Tuesday, February 11, 2020

The way we wore, Part 2: Patches make Perfect!


Quit laughing!
I sewed that patch
on there, myself!

#38 The way we wore, Part 2: Patches make Perfect! (or at least make things last longer)

In our last post we began to examine how we Drums presented ourselves to the world via the clothing we wore. We stopped with Gertrude and George Driesbach’s portrait taken around 1906. We pick the story up again in that same decade and continue to push forward. Two other images from the “19 aught” decade we can share are of Philip Leo Drum and Christie A. Drum.

Philip Leo Drum(Nathan S., Philip, George, Jacob, Philip) was born January 31, 1871. His parents were the Drums merchant and politically active Nathan S. Drum and Elizabeth Hess Drum. This photo was “stolen” (by me) from the Pennsylvania Legislature web page[1] where it is noting him to have been a member of the Legislature from 1901-1902 so probably taken in 1901. There’s that high, stiff collar again, although, somehow it looks more comfortable on Philip than it did on George in the previous post. His hair, like George’s, appears to have that somewhat off-center part, as well. I don’t think he was trying to get it to bunch up like that on the back of his head. I’m sure it is a “cow-lick” he couldn’t control, just like mine! (Hairspray, Philip, lots of hairspray) Anyway, the mustache, in my opinion, certainly makes up for it. He must be about 30 years old here but he seems so very young to me. Holding degrees from Lafayette College and the University of Pennsylvania, he became a lawyer in Wilkes-Barre. He died in 1960. I wonder if we, he and I, ever met, me being close to three when he died.

Christie A. Drum(Nathan A, John, Philip, George, Jacob, Philip) was born May 25, 1897. Her parents were the Coal Miner Nathan A. Drum and Mary Ann Balliett Drum.

There is a bit of controversy over Christie’s first name. Helman lists Christie as “Christine” on page 9 of her Drum Genealogy. [2] It does seem logical that a person named Christine could be nick-named Christie. However, I can find nothing else that lists her as Christine. I have not seen a birth or death certificate for Christie, and my dad and his parents are all dead, so I cannot ask them to confirm her first name as Christie. Growing up I’d hear stories of “Christie”, every picture of her that I’ve seen labeled is labeled as “Christie” and the commencement booklet handed out during her high school graduation ceremony, and these are usually very formal documents, lists her as “Christie”. Even the stone that marks her grave reads: "Christie A." I think that Helman made an incorrect assumption, or misread information she had been given about Christie, and put her in the genealogy not as Christie, but as Christine.  There is yet one more piece of evidence that adds to this conclusion. You see, she is not the only Christie in the family! Mary Ann Balliett Drum, Christie’s mother, had a number of siblings, one of whom was a sister named Christie, Christie Balliett Schaffer. I believe Christie Drum was named after her aunt! Two photos of Christie Schaffer are included later in this post.

Anyway, there stands Christie Drum in all her 5-year-old glory. You can just make out the buttons on her boots. I’m sure she liked the little lace flowers that circle the collar of her dress. Her hair has been braided into long pig-tails on either side and then pulled back up to form big loops, held in place by pretty ribbons. The thing about this photo that always somewhat amused me is how “uncertain” her eyes look. I am certain this child does not want to be standing there. Her eyes are focused on something, or someone, most likely mom, sitting or standing to the left of the camera. I can just imagine the argument that occurred just prior to this photo being taken; and the pure joy that erupted once the child was “released” from the cameraman’s “grip”.  Christie married a coal miner named Paul Yoch on June 10, 1922. Her coal miner father died from Tuberculosis in 1934. Seven years later, 1941, Christie died from Tuberculosis, too.


Here is a picture of Christie taken around 1933, now all grown up. I wonder if it was the same photographer. This time she is wearing very stylish, attractive laced boots. On her hand is a ring, I suppose her wedding ring, and a dainty bracelet on her wrist. No lace flowers around her neck this time and instead of pigtails looped up on each side we see a pretty hairstyle, short in length. But I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me, or the glasses, but that “uncertain look” still seems to be in her eyes. This time she is focused on something, or someone, on the right of the camera. Maybe she just didn’t like having her picture “made”. 

We do have a few more photos of Christie, all taken around 1910. In the post They Call it Progress, a Nathan A. Drum family portrait is included. It was taken on the porch of the house they rented from Cal Schaffer. We think the years they lived there were 1905-1908. Therefore, the photo was probably taken in 1908 and, if so, we see Elmer at age 13 and Christie, age 11.  They are “dressed up” of course because they are having their “picture made”.

