing a new tooth daily, having about six.

I had a good laugh when I received your letter. Many things caused it. Primarily your remark “I can’t understand it, but all men are alike. It is almost useless to try and please them.” Are you really sure about that? The word “almost” implies a doubt. And the Proverbs say that “doubt is the beginning of wisdom.”

And even if all men may be alike; I shouldn’t say that regarding women. If anything, no two are alike. I can quote from the Bible down through Ella Wheeler Wilcox to prove it. For example, Solomon – the wise King- had 1000 wives, and he gave it as his experience that no two were alike. Why multiply illustrations?

Which brings me to the second cause of laughter. Remember Shylock’s

“the villainies you teach us, we will execute And the execution, better the instruction”?

 Well, when I wrote an apparently plain letter that our train service was all broken up by the storm and suggested that possibly I wouldn’t be in New York as a result; you drew more conclusions than a magician does rabbits from a hat, and with equal dexterity. Yet when you replied and appeared offended, and as you say didn’t intend to say aught but reply briefly, and I thrust a critics knife into the letter to show that if you are looking for reasons you’ll find them, and so exposed a few nerves, you seemed amazed that any such ideas could be gathered from your remarks.

I’m a bit afraid to say more, because I don’t just know how or what it will convey to you, no matter what it’s intended to do.

However, you’ve no time for this kind of stuff, trying as you are no doubt to take advantage of the holiday season.

New Years is at hand. The last one was good because we here have had peace, health and an opportunity to work. What more can one want?

May the New Year to be ushered in be a very happy one and on this, I hope every deduction of happiness possible may come true.
Sincerely,
Joe

As we can see from this letter there was a dialogue going back and forth from previous letters. I now know that the letters before this were lost over the years. From his comical and somewhat sarcastic response to Helen's letter we get the teasing and flirtation they treasured using their intellect as the base.

The next post on the blog will be on September 24th with an article from the Sentinel.

July 23, 1915 Photographs from Camp

In the summer of 1915 Helen and her family left the heat of New York City and ventured to a camp at Schroon Lake in upstate New York. This was quite a distance from Manhattan. Today it would take about 4 hours by car to drive there on our highways and there are no current train routes to the lake. Since I do not have any letters from this summer I do not know the mode of transportation to the lake but I believe they stayed for at least a few weeks vacation. They went with their family and friends as can be seen in some of the photographs.

 

Helen (21 years old) out for a canoe ride with family friend Jay Kraus. 

 

 Florrie (20 years old) sitting on a fence in a field with Jay Kraus.

 

Florrie sitting on a fence in a field. 

 

Beautiful Florrie.

 Beautiful Helen. In the right photo she has her camera case hanging on her side.

 

 Helen in a field with her hat and camera.

   Helen posing in a field.

One thing you can say about the sisters is that they were not camera shy. There are no photographs of Abe, Lillie and the rest of the family but they may have been lost over the years.

There will be some newspaper articles in the next couple of months.

June 25, 2015 - Coney Island Summer Fun

In the collection of photographs that I have of Helen's family I found this photograph of a family outing to Coney Island. It reminds me of a photograph that was posted in March 1913. Some of the same friends were with them but they are driving a different fake auto.
I have copied the back of the photo because it shows how they printed the photographs so they could be sent to friends and family thru the mail.

The front of the card.

The back of the card.

I can not help but go in close on the strange hat that Florrie is sporting.

There will be more photos of Helen's family coming in July.

June 1, 1915 - Bridgeport Man Faces Trial on Murder Charges

Newspaper clipping from a murder trial.  In researching this I finally found out what happened to Isaac N. Williams of Bridgeport. (See below) Until this article I never heard of Barkhamsted, CT. Oh the things Joe is teaching us all.

BRIDGEPORT MAN FACES TRIAL ON MURDER CHARGE

Bridgeport Post June 1, 1915

Isaac N. Williams Is Charged with Killing Barkhamsted Postmaster.

LITCHFIEILD Conn, June 1. Three jurors were secured from 15 examined at the trial of Isaac N. Williams of Bridgeport, 29, and Harry E. Howe, 21, charged with the murder of  Hubert B. Case, postmaster, banker and storekeeper of Barkhamsted, Conn., who was bludgeoned with an iron wagon axle in his store November 28, 1914 and died without regaining consciousness on the following day.

