Old Home Week, 1927 was 100 years in the making

Guelph's third Old Home Week took place from August 1 through 8, 1927, and it took a lot of effort! One of the people who worked in a booth on the occasion wrote about it on a postcard to her aunt as follows:

Dear Aunt and all—Just a card to let you know I arrived here safely. I haven’t time to write a letter for I am working day and night. This is the old Boys reunion here this week and I am busy all day and at night[.] we have a booth and I have to show the guests over our building. I am so tired I can hardly wiggle but it is only for a week & it means extra dollars for me. Don’t write until you hear from me for the O.A.C. office is closed this week. Bye Bye Love Edith. // I was for a ride in an airplane on Sunday.

The card was addressed to Mrs. Melvin Wolfe of Straffordville, Ontario, in care of Frank Wolfe, and was postmarked on 3 August. (Mailed and delivered on the same day!)

("Main Building, O.A.C., Guelph, Ont., Canada," published by Valentine & Sons United Publishing Co., Toronto, ca. 1925. Postmarked 3 August 1927.)

The card was published by the Valentine & Sons United Company of Toronto, one of Canada's biggest postcard producers. The image on the front was a view of the Main Building (replaced by Johnston Hall in 1931). Perhaps Edith selected the card in honour of her association with the Ontario Agricultural College (O.A.C.), which she mentions in her missive.

(Reverse of the card above. Note the special Guelph Old Home Week cancellation logo in the upper right corner.)

Another sign of the importance of the Old Home Week (also known as the Old Boys' Reunion) was that the postcard displayed a special logo in the cancellation mark, which says, "Guelph Centennial Old Home Week Aug 1–8." The post office would apply these special marks to celebrate events of particular significance, of which the Week was one.

The idea of an Old Home Week was for a town to put on a big bash and invite former residents to party in their old haunts and reconnect with old friends, while spending freely to support the local economy. Guelph had had its's first Old Home Week in 1908 and its second in 1913. Understandably, plans for a third were postponed in the wake of the Great War. But, with Guelph's Centennial year of 1927 approaching, authorities and citizens decided it was time to stage another.

The accustomed format of Old Home Week in Guelph was daily parades and themed events in Exhibition Park. The 1927 edition repeated this format. Each afternoon, a parade led from the (old) city hall to the park, led by musicians such as the Guelph Musical Society band.

("Guelph Centennial Old Home Week, 1 August 1927." The view overlooks the parade making its way through St. George's Square, with the central arch visible on the right of the picture. The float in the foreground appears to be the Guelph Mercury, float number 87, signed "Weekly Pioneer Printing Office." The Post Office float, float number 91, approaches in the background. Local photographer Lionel O'Keeffe published a series of photographs of the "Mammoth Centennial Historical Street Parade." Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums, 2022.42.31.)

However, a special "Mammoth Centennial Historical Street Parade" with 112 floats was mounted in the morning of 1 August. The floats formed queues off Gordon Street along Wellington, Surrey, Fountain, Nottingham, and Essex Streets. From there, they paraded along Carden Street past the (old) city hall, up Wyndham Street to Woolwich and thence to London Road, then along London Road, down Dublin Street, along Suffolk to Norfolk Street, and thence to Quebec Street and the finishing point in St. George's Square (Mercury, 28 July 1927).

("Guelph Centennial Old Home Week, Aug. 1, 1927. O'Keeffe Photo Guelph." This photo shows the Colonial Whitewear float, float number 41, probably waiting on a side street to join the parade.)

Most of the floats were sponsored by local businesses, ranging from old standbys like the Robert Stewart Lumber Company and the Bell Piano & Organ Company, to more recent arrivals like the Northern Rubber Company and Biltmore Hats. Organizations like the Fire Brigade, the Model Dairy, and the YMCA were also represented. Naturally, entertainment was provided by outfits like the Guelph Musical Society, the Toronto regimental pipe band, and—appropriately for the Jazz Age—a jazz band. Entertainers such as the Toonerville Trolley (inspired by a popular comic strip called The Toonerville Folks), and several comics kept the merriment going.

(Postcard showing "The Centennial Arch in St. George's Square during Centennial Celebrations, 1927." Light bulbs are visible on the arch and its supports, suggesting how it would have appeared at night. Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums, 2000.21.7.)

The Royal City dressed up for the occasion. Flags and bunting were flown over streets and strewn across facades. Special illumination was provided with electric lighting. Over 25,000 feet of wiring was used to position 10,000 vari-colored light bulbs throughout the main streets and nearby dwellings. The new stone towers of the Church of Our Lady were lit up by the powerful rays of flood lights, to shine like twin beacons in the night sky. St. George's Church, the (old) City Hall, the Post Office, and the recently completed Cenotaph all got similar treatment. It may have become difficult to tell night from day in the old town!

(The centennial arch across St. George's Square can be seen across the streetcar tracks with the old Post Office in the background in this real photo postcard. On the bacck, Ms Vera S. informs Elenor Klepd of Cleveland, Ohio, that "Having a fine time in the old home town. This is a picture of some of the decorations at the Post Office." Postmarked 8 August 1927.)

Especially notable among the town's decorations were the centennial arches. Numbering 10 in all, large archways bestrode several routes into town as well as across Wyndham street by the (old) city hall and in the middle of St. George's Square. The latter two were of special magnificence being among the city sights illuminated for the celebration.

("Wyndham St., Guelph, Ont." published by Rumsey & Co. ca. 1930. Courtesy of the Keleher Collection. This is the only regular-production postcard featuring an Old Home Week 1927 image that I am aware of.)

The arch spanning lower Wyndham street had the words "The Royal City extends you 1000 welcomes." In addition, one side bore text denoting "Guelph Centennial" while each displayed the auspicious dates, "1827" and "1927."

The arch in St. George's Square spanned the streetcar tracks that yet ran down the middle of the street, while each supporting arm was itself another arch. The main arch was topped with a crown and the "Guelph Centennial" logo, while each supporting arch repeated "Centennial," the dates "1827" and "1927," as well as the reminder that the event was "Old Home Week, Aug. 1–6."

("Castle Centennial Archway, 1927." This arch stood just east of the entryway to the Ontario Reformatory on York Road. Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums, 2000.12.4.)

A third arch was placed across York Road near the entrace to the Reformatory. This arch was distinguished by a castellated top featuring a maple leaf and the sign "Welcome," as well as the thematic "Guelph Centennial" and "1827" and "1927." Signs on the pillars bore the familiar "Old Home Week, Aug. 1–6." It is notable that this arch was placed at the entrance to the Reformatory even though that institution was outside the city limits of the day, which went only as far east as Victoria road. It seems the Royal City looked upon the Reformatory as being part of Guelph, culturally if not formally.

Photos place other arches at the Ontario Agricultural College (Dundas Road, now Gordon Street), Riverside Park (Elora road, now Woolwich Street), Eramosa Road, Dundas Road bridge (now Gordon Street), and Waterloo Avenue. I would guess the two remaining arches were across Paisley Road and the Kitchener road (now Speevale Avenue west).

("Ontario Agriculture College, Centennial Celebrations Arch." Dundas Road (now Gordon street) looking north. Johnston Green is visible on the right and the Ontario Veterinary College on the left. Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums, 2009.52.30.)

All these celebratory arches must have assured visitors that the Royal City was to give them the royal welcome!

