Fun Find from a Newspaper Rubbernecker

Last week saw the “final” blog post on the always-fascinating Julia Achard.  (Final???!!! Don’t you believe it! I doubt I’ll ever be done with my obsession with her exploits.) 
 
But...as I search for more stories of my ancestors, their families, friends, associates, neighbors, and those random people I find mention of in old newspapers to share on the blog, let me report on a picturesque incident – a cautionary tale for beachcombers and fisherfolk even today.
 
Before I wrapped up my Julia saga, I just had to do one more newspaper search and I found a brief mention of her in the Berkeley Daily Gazette of July 26, 1909.   “Miss D. Wright and Mrs. J. A. Achard will open a dancing academy, Native Sons’ hall, Saturday evening, July 31st at 8:30.   Juvenile class Wednesday, August 4th, at 2:30.  Ballroom, fancy and stage dancing, physical and grace culture.  Songs with gestures taught by the quickest methods.”[i]  Gotta hand it to Julia, at nearly 70 years old, she’s opening a dancing academy.  Quite a go-getter.
 
I need to see if I can find out a bit more about Miss D. Wright, but newspaper-rubbernecker that I am, I was captivated by many stories on that page, (a bigamist!, an embezzler! a leather dog-valise!), none so much as the tale of poor little Millicent Leary.  “Timidly knocking at the door of the emergency hospital, two little girls appealed to the matron for aid.  One of the youngsters was holding a blood-soaked handkerchief to her nose.  ‘The crab did it – the nasty thing,’ sobbed the poor sufferer.  ‘I’m not going to fish any more.  It hurts my nose.’”[ii]  It seems Millicent and her friend caught two small crabs and put them in a box.  Curious Millicent insisted on peeking in the box at the angry crustaceans, one of whom showed his displeasure by pinching her on the nose.  The doctor and nurses fixed her up and she was able to go home, a bit wiser for the experience.
 
Next time you go beachcombing, picture Millicent and remember to keep your schnozzle a safe distance from the crabs!
 

​[i] Berkeley Daily Gazette, 26 July 1909, page 5, col 2 untitled article, from California Digital Newspaper Collection, cndc.ucr.edu : accessed 12 March 2017.

[ii] Berkeley Daily Gazette, 26 July 1909, page 5, col 3 “Crab Bites Little Girl on the Nose,” from California Digital Newspaper Collection, c