Ishi's house in Sutro Forest
Ishi, the famous Native American who was studied at UCSF in the 1910s, was a lot more civilized than some of the crazy folks that ventured through Sutro Forest at the time:
Wild Man Loose in Sutro Forest
(San Francisco Call, November 18, 1913)
Armed with a loaded revolver, a wild man is creating a reign of terror in Sutro Forest, and several people have reported to the police that the man had shot at them after they had passed him.
According to several employees of the city and county hospital, the wild man arrived in the forest three days ago.
He is said to be about 45 years of age and carries a gripsack over his shoulder. Policeman Pidgeon of the park station has been conducting a search for the man for two days, but has been unable to locate him.
And then…
“Wild Man” Wanders from Sutro Forest
(San Francisco Bulletin, May 4, 1918)
A “wild man,” very much to the Hoover on garments, is in a hospital today trying to get over his “wildness.”
Policeman Ben Bohle saw him on Sunnyside avenue [today's Monterey Boulevard] yesterday and gave chase, overtaking his quarry four blocks down the avenue, near Forester street.
Bohle borrowed some sacks and a horse blanket and made his captive presentable for the ride to Mission Emergency Hospital. At the hospital the captive gave his name as Frederick Catsworth, his age as 42, his address Sutro Forest and his occupation “wild man.”
Tags: "Sutro Forest"
What an interesting expression: “very much to the Hoover on garments.” I’ve never come across that expression before. Have any of you?
How hallarious are the expressions, “he is in a hospital today trying to get over his “wildness.” and lists his occupation as “wild man”! While I say it’s funny, it’s actually sad to think that what was probably mental illness was not understood in those days. Anyway, what an interesting piece of history this article is!
a “Hoover” in England is a vacuum cleaner, as we here call it. Wonder did Hoover invent one by that time, as it’s capitalized.
…Perhaps the ‘Hoover’ refers to Herbert Hoover, who was the head of the U.S. Food Administration at the time…Through it, Hoover instituted food rationing to help the troops in Europe during WWI…
..Maybe it was a way of saying the wild man’s clothes were less than desired..
…Be Seeing You…Raja…
..Maybe it was a way of saying the wild man’s clothes were less than desired..
I’m pretty sure it means he was starkers. Quite nekkid, that is. Hence the need for the horse blanket.
I can’t even guess as to why, or where the expression came from. It would be another decade before Herbert Hoover actually made barrels all the fashion.