1885-05-30 Baseball

Hamilton was of the cities in 1885 that was the most baseball mad. There was not one, not two, but three Hamilton teams in the Canadian Baseball League. They were the Clippers, the Baysides and the Primroses.

The home tilts of all three teams were played on a diamond in Dundurn Park, where a new grandstand had been added for the 1885.

The Hamilton newspapers, the Times and the Spectator, gave extensive coverage to the Hamilton teams with each paper assigning a reporter who could describe both the games, and the atmosphere around the games, in vivid detail.

Such was the case on Saturday, May 30,1885 when two of the three Hamilton teams were in action. The Primroses were the home team at Dundurn park for a game against the team from Guelph, the Maple Leafs. The Clippers ventured to Buffalo for an exhibition game against the travelers.

Here is what appeared in the Spectator on Monday June 1, 1885 :

THE PRIMROSE-MAPLE LEAF GAME

“The Maple Leafs came to town Saturday, with their new white uniforms, plaid hose and light green caps, looking just as well as they ever did in their lives. They came to defeat the Primroses, a necessary little job that didn’t amount to much, but had to be done in order that the pennant might be won.

“The weather was bad. A dismal sky and frequent showers during the greater part of the day kept many people away from the game, they supposing that it could not come off. But at the proper time the Maple Leafs showed up on the ground, looking just as well and hearty as they ever did in their lives. There was a wide difference in the build of the members of the two teams. The Maple Leafs, with one or two exceptions, are big, powerful men, with plenty of muscle and weight, while the Primroses are all little fellows that looked, in contrast with their opponents, like juniors.

“When the game started, the little fellows in dark blue seemed to be able to hit Dyson’s balls pretty much every time they tried to, but the magnificent fielders of the Leafs promptly raked everything in and prevented any damage being done., and the Maple Leafs looked as well and hearty as they ever did in their lives.

“The Guelph men were never able to hit Young’s balls much. He has always been a sort of puzzle to them, and he pitched a wonderfully good game this time – just like his last year’s pitching. But the Leafs are real batters and presently had three runs to their credit, while the little blue boys had to be content with an unbroken goose egg. And the Maple Leafs looked just as well and hearty as they ever did in their lives.

“Again, a little while , and the Primroses got more solidly onto handsome Fred’s balls, and got in three runs tying the Leafs, and electrifying the audience into a prolonged round of applause. Gentlemen who had , two to one, three to one, and even five to one, on the visitors began to think that perhaps they had been a trifle hasty, and to wonder when the Leafs were going to begin to play in earnest. And the Leafs still looked as well and hearty as they did ever in their lives.

“The game went on, with ever-varying luck, now on one side, now on the other. It was close and exciting and consequently enjoyable. Some sanguine people thought there was going to be a repetition of the celebrated fourteen inning game.

“And now came a notable inning. The Primroses concluded to bat the life out of Dyson. They banged away at everything, and knocked everything everywhere. The air was full of balls for a spell, and the Maple Leaf outfielders had exercise enough to last them for the season. It was the most ferocious batting ever seen on the Dundurn grounds. Dyson was paralyzed. The Maple looked as sick and sore as they ever did in their lives, and the game belonged to the little boys in blue.

“The Maple Leafs made a noble effort to redeem themselves in the remaining innings, but failed to get there by a majority of two, and the great surprise party of the season was over.

“Time of game – 1:40

“Attendance – 400.

NOTES

          “Let’s see; didn’t somebody say that the Primroses couldn’t bat.

          “Dundurn ball grounds are fit to play on five minutes after the heaviest shower.

          “To the Clippers : Beware! The Primroses are on the warpath, and loaded for bear.

          “And now it is the Primroses that have their eyes firmly fixed on the championship pennant.

          “Dyson owns up that the Prims fairly pulverized him; but, he says, they can’t do it again.

          “Men, who had the reputation of not being able to hit a balloon, pounded Dyson to pieces Saturday.

          “The Primrose uniforms are a very dark blue, but they are not half as blue as the Maple Leafs at the close of the game.

          “The skinned diamond is rather deceiving to people who have been accustomed to play on the turf. The ball works different.

          “Somebody left the Dundurn gate open for a few minutes Saturday, and let the draft in. The Maple Leafs, in consequence, felt extremely cold.

          “Jimmy Henigan was the happiest man on the ground. When the Primroses began pounding the ball into the next county and forming a regular procession around the bases, he was so excited that he lost a suspender button.

          “The Maple Leafs have new stockings this season.  The old ones, having done duty for a decade, were tearfully laid away in the tomb. The hallelujah catcher, however, wanted to hang on to his pair for the reason that they were very holey.

          “Big Jack Henderson was in the stands when the Prims tied the Leafs – 3 and 3. ‘I’ll get out of this,’ said he, ‘the Leafs never have any luck when I’m here.’ He went out and took to the woods in the southern part of the park. Then the game went worse and worse for his team. Then he took to the road and made tracks for home. Late at night, a dispatch was received from Aberfoyle, stating that a weary tramp had passed there in an excited condition, damning the Primroses.”       

