food

1906 EARTHQUAKE: NO SHORTAGE OF FOOD

Jeff Elliott Leave a comment

For all that Santa Rosa had to worry about that terrible day of the 1906 earthquake – fighting the downtown fires, rescuing those trapped, tending to the dead and badly injured – no one in town needed to worry about hunger. Within hours of the disaster, wagons began arriving with food and in the following days, more donations arrived. And more. And more. Before long, tons of food was piling up in the warehouse on North street, probably more than the earthquake victims could possibly stuff down in a year. With so much free food available, town fathers did the natural thing: They began to strictly ration it.

First to feed Santa Rosa was the Petaluma Elks Lodge, which canceled a banquet planned for that very evening and delivered to Santa Rosa their dozen roasted turkeys with trimmings. Ukiah the next day sent a train car filled with food, followed by a train load from Reno; Cloverdale sent cartons of oranges, and a barrel of salt pork came all the way from Patterson, New Jersey. Farmers hitched their rigs and delivered wagons of eggs and oceans of milk. So it went. Santa Rosa was smothered with generosity.

The volunteer work in town was no less noble. The Boyd family opened their home to anyone hungry at any hour. A commandeered blacksmith’s shop became a relief station that doled out meals to hundreds of households each day, with Mrs. Smyth and Mrs. Elliott (no relation) loading their buggies with take-out deliveries for those too poorly to come down to the station. In Santa Rosa welled a spirit of community – at least, for the first seventeen days.

Then on May 4, no more free lunch; food donated to help earthquake victims was henceforth available only to “widows, orphans and the sick.” Anyone capable of work was expected to find a job, even if it was shoveling debris at $2 per day for the city. Why the restrictions, given that the warehouse was bulging with food? Was it an attempt to whip a little Puritan work ethic into the laggard class? Did the volunteers tire of running their soup kitchen? Alas, we don’t know anything more; all local newspapers from the early part of May, 1906 are missing. We only know about the crackdown at all because it received a small notice in the San Francisco papers.

At the end of the year when there was hot debate over what to do with the remaining relief money, the Santa Rosa Republican ran an article about the food leftovers. The quantities were astonishing: still sitting in the warehouse was almost two tons of salt pork, 1,300 pounds of sugar, 30 sacks of beans, loads of canned goods, and “soap enough to supply this city a year or more.” What happened to all this stuff is also unknown; while the relief committee would account for every donated penny, it was mentioned only in passing that the committee would “dispense the food and clothing now on hand.” Hopefully, it was all shipped to the earthquake refugee camps in Oakland, where about 5,000 displaced San Franciscans were still being fed by their charitable neighbors.

ALL MUST WORK IN SANTA ROSA
Only Women and Disabled to Be Fed
Over $30,000 Is in the Relief Fund

SANTA ROSA, May 4–J. R. Edwards, treasurer of the Santa Rosa relief fund, has issued a statement showing cash receipts of $30,921 from the following sources: Standard Oil Company, $10,000… [ 41 other donors] …No Name, 50 cents; total $30,921.

There has been paid out about $3000 as wages to men engaged in cleaning debris from the streets and searching for bodies in the wreckage, while nearly as much more has been set aside to pay the salaries to the city officials and wages to city employees. The later sum will be paid as soon as the banks open for business. The distribution of this large amount of cash has relieved the money stringency and greatly reduced the number of applicants for provisions at the relief station. The free distribution of provisions will be stopped tonight or tomorrow and only widows, orphans and the sick will hereafter be provided with food, as there is now plenty of work at good wages for all who desire it.

– San Francisco Call, May 5, 1906

Approves Relief Work.

SANTA ROSA, May 5–The relief bureau opened here two weeks ago and placed in charge of B. M. Spencer and a corps of a dozen or more volunteer workers has filled orders for groceries on 4089 applicants, representing 20,880 persons. There are a large number of San Francisco refugees here besides the hundreds of local residents made homeless. The relief work has been carried on systematically. After a thorough inspection General Greeley, United States Army, expressed his approval and appreciation of the methods in vogue.

– San Francisco Call, May 6, 1906
EARLY HISTORY OF RELIEF WORK

The early days of the relief work in this city following the disastrous fire of April 18 and 19, showed the unselfish devotion of citizens of this city in assisting others less fortunate, and the splendid liberality of the people residing in this vicinity in providing for the immediate wants of the people.

It is well to have a record of these things preserved in print, that those to whom credit is due for their efforts may be given the same. At this lapse of time from the memorable occasion many may be prone to forget the fullness of action of those days, and fall to remember the generous giving of time by the people to aid the worthy cause.

