Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/599598
6 NOVEMBER 11-17, 2015 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Unless you have been living under a rock, it was hard to miss the breathless trivia that October 2015 was the future year set in 1975's movie Back to the Future. The media bombarded us with the correct and incorrect predictions in the movie. I am not brave enough to predict 40 years into the future as to what 2055 may hold. Hindsight being 20/20, today's column will confidently look back at 1915 to see what was doing 100 years ago. As Detective Joe Friday once said, "Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts." 1915 was a happening location. What can you say about a year that featured World War I, Typhoid Mary and Babe Ruth's first home run? Hop on board the Way Back Machine with Mr. Peabody and his boy Sherman. We shall gather by a century old calendar and see what sort of place in which our grandparents and great grandparents hung out. First, some general stuff: Woodrow Wilson was President. Germany and Britain were involved in World War I and were blockading each other's ports. Our old pal, Albert Einstein came up with this theory of relativity while sitting with a bunch of his in-laws at his wife's birthday party. Einstein realized that his sensation of time standing still while he was stuck listening to his brother-in-law rant about sorghum prices might be a clue to the relation of energy, mass, time and space. The U.S. had about 100 million people. The Dow Jones average was 99.15 points. A new house cost $4,800. You could buy a new car for $500 and fill it up with gas at 8 cents a gallon. Bread cost 7 cents a loaf. Steaks were 26 cents a pound. A dozen eggs would set you back 34 cents. Unemployment was at 8.5 percent. The average income was $1,076 a year. Sugar was 7 cents a pound. Life was sweet on the surface. Not everything was benign. Some spooky new inventions appeared in 1915. Chlorine gas for killing your opponents in war and gas masks for surviving the chlorine gas showed up. Britain began military tests for tanks to try out on the Germans. Kraft processed cheese was born, destined to grace grilled cheese sandwiches for time immemorial. Raggedy Ann was born. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. In January 1915, the U.S. House of Representatives, citing family values and the need to keep the Little Women in their place, voted to deny women the right to vote. As a clue as to what to expect 100 years later, Russia invaded and occupied western Ukraine. Las Vegas became possible when George Claude patented the first neon tube sign. March 1915 saw the capture of Typhoid Mary Mallon. Mary was an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever. That means she never got sick and didn't have typhoid symptoms. However, she shed typhoid cooties into the stew like Jeb Bush making excuses for lousy debate perfor- mances. Being a generous person, she believed it was better to give than receive. So she gave typhoid to the families she worked for as a cook. Not being much of a student of hygiene, Mary did not believe in washing her hands before cooking. And bless her heart, she loved to cook. She would leave one family when her employ- ers got too sick to pay her. Then she'd move on to another cooking gig. She got stuck in quarantine in 1907 but released in 1910 after she promised to stop cooking. Unfortunately, her new job doing laundry didn't pay as well as cooking. She just changed her name to Mary Brown and cooked for different unsuspecting rich folks for the next five years. The authorities finally caught up with her in 1915. Unconvinced by her heartfelt promises that she would stop cooking, the Health Board kept her in quarantine for the rest of her life. Babe Ruth hit his first home run in May 1915 as a pitcher, losing to the Yankees 4-3; however, Fayetteville disputes that fact, citing March 194. Erich Muenter, a Harvard German professor and big time fan of the Kaiser, blew up a bomb in the U.S. Senate reception room in June and the next day shot J.P. Morgan Jr. to protest Morgan's work with Britain on war contracts. For his troubles Erich got arrested and committed suicide in jail awaiting trial. On a lighter note, the first National Horseshoe Throwing championship was held in Kellerton, Iowa, in October and won by the late great Frank Jackson. This national exposure of the manly sport of horse shoe tossing and World War 1 battles gave rise to the saying, "Close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades." So today we send out a great big Face Book birthday salute to 1915. A great year that doesn't look a day over 75. Happy 100 TH Birthday To 1915 by PITT DICKEY Before Treatment After Treatment Only four weeks after only VenaCure EVLT Treatment Other services available: • • Dr. Hari Saini • Dr. Krishnan Ramaraj The Vein Clinic at Carolina Heart and Leg Center 3637 Cape Center Drive 910.491.1763 www.CarolinaHeartandLeg.com Before Treatment After Treatment Only four weeks after only VenaCure EVLT Treatment Other services available: • • • Leg pain and leg cramps • Ulcers, wounds and blood clots • Leg/foot numbness and swelling • Poor circulation • Chest pain • Comprehensive cardiovascular assessment & treatment Before Treatment After Treatment Only four weeks after only VenaCure EVLT Treatment Other services available: • • Other services available: Before Treatment After Treatment Only four weeks after only VenaCure EVLT Treatment Other services available: • • Before Treatment After Treatment Only four weeks after only VenaCure EVLT Treatment Other services available: • • If you look at your legs and just see varicose veins, we can help. Now you can show immediate improvement on your legs by eliminating varicose veins with EVLT laser treatment. This laser procedure requires no general anesthesia or hospitalization, meaning no painful surgery or downtime. Deciding to get the safe and effective EVLT treatment is a choice everyone will notice. PITT DICKEY. Columnist. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910.484.6200. Guys, Get Noticed. For more information on how to become part of this exciting FREE study, please register online at: www.FayPlasticSurgery.com/renuskn or call 910-323-3757 for more information. Start with improving your skin RENUSKN, makers of Men's Skincare Products, is conducting a FREE skin care product trial. Be one of the first to try this easy to use men's skin care product developed for pigmented skin. RENUSKN is seeking volunteers to try these new products for an 8 week trial period. The products are FREE with no obligation to buy anything. All we want is to monitor your progress. To be eligible, you must be a male between 30 and 60 years old and all or part Latin, Mediterranean, Asian, European, Caribbean or African descent. You will notice healthier and younger looking skin. Others will notice as well... Skincare Innovation Celebrity Renuskn Program Ad_4.75x5.87.indd 1 11/4/15 3:09 PM