Christmas in Hamilton - 1895
“For
the second time in a few weeks the city was almost entirely in darkness, owing
to an accident at the electric light works.”
Hamilton Times. December 24, 1895.
The accident at Hamilton gas works involved
no personal injury to any worker, but the injury to one of the big shafts at
the plant was severe. The collapse of the system occurred on Monday, December
23 and officials immediately ordered a new shaft and tried to effect an interim
solution until its arrival.
Unfortunately their best efforts did result
in a return to electric power in Hamilton on the day before Christmas:
““Christmas eve was perhaps the worst time of
the whole year to have the city in darkness. The illumination of the store
windows made the business streets light enough, but it also made the gloom of
the back streets the more dense.”1
1 “The City in Darkness : Accident at
the Electric Light Works at a Bad Time.”
Hamilton Spectator. December 24, 1895.
To add to the Christmas Eve scene in
Hamilton, there was not only general darkness, but also a very rainy
atmospheric condition:
““The dampness of the atmosphere on Tuesday
night made Christmas eve anything but a pleasant time for shopping or indeed,
anything else that entailed a person being out of doors. The inky blackness of
all but the principal streets as a result of the failure of the electric light,
made pedestrians exercise great caution to avoid mud puddles and, in some
cases, to find their way around the city.
“The number of drunks on King and James
streets was unusually large. The wet weather appeared to put an effectual
damper on the fighting blood of most people, however, and the result was that
the drunks were all good-natured, confining their attacks, even on each other,
to hand shaking and oft-repeated ‘Wish ye (hic) a (hic) merry (hic) Christmas,
ol’ man.’
“The merchants generally, report a heavy
trade all day Tuesday and well on into the night. This was particularly the
case with the jewelers, dry goods merchants, gents’ furnishers, and
confectioners. Even the furriers and boot and shoe men had a heavy day’s
business. With the latter, however, a snowy Christmas eve would have made a big
difference in sales.”2
2 “Christmas Eve : Business Brisk With
Nearly All Stores Despite the Weather.”
Hamilton Spectator. December 24, 1895.
Earlier in the day, volunteers with the
various national benevolent societies were hard at work:
““The national benevolent societies of the
city are well to the fore as usual at this season with gifts of good things to
the poor and from present indications there should not be a family table in all
Hamilton tomorrow that will not be laden with the food that makes a Christmas
dinner such a welcome event everywhere.”3
3 “Christmas : Even the Poorest Need Not
Go Hungry Tomorrow.”
Hamilton Spectator. December 24, 1895.
A description of the scene at just one of the
society Christmas Distribution centers was provided in the Times:
“St. George’s society has secured a vacant
store at the corner of King and Park streets as its headquarters today. In the
big building are 2,5000 pounds of beef, 900 pounds of sugar, 300 pounds of tea,
currants and raisins, 600 loaves of bread and 1,5000 pounds of flour. There are
325 families on the society’s list, and they represent a total of 2,000
persons., who will receive the articles necessary to a well-stocked larder.”3
On Christmas day, the rainy weather had not
ceased. The Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway had been under construction
throughout 1895. The line had to be completed by January 1, 1896 in order to be
able to claim a huge financial bonus which had been promised by the City of
Hamilton :
““Christmas was a busy day on the T.H.&B.
Railway from here to Smithville, laborers, tracklayers, ballast gangs and
switch-builders working from early in the morning until late at night. A
similar condition of affairs prevailed at the Hunter street tunnel. Luckily
there were no accidents and no landslides. The bricklayers accomplished
considerable work on the tunnel proper, and last night, the contractors were
confident that, unless some accident happens, the big cutting will be in shape
to allow the passage of a train by the first of next week.”4
4 “It Is Almost Completed : The New
Railway from Welland to Waterford : Yesterday a Busy Time on the Line.”
Hamilton Spectator. December 26, 1895.
On Christmas morning, there was a Police
Court session as seasonal ‘celebrations’ were known to get out hand, leading to
the police cells on King William street to be well-occupied. However, Police
Magistrate George Jelfs, feeling a Christmas spirit allowed the drunks,
including the notorious Mary McGrath, to be dismissed with no fines or jail
sentences imposed.
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