Swimming in Wool

by Erin Doane, Senior Curator

There’s nothing better on a hot summer day than taking a dip in some nice cool water. For centuries people have used lakes, rivers, oceans, and pools to help beat the heat. But what if you had to wear layers of thick, heavy wool to go swimming?  That doesn’t sound refreshing at all.

Women posing for a studio portrait in bathing clothes, 1890s

Swimming as a recreational activity, especially for women, is a relatively new idea. By the mid-1800s, the growing middle class found themselves with more free time and disposable income. With railroads allowing for faster and less expensive travel, vacations to the shore where people would swim, surf bathe, and dive became very popular.

While women could go to the beach, they were required to preserve their modesty. They did this by wearing loose, full-length bathing gowns made of thick wool or canvas that wouldn’t cling to their bodies when they got wet. These outfits had high necks and full sleeves. They sometimes even had weights at the hem so the skirt wouldn’t rise up in the water. Another option was known as the Princess suit which was a one-piece garment of a blouse attached to trousers. A calf-length skirt was worn over top. Because of the restrictive, heavy clothing, women didn’t so much swim as just walk out into the water then walk back to shore again.

Two ladies testing the water, c. 1900, Harry B. Mitchell photographer

Actual swimming was left to men. Before the 1800s, it was typical for men to swim nude but as Victorian modesty took hold, men were required to also wear swimsuits. Their suits were also made of wool with long legs and sleeves but were much more form-fitting. As the 1800s progressed, men’s swimwear lost its sleeves and the length of the legs shortened to allow more freedom of movement.

Swimming the old fashioned way, 1890s, Robert Turner, Jr. photographer

Women wanted to move around more easily in the water too but the evolution of their swimwear was much more gradual. The bloomer suit, named after suffragist and dress reformer Amelia Bloomer, with shortened trousers underneath a short-sleeve tunic became increasingly popular through the middle of the century. Women wore these shorter suits with stockings and shoes to maintain their modesty. Through the late 1800s, the trousers became shorter until they could no longer be seen under the skirt. Knit fabric, while still made of wool, made for more comfortable suits. In France, women’s swimsuits lost their sleeves entirely and bottom hems rose all the way to the knees.

Local swim fashions c. 1900, Harry B. Mitchell photographer

In 1900, swimsuits with a sailor-style collar were very popular. They were typically made of dark colored fabric, still to preserve modesty, but were of a lighter weave. White trim around the hem and collar was also quite fashionable, as was wearing a soft cap or straw hat to complete the ensemble.

Edith Miller and Eva Derby modeling swimwear on March 8, 1901

The first modern Olympic Games took place in 1896. Swimming was one of the men’s events. In 1912, women were permitted to also compete in swimming in the Olympics. Leading up to women’s entry into the sport on the world’s stage, swimwear underwent major changes. In 1907, Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman was arrested for indecency at Revere Beach in Boston for wearing a fitted one-piece swimsuit that bared her arms and legs. The new style, though considered risqué, was much more practical for swimming and quickly caught on.

Annette Kellerman, early 1900s, from loc.gov

Swimsuits continued to become lighter and smaller through the 1910s and 1920s. Men’s and women’s suits actually looked strikingly similar during the 1920s. Both were one-piece garments with tank-style tops and straight overskirts with attached shorts underneath. They were also still made of wool. Some were even made locally. The Queen City Knitting Mills on Scottwood Avenue in the Elmira Heights manufactured wool bathing suits in the early 1900s.

The Carr family in Keuka Lake, 1929

By the 1930s, swimsuits were finally being made of different fabrics like cotton and rayon, and later other new synthetic materials. Swimmers during that era must have found the change refreshing.

Clinton Island in the Chemung River, c. 1910s

Elmira's Fire Chief John H. Espey

By Susan Zehnder, Education Director

Imagine knowing what you want to do from a young age and then doing it for half a century. One such determined man was Elmira fire fighter John H. Espey. First joining the fire department in 1887, he remained on the force for 50 years. The last 32 of those years, of those he served as department chief.

