Pennypacker Express

The Pennypacker Express ___________________________________ __ ______________________________________ May—June 2020 MMXX ___________________________ ____________________________ NOTICE— As Montgomery County continues to help reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus, all Montgomery County parks and historic sites are closed to the public until further notice. This edition of the Pennypacker Express will not contain information on any events. When we know when we will be open and be able to have events again, we will send out a notice as well as post information on our website. In the meantime, please enjoy these articles, check out our Facebook posts, and our on-line collection, available at—https://pennypackermills.pastperfectonline.com/ Did you know that the celebra- John Wanamaker and food giant H. J. Heinz. By tion of Mother’s Day began in 1908, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that many in Philadelphia? Anna Jarvis the city were observing Mother’s Day. Interestingly, (1862-1948) is credited with Jarvis never married or became a mother. That did making this special day for mothers. Jarvis was a not deter her from her mission to honor mothers. Philadelphian who was determined to recognize her She and George Bailey, chairman of the World’s own mother with a national observance. She was not Sunday School Association, created a church led the first woman to propose this holiday and certainly celebration of Mother’s Day and in 1910, the Associ- not the first woman to engage Philadelphia society in ation endorsed the holiday. Sunday school attend- celebrating it. In 1870, Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910) ance increased as many mothers approved of the founded the Women’s Journal, a Boston publication themed lessons on appreciation and respect for par- that featured a Mother’s Day Proclamation. Howe ents. The popularity of Mother’s Day grew quickly wanted to use Mother’s Day as a call to women to and in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed promote peace in their homes in the aftermath of the the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. Civil War. The holiday was originally celebrated on June 2nd between the years 1873 and 1913. Soon Mother’s Day was widely celebrated and par- ticipation increased each year. Many businesses Jarvis’ goal in celebrating a special day for mothers began to advertise special Mother’s Day sales. In was to honor and commemorate her “unselfish 1913, Wanamaker’s Department store became one Christian mother,” whose whole focus was on her of the first businesses to host a Mother’s Day cele- children. Jarvis’ Mother’s Day differed from Howe’s bration that included music and flowers for custom- idea as she advocated that individuals “honor the ers. mother of their own heart” and pay no mind to women’s work beyond motherhood. Jarvis organized a Today, we can still honor our Mothers and celebrate wealthy group of supporters to sit on a Mother’s Day their contributions to our lives. What will you do? Committee. They included department store owner Page 2 With the recent coronavirus, it allowed a toilet to be flushed seems everyone has been hoard- more efficiently. Giblin worked for In 1857, New Yorker Joseph C. ing toilet paper and now seems Thomas Crapper who had a suc- Gayetty produced the first pack- like a good time for us to explore cessful plumbing business. It is aged bathroom tissue in the U.S. the origins of this much needed most likely that Thomas bought The product was called, “The product. the patent from Giblin, and then Therapeutic Paper.” It contained marketed the toilet successfully. a large amount of aloe, a curative Where it all Began addition. The product was sold in China was where the first toilet In 1828, the original meaning of packs of 500 sheets for fifty paper was produced back in 1391 toilet, or toilette, is of French cents, and Mr. Gayetty had his AD. The Bureau of Imperial Sup- origin meaning the “act of wash- name printed on each sheet! plies began producing 720,000 ing, dressing, and preparing one- sheets of toilet paper a year with self.” As the years went by, the In 1890, the Scott Paper Compa- each sheet measuring two feet by word evolved into actually being ny of Philadelphia became the three feet! It was for use by the the room in which one arranges first company to manufacture tis- Emperors only. their toilet. In modern days, toilet sue on a roll, specifically for the refers to the plumbing fixture that use of toilet paper. Consumer re- Wealthy Romans used wool, one might use in a “bathroom,” sistance toward the rosewater and sponges soaked in with the word “bathroom” now “unmentionable” product resulted salt