Indiana of the 1890’s seemed abound with crokinole. Many early American references to the game come from the Hooiser State. From the many newspaper excerpts it was clear that it had become a social phenomenon; Crokinole clubs formed, YMCAs purchased them for their clientele, cities decreed champions, and many social gatherings made this the centerpiece of their entertainment. This was true for those who were married and it was especially popular among mixed gatherings of young people who used it as an opportunity to fraternize with the opposite sex.
As we found from the last post, not all who played crokinole were enamored by it. Here is a take in the same vein, but this time in jest, by someone called ‘The Owl.’ The anonymous writer had a column called Our Own Owl’s Olio. Olio referring to a miscellaneous collection of things. The column included takes on various subjects, done humorously with a drop of feigned irritability and subtle jabs that locals would understand. This series appeared in the newspaper, The Charlestown Hooiser Democrat. Located in southern Indiana, the paper’s namesake had about 900 citizens at this time.
This segment was taken from the Olio, October 6, 1899.
