All was (mostly) quiet in Columbus for Christmas 1921

On Dec 14, 2021

Christmas came on a Sunday in 1921, and it came in quietly.

There were no storms or high winds or other weather perturbation. This was remarkable in its own right.

Columbus was a growing, thriving city with people of diverse backgrounds and origins. It was a town that had been a modest Midwestern capital city only a few decades earlier. But with the success of its buggy and tool companies and steel mills, Columbus had become a major city in Ohio, second only to the really big cities of Cincinnati and Cleveland.

Founded in 1812 to be the capital city, Columbus had grown slowly at first. But with the arrival of the Ohio and Erie Canal and National Road in the 1830s, a frontier village had become the city of Columbus. With the arrival of permanent locations in Columbus for institutions for the blind, deaf and mentally ill, as well as the state prison and Ohio State University, the successful development of the city was assured.

By the time Christmas arrived in 1921, Columbus was ready for a slow and gentle season of peace and joy. The previous few decades had been tumultuous with the rise of the Progressive Movement behind an urge by people to reform. Out of that movement came city-manager government, home rule and initiative, recall and referendum at the state and local levels. Ohio also had seen federal change with the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 and a federal income tax in 1913.

Then World War I came along, and America rose in support of the war effort. That support got a bit out of hand with the closing of German schools, newspapers and social events. But with the end of the war, all of that patriotic fervor had evaporated and America yearned for a return to a quieter and earlier time.

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The country made that choice in 1920, rejecting the Progressive program of James M. Cox of Dayton and settling in on the return to normalcy promised by Warren Harding of Marion. President Harding, on Christmas Eve in 1921, believed, in the reporting of a local paper, that the “world had made great strides in the direction of World Peace in 1921 and that 1922 will be even greater.”

There would be challenges down the road, making that dream of 1921 less and less achievable. But in the winter of 1921, peace seemed to be present and possible. On Christmas Day, a local paper noted the nature of Christmas Eve in Columbus.

“Christmas Day … was preceded by one of the quietest Christmas eves in Columbus for many years as far as downtown amusements and entertainments were concerned. The hotels and dance floors of the city were practically deserted with only a few occupants in the hotel rooms. After the last feverish home rush of belated shoppers and store employees a solitude and quiet descended on High Street and the business establishments that remained open, but which curtailed operations at an early hour.”

This is not to say that the people most in need were forgotten.

For many years, local religious and secular organizations had mobilized to provide help to the needy in the holiday season. The Volunteers of America and Salvation Army were both well known and recognized for their continuing efforts to bring help to families with baskets of food, necessities and meals to people seeking them across the city. In addition, such local organizations as Charity Newsies raised money during the holidays to fund annual programs of assistance to Columbus children in need.

Across the city were high spots in the quietude. Much to the surprise of its employees, the workers at the Home Life Insurance Co. of Columbus were given fully paid life-insurance policies for amounts of $300 to $1,300, depending on length of service to the company.

On the other side of the city, the “Ohio Penitentiary … vaudeville show put on Friday night by the convict population was witnessed by 300 men, women and children, including institution employees, state officers and their families and guests. Columbus schools were dismissed at the close of Friday’s work and children and teachers will enjoy a 10-day vacation.”

Even with the city in a quieter place, restaurants and theaters stayed open and were busy over the Christmas weekend. The Deshler Hotel, at the corner of Broad and High streets, advertised that its Ionian Room would be open for a “Christmas Dinner with all the Delicacies” for $2 per person. This might not seem like much today, but in 1921, the average worker made $2 a day. This was a special dinner indeed.

Closing out the Christmas season, cartoonist and commentator Billy Ireland noted in his Sunday Columbus Dispatch column, The Passing Show, that only a few days remained until the calendar read 12-22-21 and that it would not read that way again for 100 years.

Ireland probably would be custodially happy that we are here to tell him so. He was, after all, that sort of fellow.

Local historian and author Ed Lentz writes the As It Were column for ThisWeek Community News and The Columbus Dispatch.