In 1905 - what was the fine for urinating in public?

Civil Court Case, circa 1900

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History holds many forgotten laws.

 Over the years laws change, but some get left on the books, forgotten. When writing a historical novel, it is important to track down what is what. You need to know the law.

For example, in 2015 the town of Tabor, Alberta consolidated a group of old bylaws and added some new ones. The law now declares you can't spit, swear or scream in public. The fee for the first offense would cost $150 and a second offense could set you back $250. For spitting in public you'd pay a $75 fine.

In 1905 my grandfather Ross was the Magistrate in a small town in Nova Scotia. Like many places, the town had rules about public fighting, assembly, spitting and urination. (However prices for the offenses have gone way up.) My mother, who had heard the following story of a public urination incident from her father, repeated it often in her repertoire of family stories.

This is a photo of the actual hotel and this is the story. 

Like many small towns, the local hotel had a bar. One evening a gentlemen I will call Mr. Smith was enjoying beverages at said bar. Beer affected him the same it does most of us, and later in the evening he went outside. Deciding the outhouse was too far away, he picked a shaded spot beside the building's wall and relieved himself.  

Unfortunately for him, the two spinster sisters in town were returning home from a prayer meeting. They witnessed his indiscretion and reported him. In due course, Mr. Smith came before the Court and pleaded guilty. My grandfather had searched his law books and town by-laws and fined Mr. Smith a nickle for public urination. Mr. Smith marched over to the Clerk of the Court and slapped down a quarter. Turning on his heel he stomped toward the back of the court.

The Clerk called after him.. "Mr. Smith, don't you want your change?"

With one hand on the swinging door, Mr. Smith turned to glare at the court and bellowed his response. "Keep it. I farted too." 

Squires in the Age of Chivalry by Rosemary Morris

 

To learn more about Rosemary's books please click on the cover above.

My novel, Grace, Lady of Cassio, The Lovages of Cassio, Book Two, sequel to Yvonne, Lady of Cassio, begins in the reign of Edward III. It will be published in October 2021.

At heart I am a historian. My novels are rich in historical detail which requires intensive research, some of which I am sharing in this blog.

At fourteen a page* became a squire and trained to fight with a lance and sword, to be adept at horsemanship, hunting and hawking. and master the complicated rules that governed heraldry and jousts. A squire accompanied his lord to war, armed him before a joust or battle and led his horse into battle. In earlier medieval eras he held the reins while war was fought on foot. It was a dangerous occupation in which and many squires were injured or killed.

Squires also studied the seven ‘liberal arts’ Grammar. Logic, Rhetoric, Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy and Music so they would be well educated as well as accomplished warriors.

At meals retainers brought fowl and meat to the squires to be carved. Even the king’s sons were required to perform this service as part of their education to become knights. In addition, he served his master to his master on bended knee and in the king’s household tasted food to make sure it was not poisoned.

A squire of the bedchamber fetched whatever his lord required and was available to convey messages. In the afternoon and evening he served in the private apartment and entertained people by talking, singing or strumming a musical instrument. He played chess or backgammon indoors. Outdoors he took a minor part in various pastimes, for example such flying hawks and hunting.

When he completed his education, he became eligible to become a knight.

 Knights and a squire at the Malbork Castle, a historical re-enactment

 

www.rosemarymorris.co.uk

 

http://bookswelove.net/authors/morris-rosemary

 

What Happened to David Lang? by Katherine Pym

 

Buy Here

 September 23, 1880 on a farm near Gallatin, Tennessee, USA

 David Lang had just returned from Nashville that morning. He had brought his two children, George & Sarah a toy of a wooden wagon pulled by wooden horses. He and his wife talked to the children, then David set off across a pasture, scorched brown from a hot summer and no rain. No trees or bushes marked the place. His family watched him enter the field and hike across it. 

 

David's old homestead

 At that moment, Judge August Peck and David’s brother-in-law were riding in a rig to the farmhouse. The judge was about to hail David when the man vanished. He had stood in the open field, a plain of short grass with no rocks or fences.

 If, as they thought in the medieval days, he stood on the edge of the earth, he had somehow fallen off.

