September 14 “Shots and shots, both are up to no good.”

September 14th is the birthday of Robert Raikes (the younger) in 1735. He owned a printing press with his father, Robert Raikes the elder. One of the things they preached in the press, was that of temperance. They were set against excessive drinking in Ale houses, and wrote much about how they were “against destruction of grains to make spirits which drove people mad and ruined them body and soul.”

The elder Raikes died when Robert Raikes was 21. He continued to help people in Gloucester, England. Something he noticed was that there were a lot of unmanageable boys and girls on Sundays. It turned out that Gloucester was a strict city for locking up trouble. Many of these kids had no mothers or fathers because were dead or in jail. Over-drinking was one of many reasons to lock up people. These children had to work Monday through Saturday as sweatshop workers, and Sunday was only day off, and they blew off steam by causing trouble.

Robert Raikes promoted a Sunday school to help make these children feel important, and teach them skills. It made a big difference in their behavior. I have the book “Robert Raikes: The Man Who founded the Sunday School” by J. Henry Harris, published circa 1900. It goes into great detail of his life and the development of Sunday School.

September 14th is National Sober Day. For those adults who have had too many shots (or beers,) in the United states, and need help, there is Alcoholics Anonymous. This society began in 1935. The have helped abstinence of drinking through a twelve step program, while surrounded by peers. This one day at a time program is explained in “Alcoholics Anonymous” “The story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism” published in 1955. This is the second edition of the ground-breaking program. I have seen my Brother-in-law use this program with the support people and mentors. It worked for him! I am very proud of how he has survived with alcoholism.

September 14th 1836, Aaron Burr died. While he did not die from a shot, his rival Alexander Hamilton did in that famous duel in 1804. With the Landmark Book “Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr; Their Lives, Their Times, Their Duel” by Anna Erskine Crouse and Russel Crouse, 1958, one gets the whole story of Burr shooting Hamilton. The dust jacket tells the story rather well.

Another shot to the death was that of William McKinley. On September 14th 1901. President William McKinley died from a gunshot wound. He was shot twice by Leon Czolgosz, using a pistol, on September 6th. There was a a great outpouring of grief about the loss, because the outlook of the country was rather good, and McKinley was looking forward to a great second term as president.

I have several contempory books that express the loss, and gave his history. The first is Memorial Life of William McKinley our Martyred President” by Colonal G.W. Townsend, published 1901.

The second is “Illustrious Life of William McKinley, Our Martyred President” by Murat Halstead, published 1901. This book even gives a detailed account of the assassin.

Both books had a great many photographs, and well written stories. It was popular to have these books, as newspapers were the only other main press. To have dramatic stories and photos, that people could easily re-read, and pass to other family members, made book reading very popular.

While Wayne Gretsky may have said “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,” another applicable quote would be “you only get one shot at life,” so take it-do the best that you can, when you can.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. I was reminded of another shot from a friend. So I found my collection of works by Ralph Waldo Emerson, by Library of America.

In selected poems is a hymn; sung at the completion of the Concord Monument, April 19, 1836. It commemorated 50 years from the first revolutionary battle near the Old North Bridge. The first stanza goes:

“By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

   Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood

   And fired the shot heard round the world.”