December 1, 1918 – what a
day of mixed feelings after an overwhelmingly exhausting October and November
in the city of Hamilton!
The Great War had been less
than great for the world, including for Hamilton. The world-wide epidemic of
Spanish Influenza had definitely not spared Hamilton.
With the arrival of
December, 1918, the Great War was technically still on, although a combat
ceasing armistice had been signed on November 11. A party of returning soldiers
was already expected, their exact time of arrival still unknown on December 1.
The Hamilton Board of
Health’s restrictions on the hours stores were allowed to stay open were still in
effect. The merchants were very anxious that the 1918 Christmas trade not be
badly impacted:
“While the heads of local department stores
express a unanimous desire to co-operate with the health department in every
possible way, they urge that the public, in order to overcome the difficulty
incident to the 4 o’clock closing order, make special efforts to shop early in
the day and thus assist in carrying out the existing regulations.
“Health department officials
again urge that clerks who are released from store and office service at 4
o’clock walk to their homes as much as possible in order to assist the street
railway company the better to comply with the order which forbids the
overcrowding of cars. Summed up the popular order of the day is ‘shop early and
walk.’ ”1
1 “Shop
Early and Avoid Street Cars : This Will Best Way to Aid in Fighting Influenza :
Merchants Are Readily Co-operating With Authorities”
Hamilton Herald. December 02, 1918
The Herald also carried an
editorial which urged all Hamiltonians to do their best to comply with the
Board of Health’s orders while still making their Christmas purchases :
“In the meantime, citizens
generally, but especially women, can do much to relieve congestion in the
stores and thus help to serve the purpose of the health authorities, by doing
their shopping, to the extent possible, in the morning.
“This should be borne in
mind : The more loyal the community co-operation, the more general the
observance of the regulations framed by the board of health, the sooner shall
Hamilton be feed from the restrictions which are distasteful and harassing to
everyone.”
2 “The Closing Order”
Hamilton Herald. December 02, 1918.
All three Hamilton daily
newspapers, the Spectator, the Herald and the Times kept their readers
up-to-date with all the news regarding the store hour issue, and the closing of
churches and schools.
A Spectator account from December 2, 1918
follows :
“THE TICKLED
_________
Toronto storekeepers.
________________
School Kids
_________________
School Marms
________________
Mail Order Houses
__________________
Jitney bus owners.
____________________
Those who did their Xmas
S.E.
_________________________
Cities that get our
business
_________________________
Those who don’t use
street cars
___________________________
Those who eat at home
____________________________
Those who’ve had it
____________________________
Those who haven’t
_____________________________
Old Man Gloom
____________________________
Those who’d rather sleep
than
pray on Sundays
__________________________
Drummers who don’t stop
off here.
PROGRESS OF THE FLU
Number new cases reported
since Saturday …………526
Deaths reported yesterday :
Influenza …………….2
Pneumonia …………. 3
Total number of
cases reported
to date ……. 5450
Total number of
deaths
to date
…….338.
“There is no
abatement in the severity of the influenza epidemic. Over one thousand new
cases occurred in Hamilton last, and the number of new cases on Saturday and
Sunday as reported to the board of health totaled 526. The publicity committee
reported five more deaths for the same days, but the more up-to-date reports
from the undertakers show twelve deaths in the city during the weekend.
“From this summary, it can be seen that the influenza is as
rampant in the city at present as at any stage of the epidemic’s course.
Consequently, the health officials who are combatting the plague deem it unwise
to slacken any of the restrictions which have been imposed.”3
3“
‘Flu’ Epidemic Still Serious in Hamilton : Over 500 Cases Reported at the City
Hall Since Noon on Saturday : Request of Merchants for Modification of Orders
Refused by Health Board”
Hamilton Spectator. December 02, 1918.
Finally, a group of soldiers
arrived in Hamilton on December 2, 1918 – many of whom for medical or other
reasons were already on their way home when the armistice had been signed:
“Through the bungling of the military
department at Ottawa, hundreds of homes in this city have been in a state of
suspense since Saturday, expecting some of their soldier relatives to arrive at
any hour, and the office of the secretary of the local soldiers’ aid commission
and the newspaper offices have been persistently queried as to the names of the
returned heroes, who were landed at Halifax by the steamship Acquitania. Word
came through early Saturday that over 500 men from Toronto and west were on the
way home, and later a message was received by Secretary Kaye that 126 of this
number were destined for Hamilton, but the names did not come. During
yesterday, Mr. Kaye had over 150 telephone calls in regard to the boys, but not
until 8 o’clock this morning did definite word arrive. It was to the effect
that the Hamilton boys would arrive at 9:33 a.m., via the C.P.R. When the train
pulled in, there was a big crowd of citizens, who were hoping that their boy
would be in the party, and when only 55 soldiers detrained, there was much
disappointment. Geo. H. Lees, chairman, A.W. Kaye, secretary, and many members
of the reception committee of the soldiers’ aid, as well as Col. Chandler, of
the Salvation army, gave the boys a warm welcome and sent them to their homes
in autos, of which there was a good supply. As it was anticipated that more
soldiers would arrive on the G.T.R., the officers of the commission hurried in
machines to the Stuart street depot, but no khaki clad passengers arrived on
the route on the morning train. The rest of the Hamilton party are expected to
arrive in the city by evening.
“Among the boys who came in
this morning with the party was a member of the Canadian originals, Sergeant
Morningstar of the 15th battalion, whose relatives reside on Sherman
avenue. He reported that the boys had had a rough trip across the Atlantic,
passing through several snow storms, but had been well-treated and fed on
board. Their trip from Halifax, too, had been pleasant, splendid accommodation
having been provided by the railway company.