                   THE CLIPPERS AT BUFFALO

          “The clippers took a little trip to Buffalo Saturday to meet the Travelers of that city, champions of the Buffalo city league, whom they met and defeated at Dundurn park last season.

          “It was just noon when the Stafford house was reached, and the boys didn’t waste much time in getting outside of a good dinner. They then went to the Olympic park early enough to practice a little before meeting their opponents, who, it was stated, had greatly strengthened their team since last season.  The Travelers were already on the grounds, and in practice, did really seem to be playing better than they did last season.

          “Play was called at 8:20, it being just a little too dark for baseball, and looking very much like rain. Four innings over it was evident that the Travelers had no chance to win, their fielding was way behind the mark, they didn’t bat well and could do nothing at base running. There was very little interest manifested by the spectators, except when a fine play was made.

“The umpire was a pronounced Traveler, or else did not know when to call ball and when strike. It was on one of his funny decisions that the Travelers got the run that they did. Even the Spectators, all Buffalo people, couldn’t stand that mistake and gave Gainey a very derisive cheer.

“The game was delayed at the close of the eighth by rain, for about fifteen minutes. The Clippers batted Kane pretty freely, but not safely. They played a very fine fielding game.

                             NOTES

“The Maple Leafs and Clippers will meet again next Saturday at Dundurn.

“The Clippers took advantage of their visit to buy fourteen new bats and a dandy mask.

“A deputation of the Travelers met  the first morning train, the one that the Clippers did not go on.

“The result of the Primrose-Clipper game was received at the grandstand just as the Clippers-Travelers game closed.

“The theory that nine men and an umpire can beat the best team in the world is not always good. At Buffalo Saturday, the Clippers beat the travelers and the umpire.”¹

¹ “Two Great Victories : Hamilton Ball Tossers Have Their Day On”

Hamilton Spectator     May 26, 1885.

                  

1885-05-24rr Queen's Birthday in Dundas

It was not just another Dundas celebration of the Queen’s Birthday in 1885. It was a very special one as the occasion was used to formally dedicate the new waterworks system in the Valley City.

The Spectator assigned a reporter to cover the day in Dundas, and his account started (and completed) masterfully:

“The day in Dundas was one to be remembered by the people of that town. It was no ordinary celebration of the Queen’s Birthday which brought out all the healthy inhabitants of the Valley City out of doors, and filled the streets with strangers from neighboring towns and villages. It was a genuine civic demonstration – the celebration of the opening of the Dundas waterworks under the auspices of Mayor Wilson, the town council and the fire department.”¹

¹ “Queen’s Birthday : How It Was Celebrated By Hamilton and Dundas”

Hamilton Spectator     May 26, 1885.

The reporter made his way from Hamilton to Dundas on an early street railway train and was able to observe how Dundas residents prepared for the celebrations:

“The town was astir at an unusually early hour, and the citizens whose residences or places of business were on the main streets busied themselves in preparing decorations, and by 9 o’clock, Dundas was gay with fluttering streamers and tiny flags and festoons of bunting and mottoes and evergreens. Long before the time for the day’s procession, the sidewalks were crowded with townspeople and visitors dressed in holiday attire. The number of strangers on the streets was estimated at 3,000 to 4,000, and these, together with the regular population, made the usually quiet little town so lively and noisy that the old houses appeared to look down at the scene astonished and aghast, like old people suddenly wakened out of sleep by unwonted and unseemly noises. Everybody agreed that it was the greatest day that has been known in Dundas since confederation day.”¹

The major event of the morning was a street parade :

“The day’s proceedings started with the grand procession, which started from the drill shed shortly before noon and moved through the principal streets. Following is the order of procession:

          Assistant Marshall, Jos. Hourigan

            Seventy-seventh battalion band

                        L.O.G.T. Lodges

                Canadian Order of Oddfellows

             E.B.A. lodges, Dundas and Hamilton

Valley City Lodge, I.O.O. F., with Hamilton brethren

   Dundas  and St. Catharines football teams

  DeSchomberg Commandery, Scarlet Knights, Hamilton.

