From December 16, 1878 to January 14, 1879, Englishwoman Madame Ada Anderson walked 2,700 quarter miles in 2,700 quarter hours at Mozart Garden in Brooklyn, NY. As news spread of her extraordinary endurance walk, her fame as a pedestrienne grew.
For those who weren’t able to attend the 28-day walk by the performer-turned-athlete, the newspapers of the day reported her progress down to the smallest detail. One New York newspaper even reported what Madame Anderson ate over a 24-hour period as she made her long walk.
Watch this video to see what her 19th century athlete’s diet included:
Also check out Harry Hall’s book at http://www.pedestrienne.com for more great stories about these amazing women.
C. Dawn McCallum 
“My Grandfather’s Clock”
My grandfather’s clock was too large for the shelf
So it stood ninety years on the floor
It was taller by half than the old man himself
Though it weighed not a pennyweight more
It was bought on the morn of the day that he was born
And was always his treasure and pride
But it stopped, short never to go again
When the old man died
Ninety years without slumbering
tik,tlk,tik,tok
His life seconds numbering
tik,tok,tik,tok
It stopped, short never to go again
When the old man died
My grandfather said that of those he could hire
Not a servant so faithful he found
For it wasted no time and had but one desire
At the close of each week to be wound
And it kept in its place, not a frown upon its face
And its hands never hung by its side
But it stopped short, never to go again
When the old man died
It rang and alarmed in the dead of the night
An alarm that for years had been dumb
And we knew that his spirit was pluming for flight
That his hour for departure had come
Still the clock kept the time with a soft and muffled chime
As we silently stood by his side
But it stopped short, never to go again
When the old man died
Ninety years without slumbering
His life seconds numbering
It stopped short, never to go again
When the old man died
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Ada seems to have been an alcoholic.
It didn’t seem to slow here down.
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Harry Hall spoke to a nutritionist about the port wine. Apparently it was the Gatorade of that time.
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