“To a friend, Sergeant
Morningstar told of an amusing incident on train. A lady, who showed much
interest in the boys, inquired as to the red and blue stripes on his arm, the
red chevron being a mark of the first contingent, and the blue ones
representing the number of years at the front. She was told that the red stripe
denoted that the man is married and the blue stripes indicated the number of
children the soldier had. She expressed much satisfaction that the government
had shown such a deep interest in its soldiers and gave fathers such
distinguishing marks. Later, however, she expressed much more surprise and
asked for further explanation when she saw several soldiers with blue chevrons
on their arm, but with no red one. The joke then broke,”4
4 “Relatives
of Returned Men Disappointed : No Advance List Supplied of the Expected :
Ottawa Blamed This Time for Latest Bungle : Another Party reached Hamilton This
Morning”
Hamilton Spectator. December 02, 1918
The Herald account of the
confusion regarding the time and place of the soldier’s arrival was critical of
the authorities :
“Today Hamilton welcomed the largest party of
returned soldiers since the war started. No fewer than 126 arrived at the
T.H.& B. and G.T. railway stations. Once again, owing to bad management on
the part of the Toronto authorities, the reception tendered the homecoming
heroes wasn’t what it should and would have been.
“Practically all of the
soldiers’ relatives were kept on the quivive from Saturday until today. In
coming trains from Toronto were met at both depots by many tired and indignant
watchers. Relatives went all day from the Hunter and Stuart street stations in
their desire to meet their long departed loved ones. Quite a crowd continued
the vigil at the G.T.R. depot until 1:30 this morning, but not a returned
soldier came. Some of the heroes arrived by the early G.T.R. train.
“Yesterday Secretary A.W.
Kaye, soldiers’ aid commission, had a merry time answering the ‘phone. No fewer
than 76 telephone calls were received at his North Sherman avenue home from
relatives. Toronto had ‘phoned Mr. Kaye that 126 Hamilton men were en route
here, but he couldn’t learn their names. Last night he was told over toe wire
that the Hamiltonians would have to leave Toronto last for they couldn’t be
accommodated there. In vain he waited for further news, for he desired to
arrange for special street cars to meet the midnight train. At 1:30 a.m. he
gave up and went to rest. This morning no word came through as to when the
soldiers would arrive. Luckily for the homecoming men, the solders’ aid commission
and the Kiwanis club took a chance and had 25 autos waiting to meet the 9:40
train. Over 50 heroes arrived. The platform was crowded with the men’s
relatives. The remainder of the heroes reached the city later in the day.
“George H. Lees, A.W. Kaye,
J. Coates, Col. Chandler, Salvation army; Controller Robson, W.A. Campbell,
J.R. Wells, Controller Wright and others were the boys on behalf of the city.
W.A. Smith and P. Dunnigan, representing the Kiwanis club, which had arranged
for the automobiles, were also on hand, and distributed packages of cigarets
and smokes to the returned ones.”5
5 “Large Party of Soldiers
Home Again : Hundred and Twenty-Six Arrived This Morning : Their Relatives
Again On Anxious Watch for Hours”
Hamilton Herald. December 02, 1918.
Worried about how the early
store closing regulations would affect their Christmas business, the merchants
of Hamilton again made an announcement in the city press, urging shoppers to
accommodate themselves to the rules :
“In spite of the war’s ending and the early
return of our boys, the high tension under which business has been conducted
cannot be eased up in time for the holiday rush. The order of the board of
health closing all stores until further notice at 4 o’clock, has further
accentuated this condition, and the only proper solution is for everyone to
shop in the early hours of the day.
“The last two weeks before
Christmas will be filled with disappointments – stocks will be depleted,
deliveries will be delayed – satisfactory service will be impossible – unless
much of your shopping is done this week!
“The retail merchants of
Hamilton, appreciating the difficulties which confront them, ask your
co-operation, so that they may serve you to your satisfaction.”6
6 “The
Merchants of Hamilton Urge You to Shop Early”
Hamilton Spectator. December 04, 1918.
The Spectator again
commented on the shopping issue in light of the Board of Health regulations in
a series of short observations :
“Ask Us – We Don’t Know”
If it is dangerous for
clerks to wait on customers after 4 o’clock in the afternoon, how is the
overworked Proprietor immune?
ANXIOUS
Our Hoyle is silent on this
point. Ask the doctors. – Ed.
_____________________________________________
Is it worse for one man to
serve fifty customers in his store after 4 o’clock than to have the assistance
of his clerks and disperse the crowd more quickly.
BEWILDERED
Common sense seems to
approve of retaining the clerks, but the doctors have decreed otherwise. – Ed.
__________________________________________
Is the ‘flu’ germ more
active after 4 p.m. than previous to that hour?
I WONDER
Once again, we are stumped.
Will some doctor please explain? – Ed.
_________________________________________________
Why, in the name of all that
is sane and proper, if the ‘flu’ is more deadly than small pox, haven’t the
cases been isolated and placed under quarantine?
IVA
KAUFF
If uva cough, Iva, your
doctor should be able to answer that question. – Ed.
_______________________________________________
Please tell me why members
of the board of trade and other business men can spare time to go to the city
hall and beg the ‘people’s representatives’ to do things, but cannot do their
duty by serving as city representatives?
TAXPAYER
Will business men please
answer? –Ed.
____________________________________________________
Is it safer to stand on a street corner for an
hour, waiting for a car, than to ride on a crowded one?
A. HOOFER
The doctors say it is. So
there7
7 “ Knutty
Points
Hamilton Spectator. December
5, 1918
All Hamilton newspapers
became increasing filled with advertisements, presenting ideas for gifts
available. On December 12, 1918, one newspaper ad carried extensive text urging
husbands to buy a certain product which may or may not have been welcomed when opened
by their wives on Christmas morning :
(Copy re O Cedar Polish Mop)
“He shows it in a hundred
different ways. But most of all, he shows it in the things he selects for me at
Christmastide.
“True, he gives a few pretty
trifles – but every Christmas he gives me some one thing that is of practical
use to me in my housekeeping.
“This year it is an O-Cedar
Polish Mop – that is because he has heard me say my old one – which saved me
many a back ache – is pretty well used up.
“I really would have to give
myself an O-Cedar Mop if he had not been so thoughtful. I could never go back
to the old, low-stooping, high-reaching way of dusting floors and ceilings. I
would not for anything be without an O-Cedar Polish Mop.”
