Footner Down Under

 

   This will be the third post in a row relating to the author, Hulbert Footner. I quietly introduced him when I told you about “Where I Went on My Spring Vacation." I went to Maryland and part of the reason for doing so was to visit Footner’s granddaughter and the Calvert County Historical Society where a room is dedicated to him. More recently, you learned that he became engaged to the daughter of the Canadian journalist, “Kit" Coleman, whose visage is now found on some Canadian coins.  And you just found out that jousting is the official state sport in Maryland and read Footner’s account of a tournament held in the 1940s in southern Maryland.

    This is likely Footner’s Last Post in this blog, so before leaving him I should explain why he has shown up in MM. Before that is done, you would probably like to be reminded of who he is and for that I will just direct you to the Wikipedia entry. That was the only source about him that I could find. After reading his non-fiction works, I couldn’t understand why more was not known about him. Additional catalysts were the facts that he was born close by in Hamilton and died in Maryland, the state in which I was born, and where they had declared March 14 as “Hulbert Footner Day.”

   Considerable research was done. I have often undertaken massive amounts of research related to a wide variety of subjects, as well as a number of people, and the paucity of finished output is truly astonishing. In this case, I thought the references gathered should not be wasted. The Footner family would find them useful, plus he is worthy of examination as a novelist and historian. They ended up in book form and to prove that this post is not a plug for that publication, I am only including the title here in the concluding sentence of this paragraph and will not note that it can be easily and cheaply purchased in print, or as an e-book from Amazon: Hulbert Footner: Author of Adventure Novels, Detective Novels and Historical Nonfiction: A Bibliographic Account of His Life and Work.

                              Additional Evidence From The Antipodes

   

   For that book, I searched throughout North America and the United Kingdom for references to Hulbert Footner  and for indications that he was, in fact, a popular author. There was little to be found about him, but there was considerable proof that he was relatively well-known. More data to support that were not needed and to plough through even more references would have been a chore for even the most dedicated Footner fan. But, there are now a few who are interested in Footner who are reading this blog and that is the reason he has shown up. They will be pleased to know that his stories, books and movies were popular with the Aussies and I now know that he was even liked by the Kiwis.

Even if you are not interested in Footner, but are in Australia, then you should visit TROVE, an immense digital treasure. You can search thousands of newspapers and sort the results in a variety of ways. (They have also figured out a way to placate ‘sensitive’ readers who might stumble across a one hundred year old word that is now offensive.) I found Footner information in it a few years ago, but did not include the Australian material in the book. The references to Footner  found in Trove have increased as new publications and years are added.  Apart from the ads for his books there are often reviews of them and apparently the Aussies frequently found them to be ‘rattling good.’ Here, for example, are some sentences from a review of The Fugitive Sleuth which appeared in The World’s News (Sydney) on Saturday, May 3, 1919:
“The Fugitive Sleuth is a rattling good detective story, breathless, pauseless, full of life and go. In Hulbert Footner the public has found the adventure story writer par excellence. The instant success of his brilliant romance, The Sealed Valley, will always ensure a wide welcome for a new book by the same masterly hand.”

You can now also do the same for publications in New Zealand in “Papers Past.” They are both free! Footner samples from both are provided below. 

When I searched for “Hulbert Footner” on TROVE a few years ago there were over 500 “hits.” Now there are 887. The results can be restricted in a variety of ways: you can look in particular papers or cities and separate the ads from the articles. Here are some of my notes from the earlier searches: [NB - note that these are from old 'notes'. They should be checked on TROVE and verified.]

"The Shanty Sled is described in similar fashion as “a rattling fine yarn of the frozen north.” Readers in Brisbane are told that Footner “is endowed with a sense of humour and the dramatic ease of a born story teller.” (The Queenslander, Saturday, Nov.14, 1925).