Included below are a few details from that portrait allowing us to get a closer view of the family members.


Elmer is quite handsome in his (wool?) suit, sporting a bow tie, knickers, and laced boots. He may actually be growing out of that suit. Kids do grow up so fast, don’t they? It’s a wonder you can keep any of them in clothes! My question here, however, is how are knickers different from breeches? And the answer is, the years in which they were worn, apparently! Except for that detail, knickers appear to be breeches of a slightly more modern and, especially in the 20’s, baggy style. Elmer is surprisingly cutting-edge stylish in this 1908 suit; a trend-setter, in fact. His “look” really became the “fad” of the 1910’s and early 20’s.[3]

Christie wore a nice simple dress and laced boots quite similar to Elmer’s. She seems to have put the most time into her hair, quite attractively pulled up onto the top of her head.

Since I pulled out the children, here is mom and dad as well in what I can only guess is their Sunday Finest.



That is a nice detail on the bottom of Mary’s dress. The pattern on her blouse appears to be some kind of stylized leaf. I’ve included a close up to help us see it better.

As for Nathan, that is a GREAT moustache! Sort of off-sets the receding hairline perfectly. He is approximately 40 years old in this photo.


The group photo we see above, in the middle, are the students of what I believe is a Sunday School Class. I had been told that this was a class photo of the Butler Township High School students, thus the reason for the maroon and lemon colors (the BTHS school colors). However, the building does not look like any buildings associated with BTHS. Furthermore, why was Rev. Cook in the photo? Rev. Cook was the clue needed to identify what the photo depicts. Rev. Fred A. Cook ministered the St. John's German Reformed Congregation of St. Johns from 1909 - 1911.[5] This photo was taken to the right side of the front entrance of the Union Church, seen to the left, which was destroyed by fire in 1911. The year the photo was taken is also somewhat questionable. It is probably 1909 and, if so, it marks the first year Rev. Cook served as the congregation's minister.

Both Christie Drum and Elmer are in this class photo. Christie is seated on the left side, fourth girl in. I’ve zoomed in so we could see her better. The taller girl on her right is Sarah Cook. The boy behind Christie is William Uplinger and behind Sarah is Nevin Elliott. Elmer is in the photo as well, further to the right, back row, fifth in from the right. In front of him is Rev. Cook and Florence Watson. Behind Rev. Cook stands Elmer Morie, Elmer Drum and Stanley Hentzlemen (the names appear as Mom spelled them in the scrapbook). .

It seems that it was just about this period - the “aught” years just after the turn of the Century into the early teens - that photography made its presence known in the Drums valley. Most photos that I’ve seen from this area that were taken prior to 1900 appear to have been taken in a studio, probably in Hazleton. After 1900, however, the number of Valley photos suddenly takes a big jump, more with each year. Many of them are still professionally taken; most of those are the work of Edwin Finstermacher. We believe the above two photos (Drum family and Union Church School students) were taken by him. He seems to have broken the “in-studio mold”, moving his equipment out of a studio and to the subjects of his photos. However, many other photos in Mom’s scrapbook are what might be termed “amateur” photos, the numbers of which quickly overwhelm the professionally made photos as the decades move forward.

Here is a photo we know Finstermacher took. We have photos he took of St. Johns, “Cal Schaffer’s House” (as labeled in Mom’s scrapbook), St. John’s Union Church and grave yard, Beisel’s Corner, County Road, and more. I think the one that I like the most of them all is this one, labeled in Mom’s scrapbook “Santee Home”. I like it because we can see Edwin in the photo, well, his shadow, at least. There in the lower right corner, we see Edwin’s box camera beside a man wearing a hat (at least that’s what the shadows appear to be).



We could do a better job of “dating” the photo if we knew who the people are IN the photo. I assume the man is Mr. George Santee. The little girl standing on the fence would be the “give-away”. It could be a seven or eight-year-old Ella and if so, the photo is from about 1905.

One didn’t get their picture taken every day, by the way. One prepared to get their photo “made”. They dressed up, looked their nicest. So, we don’t often get to see what people wore daily in earlier photos, only what they wore for special occasions, like going to church or getting their picture made. We usually only see the “daily” look in advertisements or newspaper stories, books, etc.

Here on the left we see a “Flower Girl” from an ad that appeared around 1910. She is dressed as we’d expect for a girl working in a field in 1910. She is, however, also looking very much to be a “Gibson Girl”.

That ain’t no Gibson Girl on the right, however, but the photo is from 1910.