water at the end of a stick. meaning the facility one goes to in Mr. Scott coming up with the Wealthy French used lace, wool for the purpose of using the toilet idea of customizing rolls for every and hemp. In the Middle Ages, or lavatory. merchant and customer they had. hay balls and a scraper stick were Under this private label arrange- kept in a container in the privy. There were many names for the ment, Scott purchased large Early Americans used rags, “jumbo” rolls of paper from vari- newsprint, paper from catalogs, ous paper mills and converted corncobs, and leaves. Eskimos them into packages of small rolls used snow and Tundra moss. Ha- and stacked sheets. waiians used coconut shells, A bidet was used in France. Defe- Toilet Paper Rolls for Everyone cating in the river was very com- Founded in 1879 by brothers E. mon. Today, cleaning with the left Irvin and Clarence Scott in Phila- hand and water is common in In- delphia, the Scott Paper Compa- dia. ny specialized in producing toilet Above: Bathroom at Pennypacker paper. At first they purchased pa- Mills. Sir John Harrington, a British no- per and tissue from outside sup- bleman and godson to Queen pliers and cut, rolled and pack- Elizabeth I, invented the first bathroom. Often people used an aged the paper. They converted flushing toilet. His device used a outhouse on their property. It large rolls of tissue into small rolls vale that when pulled would re- was also called the House of and stacked sheets and marketed lease the water from the water Honor, the House Morning, the the product through drug and va- closet. Sir John suggested flush- necessarium, the necessary riety stores under their private ing at least twice a day. Rumor house, the privy, the john, the label. had it that this is where the name loo, the W.C. (for water closet), “john” originated. In 1819, the si- room 100, the lavatory, the closet Then, in 1896, Irvin’s son, Arthur, lent valve was patented by Albert of ease, and other names, not to joined the company at the age of Giblin in England. This device be mentioned! 21. He convinced his father and Page 3 uncle to phase Scott advertisements were sug- out their private gesting that “over 65% of middle label business aged men and women suffered and concentrate from some sort of rectal disease.” on their own Inferior toilet paper was the brand names. cause. It was printed in Scott ad- The company vertisements that “harsh toilet tis- purchased the private label name sue may cause serious injury.” “Waldorf” from a Philadelphian The advertisement stated, “Scott “paper jobber” named Albert De Tissue, Sani-tissue and Waldorf Above: Paper towel rack . Cernea in 1902 and began pro- are famous bathroom tissues Below: Wording on paper towel ducing this as their first brand specifically processed to satisfy rack: “Use like a Blotter.” Source: name. the three requirements doctors Pennypacker Mills. say toilet tissue must have to be As sales grew, it became evident safe: absorbency-softness- that production changes were chemical purity.” Each sheet was necessary to guarantee con- made of “thirsty fibers.” Scott tis- sistency. In 1910, Scott bought sue was made from the finest in- an abandoned soap factory in gredients and “they are neither Chester, five miles south of Phila- acid nor alkaline in reaction. Each cloth towel. So, she cut up paper delphia for $85,000 and began sheet is fully sterilized in manu- into squares and used them as making their own parent rolls of facture,” it read. individual towels. Around this tissue, 72” wide at 150-200 feet time, Scott was experimenting per minute, instead of buying Modern Day Toilet Paper with a new type of crepe tissue. It from others. Rolls were sold with The size of toilet paper can vary was so thick that it couldn’t be cut either 650 or 1,000 perforated from one manufacturer to anoth- and rolled into toilet paper, so, sheets. The cost was $.10 for a er. The standard size is 4.5” x Arthur Scott ordered it to be made roll of 1000 sheets. In 1915, Scott 4.5.” Recently, manufacturers into rolls of towels and perforated installed an advanced, high- have developed “cheater sheets,” into individual 12x18” sheets. This speed Fourdrinier papermaking which run as small as 4” x 3.8.” were called “Sani-Towels.” Ad- machine. It made paper 148” This means about 15% less pa- vertisements boasted, “For use wide at 500 feet per minute. By per used. once by one user.” Success was 1921, their brand, “Waldorf” rep- helped by states that outlawed resented 64% of Scott’s total You might wonder how many the use of cloth-roll towels be- case sales and by 1925, Scott days does the standard roll of toi- cause of spreading disease.

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