___________________________
“The spirit of Christmas
giving finds practical expression in an O-Cedar Polish Mop. A gift she will use
– at least three hundred days in the year. A gift she will appreciate because
it banishes the backbreaking bending of old-time housekeeping methods.
“Let others give her the
trivial, petty things. From the man of the house, she expects at least one
present that is thoroughly practical. And he should delight in giving her that
which will lighten her labour.”8
8 “O Cedar Polish Mop: He Thinks Well of Me”
Hamilton Spectator. December 12, 1918
A Hamilton native who had
achieved prominence in the United States, but who exploits were little known
locally, had returned to the Ambitious City for a pre-Christmas visit to
friends and family. A Herald reporter filed the following about that man,
Freddie Hill :
“Freddie Hill, the Hamilton boy who has
developed into one of the foremost heel and toe experts in New York, will leave
for the big town shortly to take part in several big races. Hill, who is
commonly referred to as ‘Goulding’s protégé,’ has been back in this, his native
city, for some time, but with the indoor season coming on, he wants to be where
the walking is fast and the competition keenest.
“The local lad’s walking
stunts have all been performed in New York. He has done little or nothing in
Hamilton, and very few know him as Freddie Hill, the walker. However, the New
York critics agree that he is a comer, and that barring George Goulding, the
world’s champion, he is a topnotcher.
“Hill has been in the last
three races in New York, known as the Coney Island event. He walked 25 miles in
the 22nd armory in New York in the good time of 4.06.56 and also
traveled the 50 mile route from Van Cortlandt park to West Point in eight hours
and six minutes. The lad has shown both speed and endurance, and he has an easy
style that is more similar to that of champion Goulding than that of any other
walker in the game.
“His first race on his
return to Uncle Sam’s land will be the Washington Birthday walk from the city
hall, New York, to Coney Island. He is feeling O.K. and expects to have a big
season.
“Hill was born at the corner
of King William and Hughson streets. He has spent the last five years in New
York and was in the candy-making business. During his present stay here he is
residing at 201 North John street.”9
9 “Freddie
Hill, Local Heel and Toe Expert, Expects Big Season ”
Hamilton Herald. December 13 1918.
Roy Tobey was the owner of a
clothing store on James Street North. Once a week very week, and sometimes more
often, Tobey would pay for a large advertisement in the daily newspapers. Not
only did the ads provide information about the sales and other things related
to Tobey’s retail business, but Tobey also filled up the ads with lengthy
verbiage from him. AS Christmas 1918 approached, Roy Tobey championed the cause
of providing a good holiday for returning soldiers and their families :
“Now for the Christmas tree
for the kiddies of the war veterans! It
doesn’t look to me as if the money is coming in as it should. Let me tell you
an instance. A soldier who went with the 173rd and bought my lad’s
kilts , Arthur Fisher, when he went to France to die that we might live, came
home last Monday or Tuesday, expecting to meet his wife and two children. He
didn’t even know that she had been sick, and he found her dead. She had died
suddenly with the ‘flu, I think. Do these men suffer? Have they suffered !!!
Are they not entitled to the best that we can give them? I think so.
“He came in to see me, and
he had with him two of the sweetest children – about 4 and 6 years. The man is
not asking for charity, because he can look after his children, I know, but
don’t you think that this city should make a merry, merry Christmas for those
two children, as well as hundreds of others? Instead of $1,000, raise $3,000
and do it up right.
_________________________________________
“Dear Santa : I am a poor
boy, my mother is dead. And there are three more besides myself; we would like
some toys for Christmas. And my father tries his best to keep us together since
he came back from France. And I am sick in bed with a sore leg for a year and a
half. Goodbye. Don’t forget us, Santa EDDIE
----
“This little fellow and
hundreds of others place their hopes in the War Veterans’ Santa. What’s the
answer?”10
10 “Tobey’s
Views : His Observation About Returned Men and the ‘Flu’ Epidemic”
Hamilton Spectator. December 14, 1918.
One of the key organizations involved
in on-going efforts to request charitable donations was the Great War Veterans’
association.
On December 14, 1918, the Hamilton
Herald published the following letter from the organization’s
secretary-treasurer of its West Hamilton branch, A. W. Cooke, regarding a $15 donation just
received from the women workers in the cigarette department of the Tuckett
Tobacco company:
“That shows a spirit that so far has
not be shown by any other factories. What is the matter with the girls in the
woolen mills and numerous other factories that have many departments full of
girls? Surely if the census were taken in each factory and each one was to give
25 cents it would amount to a grand total of several hundred dollars.
”Come along now, girls, the ‘flu’ ban
has been on for some time past. What about the quarters and half dollars you
have saved from the movies etc.? Would you like to be in a position of some of
the little mothers who have so nobly sacrificed and given their all, in order
that he might go and defend his country and you? You know fully well a mother’s
love that no one but a mother fully understands. Are there any of you who would
shun and spurn a little kiddie in the hour of need, and in the day of trouble?
When you see a little boy or girl crying on the street does your heart not go
out to him or her? If you have the opportunity, don’t you go to him or her and
say, ‘Never mind, don’t cry, you will be all right now and pat them on the
back, and try to cheer them up? Of course you do. I have seen you do it myself.
“Here is your opportunity now to help.
You won’t be able to go into all these homes and see the little ones looking
for Santa Claus. You won’t be able to see the big eyes fill up with tears when
there is little or nothing in their stocking from Santa. These are the sights
the world does not see, and they are the saddest of all. The poor, little,
unprotected, unthought of children of the men who sacrificed all in order that
you might be spared from the ravages suffered in Belgium and France.
“You see pictures here and there
portraying those conditions in Belgium and France, and you say, ‘No, it is
impossible, this is all too horrible to be true.’ Let me tell you is all true
and only too true, as it always was and ever will be. Truth is always stranger
than fiction.
“Girls not only in factories, but in
offices, department stores and those who are fortunate enough in being able to
stay out of business, get together, give what little you can. Maybe the day
will come when the iron hand of fate will descend on you and yours. Wouldn’t
you like to think that someone thinks of You”11
11 “Help Kiddies : Give to the Christmas Tree Fund.”
