Marriage celebrations can be noisy, fun affairs, but one in particular got out of hand on West 14th Street in Medford, Ore., one night in October 1913.
The Medford Mail Tribune reported, “Friends and acquaintances of Miss Maude Bratney and Scott Beghtol of Omaha, Nebraska, gave them an old-fashioned charivari when they were married at the home of the bride’s mother… Guns were shot off, horns tooted, cowbells rung and tin pans beaten, until residents of that section thought a premature celebration of the opening of the Panama Canal was being held. The noise subsided when the groom appeared and paid the customary tribute to the noisy delegation.”
According to Wikipedia, such a celebration is better known in the United States as a
shivaree, and it is an old European, particularly French custom. Although they began just as noisy celebrations, charivaris were sometimes a way for neighbors to object to a marriage they believed was inappropriate, such as a widow or widower marrying too soon. The Catholic Church banned charivaris in the 17th Century, but that clearly did not prevent them.
Maude and Scott Beghtol’s 1913 charivari was just for fun.
Sources: "Noise Charivari Disturbs Peace of Neighborhood." Mail Tribune 10 Oct. 1913 [Medford, Ore.] : 3. Print; "Charivari." Wikipedia. 25 Aug. 2015. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
