May 9-16, 1916
The second week of May, 1916 found the four Shippen Spinsters safely ensconced in Rumson, New Jersey getting their cottage known as “The Anchorage” ready for the summer season. With their mother, Georgina Shippen’s recent death, the sisters, along with their married siblings, Anna Davis, Kate Roosevelt and brother, William Shippen, were left guardians of this shingle-style home, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. As noted in Kate’s diary, “They took their domestics with them for the season.” After doing some research, I found out that these young maids had names.
The Shippen Family on the grounds of their home the “Anchorage”
Bella was the kitchen maid and Mary took care of the parlor. I was sure there were other servants but their names did not survive them. They were simply referred to as “domestics,” employed to keep the Shippen domicile ship-shape and ready to welcome the constant stream of visitors and vacationers who came to enjoy the ocean breezes and quiet lifestyle of a seaside town in the early nineteen hundreds. Edwardians loved their leisure time and prepared for it meticulously with the help of maids and man-servants and the wealthy Shippens were no exception.
Summer Cottages along the Jersey Shore
With her sisters busy as little bees swarming around the hive, Kate Roosevelt was free to visit her small farm, Merdlemouth in Hightstown, New Jersey and take advantage of springtime in the city.
“I to matinee of Galsworthy’s play, Justice. A strong appeal for prison reform exceedingly well-given. Best thing that Jack Barrymore has ever done.” Her warm words caught me off guard. Was this the same Kate Roosevelt, amateur theater critic speaking? By now I was used to her curt and cutting assessment of most everything she saw on Broadway. But not this time and I was wondering if the Jack Barrymore she was praising was one and the same actor, John Barrymore, known for his commanding stage presence and comedic talent. Was she calling him by his nickname, Jack, because of the strong family connections the Roosevelts had with the entire Barrymore Family? His niece, Ethel Barrymore, was a friend of cousin, Alice Roosevelt’s since the two were teenagers, often causing Alice’s father, President Theodore Roosevelt to throw his hands up and say, “I can run the country or tend to Alice, but I cannot do both!”
Ethel Barrymore
The Barrymore’s were to acting what the Roosevelts were to politics. Both families had taken on the role of American Royalty and now John Barrymore was being crowned the king of the theater for his performance in John Galsworthy’s thought-provoking play. Set in England, a New York Times’ review said, “Seeing a man imprisoned for a petty crime influenced a new look at the British penal system and greatly influenced public policy.” Apparently English law-makers were as impressed as Kate Roosevelt was with both the storyline and Barrymore’s dramatic take on the role.
Critics concurred that the actor had reached his pinnacle playing the role of the wrongly-incarcerated young law clerk, found guilty of simply forging a check to help a woman in need.
Theater critic, Clayton Hamilton said, “Barrymore grasped the opportunity to prove himself.” Driven by his desire to make good, Barrymore shaved his moustache, the symbol of a decades-old emblem of being a “Broadway Blade” and stopped drinking. His beverage of choice became a “Near Beer” called Bevo. Brewed by the Anheuser-Busch Company in St. Louis it was a big seller when it was introduced in 1916 as an alternative to liquor during Prohibition. At its peak in the 1920s, more than five million cases of Bevo were sold annually.
In addition to Bevo, I was wondering if Coca-Cola was also served in the lounge at the Candler Theater, where the play was staged. According to Christopher Grey’s New York Times’ column, Streetscapes, “The theatre, located on West 42 Street was built by the Coca-Cola King of Atlanta, Georgia.”
Asa Griggs Candler
Asa Griggs Candler, an Atlanta-based druggist developed the cream-colored, terra cotta-clad building in 1911, using money made from his Coca-Cola patent.
Coca-Cola Headquarters, Atlanta, Georgia
Candler began his soft drink empire while working at Jacobs’ Drug Store in Atlanta, Georgia in the 1870s. Eventually he had his own drugstore and was selling concoctions that included, “Everlasting Cologne” and “Botanic Blood Balm.” He also became the exclusive distributor of another exotic-sounding product. It was a dark-colored syrup sold in small bottles to soda fountains around the country. Added to seltzer water, it was known as a popular soft drink called Coca-Cola. Thirty years after purchasing the formula from John Pemburton in 1888, Candler was selling 280 million glasses and bottles of the beverage a month.
Candler Theater, West 42nd Street
With money to spend, Candler, like other out-of-town developers purchased land in New York City, with and eye toward experimenting with skyscrapers. In 1911 he announced plans to build a tall, narrow tower that would eventually house the Candler Theater.
Advertisement for Bevo, Trenton, New Jersey
Designed by Thomas W. Lamb, a noted theater and cinema architect, the Candler Theater was housed inside a five story office building. Its main entrance on West 42ndStreet included a long and narrow lobby where Kate Roosevelt and other theater-goers might have stopped for an ice-cold Coca-Cola or even toasted the star, John Barrymore with a frothy Bevo in the Spring of 1916.
Sharon Hazard’s Dowager’s Diary appears on Thursday.
Photo One:
John Barrymore with sister Ethel and brother Lionel, 1904
Library of Congress
Photo Two:
The Shippen Family on the grounds of their home the “Anchorage”
Author Collection
Photo Three:
Summer Cottages along the Jersey Shore
Author’s collection
Photo Four:
Ethel Barrymore
wiki
Photo Five:
Asa Griggs Candler
Library of Congress
Photo Six:
Coca-Cola Headquarters, Atlanta, Georgia
wiki
Photo Seven:
Candler Theater, West 42nd Street
Museum City of New York
Photo Eight:
Advertisement for Bevo, Trenton, New Jersey
Library of Congress
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