Advertisements and reviews for his films are also found. For example: Even in Tasmania - a review of “Ramshackle House,” The Mercury, (Hobart), Thursday, Dec. 20, 1925. As well in the West (Perth), The Mirror, Saturday, Jan. 9, 1926: “Similes fail in finding a fitting word for Betty Compson, star of The Ramshackle House, the picturisation of the Hulbert Footner novel of the same name now screening at the Palladium.” The earliest mention of Hulbert Footner found was in an ad for The Sealed Valley in 1915 (The Advertiser, (Adelaide), August 28, 1915. The latest is a mention of his name in a review in 1951.”

   I recently did a bit of searching again and here are some examples. One learns that the University of Sydney Library has a copy of De dubbelganger, which is apparently a Dutch version of Two on the Trail. The earliest mention of Footner is now found in 1908 when it is reported that an article of his is appearing in Century Magazine. In 1943, The Northern Advertiser (Western Australia) excerpted a piece from his New York: City of Cities: “One of the World’s Great Avenues” [Park], Feb. 27.

This is the title of an article in The World News Sydney, Sep. 6, 1919 “Have You Read?” Thieves' Wit (Hulbert Footner). "Those who read and enjoyed, as each reader surely did, this author's "Fugitive Sleuth" will welcome this latest story from his pen. It is a new type of detective story, and quite a good one at that. It is fashioned on new and fascinating lines, and it is quite difficult to forecast the end until the author chooses to take the reader into his confidence.” “Backwoods Breezes” The Herald (Melbourne, Vic.) May 23, 1917 “Canadian novels never lack In vigor and freshness of scene. The Fur Bringers, by Hulbert Footner, is conspicuous in that respect. The breezes of the pine forests blow through it, and make up a peculiar attraction for readers who nave tired of the old haunts and devices of the story tellers….Mr Footner has made a study of his subject, he is full of the spirit of the region, knows its moods and intrigues, and has fashioned a romance at once rugged and beautiful.” "The Folded Paper Mystery" , Sunday Times, Perth, Sep.28, 1930 “A good story can always be expected from Hulbert Footner. And "The Folded Paper Mystery" is one of his best productions.” Even Footner's book about his house in Maryland gets reviewed: The Australasian, (Melbourne), July 13, 1940

"Charles Gift " “Many readers will like to think of "CHARLES' GIFT," by HULBERT FOOTNER (Faber and Faber), as a delightful writer's gift to a reading public. The world is so unsteady, the present so uncertain, and the future to many unthinkable. In these days it is often hard to feel relaxed even when reading, but '•Charles* Gift" is a joy to read. Its tempo is one of leisure and of peace; one is lulled by the soothing prose. “

From New Zealand

A search in 2023 for "Hulbert Footner" in the newspapers digitized on Papers Past yields 950 "hits." The first (oldest) is his story "Melodrama in Fulton Street," in the Lyttleton Times, April 4, 1908. Soon after, "The Simple Adventures of 2112," appears in the Dunstan Times, Sept. 6, 1909. Reviews of Footner's works are easily found. For example: There is a short review of "The Nation's Missing Guest" in the New Zealand Herald, May 27, 1939, under the title, "Sultan Disappears", where it is described as "a diverting story." In the same newspaper on Sept. 22, 1934, Dangerous Cargo is reviewed. See: "Two Mystery Novels." "Always to be relied upon for an exciting and entertaining story, Hulbert Footner has thrills a plenty in his latest mystery novel, "Dangerous Cargo," a Crime Club book. Advertisements can be searched separately and many are found for the film, "Ramshackle House (e.g. Evening Post (Wellington), Sept. 14, 1926. Twenty years later Footner's book, Unneutral Murder is advertised by Hyndman's bookstore in the Otago Daily Times, Nov. 21, 1946.

There are many more for Footner aficionados to use and study. Although the global popularity of his writings may not be a proxy for the quality of them, one can still surely argue that Hulbert Footner deserves more attention and I am glad to see that he is getting some from the Calvert County Historical Society.