("Arch entering city, 1927." This arch spans the Elora road (now Woolwich Street) at the entrance to Riverside Park. The entranceway to the park is visible on the left and streetcar tracks can be seen beside the road on the right. I assume that the arch features greenery and logs tied around its supports to suggest the rustic fittings of the park next door. Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums, 2000.12.3.)

The headline event held in Exhibition Park was no doubt the Great Historical Pageant. At 8:15pm on 1 August, a cast of 500 performers, along with a chorus of 200 singers, staged a pageant in front of the grandstand that rehearsed the story of Guelph. Although the Guelph Mercury for August 1927 is sadly missing, the script of the pageant is amply described in a program for the Old Home Week. The event kicks off with the arrival of Miss Guelph (Miss Roberta Armstrong) to a fanfare of trumpets. Accompanied by her attendants, Patriotism, Courage, Achievement, Liberty, Pride, Stability, Honor, Beauty, Health, and Peace, she addressed the multitude:

Fellow citizens of the province of Ontario, and the Dominion of Canada, in the name of the goodly inhabitants of this city and in honor of our celebration this evening, I bid you a most cordial welcome. ...

Anon, Miss Canada (Miss Claire Little) delivers her reply:

Miss Guelph, in the name of Canada and her Fair Provinces. I acknowledge this your welcome. With pride we recognize in Guelph one of the brightest gems in the crown of our Canadian Achievement. We are happy tonight to receive your welcome to this great assemblage in honor of those sturdy men and courageous women who here began a march of progress, the direction of which has ever been forward.

("First Wedding Float Guelph Centennial Parade, 1927." A buggy driven by well-dressed footmen, conveys a small party, perhaps the bridge and groom, shaded by parasols, pulled by a horse and donkey, no doubt signfying the happy state of matriomny. The float is moving past Waterloo Avenue up Wilson Street. A note on the back of the photograph states, "A burlesque of the first wedding, one of many comics." Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums, 2009.52.4.)

With this, Misses Canada and Guelph turn to view the company before them unfold the march of progress that was the history of Guelph. For the sake of brevity, I will simply list the episodes here: (1) The dawn of creation, wherein the land, sky, flowers, and water are shaped and moulded, (2) The Indian, wherein "the primitive life of the Indian" is imaginatively depicted by performers in costume, (3) the founding of Guelph, wherein John Galt and company felled an elm tree and dedicated the site to the royal family, (4) the heroic advancement of Pioneer Manhood and Pioneer Womanhood in the face of Fever, Famine, and Death, (5) the first school, wherein pioneer children were taught by an American named Davis though, regretably, "Davis' intellectual acquirements did not go much beyond the 'three Rs' and he was soon released," (6) the first railroad, wherein the first train steamed in to Guelph and MPPs played a little joke on the locals by presenting the MPP for Lanark as the Governor-General, resulting in "considerable agitation," and (7) the first wedding, wherein Kitty Kelly was pressured into marrying Christopher Keough earlier than she had planned in August 1827. Last came a Masque of Nations.

("Eramosa Road arch." This leafy-looking arch says "WELCOME" in big letters and seems to span the road near Queen street. Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums, 2009.32.40.)

Of course, Exhibition Park was the site of many more events. For example, a packed program of track and field events was held. The headline event was probably the men's five-mile run, which was won by Harold Webster of the Hamilton Olympic Club. A number of women's events were included as well, an indication of the increasing regard in which women's sport was held at the time. In particular, there were competitions for women in the 100-yard dash and the quarter-mile relay, not to mention softball.

("Guelph Centennial arch on Gordon Bridge." This bridge was installed in 1892 and was the third span built at this location. Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums, 2009.32.38.)

In fact, as the Hamilton Spectator noted with some smugness, Hamiltonians dominated at the events, prevailing over the locals and athletes from Toronto's West End YMCA (5 August 1927):

Combining their efforts, the Hamilton Olympic club and the Canadian Ladies’ club, of this city, accounted for major honors in the big track and field meet that was part of old home week at Guelph, yesterday afternoon. With the Olympic club boys looking after the sterner sex, the Hamilton girls made a clean sweep of the events for the fair sex, and altogether it was a good day for the local contingent.

The bright spot for the home team was probably the youth's 1-mile run, which was won by local boy Frank Terry in 5 min., 35 3-5 seconds.

("Guelph Centennial arch: Waterloo Ave. car barns." The view looks towards downtown Guelph from Waterloo Avenue, just west of the street car storage sheds ("barns"). Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums, 2009.32.37.)

Naturally, baseball was a headline event for the Old Home Week. The junior league Guelph Maple Leaf team came through in style with an 8–5 win over the Tom Cats of St. Thomas on 4 August.

Of course, the big game was the contest in the senior division between the Maple Leaf team and the Terriers of Galt. The two teams had been competing for top honours throughout the 1920s, and they seemed to be headed for the league championship series later on. Unfortunately, the game was a "listless affair" consisting of lacklustre pitching and several fielding errors (Waterloo Record, 2 August). Still, the score provided some drama, with the local side overcoming an early deficit of seven runs to nearly defeat the visitors. However, Galt's reliever, "Friendly" Graham, was able to pitch his squad's team out of a Guelph rally in the ninth inning, leaving two runners on base, for a 13–12 win.

(Guelph and Galt did go on to meet in the Intercounty League champtionship in September but the Terriers came out on top. So, Guelph continued to just miss out on the championship it last won in 1921, against the Terriers.)

("Charles “Sandy” Alexander McHardy, baby contest, 5 August 1927." Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums, 2025.22.1.)

Another interesting feature of the Old Home Week was the baby contest. For some decades, it had been common to enter babies in contests at agricultural fairs to be judged, presumably, in the manner of prize steers, with top honours going to the "bonniest" baby. We learn that 143 infants were entered into the Guelph contest in 1927. Winners in the six-to-nine-month division were Helen Georgina Green, of Belwood, for the girls and John Duncan, of Alton, for the boys (Windsor Star, 6 August). In the nine-to-twelve-month division, winners were Ann Bell Russell, of Mount Forest for the girls and Charles "Sandy" McHardy of Fergus for the boys. Each winner received a five dollar gold piece, with Charles McHardy receiving a special silver cup, presumably for being the bonniest big boy.

Although baby contests were positioned among the casual amusements available in the celebration, they did have a more serious purpose. They promoted awareness of child heatlh issues in an era when child welfare was threatened by diseases and child labour. Also, contests were used to promote the eugenic idea that some children were innately better than others. It is notable in this respect that the children entered into such contests, like the winners in Guelph, were white. Although Guelph had significant black, Chinese, and Italian communities, their children do not feature among the ranks of the contestants and winners.

("A jazz band playing in an Old Home week parade on Wyndham Street." Besides being in the Mammoth parade, the jazz band roamed the city during the week entertaining the old boys and girls wherever they were found. Courtesy of the Guelph Public Library, F38-0-9-0-0-19.)

Not all the celebrations were held at Exhibition Park. Of course, parades, decorations, and special lighting were prominent in the downtown, especially along Wyndham street. Besides this, Wyndham street was host to the big masquerade dance held on August 2nd. After a parade mounted by the Guelph Humane Society, Wyndham street was cleared and an open-air concert held while the "old boys" and girls danced in disguise (Hamilton Spectator, 2 August). It seems that a good time was had and the event continued into the wee hours of the following morning.

("The Priory Model in front of City Hall during Centennial Celebrations, 1927." The Priory was the first house built in Guelph for John Galt. It was allowed to fall into ruin and was demolished the year prior to the centennial. This model may have been made from wood taken from the original structure. I believe this model was later installed in Riverside Park. Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums, 2000.21.8.)

