Hidden Literacies

Gender and Journalism

The January 1893 Chit Chat claims to be co-edited by two imaginary figures, “Ethan Allen” (not the leader of the Green Mountain boys, but his namesake president of Big Continent, and an alias for Walter Nelson) and William J. Little (prolific author, president of Long Continent, and an alias for Arthur Nelson). The oldest brother, Elmer Nelson, also penned pieces for Chit Chat: the first serial story bears his pseudonym “Bert Green” and is marked by Elmer’s characteristic detailed technical instructions on how “The Castaways of Mink Island” build their raft. Although unsigned it is very likely that the “Boy’s Column” instructions on how to build a traverse were drawn and written by Elmer as well. Like Youth’s Companion, Chit Chat emphasizes the age range of its intended readers, producing a Children’s Page or Column for its youngest subscribers. In addition to its “Boy’s Column” Chit Chat also emulated Youth’s Companion in announcing the intention to please girl readers as well as boys. The poem that heads this January issue with its warm but also “caged” domestic scene, although probably written by Arthur, purports to be written by William Little’s wife, Etta Little.
January is here
the coldest month of all the year
and we sit by the fire light
on a midwinters night
and ro[a]st our apples
and pop our corn
while out side the blustering storm
seems to be in a rage
because he cannot get
into our cage
            Etta Little

The 1892 volume of Youth’s Companion included a lovely series of memoirs by prominent women authors—Sarah Orne Jewett, Margaret Deland, Lucy Larcom—about their own girlhoods.  The Nelson brothers appear to have taken the hint, and included a piece on the “Unknown Wives of Well Knows [Known] Men” in the January 1893 issue of Chit Chat—although they clearly had a hard time finding anything to write about these women besides appearance, housekeeping skills, and these women’s relations to narratively more interesting men:
We well know Fred Warrington the king of Rock Island but seldom hear anything about his wife […] Mrs Warrington when six years old began to learn to sweep and when ten to spin and when fourteen years old was quite a house keeper she was bor[n] in a small board shanty by a babling stream her fathur was a shoe maker not by any means rich. He and a few other settlers had moved into that region which is now Small City when 22 she married Fred Warrington who in one month after he was marr[i]ed was king for his fathur had died with the heart disease and had dropped suddenly to the pavement when out on the street taking a walk. Fred Warrington has got a pretty wife though not what one would call perfectly handsome still she is very good looking and is as good as she looks

Ironically, the piece is signed: “William J Littles wife.”
 

This page has paths: