Those of us fond of history (and I included myself in this group) often have a tendency to romanticize the past, or at least think that life today presents a certain level of crudity and barbarism lacking in more cultured times. Every now and then however, I am reminded that things weren’t always how I prefer to think they were. In my now daily quest of scanning the Internet for period Harvard memorabilia to decorate the Suite, I came across this piece, dated about 1900:

Intrigued (or perhaps appalled would be a better word)  I did a bit of research, and discovered this article in the New York Times from 1903.

Wow. All this in a supposedly dry town! Franklin and Lathrop would have both been present to see the “rough housing” described above.

1903 was a very different world indeed.