Two weeks later, Mona, Violet, and Willie were in the the dining room, licking linen envelopes that held an invitation to a party at Moon Manor. Dotty was busy writing addresses on them as she had the best handwriting of all four women.
After consulting an Emily Post book on etiquette, Violet asked, “Is this really an engagement party?” She slid an invitation into an envelope and sealed it with wax.
“That’s the plan,” Mona replied, “unless something goes wrong. Then we’ll just have a nice party.”
“What can go wrong?” Violet kidded.
All four woman twittered.
“Nothing, I hope,” Mona said.
“What are you going to do with out-of-town guests? I’m sure Mrs. Longworth will come,” Willie said, looking unhappily at the stack of envelopes before her.
“I’ll put everyone at the hotel in town.”
“If you do announce your engagement, where and when will the wedding be?” Dotty asked.
“Haven’t decided yet. Let’s get the engagement announced, and then I’ll worry about the marriage ceremony,” Mona answered cheerfully. Since she had boxed in Aunt Melanie and Jacob Gentry and his cohorts, Mona felt as though she could float, hoping the worst was behind her and Robert. “I will tell you this, I have picked out a wedding dress pattern and Violet is going to make it for me.”
Willie gushed, “Oh, Violet, that is wonderful. It will be the making of you. After everyone sees Mona’s dress, they will want you to sew for them.”
“It’s always been my dream to open my own dress shop, but I don’t think I’m ready right now,” Violet said modestly.
“When a door opens, walk through it,” Willie advised. “You might not get another shot. That’s just the way life is.”
Violet nodded.
Not listening to the chatter, Mona admired the off-white invitations. Was it really true? Was she going to announce her marriage to Robert Farley?
Out of the corner of her eye, she spied Samuel walking toward her with a silver tray. It was the letter tray. It must be important if Samuel brought it out to her instead of putting the mail on her desk.
While the other ladies were chatting away, Samuel solemnly presented the tray to Mona. On it was a telegram. Mona knew from Samuel’s grim expression that it was not good. Not that Samuel would steam open the telegram and read it before resealing it, but Monsieur Bisaillon would and then tell the staff. “Thank you, Samuel. You can go.”
“What is it, Mona?” Willie asked, dripping wax on her envelope and pressing the Moon seal into it.
“I don’t know.” Mona tore open the envelope and read quickly, after which she let the telegram flutter from her fingers.
Anxious, Willie picked up the telegram and read it out loud.
Mona. STOP Coming home. STOP Found the man of my dreams. STOP I want you to throw a party for me to announce my new fiancé. STOP Going on that cruise was a great idea. STOP Thought you’d be surprised. STOP Maybe we can have a double wedding. STOP Arriving on the 27th. STOP Aunt Melanie
Dotty, Willie, and Violet turned to Mona.
Willie said, “Of all the gall. She’s trying to steal your thunder.”
“The 27th is two days from now.” Violet said.
Mona laughed. “Don’t fret, ladies. I’ve dealt with hombres tougher than Melanie.”
Violet asked, “What are you going to do, Miss Mona?”
Mona smiled at Violet. “What all ladies do in this situation? Plan around the distraction. Let’s get back to the invitations, ladies. I have a party to plan.”
Violet, Dotty, and Willie straggled back to the table to resume their work, while Mona left to walk in her garden, wondering. How was she ever going to be happy with Melanie nipping at her heels all the time?
“Mona?”
Mona looked up and saw Robert standing on a garden path, pensively staring at her.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked. “Shouldn’t you be helping with the invitations?”
“I came out here to think.”
“About what?”
She waved at Moon Manor. “Wondering if all this grandeur is worth the fight. I try to do the right thing, but I keep getting hammered for it.”
Robert went to Mona and held her in his arms. “Let me make this easy for you. I release you from your promise to marry me.”
Mona pulled away. “What are you saying, Robert? You don’t want me anymore?”
