It’s that time of year, when students “commence” higher studies or the business of life. It’s the season for graduation ceremonies, when young men and women—as well as their parents—attend closing exercises of the school year, exchange cards of congratulations and bestow graduation gifts.
It was the same way in Isabella’s day. Being an educated woman, and having been a teacher herself, Isabella knew that graduation was a significant milestone in a young life. The characters she wrote about in her novels worked hard for their education, and they had good reason to celebrate their achievements.
From The El Paso Herald, April 27, 1912.
Just as we do today, it was the fashion in the late 1800s and early 1900s to give graduates a gift of some kind to mark the occasion.
Girl graduations, from The Kansas City Star, May 8, 1904.
Acceptable gifts came in many forms. Boys and young men received neckties, gloves, fountain pens, and pocket watches.
From the Daily Arkansas Gazette, May 16, 1914
Young women received watches, too; but instead of pocket watches, bracelet watches were in style, like the ones mentioned in this 1914 ad:
From the Daily Arkansas Gazette, May 16, 1914
Stores carried a variety of gifts for the graduate, from handkerchiefs and gloves, to hosiery and stationery.
From The Independent Record, May 24, 1914.
Stores also offered plenty of gift ideas that featured the latest in 1912 technology. The ad below mentions Kodak cameras and field glasses (binoculars) as desirable gifts for men and boys.
From the Chicago Tribune, Wednesday, June 5, 1912.
An ad in a 1916 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine suggested the gift of a table lamp, with a floral painted glass shade:
Advertisement in Good Housekeeping magazine, 1916.
Lamps like that could be expenses; they cost anywhere from $15 to $50 each. For more budget-conscious gift-giving, books were always an appropriate option.
From The Courier Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), June 21, 1911.
And if your taste didn’t run toward novels, Bibles and prayer books were an excellent choice, especially if the gift giver added a loving, hand-written message of congratulations on the fly leaf or title page.
From The Lexington Leader, May 24, 19906
What is the best graduation gift you ever received or gave?
In addition to novels and short stories, Isabella Alden wrote Sunday-school lessons and programs for worship.
In 1895 she wrote a special program for Easter that was carefully crafted so it could be performed by young children, as well as older age groups.
Her Easter program included poems to read aloud, beloved old hymns to sing, and portions of Scripture to be memorized and recited.
Most importantly, the program clearly and simply related the message of Easter: that Christ rose from the dead, bringing eternal life to those who believe in him.
In 1889 Isabella wrote this charming recollection from her childhood of a very special New Year’s Day:
I close my eyes and go back in fancy to that morning long, long ago. New Year’s morning when I was eight years old.
Cold! Oh, how cold it was! Great icicles hanging from the eaves, frost covering the window-panes, snow festooning the trees and hiding the ground, and the whole air a-tingle with the music of sleigh bells. How beautiful it all was.
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Those frosted window panes, by the way, were a source of never-ending temptation to me. I wouldn’t like to have to try to recall the number of times my fingers had to be “snapped” for forgetting that I was on no account to indulge in my favorite amusement of making “thimble chains.” I don’t quite understand what the fascination was, or is, but to this day I find it almost impossible to pass a frosted window pane, with a thimble anywhere in sight, and not stop to make just a few of those magic chains in which my childhood delighted.
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What a pity it seemed that the contact of my chubby fingers with the clear glass should soil it, and that my mother, whose artistic taste was not so highly cultivated as mine, would not permit the amusement.
On this particular New Year’s morning the frost was unusually thick, and my sister Mary’s thimble stood on the window-seat. It was father’s warning voice that saved me, just as I was about to make a marvelous chain, which should connect two lovely frost castles.
“Take care,” he said. “Think what a pity it would be if a certain stocking which I saw hanging in the chimney corner should have to hang there all day just because a little girl forgot.”
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I set the thimble down with an exclamation of dismay. What if I had forgotten again? Mother had decreed that the stocking, which I longed to examine, should remain untouched until after breakfast, because at Christmas time I had been so “crazy” over my presents as to be unable to eat any breakfast. For a small moment I had forgotten the stocking, though it had been on my mind all the morning, and but for father the mischief would have been done.
I went over to him to express my joy in his having saved me, and to ask him privately whether he really believed that breakfast would ever be ready and eaten and prayers be over, so I could have my stocking.
He laughed, and asked me if I supposed I would ever learn patience. “I suppose,” he said gravely, “that time will travel fast enough for you one of these days. I can remember when a week used to seem longer to me than a whole year does now.”
