The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-02-24
SOME ODDITIES OF THE YEAR 1905.

becoming unduly monotonous and
that society is petrifying into a cold
and dreary Journalism should consider
a few of the old events and the freak
record -smashers of 1905, as observed
and set down by, the chroniclers of
the period. The incidents cited are
but samples and might be multiplied
indefinitely. Who can be melancholy
when such things are going on?
For instance, on one of those rare
June days that the poets tell about
Philadelphia woman willed her sister
$3.50 on condition that she would al
ways allow their father to have call
the cigars he wants and also all the
vests he likes 10 wear.
Pittsburg furnished several episodes
that livened things up bit. A brave
woman in that city wore hoopskirts
through the streets. causing crowd
to assemble which impeded traffic and
had to be dispersed by the police.
Another Pittsburg woman, finding
that a telephone company was pre-
pairing to string wires about her
house and had already dug six holes
for poles, became exceedingly wroth.
Having six children, she deposited
child in each hole and then dehed the
workmen to proceed.
Pancakes broke up an Iowa home
in the snappy days of February when
fapjacks are supposed to hit the
right spot. At Sanborn, Mrs. Carrie
Fields got a divorce from DR.. L. S.
Fields because the husband did not
like her make of pancakes and ridi-
culed them. She testified that the
expression on the Doctors face while
eating the cakes was such that it
might work permanent injury to her
health.
The high-water mark in family
quarrels was reach in Kansas City.
One raw January morning found
Mrs. Theresa Schujul and her hus-
band John in the police court, where
judicial aid was invoked to shake
John loose from his domestic moor
ings. Theresa had given him 500
to leave her and never return, but he
kept his promise only till the money
was spent. Then the wife con6ded
to the court that she and Johu were
married in Germany "a years ago and
had quarreled every day since. which
means a total of more than 5000
quarrels.
The champion ice-cream eater of
1905 was not, as many might suppose,
a sentimental young woman, but a
husky street car conductor of West
Philadelphia. A wager of 81 and a
Gargantuan appetite inspired Ray
Vincent TO the gastronomic feat of
hiding away IS plates of ice-cream,
pork sandwich and glass of milk
to top off with, all within two hours
and without subsequent funeral no.
tice.
With a record of having served more
than 500, 900 drinks at the Bellevue
Stratford Hotel, Philadelphia, Tom
asso Ruggo, in March celebrated the
twenty third anniversary of his en-
ployment there, his drink checks fig
up $6II,oI5.
1t is we'll known that good deal of
beer is drunk in Munich at all times,
but during an unusual hot wave in Sep
tember the thirsty inhabitants of that
city made record. The heat lasted
a week during which time $50. 900
gallons of beer was consumed, or two
and one half gallons for every man,
woman and child in the city.
"The average length Of married
life seems to be two months" re-
marked Judge Dunno, in March,
when job lot of divorce cases was
being disposed of in his court. This
was before he was elected mayor of
Chicago.
On this same day II divorces were
granted by three Cook county judges,
including Judge Dunno, who had the
largest grist in the legal hopper. The
average time consumed by the hear
ings which preceded the issuance OF
the decree was eight minutes. One
hearing took only three minutes.
Three took only four minutes each.
No more than IS minutes were devo-
ted to any one of the II cases. This
is divorce clearing house record that
it would be hard to beat.
Divorce being so often the sequence
of marriage, this seems an opportune
point at which to insert the St. Joseph
| mich. } record in wedlock. Figures
indicate that the wholesale marriage
record of St. Joseph for 1905 would
eclipse that of any previous year
More than II, 900 licenses had then
been issued, and the rush was still
as great as during the summer.
On November II the Rev. ]. u
Torgensen, widely known as the mar
rying preacher, died at his home II
Chicago. He had performed I7,ooc
marriage ceremonies during the 3S
years he was a minister. 1t is be
lieved he held the worlds record TO-
tying nuptial knots.
The years best record for materni
ty was furnished by Indiana. Oh
October 28 Mrs. Clara Krauss, 0
Coal City, gave birth oher twentieth
child. Her record includes no twins
This noble mother, who is doing wha
she can to prevent race suicide, ha
been married only rs years and is nov
only Al.
Among centenarian tobacco user
who came proudly to the front in th
past year, Grandma Eliza Fountain
of Wayne county, Ia, seems to hav'
won the blue ribbon. When she eel
ebrated her 1o2 birthday, in October
admiring friends presented to her 10
large packages of smoking tobacc'
and an equal number of pipes. Sh
has been an inveterate smoker sine
the age of s, and she attributes he
longevity to the use of the weed.
! Akron, O., placed itself on recor'