In the history of the relief work many acts stand out prominently in the cause, and for unselfish and painstaking work nothing better could be written than the efforts of the corps of ladies and gentlemen who had charge of the work.

On the afternoon of April 18 Mayor Overton called a meeting of citizens at the Methodist Church, South, and arranged for the handling of the situation that presented itself here. S. P. Erwin was made chairman of the committee to take charge of the work of distributing food supplies. B. M. Spencer was secretary of the committee, and its other members were Frank C. Loomis, George F. King, W. D. Reynolds and C. A. Wright. Hardly had the committee been named when two wagon loads of edibles were at Mr. Spencer’s store, sent by the generous people of Petaluma, for the sufferers. Making a necessity for the occasion, the blacksmith shop of William G. Keenan was pressed into service while the owner was absent, and a relief station established. Keenan was performing rescue work at the Grand hotel ruins, and when he returned to his shop accepted the situation with the best of grace. Not only that, he entered into the relief work heartily, and each day was at the station cutting meats that had been sent here for distribution. A fortunate circumstance was that Petalumans had arranged for an elegant banquet to be given on the night of April 18, and all the viands had been prepared. Among other things were a dozen roasted turkeys prepared for the banquet, and these, with tons of edibles, were sent to this city on a special train.

For seventeen days this committee with the assistance of others who are named in this article, performed splendid service in relieving distress. During that time there were 4473 calls for provisions from families, an average of 263 families for each day the relief station was open. All of the people at the relief station worked without wages or hope of reward from early morning until late in the evening. At the expiration of that time the work was turned over to the general committee, and Herbert J. Waters assumed charge of the distribution.

The services of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Boyd and family stand out prominently among the others. They had been through the Johnstown flood and the Chicago fire, and with the experience gained in those calamities were ready in an instant to succor those needing assistance. They threw open their home, took every one in who applied, fed the hungry and kept a portion of their premises open all night long to feed the people who came. They took charge of providing for the special police who were appointed, and arranged to feed the guardsmen and provide them with coffee during the long hours of the night. Theirs was a most unselfish labor, and they kept it up until there was no further necessity for it.

Mrs. Frank Adams was another whose work was more than appreciated. She took to her home the meats provided for the people, and there cooked them nicely, returning them to the relief station for distribution.

Mrs. Newton V. V. Smyth and Mrs. J. B. Elliott came every afternoon and gave the use of their surreys to haul provisions to the sick and needy, and to those unable to come in person. These ladies did a splendid work, and their efforts were greatly appreciated. Unfortunately the taking of the provisions away in the vehicles gave rise to a report that people were coming in buggies and hauling away the provisions, until it was explained that these ladies were devoting their time and strength to the alleviating of suffering.

The farmers of this vicinity showed their generous spirit daily in their donations to the committee. Day by day many farmers drove to the relief station with eggs, milk, butter, and farm produce of all kinds. Their generous wives prepared many dainties and substantial dishes for the sufferers and these were brought in and given the committee. In this manner tons of provisions were furnished, and the committee were more than grateful for their thoughtfulness.

As the schools closed after the disaster for several days, most of the teachers gave their time to the service of those in distress, and none did more valiant service than these instructors. Early and late they were on hand doing everything in their power. Many deserve special praise, but this article cannot give it at this time. Among those who performed good service were …[38 names].

Major Devine, the chief of the Red Cross service in San Francisco, complimented the local committee highly on its work, and the systematic manner in which the distribution was made. From the start the system was complete, and there is a record of every transaction, those who donated and those who were assisted. To those who were so zealous in the relief too much commendation cannot be given.

One of the most noticeable things to the committee was the manhood and desire to help themselves manifested by the people of Santa Rosa. When the first workmen were paid from the relief funds after the disaster, the number of applicants for relief fell off one-half in two days. This showed that while the relief had been accepted, many preferred to provide everything they needed for themselves, and did so at the earliest opportunity.

– Santa Rosa Republican, July 12, 1906

REGARDING RELIEF GOODS

The editor of the Republican has made inspection of the relief goods stored in the McDonald warehouse, for his own information and for the information of the readers of this paper. Herbert J. Waters, who has charge of these goods, kindly acted as pilot and pointed out the goods in store.

As stated by us yesterday, there are some two carloads of clothing in the warehouse, part of which is new and part of which is so badly worn as to be of little value. All of this clothing was fumigated last spring and put away in boxes, after the authorities at San Francisco had refused to receive the same. In fact some boxes of clothing bear the name and address of Mayor Schmitz, showing that it had first been sent to the metropolis and forwarded from there to this city.

