Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 38, Number 81, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 July 1906 — A RECORD BREAKING CELEBRATION. [ARTICLE]

A RECORD BREAKING CELEBRATION.

Though Some Of The Best Features Were Spoiled By The Rain. Rensselaer was the only place of which had a regularly organized celebration, on a large scale, and people attended it in record breaking numbers, not only from the surrounding country and small towns, but from all neighboring towns. Never before perhaps in the history of the town were so many people here, and especially were so many coming on trains from other places. The milk train in the morning brought the first big crowd, including many from Goodland, Remington, Wolcott, Chalmers and Monon, and the Goodland band, and the Chalmers baseball team. Some 300 to 400 came on this train. Then the 9.55 train brought in another immense crowd from Monticello, and the It o’clock train from the north brought in probably about 1,000 people, there being over 500 from Lowell alone, including the Low ell band and baseball team. . In the way of amusements practically every item was produced just as announced on the program, though some of them not in their published order. The high jumping dog was a good feature. He climbs a nearly perpendicular ladder fully 50 or 60 feet and jumps down on a stretched canvass. He gave two performances. The foot ball chase was a very strenuous contest, in which about eight or ten strong young fellows struggled long and unavailingly to see which would be first to laud the ball from the K. of P. building to the court house steps. It was finally seen that the boys were wearing themselves out in the struggle and they were separated and formed in a line and the ball placed at a distance, and the boys started at a signal and the first man to it got the prize, a $5 set of pictures ofH. F. Parker. Herman Lang, of Goodland was the winter. The industrial Parade was the great feature of jthe forenoon, and was surprisingly large and attractive display, and was nearly eight blocks in length. Owing to the lateness of the train from the north it took place before) the arrival of the Lowell band and of the people who came on that train. It consisted of the following features:

Mayor Ellis in carriage. The Good laud band. The new Rensselaer fire wagon. Company M L N. G. Fine large float of Bi ver Queen Mill, a big water wheel in action a miller sharpening hi? millstone, samples of product etc. Large float of Fred Phillips, the auctioneer and second-hand goods dealer. Small but ornamental float of B. F. Fendig, the druggist. Men and boys with banners and in queer costumes, representing B. S. Fendig, poultry and junk dealer. Avery fine large float of the Rensselaer Lumber Company, representing a complete building with windows, doors and all. The excellent exhibit of B. D. Comer, the DeLeval Cream Seperator agent First came Barney leading a beautiful jersey cow, or a jersey cow leading the beautiful Barney, then a wagon with a separator in full action, and behind that another wagon with the butter making and packing processes in progress.

The W. H. Eger hardware float a large and finely ornamented, one. R. P. Benjamin’s sewing machine exhibit, with several machines^working away for dear life. A large float for Moody & Roth, the butchers. It included a Fausage'grinding machine tn action,

making the real ‘ ‘hot dog’ ’ bologna and every once in a while a fine fat dog was dropped into the hopper. Several fine canine specimens of the sausage “stddk” were carried in the rear of the float. J. H. Perkins came next with a neat gasoline engine in operation, G. E Murray Company’s exhibit small but highly ornamental and drawn by a team driven in tandem. Another very large and very fine hardware float for Warner Brothers. Duvall & Lundy’s exhibit, an ornamented buggy. C. J. Roberts, the buggy man, with three vehicles. Laßue Brother’s exhibit, two horses in tandem, one ridden the other driven. Scott Brothers big float for their harness shop. The Baughman and Ham ponies hauling large loadsjof children. Still another very fine hardware float for E. D. Rhoades.

Ornamented float for Long’s drug store, with large load of young girls. Little on horseback, for the Little Indian Cigar Store. The Kellner ice wagons. Float of Jesson the jeweler, a very animated exhibit. The Chicago Bargain Store ex hibit in five wagons, with a full Rube band playing good music in first, wagon, and the whole family going to the Bargain store in the last. The old man and old woman and the baby were in the front seat and their whole family, about 15 in number in the other seats. Herman Hordeman’s new threshing machine outfiit. The first performance in the afternoon was a “slide for life” by “Dare Devil Dick” Hartman, in which he slid down a rope from the highest windows in the court house tower, to the ground, by means of a saftaygrip invented by Jack Montgomery. He repeated the same thrilling act at 7 in the evening. The 100 yard dash was won by Mike Duffy, of Fowlet, Ist, Fred Parcells, of Rensselaer 2nd and C. Clark, of Monticello, 3rd. Fat men’s race, Howard Meyers of Brook, Ist, John Bartholomew, of Remington, 2nd and Ed. Leach of Rensselaer 3rd. Just about this time a shower put [a stop to the festivities for about li hours. The vast crowds of people swarmed into every floor and office in the court house, filled every store and stood under every porch and awning and most of them thus found shelter, though the rain very much interfered with and curtailed the amusements.

The pony driving race was as exciting while it lasted as the Ben Hur chariot race. The Baughman pony was first and the Ham pony 2nd, and there wasn’t any third because there were no more ponies. Potato race, Albert Thornton Ist Sam Livingston 2nd and Hack, of Lowell, 3rd.

Obstacle race, Livingston Ist, Gibbs 2nd, Thornton 3rd. The base ball game between Lowell and Chalmers was delayed by the rain, but still had a large attendance, whose absence could hardly be noticed. It resulted in a victory for Lowell by two runs for them to one for Chalmers It was an excellent game. The sham battle, which would have otherwise been the great feature of the afternoon, was badly curtailed by the storm. It finally took place in a small way in the court house square, with Company M, and a large detachment from the Monticello company participating. After supper there was a concert by the bands, which furnished fine nrasio>ll day, and a splended and thrilling run by the Rensselaer fire department. The run was from the [engine house to just across the Washington street 1 ridge,[where a make-believe two

story house had been erected. In the rear of this a big fire of boxes and similar material was started, which shone out of the windows of the sham house and gave a good imitation of a fire. After several thrilling rescues of the endangered inmates of the house, two streams of water were turned on. but care was taken to play on the branches of the trees., further back, so as not to put the fire out too quick. The biggest exhibition of fireworks ever seen in the town con eluded the day’s exercises. They were fired from the roof of the State bank, a most excellent location for general observation, and lasted an hour and a half.

Any attempt to estimate the crowd would be mere guess-work. Besides the several thousand who came in on trains, they cam# in vehicles from 15 and 20 miles around. Every street swarmed with buggies and carriages and larger wagons. Few people would estimate the entire crowd at less than 7,000 or 8,000, and may would go as high as 14,000 or 15,000. It was a wonderfully good natured and well behaved crowd and not a single quarrel or serious disorder of any kind was reported and no ai rests were made.

All the stand keepers and restaurant men are now ready to setup for Vanderbilts, so immense was the- business they did. The restaurants — and -eating stands especially, had more business than they could attend to. A single instance will illustrate the magnitude of this business. The Christian Church ladies had a dining room in one of the vacant store rooms in the Nowels block, and their re ceipts showed that during the day and evening they fed upwards of 1,000 persons. One man who had a stand at the at the State Bank corner so n be gan to sell that celebrated beveridge known as “hop ale,” but he was very soon notified to quit under penalty of arrest, and he quit. No gambling devices of any kind were tolerated, and a man who came in witn an outfit the evening before was promptly fired out of town.