Monday, February 7, 2005

100 years ago: The furore created by an advertisement that ran: "Wanted, lady, to Assist in Chemist's Shop; putting up stock and helping as required; previous experience unnecessary: factory girls need not apply," continued. The editor pointed out that the letters printed so far were only a selection of those received, and still letters continued to flood into the Evening Press. A dozen letters were printed together, showing how the issue had now moved on, as factory girls defended themselves of allegations of being unable to even boil water, many replying "as for boiling water, the fire will do that", and accused shop assistants of not wanting to dirty their hands with such menial tasks as cooking. Shop girls complained of the hardness of their life without the factory rules to govern their working hours, male factory workers defended their female colleagues, and people asked how a previous writer could know that all the flirts in Coney Street were factory girls. The final letter of the day was from the chemist, who had decided to withdraw the advertisement and issued an apology.

50 years ago: Health officials at Pickering were trying to trace the source of infection in the town's typhoid outbreak. It was believed there may be other cases in various parts of the country among people who visited the town during the infection period, which started before Christmas. Of the 13 cases in hospital in York and Scarborough, several had almost recovered and were nearing discharge from the hospital. In all, there were 27 cases, including ones connected to the outbreak, but in other parts of the country. Although the catering trade of the town had already been affected because of the epidemic, the full impact would not be noticed until the coming weekend when hundreds of people normally visited the town to do their week's shopping.

25 years ago: The Lord Mayor of York put a ceremonial shovel full of earth at the foot of three trees with a particular purpose, as it was hoped that the 20ft Norway maples provided by the Lord Mayor's tree fund would discourage people from building bonfires at Hudson Crescent in Clifton. It was thought that the siting of the trees was a subtle way of discouraging bonfires that spoiled the green there. The Lord Mayor also hoped that the trees would be an advertisement for the fund and that more people would come forwards with donations.

Updated: 09:24 Monday, February 07, 2005