The Punitive Expedition: The March 11, 1916 news

The Raid On Columbus: The Wyoming Tribune, March 10, 1916

Cheyenne's newspaper.  Probably an evening edition.

The Raid on Columbus New Mexico: The local March 10 news

The Raid on Columbus New Mexico: The news hit.

Most towns and cities in 1916 were served by a morning and an evening newspaper, or a paper that published a morning and evening edition.  Therefore, most Americans would have started learning of the Villista raid around 5:00 p.m. or so as the evening newspapers were delivered or started being offered for sale.

Here's the evening edition of the Casper Daily Press, a paper that was in circulation in Casper Wyoming in 1916 and which is the predecessor of one of the current papers.

The Raid on Columbus New Mexico, 1916

0730-balance of the day:  Troopers of the U.S. 13th Cavalry pursue retreating Villistas into Mexico.  Major Frank Tompkins, sought permission against the rules of engagement, to cross the border and was granted the same by Slocum.   His troops advanced past Palomas and fifteen miles into Mexico, where their pursuit is arrested by the Villista defense. As he had only a portion of the Camp Furlong garrison he was badly outnumbered in the pursuit but nonetheless engaged the Villista rear guard four times, inflicting heavy casualties on them.  When his advance was finally checked, he withdrew into the United States.

The raid leaves part of Columbus in ruins and will launch the United States into a punitive expedition into Mexico against Villa's forces, and which would nearly lead to war with Mexico.  Woodrow Wilson filled the vacant position of Secretary of War that very day.

The Raid on Columbus New Mexico: The Telegram.

The following telegram arrived in Washington, DC:

Columbus attacked this morning, 4:30 o’clock. Citizens murdered. Repulsed about 6 o’clock. Town partly burned. They have retreated to the west. Unable to say how many were killed. Department of Justice informed that between 400 and 500 Villa troops attacked Columbus, New Mexico about 4:30. Villa probably in charge. Three American soldiers killed and several injured; also killed four civilians and wounded four. Several of the attacking party killed and wounded by our forces. Attacking party also burned depot and principal buildings in Columbus. United States soldiers now pursuing attacking parties across the line into Mexico. No prisoners reported taken alive

The Raid on Columbus New Mexico, 1916

0730  A Villista bugler sounds retreat.  Villistas begin the process of withdrawing to Mexico with their wounded.

The raid on Columbus New Mexico, 1916

 Maj General John P. Lucas during World War Two.  Lucas, as a lieutenant, would react heroically to the Villista attack.

0415-0445 to 0730.  A pitched battle between Villistas against cavalrymen of the 13th U.S. Cavalry ensues. While caught by surprise, the US forces had some inkling that Villistas may have been on the move prior to the raid and reacted very quickly.  Local Columbus New Mexico residents also took part in the battle, defending their homes.  While the battle started in darkness, the fact that a hotel caught fire soon aided US. forces in being able to pick out Villista targets.

The early minutes of the action featured a heroic reaction by Lt. John P. Lucas who fought his way alone from his tent to the guard shack in spite of lacking shoes and shirt.  Lucas who commanded a machinegun troop, organized a single machinegun in defense until the remainder of his unit could come up.  He then organized them and worked to repel the Villistas.  Lucas made a career of the Army and died after World War Two at age 59 while still serving in the Army.

The Raid on Columbus New Mexico, 1916

 Col Herbert J. Slocum, U.S. 13th Cavalry.  Slocum was in command of the 13th Cavalry Regiment at Columbus New Mexico, or more accurately Camp Furlong which was next to Columbus.

0415:  Villistas enter Columbus New Mexico from the west and southeast crying "¡Viva Villa! ¡Viva México!"