“I’m a distraction from the work you wish to do. I will drink again, Mona. I feel the desire gnawing at my insides. I don’t know if I have the strength to fight it. I’m worried that I’ll drag you down in the end. That’s just part of my concern. There’s going to be a war in Europe.”
“I don’t believe it. Hitler is all bluster.”
“I hope you’re right, but if there is another war, I’ll volunteer to fight again.”
“You’re too old. The military wouldn’t want you.”
“Don’t you see what I’m saying, Mona. Marriage between us would be a relationship with long absences between us with your life over here and my life in England. You can’t tell me you haven’t thought of the disadvantages of us hitching our horses to the same wagon.”
“Do you love me, Robert?”
“Madly. That’s why I’m willing to give you up.”
“I love you, too. Besides my parents, I have never loved anyone before you. I have thought about all the compromises I would have to make being your wife, but I’m willing. Let’s plunge ahead and face the world and all its folly together.”
“You mean it!”
Mona smiled and brushed Robert’s hair from his forehead. “Yes, darling. Let’s throw caution to the wind. We’ll face everything together, and if war comes to England, we’ll face that, too.”
Robert embraced Mona and they stood locked together with Mona’s head on Robert’s shoulder. Finally releasing each other, they spent the rest of the evening sitting in the garden and holding hands.
Mona knew she would never love like this again and made a wish on the evening star.
Please, God, guide our way into calm ports and help me to be wise.
She rose from her chair and pulled Robert inside Moon Manor. After all, they had party invitations to get out announcing to the world that they were engaged.
Adamstown
Adamstown was an African American neighborhood located at the edge of Lexington, Kentucky in the 1870s. There were fifty to seventy families living here. The neighborhood was razed to make room for the University of Kentucky’s Memorial Coliseum on Euclid Avenue in 1949.
Alice Blue
Alice blue is a pale shade of gray-blue associated with Alice Roosevelt Longworth as it was her signature color. The song, Alice Blue Gown, premiered in the 1919 Broadway musical Irene. The color is used by the United States Navy for the insignia and trim on the USS Theodore Roosevelt.
Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884-1980)
Alice was the eldest child of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Interested in politics, she married Nicholas Longworth (Republican-Ohio) who was the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1925 to 1931. Their marriage was unconventional, and both parties had affairs. Alice’s only child, Paulina, was sired from an affair with Senator William Borah of Idaho. Paulina died from an overdose in 1955, leaving Alice to raise her granddaughter. Known as a great wit, Alice is famous for saying, “If you haven’t got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me.” She said of her father’s need for attention, “My father always wanted to be the corpse at every funeral, the bride at every wedding, and the baby at every christening.”
American Isolationism
A popular 1930s social and political philosophy advocating American non-involvement in foreign military conflicts, especially Europe and Asia.
Associated Press (1846—)
AP is a trusted source of information in all formats to the news business. It is an independent and global organization that provides unbiased information to news agencies.
Belle Brezing (Breezing) (1860-1940)
Belle Brezing was a famous madam of a “bawdy house” in Lexington, Kentucky. Brezing was compromised at the age of twelve by a man who was thirty-six with whom she had a two year affair. Twelve was the age of consent in Kentucky at that time. When fifteen, she got pregnant from one of several men she was seeing and married a James Kenney, who deserted her nine days after they were married. At sixteen and attending her mother’s funeral, Brezing was locked out of her house by the landlord and her possessions were thrown into the street. The next day she went to work as a street prostitute. At the age of nineteen, she joined Jennie Hill’s brothel located in Mary Todd Lincoln’s childhood home before opening up her own house, known for its fine furnishings, good food, and excellent liquor. Her house of ill repute was considered one of the finest in the South, and she entertained many famous men. When arrested in 1882 for prostitution, she was given a pardon by Kentucky Governor, Luke P. Blackburn. Margaret Mitchell’s husband, John Marsh, working as a reporter for the Lexington Leader, often had breakfast in Brezing’s kitchen so he could listen to all the gossip. Many scholars think Brezing is the model for Mitchell’s Belle Watling in Gone with the Wind. When Brezing died, Time Magazine published her obituary and the Lexington Herald published a front page eulogy. Her home was known as the “most orderly of disorderly houses.” During my years at the University of Kentucky, Brezing’s house was torn down and the bricks were sold to all comers. I wish I had purchased one.
