Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 July 1889 — A GRAND SUCCESS. [ARTICLE]

A GRAND SUCCESS.

A CELEBRATION THAT BEATS ALL PREVIOUS RECOEJSCrSZ Every Detail Carried Out With the Most Gratifying Results. The celebration in Rensselaer last Thursday was a grand success, in every particular. The day was absolutely perfect, sofar as weather went and people kept pouring into town from all directions, from an early hour, until the crowd wassimpjly enormous in its dimensions. Great las its magnitude was, however, it can be truly said that a better behaved and better natured crowd never assembled anywhere, for any j purpose. There was no drunkenness,, no fighting nor rude conduct of any kind. The principal speaker, Hon. Michael D. White, of Crawfordsviilc, who has made hundreds of public speeches, in many different places and on many different oeca- , sions, declared that, he had never seen a better behaved nor more intelligent appearing crowd of people than were assembled in Rensselaer to celebrate the Fourth of July in the year 1889. The various committees having the different features of the celebration , in charge made every effort to Itonestly and in good faith carry out every promise made in the bills. If , their success was not perfect in every ( r particular it, at least, came so near t that standard, that the people were universally satisfied, and more than satisfied, with what had been done for 1 their entertainment and instruction. The committees, in fact, did wooders, especially considering thebrief time in | which the}" had to make the arrange, j ments for the celebration. Fspeeial 1 credit is duo to A Leopold, head of finance committee for his energy and success in securing subscriptions for the expenses of the celebration, and to James Hemphill and C. G. Scars, of the executive committee, for their able and tireless general management of the preliminary preparations of the affair.

The procession and trades display was formed at 10 o’clock, at the school house and marched to the public square, by way of Front street and Washington. It was headed by the Rensselaer Cornet Band, following which came the fire company, in uniforms and fire, engine and hook and ladder wagon, profusely decorat- : ee. After these came a large band !of Indians from the Indian School, in the panoply of war; members of the ( r. A. R.; the Rensselaer base b all club, headed by their knee-high | mascot, Paul Honan; and following ! these a trade display of considerable i magnitude, one of the most notable 1 - i features of which, being the Day Bros’, wagon, on which men were plastering a good sized wall and laying a brick chimney in the highest style of the art. There were good displays by agricultural dealers, and other merchants. Perkins’ steam caliope was there and got in its work in good shape. The band of Indians held a pow-wow immediately after the procession disbanded, on the dance platform in the square, which was watched with much interest by j all who could get near enough to see ; it.

The literary exercises of the day were held at a platform erected near the southwest corner of the square. In the forenoon were the reading of the Declaration by Frank Peregrine, several songs by the male quartette and an oration by Hon. Michael IX White, of Crawfordsville. In the afternoon, there were short speeches by local orators, songs Ac. The game of base ball was a disappointment. Full arrangements had been made for a match game between Montgomery Ward it Co’s. Commercial club, of Chicago, and the Rensselaer Blues, but at 10 o’clock A. M., of the Fourth, a telegram was received stating that four members of the club had failed to get to the depot in time to catch the tram and that therefore the balance of the club had decided not to come. A nine was picked up from about town which

played a sort of at game with the Blues, hut it was not h success, The climbing of the slippery pole was one of the first sports in the nfternoor. It jiful been made very slick indeed, with a free application of soft soap, and although many good, climbers essayed to reach the top, they slipped ingloriously back, after attaining a few feet. Jerry Mealy, Wartena, the young blacksmith, a withy j’oung Indian and several otbers demonstrated how hard a pole to go up and liow easy a one to come down, it was. Finally the attempts to climb the polewere all abandoned and attention was turned to the greased pig. He was a nice young porker, bat no razor-back and no account on the run. Several persons entered the race to catch him, but he fell an early and easy pre}- to Burt Hudson, who nailed him by the hind leg, and himg to him. A little after the pig was corralled, another raid was made on the slip- f pery pole. The sun had dried it somewhat, but it was still very slick, and a number of young fellows, white and red, had made unsuccessful attempts to reach the top, when a 12 year old liwl iaa boy, An thony Donnell by name, came forward and shinned up the pole with the agility of a cat. He brought down from the-top the tag which entitled him to the reward of $5, which was paid to him, at once, **nd-4be-s3tfppcdofr (tcrwir thtr street, the proudest young liijun on the continent. The ‘jhampion ss<* foot race, which had. been partly ar - ranged for, between MeA Ifakeever and Charley I’brjcsmasi, did not come off, as had injured one <>t tbe, ltij‘ legs he expected to run With} and therefore could not makq the race, that day. To take tjjft place of the champion race a purse was offered on a free-for-all race, for 100 yards, $lO for the first and $5 for the second. There were six or Severn contestants in this race, including two, or three young Indians. Al Robiason took the first money, in ten seconds time. B. F. Robinson and the young chief, Oshkosh, were a dead heat, for second place, bat In the seeond run, Oshkosh was Che winner. He is said to be a marvellous lbng: distance runner, being good for a ten mile run, at any time. The potato race was the most exciting and popular sport of the day .‘There were six or seveu contestants, each of whom had 33 potatoes placed in a. line, 3 feet apart, and which, had to* lie picked up and carried separately and placed in a basket, at tbe end of the line. Two Indians were in thisrace: Joe Day bird, who won therace, and Oshkosh, who was a good second. It required about two thirds of a mile run to pick np and carry to the baskets all the potatoes in one of the rows. The time of the winner was about i minutes. The display of fire works in the evening was very fine. The assortment was large and varied and they were fired off in good shape. The display was observed by an immense concourse of people. The various refreshment stands on the grounds did a- good business, clearing from $25 to perhaps SIOO each. The platform dance was a popular feature. The dancing began at 1 p. m. and continned for 12 hours. The large platform was constantly surrounded by a dense mass of people watching the dancing and listening: to the beautiful music furnished by tbe orchestra from J^fayette. ' jnM» *~.TX ■■ •* - ~, ~ ' ■■ ■ I ,’ll*