Hamilton Herald. December 14, 1918.
“The Soldiers’ Aid
commission is without word as to the time of the arrival of the veterans who
disembarked from the Olympic last Saturday.”
Hamilton Spectator. December 17, 1918.
Three days after the RMS
Olympic docked at Halifax with a full load of soldiers returning from Western
Europe, Hamiltonians whose loved ones were supposed to be on that ship, and
Hamiltonians hoping to give them a warm welcome, had little idea when that
arrival would happen:
“Word comes from Toronto,
however, that the local party may not arrive until Thursday. Mr. Kaye yesterday
afternoon sent a telegraph to Lieut-Col. John Gunn, D.O.C., asking for
assistance in making arrangements for his homecoming of the Hamilton boys. So Far,
however, he has received no reply.”12
12 “On
Their Way : But Returned Men May Not Arrive Before Thursday ”
Hamilton Spectator. December 17, 1918.
Mr. Kaye of the Hamilton
office of the Soldiers’ Aid Commission repeatedly tried to get an exact idea as
to when, or even which railway line, the returning soldiers would finally
arrive in Hamilton. Not receiving a definitive answer, he nevertheless put into
motion the steps he could take in the meantime. A major task was to assemble
enough automobiles and their drivers to meet the men after they disembarked
from the train so that they could be driven to their homes.
Finally, on December 18,
1918, Mr. Kaye received a telegraph that the Hamilton soldiers had reached
Toronto by rail. They would soon be transferred to a train heading for Hamilton
but no expected time of arrival was given. Nor was anyone told whether the boys
would get off a Grand Trunk railway at that railway’s station on Stuart Street
or, whether they would come on a C.P.R. train to be let off at that line’s
station uptown on Hunter street west.
A Spectator reporter had
been assigned to cover the arrival, but he was in the dark as to where and when
the men would arrive. Nevertheless, that reporter like everyone else rushed
from one station to the other. His report on the whole matter was a vivid,
superbly-written article, an article
which follows :
“
‘Good old Hamilton!’ they roared as the big C.P.R. train crashed into the depot
the grinding of the brakes as they bit
into the wheels, and mingled with the thunderous cheers of the multitude and -
the excited shrieks of girls and little children.
“Then
they emerged – these boys of ours – and little drops of khaki were lost in a
sea of excited humanity. Now and then would be heard – ‘Here’s Bill!’ – ‘My
Joe!’ as the dense crowd surged to and fro from coach to coach and anxious eyes
peered through the gloom of the dimly-lit station to catch a glimpse of some
loved one.
“Finally
the first warriors managed to break through the massed formation and began to
straggle down the platform, with eager kiddies clustered round and willing
hands bearing the bulky kit-bags to the rear of the depot, where a veritable
battalion of automobiles awaited the veterans.
“Bronzed
and hale were these men of Flanders and the terrible cloud that had hung over
humanity and which they labored and fought and bled to remove appeared to have
touched them but lightly. Some of them added a finishing touch to the realism
of the scene by carrying their rusty trench-helmets with the packs on their
backs.
“Old
Bill was there, and Alf and Bert – all of them enjoying the excitement and the
glamor. Old Bill’s missus had been jubilating and fretting alternately since
the telegraph boy brought her the message last Friday that hubby had reached Halifax.
She had learned first that Bill was coming on Tuesday, and then on Wednesday,
and finally on Thursday. She was in a state of excitement as she dressed up the
kiddies yesterday afternoon yesterday and hustled them down to the G.T.R. depot
to meet the train on which the boys were ‘sure’ to arrive; and when the news
spread through the Stuart street station, that the boys weren’t coming she
joined the weary pilgrimage of the hundreds of soldiers’ folk, tired and
supperless up to the Hunter street depot, while five-year-old Jimmie ‘wished
the kayser would get the flu and die,’ as he tottled alongside. But all was
forgotten as she clasped Old Bill’s strong arm, and followed him as he threaded
his way through the crowds. To the reporters Bill stated that he ‘didn’t want
nuffin’ in the papers,’ but he accepted the hospitality of the automobile which
was waiting to transport him and his to ‘the better ‘ole’ down in East
Hamilton.
“Fifty-three
veterans arrived – soldiers of all ranks and grade, from the grey-haired South
African vet to the smooth-faced lad who was met with an army of small brothers
and sisters. There was no lack of accommodation, thanks to the Kiwanis club,
while the civic reception committee, the Salvation Army, and the soldiers’ aid
commission did the honors for the returned boys on behalf of the city.”13
13 “Crowds
Greeted Returned Heroes on Their Arrival : Fifty-Three Hamilton Men Back From
the Front : Many of Them Saw Four Years’ Fighting : Kiwanis Club and Others
Tendered Reception ”
Hamilton
Spectator. December 18 1918.
On December18, 1918, the
Spectator was able to report that the find-raising initiative of the Great War
Veterans Association was doing well. Donations were being received not only
from Hamiltonians, but from people living in faraway places :
“Up to date the G.W.V.A. has received a total
of $1,304.22 in donations to the Christmas tree, which will be held in the
I.O.O.F. Temple on the evening of December 23, for the kiddies of those who
have been killed in action or died in service.
“Just how far and wide this
idea has spread is shown by a letter sent by Mrs. Elsie H. Moore, of Chicago,
formerly of this city, who read about the G.W.V.A. Christmas tree in this
paper, and sent the largest single contribution yet received from any
individual - $100.”14
14“Generous
Gift : G.W.V.A. Has $100 from Chicago Lady for Tree. ”
Hamilton Spectator. December 18 1918.
Roy Tobey kept up a
relentless pitch for donations to the G.W.V.A, Christmas Tree Fund in his
advertisements:
“Shall these kiddies fight the good
fight alone? You watched their dads as they went joyously, those sunny-hearted
lads in khaki. You walked with many of them that day. You made their way your
way; you grasped their hand again and again. You murmured ‘Courage, man;’ you
can’t forget how it gripped you, how your heart contracted when you saw them
bid their children good-bye to go away for you and you kind of wished that you
might go with them into the unknown they faced so fearlessly. Men that you had known
from childhood. Was it not yesterday? No, for yesterday they were at Vimy.
