February 1916

More one hundred year old news from the Conway home front during the Great War. A big event one hundred years ago this month was the showing of the film, The Birth of a Nation at the Bijou Theater, now the Glass Graphics building on Pleasant Street.

The Reporter, February 3, 1916, p. 8

 

 

The movie purported to be "war as it actually is!" with a cast of 3,000 horses and 18,000 people. Only in this case, the war featured in the film was the American Civil War.

 

Another war film from February 1916, The Nation's Peril was presented at the Masonic Theater in North Conway. Their big battle scene only involved 3,000 people but was still said to be sensational and thrilling with explosions, sinking ships, and artillery bombardments of an American town by an invading foreign power. It warned of the dangers of pacifism and inspired a nationwide fund-raising campaign for the Navy to build more battleships.

 

Another type of fund raising appeal also showed up in this month's newspaper focusing on civilians caught in the crossfire. 

The Reporter, February 10, 1916, p. 5
 

 

The Reporter, February 17, 1916, p. 3
 

The big local events were the various celebrations of Washington's Birthday. (Oh yeah and Gray's Inn in Jackson burned for the third time in eight years).



The Reporter, February 24, 1916, p. 1

The Reporter, February 24, 1916, p. 1

Here is a menu from one of the celebrations at the Russell Cottages, now home to a ski club in Kearsarge village. I know what Nabiscos are, but what are Martha Washington fritters?

The Reporter, February 24, 1916, p. 1



A final word on the war. Some of the class system attitudes are similar to what one would expect in episode of Downton Abbey

The Reporter, February 24, 1916, p. 8

 

It's not just a job, it's an adventure.