What do Cracker Jack, Juicy Fruit gum, Shredded Wheat and Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer have in common?
They were all first sold at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair - also known as the White City, and a topic at the next History Book Group sponsored by the Hampton Historical Society. The book to be discussed is Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, by Erik Larson.
The meeting will take place on Sunday, October 23, at 4 p.m. at the Tuck Museum, 40 Park Avenue, Hampton. All are welcome to attend, and snack on Cracker Jack made by Barbara Tosiano, Director of the Hampton Falls Library, who leads the discussion and prepares a food representative of the time. Reading the book is not a requirement for what should prove to be an interesting discussion.
Many famous people attended the Chicago World's Fair to marvel at innovations such as the first Ferris Wheel, an all-electric kitchen including a dishwasher and the widespread use of incandescent light bulbs. Among them were Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, Teddy Roosevelt, Frank Lloyd Wright, Helen Keller, Woodrow Wilson and Susan B. Anthony.
Daniel H. Burnham, architect of the fair, referring to it said: "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood." But with all the magic there was also murder, committed by Henry Howard Holmes, a serial killer from New Hampshire who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Holmes would be caught, charged and defended by Clarence Darrow. It would be the only case in Darrow's career to end in the client's execution.
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