As crowds sizes grew during the week, the midway, initially sited at Exhibition Park, was relocated to the gap in Wyndham street that was left after the great fire of 1921, in which the Robert Stewart planing mill burned down. In 1935, this gap in the streetscape was largely filled by the Dominion Public Building, now occupied by the Wellington County Government. But, for a few precious days, it was one of he funnest places in the Royal City!

("Old Home Week," 1927. The centennial arch over Wyndham street with the (old) City Hall and Winter Fair building in the background. Courtesy of the Guelph Civic Museums, 2014.84.520.)

Things did get a little out of hand. On Wednesday, shortly before midnight, attendees were treated to the performance of a snapped high-voltage overhead wire (Galt Reporter, 5 August):

Like a huge snake, spitting fire, a snapped trolley wire curled and writhed in the midst of a terrified crowd of street celebrants at the corner of Wyndham and Macdonnell streets shortly before midnight on Wednesday night. A Kitchener boy, about 20 years of age, had grabbed the rope which releases the pole of the street car, pulling it down to the roof of the radial and letting it go. The pole struck the wire, breaking it. The wire, striking the tracks and flaming with thousands of volts of current, whipped around the crowd but fortunately struck no one. The boy was captured after a strenuous chase and locked up for a few hours.

There were also complaints about drunkenness. The same Galt Reporter quoted the Guelph Mercury as saying that some people were "indulging promiscuously and publicly with the contents of the bottle," resulting in "inconsiderate behavior" and "vile and profane language."

("Guelph Elastic Hosiery Co. Float, Guelph Centennial Parade, 1927." The float is passing Waterloo Avenue on its way up Wilson Street. The company is most noted for its reinvention of the jock strap, which is, sadly, no evident on the float. Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums, 2009.52.6.)

A similar complaint was noted in the Acton Free Press (11 August):

Children, who had never seen drunken men, had the sight cast in front of them continually. Numbers of young lads either secured what they thought was sufficient to make them tipsy, or tried to give that impression in their actions. Was there no bootlegging? We heard a rumor that said that when the Government store closed on Saturday and did not open until Tuesday that the stock of the bootleggers in a certain section was completely exhausted. We don’t want to give the impression that the celebration was nothing but a drunk orgy, but it is hard to be convinced that the Government Control measure is lessening the sale of or improving the control of booze.

The Liquor Control Act had been passed only the previous June and the province was still in the process of setting up the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) and its control of liquor purchasing. So, in the eyes of some commentators, the Old Home Week was an early test of this system and they were not impressed.

("Toronto Regiment, Guelph Centennial Parade." The formation is marching up Huskisson Street (now Wyndham Street) past the drill shed toward the underpass. A note on the back of the photograph states, "Toronto Regiment (3rd Battalion C.E.F.). Bugle band in front, Regimental band & soldiers following." No doubt the formation included many veterans of the Great War. Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums, 2009.52.25.)

The Guelph police also came in for criticism. They had made laid no charges during the entire week, which the Mercury took as evidence that the event passed largely without incident. The columnist for the Acton Free Press averred that it was due to overindulgence.

Another feature of Old Home Week were airplane rides. Recall that, in her postcard to her aunt, Mrs. Melvin Wolfe, Edith mentions taking a ride in an airplane. Airplane rides were not in the official program of the Old Home Week. Instead, they seem to have been the idea of Jack V. Elliott, the owner of the Jack V. Elliott Air Service based in Hamilton. Starting in 1922, Elliott had purchased and refurbished aircraft from the Great War for various commercial purposes, such as exhibitions and stunting.

(Jack V. Elliott depicted alongside what appears to be a Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny". Courtesy of the Hamilton Spectator, 12 November 1926.)

Pilots soon took Elliott's planes barnstorming to various events. For example, Captian Smith and Mr. Gilles appeared at the Kitchener Old Home Week in 1925, flying "Nose dives, tail spins, loop the loop, rolls and other thrilling evolutions," not to mention a demonstration of wing walking! (Daily Record, 7 August 1925). Over the event, three Elliott planes took 236 passengers up for flights (Hamilton Spectator, 13 August 1925). At around $5 a flight, that quickly adds up.

("Carlstrom in a [Curtiss JN4] aeroplane at Long Branch [Toronto]," 25 November 1915. Victor Carlstrom was the pilot who flew a Blériot from Exhibition Park during Old Home Week 1913, the first plane to take off in Guelph. Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada, 3390042.)

Of course, aviation was a somewhat risky endeavor in that era. Indeed, because of the absence of the contemporary Guelph Mercury, we only learn of the presence of the Elliott Air Service at Guelph during the Centennial because there was a crash. From the St. Catherines Standard (5 August), we hear that an Elliott plane, piloted by Dick Preston of Hamilton and bearing Bert Shier of Guelph, crashed through a fence on take-off and smashed to the ground. The plane, likely a Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny," was wrecked apart from the motor, which seemed salvageable. Happily neither pilot nor passenger were seriously injured.

From the report, we learn that the plane was using the "Karn farm" on the north outskirts of town as an airfield. I suspect that this is the property of John Karn, a Guelphite listed as a farmer and having a sand & gravel business located on the north side of Speedvale avenue, around the intersection with Delhi street. Interestingly, there was a plane crash at the same location on 8 October 1935, when a deHaviland Moth was attempting to land there (Brantford Expositor). It was in town to provide plane rides over the Royal City. From these reports, it seems that the Karn farm served Guelph as an occasional airstrip in the pre World War II era.

("Float from the Post Office, Guelph Centennial Parade." A sign on the side of float states, "The Post Office Serves the World," thus explaining the globe on the back of the float. Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums, 2009.52.23.)

One hopes that Edith enjoyed her ride. In 1930, she married James Robinson. Her marriage certificate notes that, at that time, she was employed as a waitress at the Vimy Ridge Farm. (The farm was a training facility for British Home Children, boys exported from Britain to provide labour on Canadian farms. The program was discontinued the next year due to the financial strains of the Great Depression.) Mrs. Robinson moved to Toronto and remained there for the rest of her days.

("Guelph Centennial Old Home Week Sticker, 1927." Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums, 1983.116.4.)

The big event in 1927 was the apex of Old Home Weeks in the Royal City. Although the tradition persisted in some other Canadian towns and cities, Guelph never held another. There was "Guelph Days," a grand three-day hoopla held in 1932 of a similar nature but scaled down to fit with the circumstances of the Great Depression. Not quite the same. Of course, Guelph's Bicenntenial will be upon us in a couple of years. It will be interesting to see how it compares and contrasts with Guelph's previous wingdings such as the Old Home Week of 1927.

Old Home Week, 1908: Not a week of drinking and debauchery

In his dispatch to The Globe newspaper, a reporter from the Big Smoke summarized the scene in Guelph on August 3, 1908, as follows:

Every point in Canada and the United States where the old girls and boys have settled has been deflated of ex-Guelphites, and they may be found here, for this was the first day of the celebration in honor of former residents. How many thousands of visitors there are here it would not be possible to compute, but Mayor John Newstead said this was the biggest day in Guelph that he could remember. The visitors and citizens ranged at will all over the city and through the civic buildings and homes; in fact, in the Exhibition Park, the chief point of interest, they roamed in such numbers that it was almost impossible for one to make a way through the crowd.

What occasioned this invasion? It was Guelph's Old Home Week, 1908.