                           Kalathumpian corps

                             Ayr fire department

                          Grimsby fire department

                            Brantford brass band

Dundas fire department, with two reels and hook and ladder wagon

                   Vehicle with civic officials    

The procession was marshalled by Mark B. Thomas, chief of the Dundas fire department, assisted by J. Hourigan and W. Connell, all mounted. It was quite an attractive procession. The Brantford and Dundas fire departments both looked and marched well. The Kalathumpians were some half dozen mounted men disguised as Indians, and they were sufficiently horrible in appearance to cause the children to cling to their mothers in terror when they passed. A prominent business firm of the town had a wagon in the procession covered with evergreens and streamers and carrying five or six masked and grotesquely dressed men who amused the crowd by their funny antics and frightened the women and children by occasionally firing off guns. The mayor and council were jammed into a long wagon with a seat on each side. They brought up the rear of the procession, and every face in the vehicle was broadened into an eight-inch smile. After traversing the town, the procession halted on the market square.”¹

At the Dundas market square, a large crowd gathered to hear a number of speeches appropriate to the day:

The fire companies were marshalled on each side of the square, and No. 1 company of the Seventy-seventh battalion, commanded by Captain Bartram, too took up its position in the center. The company fired a feu de joie very unsteadily, the band played God Save the Queen, and the whole assemblage joined in three hearty cheers for the Queen. Then followed the

                   FORMAL OPENING OF THE WATERWORKS

by Mayor Wilson. Two men of the Dundas hose company, clad in rubber, came forward with a nozzle attached to a branch of hose, and the mayor, who was standing by, turned the tap. A jet of water burst from the nozzle and was allowed to play for a minute or two, drenching a small boy who was on the fence and who couldn’t get away fast enough to avoid the shower bath. The people watched the stream with satisfaction and cheered. Mayor Wilson turned off the water again, and declared the Dundas waterworks formally opened.

                   THE NEW WATERWORKS SYSTEM

is justly regarded with pride by the people of Dundas. It is on the gravitation principle. The reservoir is on the mountain, three quarters off a mile from the center of town, a little west of the G.T.R. station. Its elevation is 160 feet from the road at Elgin house, giving a pressure at this point of 80 pounds to the square inch. At the cotton mills, the pressure is said to be 100 pounds. The capacity of the reservoir is 1,500,000 gallons. It is just a few feet from the rock on the north side – from the property formerly known as Spring hill, the residence of the late Dr. James Hamilton, of West Flamboro. The waterworks bylaw was carried by the citizens in August, 1882, and the system was completed in the fall of 1883. The total cost of the waterworks has been about $40,000.

                   SOME ORATORY

          “After the waterworks had been declared formally opened, Mayor Wilson rose in the wagon which carried the town council. He said : ‘I give a very hearty welcome to all our visitors, and I trust you may enjoy yourselves during the balance of the day. I was proud to see the different fire companies march through the streets of the town in such a soldier-like fashion. It is pleasant to see your getup: you are all evidently ready for working as well as dressing. Great credit is due to the Dundas firemen for making such a demonstration on the Queen’s birthday, and also to those who came to their assistance in making the greatest gala day that Dundas as ever known.’

          “Reeve Begue spoke next. He said : ‘I congratulate the citizens of Dundas on this very successful opening of the Dundas waterworks, so long waited and so much needed. It is very creditable to the Dundas firemen to have all the modern conveniences for the protection of property from the fire fiend. I echo the general sentiment  reflected in the smiling faces of the ladies before me. Next to the soldier, the ladies most admire a fireman. No better day could have been selected for this demonstration than the birthday of the Queen – God bless her !’ Mr. Begue here proposed three cheers for the Queen, which were lustily given, and three more were given for the volunteers in the Northwest.

          “Deputy-Reeve Bickford was the next speaker; but just as he began his address the Georgetown firemen marched past, headed by the Georgetown band, and the Georgetown band, though they did not make much music, made a great deal of noise, and Mr. Bickford’s remarks were lost. His gestures, however, were very graceful and eloquent, and the people felt that they lost much by the too powerful brass and the healthy big drum of the Georgetown band.

“The final oration was delivered by Mr. Bell, of the Dundas Standard. After congratulating his hearers on the demonstration, and the occasion of it, he said  : ‘I claim for the press of Dundas part of the credit of the establishment of the waterworks. My friend Somerville and myself have worked hard to secure the works, as well as the aldermen; and now we have as good a system of waterworks in Dundas as to be found in the Dominion. We have had the waterworks analyzed, and it has been pronounced the purest in Canada. This is something we can congratulate  ourselves upon, for after all, I suppose, water is the best thing to drink.

          “Three more cheers were given for the Queen, and three for the visitors.”¹

                The Dundas driving park was the locale for the 1885 Queen’s Birthday events :

          “After the procession had disbanded the crowd of spectators wended their way to the driving park, where the sports and competitions were held. Probably there was never before such a number of people in the park as there was yesterday. Some enthusiastic Dundas folks thought there couldn’t been less than six or seven thousand people present; but half that number could probably be nearer the mark. However, it was a big crowd for Dundas, and everybody was jubilant over the success of the latter and more substantial half of the day’s demonstration. The program of sports and competitions which had been arranged was almost literally carried out, and the two or three events which did not come off were not mitted through the fault of the managers.

