25,000
Here for the Fourth. . . It Was Monroe’s Greatest Celebration. . . Not a Single
Arrest Made During the Day. . . Enough Soda Water and Lemonade Consumed to
Float a Young Battleship
Twenty-five thousand people were in Monroe for the Fourth of July
Celebration Friday, according to an estimate by Secretary Riddle of the Chamber
of Commerce. They came expecting to have a good time and they were not
disappointed. The flights by the airship, the parade, the races, exhibition
drill be the firemen, the base ball game between Monroe and Wadesboro,
concluded by fireworks, provided sights and amusement for all.
The crowds came trickling in Thursday afternoon and night. Every
train which stopped at the station unloaded its quota to the increasing crowd.
People were in attendance from every part of the two Carolina. Mr. M. Waller of
Charlotte, formerly a valued citizen of Monroe, came down for the day and he
reports that every native of Union living in Charlotte or every Charlottean who
had ever visited in Monroe shut up shop and attended the celebration. The 11
o’clock train from that city Friday morning was packed and jammed with humanity
coming to the celebration. Even the baggage car was crowded. Hundreds were in
attendance from Wadesboro and Anson. Thousands came by automobile. From an
early hour Friday morning until late at night the streets were a seething mass
of humanity.
The city was gaily decorated for the occasion and many of the
merchants had provided artistic window decorations which aroused admiration and
comment from all.
A few minutes before 11 o’clock the government airship in charge
of Lieutenants Wine and Cox took off from the Shute field on the eastern edge
of the city where it had effected a landing the afternoon before. Immediately
it was the cynosure of all eyes. For about a half hour the birdmen flew over
the city doing stunts which brought gasps of amazement. Then the plane set off
for Wadesboro where a negro celebration was in progress. About 1 o’clock it
returned to Monroe and effected a landing. It was then stocked with high grade
gas furnished by the Henderson garage by the Texas Oil Company and about 2:30
again took the air. After circling low over the city it set off on its homeward
trip to Pope field at Fayetteville. Lt. Cox informed a representative of The
Journal that the trip from Fayetteville to Monroe, a distance of 90 miles, was
made in 55 minutes.
Promptly at 11 o’clock the monster parade formed in front of Mr.
T.P. Dillon’s residence on McCauley avenue. Every angle of Union county life
was represented in the parade, which exceeded anything similar ever held here
before. For four miles it followed the asphalt pavement between sidewalks lined
with thousands of eager spectators. Under the guiding hand of the chief
marshals, Major W.C. Heath and Messrs. G.B. Caldwell and H.H. Wilson, it went
off without a hitch.
At 1:30 o’clock veterans of the War Between the States and their
wives were served dinner in the court house. About 150 partook of the bounteous
feast provided. The committee in charge of the dinner, Mr. B.C. Ashcraft, Mrs.
W.C. Crowell and Mrs. Charles Iceman, desire to express their thanks for the
hearty co-operation which they received from the people of the county in preparation
for serving the veterans.
The local chapter of the Red Cross kept open house in the Chamber
of Commerce rooms from 11 o’clock in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon
for returned Union County soldiers. About 300 of the boys were served with
sandwiches, ice cream and cake and cold drinks during the day. The women in
charge of this feature of the day were Mrs. A.L. Monroe, Mrs. J.C. Sikes, Mrs.
F.G. Henderson, Mrs. Charles Redfern, Mrs. Minnie Wolfe, Mrs. Estelle Stewart,
Mrs. Stamey Helms and Mrs. A.A. Heath, and Misses Ollie Alexander, B. Fairley,
Rachel Howie and Mary Elizabeth Monroe.
At 3:30 the races arranged for were held on South Hayne Street.
The centipede race and shoe scramble proved two of the most amusing spectacles
of the day. The Monroe Fire Company, the float of which attracted so much
attention in the parade in the morning, gave an exhibition drill, extinguished
a fire which had been kindled in front of the Ellen Fitzgerald hospital in
record time.
The horse shoe race was held at Robert’s field in the afternoon
and Clyde Acton, a native of the wild and wooly west, now employed by Fowler
& Lee, have an exhibition of bronco busting.
Late in the afternoon about 2,500 of those in town for the
celebration journeyed to the baseball park at Roberts’ field and witnessed a
spirited contest between Monroe and Wadesboro teams. Monroe was victor by the
score of 6 to 1. Elsewhere will be found an account of the game.