Judge Joel Reed presided at the session of the Criminal Superior court which was opened for the first time by Sheriff Frank H. Turkington. Assisting States Attorney Donald T, Warner are Frank B. Munn of Winsted and Coroner Samuel A. Herman. Attorneys Charles H. and Joseph. G. Shapiro of Bridgeport, appeared for Williams and Bernard E, Higgins of Torrington for Rowe. Each pleaded not guilty to the indictment of first degree murder.

The Jurors chosen at the morning session were Philo Sperry of Watertown, Asapel Gobson of Woodbury, each a farmer, and Jos. Stillson of Washington, an insurance agent.

When I looked up the name Isaac N. Williams of Bridgeport, CT I was directed to a list of Executions in Connecticut. His name was on the list. This is how it read:

Isaac N. Williams

3325

03/03/1916

Murder, 1st degree

Hanging

On a lighter note, June will have many fun photographs of Helen and her family at camp. I don't have the exact dates. But check back, I am sure you will enjoy them.

May 7, 1915 - The Sinking of the Lusitania

On November 1, 1914 I posted the postcard that Joe sent Helen. I think his joy of making it to Roycroft is obvious. On May 7, 1915 Joe's dreams of seeing Hubbard again were dashed. Hubbard and his wife were on the Lusitania when it went down; neither survived.
The strange part of this story is that Elbert Hubbard had to go to great lengths to get his passport reinstated so he and his wife could take this journey. The articles below explain why he did not have a passport and how he got it back.

 

FAMOUS WRITER WAS ON THE LUSITANIA

ELBERT HUBBARD and his wife were among those who went down when a German torpedo
struck the Lusitania, according to reports from Queenstown.

Elbert Hubbard, the seer of East Aurora, created for himself a unique place in American letters by his wit and epigrams and lately by his philosophy of Big Business. First noted for his pamphlet, "The Philistine," with its keen satire, he later published many books and made a success o£ his own publishing and printing business in East Aurora, where he established a settlement of his workers known as the Roycrofters.

He was born, in Bloomington,Ill on June 19, 1859,and had only a common school education, but he was honored with the degree of master of arts by Tufts college. He started a newspaper career in the West, but went to East Aurora, and from there built up his printing establishment for the publication of de luxe editions and published most of his books.

Of late Fra Elbertus, as he had been known, had written much in defense of leading men in business life and of their business methods, although his early writings were considered radical.

HUBBARD JUST PARDONED.

President   Restored   Citizenship to Give Passport for Trip.

Special to The New fork Times.

WASHINGTON, May 8. The report that Elbert Hubbard was among those lost on the Lusitania brought out today the fact that six weeks ago President Wilson granted a pardon to "Fra Albertus," who had been convicted of an offense against the postal laws, in order to restore his citizenship so that he could obtain a passport for the trip on which he lost his life.

As the story was told today for the first time, Mr. Hubbard came to Washington in March to obtain a passport. When he made his application he was asked the usual question whether he had ever been convicted of a crime and thereby forfeited his citizenship and he then explained that he had been charged two years ago with violating the postal laws and on the advice of his lawyer had pleaded guilty and had been let off with a fine. Subsequently, he said, he had learned that the offense to
which he had pleaded guilty was a felony, and that he had been deprived of his rights as an American citizen.

When Mr. Hubbard learned that he could not obtain a passport he went to the White House and laid his trouble before Joseph P. Tumulty, the Secretary to the President. He suggested to Mr. Tumulty that the only way to obtain the passport was through a pardon from the President (Woodrow Wilson) for the offense of which he had been convicted. Mr. Tumulty was sympathetic and went immediately to the Cabinet room, where the Cabinet was in session, and laid the case before the President, Secretary Bryan, and Attorney General Gregory. He found a ready response to his statement of the plight in which Mr. Hubbard found himself. The Attorney General recommended a pardon, and the following day the
pardon was granted. Mr. Hubbard had no difficulty after that in getting his passport from the State Department.

The official record in the case shows that on Jan. 11, 1913, Elbert Hubbard was charged in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York, sitting at Buffalo, with having committed an offense against the postal laws, that he pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to pay a fine of $100 the same day. In February, 1913, President Taft declined to grant a pardon to Mr. Hubbard on the ground that the application was premature. On March 22, 1915, the Attorney General recommended-to the
President that Mr. Hubbard receive a pardon to restore his civil rights. The pardon was granted by the President on March 23 and the fact recorded in the Department of Justice on March 25.

Hubbard Foresaw Danger.

CINCINNATI, Ohio, May 8.

