Postcard from the archives of Grandma Fanny M. Longenecker

Postcard from the archives of Grandma Fanny M. Longenecker

History buffs and Downton Abbey devotΓ©es know that 1912 is the year of the sinking of the Titanic.

What Else Happened in 1912?

On the world sceneΒ  Β 

Woodrow Wilson elected President

Japan sends 3020 cherry trees to the United States

First neon sign appears in Paris advertising a barber shop

 

American Inventions

Lysol disinfectant manufactured

General Electric invents and distributes plastics

Electric blanket invented

Foods

Whitman’s Sampler creates one of America’s best selling chocolates

whitmanchocolates

Toy surprises are put into Cracker Jack boxes

Lane Company begins manufacturing cedar chests

On the market in 1912: Sun Maid Raisins, Hellman’s Real Mayonnaise

 

Songs

β€œWhen Irish Eyes are Smiling”

β€œMy Melancholy Baby”

 

Toys

First Kewpie doll

First Lionel racing cars

A Page from Longenecker History

Vagabond poet Vachel Lindsay encountered the farm of John G. Longenecker, an ancestor who bucked Pennsylvania tradition geographically and moved to Kansas. Here isΒ the poet’s impression of his experience with the Longeneckers, lifted from the pages ofΒ Pitchforks and Pitchpipes by Esther Longenecker Heistand:

vachellindsaylongeneckerpage


What do you remember from 1912? (If you send an answer, I’m going to go hide!)

What is your most memorable moment in 2016?