There are other yesterdays, Passchendaele, Cambrai, and Mons, when you were not
with them, when their kiddies were not with them. No friendly voice murmured,
‘Courage!’ No hand clasped theirs. Only the chill, gray dawn, only the flash of
murderous fire, only fumes of poison gases, only death-dealing instruments
everywhere. Many of them are never coming back; some may take years to die,
some are crippled; but their children are here, their wives are here, and it is
Christmastime and the war veterans ask you to do a little part that will not
hurt. What is $700 or $800 to buy
Christmas presents for (I imagine) 1,7000 children? Why $3,000 would be too
little. Say, men, just swamp that old war veterans’ headquarters with money!
Give the kiddies the best Christmas they ever had. If you want to send me the
money I will see that they get it and you will make many a lad happy. Now, this
is a part of my advertising. I am making this appeal instead of telling you
that I have got the best suits in town; you know that anyway. You make those
kiddies happy and you make me happy. Make that $3,000, $4,000 or $5,000, and do
it quick.
L.R.
Tobey15
15“The
Kiddies’ Christmas : Are You With Them, the Soldier’s Boy or Girl”
Hamilton Spectator. December 19, 1918.
Just six days after from
Christmas Day, the Royal Connaught Hotel announced its plans for the upcoming
holidays, excellent happenings every day except Christmas Eve :
“With the war over, with suspense and, dread
lifted from countless hearts and thankfulness in all, there is going to be a
Christmas spirit abroad next week which has not been seen in all these
four weary years, when sorrow and gloom,
even if it did not attend, at least dogged the footsteps of all. If there has
been any gayety displayed in the Christmastide of these years it has been at
best a mirthless gayety, and people frolicked ‘because they must, and not
because they would.’
“Now, however, the cloud of
depression has been lifted, and in the refulgence cast over the whole world,
thoughts turn naturally to all those social gayeties which are inseparable from
this season of the year.
“The Royal Connaught, that
center of the larger activities, intends to give the Hamilton public just as
much entertainment as it is possible for it to enjoy during Christmas week, and
such a program of festivity, breathing in cold print of the wonderful spirit of
Yuletide, has been drawn up by the management, as will be the means of exciting
all the hearts of the younger generation of Hamilton society, while it is
doubted whether the older and more staid members of society will not, on
perusal, also feel a pleasure sensation of anticipation.
“Christmas eve is in most
homes a time of happiness, when social functions have to give place to the
tasks of decorating, last minute shopping, and the twelve o’clock filling of
the ‘stocking.’
“For this reason, the
management of the hotel has decided that Christmas eve shall be a home day. No
special attractions will be held out as inducements for mothers and fathers,
and big brothers and sisters to leave home, and the real festivity of the week
will commence Christmas day itself.
“On this day, the hotel,
beautifully and gaily decorated in real fashioned style, will hold its
well-known Christmas dinners – only this year they are going to exceed any ever
offered at the hotel before!
“From 12 to 2 and from 6 to
9 o’clock, these will be in progress , and so great a rush is anticipated that on the inviting
card, bearing the announcement, the sentence is inserted that no reservation
will be held for longer than 15 minutes. From nine until twelve o’clock,
dancing in the winter garden will be indulged in.
“Saturday will be kept
quietly, in order that all may recover energy for the New Year’s festivities,
but on Monday the feature of the week will be held, when the children’s dansant
and Christmas tree will be given. This novel method of allowing the youngest
generation to taste of the social pleasure of Christmas in a large way, was
instituted in Hamilton for the first time by the Royal Connaught last year.
“New Year’s eve, that great
day when dancers waltz gaily into the new year, is the occasion premiere of the
week. A supper dance will be given in both restaurants, commencing at 1:30
p.m., while the dancing will begin at nine o’clock, and last until the first
hour of the year, 1919. There will be three orchestras in attendance – the
regular orchestra of the ball room and two additional ones for the dancers
downstairs. There will be a special dinner New Year’s day and many other
attractions, including the tea dansant from 4 to 6 o’clock. Dancing will be
from 9 to 12 o’clock.”16
16 “Royal Connaught : Program
of Festivity for Xmas and New Year”
Hamilton Spectator. December 19, 1918.
Finally, just six days
before Christmas, the Hamilton Board of Health decided to acknowledge the the
Spanish Influenza epidemic had receded enough to allow store to take full
advantage of the holiday trade as well as allowing the city churches to resume
public worship services :
“The lid is off. The board of health at a
special meeting yesterday afternoon, with one exception, decided to lift the
ban which was imposed on November 29 on churches and theaters. The one
exception was Ald. Langs, who, while not offering any strenuous objection, said
he had doubts as to the advisability of such action in view of the fact that in
Buffalo, he had been informed, the influenza epidemic was gaining ground again
as a result of the lifting of the ban there.
“The order of the board was
effective at once. Theaters may reopen tonight and church services may be held
as usual Sunday next. While it was decided to lift the ban completely, it was
with the understanding that the schools would not reopen till after the
Christmas and New Year holidays. A deputation of clergymen, representing the
Ministerial association, attended the meeting and urged that the ban not only
be lifted, but that it not again be put on churches in the event of a fresh
outbreak of influenza.”17
17 “Ban
Completely Lifted By Health Board : Church Services Next Sunday – Theaters May
Open at Once : Schools Not to Open Until After Holidays – Some Criticism”
Hamilton Herald. December 19, 1918.
From the Hamilton Spectator, December
21, 1918 :
Christmas
Sound over all waters, reach out from
all lands,
The chorus of voices, the clasping of
hands;
Sing hymns that were sung by the stars
of the morn.
Sing songs of the angels when Jesus
was born:
With glad jubilations
Bring hope to all nations;
The dark night is ending, and dawn has
begun;
Rise, Hope of the ages, arise like the
sun !
All speech flow to music, all hearts
beat as one.
Sing the bridal of nations; with
chorals of love,
Sing out the war vulture, and sing in
the dove,
Till the hearts of the people keep
time in accord,
And the voice of the world in the
voice of the Lord.
Clasp hands of the nations
In strong congratulations;
The dark night is ending, and dawn has
begun;
Rise, Hope of the ages, arise like the
sun !
All speech flow to music, all hearts
beat as one.
Blow, bugles of battle, the marches of
peace;
East, west, north and south, let the
long quarrel cease:
Sing the song of great joy that the
angels began.
Sing the “glory of God,” and “the good
will to man !”
Hark, joining in chorus
The heavens bend o’er us:
The dark night is ending, and dawn has
begun;
Rise, Hope of the ages, arise like the
sun !
All speech flow to music, all hearts
beat as one.
----
J. G. Whittier.
The efforts of the Hamilton
branch of the Great War Veterans Association in raising a lot of money
succeeded enough to help make Christmas merry for the children of soldiers
still overseas and the children whose fathers had died as a result of the war:
“More than 1,500
little ones, many of them children whose daddies gave their lives on the
battlefields of the old world, were made happy last evening through the good
offices of the G.W.V.A., the members of which had prepared in the I.O.O.F.
temple a wonderful time for the youngsters. It is no exaggeration to say that
every foot of space in which could be packed a small atom of eager, palpitating
humanity was occupied, auditorium, gallery and basement being filled to
suffocation. Children of ages were agape with anticipation at the treat before
them; and even the sad-faced widows, with their babies in their arms and
toddlers clinging to their skirts, seemed to find in the efforts put forth by
the comrades of their dead that spirit of helpfulness and brotherhood which had
birth in the trenches.
“Two brightly lit Christmas trees on
the platform blossomed with gifts of all sorts, and many more were piled at the
front of the platform. Sleighs, skates, Teddy bears, dolls, rocking horses and
all the other treasures for which the juvenile heart yearns, were among the
presents plucked from the magic tree by a jolly Santa Claus, and clasped
tightly in the arms of the delighted youngsters, as they formed a line, and
passed out after receiving their gifts. Pandemonium reigned for a while, as
members of the G.W.V.A. valiantly breasted the tide of sturdy youth that surged
about the tree; but nobody minded the fact that the conditions that prevailed
for a time were such that even a hard-pressed sardine would have protested, and
that they were reminiscent, somewhat of an enemy raid.
“ ‘Twas a great night for the kiddies
and exemplified the good old slogan of the vets, ‘Carry on.’
“Supper was served in the basement at four
long tables laden with goodies, and each child and mother present received a
well-filled lunch box, containing fruit, sandwiches and other toothsome ‘eats.’
“Sergt.-Major Jordan made a splendid
Santa Claus, and during the program went through the audience distributing
candies and other treats.
“The short program, which, needless to
say, was necessary to the great business of the evening, was in charge of C.W.
Heming, who made a brief address, in which he thanked the local newspapers, the
citizens, the various women’s auxiliaries and L.R. Tobey.
“H.A. Burbidge and L.R. Tobey spoke to
the children, and Pipe-Major Dunbar entertained them with the pipes. The Duke
children, as usual, made a huge hit with their clever recitations and
imitations.
“The committee in charge of the
affair, and which deserves much credit for the pleasure given the little ones,
was composed of the following : George Sharpe, B. Kendrick, W. Hamilton,
Sergt.-Major Jordan, Sergt.-Major Lander, Sergt. W. Stout, F.W. Scott, W.
Crompton, F. Brown, Wm. Smith, W. Crompton, F. Brown, Wm. Smith and Pipe-Major
Dunbar.
“One of the hardest worked during the
evening were ex-Gunner A.H. Peart, who had charge of the distribution of the
chocolates for the mothers of the kiddies. Mr. Peart saw that no one was
overlooked. He distributed nearly 1,500 boxes of candy.”18
18 “Xmas Gifts For Fatherless Ones : Santa Claus Greeted
Folks of Fallen Heroes : Merry Kiddies, Sad-Faced Widows Pathetic Contrast :
G.W.V.A, Made Many Juvenile Hearts Happy” ”
Hamilton Spectator December 20, 1918.
Despite the massive efforts, it became
clear that still more was needed to be done as there were still offspring of
soldiers from the Hamilton area who needed to be remembered during the holiday
season :
“In view of the big success of the Christmas
tree entertainment given to soldiers’ children under the auspices of the
G.W.V.A. in the I.O.O.F. temple last night, and the possibility that there may
be some who would otherwise miss Santa Claus, it was announced this morning
that arrangements are being made to hold another entertainment of a similar
nature. The date has not yet been fixed, but it will likely be New Year eve.” 19
“19 “Another Tree
: G.W.V.A Will Not Overlook Any Kiddies.””
Hamilton Herald. December 23, 1918.
One of Canada’s leading military
figures as the Great War came to an end was Major-General, Honourable Sidney
Chilton Mewburn.
Well-known to his fellow Hamiltonians
because of his military, business and political prominence in the Ambitious
City, not to mention because of his beautiful residence on Markland Street at
the head of Park street, Mewburn was the Minister of Militia and Defense with the federal
government in December, 1918.
On December 23, 1918, Mewburn sent the
following Christmas message to the Canadian troops overseas awaiting
demobilization and a return home:
“On behalf of your comrades in Canada,
I have the proud privilege od sending Christmas greetings this year to a
victorious Canadian army, occupying the territory of a conquered foe. Last year,
you looked back upon a year of desparate, if glorious fighting, and forward to
a doubtful issue, for the enemy was known to have gained new strength and to be
meditating a tremendous blow against us. Today you can look back upon a year in
which the British bore adversity with fortitude, refused to despond when things
were at their darkest, returned to the offensive at the critical moment, and in
three months of fighting such as the world have never seen before, won a
victory unexampled alike for the glory won and for the service rendered by it
for humanity.