(Frank Rollins, Governor of New Hampshire 1899–1901. Courtesy of Wikipedia.org.)

As explained in my previous post about Guelph's Old Home Week 1913, the festival got it's start in New Hampshire in 1899. Governor Frank Rollins instituted a week long, state-wide wing-ding with a number of objectives, the principal ones being to assert the status of northern New England as the essential component of the region, and to stimulate a burgeoning tourist industry there.

Brown (1997) points out that migration of residents away from rural, northern New England for the big cities of Boston, etc., or points west, had left the area somewhat detached from the rest of the region and country, leaving it with a reputation as a backwater. A nostalgic mass return of former resident to the "Old Home" would reconfirm its importance and, more generally, the role of rural life that it exemplified as an antidote to the moral and cultural environment (Rollins would say "decline") associated with city living.

At the same time, Old Home Week would help to establish rural New England as a recreational destination for big city folks and their money. With agricultural productivity in relative decline, a new source of income would be welcome and, Rollins thought, tourism was it.

New Hampshire's 1899 Old Home Week was a smashing success and the idea spread like wildfire throughout neighbouring regions, including the Maritimes, Quebec, and Ontario. Soon, the President of the Canadian Club of Boston wrote a letter to the editor of The Globe (15 June 1901) urging that Canada get in on the act and assuring officials that Ontarians abroad would relish the chance to revisit their old haunts.

The idea of a province-wide (or nation-wide) Old Home Week understandably proved too unwieldy but individual cities soon got in on the act. By 1905 (Evening Mercury, 25 August), locals were writing letters to Guelph newspapers reporting on the Old Home Weeks of nearby towns and cities. Not to be left behind, the powers-that-be in the Royal City kicked the idea around.

(Detail of "Guelph's Old Home Week Executive Committee," from "The Royal City of Canada, Guelph and Her Industries / Souvenir Industrial Number of the Evening Mercury of Guelph, Canada." Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums 1974.15.7.)

In 1907, talk turned into action. An Old Home Week committee was formed and planning began (Mercury, 14 September). A gaggle of subcommittees were formed to handle the challenging task, including Finance, Transportation, Decoration, Publicity, Sports, Music, Reception, and Parade. Dates were set for the civic holiday week of the next year: August 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, 1908.

Various postcards were created for residents to send out as invitations. This postcard provides a helpful form with blanks to fill in and even a picture of someone doing so, just to be clear. The invitee is "Old Pal James," who is identified on the back as Jas. Cowan of Grimsby. The message on the back reads:

Oh I wish you were here now. You could work day and night, the electricians are so busy for Old Home Week. How long will you you be down then. I might slide down to see you. However will expect [you] Old Home Week.

Electrians were indeed busy, preparing to light the Royal City up like never before.

This "Welcome Old Boys" cards was another popular publicity item, also demonstrating the male orientation of the event. However, the Old Girls were welcome too, as demonstrated by the message:

Guelph, July 12/08 // Dear Amabel. how are you today and have you completely recovered[?] be sure and come up for old home week and we’ll sleep outside in a tent. We expect to have a great time. Guelph is buying up all the flags and bunting in Ontario[.] Lots of fireworks too. Bye Bye Cousin Helda

Both the above postcards are stamped "Daly's // Guelph, Ont." on the back, likely meaning they were sold at Daly's News and Cigar store on Wyndham street.

One of the early concerns was trying to land a prominent figure to help attract visitors. Initially, it was hoped that the Prince of Wales (later George V) might drop in. HRH would be in the country at the time and he was a Guelphite—well, a member of the house of Guelph after whom the city was named. Alas, it was not to be: The King's secretary politely informed the Committee that the Prince's tour would be confined to Quebec.

("Rear Admiral Charles E. Kingsmill (1855–1935), in naval uniform, ca. 1908." Courtesy of Wellington County Museum and Archives, A2002.54, ph. 16831.)

However, the Committee got a positive reply from another prominent former Guelphite, Admiral Charles Kingsmill. Kingsmill was born and raised in the Royal City but left age the tender age of 14 to join the Royal Navy. To make a long story short, he served in every corner of the British Empire and climbed the ranks right into the senior echelons. In 1906, he was captain of the battleship Dominion, named for the Dominion of Canada and sent there on a tour to show the flag. The ship ran aground during the tour, resulting in a reprimand for Kingsmill. Even so, he was appointed a Rear Admiral in 1908 and was tapped by the Canadian government with the (unenviable) task of organizing a Canadian navy. In brief, Kingsmill was about as well-known and highly-regarded figure as was likely to attend Old Home Week. One can only imagine the joy with which the organizers received his acceptance of their invitation.

Besides having a star attraction, Old Home Week organizers needed to assist thousands of former Guelphites and well-wishers in making their way to the Royal City. Associations of ex-Guelph people were formed in cities throughout Canada and the United States. Negotiations with the railways resulted in special trains that brought people hence to their old haunts. One of the largest such associations was the ex-Guelphites Association of Toronto, which held meetings and publicized the event in the Queen City. This connection was much assisted and cultivated by the Guelph Committee. Other cities where ex-Guelphites formed associations for the event included Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Detroit, and Cleveland.

By mid-July, the effort to dress the city up for the event was in full swing. Naturally, there would be banners and bunting of all description on display. Most exciting was the plan to illuminate Wyndham street from end-to-end with electric lights. Since the power grid drawing juice from Niagara Falls did not yet exist, Guelph had to look to the output of its own generators. Representatives of the Light and Power company surveyed local businessess to determine their requirements and to identify whose power could be cut off: Given the system's limitations, bathing downtown in electric light would mean plunging other city sectors into darkness for the duration (Mercury, 18 July 1908).

(The subtitle of this article is a hoot: "Electric fluild to be conserved." Was this really a reference to the already-outdated fluid theory of electricity? Or, was it simply an expression, like "turning on the juice" is today?)

(Souvenir postcard of The Electrical Building, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893. Courtesy of the Chicago Postcard Museum.)

Nye (2022) explains that illuminations were very signficant to American cities. In days of yore, torchlight processions and the like were hallmarks of special celebrations and elite occasions. With the advent of gas and then electric lighting, the scope of illuminations to demarcate special places and events increased. For example, The World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 was lit up prodigiously with electric lighting and featured a whole Electricity Building dedicated to the technology's bright future.

The delight experienced by Guelphites with their own electric promenade was palpable. The Guelph Musical Society Band was engaged to play a concert on the night of 24 July during the time the illumination was first tested. A large crowd gathered in the street for the final test on 1 August.

Finally, the carnival of Old Home Week commenced. Decorations had been finalized, accommodations found, grand stands, tents, and light stands erected. Trains arrived at the stations, disgorging hundreds of visitors before heading off to bring more.

A typical day during the celebration began with dignitaries meeting trains of special visitors downtown, requiring official greetings along with speeches and music for the VIPs. An afternoon parade would lead celebrants from the (old) City Hall, up Wyndham, Woolwich, and London streets to the Exhibition Park. There would be a program of events centered on a given theme, held in the fields in the northern sector of the Park. Visitors also had the option of enjoying the midway and sideshows featured in southern area. These areas were fenced off and general admission was $1. After the official festivities concluded, another parade led those so inclined back downtown, perhaps to find their lodgings or their trains back home.

(Real photo postcard view of Lower Wyndham street as seen from the old City Hall. Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums 2014.84.460.)

Naturally, parades featured performances by musical bands. Guelph's Musical Society Band was consistently present but bands from home-comers' cities also took part. For example, on American Day (5 August), the Marine Band of Detroit led the parade, with the stars and stripes out front.

