Talk:Sturgis Pretzel House
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[edit] Anecdote
My ma used to live in litiz and when she and her sisier were younger, they stuck the tour starts here sign pointing into the girls school across the street. munkee_madness talk 01:47, 11 October 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Legend vs. History
It is unlikely the hobo story ever occurred. All bakers in the area were baking soft pretzels in 1850. The creation of the hard pretzel was more likely an accident of soft pretzels left in the ovens overnight. More likely, what Julius Sturgis contributed to the art was the commercialization of hard pretzels. He developed better baking techniques and better packing and shipping techniques.
Moreover, Julius worked down the street as an apprentice and learned his trade there. He would be unlikely to be the owner of the current pretzel bakery at 16 (which is what the legend claims). He more likely decided to hang his own shingle in 1861 and opened the current site at that time.
The hobo legend is a nice bedtime story, but it conflicts with history (just look up when Julius was born). The locals cling to it, but that doesn't make it factual. It should be included as legend, not as history.
The problem here is that real research was done by the Pretzel House manager in 2005, and this research was incorporated into the tour until the house was sold once again in 2006 (and tom Sturgis leased it). I am unsure if the new lessees maintain the hobo legend or the older staff delivers the newer research. Wikipedia is no place for original research so I can not cite their work. It would have to be published in another locale and there is probably little interest in doing that. cagomez talk 04:59, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
