Sepia Saturday 110: "Give my Regards to Broadway"

Winter Garden (Right Front); Library of Congress

Mira Rockwell Main made several trips to New York City in 1913 and 1914; some were visits with family and others nursing assignments. The wealthy hired a private nurse to provide personal medical care in their homes. Mira enjoyed the opportunity these visits gave her to attend concerts and plays.

Mira had a preference for opera attending Madame Butterfly on Thursday,  January 22, 1914. In subsequent weeks, Mira went to several performances at Carnegie Hall and the Opera House. Her February 10, 1914 entry was a departure from the norm, "Went to Winter Garden in the evening with Loretta." No raptures of delight or scathing reviews? What did Mira hear at the Winter Garden Theater?

Ragtime Arabian Nights
 

Lillian Lorraine

Clearly not Opera, The Whirl of the World was a musical revue composed by Sigmund Romburg - his first theatrical score. "Ragtime Arabian Nights" was one of the few pieces that attained acclaim. The musical review was soundly criticized by most of the newspapers of the day. "The beauty of the production is Miss Lillian Lorraine, who wears her many magnificent costumes with the immodesty for which she is deservedly famous. It is always to be regretted that Miss Lorraine finds it necessary to sing .... " Many more critical reviews can be found in Lillian Lorraine: The Life and Times of a Ziegfeld Diva.

Viewing the key sheets (below), I wonder what Mira thought of the performance. Did her mind wander to think of her fiance back in Massachusetts? Charles was certainly missing her. When Mira returned home, Charles picked her up at the train station. Soon after a date was set for their wedding.

Click here for link to larger view

Click here for link to larger view

"Whisper of how I'm yearning to mingle with the old time throng; Give my regards to old Broadway and say that I'll be there ere long." - George M. Cohan



This virtual tour has me yearning to visit New York City; Mama Mia! is now playing at the Winter Garden. For more virtual theatrical performances, see Sepia Saturday 110.

Sources:
"Broadway north from 38th St., New York City, showing Winter Garden, Maxine Elliott's, Casino, and Knickerbocker Theatres" digital image, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003689020/ : accessed 24 January 2012).

"The Whirl of the World Keysheets (1914)." NYPL Digital Gallery. (http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/ : accessed 24 January 2012).

Hanson, Nils. Lillian Lorraine: The Life and Times of a Ziegfeld Diva. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFArland, 2011, p. 18. Quote from a New York Critic.

Stratton, Mira Rockwell (Main). "Line-a-Day Diary." MS.  Lee, Massachusetts, 1913-1923.  Privately held by Liz Stratton, [ADDRESS FOR PERSONAL USE,] Cincinnati, Ohio. 2011.

Wikipedia. "Give My Regards to Broadway" Rev. 13:47, 31 August 2011.

Wikipedia. "Lillian Lorraine," 22 August 2012, citing Lillian Lorriane image, Theatre Magazine, 1909. Wikipedia citation of the image is incomplete. The image is in the public domain.

Updated: 13 September 2012, fixed broken photograph link.

Sepia Saturday 109: Go to Sleep my Little Dolly

"Bye-Lo-Baby" Wee Babies (1882)

"Bye-Lo-Baby" is from Wee Babies, a book belonging to Mira Rockwell (Main) Stratton (1881-1926). Published in 1882, the Bye-Lo-Baby dolls in the poem are not the ones made famous by Grace Storey Putnam in the 1920s. Putnam's 'babies' resembled a three-day-old newborn -- a  departure from the more mature dolls depicted in Wee Babies.

Mira's dolls would have been like those in the illustrations, young children with faces of porcelain or bisque. Beautiful as the dolls may have been, they cannot compare to Mira's own joyous children pictured below. I can't help but wonder what prank was afoot ....

