October 30, 2017
This is “Our
Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.
As the days
seem to be longer and there is less sunlight it seems that the work days are
also longer. It is a challenge to remain
upbeat and positive when we go to work in the dark and come home in the
dark. Well... there was quite a lot of
discussion about something similar in 1897.
Only the discussion was about business hours in general. Apparently for some time, the town’s
businesses had adopted the custom as was the same in big cities – that of
closing at 6:30 PM. However, there was
talk of going back to the old system of prolonged hours of trade. It was argued that it would be a backward
step if the action of a small minority were in control and deprived clerks and
business proprietors of the hours of evening for rest and culture. Businesses could not suffer it was said, if
all businesses locked up at the same time. It was suggested that consumers refuse to buy
even one cents worth of goods after 6:30 PM, if any business should decide to
stay open. Reverend A.H. Harshaw of the
Presbyterian Parsonage said that he knew that “the strain of the long workday
was telling on the constitutions of men and women and if they were to be saved
from ruined health, then the extra two hours a day on the job should not be
allowed.”
Our Museum
is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 1 until 4 in the afternoon. Stop by and see the displays in our galleries
soon. Gallery One is going to have a
display change that will be related to the impact of water on our
community. If you haven’t been in
lately, come and see your Geary County history exhibited with artifacts only
found here. See you at the Museum.
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