They expected to encounter an American garrison of only 30 men, as noted above, based upon their scouting and intelligence.  However, Columbus had a garrison of over 300 men, to Villa's force of approximately 500 men.  The US forces were from the U.S. 13th Cavalry who occupied adjacent Camp Furlong.  Moreover, U.S. troops were equipped in a modern fashion, complete with the Benet Mercie light machine gun which had been adopted for cavalry use.

The Raid On Columbus New Mexico. 1916

 Villa leading his forces prior to his 1915 defeat at Celaya

0100: Forces under Francisco "Pancho" Villa cross the border near Palomas, Chihuahua to advance on the small town of Columbus New Mexico, which they intend to raid in retaliation for Woodrow Wilson's actions in allowing Carranza's forces to be transported by rail across Texas to be used against Villa's forces in northern Mexico.  

Most are on foot.  Columbus is 2.5 miles to the north of the Mexican border town, where Villistas had been located and recuperating after a recent defeat at the hands of Carranza's forces.

Villa, who may or may not have accompanied his troops that day, commanded approximately 500 men.  His force of horsemen was in disarray after being defeated at the  Battle of Celaya in April of the prior year, from which it had still not recovered.  Villa had gone in that battle with 22,000 men, 8,000 of which were killed, and another 8,000 of which were captured in the battle.  His forces at Palomas, while dangerous, were a shadow of his prior Division del Norte.

Villa believed that nearby Columbus was garrisoned with about 30 US soldiers.  This intelligence was erroneous and US forces in the region were alerted to the possibility of trouble occurring.

It was. . . January 1916

Caption:  25. SAR-2, SHOWING TAILRACE REPAIRS AFTER FLOOD OF JANUARY, 1916; ALSO FLUME CONNECTION TO MENTONE SYSTEM. SCE negative no. 3904, July 13, 1916. Photograph by G. Haven Bishop. - Santa Ana River Hydroelectric System, SAR-2 Powerhouse, Redlands, San Bernardino County, CA

A Day in the Life: Christmas 1915

A day in the life: Thanksgiving 1915

People leaving a Thanksgiving Day Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, 1915.

Thanksgiving Day "Maskers", approximately 1915.  I have absolutely no idea what this tradition was.

The Wyoming Tribune: January 1, 1915

ArchivalWare

And some grim news from the Wyoming Tribune.

I had yesterday's up, in 1914, for the Tribune, but seem to have wiped it out somehow.  It had the interesting headline that the Japanese were not going to "invade" Europe, which strikes me as an odd concern for the era.

Gillette News Record: January 1, 1915

ArchivalWare

The paper folks in Gillette were waking up to, in Gillette, a century ago.

Lex Anteinternet: A Day In the Life: Today In Wyoming's History: De...

Yesterday we took a look at December 7, 1941, in this series.  That was, of course, the day the United States was attacked by the Japanese Empire and it remains one of the most significant and well remembered days in recent American history.  We looked at that topic here:

Lex Anteinternet: A Day In the Life: Today In Wyoming's History: De...: Today in this series we take a look at our entry from  Today In Wyoming's History: December 7 : on the topic of the Japanese Attack on ..

But perhaps for many people December 8 was nearly as momentous.  People were making decisions that would impact their lives for ever. What would we have been doing on that momentous Monday?  That's what we look at here.

First of all, for a little background.  My concept of this, in this thread or series of threads, is to look at ourselves in a fashion relatable to where we actually are in life in our modern lives.  It's always fun to imagine that in any one era, we'd be in the thick of things, but for most people, most of the time, on the day of any one big event, that's probably not true.

So, in order to put a little structure to this historical exercise, I'll put some basic facts to it that relate to may life now. So, I'll assume that I'm looking at December 1941 in a manner relatable to December 2014.  If that's the case, I'd be a lawyer, age 51, with two kids and a wife, living in Casper Wyoming.

That would also mean that I would have graduated from high school 33 years ago, which is a bit problematic here as 33 years prior to 1941, there wasn't a high school in in Casper Wyoming.  There would be soon after that, but there wasn't then. There were some public schools, however.  Assuming a basic 33 year prior date, would have put me, in this historical exercise, in the Class of 1908.

