The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.
Karen Bachmann is the director/curator of the Timmins Museum and a local author.
TIMMINS – Now, for something just a little different. I was going to put together another collection of little items and stories from 1940, but, being the short-attention-span kinda gal I am these days, I was sidetracked by an article entitled “Some of the Beverages Used Through the Years” by that goddess of the 1940s kitchen, Edith M. Barber.
She began her informative piece with a definition of beverages (“anything in liquid form which we drink with or between meals” – how helpful), and then proceeded with a description of a variety of rather unsavory drinks from the early Canadian colonial period.
That got me thinking about some of those early drinks, seeing as how we are approaching the holiday season, and festive beverages are once again on the itinerary. I figured, how bad could these early cocktails actually be?
Turns out the answer is, actually, quite horrid. How anyone could stomach some of these concoctions is beyond me (by the way, museum staff who are coming to my place for a glass of Christmas cheer need no longer fear that it will be an 1812 themed event).
The thinking at the time (I mean in the early days of Canada, between 1763 and the mid-19th century) dictated that fermented beverages were so much safer than water. I’m not sure if this is a fact or a bit of wishful thinking (actually, according to reports from the time, Montreal’s water distribution system was one of the worst on the continent).
In any event, what that boils down to is that most of the population of Upper and Lower Canada was a wee bit soused most of the time, as their day was filled with booze from breakfast until bedtime.
For example, your early morning eye-opener was not a steamy mug of coffee. The beverage of choice was something known as “taking one’s bitters.” Touted as a healthy morning tonic, it was socially acceptable – although today, it would not pass the smell test (on so many levels).
For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.timminspress.com/2014/11/29/history-pioneers-preferred-boozy-beverages