At the end of the Victorian Age in Orange, Texas, a big family Christmas present for a working man would be a lot in West Orange.
The property on the west side of Adams Bayou had been divided into lots and the Lutcher and Moore Lumber Co. was developing the town. A special Christmas edition of the Orange Leader and Weekly Tribune, printed on December 22, 1899, had a lot of advertising, fiction holiday stories, black and white pen illustrations that look creepy 118 years later, plus advice on how to give gifts and cook for the big day.
The old newspapers are online, courtesy of Lamar State College-Orange, through the Portal to Texas History by the University of North Texas. The December 22, 1899, is one of only two papers the website has in the 1890s.
The Lutcher and Moore Lumber Co, with H.J. Lutcher as president and W.H. Stark and secretary-treasurer, was a major adverstiser. The company had a large ad for the lumber company on the front page, plus two half-page ads for West Orange inside the 20-page paper.
Other front page advertises were the D.R. Wingate Lumber Company, Orange Lumber Company, and the Bancroft Lumber Company.
Lutcher and Moore was developing the West Orange land to give lumberyard workers places to live. “For Prices, Terms, etc, apply to Lutcher and Moore Lumber Co.” was at the bottom of the advertisement.
The developers in the ad said “the fact that the extensive saw and planing mills in Orange give employment to fathers and sons of five hundred families, there is no other such desirable place to live.” The sons in the ad would have been accurate at the time because the country had no child labor laws and boys worked for the lumber companies.
The land in West Orange was prepared for the development. A new bridge had been built (across the bayou). “A portion of the property for garden purposes” was available near the center of town. A telephone line had been installed to connect the development to “the cities of Texas and the rest of the States.”
A schoolhouse with an “efficient teacher in charge” was providing education. And church and Sunday school classes were held, assuring that “the citizens and children are happy.”
Plus, West Orange was “out of reach of high corporation taxes.”
Maybe a family was day dreaming of a lot and cottage in West Orange, and maybe a woman (they were the ones cooking in those days) would be dreaming of cooking a fancy holiday meal. A suggested menu from those days would put Martha Stewart to shame.
The special newspaper edition had as a dinner divided into categories. Under “Potage” was listed cream of spinach, hors d’oeuvres, sardines, tunny (bluefin tuna), herrings, cherkins, pickles and walnuts.
Under “Entree” was mutton cutlets, breaded with cheese; potato croquettes; roast goose, applesauce; lettuce a la creme; fried sweet potatoes, and lemon punch.
Then under “Game” is listed wild duck a la Portugais, green peas a la Francais, and salad.
The “Sweets” category had brandied fruit, ice cream, Roquefort chesses, coffee, and biscuits (cookies).
Many people at the time did not have electricity and still used candles for illumination. Cordova wax candles were advertised “for cottage or mansion” and were made in all colors and “the most delicate tints.” The candles were manufactured by Standard Oil Co. (owned by John D. Rockefeller).
Electricity in Orange came from the Orange Ice, Light and Water Works company. The company later evolved into Gulf States Utilities and then Entergy. The company in 1899 touted electricity as being almost the cost of using gas lamps, plus it was cleaner.
A number of grocery and general stores advertised special ingredients for holiday cooking, including fruitcake. McLean & Curry reported “Louisiana new cane syrup just arrived.” The store had seeded and seedless raisins, cleaned currants, citron, pecans, almonds, walnuts, all kinds of spices, shredded and whole “coconuts.”
In addition, the store had “mincemeat, chow chow, sweet pickles, dill pickles, sour pickles, olives, etc.” for the Christmas dinner. The jarred vegetables would have been for the cut-glass relish trays set on the tables of the trendy middle class (plus the mansions lining Green Avenue).
If someone wanted to get pre-made goodies for Christmas, they would have gone by W.W. Bland Bakery and Confectionery. The store had a “big cake” on display in the window. If anyone bought 50 cents worth of baked goods, they would get a chance to win the “big cake” in a drawing.
The city’s two drug stores, Sholars, and Hewson’s, had an assortment of gifts including toiletries, “fancy stationery,” and perfumes. Hewson’s also sold the “celebrated Sherwin-Williams paint in all colors for all purposes.”
Dentists today will advertise to improve your smile or whiten your teeth. Back in 1899, dentists wanted customers to know they had “painless tooth extraction.” The dentists included Dr. R. W. Vardeman who was using “nitrous oxide gas.” Dr. D.R. Seastrunk and Dr. C.H. Leigh were other dentists in town. Greenwald was a local dealer in hides. Trapping was a legal and viable way to earn a living in Orange in those days. Greenwald would buy the hides, along with wool. He was particularly looking for rabbit and hare skins at the time.
Writer Mary Jane Cooke, who wrote one of a number of Christmas stories that the newspaper likely bought through news services, summed up a Christmas attitude. “There are three great features of Christmas, the tree, dinner, and bills. The tree is for children, the dinner for the oldest members of the family and the children, and the bills are for “pa” alone.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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