 “Mrs. Lang and the 2 men went to the spot where David had disappeared, thinking he might have fallen into a crack in the earth but they found no such crack. Mrs. Lang became hysterical and was led, screaming, into the house. The town’s alarm bell knelled, which brought the neighbors to the open field. Soon scores of people were searching the area and nearby land, but to no avail.

 A surveyor and geologist who later examined the field found limestone bedrock just a few feet underground. There was no fracture in the bedrock.

 For a month the search went on. Curiosity seekers came to gawk. All the Lang servants except the cook quit in fear.

 A year later, the grass where Lang had disappeared had grown high and thick in a circle 20’ in diameter. Not one of the farm animals would graze there, and it seemed free of insects. It was as though an ominous presence hovered over that piece of ground.” 

 

Empty field where David stood

 In August 1881, the two children approached the green circle of high grass. “The daughter called out, ‘Father, are you anywhere around?’ There was no answer but she repeated the question 4 times. They were about to walk away when they heard a faint cry for help, a cry that came out of nowhere. Quickly the children ran and got their mother who returned with them to the spot and called as they had done. Her husband answered. For several days, the family returned, and each day when they called, the answering voice became fainter, until finally there was no response at all.”

So, what had happened to David Lang?

Since the UFO sighting in the 1940’s, one would think he’d been snatched by alien beings, but that doesn’t answer the question of his voice drifting to them over a year later. He could have slipped into another dimension like an episode of Twilight Zone back in the 1950’s or early 60’s where a little girl fell out of bed. Her father had to get her through a strange dimensional entry in the wall. Or, as a time slip author/reader would say, he could have found a time portal and slipped into another time.

Whatever happened to him, David Lang never returned to his time, his dimension, or his farm.

 ~*~*~*~*~

Many thanks to:

The People’s Almanac by David Wallechinsky & Irving Wallace, Doubleday & Co., Inc., Garden City, NY, 1975.

 

 

 

 

Using Your Intuition by Diane Bator

 

  

Using Your Intuition

I'm one of those people who sometimes seems to know things before they happen. Not always. I don't profess to be psychic or a medium or anything of that sort. But there are times where "coincidences" have popped up and left me a bit rattled. Since I'm still working from home for the foreseeable future (no pun intended there!), I have delved a little deeper into honing some skills and trying to see if it's all a series of coincidences or if I really am tuned into something larger than my creative brain.

Don't get me wrong. I'm as skeptical as the next person but I don't believe things just happen.

I find it interesting that I will write a book then later meet people with the same name as a character or two. Or (and we've all done this) that I will think of a friend and they will text or call out of the blue.

Or if I have a song in my head when I get out of bed in the morning, it will be the first one I hear on the radio that day - like those pesky Christmas carols that get stuck in our heads all day. Those little things.

In my quest to hone my intuitive skills, I've done some fun little exercises. One of them was taking twenty identical recipe cards and writing a single word on each. Ten positive words and ten negative words. Then you fold them and stick them in a bag or a container then draw them out one at a time and see if you know whether they are positive or negative. In my case, I used red ink for negative and purple ink for positive so I could also go with the colors.

I did really well the first few days. I averaged about 13/20 every time. I had a really good session (16/20) and a couple of really bad ones (9/20). I can't say I'm exactly confident about my abilities with this but it has been kind of fun.

The one place I have trusted my intuition is with my writing skills. Part of honing that skill was done by meeting in a writing group and using prompts to free-write for 15-20 minutes at a time. One thing I discovered about my mindset is that I can clear everything else from my mind and just let my mind flow with the prompt. I don't tend to use my imagination, I just let the ideas gush out of my head and onto my paper.

One thing I miss about doing those exercises is that the hive mind (most of the group at times) seemed to either pick the same prompt or had similar elements in their written pieces. It fascinated me how we could all be on the same wavelength while simply sitting in the same room.

Since I've been unable to meet with my usual group, I've had to keep my mind going with other ideas:

• Writing a completely new story for NaNoWriMo helped to keep my ideas from going stale.
• Switching between two different series or even going from writing to needlepoint to give my mind a break.
• Playing mind games, such as the Negative/Positive idea, to create a new challenge.
• Rewarding myself for writing a certain number of words.
• Journaling about the "coincidences" in the day.
• Sometimes even playing with Oracle or tarot cards to see what pops up.
• Playing word games like Best Sellers or flipping pages in books to find the 7th sentence on page 77 or some other random number.