Mira Rockwell (Main) Stratton, Charles W. Stratton III, Virginia Stratton
Reprint, J. Will Hawes, photographer, ca 1920

"Mira Main Stockbridge Mass," is inscribed on the first page of Wee Babies in an immature cursive scrawl. Mira's mother died when Mira was young. Mira's father, unable to care for his girls, made arrangements for them to attend a convent school. When Mira became ill, she recuperated with her aunt and namesake, Mira Rockwell, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

Mira's father, Isaac Main (ca 1836-1891), strove to bring the family together, moving closer to Stockbridge and applying for a Civil War service pension; he died before receiving it. Auntie Mira Rockwell filled the void, caring for Mira Main as if she were her own. Mira (Main) Stratton refers to 'Auntie' frequently and affectionately in her diary. I like to think of the two Miras sharing bedtime verses from Wee Babies.

"Go to sleep my precious baby, 

Let me think what mama sings, 

All about the stars and lammies, 

By-lo-land and lots of things."

"By-lo-Land and lots of things" await you at Sepia Saturday 109.

Sources:
"Bye Lo Babies." Article. Byelobabies.com. http://http://www.byelobbabies.com/ : accessed 20 January 2012.

Blanchard, Amy E., poetry, and Ida Waugh, illustrations. Wee Babies: Printed in Colours from Original Designs. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co.; London: Griffith and Farran, 1882.  This book was a gift from Charles W. Stratton III and Marita (Dick) Stratton in 1990. The book was part of the family's collection of books.

Civil War and Later Pension Files. Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. Mira Main, minor's application no. 8541, for service of Isaac G. W. Main. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Massachusetts. Berkshire County. 1890 U.S. census, 'Special Schedule - Surviving Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, and Widows." Lenox, Enumeration District (ED) 37, p. 4, Isaac Main. Digital images. Ancetry.com. http:www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 December 2010.

Massachusetts. Berkshire County. 1900 U.S. census, population schedule. Stockbridge, Enumeration District (ED) 83, p. 1818 (penned), Mira Rockwell household, dwelling 118, family 126. Digital images. Ancestry.com. http:www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 December 2010.

Massachusetts. Berkshire County. 1910 U.S. census, population schedule. Stockbridge, Enumeration District (ED) 88, p. 3451 (penned), Mira Rockwell household, dwelling 17, family 17. Digital images. Ancestry.com. http:www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 December 2010.

Prisant, Carol. Antiques Roadshow Collectibles.... New York: Workman Publishing, 2003, p. 275.

Stratton, Mira Rockwell (Main), Charles W. Stratton III and Virginia Stratton. Reprint of a photograph by J. Will Hawes. ca 1920. Privately held by Liz Stratton, [ADDRESS FOR PERSONAL USE,] Cincinnati, Ohio. 2012. The photographer was identified by comparing the reprint to original photographs that include Charles W. Stratton III and Virginia Stratton wearing the same clothing in front of the same background.

Stratton, Mira Rockwell (Main). "Line-a-Day Diary." MS.  Lee, Massachusetts, 1913-1923.  Privately held by Liz Stratton, [ADDRESS FOR PERSONAL USE,] Cincinnati, Ohio. 2011.

Stratton Family Traditions. Liz and Dick Stratton, compilers. MSS notes, ca 1991-present. Privately held by Stratton, [ADDRESS FOR PERSONAL USE,] Cincinnati, Ohio.

Sepia Saturday 103: The Best Medicine - New Clues!

Mira Rockwell (Main) Stratton, ca 1900

Perhaps not surprisingly given the long line of medical doctors, there has also been a long history of wives who worked in medicine. At a large gathering of extended family, my brother-in-law commented that it was a bit like attending a medical convention!

Mira Rockwell (Main) Stratton (19 May 1881-2 December 1926) was the wife of Dr. Charles W. Stratton II (Sepia Saturday: Horse and Buggy Doctors of Lee, Massachusetts). Mira died young and only snippets of family lore remain. Her diary provides our only glimpse of her daily life as a nurse.

I would relate Mira's December entries from her Line-a-Day diary but, she was a diarist after my own heart. Entries stop on 21 September 1913 and in 1914, on 6 August. On 1 January 1923 she resumes with "8 years since I left writing in a Line A Day ...." Her last entry is January 2. So much for New Year's resolutions.... I'll have to remember not to make any resolutions to write a blog a day!