I exclaimed over that. I said I thought a year was a very long time indeed; that I was really almost discouraged with time, it went so slowly. I said it seemed to me that I had been waiting half a lifetime for this day to come.
He laughed again, said I was at the impatient age; then, looking serious, he repeated these lines:
“Eighteen hundred and forty-eight is now forever past: Eighteen hundred and forty-nine will fly away as fast.”
“Oh, dear me!” I said. “If it doesn’t fly faster than this has, I don’t know what I shall do. It does seem too long to wait for Christmases and New Year’s; I wish we could have two of them in a year.”
Instead of laughing at my folly, father evidently decided to give me something else to think about. He was sitting near the door of the kitchen, where my mother was at work. The kitchen walls were painted. “Mother,” he said, “may we write on the walls, since we mustn’t on the windows?”
“I should not think that would be a very great improvement on window-writing,” my mother said, but she smiled as she spoke. It was evident that it made a great difference with my mother whose plan was to be carried out; she never interfered with anything that my father chose to do. He selected from the box nearby a lovely pine board as smooth as a slate, and handed it to me.
“You may use that, and I’ll use the wall,” he said, “and we’ll see which can write our verse the quickest.”
I had been writing for two years, and prided myself on the speed and neatness of my work, but long before I had finished the lines they appeared on the wall.
“Eighteen hundred and forty-eight is now forever past: Eighteen hundred and forty-nine will fly away as fast.”
“Yes,” said my mother, pausing in her swift movements to glance at the couplet, “that it will. It has begun already; the first morning is flying too fast for me. Come to breakfast.”
I am a long while in reaching that waiting stocking, but that is to correspond with the length of time I had to wait. It seemed longer to me then than it does to look back upon it. At last the treasure was in my arms. What do you think it contained? A lovely dollie about as long as my hand, beautifully dressed, not like a fashionable lady ready for a party, but like a dear little home baby, in a long white slip frilled at the neck, precisely as my own baby slips used to be—indeed I learned afterwards that it was made from a piece of one of them. I cannot possibly make you understand, I presume, how precious that little creature was to me.
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I suppose you are imagining a wax doll with “real” hair, and lovely blue eyes and rosy cheeks? No, she was not made of anything so cold and hard as wax. She was a rag baby—limbs and face and all—made by my mother’s own dear hand, cut from a pattern which she herself had fashioned. What a work it must have been! I never realized it until a few years ago, when I tried to cut a pattern for a dollie for my little son.
This work was beautifully done. Black eyes, my baby had, and black hair, both made carefully with pen and ink! Red checks, she had, too, and lovely rosy lips. Will you love her the less, I wonder, when I confess to you that these were made with beet juice?
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Oh, but she was a darling! Much the most carefully made dollie I had ever owned. Heretofore I had been content with mother’s little shawl, or her long clean apron rolled up and pinned; now I had a dollie for which clothes had been made not only, but arms and feet; and actually her dress was not sewed on her, but unbuttoned and came off, and a neat little night-gown went on.
Never was I happier in my life than when I made this last crowning discovery.
I named her—you could not guess what, so I’ll tell you at once—Arathusa Angeline, and I thought the name was lovely.
“Take good care of her,” said my father, looking on with a smile of infinite sympathy, “there’s no telling what may happen to her, you know, before ‘eighteen hundred and forty-nine’ has flown away.”
Isabella Alden knew all about the Christmas shopping season. She had a large extended family, and she either bought or made gifts for each family member.
Her niece, author Grace Livingston Hill, recalled what it was like when the Aldens, Livingstons, and Macdonalds got together:
Our Christmases were happy, thrilling times. There were many presents, nearly all of them quite inexpensive, most of them home-made, occupying spare time for weeks beforehand; occasionally a luxury, but more often a necessity; not any of the expensive nothings that spell Christmas for most people today.
Isabella—being a clever and creative person—made many of the gifts she gave.
Sometimes she got gift-making ideas from magazines. She subscribed to The Ladies’ Home Journal and Harper’s Bazar, both of which regularly printed directions for making items to use or give as gifts. Sometimes she passed those ideas and directions on to her own readers.
For example, an 1898 issue of The Ladies’ Home Journal published instructions for making this pretty wall pocket:
Isabella liked the idea so much, she wrote simplified instructions that children could follow and printed them in an issue of The Pansy magazine. She told her readers how to make the wall pocket from pine board, calico, buttons, and felt, and hinted it would make a lovely gift “for mamma.” She wrote:
I get the idea and most of the details from Harper’s Bazar. The article from which they are taken says the contrivance is for an invalid, but let me assure you that mamma will like it very much, or, for the matter of that, papa also.