“In this warfare of giants you have
borne a part which fills us with a pride and gratitude which we cannot express.
Amiens, Arras, the Queant-Drocourt line, the Canal du Nord, Cambrai,
Valenciennes and the Mons are words which will inspire Canadians for centuries,
and you are the men who have these these resounding deeds. Our homage of love
and pride is tendered to the men who fell in these triumphs.
“We hope soon to welcome you home, and
you may rest assured that every effort is being made to ease the path of your
return to peaceful industry.”20
20 “Mewburn’s Message to the Canadians”
Hamilton Spectator. December 24, 1918.
Christmas eve morning scenes
in Hamilton were described in the afternoon edition of the Spectator:
“Although there have been no special Christmas
rates on the steam railways this year, the holiday travel have been the largest
since 1914, railway officials declared this morning. Through trains on the
trunk lines were from one to two hours behind time this morning, and the storm
from the east, which began in earnest shortly before noon, was anything but
welcome to the station officials and train crews. The first storm of the season
is always a heartbreaker for transportation men, and this season’s, first
coming when travel is at the maximum, will no doubt spoil the Christmas
enjoyment to a considerable extent for the knights of the rail.
“The post office officials
also report record business this year, the package department being loaded down
to the gun’ales. The veteran postmaster, Adam Brown, was on hand for a few
hours this morning, just to see that there were no wrenches in the machinery.”21
21 “Traffic
Heavy : And Trains Running Late Owing to first Storm of Season”
Hamilton Spectator. December 24, 1918.
Hamilton’s beloved
columnist, Richard Butler, aka the Old Muser, put forward the following piece
on December 24, 1918:
“ ‘Marley was dead, to begin with.’ It was
thus that the gifted Dickens began his Christmas Carol. ‘Old Marley was as dead
as a door-nail … Scrooge knew he was dead ? Of course he did. Scrooge and he
were partners for many years.’ Dickens’ stories are not read nowadays like they
were by the ancient Hamiltonians of the past century, and the more pity it is,
for their reading would make a better world. The Christmas Carols tell us that
old Scrooge was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, ‘a squeezing, wrenching,
grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!’ Hamilton may have a few of
the Scrooge tribe, but they are mighty few. As the history of the past four
years can cheerfully give testimony. Very few have suffered from the high cost
of living, for there has been work for everybody that wanted it, wages were
good and liberal.
“God bless the generous-hearted
people of dear old Hamilton! They have always responded to every call from the
time it was but a village and called the Head of the Lake. There has never been
any need of suffering if the wants of the unfortunate were known, for the women
of Hamilton responded to every call for help, especially for women and
children. Every church and every society of women have their relief corps. When
the influenza became epidemic, how quick the S.O.S. was organized, and the
pastor and official board of the First Methodist church promptly tendered to
the ladies the use of their kitchen and outfit, and hundreds of baskets of delicate food were sent out every day to
the homes of the afflicted. Those grand women of the S.O.S. left their homes by
units, happy in the thought that there was work for them to do, not only giving
their time by also carrying to the church their baskets of delicacies from
their own larders. And the people who owned motor cars placed them under
direction of the S.O.S. to distribute their bounty in the homes of the
afflicted. Let us change Tiny Tim’s prayer just a little, God bless them, every
one.
“”This is not an unkind
world after all, and dear old Hamilton stands in the front rank in every good
work. Count up the tag days for the Red Cross and for other benevolences since
the dark days of 1914 over-shadowed every home and country, and Hamilton has
more than met every call made upon it, not only in brave men to answer the
bugle call, but for money to provide for the dependent wives and children and
parents of those who left home and home to create a new world of liberty. Let
us be thankful that the worst is past, and that
‘When Johnny comes marching
home again,
We’ll give him a royal welcome then,
The girls will cheer, the boys will shout,
The people will all turn out,
And we’ll all feel gay when Johnny comes
marching home again.’
Hamilton sent more than its
quota – nearly 12,000. Many of the bravest and best will never return again!
‘In Flanders’ fields the
poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amidst the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved; and now we lie
In Flanders’ fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch. Be yours to hold it high!
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders’ fields.’
“In Flanders’ Fields is the
tribute of the brave Lieut.-Col. John H. McCrae to his Canadian comrades who
have been ‘mustered out’ on the firing line. Col. McRae was born in Canada in
1872, passed from the glory of the battlefield in 1918. What a brave answer
came back from an American comrade-in-arms, R.W. Gillard herewith given! The
Red Cross society in Hamilton have done a service that will live forever in
publishing the booklet, containing the original poem and the answer, with a
handsome sketch of the growing poppy in Flanders’ Fields, drawn by a Hamilton
lady artist, and a photo of the gifted Canadian author. Here is the answer:
‘Rest ye in peace, ye
Flanders dead.
The fight that ye so bravely led.
We’ve taken up. And we will keep
True faith with you who lie asleep
With each a cross to mark his bed,
And poppies glowing overhead.
Where once his own life-blood ran red.
So let your rest be sweet and deep
In
Flanders’ fields
Fear not that ye have died for aught
The torch ye threw to us we caught.
Ten million hands will hold it high,
And Freedom’s light shall never die!
We’ve learned the lesson that ye taught
In Flanders’ fields.’
“The glory won by our
Canadian boys will be told by future
historians when recounting the story of the great war of 1914-1918. It cost the
blood and the lives of the bravest and
best of all in the allied ranks. In thousands of Canadian homes, there will be
at least one vacant chair at the coming Christmas feast
‘At the fireside, sad and
lonely,
Often will the bosom swell
At remembrance of the story,
How their noble Willy fell;
How he strove to bear our banner
Thro’ the thicket of the fight,
And upheld our country’s honor,
In the strength of manhood’s right.’
“The boys who responded to
the bugle call, and will return home, in future years will proudly tell their
children of the humble part they took in the great world
“Cheers for the returning
soldier! Tears for the dead!”22
22 “God
Bless Us, Every One : By the Muser”
Hamilton Spectator. December 24, 1918.