The day’s celebrating was concluded at night by a costly and
elaborate display of fireworks at the high school ground. Mr. J.H. Beckley was in charge of this feature of the program.
The judges awarded prizes to the following
Best
Decorated
Automobile: First, Mrs. W.A. Henderson; second, Miss Louise
Morrow.
Pony Buggy: First, Miss Ethel Sprouse; second, Miss Lula Gray.
Bicycle: First, Mary Myers Faulkner; second, Katherine Helms.
Show Windows: First: Efird’s Department Store; second, M.C. Howie.
Creditable mention—W.H. Belk & Bros., Lee & Lee Co., Union Drug Co.
Best Clown: Carl Thomas, Route 2.
Devil: Calder Shackelford
Giraffe: John and McLean Fairley
Pair of Horses: Silas Honeycutt
Pair of Mules: J.F. Thompson
Horse Cold: First, Lando Benton; second, Lloyd Green
Old Time Negro: Hugh Houston, colored
Floats
Fraternal: First, Camp Fire Girls; second, none
Manufacturing: First, J.H. Myers; second, Jackson Cotton Mills
Business: Henderson Garage and Machine Company
Patriotic: First, National Float prepared by Mesdames E.C.
Carpenter, W.W. Horn, Misses Sarah Welsh, Mary Porter, Cornelia Dillon, Mary
Benton, Velma Horn and Mr. Frank Porter; second, Mrs. John M. Fairley
School: First, Lee Park school; second, Monroe Graded School
Sunday School: First, Bethel Sunday school; second, none
Farm: Andrew Craig
Livestock: Andrew Craig
Races
Centipede: First, W.D. Belk’s team; second, Oscar Penegar’s team
Wheelbarrow: First, Clarence Grant; second, Albert Evans
Foot: First, Claude Broom; second, Oscar Penegar
Bicycle: First, Horace Deese; second, Ellis Baker
Horse: First, T.C. Lee Jr.; second, Marion Gravely
Shoe Scuffle: Oscar Penegar
The $25 gold brooch offered by A.W. McCall, Jeweler, to the most
beautiful woman under 25 years of age in the parade was awarded to Miss Mary
Benton.
Thanks to
These
The following committee is due credit for the great success of the
celebration: R.A. Morrow, T.L. Riddle, J.C. Sikes, T.C. Eubanks, Carl Wolfe,
L.E. Huggins, A.H. McLarty, Geo. W. Smith Sr., R.B. Redwine, G.B. Caldwell,
W.O. Lemmond, W.B. Love, C.J. Braswell, M.L. Baker, R.L. McWhirter, T.J.W.
Broom, J.N. Price, D.W. Austin, F.G. Henderson, Messrs. Dillon, Morrow and
Riddle have worked untiringly for days past on preparations looking to the
success of the Fourth. To them we would extend a rising vote of thanks.
The committee requests The Journal to thank the judges, marshals,
those in charge of special features, and all who attended for their
co-operation in making the celebration a success. It was not a case of let
George do it. Every one called upon by the committee responded, for which they
are grateful.
No Arrests
Made
Prohibition does prohibit, was shown in the crowds here for the
celebration. Not a single arrest was made. Chief Griffin stated that
considering the size of the crowd it was the best behaved one on record. Not
even a fisticuff during the day. Officers are remarking on the absence of booze
in the crowd. Hon. R.L. Stevens, for who 13 years was connected with the
Recorder’s court, says that if such a large crowd had come to Monroe in the
days when whiskey was obtainable that long before night the jail would have
been crowded. “Why, their feet would have been sticking out of every window of
the jail,” he declared. About all the policemen had to do aside from keeping
the traffic clear was to act as nurse, so well behaved wat the crowd. The
officers found and returned several lost children to their parents.
Much Soda
Water Consumed
No booze might have been obtainable but the crowds certainly did
consume enormous quantities of soda water and lemonade. Eight hundred cases of
soft drinks—19,200 bottles—had been disposed of long before night, and the
merchants were clamoring to the bottlers for more but there was none to be had.
At 8:30 one was fortunate to be able to buy a cold drink of any kind. There is
no way of telling how many drinks were sold at the fountains but it would
probably not fall short of 5,000. Lemonade on sale at most of the stores and
many stands disappeared by the barrel. Mr. Van Funderburk gave it away to the
amount of 12 barrels at his store.
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