Kathleen "Kit" Coleman

    If you do not know much about this famous Canadian journalist, you soon will. This year the Canadian Mint honoured "Kit" Coleman by producing coins celebrating the 125th anniversary of her "becoming North America's first accredited woman war correspondent." If you know of a young woman who is interested in journalism, "Kit" would be a good role model.
   In the first part of this post, I will present the numismatic announcements along with some of the biographical information provided in them. In the second I will offer some information about her daughter and the apparently very brief relationship she had with the author Hulbert Footner. 

The Coins and the Announcements

 
   The silver coin shows her holding an open notebook and pen. "Within that silhouette are various elements that represent her life and career (from top to bottom): The Mail and Empire building in Toronto, Ont.; SS Circassian, the passenger ship that brought the Irish-born writer to Canada in 1884; a partial map of the Atlantic Ocean, to represent Coleman’s travels and dispatches; a view of Coleman writing at her desk; and a vintage typewriter that symbolizes her legacy and impact on Canadian journalism." 
   The gold one shows her "penning her weekly column. The map in the background traces the trailblazing reporter’s incredible journey—from her birthplace in Ireland to her life and career in Canada, and her travels as North America’s first accredited woman war correspondent."

   

   Early in 2023 one finds this news release about the newly minted coins:

"Royal Canadian Mint Introduces Transitional Effigy on 2023 Proof Silver Dollar Celebrating Pioneering Woman Journalist Kathleen "Kit" Coleman," PR Newswire, Jan. 10, 2023.

OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - The Royal Canadian Mint has dedicated its 2023 Proof Silver Dollar to celebrating the inspiring life of Canada's first woman journalist, Kathleen "Kit" Coleman. Born in County Galway, Ireland and emigrating to Canada in 1884, Kit Coleman first joined the Toronto Daily Mail as a Women' Editor and later became North America's first accredited woman war correspondent, gaining international fame for her coverage of the aftermath of the Spanish-American War. She also helped establish the Canadian Women's Press Club, and served as its first President. Her fascinating journey is told through the artistry of Pandora Young, who used Kit's silhouette as the canvas upon which the main chapters of her life are richly illustrated on the reverse of the coin.

Pandora Young has fashioned another portrait of the pioneering journalist on the 2023 $100 Pure Gold Coin. The reverse features Kit Coleman writing at her desk. Behind her is a map showing North America and Europe, with dotted lines retracing her epic travels across both continents.

   Soon after, the Canadian Mint offered this information:

"“Fine Silver Proof Dollar– Kathleen “Kit” Coleman: Pioneer Journalist,”

SILVER 2023 MINTAGE 35,000

"Pencil to Paper to Metal: The Journey of Journalism Pioneer Kit Coleman is Honoured on the 2023 Proof Dollar."

"Who was “Kit”? That’s what readers of the Toronto Daily Mail (later The Mail and Empire) were asking, as they pored over the writings of Kathleen Blake Coleman. An intrepid reporter with a lively journalistic voice, “Kit” Coleman rose above the fray in the male-dominated newspaper industry, tackling a wide range of issues as well as the topics typically covered in women’s columns. She made history 125 years ago by becoming North America’s first accredited woman war correspondent. Coleman also helped establish the Canadian Women’s Press Club in 1904 and served as its first president, and later became Canada’s first syndicated woman columnist.

In a time when women journalists were limited to writing about the female perspective and women’s issues, Kathleen Blake Coleman paved the way for better representation in newsrooms and a more equal standing for Canadian women in other aspects of life."

    On January 12, the Mint published a blog post with this title: “Kathleen “Kit” Coleman: How Canada’s Early Presswoman Led the Way for Journalists Today."

The link has been provided and I hope it lasts. You should have a look at it. The picture at the very top was taken from the blog post where much more information  about Coleman is found. As, well there is a link to a video by Dr. Barbara Freeman, the author of Kit's Kingdom: The Journalism of Kathleen Blake Coleman. The link to the video is also available here: https://youtu.be/euH7MiSU2I0. As Dr. Freeman indicates, "Kit" was a fascinating woman and you will enjoy the video.