Bessie Smith (1894-1937)
Nicknamed the Empress of the Blues, Smith was a popular American blues and jazz singer during the 1920s and 1930s. Smith recorded for Columbia Records. She died in a car crash at the age of 43 in 1937.
Blackjacks
A hand weapon used to hit people over the head. It is usually made with clay, lead powder, or bbs enclosed in a piece of leather. Could be carried in a pocket.
Cloche Hats
A cloche hat was a bell-shaped hat for women, invented by Caroline Reboux in 1908. They were popular from 1922 until the mid-thirties.
Cocaine and Laudanum Use Among Soldiers
During the Great War (WWI), cocaine was used by the military for medical use and as a performance enhancer. It was not a controlled substance and available to anyone. British friends and family were encouraged to buy kits titled “A Welcome Present for Friends at the Front” which contained cocaine, morphine, syringes, and needles. Even the soft drink, Coca-Cola, had cocaine in it until 1929.
Laudanum is a ten percent solution of opium powder in alcohol and is more closely associated with addicted American Civil War soldiers, but was still used in the early twentieth century for pain and everything else in between, including teething babies. By the late 1800s, women made up more than sixty percent of opium addicts. Oxycontin is not the first opiate epidemic the United States has experienced.
Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957)
Sayers was an English mystery writer best known for The Nine Tailors, featuring her protagonist, English aristocrat and amateur sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey. She was also a classical scholar who translated Dante’s Divine Comedy. Besides writing mysteries, Sayers wrote plays, poetry, and literary criticism. Although she distanced herself from feminism, Gaudy Night is considered the first feminist mystery, featuring Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey.
Dress to the Nines
This is an English idiom meaning “perfection.” By the twentieth century, the phrase was commonly written or spoken in reference to attire such as “dressed to the nines” or “dressed up to the nines.” It was first used in a poem from the 1719 Epistle to Ramsay by the Scottish poet, William Hamilton.
The bonny lines therein thou sent me,
How to the nines they did content me.
Eastern State Hospital (1817—)
Eastern State Hospital is located in Lexington, Kentucky. It was started in 1817 as the Fayette Hospital and, at one time, had over 2000 beds. It is the second oldest psychiatric hospital in the United States.
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)
Before there were Stephen King and Dean Koontz, there was Edgar Allan Poe. He is considered one of the United States finest authors and best known for his poetry and short stories. Most of his stories deal with the macabre and Poe is considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre as well as a strong influence on horror and science fiction writing. Poe was one of the first American writers to make his living through writing alone. To honor Poe, the Mystery Writers of America give out the Edgar Award each year for notable work in mystery writing.
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)
Roosevelt served as First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. During this time, Mrs. Roosevelt worked to expand the rights of working women, WWII refugees, and the civil rights of minorities. She advocated the U.S. join the United Nations and was appointed as its first delegate. Serving as first chair on the UN Commission on Human Rights, she oversaw the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Roosevelt later chaired President John Kennedy’s Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. She was the niece of President Theodore Roosevelt and first cousin to Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Roosevelt married her fifth cousin once removed, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who became the 32nd President of the U.S. She is considered one of the most admired people of the twentieth century.
Emergency Banking Act of 1933
People began withdrawing their savings from banks as the deposits were not government insured. (Many people kept their cash in a tin can buried in the back yard. My mother did.) This caused a nationwide panic in 1933 when bank customers were turned away because of a shortage of paper money and credit. Fearing that they would lose their life savings, people caused a run on all banks. This forced banks to liquidate loans and led to banks closing their doors. Between 1930 and 1933, 9000 banks closed with 4000 in 1933 alone. 1933 and 1934 were the worst years of the Great Depression.