At Christmas she encouraged boys and girls to make gifts not only for family members and friends, but for strangers, too. She wrote this to readers of The Pansy magazine:
How many Pansies are planning the Christmas gifts they will make? In all the merry bustle and happy, loving thoughts, don’t forget to throw a bit of kindly cheer into those poor little lives darkened by distress and want.
If every member of The Pansy Society would make some little gift as a loving reminder to one who otherwise would have none, how many children, think you, would be made happy?
Remember, you do it “For Jesus’ sake.”
There were instructions for making this simple knitting bag, made of fabric, ribbon, and embroidery hoops:
And this case, made from pieces of cardboard and colored ribbons, to hold photos, greeting cards, or pictures cut from magazines.
She wrote:
What a delightful present that will be when you get it done! I can imagine an ingenious girl and boy putting their heads together, and making many variations which would be a comfort to the fortunate owner.
Isabella always knew how to give those gentle reminders that children (and adults!) sometimes need about the true spirit of Christmas.
What is your favorite way to share the message of Christmas with people in need?
Have you ever made a Christmas gift for someone? How was it received?
Today we think of Halloween as a children’s holiday, but in Isabella’s lifetime, celebrations of All Hallow’s Eve focused primarily on teens and adults.
Hay rides, parties, and church socials gave single men and women a chance to mix and mingle and, perhaps, meet the special someone they would eventually marry.
Under the watchful eye of trusted chaperones guests played traditional games that centered around romance and love, fate and fortune.
That was exactly the kind of party Sarah Thompson wanted to attend in By Way of theWilderness.
As a young school teacher Sarah dedicated her life to educating the children in her small town. Although she very much wanted to attend the Halloween party, she found herself forgotten by her neighbors:
They grew to admiring Sarah, being proud of her, boasting of her among themselves, and letting her alone. The first time they seemed actually to forget to invite her to a Halloween frolic, she cried a little. She had not been to any of the neighborhood gatherings for months, she had been so busy; but to be forgotten!
Why was the party so important to Sarah? Perhaps it was because she had fallen in love with Wayne Pierson, the story’s protagonist. The games that were played at Halloween parties in 1900 (when the book was published) might have helped her figure out if Wayne felt the same way about her.
One of the games that might have been played was a variation of bobbing for apples, where the names of the party-goers were scratched into apples before they were placed in separate tubs of water (boys’ names in one tub; girls’ in the other). The apple each guest caught—without using their hands, of course—would name his or her true love.
Sometimes they hung an apple from the ceiling or door frame, and balanced it with a lighted candle. The first person to catch the apple in their mouth (without getting singed by the flame!) would be the first to marry.
In another traditional game a young woman who wanted to know her future husband’s name had to be handy with a knife.
If she could peel an apple or orange in a single, long, winding strip and toss it over her shoulder, the peel would land on the floor in the form of the initial of the man she was to marry.
Players also used walnuts to guess the names of their spouse to be. After writing the names of the guests on walnuts, each person took turns throwing two walnuts into the fire. The walnut shell that cracked first from the heat signified the name of the person they’d marry.
When it came time to serve refreshments, party guests gathered to slice the Halloween cake, which was baked with charms in it. A guest who got a slice of cake with a coin in it could expect a life of wealth; a key meant travel; and a doll meant children. Of course, a ring found in a slice of cake always meant marriage.
Another game was “Bowls of Fate,” where three bowls were filled with colored water: red for good fortune, blue for a trip across the water, and clear for an upcoming honor. Blindfolded guests took turns dipping a hand in one of the bowls (which were rearranged after each person) to learn what their future held.
In other games, mirrors and candles served as props. One variation was for women with strong wills; they walked down the cellar steps backward, with a mouthful of salt, a candle in one hand, and a mirror in the other. If she performed the ritual correctly, the young woman should see the image of her future husband over her shoulder in the glass.
In a variation, at the stroke of midnight a young woman or man had to go to their bedroom with a candle and mirror. If they held both objects correctly and at the right angle, they would see the face of the person they’d marry.
With so many traditional games to play on Halloween, it was no wonder Sarah Thompson was disappointed to realize she would not be attending any Halloween parties.
If you’d like to know if Wayne Pierson ever returned Sarah’s love, you can read By Way of the Wilderness by clicking here. No candles or mirrors required!
Have you ever bobbed for apples or played a variation of any of these Halloween games?