                                  Hulbert Footner

  It is more likely that you knew about “Kit” than Hulbert Footner. He was born in Hamilton (where “Kit” lived as the wife of Dr. Theobald Coleman), but left at a very young age for the United States. He was a successful writer and is best known for his detective stories 

  He returned briefly to Canada and had some adventures in, and wrote about, the Northwest. That is where I discovered him and after reading New Rivers of the North, I went searching for more information.  There wasn’t much, except for the Wikipedia entry for Hulbert Footner which was constructed mostly by his son, Geoffrey.

  I ended up with a considerable amount of information about Footner and decided to present it in a book.  Unfortunately Footner’s son died before I could give it to him, but I have since met his granddaughter, Karen, and some “Footner Fans.” In Calvert County, Maryland the Historical Society has created a  room dedicated to Hulbert Footner where one can find Footner’s books and assorted memorabilia. I had the pleasure of meeting Karen and some of the “Footner Fans” at the CCHS, which is where the picture above comes from. 

   During my search for information about Footner, I ran across a piece that reported that “Kit” Coleman’s daughter Patsy had become engaged to Hulbert Footner. A later article indicated they were married. The former is probably true, while the latter is surely not. The relationship is not mentioned in Dr. Freeman’s book, or elsewhere. There was no awareness on the Footner side that Hulbert possibly had such a tryst, somewhere and  at some time, in Canada. (He was, by the way, known as "Bill" among friends and it is somewhat easier to believe that a "Bill", rather than a "Hulbert" would have had such a fling.)

  I am pleased that the commemorative coins honouring "Kit" Coleman were produced by the Canadian Mint. At least now the Footner family and his fans will know that I was not exaggerating when I told them that "Kit" was famous in Canada and that Footner had proposed to Patsy, her daughter. 

   Those of you who now wish to know more about Footner should look at the website of the Calvert County Historical Society (or visit the actual site at Linden.) On the website, you will find the "Hulbert Footner Sideshow", from which the picture above was borrowed. Created by Diane Harrison, it is also available via YouTube. 

  
   If you are interested only in the relationship between Patsy Coleman and Bill Footner, all that is known about it is found below. It comes from the book I published and before you rush to purchase it, you should know that this is the only, mildly prurient part within it. Here is the excerpt, from which you will learn about Footner's travels in Canada early in the last century and more about "Kit" and her daughter.

                                              The Coleman “Affair"

   "After exploring the “New Rivers” Footner and his travelling companion, Auville Eager, returned to the Edmonton area. During the fall of 1911 there are a few accounts of their activities found in Canadian papers and in one of them they were seen at a concert in Edmonton. It is likely that Footner was promoting Two On The Trail, which was based on his journey in 1906 and giving talks about  the one just completed in 1911.

That trip "to the Land of the Silences, our great Lone Land to the North -- so much of which is as yet unexploited by railway or tourist….” was the subject of a piece by Kit Coleman, who wrote those words. They are found in “Kit’s Column,” in the section “Woman & Her Interests'' in the Brandon Daily Sun on Saturday, Nov. 18, 1911, p.5. She clearly enjoyed the account of the trip presented by Footner and the “quaintness and humor with which it was told.” It is unclear where Coleman met Footner and heard the story. Her column was widely syndicated and she travelled a lot, but they may have met in Hamilton, where he was born and where she lived. 

   Where Footner may have met Kit’s daughter is also unclear and it is she who is the subject of what I have labelled, “The Coleman Affair.” It is based on an announcement that was made in the following spring, on May 25, 1912: “Dr. and Mrs. Theo. Coleman (Kit) of Hamilton, Ont. announce the engagement of their daughter, Miss Patricia to Hulbert Footner of New York.” Their daughter “Patsy”  is marrying a “clever young fiancé, who is by the way, a successful author and well-known newspaper man…” Over a dozen years later in an article about expatriate authors one learns that “He [Footner] married Miss Coleman, daughter of “Kit,” whom, everyone knows, was one of the first and ablest writers in Canada.”

