The Jonathan Nichols Temperance and Tobacco Pledge
In 1883, Wakefield resident Jonathan Nichols established a $1000 fund from which $10 would be paid to any Wakefield boy (girls excluded, I assume) who took and successfully completed the "Jonathan Nichols Temperance and Tobacco Pledge."
The pledge was to not "drink intoxicating liquors and not to chew or smoke tobacco" before they turned 21. They had to take the pledge before their 16th birthday.
Unfortunately, Nichols didn't bother to have the prize adjusted for inflation. So while $10 in 1883 may have been a decent prize, today it seems like a joke.
Six hundred boys took the pledge before 1918. From 1918 to 1959 only 10 did. There was some publicity about the pledge in 1959, which inspired 29 Boy Scouts to take the pledge in 1964 (but only a couple of them subsequently got the cash payout). Since then it doesn't seem that anyone has bothered with the pledge.
According to this inflation calculator, $10 in 1883 was equivalent to about $300 today.
The article below is from the Wilmington Town Crier - July 7, 1993.
The pledge was to not "drink intoxicating liquors and not to chew or smoke tobacco" before they turned 21. They had to take the pledge before their 16th birthday.
Unfortunately, Nichols didn't bother to have the prize adjusted for inflation. So while $10 in 1883 may have been a decent prize, today it seems like a joke.
Six hundred boys took the pledge before 1918. From 1918 to 1959 only 10 did. There was some publicity about the pledge in 1959, which inspired 29 Boy Scouts to take the pledge in 1964 (but only a couple of them subsequently got the cash payout). Since then it doesn't seem that anyone has bothered with the pledge.
According to this inflation calculator, $10 in 1883 was equivalent to about $300 today.
The article below is from the Wilmington Town Crier - July 7, 1993.
Comments
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests | Inebriation and Intoxicants