The Prosecution of Henry Kissel in the Roaring Twenties in Halifax

• Author: Constance Backhouse
• Pages: 79-103

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EChapterF

THE PROSECUTION OF HENRY

KISSEL IN THE ROARING

TWENTIES IN HALIFAX

HK   young man whose future brimmed w ith promise. A

nativeNewYorkerborninthe BronxtwentysixyearoldKissel wasinhi s

nalyearatt heprestigiousDalhousie MedicalSchoolin Halifax Only the

beststudentsweres electedtointern atthecit ysVictoriaGeneralHospital

and Henry Kissel was one of the favoured few.Whenhewasntatthehos

pitalhes haredac omfortabl etworoo matinth eWestmin sterApar tments

at the corner of Morris and Church stre ets with another Dalhousie medical

student from New York, Irving Marks.

Senior medical students were immersed in c lasses and rounds at the

hospital, but Henry Kissel never let his studies i nterfere with his social li fe.

His fashionable haircut and eyewear betrayed his dashi ng sense of style.

Round hornrimmed glasses were much in vogue meant to produce the

“academic look that was derigueuroncampusthatyearTrendseerslike

KisselfoundinsucientscopeforrevelryatDalhousiesstrictlychaperoned

student dances, where smoking was prohibited and a midnight curfew pre

vailed. Henry Kissel preferred t he public dance hall at the Armouries, where

he could mix with a looser, more boisterous crowd. That was where, in the

latesummerofhemetandmingledwithwomenlikeEthelMachan

BytheRoaring Twentieswereinf ullswi ngpart ofan irresistible

surge of rebellion sweeping across North America. The First World War had

ended, ushering in a bold and vivacious new decade to chase away the hor

ricmemoriesoftheshaeredbaleeldsTheMar itimeregionwasslower

to experience the optimism, havi ng been crippled by economic instability

ﾌﾄCarnalCrimes

Dalhousie University Archives Photographic Collection

HenryKiss elDalhousieMedicalS chool