The Drawer Thief of Mill Street

 

Yesterday a clever trick was played on one of our leading dry goods merchants by which the proprietor became the loser of a valuable pair of unmentionables at the hands of a sharp man about town.

He entered the store in question and fitted himself with one of the best pair in the establishment. Just as he had discovered a pair to suit his taste and corporate requirements it was found that his money was not current.

Immediately he asked the store keeper’s permission to step out on the street to get it changed. Since as far as the proprietor of the store is aware he has yet to show up with the money or the unmentionables. 1867 October 11– Almonte Gazette

 

 

 

In the mid 1800’s mass production of underwear began and people started to buy their drawers instead of making them at home. Men’s unmentionables usually consisted of shirt and drawers. Wearing of two shirts common as the undershirt keeps the other shirt clean and free from body odour. Made of stout muslin, flannel, and flannel and knit fabrics sewn together. The knit types resemble long underwear of today without the elastic, but includes button closures.

Flannel drawers resembled modern pajama bottoms in shape, but with buttons at the waistband, a tie adjustment in the back and occasionally ties or drawstrings at the bottom of the legs. Three button, Y-front drawers also existed. White and off-white– The Unionsuit also became popular in the mid 1800’s – 1868 actually — and had the drop seat in the back.

 

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read.

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in Hometown News

 

 

“Sex in the Pan” Memories – A RIP Fashion Violation Photo Essay

Tales of the Queen’s Underwear and all those “Accidents”

 

The Queen’s drawers were for sale on Ebay and they could be yours for an opening bid of $3,000. The famous late Miami playboy “Baron” Joseph de Bicske Dobronyi, now known for possession of the royal panties, was once famous for allowing scenes from the 1972 Deep Throat to be shot in his Miami mansion.

Sepy, as he was known to his close pals died last June and his estate is now auctioning off the drawers after they were left on a private plane when the Queen dropped in on Chile in 1968. On May 22,2012 they sold for US $18,101.00 with a shipping price of $59.95.

When I was folding my laundry today, I thought about my grandmother, and her complete insanity on the subject of clean underwear. Mary had a daily ritual of asking me about the condition of my underwear in the same breath as the daily weather report.

I would look at her calmly, and just roll my eyes.

“What if you get into an accident?” she would always ask, like world peace depended upon it.

Now, let’s discuss this logically.

Let’s say you do get into an accident, God forbid. Does Nurse Jackie refuse you at Emergency for having skid marks ? Do the gynecologists have a long coffee break to discuss the variety of underpants they have seen all day long?  Do they prefer granny panties or thongs?

Who invented those embroidered Monday to Sunday panties? Did you actually wear the one marked Monday on a Monday? Or did you wear the Monday on a Wednesday and did it really have some deep meaning that we did not know about?  If you did get into that accident and were lying on a hospital table, would someone tell you quietly that you were wearing the wrong day of the week?

 

At age 6 I got hit by a car while waving to my mother crossing the street, and I can still see the fins on the back of the car today. I woke up on the living room couch with Grampy Crit handing me a Illustrated Classics comic book called  ‘The Story of Jesus.’  My grandfather asked my mother if I was okay.

My mother said,

“I think so, but I am so worried she didn’t have clean underwear on. We don’t want the town to talk you know.”

Death by Corset? Bring Out Your Dead and Other Notions!

Ever hear of death by corset? According to one tall local tale a pretty twenty-two year-old was sitting in church when she was suddenly taken ill and carried out of the church to the minister’s house. Unfortunately, before her friends got to her she was already dead. Her cause of death?—her corset was too tightly laced.

In a time when dentures were made from the teeth of the recently deceased, there was talk that there was great physical benefits of wearing a corset: Two women have mentioned in stories I have read that that wearing a corset has helped improve their asthma. The upper lungs and bronchi may not be fully open or utilized with very poor posture, and correcting posture using a corset may help to open up the chest, relax the windpipe and allow easier breathing. *asthmatics please consult with your doctor before trying a corset, as not everyone has the same experience

Death by burns for women were caused by a combination of open hearth cooking and the use of highly flammable fabrics in their clothes.Wearing corsets (even under your clothing, so no one is the wiser) was said to help you climb the corporate ladder, earn respect of yourself and your peers, help you understand how to make better economic purchases and help you appreciate the finer things in life – even if relatively nothing else in your life has changed. Were women really climbing the corporate ladder in those days? More like a library ladder.

If they heard a clap of thunder following a burial it indicated that the soul of the departed had reached heaven– or other noises might have been caused by a too tight corset. For those questionable noises try minimizing gas productions when wearing a corset. If social situations allow for it, and you feel that you’re going to burp or pass wind, just go for it. Your body has this function for a reason, and trust me, you’ll physically feel better for it.

McCarthy Sisters-Leeds County

Margaret Larocque- Lanark

Our Haunted Heritage Event Page- but tickets soon! October 15th

St James Cemtery Ghost Walk Event Page- October 28th

Stairway to Heaven in a Cemetery? Our Haunted Heritage

Old Wives Tales of Death — Our Haunted Heritage

Funerals With Dignity in Carleton Place – Just a Surrey with a Fringe on Top —- Our Haunted Heritage

Do You Have Your Middle Weight Underwear On?

It was a cold Spring in Lanark County which is situated “snugly” in Eastern Ontario. Although the sun is shining during the day, the nights are still screaming middle-weight underwear. In the local Carleton Place newspaper of 1914 an ad from Tabers asked everyone if they considered jumping down a whole flight of stairs when they came down for breakfast in the morning.

The dry goods store asked everyone to hold that thought when they changed their underwear from Winter to Spring. They advised the public if they changed from heavy-weight underwear to light-weight too soon the common cold might be caught quickly. “Take the safety that lies in moderation and buy medium-weight underwear for the Spring days that are still cold in the morning and the evenings”, the popular store advised the general public.

In other news, 16-year-old Otta Seinger smoked cigarettes so continuously to keep warm that he literally smoked himself to death according to Dr. John Perney from the New Britain Hospital in Connecticut. The boy was the only child and support of a widowed mother who brought him to the hospital for nicotine poisoning. Just before his death he admitted to the doctor that he smoked 50 cigarettes a day for the past 8 months. Perhaps the poor lad should have bought some medium-weight underwear from Tabers.

Do You Have Your Middle Weight Underwear On? – Zoomer

 

Do You Have Your Middle Weight Underwear On? – Zoomer.

Why Men Keep their Underwear Forever. – Zoomer

 

Why Men Keep their Underwear Forever. – Zoomer.