          “Throughout the afternoon, the dancing pavilion was thronged, and in the evening the Seventy-seventh band gave an excellent concert, which was numerously patronized.” ¹

                  

1885-05-25tt Queen's Birthday at Dundurn

It was Queen Victoria’s 66^th birthday on May 24, 1885. However, the celebrations had to be held off for one day because the 24^th of May was on a Sunday that year.

Like cities all across Canada, the city of Hamilton was a location of many Queen’s Birthday events from the start of the day until well after sundown.

The Hamilton Spectator reporter assigned to cover the events of May 25, 1885 began his article, masterfully capturing the flavor of the day :

““The sky full of dark, ominous clouds, and the wind blowing a gale from the sou’west; flags and bunting flying everywhere, the incessant popping of firecrackers, red coats hustling down the street, fond mamas and papas laden with baskets and babies; white and gay-colored dresses, and extensive hats with pretty faces peeping archly from them – these were the things that confronted the average Hamiltonian when he or she turned out of bed yesterday morning to participate in the sixty-sixth anniversary of the birth of Her Most Gracious Majesty, Queen Victoria.”¹

¹ “The Queen’s Birthday : How It was Celebrated By Hamilton and Dundas : A Big Day at Dundurn – The Dundas Waterworks Formally opened With Great Eclat – Excursions and Picnics”

Hamilton Spectator     May 26, 1885.

It appeared that it could be a rainy day, but fortunately, the concerns of citizens looking forward to the day, were spared the worst :

““Whoever knew it to rain on a Queen’s Birthday, anyhow? Nevertheless, waterproofs and umbrellas encumbered the arms and hands of almost everybody.”¹

Hamiltonians had a wide variety of places where they could go to enjoy the holiday, but, unquestionably the biggest draw was Dundurn Park:

“The principal attraction locally was the

                   St. George’s Society’s

demonstration at Dundurn park. The park looked its prettiest. It was warm there, but the wind disturbed the heat pleasantly. The tender green of trees and sward made a beautiful background for gay dresses and gay uniforms. Swings were flying through the air, and the irrepressible small boy literally swarmed over the ground. The baseball match in the morning drew a good crowd; more came up with the military at noon, and still more came up as the afternoon wore away. By 4 o’clock, there were upwards of 7,000 people in the grounds, and with the additions made in the evening, a total must have climbed up to several thousand more.”

          One of the main draws for the day at Dundurn Park was the attraction of Hamilton’s popular militia unit, the Thirteenth Battalion :

“For the local militia, it was field day at Dundurn. From early in the morning, the gunners and drivers of the Hamilton field battery were busy fitting harness and getting the guns of their battery housed. Major Van Wagner was in command, and the other officers of the battery were Capt. Hendrie and Lieutenants Bankier and Copp. About 10:30 o’clock, everything was in readiness and the last buckle fastened, and the battery started out from Hughson street, marching through several streets to test the horses and see that everything was in order. They finally formed in columns of march on James street in front of the drill shed, till the Thirteenth which had been ordered to parade at 10:30, was ready to join them. Most of the companies of the Thirteenth turned out well, especially B company, Capt. Barnard, C company, Capt. Zealand, E company, Capt. Reid, and G company, Capt. A. D. Stewart. The parade state of the Hamilton  Field battery showed some 60 men present, and that of the Thirteenth some 300. Col. Skinner commanded the parade, with Major Moore as brigade major. Major VanWagner commanded  the Hamilton Field battery, and the Thirteenth was under command of Lieut.-Col. Gibson, M.P.P., with Capt. Stuart as adjutant. The other officers with the Thirteenth were Major Armstrong, pay master; Mayor Mason, quartermaster; Surgeon Ryall, Assistant Surgeon Griffin, Major McLaren, Captains Barnard, Adams, Stoneman, Riel and Zealand; Lieutents Brown, Moore, Mewburn, Gillewspie, Tuckett, Watson, Ross, Chapman and Cameron. Lieuts. Watson and Ross had the honor of carrying the colors.

“On arriving at Dundurn, line was formed facing the new grandstand, the artillery on the right. The battery came into action front, and the word was given by the brigadier to fire a royal salute – the battalion taking open order. Seven rounds were fired by the battery, and one round of the feu de joie by the Thirteenth; the band of the Thirteenth playing the first bar of God Save the Queen. This was repeated three times, after which the order for a royal salute was followed by three cheers for the Queen. These were given with a truly hearty ring from as loyal hearts as her Majesty has in her service. After this part of the programme was concluded, the men of the battery went to lunch, and the Thirteenth marched past in column, quarter column and in double time. The thirteenth then took their turn at the lunch table, two companies at a time being accommodated. After lunch, the tug-of-war, bayonet exercise and military games were in order till 4 o’clock, when the regiment returned to the shed.”¹

                At Dundurn Park, the baseball field was home to three professional Canadian Baseball League teams from Hamilton, the Clippers, the Rimroses and the Baysides. In the spring of 1885, a large covered grandstand had been built for spectators. It had been decided that at 12 noon, the 13^th Battalion would line up facing the grandstand so that as many spectators as possible could see their salute to the Queen. A baseball game, between the Primroses and the Baysides, had been scheduled to start two hours earlier at 10 a.m. but the best plans often get sidetracked :

“When the Thirteenth battalion interrupted the Primrose-Bayside game by drawing up in a line, partly on the ball field, the boys at home base had some fun with the volunteers. They knocked balls into, and when they got near, the soldiers broke and fell back in confusion. It is to be hoped that they can stand leaden balls, better than they do balls knocked from a bat.

