Asheville daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1890-1900, 1892-11-25
A DAY OF THANKSGIVING
THE NATIONAL. HOLIDAY IN
AsHEVLLLE.
The Day Beautiful but COId-The
Exercises by the Children of the
CITY schOOls-At the Churches
aud the ". NJ. c. a.

au1 tne NJ M. ~ a
Asheville's Thanksgiving Day was a
sunny but cold, very cold, one. Wednes-
day evening shut down freezing cold,
with biting wind blowing, that felt de-
cidedly blizzardish. People who were so
un!ucky as to be abroad scudded along be-
fore the wind or staggered as they slowly
made their way in the teeth of the blast.
There were compare ively few people o.
the streets. The weincrwurst mau did a
rushing business, while the dime museum
man picked up an occasional ten-cent
piece. Those places of business that
were heated were the most popular in
town, and the star gazer, out after comet
news, did his work as quickly as possible
and hustled back to his warm room.
In the midst of these conditions Ashe-
vile went TO bed early and slept la:e
Thursday morning. The business houses,
recognizing the fact that there would
not be much string early. were in no
hurry to open. The majority of them,
however, did so, after awhile. When
THE CITIZEN visited the drug store of T.
c. Smith & Co., on the square. at sos
O'Clock the thermometer in the front
door showed the mercury marking l q a
figure very much lower than yet reached
here this fall. The mercury at Grant S
pharmacy, South Main, on the eastern
end OF the building, in reach of the rays
of the sun marked 200 at the same hour.
Many stopped to look at the ercury,
and seeing the figure hurried on with II
"U.g-h," buttoning their oycrcoats
tighter about them.
Some OF the young men who were for
tunate enough to get holiday went
hunting and were half frozen for their
pains. But the contractors on the city
paving, determined to make hay while
the sun shone, fired up their pitch tanks
and to the monotonous tunes OF the col
orcd men at work, bricks were laid and
tar spread just as if Thanksgiving day
with its attendant turkey and cranberry
sauce stood six months in tine fore
ground. On South Main Webb, Oates,
Eskridge & Co. completed the paving
on the west side to the Swannanoa ho-
tel, an event which should have been
celebrated by torchlight procession and
bonfire. The city force on Merrimon
avenue began laying the first course OF
the brick paving, working between the
bridge and North Main.
How the Children spent 1t.
The big, pretty auditorium of the First
Baptist church never had brighter,
happier gathering than it did yesterday
at 10 o'clock, when the children of the
city schools held their Thanksgiving ser
vice there.
The beginning Of the service had been
set for 9:45, but some of the youngsters
were late, and it was so much after that
time when the service opened that it had
to be abbreviated to prevent trespass
upon the time for the joint Thanksgiving
service of the First and French Broad
Baptist congregations.
The little folks began arriving soon at-
ter o'clock-singly, doubly, and in
groups and classes-small fellows hold
ing to their larger brothers hand and
older ones who marched i'll with all the
air of a grown-up person, with look on
their faces that plainly showed their ap-
probation of the day and its manner OF
observance. There were the boys and
girls in overcoats and turs, and there
were some that had neither of these arti-
cles-but there they sat. on seats side by
side, all differences forgotten in the cxhil-
aratiou OF this holiday.
AS far as possible the children of the
different schools and grades were grouped
together. and they filled large part OF
the auditorium. The bright sunlight
outdoors found entrance through the
great windows Of stained glass, and
threw a soft light over the scene of ami.
nation in the interior. 1t was a sight
seldom seen in Aseville, and one never to
be forgotten by the 700 or 800 children
the parents of many of them and the
visitors present.
The pulpit of the church was profusely
decorated with evergreens. Besides Su
perintendent p. Z. Claxton, of the city
schools. there were on the platform Rev
Chas. w. Byrd of Central M. Il. church
South; Rev. w. P. Southern, of the West
End Baptist mission; Miss Maude Pow
ell, teacher of music in the schools (whc
led the singing OF the day. and ]. II
Tucker, esq. The service was opened by
the singing of Praise God From Whom
All Blessings Flow" by all present, fol
lowed by a scriptural reading by J. II
Tucker. Rev. W. P. Southern Offered
prayer. At the conclusion of the prayer
the children sang "My Country, 'Tis O
Thee"-and they sang it in stirring
way. 1t was sung with more vim
and volume than any of the others, thi
being accounted for by the fact that thi
song has been sung in the schools 70
long time, while nearly all of the OF her
were comparatively new.
Following this was the song Heal
High the Wintry Hoard" Superintendent
Claxton then announced that very sc
we're hoarseness prevented Rev. Chas. w
Byrd from delivering the address a
fixed upon in the program. So the Su
perintendent himself addressed the chill
dren in ten or fifteen minute talk tina
was an admirable one in every way. H
recited the many things the people ha,
to be thankful for-life, the beautiful sun
shine, a grand country, and especially t,
be thankful for was the spirit tha
prompted the people of Asheville t,
build new schools, greatly enlarging tn
facilities for the accommodation G
children who should be and wished to b
in school. Asheville had done more i
this way during the past year, Mr.. Ciax
ton said, than any city in North Care
lima. He also referred in congratula
tory style to the increase of the Kinder
garten work here since the city school
had made their contribution two year
ago. Then. he said, there were fort
children in the kindergarten. Now ther
are nearly 200 in the schools, with min
teachers. The address all through wa
easily understood by the children as we
as the older ones.
When the Superintendent had cot
cluded Reward of Labor" was suns
after which the fourth grade Of the Bale
street school, under the leadership {
their principal, Mrs. Fannie Featherstor
ooun the UTha al r:x;,r Co,0 - a. lille