by Paul A. Tenkotte
Special to NKyTribune
New Year’s Eve, 1916. Europe was engulfed in the Great War, which since the time of World War II, we have called “World War I.” The United States was still a neutral power. Opposite ends of the political spectrum in the US argued for peace versus war.
The national headlines focused on Germany’s “unrestricted submarine warfare.” A British passenger liner, the SS Persia, had just been sunk off the coast of Crete, killing 343 people, including Americans. No wonder the editorial cartoon emblazoned across the front page of the Cincinnati Times Star on January 1, 1916, featured Baby New Year 1916 pleading for peace from an injured soldier holding a war shield inscribed “Old War 1915.”
On a happier note, Cincinnatians and Northern Kentuckians rang in the New Year with celebrations. The Cincinnati Times Star amusingly related that Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and revelry, was responsible for “the debris scattered about.”
Many residents of the region, however, chose more sober activities to celebrate the New Year. In Newport, Salem Methodist Church, First Baptist Church, and the United Brethren Church all held “Watch Night Services.” They included choral programs, sermons, and services.
Meanwhile, the Salvation Army, with Covington headquarters at 513 Madison Avenue, held a party for 250 children. It included a “musicale and song programme.” There was a Christmas tree filled with candy and toys, and each child received a gift.
The Covington Elks club had a dinner-dance, attended by 200 people. Toasts were delivered at 11 pm, followed by a banquet at midnight, and then there was dancing into the night.
And of course, new silent motion pictures were all the rage in 1916. There were at least 12 motion picture theaters in Covington, 7 in Newport, and 3 in Bellevue. The Temple Theater, at 6th and Monmouth Streets in Newport, billed itself as “Where You See the Stars.” Its main feature was a new film starring famous Cincinnati-born silent movie actress, Theda Bara (1885-1955). Entitled The Galley Slave, the film has not survived, a victim of a 1937 fire at Twentieth Century Fox’s storage facilities.
It seems that our modern New Year celebrations have not changed that much since 1916. Some of us may be dining and dancing into the night, while others will hold parties for the less fortunate, and still others will take in a movie. Of course, we’ll be watching sound movies, and the star won’t be Theda Bara.
After all, Bara never appeared in a sound movie.
Paul A. Tenkotte (tenkottep@nku.edu) is Professor of History and Director of the Center for Public History at NKU. With other well-known regional historians, James C. Claypool and David E. Schroeder, he is a co-editor of the new 450-page Gateway City: Covington, Kentucky, 1815-2015, now available at your local booksellers, the City of Covington, and online sellers.