Going from there, in 1981, when I graduated from high school, I joined the Army National Guard, and I went to the local community college for three years before going on to the University of Wyoming.  Assuming a kindred path isn't really certain, however, as in 1908 the Homestead Act was still in effect, and would be for some time, and it'd be hard to imagine not availing myself of that.  But then, we do have cattle now, so perhaps I can work that into the mix somehow here.  So I'll assume some connection with cattle in 08.  I'll also assume that I decided to go on to the University of Wyoming in 08, which was an open institution, when Casper College wasn't around (and still wasn't in 1941).  And I'll assume that I graduated after five years, like I did, putting me in the UW class of 1913.  I stayed in the  Guard as an artilleryman for six years, and oddly enough, the Guard at that time was also artillery.  If I went on a similar path that'd put me in the Guard until 1914, but people tended to stay in it then, so I'll extend this imaginary exercise until 1915, which would have put me into the Punitive Expedition and the mobilization for World War One.  My guess is that I would have served as an officer in World War One, mostly because being a college graduate was unusual here at that time. And I would have mustered out with the entire National Guard following the Great War, and probably wouldn't have gone back into it.

 National Guardsman, 1915.

U.S. artillery in the field, Punitive Expedition.

Of course, I've omitted law school here, and if I graduated from UW in 1913, and had a gap of a year as a geologist as I did, that doesn't quite work out.  So, to really make this work out I have to put myself in the UW graduating class of 1912 (not unrealistic) and going on to law school.  At the time I graduated in in 1986 from UW, the oilfield economy had tanked (just like its threatening to do right now), so I went on to law school.  Would I have done that in 12?  The oilfield wasn't tanking in 12, but I can imagine reasons I might have done that.  On the other hand, I might have not gone until after World War One, at which time the oilfield had definitely tanked.

Okay, so in this imaginary exercise I'm making myself dull and typical.  In 1941 I would have been a 51 year old lawyer who owned cattle too, which is exactly what I am now.  I'd have been a veteran of the National Guard, which I also am now, but I would almost certainly have been a combat veteran, which I definitely am not.

Okay, so on Monday, December 8, 1941, after an exciting and scary evening on December 7, what would I have done?

Well, at age 51 I'd be beyond regular service age, but having had prior service in this scenario (08 to 18 or 19), I would probably been able to get back in.  The Army, Navy and Marine Corps did take back in veteran NCOs and officers under certain conditions, either because they had experience or because they had specialized training in their civilian life that was applicable to a big war. And I'm in pretty good shape, so the general advancement of age that otherwise took people in this category out of returned service, I'd probably have been okay. Things like transportation, logistics, and industry were often applicable and those guys could get in even without prior service.  A law degree, on the other hand, would not fit this category,a s lawyers were of such sufficient supply that later in the war lawyers drafted into the Army often ended up as privates.

Anyhow, given that, what I've set out here, and knowing myself, my guess is that on this day I'd have probably planned on calling on the Army recruiter to see if I could get back in.  By all accounts, a lot of other people had the same idea on that day..  In 1990 when the first Gulf War was up and rolling, I did contact my old Guard unit in case they were activated, but they were not.  I didn't take that action after 9/11, but frankly like a lot of guys who have some service time, I've felt sort of guilty about it ever since, even though at the time there didn't seem to be a real service to offer in what looked like it'd probably be a short specialist campaign in Afghanistan.  I think I'd feel like a slacker if I hadn't sought to go in World War Two. Indeed, knowing myself, and given that I have a fair number of Canadian relatives, I might have felt like a slacker by December 1941, given that Canada had been at war since September 1939.

 

Canadian poster seeking the reenlistment of older, prior service, soldiers.

