Saturday, June 01, 2013

Preferring death to house-cleaning, William Brandol quit beating carpets in the yard of his house and went to an abandoned quarry to jump into the deep hole

From the International Herald Tribune's 100 Years Ago section:
1913 — Death Preferable to Cleaning
Preferring death to house-cleaning, William Brandol quit beating carpets in the yard of his house, at 16 Centre street, Nutley, N.J., a little before noon yesterday [May 12], and went to an abandoned quarry and prepared to jump into the deep hole. Brandol decided he would leave a note: — “Dear Wife, Farewell. I can’t beat carpets or clean house, and it ain’t no use of your trying to make me.” When he had finished the noon whistles were blowing, and this reminded Brandol that his wife was to have corned beef and cabbage for the noon meal. He decided that he liked corned beef and cabbage more than he disliked house-cleaning, so he placed the note in a cleft in the rocks, returned to the house and ate a tremendous quantity of his favorite delicacy.