Remember Always - Margaret Schneider

It is another important date

on the Shady Dell calendar.

Today we remember and honor

Margaret Brown Schneider,

precious child of the Dell.

Blessed with longevity,

Margaret earned the

nickname The Oldest

Living Dell Rat as she

approached and then

passed the century mark.

Margaret died five years ago

at the age of 105. Last month,

as we celebrated Margaret's

110th birthday, I posted old

songs Margaret might have

known in her youth. Today,

as we remember Margaret

on the date of her death,

I bring you rare, historic

film clips showing what

life was like in America

when Margaret was a

child and a teenager. 

1912

Margaret is born.

Here's a glimpse of life in 1912, the year construction started on

The Shady Dell, and Margaret Elizabeth Brown came into the world. 

1919

Margaret is age 7. 

At Halloween that year, Congress passed the unpopular National

Prohibition Act over the veto of President Woodrow Wilson.

The act prohibited the sale of alcohol, but the federal

government lacked the resources to enforce it.

By 1925, up to 100,000 speakeasy clubs

had opened in New York City alone. 

This brief report on the Smithsonian Channel from the series:

America In Color: The 1920s, is introduced as follows: 

One of the social side effects of Prohibition was it inspired

many women to break out and challenge the conservative

norms of society. These women were dubbed 'Flappers.' 

 

1920'S

DANCING FLAPPERS 

On his YouTube channel filled with historic film clips,

Walter Nelson introduces the next piece as follows: 

The Jazz Age saw the birth of a new phenomenon:

young ladies who weren't professional performers,

dancing alone or in groups while the rest of the room

watched. It was a celebration of a new freedom

enjoyed by the "flappers" that would have 

been unthinkable in their mothers' time.  

1926

Margaret is age 14. 

In this next vid, Roaring Twenties flappers are having a beach ball

by the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea. The YouTube

channel glamourdaze posted this description: 

A group of affluent college girl flappers travel to the seaside

in Atlantic city in 1926. Shot on a Cine Kodak Model B 16mm

Camera or similar. These women clearly have a few bob to

spare as only middle class could afford little luxuries like

cine cameras, let alone automobiles. Nevertheless, the

1920s saw a seismic shift in women's emancipation

when compared to the previous decade.  

1927

Margaret is age 15.

Here's another restored film posted by glamourdaze with the intro:

Captivating AI enhanced 1920's fashion film. Hollywood

Flappers modeling cloche hats and dresses nearly 100

years ago ! Hollywood actresses Corliss Palmer, Rachel

Torres, Laura La Plante, Ruth Elder and Edna Murphy,

it is one of the very few surviving color fashion films

from the 1920's era of The Great Gatsby. A rare

showcase of genuine 1920's dresses and cloche

hats sold by Sibley's department store in New York. 

1929

Margaret is age 17. 

In 1929, Margaret was around the age of the young women

in this glamourdaze segment. The intro reads as follows:

25 flappers travel to Hollywood to meet Mary Pickford in 1929.

Brought to life with AI deep learning techniques. AI enhanced

edit from a promotional of the "25 Coquette Girls". Winners

of a contest designed to help promote Pickford's

first sound film Coquette (1929). 

A pretty pleasant trip back in time to the final year

of the Roaring Twenties. The 1920's fashions are a

delight. All those bobbed hairstyles and cloche hats ! 

The girls are filmed on a boat to Catalina and also 

heading up the funicular railway at Mount Lowe.

I hope you enjoyed this special Roaring Twenties flapper

edition of my annual tribute to Margaret Schneider

as we mark the 5th anniversary of her death.

Yours was a long life and

a life well lived, Margaret.

We love you... miss you...

and will remember you always.