(Real photo postcard view of Lower Wyndham street looking towards St. George's Square. Interestingly, this postcard was sent through the mail in 1915.)

The day of 5 August featured burlesque bands. Perhaps the most memorable was the "Blea Rube Band" of Toronto, which performed a "Kiltie burlesque" (Mercury, 6 August):

Yesterday they appeared in Highland costume very cleverly burlesqued and they used instruments on which they imitated the old Highland bagpipes in a style which would have deceived the best bred Scotsman that ever crossed the pond from the land of the heather. In addition they had painted themselves in the most grotesque manner, with heads and faces on their knees, etc.

The local favorite was by far "Long Joe" ("alias Madam Le Haut"), local man Joe Lawrence, who sported a parasol and fashionable Parisian gown and who stood out at nearly 7 feet tall.

(Real photo postcard of "Long Joe" Lawrence in a white dress with parasol, parading through St. George's Square. Courtesy of Guelph Civic Musuems 2009.3.1. The message on the back states, "This is the only one I have got left of Guelph Old Home week procession[.] it is a man standing seven feet in a lady dress representing a firm from Toronto" )

One special feature of the 3 August parade was the appearance of a number of Guelph old-timers (Globe, 4 August). A yoke of four oxen carrying a load of wheat was driven by Mr. Wm. Healey, "who remembers the earliest days of the Guelph market." The wagon was itself an old relic, built 62 years previously and used by the Gow family of Fergus to move wheat to Guelph market square (Mercury, 1 August).

(Real photo postcard, "Souvenir, Old Home Week, Guelph, 1908. In a similar card, the oxen are identified as Tom and Jerry.)

Naturally, sporting events featured prominently in the afternoons. There were competitions in lawn bowling, lacrosse, horse racing, and track and field. The most anticipated event was the baseball game between Eastern League rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Jersey City Skeeters.

The game itself turned out poorly for the Canadian fans, with the Maple Leafs receiving a drubbing at the bats of the American team (Globe, 5 August):

What the lowly Skeeters did to the champion Maple Leafs here to-day was cruel and almost criminal, and before a crowd of 8,000 Old Home week celebrants at that. The Mosquitoes—for it was an occasion which called for some politeness—thumped, hammered and slugged their way around the bases fourteen times in the seven innings before darkness mercifully put an end to the slaughter.

The final score was 14–1.

On the bright side, the Maple Leaf's one run was a homer off the bat of Jimmie Cockman, a Guelph Old Boy! Cockman had been born and raised in Guelph and excelled in baseball to the extent that he had a solid career with many professional teams. As captain, Cockman led the Milwaukee Creams to the top of the Western League in 1903. In 1905, he was seconded to the New York Yankees by his Newark International League team, making him one of the few Canadians of the era to play in the American major leagues. He retired and returned to Guelph in 1912 but coached the Guelph Maple Leafs in their championship run in 1921.

("James Cockman, Guelph's well-known professional player," The Canadian Century, v. 4, n. 13, 1911.)

At Cockman's first at-bat in the second inning, play was suspended and a brief ceremony held to honor the Royal City's famous son (Mercury, 5 August):

The players of both teams formed a semi-circle around the popular third baseman, while Mr. Downey [local M.P.P.] acted as spokesman. In a few words, Mr. Downey stated that the many admirerers of Jimmie in the city had considered this a suitable time to show their esteem and admiration for that popular and very efficient player. He also referred to the fact that Guelph had been the birthplace of baseball in Canada.
Mr. Morris then presented Mr. Cockman with a diamond ring, and the crowd gave three cheers and a tiger.

(Real photo postcard of St. George's Square from the middle of Lower Wyndham street. This image was the most commonly reproduced postcard of Old Home Week.)

(Real photo postcard view from the Post office/Customs house of a parade marching through St. George's Square. Note Joe Lawrence in a dress in the foreground and a marching band following him. A hand-written message on the front states, "scenes during Old Home week on main street, Guelph".)

Another signal event for Old Home Week was the military tattoo. On the evening of August 5, crowds of people packed into the grandstands in Exhibition park to see the spectacle. The conditions were excellent (Mercury, 6 August):

A dark, still night, not very warm, with a gentle breeze blowing steadily. The colored lights placed along the fence and the edge of the track cast a lurid glow over the track, throwing into relief the soldiers and bandsmen as they marched past, and sillouetting darkly the crowd in the background.

The bands stood poised at the north end of the park. At the signal, the Guelph band marched forth, down the track and past the grand stands, under the baton of Drum-Major Fairburn. The hometown crowd cheered with excitement.

("Captain Walter Clark," ca. 1900, veteran of the Crimean War and drill instructor of the Guelph Cadets. Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums, Grundy 3.)

Next followed the bands from Preston, Berlin (now Kitchener), and Goderich. Following them were the formations of troops and then the cadets, under the direction of Captain Walter Clark.

Following this was a prodigous fireworks display. At first, sparkling lights produced a portrait of King Edward, accompanied by the national anthem played by bands and three volleys fired by the Wellington Riflemen. Then followed a portrait of Theodore Roosevelt, which prompted an ovation.

The finale comprised an all-in burst of colour and noise that took the crowd's (and the reporter's) breath away:

Every variety of rocket was fired off in rapid succession. The air was literally full with glowing, flashing, rapidly-changing colors. There was a constant succession of glowing lights, bold color breaking into myriad [displays of] many colors, jumping rockets whirled and twisted with eccentric irregularity. “Maxim” or repeating rockets, fiery clouds which seemed charged with shifting rainbows. It was a gorgeous pyrotechnic display of such magnitude that the crowd literally held its breath while it lasted.

The bands followed up with a few more selections and paraded back to downtown, followed by many of the excited specators.

(Real photo postcard scene of an Old Home Week parade in St. George's square, conveying some of the excitement at street level.)

At the south end of the park was a midway, featuring attractions such as a Ferris Wheel, Merry-Go-Round, Electric Theatre, Fairies in the World, Coney Island at Night, Darkness and Dawn, etc. In a tent labelled "The Train Wreckers," one could see moving pictures!

The train wreckers was the title of a hit short film from the Edison Company, 1905. It features one of the few actual cases on film of villians trying to do away with a girl by leaving her on railroad tracks. Watch for the trick photography during the rescue scene!

Naturally, there was a so-called freak show. One freak performer was "Rattlesnake Joe," AKA Mr. J.H. Wilson, who was immune to reptile venom. His act was to handle a menagerie of poisonous snakes, which he allowed to bite him on the arms, chest and even his tongue (Mercury, 6 August)! Amazingly, he seemed none the worse for wear.

Then there were two "fat boys," weighing over 600 lbs between them, who engaged in boxing matches, using gloves. There were also three snakes, of a combined length of more than 100 ft., an untameable ape, and a two-headed fetus preserved in alcohol. The curious could attend lectures on any or all of these subjects.

Special performers were also employed to please the crowd between the main attractions. For example, there was the Dare Devil Dash, in which Professor Zavaro peddled his bicycle madly down a 100 ft. ramp, vaulted a wide chasm, turned around in mid-air and, leaping from his ride, dived into a vat of water. This is a feat beyond most university professors. Was Zavaro on sabbatical?

Perhaps from the same institution came Professor Tardini, the balloonist. His vocation was staging balloon ascensions accompanied by fireworks displays aloft. After this, Tardini would descend back to mother earth using a parachute.