“It is fair to say that the Thirteenth battalion drew up on the ball field under instructions from the St. George’s committee. The committee had expected that the game would have been ended by noon, and wanted the grand stand filled for the royal salute and the feu-de-joie. The interruption was partly the fault of the players. The game should have been commenced promptly at the specified time – 10 o’clock.”¹

In the afternoon, there were many athletic contests involving members of the 13^th and some ordinary citizens. The games included 200 yard foot races, one each for military men, a civilian race, race for girls under 14 and a race for boys under 15, a sack race for boys under 15, hop, step and jump, running jump as well as Bayonet exercise and calvary sword exercise for soldiers only.

Besides the athletics, a ventriloquist and magician, Professor Leonardo, gave a number of exhibitions, which delighted the children., especially the orphan children from the Boys’ and Girls’ Homes who had been provided free admission to the grounds for the day. A string band provided the appropriate music for dancing as well.

The immensely well-regarded band of the 13^th  Battalion played  off and on throughout after noon, until the shadows began to lengthen:

“By the time the games were finished, the day was bending westward, and a general move was being made for home. The thirteenth band had gone, and people who took no interest in the games, had enjoyed themselves listening to the band’s exquisite music and wandering where their various fancies led them started the movement, and it did not take long for the grounds to be nearly emptied. Nor did it take long for them to fill up again.”

The evening of the 1885 Queen’s Birthday celebrations at Dundurn Park were capped off with a fireworks display by Hamilton’s own firm, Professor Hand & Company:

“THE EVENING’S ATTRACTIONS

were a concert by the Thirteenth band, and a display of fireworks by Prof. Hand & Co. The band played magnificently. That goes without saying. And Prof. Hand & Co. surpassed themselves with the brilliant programme and handsome designs of colored fire, which they arranged and carried out. More than one particularly beautiful set piece was loudly applauded by the immense crowd, whose upturned faces turned from a glaring red to a ghastly green, or a deathly yellow, as the variegated fires filled the grounds with their tinted reflection.”¹

1885-05-21 St. Mark's Mission

 “This new place of worship, to be opened this evening by the Bishop of Niagara – assisted by Revs. Carmichael,  Curran, Massey, Ford (Toronto) and others – is situated on Herkimer street, near Garth street, and is a very neat structure.” ¹

¹  “St Mark’s Mission Church”

Hamilton Times     May 21, 1885.

St. Mark’s Anglican Church at the corner of Bay and Hunter streets had only been open a few years, but already in the early 1880s, it had been observed that the areas to the west and south of the church would soon be rapidly filled in with residences.

As a result, it was decided that a mission church, St. Mark’s Mission, would be opened in the area. After extensive planning and funding-raising, the mission church was ready to be opened.

A reporter for the Hamilton Times was given a tour of the St. Mark’s Mission, and the plans for its opening:

 ^“The building is frame and ecclesiastical  in design. The interior is comfortably, though not expensively, fitted up. There is a chancel, with raised altar (upon which stands cross and vasce), having dossel hangings and frontal.

“The seating capacity is set down as 150, but the benches are so arranged that more accommodation can be given if necessary. The estimated cost is said to be about $700, and this sum has been secured by gentlemen outside of St. Mark’s congregation. Services will held every Sunday afternoon at 4 o’clock and every Thursday at 8, the rector (Rev. R. G. Sutherland, M.A.) conducting the same.

“The musical portion of the service will be strictly plain, but a small organ will be used for hymns. The Sunday school will be under the superintendence of Mr. F. G. Whatley, a gentleman who is thoroughly competent to manage so important an auxiliary to a church. During the winter months, a night school will be held, a boon which no doubt many young people in the neighborhood will appreciate.”¹

The Times article concluded with the observance that the mission church was needed immediately and in the future:

“The growth of the city in this direction has improved greatly during the past few years, and a building similar to the one referred to had been asked for by members of the Church of England living in this locality; the want is now supplied and gratifying results will doubtless follow.”¹

St. Mark’s Mission was formally opened on May 21, 1885. A Spectator reporter in attendance wrote the following account to be printed in the next day’s paper:

 “Last evening the mission church in connection with St. Mark’s parish was opened under the most favorable auspices. There was a large congregation and the greatest interest taken in the proceedings. Parts of St. Mark’s choir were in attendance and a procession was formed in which several city clergymen and the Bishop took part. Rev. R. G. Sutherland read the prayers and collects, Rev. Canon Curran the first lesson, Rev. Hartley Carmichael the second lesson.