This is Ransom Young as he appeared in the Valley Vigilant on November 17, 1910.[4] He appears to be wearing a coat and vest, fancy spotted bow tie and is sporting chin whiskers. What was the attraction for that look? And to all of those out there that called me a “hippy” in my youth, please note the length of his hair. Ransom’s youngest son, Ed, built his farm on the land adjacent to what has now become known as “Drumyngham”. There’s a bit more about Ransom Young in the post: It Takes a Village. Why was he in the paper? “Grandfather Young”, as he liked to be called, had just celebrated his 100th birthday anniversary that November 8, 1910.

Here are some more folks who don’t quite qualify as “Gibson Girls”: George and Martha Santee. The interesting thing about this photo is how “nonprofessional” it appears to be. Finstermacher was still taking photos professionally at this time but this one appears to be an amateur photo, like what one might expect from someone with a Kodak camera. George Eastman introduced the first Kodak Camera in 1888 but it takes a while for things to reach out into the public. It seems someone in the Drum line got a hold of a personal camera, probably a Kodak, around 1910 and started taking photos. Mom’s scrapbook is suddenly filled with amateur photos from about that time on. This one is one of them. I wish I knew who took the photo and with what kind of camera. I bet it was new, however. I can just hear the conversation, “Hey, come on outside! I got this here new camera and I want to take your picture!” “Our PICTURE!? Well, come on, Martha. He’s gonna take our picture!” I wonder if they “gussied up a bit” before they came out.

I bet that most folks who walked about Drums around 1915 (give or take 5 years) looked just like this. This photo is undated in Mom’s scrapbook but we know that Martha, Mrs. Santee, died on July 3, 1920. Here is another shot of her. I think it was taken on the same day. She seems to be wearing the same clothes.

George and Martha Santee became the parents of Ella Nora on June 23, 1897. On July 3, 1919, they watched their daughter marry Elmer Drum in the St. John’s German Reformed Church in St. Johns, PA. In our cedar chest there is the jacket of a dress. A note attached to it, in my mom’s handwriting, identifies it as “Dress belonged to Mrs. George Santee Harry’s grandmother”. It is black so I thought it might be a dress for mourning. If so, it wasn’t for her husband. He lived until January 25, 1932. It is, however, fancy so perhaps she wore it to the wedding. There is a pin/brooch pinned on it. The image appears to be a water wheel mill in the Alps or Vermont. I’m not getting a lot of clues from that!

Here is the brooch close-up and the jacket top, itself.



 And that brings us to the “Roaring Twenties”! I didn’t find any photos of any Drum “Flappers” or any Drums dancing the “Charleston” in the Drum’s Photo Archives known as Mom’s Scrapbooks. You know, when you watch people dancing the Charleston, you sort of begin to understand why folks like Mary Drum, Elmer’s mother, would have been “scandalized” by it (not that I know she was, but just saying). Anyway, my not finding photos of such activities for “us” sort of fits. I didn’t EXPECT to find any!
 
Something Mom glued into one of her scrapbooks. It was her birth year, BTW.
That is not to say we Drums couldn’t be wild and crazy in our own way. I did find some photos of Drums “living on the edge” in the 1920’s; a few examples follow.

Elmer Cogan and Elmer Drum, about 1921. I’m thinking “our” Elmer was into the “Gangster Look” then.

This is about as close to a “Flapper” as I found. This is neighbor Dorothy Sipple holding Harry’s sister, Clara Drum, about 1925. 
















We have no idea who this kid is,  but he is cute in his suit, with a watch chain to boot!






To the right is Elmer, 1923. Photo by Edwin Finstermacher. 








 Ella holding Harry, 1923. Photo by Edwin Finstermacher.

Mr. and Mrs. Schaffer, also known as Jacob and Cathern. I wonder who the photographer was. Great mustache and nice suit! The dress Mrs. Schaffer is wearing is not the same as Mary’s shown above but it does give us an idea of how Mary’s was worn, right down to the brooch.

Here we have Mr. and Mrs. Schaffer again. Of course, this is Howard and Christie Schaffer, Jacob and Cathern’s son and daughter-in-law. 

Before they were married, Christie was Christie Balliett, Elmer’s mother’s sister or, put another way, Elmer and CHRISTIE’s aunt. I believe this is Christie Drum’s namesake. I am uncertain of their child’s name. His name might have been David.

Mary Drum’s sister, Christie Schaffer, again. Great hat.



Like I said, wild and crazy.
  
The Plain Speaker,
Afternoon Edition,
Wednesday, May 9, 1928, page 3.
For all the photos of the 1920’s, the number falls off a bit for the 1930’s in Mom’s scrapbooks. Perhaps folks just didn’t have the money any longer to “waste” on photographs, amateur or professional, after the Stock Market crashed in October of 1929.  