(A real photo postcard featuring a man and woman looking at the camera through a cut-out backdrop of a balloon with gondola. Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums 1986.18.153. This appears to be an homage to Professor Tardini's balloon. It was likely taken in a photographer's studio in town.)

Tardini's balloon had difficulty in rising to the occasion. The wind was too high in the afternoon of 5 August to permit him to fill his gas bag. However, conditions improved and he was able to ascend and provide an aerial fireworks show that evening. An intriguing aspect of Tardini's setup was that his balloon was filled with "real gas" rather than hot air. If this means hydrogen, then the Professor was even more brave—or more foolish—than he seems at first. I can only think he was not a professor of chemistry.

Most impressive were the performances of the Kishizuna Japanese acrobatic troupe. Their performance is not described in detail but it was praised as "easily the best attraction on the grounds and has proven well worth the money expended by the committee" (Mercury, 6 August).

("Kishizuna Imperial Japanese Troupe," ca. 1910, postcard publisher unknown. Courtesy of "aboveall" via HipPostcard.com")

No detailed account of the Kishizuna act is given but it may have featured elements like those recorded in a short film by "Japanese Acrobats" (1913): ("Japanese Acrobats," 1913. Courtesy of the British Film Institute National Archive, via Friends of the British Film Institute.)

One of the more intriguing aspects of accounts of the 1908 Old Home Week were descriptions of how orderly it was. One might expect a week-long wing-ding to be the occasion of some overzealous revelry. That was not the Police Magistrate's opinion, however. "I am agreeably surprised and pleased with the manner in which the large concourse of people have conducted themselves in the city during the Old Home Week," Justice Saunders remarked (Mercury, 6 August).

There were not infrequent cases of drunkness, of course, but these were handled discretely by police, who put simply put inebriated celebrants in holding cells until they sobered up, at which point they were decanted. So, it seems that good order was kept in part by bending the usual concept of what was considered orderly.

("Ancient Order of Pole Climbers - Old Home Week Ribbon." Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museums 2014.33.20.)

It seems the police were more interested in assaults and thefts, of which there were not many. The only issue on this count was a young man who threatened to shoot someone and was found in possession of a loaded revolver. As this person had no license to carry a firearm in the city, he was fined $8.50 or one month in jail.

Still, the police blotter could hardly convey the experience of being on Wyndham street during the carnival. The account of the Mercury's own reporter must be our guide ("Confusion reinged," 6 August):

Bedlam let loose could not present more madmen than did Wyndham street last night after the return of Ralph Humphries’ “Illustrated” parade from the park. The old town, sober, quiet, old Guelph aroused itself in earnest. Everybody was just crazy with joy, falling over themselves and everybody else in their efforts to have a good time—and they were having it, too. There has never been anything the likes of it before in the old burg, and visitors from afar would last night have had recourse to the old saying that “a thing must be seen to be believed.” To describe anything that happened would be an impossibility. Everything that could happen occurred, and it was occurring all the time. From end to end the street was filled with a joyous, yelling jovial crowd of the best humored people ever gathered together. Anything went with crowd, and everything was taken in the spirit in which it was given with freedom and good spirit.
At ten o’clock the fun was officially commenced, and The Mercury still awaits reports as to when it was concluded. No matter how late or how early it was when people left the town, they had the opinion that they were missing something. At two o’clock this morning the lights were put out, but the fun did not discontinue until a long time after that. Throughout the several hours of fun there was not the least let-up at any time. Everybody appeared to be tireless, and the mob rushed from end to end of the street, howling, yelling, cheering and throwing everything at everybody “without fear or favor.”
Of all the games of the street last night, there was nothing so popular with the mob as the merry go round. To the majority of the readers there is no need to explain the principle of the game. They have experienced it, and know what it is. But it may be explained that the merry go round consists of the old time bull in the ring game. The innocent cause of the trouble, who may be standing on the street with his lady friends, is suddenly surrounded by a bunch of hooting, yelling lunatics and for the next few minutes they have the opinion that they are in the centre of a cyclone. But the storm soon passes to another quarter of the street, and no one is the worse for the experience.
Another popular form of lunacy last night was the flying wedge, which worked on the principle of the rotary snow plow, and had the effect of clearing the street with a rapidity that would have done credit to the Guelph police force. At the ends it worked with the same effect as crack-the-whip and woe to the man who got in the way.
Half a dozen wagon trucks, etc., put in their appearance on the street at different times and were pulled from one end to the other in great style. One of these was put into intentional collision with the wagon of the peanut man, who thereupon decided to make for safer quarters, but the crowd were after him, and before he got half way across the square wagon, charcoal, peanuts and fire were distributed over the square in a very impartial manner.
The fountain on St. George’s Square was the Mecca of many of the hoodlums. More than one was ducked. Some were thrown in bodily, while one unfortunate who was reposing on the stone coping was compelled to turn a graceful back somersault into the tank.
Apparently under the delusion that he was in the holy water of the Ganges, a local tonsorial artist entered the dampened arena, and with the water to his knees commenced a parade in which he was given the undisputed proprietorship of the parade ground. He seemed to enjoy it immensely, and kept not all the pleasure to himself. He had a sponge which he attached to a string and by its aid was very successful in distributing shower baths upon the crowd.
Ald. Humphries, the chairman de parades, was the hero of the night, and his appearance for the midnight parade was the signal for a general ovation. Everybody cheered for Humphries. He was the idol of the hour. On Upper Wyndham street despite considerable damage to his wearing apparel, he was hoisted to the shoulders of some of the enthusiastic ones and carried all the way down the street.

Magistrate Saunders had said that the orderly conduct of citizens during the week "would convince those who had been opposed to the reunion that it was not a week of drinking and debauchery." Were they convinced?

No city could operate under such conditions for very long. By the evening of 7 August, the festivities wound down and Guelph put her sober countenance back on. People flocked to the train stations to catch trains out of town. Decorations were removed and special lighting turned off. A number of people attended the final performance of the Kishizuna Troupe and took in "The streets of Cairo," curious to see a sideshow deemed objectionable by some of their fellow citizens. This piece was a vignette about a young girl on the mean streets of Cairo and had been composed and performed for the Chicago Columbian Exhibition in 1893, where it was a hit. It featured a belly dance known as the hoochie-koochie, which was probably the most objectionable part. The tune remains one of those old melodies widely recognized today but whose origin most have forgotten.

With these last, few performances over, the tents were taken down and the performers departed for their next gigs. Guelph became its old self. As the Mercury (8 August) put it:

Where on the previous night riots reigned where the air was filled with confetti and talcum powder and funny noises, last night reigned the silence and quietude of a quiet city.

Old Home Week 1908 was over. Was it a success? Fiscally, the Reunion Committee expected a small deficit. However, most everyone had had a grand time and were not concerned if the affair did not quite break even.

It is unclear that Guelph had demonstrated the superiority of small town Ontario culture or morals. Nor is it clear that the Royal City had set itself up as a tourist Mecca. Still, citizens could be satisifed that their city had come a long way since its foundation, and that it could put on a blast to compare with those of any of its neighbours.

Already, there was talk of mounting another Old Home Week.

("Guelph Old Home Week souvenir pin." Courtesy Guelph Civic Museums 1978.165.7.)

---

Works consulted for this post include:

• Brown, D. (1997). Inventing New England: Regional tourism in the nineteenth century. Smithsonian Institution.
• Nye, D. E. (2022). American illuminations: urban lighting, 1800–1920. MIT Press.