“The rector gave notice of the intended services to be held and solicited several articles not yet provided to complete the church – porch, library, prayer and hymn books, matting etc. A list of names was also read of those ladies and gentlemen who had kindly secured the amount necessary to liquidate the actual necessary expenses of the building. They are as follows : Rev. Dr. Mockridge, Rev. Hartley Carmichael, Rev. R. G. Sutherland, Mrs. Fuller, Mrs. Valancey Fuller, Mrs. Ridley, Mrs. Orr, Mrs. McGiverin, Mrs. Ainsley, Messrs. A. Bruce, I. O. Macklin, George S. Papps, Hugh C. Baker, Jas. Bicknell, John W. Burns, D. Kmp, Pinkett, Studdart, A. Brown, W. E. Brown, Henry McLaren. Carpet for altar steps was also presented.

“Short and appropriate addresses followed by Revs. Curran, Carmichael, and Massey. The Bishop of Niagara then made a very suitable address, expressing his pleasure at the growth of the Church of England in this city, and highly commended the idea of mission church being opened in localities similar to the west end, as places of worship had a good effect upon the morals of the people, and these effects were more rapidly brought about by anticipating the wants of the locality, rather than waiting for a large growth in population.

“After the offertory, the Bishop pronounced the Benediction. The whole service was joined in by those present, and three favorite hymns – ‘Sun of my Soul,’ ‘Nearer My God to Thee’ and ‘All People That on Earth Do Dwell’ – were never more heartily given by a mixed congregation.”²

² “St. Mark’s Mission : Interesting Opening of the Mission Church Last Night”

Hamilton Times     May 22, 1885.

1885-05-25 Queen's Birthday Recollections

The issue of the Hamilton Spectator printed on Saturday May 23, 1885 included a list of attractions for Hamiltonians to choose from in planning for their observance of the Queen's Birthday, the following Monday. The actual date of Queen Victoria's birthday fell on a Sunday, so the festivities had to be pushed forward a day.
In the same issue, a Spectator reporter interviewed a man who choose to express his opinions on the way that the Queen's Birthday had been celebrated in his youth, twenty years previously in 1865 :

“ ‘Well, what do you intend doing Monday?’ asked a Spectator reporter of one of the grand army of bachelors on the shade side of thirty.

“ ‘Oh, I dun’no; possibly take in a park and put in an easy time generally. Plenty to choose from. That proposed feu-de-joie, by the way, revives old recollections.’

“ ‘Tell you what it is,’ he resumed a moment later, branching into a side issue as a small boy was observed covertly smothering an ignited firecracker on the near approach of a policeman; ‘the boys of the present day don’t know what fun is, compared with the youth of twenty years ago. In those days, we could beg or steal old bones, boiler bottoms and scrap iron for months ahead and convert them into cash to procure the coveted supply of powder and fireworks. No boy was thought of much accountwho did not possess either a pistol or cannon of some description, and the racket we kicked up Queen’s birthday morning was enough to raise the dead. The greater the noise, the happier the boy. Plenty of shot guns were pressed into service, too, and fired along the streets without fear of the law. Didn’t appear to be any more fires or accidents in consequence either. The parades were next in order. Those were the balmy days of the volunteer fire department, and it was a pretty cold 24^th when the members thereof didn’t blossom out in the full colors of the rainbow. Caller act, No. 2, a piano-box engine, was the favorite, pressed hard by Neptune the hose reel. Rescue No. 2 was composed of rather tough material, largely from Corktown, which invariably demonstrated later in the day when the ‘bhoys’ got limbered up with forty rod. The hook and bucket brigade made a good showing as well. Well, the military turnout, composed of the British regulars then in the city, and the volunteers, in connection with the firemen, was the big feature of the day. All Hamilton generally put in appearance at the back of the palace to witness the evolutions and the firing of the feu-de-joie, which was then a regular institution. The small boy was at his wit’s end to know how to dispose of his store of coppers to best advantage as he passed the numerous toffee stalls that lined King street all the way to the parade ground. Seems to me folks were grittier then. There were no street cars in those days, and you’d see a woman dragging babes from the other end of the city, with three or four kids hanging to her skirts; face was red as old what’s-his-name, but happy, bound to see a show and give the young ones a chance as well. The Calithumpians and the races divided up the honors of the afternoon and civic fireworks wound up the day.’

