-
The Year Was 1913
The year was 1913.
The US Post Office kicked off the year offering parcel post deliveries, or package deliveries, for the first time. More than 4 million packages were handled in the first five days of the service.
The first crossword puzzle, with 32 clues, is published in New York World newspaper.
Ford Motor Company institutes the world’s first moving assembly line for manufacturing the Ford Model T.
The first drive-up gas station opens in Pittsburgh.
Billboard publishes the earliest known “Last Week’s 10 Best Sellers Among Popular Songs” list. “Malinda’s Wedding Day,” which was recorded in Camden, NJ, is the top song of the week.
Charlie Chaplin begins his film career at Keystone Studios.
Olympic champion Jim Thorpe is stripped of his two gold medals because he had previously played two years of semi-professional baseball. The medals were reinstated in 1983.
The first prize was placed in a box of Cracker Jacks.
The New York Armory Show introduces artists Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Marcel Duchamp to the American public.
More than 50,000 Union and Confederate veterans of the Civil War meet at the Great Reunion of 1913 to peacefully commemorate the Battle of Gettyburg.
Future U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford are born.
Civil rights icon Rosa Parks is born on February 4th. Abolitionist and social activist Harriet Tubman, a former slave who helped free hundreds of slaves through the Underground Railroad, passes away five weeks later.
The Woman Suffrage Procession, organized by the National American Woman Suffrage Association, is held in Washington, DC as 5,000 women march down Pennsylvania Avenue. The procession was purposely scheduled the day before the inauguration of New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson as President of the United States. This event is credited with invigorating the suffrage movement, which had spread around the world as women fought for the right to vote.
One year earlier in 1912, the first federal agency dedicated to the rights and welfare of children, the Children’s Bureau, was founded. This was the culmination of the efforts of social workers, educators, juvenile court judges, labor leaders, and others who were increasingly concerned about the well-being of children.
In 1913, a similar movement among concerned mothers and other members of the Nutley community would lead to the founding of Nutley Family Service Bureau (NFSB).
“Formalizing the care and concern for children’s health and safety with the creation of an organization like NFSB was more typical of large cities at this point in history and not so typical for small towns such as Nutley,” said Katherine Carmichael, Executive Director of NFSB. “This reflected the Nutley community’s commitment to supporting its citizens in need. It’s a commitment that’s as strong today as it was 110 years ago. Nutley was really at the forefront of a larger movement to provide such important programs and services for people who needed help.”
Throughout 2023, we’re celebrating the 110th anniversary of NFSB! In the next article, we’ll discuss the story of NFSB’s founding in more detail.
