The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-02-21
VILLAGE SHOWS.
How We Boys Used to See tho
Exhibitions for Nothing.
Luke Sharp Lives Over Again in Memory
the Days of His Youth-The Worst
Boys in Town and the Rackets
They Worked.

They Worked.
Every now and then there used to
come around to our village some one
horse show. AS general thing these
shows were held in the village school
house, that being the only place availa-
BILE for the purpose, and l have a strong
suspicion that the teacher on each of
these occasions got free tickets, because
generally on the evening of the show,
before school was out, the teacher handed
round lot of long bills announcing the
merits of the exhibition. These bills
were generally about six inches wide
and two or three feet long. and written
in, in ink, was the name of the place
that the exhibition was to be held.
Although the admission fee was gen.
orally about ten cents for boys, it might
as well have been $50, because we didn't
cold day when we missed the show. The
first exhibition / ever attended, and one
which ! though the most wonderful that
the world could produce, was a magic
lantern affair, which worked on the re-
ligious feeling of the community by be-
ing mostly made up of Bible scenes,
with some very wonderful accompani-
ments, as, for instance, the animals go
ing into the ark. The ark was shown
there something like big steamboat
with house built on it, and up the
gang-plank there slid none of the ami
mails could walk the most astonishing
menagerie that ever was painted on can
vas. l remember to this day their jerky,
slidy motion as the lions, and the lambs,
and the bears, and the tigers, and Os-
triches, and all the other strange beasts
of the earth went up the gang-plank
safely into the ark. The exhibition
ended up with a lot of comic pictures
that had nothing of the religious tone
about them and which were exceeding
ly popular with the boys.
We had different methods of getting
into those shows. A show was either a
twO-man show or a Oneman show. Some
times there was only one man who did
the Undertaking until every body was
in, and then went to his place at the
magic lantern and delivered his lecture:
and at another time there were two men
ShOws-One man to attend the door and
another to manipulate the lantern. We
had different method for the ty!n7rnar
show than tGr the oI5-man show. When
Vie ope-man show was in town we knew
We were all right The man would at
tend to the door until seven or eight
O'clock, or whenever the performance
commenced, and then he would delegate
some one of the villagers to attend the
door. This was our stronghold. As
soon as the villager took his place
at the door-of course we all knew
him and he knew US - there would
be a short parley. He knew that if
he did not let us in we would raise
particular Cain outside and nobody in
the audience would have any comfort
while the show was going on. So he
generally allowed us tOsteal in quietly,
one by one, on the promise not to raise
fuss or give him away. Once inside,
we were quiet enough, because we knew
we could not work that racket again
when the next show came if we made
ourselves obnoxious. With the two
men show it was different We had no
pull on the foreigner, SO we had to trust
to our ingenuity. We soon discovered
that with the two-man show the man
with the magic lantern was on the other
side of the curtain from the audience.
and the man who attended the door
generally stayed down near the entrance
and gave the lecture as the pictures
were thrown on the canvas. To give
this sort of an exhibition it was neces-
sary to have very transparent sheet
and to make the sheet the more trans
parent it was the custom of the show
man to have somebody from the tavern
where he stopped come down with pail
OF water and dipper, and then he threw
dipperfuls of water on the canvas until
1t was thoroughly wet. The hostler at
the tavern, who was generally expected
to come up with the pail of water, was
only too glad to have somebody do it in
his place, because he had free ticket
to the show anyhow. So the checklist
OF the party, generally Il must say with
out casting any reflections upon the
other boys), myself, was delegated to go
first with the water. l always got a
small tin pail and dipper, and after
two or three dozens of people were in
the hall, because there were ALWAYS
some in the village who were very anx-
ious to get in and secure front seats,
there being no reserve seat business in
those days, presented myself at the
door with the water and the pail, and
although sometimes my right to enter
was questioned, yet was generally al
lowed to pass through. / then told the
lecturer that had brought the water
and received a reprimand for not bring
ing bigger pail when told him there
would be no trouble in getting all the
water he wanted-I would see to that.
SO when the water was slashed on the
sheet I took the tin pail down and
handed it to the doorman and said:
Cant you git some of those boys to
run down for pail of water?''
why can't you 60 yourself?" he
would generally answer.
1.-THE man needs me up here unpack
ing and fixing the canvas"
So the pail would be handed out to a
boy and he would work in the same way.
Once boy got in. he never went out
again.
The worst sell on us boys that ever
took place was the Grand Panorama of
the Harpers Ferry Instruction. This
grand panorama came round shortly
after the instruction mad taken place
and was to show at the school-house. 1t
was represented that the cost of this
panorama was something enormous, and
of course we were all anxious to see it.
About seven o'clock presented myself
at the door with the customary pail of
water.
What's that for?" said the man at the
door.