When she was growing up, Isabella was very close to her father. She was twenty-nine years old when he passed away; and throughout her life she remained mindful of the many ways her father set an example for her to live by.
Wise Isabella once wrote this about fathers:
Children like to imitate father. If we are God’s children, let us imitate our Heavenly Father.
On this coming Sunday we wish a happy and blessed Fathers’ Day to dads everywhere!
In a February 1883 issue of The Pansy magazine, Isabella turned an average question—What shall we do with Christmas cards we receive?—into a lesson for children in being thoughtful of others.
What Shall We Do with Our Christmas Cards?
All those bright pretty affairs that came flying in from the postman’s fingers at Christmas time to make us so happy—why can’t we make them give happiness to someone else the whole year? Someone sick and suffering, with little to brighten and amuse? Why, they would be very messengers of sweet charity to such.
Here is work for you, dear little Pansies who belong to the “P. S. Society.” Make a scrap book of all those cards which you think it right to give away, saying your whisper motto, For Jesus’ Sake, as you tuck in the dainty bit of color, and the pretty verses, then send it all on loving wing to the Children’s Ward of the hospital of your city.
Think of the eyes that will rest on it when the pain makes the tears come; think of the little ones who must lie on their beds, weary day after weary day, when you are running, and skating, and sleigh-riding!
And best of all, think how the children will love the book, just because some other child made it for them.
How many members of the “P. S.” will do this? Who will be first, I wonder?
If you want to make a very pretty book, cut leaves of white, and pink, and light blue cambric or sateen; tie them together at back with ribbon or braid, putting strings of same on front.
An 1869 home-made cloth scrapbook (from Worthpoint.com).
Paste all dark pictures on the white cloth; all delicately tinted ones on the colored cloth. The effect will be very lovely—I know the “Children’s Ward” will think so.
A cloth scrapbook from the 1860s (from RubyLane.com).
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![Illustration of a pocket watch case. Above the winding stem is "14K." AS GRADUATION TIME APPROACHES - very naturally you will begin to look around for the BEST gift store. Now, the selling of Graduation Gifts is, and has long been made a specialty of by this Pfeifer Store. We have endeavored to find out what will most please a graduate, and from our personal observations we believe that many have a preferance [sic] for Watches. The following special values, therefore, will certainly be of interest at this time. FOR THE GIRL. Bracelet Watch, 7-jewel nickel movement; guaranteed. 14K solid gold, richly hand-engraved watch, Elgin movement. 14K solid gold, plain case watch, set with sparkling diamond; Elgin movement. FOR THE BOY. Elgin Watch, 15-jewel, 20-year guaranteed gold filled case. 14K solid gold watch, fitted with 15-jewel nick Elgin movement. Howard Watch, 17-jewel movement in 25-year guaranteed Elgin Howard case. ALBERT PFEIFER & BRO JEWELERS](https://isabellaalden.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/watch-daily-arkansas-gazette_sat_16-may-1914.jpg)
![Drawing of head and shoulders of four young women. WATCHES FOR THE GRADUATES. The very popular watch gift is here in a great variety of models, and at a big prince [sic] range. The gift of a "Stifft" Watch insures years of continued, satisfactory use by the recipient, and is a lasting remembrance of the all-important event - graduation. [List:] Pretty Sterling Silver Bracelet Watches; good timekeepers. Sterling Silver Braclet Watches; blue enamel inlaid. Gold Filled Bracelet Watches; guaranteed movement. Solid Gold Bracelet Watches; fine guaranteed movement. WATCHES FOR BOYS. Elgin 7-Jewel Thing Model, 20-year gold filled case. Elgin 15-Jewel Thin Model, 20-year gold filled case. "Gruen Verithin" Watches, 25-year gold filled case.](https://isabellaalden.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/watch-daily-arkansas-gazette_sat_16-may-1914_girls.jpg)
![Newspaper clipping: PANSY'S EASTER SERVICE. Superintendents and Teachers should send for a copy of the April "Pansy," now ready. It contains a beautiful Easter Service carefully arranged and prepared for Christian Endeavor societies, Epworth Leagues, King's Daughters, Mission Bands, and Sunday-schools, by Mrs. G. A. [sic] Alden, known to all Sunday-school workers under the familiar name "Pansy." An extra edition of the April "Pansy" has been issued to meet the demand created by this special Easter Service. Copies will be sent, post-paid, on receipt of 10 cents, or in quantities at seventy-five cents per dozen.](https://isabellaalden.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/from-herald-and-presbyter-1895-03-13-pg-359.jpg)
Isabella Alden 