Daily Journal

Klasey: ‘The Bachelor:’ 1908 edition

More than two decades ago, a popular show called “The Bachelor” debuted on television.

Over the course of a TV season, it followed the efforts of an eligible young man (The Bachelor) to select a fiancée from among a group of attractive young single women. In the series’ final episode, the bachelor would propose marriage to the woman he chose.

Long before that series began airing, a Kankakee newspaper promoted a contest to select the city’s “most popular and eligible bachelor.” During the month of January 1908, readers of the Kankakee Daily Republican were encouraged to nominate and vote for an eligible bachelor (a single male resident of the city) by completing a coupon in the newspaper.

Supporters of a nominated bachelor could (and were encouraged to) vote as often as possible. Votes would be tallied each day; with the winner announced on Feb. 1.

The local contest would end with a twist: Since 1908 was a leap year, the Republican invoked a folk tradition that allowed women to reverse courtship roles and propose marriage. On Jan. 3, 1908, the newspaper noted it was expected “that some Kankakee young lady will pop the question as soon as the most popular and eligible bachelor is found.”

The first list of nominated bachelors was posted on Jan. 4. It consisted of 18 names, led by Dr. Omar Kell, a physician at the Kankakee State Hospital, with 32 votes. All the other contenders had fewer than 10 votes apiece. Two days later, six additional names were added, with Dr. Kell still in the lead.

“Talk about Kankakee not having bachelors to go round even if every marriageable young lady in the city picked her man and popped the question,” noted the newspaper. “Other towns may suffer in this way, but not this town. In addition to the eighteen who received votes in the popular contest up to Saturday, six others have been nominated and among them, the king of all bachelors, Captain W. T. Gougar! And at that, not one-tenth of the eligibles have been mentioned yet.”

Astonishment at the entry of Gougar’s name might have been a result of his age. While most nominated bachelors were likely to be well under 50 years of age, William Gougar was 66. Well known as the owner of Kankakee River excursion boats and the popular Gougar’s Grove picnic ground between Kankakee and Waldron (Aroma Park), he was a lifelong bachelor.

The bachelor popularity contest was, of course, a circulation-building promotion for the Republican, which was one of three competing newspapers in Kankakee at that time. Voting required filling out and submitting coupons from the daily newspaper; avid supporters of candidates would likely purchase several copies of the Republican at a time. To further increase revenue from the contest, the newspaper devised a multiple-vote “subscription coupon.”

Noting that some supporters of bachelor candidates “think the single coupons are too slow a method to show their friendship, the Bachelor Editor has decided that subscription coupons will be issued in addition to those printed in the paper each day.”

Readers extending their existing subscriptions would qualify for “one vote for each cent paid … where the payment amounts to fifty cents or more.” New subscriptions qualified for three votes for each cent paid. The newspaper subscription rate was 10 cents per week, while single copies cost two cents.

By Thursday, Jan. 9, the list of competing bachelors passed the one-hundred mark. The newspaper announced that on Saturday, the names of all men with fewer than five votes would be deleted, and no new names would be added.

As the competition continued, local merchants weighed in, offering a variety of prizes to the winning bachelor (and the potential bride who claimed him). The prizes offered included engagement and wedding announcement cards, a “pictorial marriage license,” a wedding cake, a $100 credit on a West Kankakee lot “upon which to set up a cage for the bird,” one ton of coal, $10 worth of dental work for the bride or groom, pairs of shoes for both the bride and groom, “fashionable hair dressing” for the bride, a “millinery creation” with a value of $10, and a free carriage ride for the happy couple in “one of Mose Betourne’s rubber-tired rigs.”

Leadership in the voting changed several times in the course of the contest. Dr. Kell, the early leader, dropped to second place on Jan. 9 behind Armand “Andy” Andereck. By Jan. 15, Andereck had slipped to fifth place, as Louis Beckman (a future Kankakee mayor) claimed the top spot with 2,042 votes. Kell, with 1,242 votes, remained in second place.

On Jan. 17, a new name — W.E. Hixson — appeared in the top spot, moving up from ninth place. Again, Kell retained second place, followed by Beckman in third. The following day, the field of contenders condensed to 25 as the Bachelor Editor removed all contenders with fewer than 50 votes.

Hixson, Kell, and Beckman retained their positions as the field was again cut on Saturday, Jan. 25. For the final week of balloting, only 15 candidates would remain. On Jan. 30, when the last voting coupon appeared in the Republican, Kell had regained first place, followed by Hixson, then Beckman.

On Saturday, Feb. 1, the Republican informed its readers, “Hats off to Dr. Omar Kell of the Hospital staff. He’s the most popular bachelor … and there’s no mistake about it. He received more votes in the contest which closed yesterday than all the other contestants combined. … The number of votes received yesterday was over thirty thousand.”

Kell’s winning total was 40,515 votes, while Hixson received 17,563, and Beckman gathered 8,029.

“The contest is over as far as the counting of the votes is concerned,” observed the Republican. “But the prizes can be awarded only after somebody has proposed to the lucky man and he has accepted. So, it is up to the ladies.”

Kankakee girls who wished to propose were instructed to send an application to the Bachelor Editor. “On Monday morning at nine o’clock all applications will be opened and the arrangements will be made for the popping of the question.”

Monday came and went with no applications arriving at the newspaper office.

“The girls of Kankakee are so bashful,” the newspaper observed, “that even when fifteen eligible young men are offered, none of them will come forward and take advantage of the leap year and propose. They are given until Tuesday morning and if they still ‘pass up’ the chance, applications will be solicited from widows and girls outside Kankakee.”

Tuesday passed with the same lack of results, but Wednesday produced a single application from a “petite widow.” Unfortunately, the widow failed to provide any contact information, signing her letter with only the name “Adeline.”