On March 9th, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt called a special session of Congress the day after his inauguration and declared a four-day banking holiday in order to shut down all banks and the Federal Reserve as well. Then he had Congress pass the Emergency Banking Act to restore confidence. When banks reopened on March 13th, many customers redeposited their cash because of the government’s creation of the FDIC-Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Emily Price Post (1872-1960)
Post was a wealthy socialite who wrote novels, travel books, and etiquette books. Her 1922 etiquette book, Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home, became a bestseller and launched Post as an American icon. She became a national figure on deciding what “good taste” was. After 1931, Post did radio programs and newspaper columns on proper etiquette. Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home is still in print.
English Solicitors vs Barristers
Solicitors basically negotiate and prepare legal documents. They do not argue in court. Barristers present on behalf of a client in front of a judge and wear a wig and gown in court.
Great Depression (1929-1941)
The Great Depression was a world-wide phenomenon caused by the U.S. stock market crash in October 1929. The years 1933-1934 were the worst years of the Depression. The economy got better by 1939, but the United States didn’t come roaring out from the Depression until 1941.
Great War
We now refer to the war in Europe from 1914 to 1918 as WWI.
Henrietta Nesbitt (1888-1963)
Nesbitt was hired by Eleanor Roosevelt as a housekeeper and cook for the White House. The two of them modernized the White House kitchen, thus upgrading its sanitary standards. Mrs. Roosevelt worked with Mrs. Nesbitt to create dishes that were nutritious and inexpensive. The First Lady believed the White House should provide an example during the Great Depression and eat what the “people” ate. Lavish meals, even for State dinners, became a thing of the past in favor of more spartan meals. While nutritious, Mrs. Nesbitt’s meals were not tasty, and the White House became known for its inedible food. The rule of thumb was to eat before you dined at the White House.
Hobos
Usually men of all ages who were forced to leave home and look for work or food. They were known to ride the railways.
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté (1758-1805)
Nelson was regarded as one of the greatest commanders, if not the greatest English naval commander in history. Nelson saved Great Britain from being invaded by Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Trafalgar on October 20th, 1805, during which Nelson was shot in the back and mortally wounded. His last words were, “God and my country.”
Iceboxes
Iceboxes, also called cold closets, were kitchen aids to help keep food from spoiling. They had hollow walls, which were lined with tin or zinc and packed with various insulating materials such as cork, sawdust, or straw. A large block of ice was held in a tray or compartment near the top of the box. Ice blocks could also be put on the bottom shelf and food placed on shelves above. The ice would eventually melt into a pan and would be replaced with a new block of ice by the “iceman” who would come to the house several times a week or once weekly. The icebox largely disappeared as a household appliance in the 1950s as almost everyone could now afford an electric/motorized refrigerator. Old timers still refer to a refrigerator as an “icebox.”
Insulin Therapy
Insulin Therapy was considered a breakthrough treatment for psychosis. In 1927, a Polish neurophysiologist, Manfred Sakel, induced a morphine-addicted woman into a coma through the use of insulin. When revived, the woman made a remarkable recovery. Sakel went on to induce convulsions in patients using insulin as a form of shock therapy. This therapy had such positive results it was used for decades until more modern therapy took its place.
Jack Benny (1894-1974)
Jack Benny was a popular radio and TV American entertainer, who was known for his comic timing. Benny’s public persona emphasized him as a miser, a terrible violin player, and a liar about his age, which he always claimed to be 39 regardless of his real age. In fact, he was an accomplished violin player and generously donated to charities. Benny was known to cause laughter with a bewildered expression, a pause, or his signature line, “Well!”
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso
The Reverso was and still is a much sought after wristwatch from Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Jazz
Jazz is a variety of music originated by African-American musicians in New Orleans, Louisiana around the turn of the 20th century. It was considered controversial when it spilled over into the white population as it was rumored to have begun in houses of ill repute. Jazz has its roots in ragtime and the blues.
