Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 195, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 August 1920 — CLARENCE FATE GETS HIS PICTURE IN THE PAPER [ARTICLE]

CLARENCE FATE GETS HIS PICTURE IN THE PAPER

Clarence Fate, formerly proprietor of the Makeever hotel in this city and later owner of the College Inn restaurant, seems to have awakened Crown Point from her Sleepy Hollow attitude, judging from an article which appears in the Thursday Hammond Times along with his picture. Clarence is the President of the Crown Point,Chamber of Commerce and they do say that he it- the best president the Chamber has ever had in that city. Rensselaer’s loss appears to have been Crown Point’s gain. The article as it appears in the Times follows: ' Crown Point, Ind., Aug. 12«-That the very lively Seat of the capitol. of Lake county is fast getting away from its long .established titles of “the classic cojinty seat” and Sleepy Hollow and developing into one of the regular places between Indianapolis and Chicago, and -between ‘Frisco and New York is shown by the fact that a, fine new four or five, story ho|el fpr Crown Point is at last going to become a reality instead of a dream. One of the chaps who is doing most to liven up the hub. is Clarence Fate, president of the Chamber of Commerce. Clarence is a li/e booster and gets the other fellows to boost with him. That was one reason he was' elected president of the chamber. The other reason was CroWn ' Point’s need of a new hotel. Unless Fate can put that over they will mark him down as a failure end he realizes it. For that reason thb hotel is bound to go through. Imother words, Crown Point will have a hotel “sure as fate.” “Any one has not lived in Crown Point, has not lived,” is the he' expresses his faith in his home town. When Fate starts to tell about the things is doing he never* mentions himself; he always says Crown Point or “Chamber of Commerce.” In talking over the things that have been done and things planned for the future today he said: “The good that any civic organization does to its town is just so mpch and as much as its members put forth effort, for without effort there is no result.” He told how the chamber has caused to be established and marked three highways through the county seat—the Jackson Highway, the Huntington - Manatau - Culver route, and the Yellowstone Trail. The travel over these highways is immense.

Fate once heard Billy Sunday and got the revival idea. He proceeded to pull a civic revival through the Chamber of Commerce which lasted five days and nights, set the business men back S7OO in money but ahead many thousands in spirit and aggressiveness. The Thursday night band concerts by\ the Gary Municipal band are drawing crowds every week that tax the capacity of the public square and are without question the best thing the commerce body has done. Another big stunt was the Fourth of July celebration this 'year. Fifteen thousand people came from within a radius of 50 miles and spent the day as guests of the Chamber of Commerce; Everything was free. No other town of its size or larger ever did such a thing in Indiana before. -“We are the axis of 550 miles of macadam roads connecting with all of the hard surfaced highways of the nation,” said Mr. Fate. “And then look at this,” he added as he handed over h list of “What Crown Point has.” Here it is:

Two good railroads and an interurban electric line; the most productive farming country and most progressive farmers in America; makes the best feed grinder and three-row - cultivator on the market and which is shipped to all parts of the world; makes the best incubators, piston rings and overalls; has three large greenhouses which do wholesale business only; retail stores that snake mail order houses cut Crown Point off their lists; three banks able and willing to finance these industries and others that may care to come to the city, and last, but not least, THE FINEST BUNCH OF THE GREATEST BOOSTERS EVER. Incidentally when Fate isn’t boosting new roads, state highways and other Chamber of Commerce ideas, he writes letters to Mose, which have a sling and kick which geta them copied, writes life, fire and burglary insurance and of course is randlord of the county’s ancient landmark, the Commercial Hotel. The new hotel already has ite store rooms rented at a big income and has an honest-to-goodness bomlace to run it, and before Easter Clarence Fate’s big smile will be seen back of the desk of the Lake county’s finest hostelry.