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Marion, Massachusetts - The Upper Harbor Prior to 1913

            The Postcard

A postcard that was published by H. S. Hutchinson & Co. of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The card was printed in Germany.

The card was posted in Marion, Mass. on Tuesday the 30th. September 1913, 308 days before Great Britain declared war on Germany. The card was sent to:

Miss Minnie Cross,
Headington Hill,
Oxford,
England.

The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:

"This is our local sea-
shore place, and I think
all have enjoyed it.
Love M."

A Change of Mind

So what else happened on the day that the card was posted to Minnie?

Well, on the 30th. September 1913, the United Kingdom withdrew its support for the five-nation banking loan to China for railroad construction.

The Sinking of the Templemore

Also on that day, all 54 passengers and crew of the British freighter Templemore were rescued after a wireless distress call was sent from the ship which was sinking in the mid-Atlantic. 

The ship Arcadia received the signal and carried out the successful evacuation.

Bill Walsh

The 30th. September 1913 also marked the birth in NYC of the American film producer Bill Walsh.

Bill, who is known for his live-action Walt Disney films including The Absent-Minded Professor and Mary Poppins, died of a heart attack in Los Angeles in 1975. 

He was laid to rest in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.

Reginald Heber Fitz

The day also marked the death of the American physician Reginald Heber Fitz.

Reginald is credited for describing appendicitis and its treatment.

Reginald Heber Fitz was born on the 5th. May 1843, in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He graduated in 1864 (M.D., 1868) from Harvard University. He also studied in Vienna, Berlin, and Paris.

Reginald taught at his alma mater, Harvard University. He was instructor in pathological anatomy in 1870–1873, assistant professor in 1873–1878, and professor from 1878 to 1908. In the latter year, he became professor emeritus.

In 1886, he published "Perforating Inflammation of the Vermiform Appendix; With Special Reference to Its Early Diagnosis and Treatment". 

This groundbreaking paper provided an analysis of 466 cases of abdominal disorders that had previously been variously diagnosed, and showed that they all involved a diseased appendix. 

He also introduced the term appendicitis. Dozens of names had previously been used for what had been thought to be a variety of diseases.

Reginald also served as physician to the Boston Dispensary in 1871–1882 and to the Massachusetts General Hospital from 1887 to 1908. 

In 1894, he was president of the Association of American Physicians.

-- Reginald Heber Fitz's Personal Life and Death

Fitz married Elizabeth Loring Clarke in 1879, and they had three children.

Reginald died in Brookline, Massachusetts, on the 30th. September 1913, after having surgery to remove a gastric ulcer.

HMS Aurora

Also on the 30th. September 1913, HMS Aurora was launched.

Aurora, built by Devonport Dockyard, was laid down on the 24th. October 1912. 

She was one of eight Arethusa-class oil-fired light cruisers of the Royal Navy. All were ordered in September 1912, primarily for service in the North Sea. All served in the Great War. 

They had three funnels, with the middle one somewhat larger in diameter than the others. The ships were found to be very cramped internally. 

HMS Aurora took part in the sinking of the German raider Meteor on the 9th. August 1915. She was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in November 1920, and was sold for breaking up in August 1927.

Taken on: September 28, 2022

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