  Those are the only two references to the relationship between Hulbert Footner and Patsy Coleman that even the most diligent researcher will find.Their engagement was announced, their marriage never was. I think the “affair” likely ended fairly quickly, perhaps after Footner returned to the United States. I think the author who assumed they were married, is incorrect. I have found no mention of Patsy Coleman in any other material about Footner, nor have I encountered any suggestion that Footner became engaged to a Canadian woman, or any other woman, prior to his marriage to Gladys Marsh in 1916.

Kit Coleman was a well-known Canadian journalist. She was “the first syndicated newspaper columnist in Canada,” the first President of the Canadian Women’s Press Club,” “Canada’s first advice-to-the-lovelorn columnist,” and the “world’s first accredited woman war correspondent,” who reported on the Spanish-American War. That information is from Ted Ferguson’s, Kit Coleman: Queen of Hearts, an early biography which has more information about her career than her family and very little about Kathleen “Patsy” Coleman. As one reviewer noted: ”If there is anything disappointing about Kit Coleman, Queen of Hearts, it is only that it contains so little biographical detail about its subject.” The same can be said for Barbara M. Freeman’s, Kit’s Kingdom: The Journalism of Kathleen Blake Coleman and many other more recent accounts that focus on her as a journalist and not a mother.

   About Kit Coleman, a lot is known. Those who wish to learn more and attempt to find information about Footner’s fiancé can start with the Wikipedia entry for Kit Coleman or see Freeman’s profile of, “Ferguson, Catherine, Kit Coleman,” in  the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. See also this work, where a profile of Bob Edwards can also be found: Patrick Watson, ed. “Kit Coleman: Kit of the Mail,” Pt. Nine, p. 191 in The Canadians: Biographies of a Nation, Vol. II. There are many more sources which have been checked. An obituary is found in The Globe and Mail, on May 17, 1915 - “Kit Has Passed Away; Famous Woman Writer: Notable Pioneer in Journalism, Ill Only Two Days.”

   About Kathleen “Patsy Coleman” not much is known. Kit indicated, in one of her columns, that Patsy was born on Oct. 4,1887 and she was often referred to in the articles written by Kit and sometimes travelled with her. A picture of her as a young child is found in the Freeman biography where it is mentioned that she attended Quaker College in Pickering, Ontario. There is little information about her as a young woman and Freeman notes that “Patsy” was, as an adult, quite reticent about the family's private life, even with her own children.” The engagement to Footner is not discussed in any of the sources consulted and the obituary for Kit in 1915 indicates that Patsy was married and now Mrs. John Gartshore."

The section above is found on pp.36-38 of the print edition of: Hulbert Footner: Author of Adventure Novels, Detective Novels and Historical Nonfiction: A Bibliographic Account of His Life and Work. 

Where I Went on My Spring Vacation

The Trip to Maryland (continued).  

   You were undoubtedly excited by my last post which seemed to suggest I might tell you more about our first post-pandemic trip across the border, but I did not. The weather was too nice, as were the surroundings, and I find it difficult to jot down things along the way, let alone write about them. Now that I am back home and the weather again is bad, I will offer a brief summary for you loyal readers and for myself so that next year I will know what I did last year. 

   If I was more efficient and it was my intention to offer a blogging travelogue, I would begin with the things observed along the way, such as the "Adult Stores" mentioned in my earlier post. I first thought about the richness of travelling, for subjects to blog about, a few years ago when we left London,Ontario for Phoenix. Our first stop in Indiana was in the interestingly named "Terre Haute", which is the home of the "Clabber Girl." I am sure most people would be interested in learning more, but I never got around to writing anything about them, until now, but won't since they are from an earlier trip. On this one, I noted on the way down, such places as Fort Couch which is not too far from Intercourse and on the way back there were Panic and Punxsutawney and the Indiana University which is in Pennsylvania. In Ocean City we looked east over the Atlantic and in the afternoon saw the sunset on Assawoman Bay which is sometimes referred to as "Big Assawoman Bay". Obviously one could continue on about such geographical tidbits, but I said I would be brief and will say only that "Big Assawoman" is likely on someone's list to be erased. 

