The Starr Piano Company began as the Trayser Piano Co. in 1872. One if its founders was James Starr. n 1878, the company was reorganized as the Chase Piano Company, and Benjamin Starr joined his brother James in the business.
Starr Piano Company
Wayne Works
Beginning as the Wayne Agricultural Works in Dublin, Indiana in 1837, and incorporated in 1868, Wayne Works moved to Richmond in 1876. By the 1890s in addition to making farm implements, it was making carriages and horse-drawn “kid-hacks,” or early
New Year’s Day Flood
December 31, 2018 was wet and windy from start to finish, producing temporary ponds in backyards and streets, but little serious damage. That was not the case more than 180 years earlier. The last several days of 1846 saw heavy rain
Christmas from Richmond’s Past
This card dates from the late 1920s. The Cut Rate Shoe Store opened in 1926 and changed its name to Brown-bilt Shoe Store in 1929. One of its prime features was the separate children’s shoe store in the basement, the
Wilma Wallace, Army Nurse Corps, World War I
Wilma Mae Wallace (1889-1972) was an early graduate of Reid Hospital’s Nurses’ Training School. At that point it was a three-year course, and she and four others graduated in June 1914. She remained at Reid Hospital after her graduation. Soon after
Wartime Halloween
Halloween around the turn of the century often involved youngsters playing pranks on their neighbors, heaving cabbage and other excess vegetables at houses, attending masquerade parties, and generally making merry in the streets on All Hallow’s Eve. In 1918, all
Influenza Pandemic
One hundred years ago Richmond was dealing with the so-called Spanish Flu. The rest of the world was dealing with it as well, which made it a true pandemic. The story of this particular influenza strain is tied to the
Back to School – 1918
Cartoon from the Richmond Item September 8, 1918 It wasn’t until after Labor Day that Richmond’s students returned to the classroom in the fall of 1918, and this return was different than it had ever been before. Richmond’s large German
July 4, 1918
Richmond has always loved parades, and never more so than during the Great War. One hundred years ago, the city put on possibly its largest in history. This parade had eight divisions which formed up on the side streets between
Commercial Club Training Detachment
Richmond’s Commercial Club wanted the city to be involved in the war effort beyond buying war bonds and planting gardens. A unique opportunity presented itself in May of 1918. Automobiles were still a novelty at the start of the Great