Marshville Fool Welcomes New Year With Dynamite Explosions, 1921

Marshville—The New Year arrived amidst a great clatter of sounding brass and tinkling symbols. There was no public watch night observed, but most of our folks were watching all right—and waiting, even though they had prepared for slumber. The preliminary ringing of bells and firing of guns finally announced the passing of the old veteran 1920 and the arrival of the smiling babe 1921. Then when the folks had generally thanked heaven that the racket had been no sore, wished everybody a happy New Year, and crawled in and were about half asleep, there came a mighty noise as if the earth were rending and the skies falling. Everybody sat up in bed and waited for the earth to close in on ‘em then, when it didn’t rubbed their eyes and demanded to know “Where am I?” By that time, the rumbling and roaring was diminishing sufficiently for one to think a wee bit, and gradually it became known that someone had made use of a mighty charge of dynamite in greeting the glad New Year! Well, everybody turned over then and started to sleep again; when they had given about one snore, the fool thing went off a second time and jerked everybody upright once more. This time to a minor explosion of their own; for while we all like to know when the new year arrives, yet it is a wee bit annoying to be informed of the fact twice in such strong language, and especially when we are about half asleep. However the last explosion seemed to have landing him safely, and there was nothing more said about it, and in the morning everybody had something to talk about and laugh over. From the front page of The Monroe Journal, by Lina C. Harrell, Jan. 4, 1921