Anyhow, in 1941, the Army recruiter was in the Federal Courthouse, one block from my office, which also hosted the post office at that time.  Federal Courthouses were sort of one size fits all affairs in that day.

 

 Wintry view of the Federal Courthouse, as seen from my office.

I'd have probably have gotten to work about the usual time, around 8:00, and I can actually see the courthouse from one of the office windows.  My guess is, however, that there was probably a line out the front door that morning, so I'd have probably tried again around 11:00 or so to see what that looked like.  I'd care for lines much, and knowing that this was going to last awhile, I'd have just planned on later in the week if I couldn't have gotten in.

 Newsstand, December 8, 1941.

But my guess is also that a person wouldn't have been able to get in to see the recruiter that morning, or maybe all day.  Maybe I'd have gotten in later in the day, or maybe later that week, depending upon how things went.  As for my son, no way I would have let a 17 year old enlist in the service.

Anyhow, because of my current age, chances are high that I'd end up in some administrative role in the U.S. or perhaps one in the service overseas, should I have succeeded in getting in. There's a ton of jobs of this type in the service, and they are necessary, but it isn't the sort of thing a person normally imagines themselves doing, and they don't make movies about it.  In terms of film, the only example of such a portrayal I can think of is the clerk figure in 12 O'clock High, who interestingly enough is supposed to have been a lawyer who is a veteran of World War One.  Occasionally, you'll read of the rare older individual who had a combat role in the age range I'm in, but frankly, World War Two, more than World War One, and certainly more than any war before or since, was a young man's war in terms of officers.  Oddly, enlisted men were older than we sometimes suspect, with the average troop in the 20s or 30s, but that's the case with officer also.  Officers over 50, at least in combat roles, were quite rare.  Even general officers over age 50 were rare in the U.S. Army.

On December 8, however, I'd probably have spent most of the day at the office, or most of it, depending if I could have gotten in to the recruiter or not.  And even if I had been able to, I suspect for that guys in my category, they'd have said come back in a couple of weeks when we have our act more together.  It would have made for a pretty unproductive day at work, followed by a return home that evening that would have been both interesting and uncomfortable.  I don't think the news of a person's intent in these regards would necessarily have been happy news, but it would have also been a tense evening of listening to the war news on the radio, and the news of the town from the family.

It's scary, somewhat, for a person my age to ponder this out.  That's because, as noted, my son is 17. There's no way he would have escaped a titanic war like World War Two.  And he would have been of the age in which really seeing the action would have been darned near inevitable. That's a scary thing to ponder.

And how about you?  How would your day have gone.

A Day In the Life: Today In Wyoming's History: December 7

Today in this series we take a look at our entry from  Today In Wyoming's History: December 7: on the topic of the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1941.  When I posted this last year, I put in Mountain Time as well as Hawaii Time. Here I'll insert how my day likely would have gone had I been my current age, in my current location, on that Sunday, instead of this one.

December 7

Today is, by State Statute, WS 8-4-106, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.  The Statute provides:

(a) In recognition of the members of the armed forces who lost their lives and those who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, territory of Hawaii on December 7, 1941, December 7 of each year is designated as "Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day". The day shall be appropriately observed in the public schools of the state.

(b) The governor, not later  than September 1 of each year, shall issue a proclamation requesting proper observance of "Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day".

(c) This section shall not affect commercial paper, the making or execution of written agreements or judicial proceedings, or authorize public schools,businesses or state and local government offices to close.

Your Recollections:  What about you?

Do you have any personal recollections about December 7, 1941?  Either first hand, or that you recall hearing from family and friends?  And, by that, not just Pearl Harbor stories, but I'd be very interested to learn of any family recollections from those at home, on that day.  Wyoming is three hours ahead of Hawaii, did your family hear it that morning, or later in the day?  Just after church, or while tuning in fora football game?  Any recollection is welcome.

1941  US military installations were attack in Hawaii by the Imperial Japanese Navy bringing the US formally into World War Two.

