I have said before that sharing personal information and humble bragging are not new things…our friends in 1888 did it too, but it just took a little bit longer.

Lists like “Personals” and “Brevities” give us a glimpse into what was going on back then (and, sadly, no mentions of what they ate for lunch….)

From the Personals ~

Mrs. James R. Bach from Howell visited our fine city
A.L. Noble was in New York, but came back on Tuesday
Clare Durand paid Chelsea a visit
Mrs. Carrie Stone attended the Woman’s Congress in Detroit
Rev. Gelston and the Fam moved into their new home on Fourth Street
Miss Libbie Alexander, a graduate of Ann Arbor High School, visited a2, on break from her teaching gig in the Sandwich Islands in Hawaii
Rev. and Mrs. Steele moved to San Francisco, and people were sad to see them go

From Brevities ~

Barney Morrison is up again for drunkenness; he is thinking of moving to Australia
A cannon, used by the Fifth Ward republicans, exploded but no one was injured
The J.L. Hudson band from Detroit gave a great concert at Germania Hall
Blitz & Langsdorf placed the electric light in their new store
Patrick Kirk was arrested for being drunk in the streets; he is serving 20 days in jail after he failed to pay his fine
William Frey went to jail for being disorderly and a vagrant
Mrs. Julia Ward Howe was speaking at the Unitarian Church
Chas. Woodward, formerly of Cook’s House, is now managing Polhemus’ livery (both of these businesses are featured in my book!)
The Toledo & Ann Arbor Railroads announced that they will be building a new depot in Ann Arbor!!