1910 was quite the year, with a lot of comings and goings.
March 12, 2010Have you heard about the Chamber’s birthday? On March 31, 2010 the Chamber will turn 100. No matter how you cut it, 1910 was a big year in Connecticut and throughout the country. The organization that grew into the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut had its humble beginnings that year as the New London Businessmen’s Association. What you may not recall is that 1910 was the year Connecticut’s most well known figure, Samuel Clemens, popularly known as Mark Twain, rode Halley’s Comet out to the great beyond. The comet streaked across the sky the year he was born, and he famously—and accurately—predicted that he would go out the way he came in– with the comet that made its appearance every 75 years.
Not long before that on the very day the New London Businessmen’s Association came into being, The Day newspaper boasted to advertisers that it could guarantee double the circulation of all other New London newspapers put together. If that wasn’t a good deal for business owners, Day subscribers could get their favorite paper delivered in the mail for $5. A year. Add a dollar for home delivery.
Connecticut wasn’t the only happening place. Nationally, the Boy Scouts of America was formed. Father’s Day was first celebrated in Spokane, Washington. The Camp Fire Girls of America was founded and, Fanny Brice joined the Ziegfeld Follies. As we said, it was quite the year. Share with us anything you may know about that year, or general time period.