It was a surprisingly warm day in Central Wyoming that fateful day.  The high was in the upper 40s, and low in the lower 20s.  Not atypical temperatures for December but certainly warmer than it can be.

Events played out like this:

0342 Hawaii Time, 0642 Mountain Standard Time:  The minesweeper USS Condor sighted a periscope and radioed the USS Ward:   "Sighted submerged submarine on westerly course, speed 9 knots.”

I would have been up at that time of the day, probably shepherding the family towards getting them out the door for Mass.

USS Condor

0610 Hawaii Time, 0910 Mountain Standard Time:  Japanese aircraft carriers turn into the wind and launch the first attack wave.

Chances are by this time, I'd be just about to leave Mass, or would have left Mass.  Now we usally swing by a grocery store and buy donuts, then go home, but at that time I'm not sure if there was a grocery store that was open here on Sundays.  I somewhat doubt it, in which case we'd all just head home.

0645-0653:  Hawaii Time, 0945-0953 Mountain Standard Time:  The USS Ward, mostly staffed by Naval Reservists, sights and engages a Japanese mini submarine first reported by the USS Connor, sinking the submarine.The Ward reports the entire action, albeit in code, noting:  "“We have dropped depth charges upon sub operating in defensive sea area" and “We have attacked, fired upon, and dropped depth charges upon submarine operating in defensive sea area.”

We'd probably have just been finishing breakfast and reading the newspaper.

 USS Ward

At this point in time, most Wyomingites would be up and enjoying the  day.  A large percentage would have gone to Church for the Sunday morning and have now started the rest of their Sundays.

0702 Hawaii Time, 1002 Mountain Standard Time:    An operator at the U.S. Army's newly installed Opana Mobile Radar Station, one of six such facilities on Oahu, sights 50 aircraft hits on his radar scope, which is confirmed by his co-operator.  They call Ft. Shafter and report the sighting.

If possible, I'd have headed out the door with my son to go duck and goose hunting.  But if the weekend went exactly like this weekend, in which I branded yesterday, have some work that I probably ought to do today, and where my wife wishes to put up a Christmas tree, maybe not.  We'll see, perhaps.

0715 Hawaii Time, 1015 Mountain Standard Time:  USS Ward's message decoded and reported to Admiral Kimmel, who orders back to "wait for verification."

0720 Hawaii Time, 1020 Mountain Standard Time:  U.S. Army lieutenant at Ft. Shafter reviews radar operator's message and believes the message to apply to a flight of B-17s which are known to be in bound from California.  He orders that the message is not to be worried about.

Hopefully, I'd be checking the creeks and ponds for ducks.

0733 Hawaii Time, 1033 Mountain Standard Time, 1233 Eastern Time:  Gen. George Marshall issues a warning order to Gen. Short that hostilities many be imminent, but due to atmospheric conditions, it has to go by telegraph rather than radio.  It was not routed to go as a priority and would only arrive after the attack was well underway.

0749  Hawaii Time, 1049 Mountain Standard Time:  Japanese Air-attack commander Mitsuo Fuchida looks down on Pearl Harbor and observes that the US carriers are absent.  He orders his telegraph operator to tap out to, to, to: signalling "attack" and then: to ra, to ra, to ra: attack, surprise achieved.  This is interpreted as some as Tora, Tora, Tora, "tiger, tiger, tiger" which it was not.  Those who heard that sometimes interpreted to be indicative of the Japanese phrase; "A tigergoes out 1,000 ri and returns without fail.” 

0755 Hawaii Time, 1055 Mountain Standard Time:  Commander Logan C. Ramsey, at the Command Center on Ford Island, looks out a window to see a low-flying plane he believes to be a reckless and

improperly acting U.S. aircraft.  He then notices “something black fall out of that plane” and realizes instantly an air raid is in progress.  He orders telegraph operators to sendout an uncoded message to every ship and the base that: "AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NOT DRILL"

We'd probably still be out, checking ponds and creeks.

