A weathered shoebox full of various receipts, tax bills, bank notes, and insurance policies proudly sits on a shelf in my home office. It is a recent addition, relocated from what we lovingly refer to as my dad's personal archives, a surprising treasure trove of miscellany that he randomly reaches into. Over 100 years of sundry and varied items that most people would probably toss without a second glance, and yet I find myself drawn to this box of "stuff," thumbing through the various folios and scraps of paper. It is not a complete set, but enough to shine a tiny light on a few things. Some is routine, some is needing further explanation, and some is just fun.
For instance, Frank Lester Mower was my great-grandfather Frank Lester Mower (1874-1927), a milkman and dairy farmer, who lived on the family farm on Pushaw Road in Bangor. We learn that he had an occasion to purchase a Union Suit for $1.75 and 2 Collars for $.50 in September, 1917 from Curran & Griffin, Clothiers and Gents Furnishers, 28 Central Street, Bangor, Maine. The union suit just makes me smile for some reason. The collars, however, make me ponder a bit more, speculating on whether or not he was sporting one of these in his portrait that hangs in my living room. I'm not sure of the date of that portrait, so it may be possible; he is, after all, wearing quite the white starched collar in that. Of course, then one wonders what those cost in today's dollars. Well, I pulled up the CNN Money Inflation Calculator. That $1.75 in 1917 is equivalent to $31.95 today, and those 2 collars, $9.13.
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Curran & Griffin Statement to F.L. Mower dated 22 September 1917
Courtesy of Frank E. Mower
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And the accountant in me loves the NOTICE at the bottom of the statement: "As early as possible each month we send you statement of all accounts as the stand on our ledger. This rule affords opportunity for correction of errors, if any, before the facts in the case are forgotten, and, we trust, will not be considered an untimely demand for settlement of recent purchases. If the above is not correct, please notify us at once."
So we'll end wondering what was so special about this Union Suit that the receipt was kept, and now resurfaces in my hand over 100 years later.
