No, that's not a typo. I've seen accounts of the pie-in-the-face vaudeville gag dating back to 1889, but this is the earliest mention I've found of it happening in real life:
"My father and I conduct a bakery and confectionery at No. 18 Queen City Pavement, Cumberland. We were both in the store on Sunday, May 16, 1897, when the Fourteenth regiment, National Guard of Pennsylvania, arrived at Cumberland, en route from Philadelphia to Pittsburg. Fifty or 60 members of the said Fourteenth regiment swarmed into the store, and some made purchases, while others stole buns, pies and canned goods to the value of about $5. Their conduct was awful, riotous and disorderly - they were like wild men. One of them would ask for buns or pies and while my father or I would be in the rear room for whatever they asked, others would take a can of baked beans or several pies. My father and I could not control them."
"After they had left the store and while the train was pulling out for Pittsburg I saw four members of the said Fourteenth regiment standing on the steps of the car. The train was not going very rapidly. At the same time four young ladies were walking along in the same direction the train was going. I saw one of the men on the car steps jump off, catch hold of one of the young ladies, put his right arm around her waist, pull her to him, and at the same time smash, or push, a whole pie into her face, and then run and catch the rapidly moving train."
Just teasing! But remember when that was the challenge on the forums years ago, when someone would post about something? (But I digress .......)
But seriously, that is wild! That's really something that the soldiers would act like that in the store, and that later the officers would deny that it happened!
However .... the soldier pieing the passing lady, and not just throwing the pie, but pulling her close and smashing it into her face, *was* disgraceful. But it's a fun historical note for us wammers, roughly 120 years later!
I can't believe you found this! Thanks for sharing it!
Norman Mabeld said: That's really something that the soldiers would act like that in the store, and that later the officers would deny that it happened!
However .... the soldier pieing the passing lady, and not just throwing the pie, but pulling her close and smashing it into her face, *was* disgraceful.
Love you, too