“ ‘No doubt,’ he continued after a satisfactory glimpse through the bottom of a soda-water glass, ‘the present way of celebrating is an improvement on the past. About the only thing to be said in its favor was that the money spent was mainly kept in the city, instead of being bestowed on railway travel and outside attractions. Per contra, there was a full amount bad whiskey drank, fights innumerable, and as for the uproar we boys kicked up, to experience it now would drive me crazy. We had our time, and as for the present generation, you know, what the eye don’t see the heart don’t sigh for – barring, of course, a feller’s best girl going back on him Have something? What ! Nothing? Well, what’s going to happen?’ ”

Hamilton Spectator. May 23, 1885

1886-05-22ss Baseball Writers' Rivalry

The International League, comprised a minor league professional teams in both Ontario and New York state, began in 1886. Two of the teams included teams from both the city of Toronto and the city of Hamilton. Not only were the teams bitter rivals on the field, the reporters who covered the games between team equally competitive.

On May 22, 1886, the Spectator reprinted a withering criticism of its reporter assigned to cover baseball which follows :

 “ ‘The youth who writes baseball slang for the Hamilton Spectator is doubtless a ‘daisy’ in his own estimation, but other people  appear to be ridiculously slow in discovering the fact. Yesterday he took the Globe to task for its report of Tuesday’s game, and quotes five expressions, only one of which was wrong, and that was the slangy use of the word ‘willow’ for bat. He finds fault with the use of the word ‘innings’ (which he commences with a capital letter.). Now, to quote such authorities as the Imperial Dictionary and ‘Stormouth’ to such a youth would be like casting pearls before swine, but if he will accept an authority nearer the level of his standard of culture and intelligence, let him consult Spalding’s Official Baseball Guide, page95, rule 48 which says ‘The choice of first innings shall be determined by the two captains.’ – Toronto Globe”

Quoted in  “Globular Baseball”

Hamilton Spectator     May 22, 1886.

The Spectator baseball writer was not one to take an insult without a response :

“The babe and suckling who writes baseball slang for the Spectator is willing to admit that he knows more about baseball than about dictionaries. That is the reason he holds the baseball job. The Spectator sends another man – a learned and aged person – to report dictionaries.

“The Globe makes the mistake of sending its dictionary man to the ball field. And the babe and suckling of the Spectator is not sure that the Globe’s dictionary man is any too well up in the dictionary business, for it is not generally supposed to be strictly correct to allude to Stormouth’s dictionary as ‘Stormouth.’  The gentlemen who compiled the Imperial and “Stormouth’ probably never saw a game of baseball – possibly never heard of the game – and cannot know much more about it than the Globe does.

“ Spalding’s Guide is a very good authority on baseball; but is not generally acknowledged to be an authority on orthography. One inning is an inning; two or more are innings; inning should begin with a capital I when the word begins a sentence, as it did in the case referred to by the Globe; if one inning is an innings, two innings must be meaningless. That is the way the youth of the Spectator puts it.”¹

¹  “Globular Baseball”

Hamilton Spectator     May 22, 1886.

In that same issue of the Spectator, a poem was reprinted, a poem which had appeared in another Hamilton newspaper, the Palladium of Labor, a weekly mainly concerned with labor issues but which also covered the immensely popular, at the time, game of baseball and Hamilton’s home team, the Clippers. It had been written after the Clippers had lost two games in a row (the Clippers had won the pennant the previous year) :

“Oh where, oh where are the Clippers, the Clippers of last year,

 Who, when e’er they they went to play a game no defeat did we fear;

 They were the pride of Hamilton, and well they earned that name.

“With Jerry Moore and Stapleton, Rainey and Andrus, too,

 Crogan and Charley Wilson, whose errors were so few;

 Collins and Billy Hunter, and Chamberlin by the powers –

“So put your shoulder to the wheel; let there be no more such play

 As we have seen these last two games – it’s not your usual way;

 But keep your error score low, your base hits good and high.

 And then at Dundurn next fall, we’ll see the pennant fly.”

-      R. A. Langlois, 45 York street’

The prize poet of the Palladium.^@

                ^{2 “}Poetry, By a Poet”

Hamilton Spectator     May 22, 1886.

1886-08-24 Mikado

The Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera, Mikado or the Town of Tupitu, was publically unveiled in March, 1885. By 1886, it was estimated that  by mid-1886, there were at least 150 companies performing the Mikado all across Europe and North America.

The Mikado first was seen by Hamiltonians in July 1886 at the Grand Opera House. It was so well-received, and tickets were so hard to come by, that the same company was brought back to repeat their staging of the Mikado just a few weeks later. As the Grand Opera House was already booked, the company was booked into the Palace theater.

Following is the Spectator’s review of the Mikado as performed in Hamilton on August 23, 1886 :

“A week’s season of The Mikado was begun last night at the Palace theater, where a really excellent performance of Gilbert & Sullivan’s opera was given.

“Familiarity with the queer people created by Gilbert’s futile fancy, and the appropriate and tuneful music of Sullivan, does not seem to breed contempt in the minds of the public, for the more they see and hear the opera, the more they seem to like it.

