Monroe Entertained 25,000 at Outstanding 4th of July Celebration, 1919

From the Monroe Journal, July 8, 1919

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.