Trivia clue: This former New York governor and former U.S. president bagged a buck while vacationing at Upper Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks.
Correct response: Who is Grover Cleveland?
“Ex-President Cleveland shot a deer Wednesday near the Saranac Inn, where he and Mrs. Cleveland are enjoying an outing,” The Morning Star of Glens Falls reported on September 19th, 1890.
Cleveland had been attempting to evade reporters.
“Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland are enjoying an outing at Saranac Lake,” The Morning Star reported on September 1st, 1890. “The newspaper correspondents had a lively time trying to locate them. They tracked them to Boston, and there obtained a clue of their whereabouts.”
In other anecdotes of the lighter side of politics collected from northern New York historic newspapers:
It is wise for a politician to check with the scheduler before announcing plans to the press.
“The President [Benjamin Harrison] has postponed his shooting trip. After the announcement of the plans yesterday, attention was called to the fact that the British delegates to the Iron and Steel Convention was to call on him Saturday,” The Morning Star reported on October 24th, 1890.
On July 14th, 1890, The Morning Star reported that former U.S. Sec. of Interior Carl Shurz was a guest at The Sagamore hotel in Bolton Landing.
Politicians in the Capital District were playing hard ball.
“A game of baseball is to be played on the West Troy grounds Thursday July 10th between nines made up from the alderman boards of Albany and Troy. The proceeds will go to the fresh air fund,” The Morning Star reported on June 27th, 1890.
On August 14th, 1890, The Morning Star reported that H.F. Kennedy, chief guide of the U.S. Capitol, would present a stereopticon show of the Capitol and other public buildings in Washington that evening at the parlors of the Fort William Henry Hotel at Lake George.
Editorial wit:
“There will be one advantage if Mr. DePew should be elected president in 1892. His message would be classic English and excerpts from them could adorn school books of the period for the exhortation of American school children. Since the days of Lincoln we have not had a president whose speeches would make good school book oratory.” – The Morning Star, March 14th, 1890.
“Binding twine is one of the items seriously discussed in the tariff bill. But all of it that will ever be imported will fail to bind together the varying opinions of Americans on the tariff question. They would make too big a bundle.” – The Morning Star, October 6th, 1890
“The McKinley law doubles the duty on corsets. If, however, they expect this will stay the tide of corset wearers or loosen the strings that bind women to her corset, reformers are indulging in vain hope.” – The Morning Star, Oct. 30th, 1890
Photo: A New York Times pressman checking a newspaper for defects in 1942.
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