In the stock of groceries we found more than two carloads of flour, 3500 pounds of salt pork, about 30 sacks of beans, 9 cases and eight barrels of coffee, half a wagon load of sardines, an equal amount of hominy, baked beans in tins, canned corn, 1300 pounds of sugar, a great quantity of condensed milk and soap enough to supply this city a year or more. Many other kinds of groceries are held in like or nearly like quantities.

Mr. Waters receives $75 per month for managing the business and the warehouse storage bill is $25 per month, making $100 per month paid out of the relief funds sent to this city.

We are curious to know the time this condition of affairs is going to continue? How long does the management of this business intend to conduct a clothing and grocery concern? At the rate these goods are going and have been taken the past three or four months the business will last a dozen years or more.

We are not disposed to find fault with what is doing in this matter. It is enough for the present to state the conditions as they exist. The whole matter is in the hands of the city authorities. If it is well done they deserve commendation.

– Santa Rosa Republican, December 6, 1906

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A LITTLE POISON ON YOUR FRUIT

Jeff Elliott Leave a comment

Another question I’d love to ask someone from 1905: did apples taste different when coated in rat poison?

The little press release excerpted below reveals that it was common practice in that era to apply “Paris Green” – an arsenic compound so named because it was used to kill Paris sewer rats – to apples and other tree fruit because it was an effective insecticide against the Codling (or Codlin) moth. Despite also being known as an effective way to kill people, the Victorians loved its bright emerald color and used it in everything from soap to paint on toys to candy. It was most infamously used in wallpaper, where it proved to be particularly deadly if the walls became damp or moldy; one estimate in the British medical journal Lancet found that an average-sized living room with Paris Green wallpaper had enough arsenic to potentially kill a hundred people.

Paris Green had other problems – until the National Insecticide Law of 1910 finally set quality standards, farmers were urged to test their supply for impurities – yet it continued to be commonly used through the early 20th century (my grandfather had an old box of the stuff that I played with, mixing it up as paint). Many did switch to lead arsenate as the scientist below recommended, but it was discovered in 1919 that none of these arsenic compounds could be completely washed off the fruit using the technology of the day.

Despite that piddling problem, arsenics continued to be used on apples, plums, and other trees until DDT became available after WWII. Worse, all those years of spraying the trees with lead and Paris Green still contaminates orchard topsoil and ground water.

I assume in 1905 they believed that the poison either completely washed off, or was safely removed by peeling away the skin. But I wonder if this reveals a whole new angle on the tradition of schoolkids bringing teacher a nice, juicy apple.

PARIS GREEN IS A FAILURE
Does Not Really Reach the Codling Moth Evil

BERKELEY, April 27 — Paris green is not the great codling moth destroyer that it has heretofore been believed to be. This is the discovery just announced by the entomologists of the University of California. Instead of Paris green, which has so long been the stand-by of the apple growers, William W. Volck, the college experimenter recommends the use of arsenate of lead as an insecticide, the great superiority of which over Paris green lies in the fact that it is neutral in its effect on vegetation.

[..]

– Santa Rosa Republican, April 27, 1905

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ANY ROBIN ON THE MENU?

Jeff Elliott Leave a comment

An important lesson to remember when reading the old newspapers: all of your presumptions are probably wrong. Even the simplest news items may have a complex backstory mostly forgotten today, as is the case here. I had noticed that it was sometimes reported that boys were arrested for shooting robins, but hadn’t thought the stories noteworthy — surely the editor was filling column space on a slow day, or maybe throwing out a little civics lesson, like the Press Democrat’s stern warnings over the downtown orange peel menace. I was wrong; there was far more to the story than Peck’s Bad Boy plonking away at birds with his Daisy air rifle for the fun of it. Little Sammy Shooter might have been working for a smuggling ring in violation of federal law — or might have been seeking to feed his family.

In the 19th century, America was of three minds about robins. Farmers, particularly in the south where the birds winter, considered them a pest bird like the crow, with flocks of hundreds swooping down to strip fruit trees bare. Northeners also lost berries and fruit (cherries in particular), but were more sentimental about robins, waxing about their cheery songs and that their appearances heralded the coming of spring. Both Yanks and Johnny Reb, however, agreed that the birds were delicious.

An 1883 ag report told farmers, “the robin is eminently a game bird, and makes the most delicate and delicious eating known, almost. If, therefore, you beg the question, kill a mess for a savory pot-pie at such time as when they are in the height of their plunder, you can accomplish your purpose, and can say conscientiously that you have not violated any law for the good of the community.” And even Audubon (one of his American Robin watercolors seen at right) wrote in 1841 about the joys of cooking robins:


“In all the southern states…their presence is productive of a sort of jubilee among the gunners, and the havoc made among them with bows and arrows, blowpipes, guns, and traps of different sorts, is wonderful. Every gunner brings them home by bagsful, and the markets are supplied with them at a very cheap rate. Several persons may at this season stand round the foot of a tree loaded with berries, and shoot the greater part of the day, so fast do the flocks of Robins succeed each other. They are then fat and juicy, and afford excellent eating.”