Knickers were, for the most part, relegated back to the Golf Course. 


Now that’s what you’d expect people to be looking like on an everyday basis. Hair mussed, overalls, and a t-shirt. Nothing gussied-up here! This is Harry Drum showing off his overalls, and holding a horse, in 1937. I’m not sure who is on the horse. Mom’s scrapbook says it is Marvin Yoch but I’m not convinced.




On the left, in what is one of the last photos taken of George Santee, maybe THE last, we again see the “everyday” look. Again, nothing gussied-up here. George Santee, now without Martha, once again stands outside his house. He died January 25, 1932 at age 81. I believe the picture was taken around 1930 and if so, Mr. Santee would be about 79 or 80 in this photo; still wearing his vest.

In 1937, the Drums took a trip to New York City. Here we see them standing together at the top of the recently opened Empire State Building, looking all the world like a bunch of tourists, which, of course, they were! From left to right: Clara (12), Ella (40), Elmer (42), and Harry (14). The Empire State Building opened May 1, 1931 and was, at that time, the world’s tallest skyscraper reaching all the way up to 1,250 feet. Its enough to make a whole family dizzy.  



Here to the left we have a photo of a pleasant looking couple. The is Rev. and Mrs. Theodore C. Hesson. Rev. Hesson was the pastor for the St. John’s German Reformed Church from 1925 - 1951. He performed the marriage ceremonies for many a couple, including that of my parents in 1950; many baptisms and funerals as well, I’m sure. He welcomed my mom and my Grandfather, Elton Shearer, into his congregation on Sunday, February 13, 1949. On February 20, the following Sunday, Rev. Hesson introduced the congregation to their two newest members, only to then see my grandfather pass away the next day, February 21! This meant Rev. Hesson had to now announce Elton’s passing to the congregation which he did the following Sunday, February 28. Rev. Hesson said that it was the only time such a time happened in his over twenty years of service to the church. In this photo we see the Hessons in 1946. He is wearing a great three-piece suit, just the kind of suit I like. Maybe I was born too late…

Speaking of weddings, here we have the wedding photo for Kenneth and Clara Dorwart. Clara Drum married Ken Dorwart on May 17, 1947. Ken and Clara are the two in the middle. Mom’s notes are a bit cryptic about this but I think the attendants are Jack and Rosemary Leck. Both men are wearing double breasted suits. I’m not a fan of double-breasted suits. I like Rev. Hesson’s suit better (no offense intended, Ken). That little bit of newspaper at the bottom of the photo is the engagement announcement from, I think, The Standard-Speaker. That’s how Mom’s scrapbooks rolled.

In 1957, a number of things of some importance happened. I was born, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the German Reformed Church and the Congregationalist Church united to become the United Church of Christ, and Hazleton, PA celebrated its Centennial (not in that order, of course) just to mention a few! As part of that Centennial celebration, area men were invited to grow facial hair (moustaches, beards, etc). My dad participated. Here we see him happily showing off his moustache and sideburns.

I don’t think he liked the mustache too much. To my knowledge, he never wore one again!

My dad passed away in 1986, about 3.5 months short of his 63rd birthday. As Mom moved through the house, deciding what needed to be given away, tossed, etc.; a very difficult but always necessary task at such times; she came upon Dad’s Sunday hat. I can remember him wearing this hat to church every Sunday for as long as I can remember. “I guess we’ll give this away,” Mom said quietly as tears welled in her eyes and she caressed the brim with her palm. “Mom,” I said, “May I have the hat?” “I think it’s too small for you,” she said. “I know”, I answered, and gently took it from her hands.

On the inside hat band, beside the Stetson logo, is printed “Royal DeLux Stetson”. Under the crown it says “The Gun Club by Stetson”. I guess that’s why there is a rifle decorating the bow of the hat band. I found a place on our wall to hang the hat. It’s hung on the wall, one place or another, ever since.



In our next post, #39, we’ll take a look at the Drums and their education. Join us again on March 10, 2020 for the story: Drums and the three R’s. It ain’t Goldilocks but it’s bearable.




[2] Helman, Laura M., History and Genealogy of the Drum Family (Allentown, PA: Berkemeyer, Keck & Co., 1927), p 9
[4] “Ransom Young’s Letter: Centenarian of Butler Township Dictates Letter of Thanks”, Valley Vigilant, November 17, 1910
[5] 200th Anniversary: 1792-1992 (St. Johns, PA: St. Johns United Church of Christ, 1992)



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