Jean Harlow (1911-1937)
Harlow was an American comedic actress and one of the first sex symbols of the “talkies.” Known as the “Platinum Bombshell,” she became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars and is still ranked at No. 22 on AFI’s greatest female stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Harlow died of kidney failure at the age of twenty-six.
Jezebel (Circa 850 B.C.E. or A. D.)
Jezebel is a label with sexual connotations given to any rebellious woman. In sacred texts, Jezebel was a Phoenician princess and priestess for the mother-goddess Astarte and her consort Baal. She was the daughter of Ithobaal I, king of Tyre (1 Kings 16:31) and married King Ahab of Samaria, who worshipped Yahweh. The two systems of worship and culture conflicted and came to a crisis when Jezebel arranged for the murder of Naboth, so Ahab could confiscate the man’s vineyards. A war ensued and the Yahweh faction won. Ahab and his successors were killed as they were deemed unfit to rule, and Jezebel was thrown to her death out of a window where dogs ate her corpse just as the Yahweh prophet, Elijah, prophesied.
Johnny Cook (circa 1855-1875)
He was a possible lover of Belle Brezing. In 1875, Cook was shot in the head near Brezing’s home nine days after she married Cook’s friend, James Kenney. During those nine days, Brezing had written to Cook twice, the last note being in his pocket when examined by the coroner.
Dear One,
I will be downtown at three o’clock. Look out for me. I will go to the office and by the store. Ma has come. Have my pistol for me. Belle
Brezing’s husband, James Kenney, left town and did not return for ten years. Johnny Cook’s death was listed as a suicide, but most people think it was murder.
Kentucky Burgoo
Burgoo is a hardy stew made from any meats and vegetables available. There is no set recipe. In the 1930s, burgoo was made from wild meat such as rabbit, squirrel, venison, or opossum. It is typically made in a large pot and stirred with a canoe paddle. It is now made with mutton, chicken, or pork at festivals or large gatherings. It is traditionally served with cornbread.
Ladies’ Home Journal
Ladies’ Home Journal was a “woman’s” magazine first published in 1883 and the first American magazine to reach one million subscribers. It was known as one of the “seven sisters” referring to the Pleiades. Its competitors were Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle, Good Housekeeping, McCall’s, Redbook, and Woman’s Day. Due to changing values and lifestyles for women, LHJ could no longer compete and folded in 2016. I would say it had a good run though.
Lady Emma Hamilton (1765-1815)
Lady Hamilton was an English model and courtesan. She was the favorite model of artist George Romney. Emma Hamilton is best known for her love affair with Lord Horatio Nelson, savior of Great Britain from Napoleon Bonaparte. Because they weren’t married, Nelson’s deathbed instructions for Emma’s financial care were ignored and she died destitute at the age of forty-nine.
Lexington, Kentucky Newspapers
Prior to computers and TV, everyone received their news via daily newspapers. Lexington had a morning newspaper and an evening newspaper—the Lexington Herald and the Lexington Leader. When news began to be broadcast on TV, newspaper readership eroded. Lexington could not support two newspapers, so they combined in 1983 to form the Lexington Herald Leader. In 2004, the Herald Leader apologized on behalf of their predecessors for not covering the Civil Rights movement in the Bluegrass. They published a series of articles on the local Civil Rights movement with pictures both papers had documented, but not published in the 1960s. Since 1983, the Herald Leader has won three Pulitzer Awards and been nominated for six more Pulitzers before 2006, surpassing all other midsized newspapers at that time.
Longworth Family
A distinguished family from Cincinnati, Ohio, who made their money from wine. Nicholas Longworth I is remembered as the father of American wine making. Patrons of the arts, they donated land for parks and the Cincinnati Art Museum. Maria Longworth created the Rookwood Pottery Co. Nicholas Longworth III became Speaker of the House and married Alice Roosevelt. His campaigning for William Howard Taft on the Republican ticket for president, while Theodore Roosevelt also ran for president, caused an irreparable rift in their marriage.