"I may meet with a mine or a submarine over there, or I may hold friendly converse with a stray bullet in the trenches." Thus wrote Elbert Hubbard to his friend, E. W. Edwards of this city, shortly before he boarded the Lusitania last Saturday. The letter, now in the hands of Mr. Edwards, was one of the last things that Mr. Hubbard ever penned. He wrote Mr. Edwards about his plans for getting interesting inside news and views of the great war at first hand, and said he intended to " store the information in my head so as to escape the censor." He concluded his letter by saying: "I shall return June 20, perhaps."


For obvious reasons I am not transcribing these next two articles.

Knowing how Joe felt about Elbert Hubbard this must have been devastating news.

The next post will be an article on June 1.

March 23, 1915 - Out west again . . .

Here is a brief postcard Joe sent Helen on a business trip out west. This is actually the third post card that she has received from Peru, Indiana.

On May 7, 1915 there was an interesting historical event that really rocked Joe's world.

March 15, 1915 - H.M.S. PINAFORE

As you may have noticed there was not much correspondence between Joe and Helen of late. That is not to say that there was none, but that none survived.

Helen was going through a major life change at this time. It was rare for a girl to have the opportunity to attend college, let alone Barnard College. Helen was doing well in her studies and yet she chose to withdrawn of her own choice to pursue her love of music and singing. Helen was an independent thinker; ahead of her time. She was immediately cast in a production of H. M. S. Pinafore. Below you will see the scan of the original program cover and the inside that lists the cast. Helen was 21 years of age.

Helen was cast in the lead role as Josephine, the Captain's daughter. Her decision to leave school must have seemed to make sense to her. In reading the cast names I noticed that her 15 year old sister Lillian Rosenstein had a minor role in the opera. Lillie had a great theatrical personality and I am sure looked up to her older sister.

Here is an illustration that  I found of the Lexington Opera House (Terrace Garden) where Helen performed. I guess we will never know if Joe was in attendance.

The next postcard from Joe will be on March 23rd.

December 31, 1914 - With best wishes for a Happy New Year

It has been some time since I have made an entry on the blog. There were no letters that I have and time has not allowed me to post articles. Perhaps I will catch up on some of the interesting articles in the future. Here is a letter Joe wrote Helen as 1914 was coming to a close. As you can see from the postmark this was sent at 11:30 PM just before 1915 rang in.

This is a very little envelope, measuring 4" by 2 3/4". That would not make it thru our mail system today. I am assuming that was what he had at hand at the time. I love the nice little touch with the sealing wax in the corner of the front page with his initial S in gold.

December 31, 1914
Dear Helen,
I haven't written sooner, because I have been expecting daily to go to New Hampshire, and though I had an appointment to be there last week, the attorney wired that he would be away a couple of days, and that I could see him this week. Yet this week, and I might add, this year, is almost ended and no word has been received.

The chances are that it will be next week but I will make sure that it will not be on Friday.

I shall now endeavor to go there on the 11th and so dispose of it.

Last Saturday I not only had your invitation; but also two here, but I was so occupied that I couldn't get to any place at all. You must have had a great time at the house and I regret my inability to be present.

I almost went to New York today, which would have given me a chance to see the New Year in, in the big City, but my brother took advantage of that.

However, I have been invited to hear "Manon Lescaut" tomorrow night - with Caruso in the cast, and I will be in New York for that event.

Last Sunday I met a very brillant young man - Felix Frankfurter of N.Y. He graduated from Harvard in 1906 Law, received cum laude, he has a key; and this fall was elected to a profesorship in the Harvard Law School. He gets to New York occasionally and I expect to meet him there in a few weeks. With this in mind I will not speak of school matters. With best wishes for a Happy New Year

I am sincerely,
Joe

I have included link to the opera "Manon Lescaut" and one to Caruso for information on the amazing performance Joe mentions in the letter.
I have also included a link to information on Felix Frankfurter whose name may sound familiar. Joe was right in his insight of this 32 year old attorney. As you will see he went on to have a very brilliant career.
Here is a photo of Felix Frankfurter in later life.

The next letter that I have is from March 23. My hope is to post more articles to fill in in the meantime.

November 1, 1914 - Finally here in Paradise!

This was an amazing postcard for me to find. We knew of Joe's strong connection to Elbert Hubbard. From what we can surmise he did secretarial work for Hubbard in the New Haven area when Hubbard was lecturing at places like Yale. His dream was to travel to Roycroft in Aurora, New York. As you can see from the postcard this dream was realized.

