Friday, October 18, 2024

The Sunbonnet Women of America and their 1925 Halloween seance


Witches! A seance! And a dance!

Oh my. It's a History Mystery. I want to know everything that can be known about the Sunbonnet Women of America. There are only a handful of clippings, all from 1925, about this group on Newspapers.com, and there's zilch on Google.

It's the above clipping that first caught my eye. Headlined "Wicked Witches Listed At Pre-Halloween Seance," it's from the October 18, 1925, edition of The Sunday Star of Washington, D.C. — exactly 99 years ago today. The Sunday Star was the Sunday edition of the Washington Evening Star.

The first paragraph states: "The Sunbonnet Women of America wish to solve the problems of their business brothers and sisters, so they invite them to come and help invoke the wiles of the 'wickedest witches' in a pre-Halloween seance and dance Thursday evening, October 29, at the Central Armory, Eleventh and Clifton streets northwestern."

The invitation itself is in verse:

So the ancient near-witch, Sunbonnet Sue,
Extends a summons to all of you
Who'd dance and laugh and brew and plot
To try the luck of the witches pot.
Disguise yourselves in Halloween hues,
If you'd be favored in the pot that brews,
And present your card at the door of Fate
For the fun begins at half-past eight.
There are favors that may be got,
So be on time to brew in the pot;
You may not know, but it sure is true,
Sunbonnet girls are among the few
Descended from the Salem witches
And work their wiles for Halloween wishers.
"Now, come you all, so eager to learn
If Fate for you her wheel will turn.
The business men do recognize
The worth of Sunbonnets wary and wise,
So they have placed in the witches's pot
Some lovely things which they will plot
That may be won by only those
Who please the witches by their clothes.
Now, brothers and sisters, eager and true,
Dress up quite well, it may be you."

Yes, the 1920s were certainly roaring. This was not an event to be missed. Keep in mind, though, that it was held in the midst of the Prohibition. Given the very public nature of the event, it's unlikely that there would have been any alcohol openly served. But perhaps some was smuggled in or, ahem, conjured. Maybe some historians who are most astute than I am about the skirting of Prohibition laws see some hints within the witches' invitation regarding what would be available at the dance.

The last paragraph lists some of the newest members of the Sunbonnet Women of America, "all prominent in Government, professional and business circles." I'm going to list them here, because maybe this post will help someone track down something new about one of their ancestors:

Mrs. Susie Moore
Miss Helen E. Burnett
Miss Helen C. Clark
Miss Nita S. Hinman
Mrs. Amelia E. Byrne
Mrs. Elsie C. Gulli
Miss Elizabeth M. Wall
Mrs. Mabel Driver
Miss Elizabeth K. Prender
Miss Mabel J. Carter
Miss Bertha V. Zeller
Miss Alice M. Blandforth
Miss Margaret R. Shedd
Miss Annie Louis Carroll
Miss Edith L. Tate
Miss Madeline Diers

And just imagine, all of them descended from the Salem witches (wink).

Sifting through some of the other Newspaper.com clippings from 1925 sheds little light on the Sunbonnet Women of America. They are first mentioned in early May and seem to be associated with the National Club of the Younger Business Women. That month, they were organizing "the first annual organdy dance of the Sunbonnet Women of America."

An October 9 article specifically mentions the "Washington branch of the Sunbonnet Women of America" and its meeting to discuss the upcoming Halloween dance. 

And that's pretty much it. How long did the organization last? Did it actually have branches in multiple cities? Were they really witches? Did they all vanish after the October 29 seance and summoning? 

Maybe we should do a new seance and try to contact "Sunbonnet Sue" for an eyewitness recap. Stuff like that always ends well in movies. 

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