Time Capsule Thursday - October 1, 1919

 

Today was my Uncle Hugh's birthday:  October 1, 1919.  When he was born in Kite, Johnson County, Georgia, he entered a world in major transition. On the exact day of his birth, the Chicago White Sox were taking the field for a World Series destined for scandal, President Woodrow Wilson was struggling behind closed doors to manage the nation following a near-fatal stroke, and newspapers were dominated by the heavy news of post-war labor strikes and social upheaval.

News of the day

The Opening Game of the 1919 World Series (The "Black Sox" Scandal)

On October 1, 1919, the Chicago White Sox took the field against the Cincinnati Reds for Game 1 of the World Series.  What looked like a standard ball game on the surface was actually the opening act of sports history's most infamous corruption scheme.  Syndicated gamblers, working with rogue White Sox players (including star player Arnold "Chick" Gandil and pitcher Eddie Cicotte), had already agreed to intentionally throw the series for cash.  On this exact day, the plot was actively underway - Cicotte hit a batter on his second pitch as a hidden signal to gamblers that the fix was on, leading to an embarrassing 9-1 White Sox loss that stunned fans and set off quiet alarm bells among sharp-eyed sports reporters.

Packed Stands at the 1919 World Series
Source: Google Gemini via Facebook 

President Woodrow Wilson's Health Crisis and Executive Secrecy

Just weeks prior, President Woodrow Wilson had embarked on a grueling nationwide train tour to rally public support for the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations. He suffered a physical collapse due to exhaustion on September 25 in Pueblo, Colorado.  Then he had a massive stroke on October 2, 1919 that left him paralyzed on his left side. 

To prevent public panic and keep Wilson's political legacy alive, First Lady Edith Wilson, along with the president's doctor, instituted a strict "stewardship" blockade. Edith effectively acted as a gatekeeper, filtering what documents the bedridden president saw and deciding what papers he could sign (maybe even signing his name herself). This continued until the end of Wilson's presidency in 1921. It was one of the most severe instances of presidential incapacity in U.S. history, raising urgent questions about executive transparency.  This event triggered an unprecedented constitutional gray area. 

President Woodrow Wilson and First Lady Edith Wilson
Source: Google Gemini via White House Historical Association

Post World War I Labor Unrest: The Steel Strike and Gary, Indiana

The end of World War I did not bring immediate peace to the home front; instead, 1919 became known as a year of massive industrial and social turbulence (part of the "Red Summer"). On October 1, the situation in Gary Indiana, reached a boiling point during the nationwide steel strike.

Over 350,000 steelworkers had walked off the job demanding better hours, union recognition, and higher wages. In Gary, tensions between striking workers, local authorities, and strikebreakers became so violent that President Wilson ordered federal U.S. Army troops - complete with bayonets and machine guns - to occupy the city and enforce martial law. It highlighted the fierce clash between corporate power and the rising American labor movement right as the country transitioned out of wartime production.  

Mounted Police and Protesters During the 1919 Steel Strike
Source:  Google Gemini via Portside.org

Pop Culture

• Top Hit Songs of October 1919:
• "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" by Ben Selvin, Henry Burr & Albert Campbell (a massive novelty and sentimental hit)
• "Oh! What a Pal was Mary" by Henry Burr
• "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody" by John Steel (fresh off the smash hit Ziegfeld Follies)
• "Peggy" by Harry Williams
• "Indian Summer" by Victor Herbert

• Books and Literature:  Bestsellers of the era leaned toward post-war escapism and historical romance. Readers were diving into popular fiction like The Re-Creation of Brian Kent by Harold Bell Wright; also Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson, and The American Language by H. L. Mencken.

• The Silver Screen: Silent films were sweeping the nation. Moviegoers headed to theaters in the fall of 1919 were watching legendary silent film stars like Mary Pickford (in Daddy-Long-Legs) and Douglas Fairbanks.  Cinema was rapidly evolving into a mainstream American pastime.

• Hot New Toy:  the Pogo Stick

Douglas Fairbanks in 'When Clouds Roll By' (1919)
Source:  Google Gemini via PICRYL

The 1919 Cost of Living

Here is what standard goods cost in late 1919:

• A New Home:  Approximately $4,000 to $5,500 (though modest homes or bungalows could sometimes be found for less depending on the region).
• A New Automobile: A brand-new Ford Model T Runabout could be purchased for around $250-$355, making cars increasingly accessible to the average working family.
• Gallon of Milk: About $0.50 - $0.62
• Dozen Eggs: About $0.18
• Loaf of Bread: About $0.10 to $0.12
• Stamps: $0.03
• Average Income: $1,125/year

Other famous people born on October 1:

• 1924 - Jimmy Earl Carter, Plains, Georgia, (D) 39th President (1977-1981)
• 1927 - Tom Bosley, Chicago, Illinois, Actor (Happy Days, Murder She Wrote)
• 1935 - Julie Andrews, England, Actress/Singer (Sound of Music, Mary Poppins)

Here's to looking back at the world a century ago. History is often taught as a sweeping tale of presidents, strikes, scandals, and tragedies, but October 1, 1919 was more just a headline in the morning papers.  It was the beginning of a lifetime. While the world outside was at a historic crossroads, a new life began that would witness almost a century of breathtaking transformation.  

Happy birthday, Uncle Hugh.  

Google Gemini provided the historical events of the time for this blog post. I proofed, reworded, and organized the information.