John H. Espey

Unexpected circumstances led him down this career path, but it combined his interests in plumbing, firefighting, and public service. Espey was born in Pennsylvania in 1862, the oldest child of Daniel and Eliza Espey. When his father took the position as foreman at the Elmira Rolling Mills Company, the family moved to Elmira. Tragically a few years later, his father died in a work accident at the mill, leaving the family with few resources. Eight-year-old Espey knew he needed to pitch in to help his family. He became a plumber’s apprentice, learning a trade that proved useful.

His plumbing work took him all over the city. One significant job was at the Elmira Reformatory, which was expanding and modernizing its steam piping. Unlike many young boys and men at the time, Espey did not smoke and he avoided any form of tobacco. He was hired for the reformatory job because they knew, as a non-smoker, Espey would not be vulnerable to being bribed by the inmate.

At 14, he found his passion for firefighting and helping others. One Sunday morning while on his way to religious school, he was passed by a parade of horse-drawn fire wagons. He followed the commotion, jumped in to help the firemen, and as he described it later in life, he felt it was the right thing to do.

Espey continued to work as a plumber. In 1887, at the age of 24, he got married to Tillie Lena Kreutter,

Marriage certificate from July 3, 1887

and he joined the fire department as a call fireman. He slept at the engine house at night, on call to answer alarms. Pay for fire fighters at that time was $16.66 a month or a little over $500 in 2024 dollars.

Service certificate awarded 1897

After two years, Espey was appointed call foreman for Engine and Hose Company No. 1. The station was located at East Market Street and was the only station located within city limits. Since Elmira had recently installed new iron pipes to handle a growing water system, Espey’s plumbing expertise became important. He knew precisely where pipes were located, which allowed fire engines to hook up to a water source faster and more efficiently.

Espey soon became known and trusted as the company’s pipe man, and in 1887, he was appointed department plumber. In this position he invented an automatic way to shut off valves at the back of the steamers, and a more efficient chemical engine lighter.

His fellow firefighters thought so highly of him that in 1889 they sent him off to New York City for special training at the New York Department Firemen’s School. There he learned the latest firefighting techniques and training and made valuable contacts with people from around the state.

By now, Espey and Lena had two daughters and a son and the couple lived on Brand Street in the Southside.
In 1902 his position of department plumber was abolished and Espey was transferred to the truck company. This move reduced his pay by $10 a month. In 1904, under a new mayor, Espey was appointed chief of the Elmira Fire Department. This was somewhat controversial since the mayor had previously reassured the current chief that his position was safe. The Star-Gazette newspaper editors reacted by printing:

Apparently other members of the Espey family held positions with the street department and as a superintendent of Grove Park. All appointed by Mayor William T. Coleman who was in fact related to Espey by marriage. The new chief’s salary was now $1,500 a year, marking a big increase from his previous one, and the implied favoritism didn’t sit well with everyone. Mayor Coleman only lasted a year in office, while Espey lasted 32 years in his position. Under his leadership, the fire department moved into the modern age. Among the early changes he made was adding the first aerial motorized truck in 1905.

His efforts got him noticed outside of Elmira. Soon he was elected president of the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs. He attended national and international firefighting conventions and worked with the local Chamber of Commerce to bring a convention to Elmira. At these gatherings he often endorsed helpful products and new methods. Many of these were associated with the American LaFrance Fire Engine Company, which had relocated its world headquarters to Elmira.

Espey’s popularity didn’t always win over everyone. His reports on the department’s readiness and the city’s fire preparedness were challenged by insurance companies and by local papers. He gained a reputation of having a bad temper. In the 1920s he began to butt heads with local officials. One city official ordered him to test out newly acquired equipment at Eldridge Lake, but Espey refused on the grounds that the lake had too much debris and it would ruin the new pumping system.

At one point he was ordered to give up his night driver. By this time, Espey was 58 and lived with his family on the Southside. If an alarm sounded at night, his driver would come to pick him up before heading to the scene. One disgruntled city official thought he should be required to sleep at the station to save money. Espey protested, and eventually the fuss died down.