In "Dolly Varden" and Lillian Spencer, Guelph receives a comical treat

When you examine the scene below, what do you see?

One of the pleasures of looking at old postcard views, such as this one printed for the druggist A.B. Petrie & Son, is they can be enjoyed in many ways. They can be enjoyed simply for their aesthetic value. They can be enjoyed for the glimpses that they afford into the people and things depicted in them. They can also be enjoyed as puzzles, challenging viewers to figure out what is happening and when. What you see depends on what you are looking for.

Of course, the image in the postcard above is of St. George's Square, an image that was reproduced in several Edwardian postcards and that I have discussed in a previous post.

In aesthetic terms, the image is nicely layered. In the foreground is a woman with a parasoal strolling away from the camera, off on some unknown errand. In the middle ground is a two-wheeled cart. Although such an item would draw attention in the middle of the road today, no one is paying it any mind in the image. In fact, it is a sanitation cart, whose purpose was removal of horse droppings from the streets. In an era before motor vehicles, the sanitation cart was a familiar, unremarkable sight, as was its cargo.

Nearby is a wagon being drawn by two horses. The driver is speaking to someone on the street, who may well be the custodian of the sanitation cart. The errand of the wagon driver is not clear, although the sign on the side of the tank on the wagon is suggestive: "Gasoline." Why is a tank of gasoline being pulled down Wyndham Street on a wagon? Perhaps that is what the custodian wants to know.

In the middle of the Square is the Blacksmith Fountain, a symbol of "industry" and the industrial aspirations of the Royal City.

In the background stands the old Post Office/Customs House. The structure projects both forwards and upwards, presiding over the Square as a reminder of the authority of the Canadian state that it and the city belong to. Curiously, the clock face that one would expect in the circle at the top of the tower is missing. This little puzzle is easily resolved: Although the clock tower was added to the old Post Office in 1903, the clock itself was not installed until late in 1906—not an unusual sort of occurrence at the time. This fact also helps to date this image to that interval.

Although the image is largely static, there is one dynamic element, namely the streetcars approaching down Wyndham Street to the left. These cars were the small open ones (no windows) that were bought for the system when it began operations in 1895. A closeup of the front of the nearest car shows that it was carrying a sign on its fender:

The sign reads, "Dolly Varden // Opera House // To-Night." This little detail dates the image to exactly one day, since Dolly Varden played in Guelph on 19 Sep. 1906 only (Mercury):

As the ad states, Dolly Varden was a "dainty comic opera," that is, a musical comedy with a marriageable woman in the lead role. In fact, the character Dolly Varden has an interesting history of its own.

"Dolly Varden" was a character from Charles Dickens's Barnaby Rudge, a beautiful coquette distinguished by her colourful manner of dress. The character proved to be a popualar one and inspired a whole style of Victorian ladies' dress that was named the "Dolly Varden" after her. It was a Victorian reintepretation of the fashions of the 1780s, when Barnaby Rudge was set. Clothing stores advertised Dolly Varden dresses, hats, and shoes. Women could wear such outfits to costume parties, where they were sure to be recognized as a "Dolly Varden."

("Music sheet cover depicting women wearing Dolly Varden costumes." Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)

With the commercial potential of this character in mind, it is no surpise that Dolly finally got her own day in the sun. Around 1900, writer Stanislaus Stange and composer Julian Edwards wrote a comic opera with her as the main character. The plot has little to do with Barnaby Rudge, beyond being set in the 1780s and featuring the gaily-dressed Miss Varden. In the opera, Dolly Varden is an very pretty, assertive, but somewhat unsophisticated orphan girl set to inherit a tidy fortune. She visits London with her jealous guardian, Jack Fairfax, who desires to have her to himself. However, she manages to outfox him and marry her true love, the dashing army officer Dick Belleville. Not only that, Dolly prevents her friend Letitia from marrying the inappropriate fop Lord Gayspark, instead setting her up with the manly Captain Harcourt.

Naturally, this sort of action called for a great deal of singing. The opera was packed with comic and romantic ditties including:

• For the knot there's no untying;
• An aural misunderstanding;
• Song of the sword;
• The girl you love;
• The lay of the jay;
• My ship's the girl for me;
• Dolly Varden (of course);
• We met in Lover's Lane; and
• A cannibal maid!

Sheet music for the opera sold well and "We met in Lover's Lane" became a number one seller.

You can hear this hit single, sung by William F. Hooley in 1902 (courtesy of the Library of Congress):

The piece was cast and rehearsed in New York but opened in Toronto on 23 Sep. 1901. In brief, it was a smash. The review in the Globe gushed (24 Sep 1901):

A crowded house last night at the Princess Theatre gave an enthusiastic reception to the new comic opera, “Dolly Varden,” which was presented for the first time on any stage by the Lulu Glaser Opera Company. So emphatic was the success with the audience of the “premiere” that the composer, Mr. Julian Edwards, who conducted for this occasion only, the librettist, Mr. Stanislaus Stange, and the star, Miss Glaser, were repeatedly called before the curtain on the close of the first act, and Mr. Stange had to make a little speech on behalf of himself and colleagues, in acknowledgment.

The lush costumes and rich settings were praised to the roof. The music was praised as "bright and tuneful" and Sullivanesque.

The songs were well recieved, with the audience demanding encores and sometimes double encores on many occasions. The composition was ambitious and demanding, and much praise was heaped on how effectively it was presented:

The ensemble finale of this act is a clever bit of work. The composer has contrived to work up the volume of sound by simple means to a grandeur approaching the effect of grand opera, and here the excellent material he had at command in the number of leading voices, showed to advantage. In the second act, in addition to a taking dance and chorus at the opening, and a pretty minuet, with a flavor of an Offenbachian Tylorienne, there may be mentioned a double quintette of fine tonal effects and light and shade, and an octette that won instant approval. The quartette of leading women’s voices also showed to advantage in this act.

Naturally, the leading lady, Miss Lulu Glaser, won particular admiration:

The star of the company, Miss Lulu Glaser, is too well known as a clever and attractive comedienne to need much comment upon her performance. Vivacious and bright, with a superabundance of spirit, and possessing a voice of good quality, she held the stage whenever she had anything to do, and as the sprightly Dolly Varden, she was well suited with the role.

The show stayed in Toronto for a week before hitting the rails. As a big hit, and seeking to be worthy of the New York stage, it stuck to the big cities and did not visit Guelph, though Guelphites must have heard of it.

Certainly, it was a big breakthrough for its leading lady, Lulu Glaser. She featured prominently in promotional material, like this picture of what must be a key scene (Hamilton Times, 26 Sep. 1903):

Miss Glaser's image, in costume, appeared in the promotional postcard below:

("Lulu Glaser." Courtesy of the New York Public Library.)

A similar picture appeared on the cover of The Billboard trade magazine in 1902.

The show toured the continent twice. A company was formed to present it in Britain as well. It also achieved its highest aspiration, a lengthy run in New York. In fact, it was staged in Herald Square, New York City, for the entire summer of 1902. This was no small feat since theatres normally closed between May and September. In the days before air conditioning, it was simply not feasible to pack hundreds of people into a dark and poorly ventilated auditorium for hours while the mercury ascended the thermometer to sweltering heights. (Nor was it healthy for the performers.) The Billboard (17 May 1902) noted that the theatre was specially modified for the occasion:

Eight big noiseless fans are being set in different parts of the house and a large hole is being cut in the top of the dome of the auditorium, in which is being placed a “suck fan,” through which the hot air will be removed. New summer costumes for the whole cast are promised for Decoration Day.