 

 

 Finally here in Paradise!

Joe

I truly wish we had more information about this journey. The fact that he was able to see Hubbard in his home environment must have had a big impact on him. Information about Roycroft can be found with this link. 

I found this photograph on line of the chapel today. The website for Roycroft states that the chapel is currently being restored.

The next letter is December 31 so I will continue to fill in with some articles about Joe's law practice that continue a picture of his life in 1914.

October 19, 1914 - Killing Song Birds Proved Expensive

Here is an article that I thought was interesting. With all of the talk today about gun laws it seems that they were in place 100 years ago.

KILLING SONG PROVED EXPENSIVE

TWO MEN WERE FINED IN HUNTINGTON TOWN COURT ON SEVERAL COUNTS.

Went Out with Rifles on Sunday, But Failed to Secure Licenses First

Game Warden Perrett of Stratford Caught Them Yesterday

Judge Dillon Warns Future Offenders.

Hunting on Sunday without a license and having possession of a mess of dead song birds made an expensive outing for Dominic Ferraro and Anelio Gallo who were arrested in Huntington by Deputy Game Warden Perrett of Stratford yesterday, for as a result of a hearing this morning before Judge J, B. Dillon fines and costs amounting to $44 and $27 respectively were imposed on the accused. Prosecuting Attorney Shapiro represented the state. Both the accused pleaded guilty to the charges of hunting on Sunday, hunting without a license and Gallo pleaded guilty to having killed song birds.

Assisting the prosecution was Wilbur F. Smith of Norwalk who is the county warden for Fairfield county. County Warden Smith identified three song sparrows, four warblers, one yellow throated virio and two white throated sparrows. Mr. Smith who has made a special study of birds said that all the species found on Farraro were insectivous birds and of great value in the extermination of insect pests.

Arrest Made Sunday.

The arrest was made early yesterday morning. Ferraro and Gallo both had small rifles. Each told a different story in court as to which proposed the hunting trip. Gallo is a greenhorn who has resided here only about eight months, while Ferraro has lived in the country 23 years and around this section for the past eight years. There was no question about the circumstances of the acts which caused the arrests in each case and the evidence offered tended to establish just what were the extenuating circumstances in the case. Warden Smith explained that the killing of song and birds of an insectivorous nature was a thing which the state board of fisheries and game was especially anxious to stop.

Fines Imposed.

Ferraro was fined $10 and costs on two counts and $7 on another and his bill amounted to $44 which was raised by friends. Gallos was fined on two counts, $10 each for hunting on Sunday and hunting without a license. This amounted to $27, which the accused hoped to raise before the day was out.

The court gave the accused men to understand that the shooting of song birds was a thing which had to be stopped and that the law in regard to Sunday and other unlawful hunting must be obeyed. It is hoped by County Warden Smith that the fines meted out in the local court, which were minimum in this case on account of the families of the accused, will have a salutary effect in preventing further violations of the game laws.

The birds secured by the two accused were absolutely no good for eating purposes, as the whole mess of ten birds, in the opinion of Warden Smith, would not yield enough flesh to feed a kitten.

The idea of going through the woods and practicing on song birds and otherwise taking chances contrary to the law seems to be too much of a temptation for a certain class of citizens as well as aliens and the superintendent of the fisheries and game commission has instructed the different county wardens to see that the deputies were kept on a lookout for violators of the law, as it is the intention of the authorities to break up the practice of unlawful hunting.

Stole a Boat.

Another case which occupied the attention of the town court was that of Chauncey Bush, formerly of Shelton, who was charged with the stealing of a duck boat owned by Joseph Carney of Shelton. Mr. Carney testified that he had tied his boat up to a tree at Oronooque cove. A chain and the padlock were missing when Mr. Carney recovered the boat I at John Bond's dock in Stratford about three weeks after it was stolen on August 29. Mr. Carney learned from Miss W. Mustapha of Stratford that Bush claimed to own the boat. On inquiry Bush claimed that he found the boat floating in the river and had witnesses present to substantiate his story.On the other hand State had witnesses, friends of Bush's who told a different story, and this, added to the fact that Bush took the boat to Bond's dock five miles away from where he alleges to found it floating, did not tend to convince the court that he was innocent and claimed to have advertised the loss in the Bridgeport Standard. A fine of $5 and costs was imposed.

 The next postcard will be on November 1.