Nicely done, Lori. I couldn't help but be struck by the contrast between Christmas at Euclid Street and the more down to earth and simple Christmas with Ben and family. I can see why George's account of Christmas Day 1883 would have been "amongst the most personal, heartfelt and sincere writing" he produced.
Thanks, Jane. I felt like that was an important contrast to make, too. If I were writing it as a fictional account, I would have tied that ribbon with George internalizing the differences, but in telling this as true to the facts as I can, I couldn't put those words into his mouth lol. The next best way, I thought, was to maybe allow the reader to do that ;)
After reflecting on this singular encounter with Ben, I feel George made the story up entirely. The people on Cleveland's millionaires row fully understood the distasteful shortcomings of the southern sharecropper system but were themselves conflicted because their own economic interests loosely aligned with the plantation owners. But in March 1883, SCOTUS overturned the 1875 civil rights act. George may have been quietly preaching to his neighbors about this in his own inimitable style. There are more layers to George than an onion. Later Rockefeller out of guilt or moral justice donated money to southern black literacy efforts including the founding of Spelman College. Lori, look at this again and ask why this writing feels different. And does George ever mention SCOTUS in his writing?
George seemed to intentionally avoid putting anything under the political microscope, despite his strong Republican affiliations back home in Cleveland.
His fortune was built - and being built - on grain and commodities which likely included agricultural products from the Deep South, so getting into the politics of that system could have been problematic personally, politically and financially and frankly a no-win for him.
I don’t think he had any obvious incentive to fabricate the story, and included it and other stories which touched on race and social issues less as commentary and more as curiosities he saw along the way.
Which again, makes sense — the journey was clearly for pleasure, and the log stuck close to that goal, as one would expect.
As to Rockefeller - he purchased a substitute in the Civil War which, many say, represented a personal and moral failure he struggled with his entire life.
Thanks again, David. It’s always good to ask hard questions when putting stories like this one together!
Interesting exposition of Southern servitude. The cotton grower gets wholesale prices for his product but buys everything he needs at ridiculous marked up retail cost. This mercantilism was also at the core of the American Revolution as the colonials were forced into servitude by the British overlords in the same way.
Really incredible portrait of the two Christmases. And of course the observations of Gardner about the circumstances of Ben and his family, and the context. How extraordinary that the travelers found them and that Gardner wrote about them so well.
Thanks, Lisa. I would love to be able to tell you how George and William came to spend Christmas with Ben and his family, but I can't find any connections. Nada. It's even odder, as 50 miles was a pretty light day for the canoers by this time in their journey, especially after what was effectively two dats rest after five days aboard the steamboat. And, there were a lot of other landings available for them in the area. Corny, I know, but in my head, I've chalked it up to a Christmas miracle, altho one that would make a really great fiction short story some day, right?
The contrast between George's Christmas and the one his family celebrated at home is striking. The hospitality of Ben and his family is quire remarkable and a possum for breakfast may have been a real treat.
Nicely done, Lori. I couldn't help but be struck by the contrast between Christmas at Euclid Street and the more down to earth and simple Christmas with Ben and family. I can see why George's account of Christmas Day 1883 would have been "amongst the most personal, heartfelt and sincere writing" he produced.
Thanks, Jane. I felt like that was an important contrast to make, too. If I were writing it as a fictional account, I would have tied that ribbon with George internalizing the differences, but in telling this as true to the facts as I can, I couldn't put those words into his mouth lol. The next best way, I thought, was to maybe allow the reader to do that ;)
After reflecting on this singular encounter with Ben, I feel George made the story up entirely. The people on Cleveland's millionaires row fully understood the distasteful shortcomings of the southern sharecropper system but were themselves conflicted because their own economic interests loosely aligned with the plantation owners. But in March 1883, SCOTUS overturned the 1875 civil rights act. George may have been quietly preaching to his neighbors about this in his own inimitable style. There are more layers to George than an onion. Later Rockefeller out of guilt or moral justice donated money to southern black literacy efforts including the founding of Spelman College. Lori, look at this again and ask why this writing feels different. And does George ever mention SCOTUS in his writing?
Thanks for your thoughts, @David.
George seemed to intentionally avoid putting anything under the political microscope, despite his strong Republican affiliations back home in Cleveland.
His fortune was built - and being built - on grain and commodities which likely included agricultural products from the Deep South, so getting into the politics of that system could have been problematic personally, politically and financially and frankly a no-win for him.
I don’t think he had any obvious incentive to fabricate the story, and included it and other stories which touched on race and social issues less as commentary and more as curiosities he saw along the way.
Which again, makes sense — the journey was clearly for pleasure, and the log stuck close to that goal, as one would expect.
As to Rockefeller - he purchased a substitute in the Civil War which, many say, represented a personal and moral failure he struggled with his entire life.
Thanks again, David. It’s always good to ask hard questions when putting stories like this one together!
Interesting exposition of Southern servitude. The cotton grower gets wholesale prices for his product but buys everything he needs at ridiculous marked up retail cost. This mercantilism was also at the core of the American Revolution as the colonials were forced into servitude by the British overlords in the same way.
Really incredible portrait of the two Christmases. And of course the observations of Gardner about the circumstances of Ben and his family, and the context. How extraordinary that the travelers found them and that Gardner wrote about them so well.
Thanks, Lisa. I would love to be able to tell you how George and William came to spend Christmas with Ben and his family, but I can't find any connections. Nada. It's even odder, as 50 miles was a pretty light day for the canoers by this time in their journey, especially after what was effectively two dats rest after five days aboard the steamboat. And, there were a lot of other landings available for them in the area. Corny, I know, but in my head, I've chalked it up to a Christmas miracle, altho one that would make a really great fiction short story some day, right?
It doesn't fit because I think George made the story up. Call me a crazy, but I am beginning to think we have all been played.
The contrast between George's Christmas and the one his family celebrated at home is striking. The hospitality of Ben and his family is quire remarkable and a possum for breakfast may have been a real treat.