Of course, all good things must come to an end and Lulu Glaser left "Dolly Varden" after the 1903–04 season. The show ran for one more season with Maud Hollins, who was Miss Glaser's understudy (I think).

There the matter may have rested, and Guelph deprived of this musical spectacular, but for the intervention of the Aborn Operatic Company. Milton and Sargent Aborn were on the lookout for a vehicle for a potential star they had picked out, Miss Lillian Spencer. She had attracted their attention after graduating suddenly from the chorus to the lead in the musical comedy "Florodora" along with her subsequent work. They felt that she would be a good fit for the lead role in "Dolly Varden" and so purchased the rights to stage another run of the show.

("The Aborn Company presents Dolly Varden;" ca. 1906. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.)

They had good reason for this judgement. Although only 21 years old, Lillian Spencer had a long history in showbusiness, particularly in comedy. At the tender age of three years, she trod the boards with American-German actor Joseph "Fritz" Emmet. Mr. Emmet cut his teeth in the post Civil War era in a minstrel troupe, where his claim to fame was singing songs in German while in blackface. He graduated to ethnic comedy, speaking and singing in a stagey German accent while yodelling and performing spectacular dance numbers.

He was most noted for his roles in the character of "Fritz," a German who experienced misadventures in various locales, while singing, dancing, and playing the guitar. The first "Fritz" show involved the character's arrival in America, with later reditions set in Ireland, Australia, etc. The plot and details of each play made little sense but that was of no consequence: The audience always wanted the same dances, the "Cuckoo song," and whatnot.

("Joseph K. Emmett in the stage production Fritz, Our Cousin German, 1869." Courtesy of the New York Public Library.)

Part of his act was interacting with children: searching for missing ones, singing them lullabies, and so on. So it was that a three-year-old Lillian Spencer tumbled out of a prop suitcase on stage in 1888, probably during a production of "Uncle Joe; or, Fritz in a Madhouse." Audiences took to the little waif immediately and she became a professional, child actor.

Why Lillian Spencer entered the theatre at such a young age is unclear. However, the 1900 US Census shows her living in a boarding house in Manhattan along with a Jessie Spencer, age 35, whose occupation is also listed as "actress." Her marital status is listed as divorced. Although records are sparse, it seems that Jessie was Lillian's mother and may have put her on stage as a way of earning a living while being a single mother, although that is speculation.

In her early career, she was often billed simply as "Baby Spencer" and made her way as an actor and a model (The Labor World, 1 Dec. 1906):

For a number of years, she played children’s parts, and at the same time, became noted as an artist’s model. Her piquant style of childish beauty made her much sought after for idealistic paintings, and her likeness was used by many famous artists.

It would be interesting to track down some of those images.

In any event, "Dolly Varden" returned to the rails for the 1906–07 season. It played in many of the same cities as the earlier runs, such as Toronto and Hamilton. However, although the show had been revised for its new rendition, some of the novelty had worn off and it played one-night stands in smaller cities that were bypassed in previous years. And so it was that "Dolly Varden" arrived in Guelph, where, as in many other small cities, advertisements that hung on streetcars carried with them Miss Lillian Spencer's hopes for a career as a mature performer.

(The Opera House Guelph—now the site of the Guelph Community Health Centre at Wyndham and Woolwich streets— printed by the Pugh Mfg. Co. of Toronto, ca. 1910.)

The Mercury did not review the show, so it is hard to say exactly what sort of reception it got. However, the publicity stills below, published in the Sep. 12 and 14 Chatham Daily Planet provide some idea of what audiences saw.

("Lillian Spencer with 'Dolly Varden.'" Miss Spencer appears to have a flower in her teeth and is covered in straw.)

("Lillian Spencer and Huntington May in 'Dolly Varden.'" Mr. May played Jack Fairfax.)

In lieu of a report from Guelph, this short review from the performance in Duluth, Minn. (26 Sep 1906) provides an idea of the show's reception:

“Dolly Varden” was very prettily produced at the Lyceum theater last evening. The production is worthy of its title of comic opera success. Its music is a delight, and the stage pictures and costumes are charming. When first in Duluth, with Lulu Glaser in the title role, it met with great public favor, and last night this success was repeated, although Miss Glaser is no longer with the company. For some reason or other the audience was a small one, but what there was of it was enthusiastically appreciative.
Lillian Spencer is the present Dolly Varden. She is a small, very active person, graceful and light of foot, with a piquant air and a contagious laugh. Her singing was well received, and her acting full of spirit. Her support was quite satisfactory.

Piquant to Miss Glaser's sprightly, it sounds as though Miss Spencer succeeded in putting her own impression on the role. We may assume that Guelphites gave it their approval also.

To my knowledge, Miss Spencer never returned to Guelph. Her encounter with the Royal City was fun but largely inconsequential to both. Even so, the incident is illustrative of the life of small cities of Ontario in the Edwardian era, and how they were connected to the larger world. In matters of popular entertainment, Guelphites relied on the theatrical circuits centered on the metropolises of the day, as also illustrated in the case of the play Officer 666. The entertainment world has changed substantially in the meantime but we may enjoy a glimpse back in time through media like old postcards, if we are willing to look for it.

---

Although "Dolly Varden" did not catapult Lillian Spencer to stardom, it does seem to have provided her with a lasting career separate from her early stint as Baby Spencer. She remained in New York and featured in many productions, although not usually as the star. In 1917, she joined the Charles Coburn company, which prompted the following review of her career up to that point (Sun, 27 Jan 1917):

A newcomer in the company now presenting “The yellow jacket” with Mr. and Mrs. Coburn at the Harris Theatre is Lillian Spencer, who plays the roles of Duc Jung Fah and See Quoc Fah (Fuchsia Flower and Four Season Flour). Miss Spencer’s interpretation of the role of the Second wife is a sprightly contribution to the performance and a somewhat intimate rendering of a part to which full justice has not heretofore been done. Miss Spencer may lay claim to the irregularly expressed but nevertheless clearly understood title of “natural born actress.” She has been on the stage since she was 5 years old. She was known as the youngest star in the theater when she appeared in the title role of “Dolly Varden” under the management of Milton Aborn. She has played important parts with Maude Adams in “What every woman knows,” “Chantacler” and “Jeanne d’Arc,” and although she never actually publicly appeared in place of Miss Adams, she was that eminent actress’s understudy and substituted for her at most of the rehearsals of these plays. Miss Spencer has appeared also in the support of Fritz Scheff, Blanche Ring and Julian Eltinge. More recently she enacted the role of the Lisping Girl in “The Girl who smiles” at the Longacre Theatre, and also impersonated one of the matrimonial chances offered to the hero of “Seven Chances” played originally at the Cohan Theatre.

The final record that I have found about her is a notice in Variety (17 Nov 1926) stating that she had a role in the Coburn production, "Ole Bill, M.P.".

If any reader has further information about her, please leave it in the comments below!

---

Pictures of Miss Lillian Spencer are not exactly common. Besides the publicity images shown above, there is a set of photographs taken in the 1910–1915 period by photographer Arnold Genthe, who was particulary known for his images of notable persons of the day. I will show a few here; the rest are accessible at the Library of Congress website.

A photo from Theatre Magazine (Jan 1918) shows Miss Lillian Spencer luxuriating in a Balch Price motor coat made of finest Australian opossum. She looks warm! Perhaps she continued to do modeling work in addition to acting.