Musical accompaniment by Blind Willie McTell: Your Southern Can is Mine

The description of this 1911 photograph of a cafe in Reno read  “divorcées’ favorite cafe.”

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Our country’s divorce laws have changed a lot in the past century. In the 1910s, some states denied divorce petitions based on what they saw as insufficient grounds. Or they might demand proof of physical cruelty.  In most cases, these laws worked against the woman but there were exceptions.  Buffalo Bill Cody and his wife Lulu had a wild divorce hearing. Most spectators thought Cody had plenty of grounds to leave Lulu but the courts were not sympathetic to him.

Strangely enough, there was a period in American blues music that dealt very nonchalantly with domestic violence. Today’s musical selection is one example. The other one that comes to mind is a Trixie Smith song, You Got to Beat Me to Keep Me.

A staged picture from the 1890s named “Grounds for Divorce”

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Reno heard Opportunity knocking. The town proclaimed itself the “divorce capital of the world” and marketed itself accordingly.
A woman who wished to obtain a divorce could establish residency in six weeks in Reno and she was guaranteed a divorce, no matter what the circumstances,  The city flourished, thanks to divorce tourism and gambling, eventually renicknaming itself “Neon Babylon.”

I submit to you that this is a little much. The story of Sheik Fred Keetch from some time ago had already compelled this site to take a firm stand against the practice of people nicknaming themselves. We were inclined to look the other way in Reno’s case, but giving itself a second absurd nickname is going too far. We can’t stand for it, Old Spirituals now officially frowns upon cities and municipalities that nickname themselves. On that somber note, I’ll wish you all a good evening.