“Last night the grotesquerie of Ko Ko and the Mikado, the archness of  the three little maids, the sharp humor developed in Katisha’s character, the funny dignity of Pooh Bah, Mr. Taylor as Nanki-Poo, and the general eccentricity of the chorus provoked as much mirth, pleasure and enthusiasm as they did at the first performance of the opera here. The company is the same one, with only one or two changes in the solo cast, that performed at the Grand Opera house several weeks ago.

“Mr. Herbert as Koo-Koo, Mr. Broderick as Poo Bah, Mr. Taylor as Nanki-Poo and Miss Baker as Katisha are so good that it would be difficult to suggest any improvement in their delineations of these characters. They are genuinely and highly artistic in the utter absurdity of their delineations as well as in their vocalism. Indeed, all the soloists of this company are capable and clever, but those mentioned bear off the honors.

“Mr. Packard’s Mikado is quite as funny, though less unctuous, than that of Mr. Harris. Mr. Herbert was encored in every one of his solos, and was recalled five or six times after his best ones. Miss Baker also came in for a liberal share of the enthusiasm which abounded. The chorus, though not large, is well-trained, both in stage business and singing, and do their work better than when they were heard here before. A very fair orchestra of eight pieces, besides a piano, gives a satisfactory completeness to the performance.

“This company will, as announced, appear at the Palace theater every evening this week and tomorrow and Saturday afternoons. The Mikado will be the attraction at each performance, excepting, perhaps, when a new opera will be given. This new piece is a potpourri  called the Big Tycoon, the characters and music of which are taken from Gilbert & Sullivan’s operas. The combination of old and well-known characters and new situations promises to be both interesting and amusing.

“The audience last night was large, and went away so much pleased that the prospects for a successful engagement for the company are extremely favorable.”¹

¹ “The Mikado Again”

Hamilton Spectator. August 24, 1886

1886-08-20 McPherson Memory

One of the most well-known members of the Hamilton Police force in the 1870s and early 1880s was Detective McPherson.

          McPherson had spent some time in the state of Colorado, when that state was very much a wild west state. After coming to Hamilton and serving as a detective, the popular detective, Mac, maintained close relationships with reporters with both the Hamilton Times and the Hamilton Spectator.

          Mac eventually moved on from Hamilton and perhaps his experience as related in the Spectator of August 20, 1886 contributed to his desire to leave:

 “Ex-Detective McPherson was a good soul and pretty generally liked. I am one of those in Hamilton who hope he will do well in the great west from whence he came. He went out of business about as poor as when he came in, and for all his toil got nothing but a living and some experience of human nature. Mac was always a good friend to the boys, and was ever ready to do them a good turn.

                   ________________________________

“His one weakness was the desire to see himself in print. Before coming to Hamilton he had been in Colorado, where he had a great many wild and terrible adventures with robbers, Indians, bandits and other society people. Mac’s great wish was to have this part of his career written up in book form, after the Pinkerton style. Scarcely a newspaper man in the city but has at one time or another been asked to undertake the work. At one time there was employed on a Hamilton paper a singularly gifted young man, whose cleverness was shut out from being put to practical use through an inordinate passion for drink. This erratic genius happened to meet Mac one day after he had left the police force, and an arrangement was entered into between them by which the journalist was to write the book, Mac to publish it, and the profits to be equally divided.

“ ‘When can you take some notes?’ Mac asked.

“ ‘Right now. Shall we go inside?’

“ They went in. Mac got on the business side of the bar, while the reporter leaned over a produced a pencil and a roll of paper. Mac told his story while the other man made enigmatical marks. Every few minutes operations would be stopped for a drink or a cigar, and the best liquor and the finest cigars Mac had were none too good for the occasion. Before the reporter left he was feeling sublimely indifferent to mundane affairs, and didn’t care whether he pinned his happiness to anything more stable than a feather. Mac pressed a $5 bill in his hand as he was going out to buy paper and pencils, and thence the first lesson ended.

          __________________________________________

“The reporter was on hand the next afternoon. His eyes were bloodshot, his face and his whole body trembled. Mac gave further particulars, and the newspaperman shorthanded them and got gloriously full again. Day after day the same act was repeated until the best part of a week had passed.

“Then Mac said : ‘Say have you got any of this stuff written up?’

“ ‘Yes, I’ve got it about half done.’

“ ‘Well, bring it around to me tomorrow. I want to look at it before it goes into print.’

“The journalist promised to do it and went out. Mac never saw him again, and a few days afterwards he stopped a well-known newspaperman on the street and said : ‘Where’s ---?’

“ ‘Dunno.’

“Can he write shorthand?’

“ ‘No.’

“ ‘Well ---- that man anyhow.’

“And then Mac told how he had been victimized. It raised a hearty laugh whenever it was told, but it was not an experience Mac was fond of dwelling on.”¹

¹      “Casually Mentioned”

Hamilton Spectator     August 20, 1886.