Under pressure from the new conservation movement, turn of the century attitudes and laws began to change. The small fruit and berry crops aside, it was recognized that robins were pretty useful birds; the rest of the year they mostly ate weed seeds and harmful insects, particularly the dreaded army worm. The 1900 Lacey Act was a landmark federal law to beef up protection of wild birds, and nearly two decades later, the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act finally put strict limits on killing birds like the robin.

Shamefully, some conservationists played race, regional, and class cards to drum up support for protection. A 1902 League of American Sportsmen author wrote, “no Northern man thinks of shooting a robin at any time. Yet in the South, white man and negro alike slaughter these innocent and beautiful birds at every opportunity.” And although robin pot pie was a favorite dish throughout the south, the 1912 National Conservation Congress sensationalized it as ethnic threat:


How many people in the North know that the negroes and poor whites of the South annually slaughter millions of valuable insect-eating birds for food? Around Avery Island, Louisiana, during the robin season (in January when the berries are ripe), Mr. B. A. Mcllhenny says that during ten days or two weeks, at least 10,000 robins are each day slaughtered for the pot. “Every negro man and boy who can raise a gun is after them!”

But even though California had officially removed robins as a game bird in 1897, that didn’t stop hunters with a taste for robin pie. A letter from an ornithological club in Santa Cruz complained bitterly that the law was useless as long as those hicks around San Jose couldn’t control their appetites: “we cannot protect birds in this county when they can shoot across the line from the other county into ours…[as long as] that last relic of barbarism, robin pot-pie, is still existent in some households where they choose to believe that no protective ordinance was ever passed.”

Robin hunting continued to be an issue for years, with seven states — Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Maryland — keeping the robin legally as a game bird. Pennsylvania continued to allow robins to be killed between May and July into the 1920s “to protect cherries and other small fruits,” although the permit allowed for the birds to be used for “food purposes.”

Amazingly, no specific recipe for robin pot pie currently could be found on the Internet (yes, I also searched for variant spellings of “robin pot-pie”, “robin potpie”, and “robin pie”). Hints were found that it could have been similar to this 1897 blackbird pie, this 1886 pigeon pie, or this 1906 “pie of small birds.” Those recipes are essentially all meat baked in a crust; if this really was a food for the poorest people, it’s likely other ingredients were added to stretch out the meat, and was probably more similar to this 1874 cottage pie recipe, heavy with mashed potatoes and onions. But it’s also noteworthy that many sources mention robin pie as a favorite dish of young people; I wonder if shooting robins became a means of introducing children to the culture of hunting for food, with mommy serving their kill in a meat-heavy dish as a reward.

Finally: note below the inspector who seized the smuggled birds was named Vogelsang (“bird song”).

(Story update available here)

KILLED ROBINS AND IS WANTED
Shipped Birds to San Francisco Under Brand of Dried Apples

A box of robins which had been shipped from Sebastopol to San Francisco by D. Casassa, was seized by Chief Deputy Charles A. Vogelsang in San Francisco Saturday morning. The shipping tag declared the contents of the box to have been dried apples, and as such the railroad had given a special fruit rate to the shipper. The tag contained the name of D. Casassa as the shipper.

There were about half a hundred robins in the box, and they were consigned to Lemoine & Co. They arrived in the metropolis about 11 o’clock Saturday morning, and within an hour they had been confiscated.

Deputy State Fish and Game Commissioner Ernest Schaeffle of San Francisco was sent to this city to arrest the offender, and to prosecute the case before the court. The deputy spent Sunday in Sebastopol and Forestville, but was unable to locate Casassa, who is believed to be in San Francisco.

It is not believed that Casassa shipped the robins to the city for sale, but that he intended to follow them and have a feast in one of the French restaurants of that city. The robins are considered the finest of the small game birds by the French people, and it is probable that Casassa had planned a treat for his friends, which has been spoiled by the vigilance of the officers. The law expressly forbids the shipment of robins, and from the fact that the box was labeled as dried apples, it is apparent that the shipper was aware that the law was being violated.

A young son of Mr. Casassa appeared before the court this afternoon, but nothing was done ending his appearance late this afternoon. The youth promised to return after school this afternoon.

– Santa Rosa Republican, January 15, 1906

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