Jasper County Democrat, Volume 18, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 July 1915 — Many Fourth of July Tourists Pass Through City. [ARTICLE]

Many Fourth of July Tourists Pass Through City.

A large number of automobile tourists passed through Rensselaer Saturday afternoon and Sunday, most of them being from Chicago, who were taking advantage of the Fourth of July holiday—the Fourth being observed on Monday as a legal holiday—to visit friends or simply taking a pleasure trip. Most of them returned through here again Monday. By the way, The Democrat wants to again emphasize a matter that it has spoken of frequently heretofore, and that is the necessity, as an accommodation at least, of placing up some permanent guide-boards to direct tourists passing through our city. The Chicago papers, we understand, are advising tourists to take this route to Lafayette, Indianapolis, etc., and the tourists who pass ed through here Saturday and Sunday were for most part making their first trip this way. About 75 per cent of the number made the mistake of turning south on River street, and many of them evidently went around past the ball park and beyond before discovering their error and having to turn back. Perhaps 25 to 40 per cent make this mistake right along, and turn at River street instead of going on to College avenue and thence -south to Reffiington. It would seem to us that our “Dustless Airline” officers and the Rensselaer garages would be doing tourists a greater favor and making the route more popular by spending 25c to 50c in putting up a guideboard near River street than they are in holding banquets at Lafayette and fish dinners at Cedar Lake. Strangers appreciate such courtesies, and it is too bad that the matter has not been acted upon before. Good substantial guide-boards should be put up wherever necessary, not only in Rensselaer but throughout the county.