On January 13, 1803, Theodore Hillyer walked into Viets Tavern in East Granby, Connecticut, put 8 pence on the table and had a cup of flip on a cold winter’s day. The tavern owner, Luke Viets, dutifully recorded the transaction in his ledger. We know this because the original ledger and the tavern survive til this day! (Inn’s Ledger Tells of Meals Long Past – Hartford Courant)

Check out the beautifully done Salmon Brook Historical Society Website for more about Granby, CT.

I have no way of knowing if the flip was purchased by my paternal 5th great grandfather Theodore Sr. (1754–1838) or my 4th great grandfather Theodore Jr. (1780–1845).

Flip was the quintessential tavern drink. Its preparation gave an industrious barkeep a chance to show off his steady-handed pour – transferring the mixture of ale and rum between two pitchers until smooth. Finally, a hot “flip dog” poker was plunged into the pitcher, frothing the drink and providing a burnt taste. Versions varied slightly, with the main ingredients of heat, ale, rum, and sweetener (usually molasses) being constant. Eggs contributed to the characteristically smooth texture, though nutmeg might be accompanied or replaced by ginger or lemon peel. Except from Early Connecticut Drinks: The Quintessence of Public Spirit (edible Nutmeg)

Theodore Sr. served in the Revolution during the New York and New Jersey campaigns. It is noted in his war pension application that he fought at the Battle of White Plains (NY). After British forces failed to trap the Continental Army on Manhattan, General George Washington marched north of Manhattan, withdrawing to the hills of the village of White Plains. Depictions of the battle are conflicting if it was a draw or a defeat for the American forces. 13,000 British and German troops against 14,500 Americans, although only around 4,000 on each side were actually engaged. This was the first appearance of Hessian troops deployed by the British.

Comments, corrections and suggestions appreciated.

Copyright © 2021. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.

The follow is an excerpt from article published in the Omaha World-Herald on May 8, 2021. Above are articles published in Aug-Sept 1952 in the Alliance Times-Herald/Hastings Daily and Columbus Telegram. The ‘miracle child’ is Connie Finney, the mother of my wife and the grandmother of my daughter.

Worse than COVID? 1950s polio epidemic struck terror in Nebraska until quelled by vaccines

The epidemic built to a crescendo in 1952, a year children and medical professionals remember with horror.“ Polio came in like the whirlwind of a tornado,” Oberst said. He worked at Children’s Hospital, which he said treated 360 polio patients that year. The 14 iron lungs — large machines that immobilized the patients, and pressed on their bodies to keep them breathing — were constantly filled.

For Oberst, the polio patients passed by that summer in a busy blur. But over all these years, the one he remembers the best is Connie Cronin Finney, a 10-year-old from Columbus he calls his “miracle child.” She was the oldest of three daughters. In late August 1952, her younger sister, Kathy, just 3 ½, contracted polio and died within days at a hospital in Grand Island. Connie’s parents had not even buried Kathy yet when Connie fell ill. Instead of seeking treatment in Grand Island, where one daughter had just died, they got her admitted to Children’s Hospital in Omaha just before Labor Day weekend. Dr. Oberst was her supervising physician.

“My temperature was between 105 and 108. I was having almost continual convulsions and was surrounded by cold body packs,” Finney, who now lives in Omaha, said in an email. Oberst described Connie’s case in his 2013 memoir, “Miracles and Other Unusual Medical Experiences,” noting that he had tried all the standard treatments at the time, but nothing worked. He said few people could survive with a temperature elevated so high for so long. On Labor Day Sunday, her parents asked what they could do. Their doctor urged them to pray.

“I’ve done everything in my quiver,” Oberst, in an interview, recalled telling them. “I said, ‘Why don’t you storm Heaven?’” Two days later, Oberst returned to the hospital, expecting the worst. But over the holiday, Connie’s fever had broken and the convulsions stopped. “I had my first real, true miracle at that time,” Oberst said. “It had to be the prayers — no question in my mind.”

Connie had turned a corner, but her battle wasn’t yet over. She was hospitalized for another seven weeks, part of it in an iron lung — the ominous specter that hung over children of the polio generation. Connie was placed in a room with four or five other children in iron lungs. It was a helpless feeling, needing nurses to take care of every need. “They bathed us, fed us, talked to us, and tried to keep us entertained,” said Finney. “We saw the other children and the nurses through mirrors above our iron lungs. I often had a book affixed to the mirror, and I would wait for a nurse to come along and turn the page for me.” She took physical therapy during short periods out of the iron lung and slowly regained strength. Amazingly, she had no paralysis. “For awhile they had not known whether I would walk again or not,” Finney said. “But one evening I walked to (my parents) when the elevator doors opened.”

Comments, corrections and suggestions appreciated.

Copyright © 2021. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.

My 3rd great-grandfather, Abiram Spencer (1812-1871) has been the subject of several posts including one about his election to the Hartford, CT City Council in 1860 on the Republican ticket (Wide-Awakes for Abraham Lincoln!). Abiram was one of the over 1,000 men in Hartford signed this (below) petition in November of 1861. The closing line, “Apologists for secession, and sympathizers with treason are not invited” points to the heated emotions of this country in the early months of the Civil War.

Comments, corrections and suggestions appreciated.

Copyright © 2021. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.