There was no issue of any of
the three Hamilton newspapers on Christmas day, but on Boxing day, the herald
carried the following description of the efforts of the Hamilton Postal
employees to deal with the huge volume of Christmas mail that had to be dealt
with :
“With a Christmas day delivery the post office
managed to clean up all the matter that was in the office on Christmas day and
still arranged for the men to have part of the day off. Late yesterday and all
today, large quantities of mail entered the city from various parts in Canada
and the United States, with a small amount from abroad. The extra help
employees hired by the department will continue to work for a few days, until
affairs are again near normal conditions. It has been impossible for one
postman to carry all of his mail for delivery at once, however, with a young
man or boy, as an assistant, he has been able to arrange for a complete
delivery at the familiar hours.
“The post office officials
are more than pleased with the efficient manner in which the various
departments acquitted themselves of the very large amount of work flung on them
in the past few days. While the department expected a very large amount of
work, it was unable to meet it without help. The matter of mail delivery is one
that cannot well be prepared for before mail bags arrive, beyond the employing
of extra help. Due to the fact that very few are experienced in the inside work
of the office, apart from those regularly employed, extra help can only be
placed with the postman on the street.”23
23 “Christmas
Mail : Quantities Still Arriving at Post Office”
Hamilton Herald. December 26, 1918.
Christmas day was not a
cheery, family-oriented occasions for everyone as evidenced in the cases which
appeared before the Police Court on Boxing Day morning :
“Five foreigners faced O.T.A. charges and
three were convicted and fined a total of $700 in police court today.
“Prospects that are far from
cheering will face Ignace Truschkuick, Simcoe street east, if he cannot prove
that the liquor found in his possession by P.C.’s Williamson and Buscombe was
obtained on a physician’s order. According to Buscombe’s evidence, Ignace has
been convicted before on a similar charge.
“Whisky was found in the
house of Stanley Koseau, Arthur street, and Stanley was also guilty of a
deplorable error of judgment when he strenuously resisted the officers who
gently attempted to allure him to the police station.
“ ‘For that I’ll add another
$100,’ thundered the cadi. ‘That’ll be $200.’
“His ‘medicine,’ which he
threw down cellar on the entry of the officers, cost Jacob Bozeck, 9 Arthur
street, $200.
DRUNK
“Robert Davis, Catharine
street north, who bore too heavy a load of Christmas cheer, received a smiling
dismissal.
LIVELY PARTY
“From the appearance of Nick
Pugack, Simcoe street west, as he stood in the dock this morning, it almost
looked as if his role of defendant should have been reversed. Bloody bandages
bound his head, and ripe-hued eyes were discernable through a maze of bruises.
“Nick was charged by Mrs. E.
Pipenski with having come drunk to her house, causing a great disturbance, and
ill-using her on Christmas morning at a very early hour.
“ ‘How did he get his
wounds?’ queried the court.
“ ‘I gave them to him,’
modestly answered the frail-looking
complainant.
“It developed that the
lady’s husband gave Nick a few loving taps, and his spouse followed up his
treatment with several well-directed wallops of the snow shovel.
“Nick’s only comment, as the
evidence was being given, was to call the lady a liar.
“As the story of the
complainant and her witnesses was not very convincing, the case was dismissed.”24
24 “Christmas Cheer Flowed
Freely : But It Netted Court Coffers Total of $700 : Worshippers of Bacchus
Paraded Before Throne”
Hamilton Spectator. December 26, 1918.
In conclusion, it was an
article in the Herald summed up in vivid terms how Christmas day, 1918 was
observed in Hamilton :
“Yesterday was the best Christmas in four years.
Such a feeling of ‘peace and good will toward men’ pervaded the earth that it
seemed as if a Savior had been reborn. And many world-savers born to immorality
in dugouts in France and Flanders made the unclouded joyousness of this
Christmas day possible.
“Outwardly yesterday was
like all other Christmases. The theaters were crowded to capacity at both
matinee and evening performances. Many people took a constitutional to walk off
the effect of too much turkey and plum pudding, and about ten per cent of the
city’s population remembered the real meaning of Christmas and went to church
in the morning to give praise to the Prince of Peace.
“It was in the homes that
the real spirit of this 1918 Christmas was most manifest. Hundreds of families
celebrated the return of their brave defenders from overseas, had the assurance
that their boys would soon be back, or the knowledge that they were at least
out of danger. For the first Christmas since 1918 there was no fly in the
ointment of sweet content.
“Yet there were some sad
hearths. Those that could see the vacant chair – made vacant by the war. But of
those who occupied those chairs in Christmases gone, it is not necessary to
speak, since their names will never die.
“Not even a conscientious
laundress would have found fault with the ‘whiteness’ of this Christmas. Sleigh
bells, the first of the season, played the joyous accompaniment to the gay
carols thousands of happy hearts were singing.
“Santa must have left a
coveted present in Magistrate Jelfs’ sock or else the ministerial Christmas
breakfast didn’t find its way to the magisterial heart, for his worship did not
follow his Christmas morning custom of calling up police headquarters and
allowing all prisoners charged with minor offenses their liberty as a Christmas
present. Therefore a quartet of alleged Yuletide celebrants and a foreigner
alleged to have been carrying bottled Christmas cheer hung their socks in vain
in the grating of a cell door. The magistrate didn’t impersonate Saint Nicholas
this year.
“” ‘Serene’ is the adjective
that best describes the day. That feeling was manifest not only in the homes,
on the streets, but also in the weather which was as the official prophesier
predicted, except that he fell down on his ‘clearing’ prediction. Holiday traffic
was lighter than usual – not more than 1000 Christmas visitors came into and
left the city, it is estimated.
“Of hilarity there was none.
The prevailing spirit which brooded over this first of a long line of peace
Christmases was one of thankfulness”25
25
“Peace Keynote of This Happy
Christmastide : Many Homes Were Brighter for Return of Men ‘Over There : A
Quiet Celebration : Feelings of Most People Seemed Too Deep for Noisy Display”
Hamilton Herald. December 26, 1918.
Added - a selection of newspaper ads from December 1918