Mint Julep
A bourbon, sugar, mint, and shaved ice concoction served in a sterling cup. It is associated with the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky. Recipe: 1 oz bourbon, 1 tsp of granulated sugar, and water. Pour into a silver cup with fresh mint leaves over shaved ice.
Mona von Bismark (1897-1983)
Mona von Bismark was born in Louisville, Kentucky and raised by her grandmother in Lexington, Kentucky. She was an American socialite and fashion icon who was the first Amerian to be named “The Best Dressed Woman in the World.” She married five times, including Harrison Williams and Edward von Bismarck-Schonhausen, some of the richest men in the world. My character, Lady Elsmere, aka June Webster, from the Josiah Reynolds Mysteries is based on Mona von Bismark.
New Deal
New Deal was a term taken from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s acceptance speech for the presidential Democratic nomination on July 2nd, 1932. He was voted into the US presidency in November after the public reacted negatively to the ineffectiveness of President Herbert Hoover in regards to the Great Depression, which he said would only last a few weeks in 1929. By 1932, the country was dissatisfied with Hoover’s policies, and Americans swept the Democratic Party into office with the promise of a “new deal” for the “forgotten man.”
New Deal policies were enacted within the first three months of Roosevelt’s presidency, which became known as the “Hundred Days.” Agencies such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) were established to provide temporary employment. The WPA provided 8.5 million jobs, produced 650,000 miles of roads, built 125,000 public buildings, 75,000 bridges, and 8,000 parks. Also included in the national bills were the Federal Art Project, Federal Writers’ Project, and the Federal Theatre Project to document the Great Depression.
Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) to the US Constitution
The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex. It needed thirty-six states to pass the amendment, and Tennessee was the last state of the thirty-six to do so with only one vote passing it. Harry Burn, who was anti-suffrage for women, received a note from his mother, Phoebe Ensminger Burn, stating, “Hurrah, and vote for suffrage,” and implored him to be a “good son.” Harry did what his mother wanted and cast the last vote for suffrage breaking the tie. The amendment was adopted in 1920 but was challenged by Leser v Garnett and Fairchild v Hughes. Some states refused to vote on the amendment while other states, mostly in the South, rejected it. States would reverse their rejection of the amendment in favor of it as late as 1984. One vote can make all the difference. Thank you, Mrs. Burn, for sending that note to your son.
Noblesse oblige
Noblesse oblige is the responsibility of those living in privilege to act with generosity toward those less fortunate. It is associated with people of high rank or birth.
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkertons is a private security firm created by Allan Pinkerton in the 1850s. The agency performed services ranging from security guarding to private military work. At the height of their power, they were hired by wealthy businessmen to infiltrate unions and intimidate workers. During the Homestead Strike of 1892, the Pinkertons confronted striking steel workers, causing the death of three Pinkertons and nine workers. The Pinkerton Agency is now a division of a Swedish company—Securitas AB.
Primogeniture
Primogeniture is an exclusive right of inheritance belonging to the eldest son. Male primogeniture was abolished for the British monarchy in 2011 under a reform by the coalition government, allowing first-born daughters to assume the throne. At the time, peers prevented the reform from applying to them.
Prostitution
Prostitution in Lexington began in 1790 and spurred centuries of unethical and illegal behavior. Lexington citizens complained about the red-light district promoting venereal disease, rowdy behavior, property destruction, and gangs of young men roaming the streets. In 1913, a grand jury indicted the owners of various bawdy houses along “Babylon Block.” Among many others, Belle Brezing was indicted for running a bawdy house and selling liquor without a license. In 1915, a committee was formed to study the problem of prostitution in Lexington. This committee brought in experts from the American Social Hygiene Association. One of the things the ASHA did was to compare Lexington’s problem of prostitution to other cities. They discovered that Lexington with a population of 40,000 had approximately the same number of prostitutes as Richmond, Virginia which supported a population of 150,000.
