Exeter started 1924 with a massive snowstorm. Even for one hundred years ago, this storm was notable – so much so that photographers like Arthur Tytus had their photos printed on postcards. At least three feet of snow fell in many areas. Within a week, the temperature had risen to 57 degrees, melting most of the deeper drifts.
The Exeter and Hampton Electric Company continued its decade-long promotion of all things electric by announcing the “Eat More Toast” campaign in early January. Co-sponsored by the Wheat Council of the United States, coupons were offered toward purchase of an electric toaster. Once the toast campaign was successfully over, the public was reminded about “Selecting and Caring for Electric Light Bulbs.” Average bulbs, be they clear or frosted, lasted forty-one days and one night. Try not to screw them into the socket too tightly and wash them occasionally. The shift to electricity must have seemed to be lightning fast in the early decades of the 20th century. Only a few years earlier, kerosene lamps and gas lighting were standard in town.
President Calvin Coolidge was still something of a mystery to most Americans. He’d become president in August of 1923 upon the death of Warren Harding. A quiet New Englander, it made the news when he uncharacteristically attended an evening event in Washington, D.C. The Exeter News-Letter noted that he usually was in bed by 9:00. Former president Woodrow Wilson died on February 3rd. Warren Harding’s wife, Florence, died in November.
Immigration and naturalization were big issues in 1924. Congress approved allowing naturalization to veterans who’d served in World War I. Most of the requirements for naturalization would be waived – this included declaration of intention, proof of 5-year residency, $4.00 filing fee and the 90-day waiting period after filing. These were the few requirements that immigrants faced to become citizens. The Johnson-Reed Immigration Act of 1924 was passed in April. The act required quotas based on nationality as well as literacy tests. It also extended the Chinese exclusion act to include anyone from the Asiatic Barred Zone (essentially any potential immigrants from Asia, with the exception of Japan and the Philippines).
The Christian Fraternity of Phillips Exeter Academy hosted international speaker, Princess Santa Elizabeth Borghese, who spoke about the rise of fascism in Italy. If one wasn’t interested in attending a political talk, there was always a free presentation entitled, “Scientific Poultry Feeding and Management” sponsored by the local poultry raisers.
The IOKA theater ran a steady program of movies. Exeter residents seemed to love cowboy movies and romance the best. Tom Mixx was the popular cowboy in the 1920s. Live shows were presented several times each year. The most popular form of entertainment was still minstrel shows. Locally produced minstrel show had big audiences twice in 1924. The Improved Order of Red Men (a fraternal organization) staged one such program in early February. Along with the racially stereotyped comedy and other ethnic humor, there was a short play embedded within the program called, “The Coontown Thirteen Club.” Later in the year, the Country Club held a minstrel show at the IOKA to raise funds. Both shows featured the same cast of Exeter performers. In December, a program of Black performers, Peerle’s Colored Jubilee Concert Company, presented a more authentic program of Black music featuring an all-Black cast. It was still, unfortunately, promoted as “Songs and spiritual costumes of early slave days.”
There was an unfortunate double murder during the 4th of July weekend. J. Parker McDuffy, suffering from a mental health issue, shot and killed Exeter police officer Colson and a neighbor, Arthur Bennett. In December, McDuffy was committed to the State Hospital in Concord. Most of the time, the town was quiet. Police work was confined to dog regulations (“owners of unlicensed dogs are hereby notified that after August 4th all such dogs will be killed and their owners prosecuted.”) and parking problems. Without any designated parking areas, the town was having trouble adapting to the influx of automobiles. Drivers were reminded not to block cross streets and businesses. An angry letter from C.W. Mifflin complained that there are only three posts with rings suitable for hitching (his horse) on Water Street.” He tried to find a spot on Center Street, but it was blocked by someone working on their car.
Two-year old Yvonne Lacombe became the first Exeter fatality caused by the mysterious ‘sleeping sickness’ that struck the nation in the 1920s. Otherwise known as encephalitis lethargica, the illness spread across the world, infecting about one million people with mortality of 50%.
The election in November was unsurprising. Exeter, long a Republican stronghold, was glad to see President Coolidge re-elected. The New Hampshire house, senate, executive council, and governorship were also swept in a Republican wave.
Most of the year, the weather was cooperative and seasonal. The Squamscott River was declared ice-free (at least the center channel) on March 27th. The year ended much as it began, though, with a massive storm. This time, it wasn’t so much snow as ice that paralyzed the town. Telegraph, telephone and electricity were down most of the weekend following Thanksgiving.
Exeter News-Letter editor, John Templeton, wrote in December, “The passing year has brought to us much more of good than of ill, and the year to come promises improved conditions, here and
Barbara Rimkunas is curator of the Exeter Historical Society. Support the Exeter Historical Society by becoming a member! Join online at: www.exeterhistory.org
Image: Photo taken on Water Street in 1924 following the January 5th – 6th snowstorm that dumped three feet of snow on Exeter.