   Briefly, we stayed on the beach for week and used it as a base from which to visit a cousin, who lives near Princess Anne, Maryland. We went to lunch in Pocomoke and had it along the Pocomoke River which, according to local lore, is supposed to be the deepest river in the world for its width.

  From there we travelled to Easton, after a brief stop in Cambridge (birthplace of John Barth) for another river lunch. Easton is a less expensive base than St. Michaels, where we had yet another lunch. We were joined by the granddaughter of a fellow I wrote a book about back in 2021. She has just assisted in the production of the second edition of one of her grandfather's books and you should buy it if you want to learn more about the Pocomoke River just mentioned (Rivers of the Eastern Shore: Seventeen Maryland Rivers, Hulbert Footner. The first edition was published originally in the fine "Rivers of America Book Series.")

   A short geographical note: The water on the right below is the Atlantic and the Chesapeake is on the left. The peninsula between is known as the "Delmarva Peninsula," or the Eastern Shore.

   

  A crow would fly about thirty-five miles to get from Easton to our next stop in Solomons which is on the mainland in southern Maryland, but almost one hundred miles by car. Solomons Island is a quaint community at the mouth of the Patuxent River and it is near the place where the Canadian-born author Hulbert Footner chose to settle down and write. He is the subject of my book and at the Calvert County Historical Society in nearby Prince Frederick, a room has been dedicated to him. So in addition to meeting his granddaughter, Karen Footner, we were able to meet with some Footner fans who helped Ms. Footner and the Director of the CCHS, John Johnson, provide a space in honour of the author. To learn more, watch this video by Diane Harrison which was produced for the Grand Opening Ceremony back in September, 2022: "A Commemoration of the Life and Works of Calvert County Author William Hulbert Footner.

   If you made it this far you deserve a reward, as did my wife. On the way home we took a bit of a detour to Confluence, PA which is near Frank Lloyd Wright's FALLINGWATER.  Have a look at Fallingwater. 

The Bonus:
     The MD. legislators were hard at work and I am pleased to announce that RYE is the state spirit (MILK remains the state drink.) This from the Baltimore Banner: "Legislators Work to Make Maryland Rye Official State Spirit," Kara Thompson, Capital News Service, March 31, 2023. 
    The Maryland State Team Sport is the same as the national summer sport of Canada - Lacrosse. Maryland's State Sport is JOUSTING, about which Footner wrote in one of his books.
    While I am at it, you will be able to figure out what the state bird is (hint, it is not the Blue Jay) and the state dog, but you may not know that the Maryland State Cat is the Calico. 
    The state song used to be, "Maryland, My Maryland," the tune of which is from "O, Tannenbaum", but it has been cancelled. I wrote about this in another very long post and to save you from having to read all of it, here is the bit about the song controversies, both in Maryland and Canada:

Be Careful What You Sing
     It is interesting, and an indicator of our troubled times, that politicians, both in my adopted country and the ones back in Maryland where I grew up, had to be mustered to re-consider the lyrics of their respective anthems. In Canada, "Oh Canada," I am pleased to report, has been rendered gender neutral (from "true patriot love, in all thy sons command"  was changed to "in all of us command,"). The spectacle was rather a sad one since the MP who introduced Bill C-210 was wheeled into the House although suffering from ALS. 
     In Maryland, many more lyrics were involved and the excision needed to be much more extensive; some want the entire song to be abandoned. The issue in this case was about race not gender. You would recognize the tune of “Maryland, My Maryland”("O Tannenbaum,"), but the lyrics which include such phrases as “Northern Scum” may be unfamiliar to you. They are based a poem by James Ryder Randall and you can look them up. I am not sure if this dispute has been completely resolved, but it is clear that the words of the anthem which were adopted in 1939 are not appropriate now.
[As of July, 2021, the MD. state song ceased to exist.]