Episode #8: “Spirit of 1776” suffrage storytelling with special guest, Jonathan Geffner on Vimeo.

THE GOOD NEWS & THE BAD NEWS!

How’s Wilmer Kearns doing in his ongoing effort to win the heart of Edna Buckman? Well, there’s good news and there’s bad news. Edna loved Wilmer’s storytelling. The bad news was that she hated his pipe and cigar. Edna’s mother May Begley Buckman was a temperance activist and these two items (a pipe and cigar) were high on May’s “no no” list. It could have been worse. May disliked alcohol even more and Wilmer liked beer. And this only complicated matters. But Wilmer’s of the opinion that he’d address these obstacles one at a time.

Are you wondering about the temperance movement? More than 100 years ago alcohol was even more of a problem than it is now. And some people like Edna’s mother got on the bandwagon to do something about it. See PBS special trailer.

THE PLOT THICKENS AS WILMER KEARNS FACES A NEW PROBLEM

Wilmer’s situation had been complicated by the fact that his first job was in the accounting office of a cigar manufacturing firm in New York City, a rapidly growing industry at that time. The combination of cigars and booze didn’t endear Wilmer to Edna’s family. They didn’t know about Wilmer’s fondness for beer –only cigars. Wilmer looked in the mirror mornings to ask himself: Which is more important? Edna or cigars?

The solution? Wilmer needed advice and he asked Aunt Sarah. Meanwhile, the writings by Mary Wollstonecraft still caused problems. Coming soon on Episode #9 of “Spirit of 1776” suffrage storytelling. Stay tuned!

Special thanks to Jonathan Geffner, special guest on Episode #8.

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