In 1929 Espey promoted a training school which drew firefighters from more than 32 cities and villages in the area. In 1931 he proposed adding an arson squad, but this time elected officials were not in favor and it never came to be. Espey’s health declined. He suffered from a heart condition and in 1936 was forced to take a leave for months. In the spring of 1937, he returned to office, determined to continue. He died on June 30, 1937, at 74 years of age. It was two days past his fiftieth anniversary with the Elmira Fire Department.

Operation Elmira

By Rachel Dworkin, archivist

On D-Day, June 6, 1944, just as the sun was setting, two waves of Douglas C-47s towing Horsa and Waco CG-4A gliders flew east over Utah Beach in Normandy, France. They were headed for Ste-Mére-Eglise, just a few miles in from the coast. Loaded aboard the 176 gliders were 1,190 troops, 59 vehicles, 25 anti-tank guns, and 131 tons of ammunition. It was Operation Elmira and they were flying into trouble.

The first glider combat operation was carried out by the Germans on May 10, 1940 when they used them to land troops inside Fort Eben-Emael, Belgium, allowing them to take what was supposed to be an impenetrable fortress. The United States Army Air Corps began its own glider program in February 1941 in response. In May 1941, army glider pilots began training at Harris Hill in Elmira, New York, on the east coast, and Twenty-Nine Palms, California, on the west. These early trainees were trained on commercial sailplanes, including the Schweizer SGS 2-8, manufactured here in Elmira. After the attack on Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into the war in December 1941, the Air Corps began training its glider pilots in earnest. American forces first used gliders during the Sicily campaign of 1943 and again in Burma in 1944. 

 

Gliders proved a valuable tool during the invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Operation Elmira was the third and final mission flown by the 82^nd Airborne Division on D-Day. The goal of Operation Elmira was to bring in reinforcements and equipment to paratroopers who had parachuted in earlier in the day. The mission consisted 36 Waco CG-4A gliders and 140 Horsa gliders towed by 176 Douglas C-47 airplanes. They left England around 6:30 pm and arrived in France in two waves. The first wave arrived around 9pm while the second arrived two hours later around 11pm. 

Horsa glider being pulled by a tow plane on its way to Normandy, June 6, 1944

 Things went wrong fast. The original plan called for the gliders to land at two different zones, LZ W and LZ O, but troops on the ground were unable to secure LZ W. Ground forces attempted to communicate with the in-coming pilots to warn them to divert all gliders to LZ O, but the message never went through. Instead, the C-47’s and their gliders flew into a barrage of German ground fire as soon as they began their approaches over LZ W. Of the 176 airplanes, 92 were damaged and five are shot down. Eight of the pilots were injured and one was killed. Things were even worse for the gilder pilots.

The gliders came down hard. One pilot, Ben Ward, touched down in a field only to realize that his break line had been shot out and they were headed for a pair of trees at 90 miles per hour. Their Horsa glider slid between the trees, sheering off the sides of the fuselage and killing one of their passengers. All told, most of the gliders were destroyed upon landing. Ten of their pilots were killed on impact with 29 injured and 7 missing in action. Of the 1,190 troops they carried, 157 were killed or injured. 

Horsa glider with rear open for loading

 The glider crews and passengers were still in danger even after they landed, considering many of them had landed behind enemy lines. Glider pilot Clifford Fearn had barely unbuckled his safety harness when his glider was overrun by Germans and they were all taken prisoner. He was freed a few hours later by advancing American troops. Another pilot, Rollin B. Fowler, found himself in a similar situation but managed to free himself with a grenade he had stuffed down his pants.

Despite the initial issues with the landing zones and resulting casualties, Operation Elmira was largely considered a success. Most of their cargo was delivered undamaged, as were the reinforcements. Seeing the first wave arrived in daylight hours helped boost American morale, even as it demoralized the Germans. Gliders continued to be used throughout the war, including on the very next day. Despite how useful they had been in delivering men and supplies, the sun soon set on combat gliders. They were never used again after World War II. Instead, they were replaced in their role by helicopters which had the advantage of being able to fly in and out under their own steam.  

 

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If you’re interested in learning more about Operation Elmira, the Chemung County Historical Society has a collection of first-person accounts of men who participated as compiled by researcher Adelbert Sahlberg in 1998.