0800 Hawaii time, 11:00 Mountain Standard Time.  B-17s which were to be stationed at Oahu begin to land, right in the midst of the Japanese air raid.

0810  Hawaii Time, 11:10 Mountain Standard Time.  The USS Arizona fatally hit.

 USS Arizona

0817 Hawaii Time:  11:17 Mountain Standard Time.  The USS Helm notices a submarine ensnared in the the antisubmarine net and engages it.  It submerges but this partially floods the submarine, which must be abandoned.

 USS Helm

0839  Hawaii Time.  1139  Mountain Standard Time. The USS Monaghan, attempting to get out of the harbor, spotted another miniature submarine and rammed and depth charged it.

 USS Monaghan

0850 Hawaii Time.  11:50 Mountain Standard Time.  The USS Nevada, with her steam now up, heads for open water.  It wouldn't make it and it was intentionally run aground to avoid it being sunk.

USS Nevada

0854  Hawaii Time.  1150 Mountain Standard Time.  The Japanese second wave hits.

0929 Hawaii Time.  1229 Mountain Standard Time.  NBC interrupts regular programming to announce that Pearl Harbor was being attacked.

If we had a truck with a radio (and of course it'd have been a two wheel drive truck), this is when we first would have learned of anything out hunting. But most pickups didn't have radios, and as my seven year old truck is the most basic one I could find, I doubt a truck I would have owned in 1941 would have had one.  If I'd been driving a rough equivalent, say a 1934 Dodge, probably not.

At home, however, my wife would have had the radio on, she would have learned of the attack and started worrying right then. We have, after all, a 17 year old son.

0930  Hawaii Time.  1230  Mountain Standard Time.  CBS interrupts regular programming to announce that Pearl Harbor was being attacked.

0930 Hawaii Time.  1230 Mountain Standard Time.  The bow of the USS Shaw, a destroyer, is blown off.  The ship would be repaired and used in the war.

 Explosion on the Shaw.

0938 Hawaii Time, 1238 Mountain Standard Time.  CBS erroneously announces that Manila was being attacked.  It wasn't far off, however, as the Philippines would be attacked that day (December 8 given the

International Date Line).

Out hunting, we wouldn't have been back yet. At home, the anxiety would have been increased.

10:00 Hawaii Time, 13:00 Mountain Standard Time

The USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor on this day.

1300 Hawaii Time.  1600 Mountain Standard Time.  Japanese task forces begins to turn towards Japan.

A third wave was by the Japanese debated, but not launched.

Wyoming is three hours ahead of Hawaii (less than I'd have guessed) making the local time here about 10:30 a.m. on that Sunday morning when the attack started..  The national radio networks began to interrupt their programming about 12:30.  On NBC the announcement fell between Sammy Kaye's Sunday Serenade and the University of Chicago Round Table, which was featuring a program on Canada at war.  On NBC the day's episode of Great Plays was interrupted for their announcement. CBS had just begun to broadcast The World Today which actually  headlined with their announcement fairly seamlessly.

We would probably have come home about 3:00 or 4:00, maybe 5:00, and have learned of the days events then.  It'd be a stressful, and dare I say it, exciting night, as the future was pondered.  Including the future of "what will I do tomorrow morning".

And how about you and yours?  How would this day have played out for you? 

A Day In The Life. Pondering A Century Ago

Some time ago I started a series called "A Day In The Life", but I only made two entries. Still, it's something that's interesting to consider in context, and there's all sorts of parameters to it. The approach I took was to take a calendar date exactly a century prior, and wonder what I would have done that day.

That approach, I'll note, isn't quite an accurate one as in order to place it in context, you'd have to take the correct day of the week.  It turns out in order to do that you actually have to go back another year, to 1913, to get the dates to match up.  So, if you look at today's date, November 17, 2014, and want to engage in that exercise, you have to go back to November 19, 1913.