The genealogist in me jumped for joy when perusing the diary. Not only does Mira include notations of visits by aunties and letters from family; she included in her Memoranda a list of birthdays! It just doesn't get any better than that. (Unless you want to shoot for the moon and wish that she had included the year as well.) The clues to determine Mira's paternal grandparents might be waiting to be discovered in the pages of her diary. Thank you Mira for the best medicine ever!

Mira Rockwell (Main) Stratton
(19 May 1881- 2 December 1926)

This is a Sepia  Saturday post on the theme of nurses or anything else inspired by the photograph. To see more wonderful nurses or other cathartic takes on the theme, see Sepia Saturday 103.

Sources:
Stratton, Mira Rockwell (Main). "Line-a-Day Diary." MS.  Lee, Massachusetts, 1913-1923.  Privately held by Liz Stratton, [ADDRESS FOR PERSONAL USE,] Cincinnati, Ohio. 2011.

Stratton, Mira Rockwell (Main).  Portrait.  ca 1900.  Digital image.  Privately held by Liz Stratton, [ADDRESS FOR PERSONAL USE,] Cincinnati, Ohio. 1999.

Sepia Saturday 97: Just another Cock and Bull Story

Charles W. Stratton II, tintype, 1880s, Lee, Massachusetts

The origins of the phrase "Cock and Bull Story" are debatable but certainly it has been in existence far longer than the photo depicting a young Charles W. Stratton II (1876-1945) with his bull.  Charles continued to love cattle and bred them competitively even after beginning his medical practice.  His cow, Flower, of  Hidden Farm set three records for milk production.  Not all his ventures were as successful.  The son of one of Charles' good friends said that Charles paid a lot of money for prize bulls and entered them in contests.  He hated losing to local farmers but frequently did.  Perhaps he had more winning ways with the females of the species.

American Standard of Perfection, Rose-Comb Black Bantam, ca 1905, Wikipedia

But this wouldn't be a cock and bull story without a cock.  Charles also raised prize chickens. His successful and unsuccessful attempts to win prizes for his chickens are sprinkled throughout his diaries.

Clearly many had a great time teasing the doctor about his farming pursuits.  A pair of Black Rose Comb Bantam stuffed-animals were sent to Dr. Stratton as a Christmas joke.  The newspaper clipping (source unknown) at left was found amongst his papers.  So, that leads to the question of just who was David Scott?  Could Mira (Main) Stratton be the lady in the case?  Hopefully diary entries, letters and boxes not yet explored will answer these questions.

While this was quite literally a story about cocks and bulls, a 'Cock and Bull Story,' more typically refers to an embellished or fictitious tale - usually convoluted and unbelievable.  The Phrase Finder debunks a myth that the phrase originated at Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, England with two competing coaching inns, The Cock and The Bull.  But, should any family member ever open a pub, "The Cock and Bull" would be a perfect name.

More stories, though doubtful to be 'cock and bull stories,' can be found at Sepia Saturday 97.  The connection to the photo prompt of the week is tenuous - a boy and someone looking on through the glass.

Sources:
"A Cock and Bull Story."  Article. The Phrase Finder.   http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/cock%20and%20bull%20story.html : accessed 22 October 2011.

"Rosecomb."  Wikipedia.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosecomb : 22 October 2011.

Stratton, Charles W.,  II (Lee).  Tintype.  ca 1880s.  Digital image.  Privately held by Liz Stratton, [ADDRESS FOR PERSONAL USE,] Cincinnati, Ohio. 2003.

Stratton, Charles W., II. "Diary." MS.  Lee, Massachusetts, 1901.  Privately held by Liz Stratton, [ADDRESS FOR PERSONAL USE,] Cincinnati, Ohio. 2011.

Stratton Family Papers.  Privately held by Liz Stratton  [ADDRESS FOR PERSONAL USE,] Cincinnati, Ohio. 2011.