Rotary Club
Rotary Club is a non-religious and non-political organization comprised of business and professional people who encourage ethical standards and good works. Women were allowed to join in 1987, and the clubs continue to exist all over the world.
Shotgun Houses
A shotgun house is a narrow home usually twelve feet wide with rooms comprised of a living room, bedroom, and kitchen facing one long hallway with doors at the front and back. It was the most popular style of house from 1861 to the 1920s. Bathrooms were added later. It was called this because one could shoot a gun from the front of the house to the back without hitting a wall.
Stenography
The art of writing in shorthand strives to take dictation as fast as a person is speaking. Most secretaries knew Gregg shorthand in the 1930s, which was a system of elliptical symbols substituted for words. John Robert Gregg invented this shorthand of writing in 1888. Another system of shorthand is the stenotype machine which has 22 keys to type numbers, phrases, words, and sounds by creating a form of phonetic transcription.
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
He was the 26th president (1901-1909) of the United States. He was known for saying “Walk softly and carry a big stick” which was based on an African proverb—“Walk softly and carry a big stick. You’ll go far.” This was the basis of Roosevelt’s foreign policy to appear benign, but to use force if necessary when national interests were threatened. He is known as a conservationist and created the United States Forest Service, thereby, establishing 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, 4 national game preserves, and 5 national parks. During his presidency, Roosevelt protected 230 million acres of public land. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson would continue Roosevelt’s work by creating the National Park Service. As for his daughter, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Roosevelt said, “I can be President of the United States or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do both.”
William Donovan (1883-1959)
Donovan was an American soldier, lawyer, and intelligence officer. Donovan is the only veteran to receive all four of the United States highest awards—the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, and the National Security Medal plus the Silver Star and the Purple Heart. He is best known for serving as the head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during WWII. Another famous alumnus of the OSS was French gourmet chef, Julia Child. The OSS evolved to become the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) after 1945. Donovan was recruited by President Roosevelt in 1934 to “casually” collect information against Nazis living in the U.S. as the States did not have a formal protocol since spying was frowned upon. Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson, under President Hoover, wrote in his memoirs, “Gentlemen do not read each other’s mail,” and pulled funding for intelligence gathering. Roosevelt knew that Donovan was a loud critic of such action and felt the U.S. needed a formal intelligence department like the United Kingdom’s MI6. As soon as the U.S. was attacked in 1941, Roosevelt demanded that he be granted money for such a department with Donovan heading it. Thus began the OSS. Years later, Donovan died after developing dementia, taking all his secrets with him to the grave. A statue of Donovan stands in the CIA Headquarters lobby. Keep this man in mind. He will pop up in other Mona Moon books.
Venereal Disease
Another name for STDs—sexually transmitted diseases.
Wilkie Collins (1824-1889)
Collins was an English novelist who is credited with writing the first modern English detective novel. Famous for The Woman In White 1859 and The Moonstone 1868.
Women’s Working Rights
From the liberal views of the 1920s, the 1930s became more conservative. It was difficult for women to obtain work, especially in locales where women were thought to belong in the home. Women, who worked outside the home, were criticized for taking jobs away from men and were pressured to quit. Women were even blamed for the Great Depression with some claiming that if women would give up their jobs, unemployment would be eliminated. Of course, these detractors didn’t acknowledge the alarming number of single parent households headed by women because their male partners had deserted them. This was called a “poor man’s divorce.” It was estimated that two million men became traveling hobos. Yes, women became hobos as well, but not as often as men.
Women were not allowed credit/loans on their own without a male co-signer. In Dolores Claiborne, Stephen King does a wonderful job illustrating how a bank allowed a man to steal his wife’s money after years of her working and saving.
Working Girls
1930s slang synonymous with prostitutes.