And what if you did?  Would you be in the same line or work, something different?  Most of us probably wouldn't be in the big events we read about , for one reason or another, but its also the case that most of us might have gone down some other path for all sorts of reasons.  Its an interesting thing to contemplate.

And, of course, if you were a certain age, certain huge events, like World War One, for instance, might be hard to avoid.

A Day In The LIfe, Comparison and Constrast. December 9

Yet another look at a fairly typical day here, and comparing it to a century ago.

December 9

0500 Got up, etc.

0730  Drove daughter to school.

0745  Arrived at work and packed up file for trip to accident location.

0800  Started drive to distant rural accident location.

0930  Met witness at road side pull out.

1000 Arrived at accident site and examined it until 1200

1200-1330  Drove back to office.

1300-1700 Worked on case.

1700.  Went home, etc.

Okay, what about the same date in 1913.

0500  Got up, etc.

0800  Go to train station.

1000 Arrive at small town near accident site.  There really is one there.

1000 to 1100 Ride out, probably by wagon, to accident location.

1100 to 1300.  Examine location.

1300 to 1400  Go back to small town and hope there's an afternoon train.

1500  If there was a train, this is when it would arrive.

1500-1700, ride back to town.

Or, wait for train the following day.

A Day In The Life: Comparison and Contrast, Now and Then December 6 2013/1913

Sort of an interesting exercise, to compare daily activities now as compared to some earlier time.   In this case, let's look at December 6, 2013 vs December 6, 1913, just to see how things are different.

 Tucumcari, New Mexico 1913

December 2

0500  Got up to the sound of my son going out to plug in the 1/2 ton truck. Temperature -20F.

Turned heat up a bit as it was cold in the house.

0505  Made coffee with coffee maker, poured a bowl of cereal for breakfast (Cheerios) and read the Casper Star Tribune.

0530  Shaved

0545  Ironed a shirt.

0600  Turned on computer, checked email, etc.

0710  Fired up pickup.

0730  Took daughter to school and drove to work.

0800  Arrived at work, fired up work computer, checked work emails and started int.

0900  Participate in telephone conference call hosted in Houston.

1000  Resumed working on pleadings.

1210 Took a break for lunch.

1300  Resumed working on pleadings, different case.

1530  Remembered the office was doing the firm tree with accompanying small party when secretary and paralegal reminded me.

1600  Finished up pleadings and joined party late.

1730  Came home.

1800  Ate dinner with family.

1900  Watched movie (The Memphis Belle) on television.

Okay, so what would have happened in 1913, under similar circumstances?

Well, probably something like this:

0500 Get up.  Probably the only one up.

0505  Do something furnace wise, not quite sure what.  It'd be really cold inside the house, however.

0510. Put some wood in the kitchen stove and light it.

0520  Put a coffee pot on the kitchen stove and start boiling coffee.  Probably put a pan of water on the stove also to start boiling water for oatmeal.

0530  Coffee probably done.  Oatmeal probably not quite.

0535  Oatmeal probably done, take off stove to cool event.

0540-0600.  Eat breakfast and drink coffee, while reading the morning Casper paper.

0600 Shave.  This would involve a straight razor and whipping soap chips into lather. Something folks don't do much now.

0615 Get dressed.  Hopefully I'd have a starched shirt ready to go as otherwise I'd to iron one, which would be quite a process as irons were heated on a stove at that time.

0700  Walk to work.

0730  Arrive at work and to the typical work for a law office of the period.

1200-1300  Take a break for lunch.

1300-1800  Typical law office work for the day.

1800  Walk home.

1830  Get home and warm up.

1900  Eat dinner

1930  Help do the dishes, no automatic dishwasher in those days.

2000 Read evening paper.  Most towns had a morning and evening paper in those days.

2030  Read a book

Quite a bit different in a lot of ways.