One thing I have found with writing is if you stop trying to force it, the words come more smoothly. The Japanese call it mushin or "no mind." Don't think. Just do.

At the top of my post, you will see The Bakery Lady, which is my only book set at Christmas so far. Oh boy! I have some work to do in the future! Book in my Wild Blue Mystery Series,  The Bakery Lady introduces Leo Blue to Christina Davidson who knocks the confirmed bachelor for a loop!

From the moment Leo Blue meets the tattoo artist 's sister Christina, he's drawn into a web of bread dough and lies. Christina Davidson has returned to Packham with a duffle bag full of secrets. Leo soon discovers her biggest secret is Christina's alter ego and her husband who stands accused of murdering an up-and-coming artist. He promises to help set things straight and plans to bring husband and wife together for Christmas—even if it costs him his sanity and the love of his life.

You can buy this and my other novels by clicking here!  I have also added Helga's 12 Days of Christmas that runs throughout the book below...

Have a Happy Holiday Season!!

Diane Bator

Helga’s Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, someone gave to me a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the second day of Christmas, someone gave to me two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the third day of Christmas, someone gave to me three French horns, two Christmas wreaths, and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas, someone gave to me four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas, someone gave to me five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas, someone gave to me six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas, someone gave to me seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas, someone gave to me eight Christmas stockings, seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths, and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas, someone gave to me nine shiny baubles, eight Christmas stockings, seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths,and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas, someone gave to me ten glowing candles, nine shiny baubles, eight Christmas stockings, seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, someone gave to me eleven silver bells, ten glowing candles, nine shiny baubles, eight Christmas stockings, seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, someone gave to me twelfth assorted angels, eleven silver bells, ten glowing candles, nine shiny baubles, eight Christmas stockings, seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

Merry Christmas! 

Christmas Memories

 

I’ve often said, there are so many memories from my past. Heck, when you get to be my age, there are tons of them. Besides all the ones from my childhood, there are ones from my early marriage, ones with my children and grandchildren, and now I’ll begin some with my great grandchildren. So which ones to write about? It’s a hard decision, but I’ll start from my childhood.

I remember growing up and my mother baking Christmas cookies beginning the day after Thanksgiving. Oh the delicious aromas coming from the kitchen. Of course we got to help. Later in December, she baked poppy seed and nut rolls and eventually the little bread balls, we called balbaki, we used for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner.

On December 5^th, we put our stockings out to celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas on December 6^th. In the morning the stockings were filled with apples, oranges, and small toys or combs and hair barrettes, sometimes a harmonica or jacks.  We usually put our tree up around that time also. Maybe that’s why Christmas is my favorite holiday. My parents, especially my mom made it special. It wasn’t just a day, Christmas was a season, beginning the day after Thanksgiving.

My older brothers and sister were great about looking for gifts when my parents weren’t home. They often found them, also. I remember one year, we had a sleeper couch with storage for blankets and pillows underneath. Well, wouldn’t you know it, my brothers and sister decided to open it when my parents were out for an evening. Lo and behold, they found a magnetic football game. We played for an hour or so, then my brothers packed it back in the box and put it back in the couch just the way they found it. I don’t know if my parents suspected or knew they found it.

Hubby and I got married November 24, 1962. We rented a two bedroom double with access to the attic. I stored some Christmas stuff up stairs, but I often used the steps for packages after I went Christmas shopping.  It was easier than going all the way up.

Just before Christmas, hubby lost his wedding ring. We were both upset, and I thought about buying him another one, but I really couldn’t afford it. He’d have to go ringless until I could replace it.

One day, I pulled my packages out to begin wrapping. Lo and behold in one of them, I found hubby’s wedding ring. I guess some kids never grow up and snoop even as adults. I almost wrapped it up for him, but I couldn’t hold a secret that long. Besides, I wanted to pick on him about snooping, so I gave it to him that night.

I had a great time when he asked where I found it. I still tease him about it from time to time.