The Saint Paul globe., 1896-11-29
THE CHERRY SISTERS.
Cedar Rapids Correspondent Tells
Who They Are

Cedar Rapids Io Nov &c.
me Cherry sisters, who are at present
anoLuing the playgoers of New York so
mucn amusement. were raised on farm
near Marion, Linn county this state The
story CT their childhood and early girlhood
throws some interesting side lights on their
present unique career,
1t may be said at the outset that they are
not the subjects for sympathy which they ap-
suggested, clever actresses who are quietly
guylng public that thinks it is guying
tnem. They are simply shrewd young coun-
Try girls with passion for money getting.
Iney are willing to bear the publc's scorn
II they can also bear away with them the
public's dollars. Withal, they take them
selves seriously. They think they have talent,
and they regard the demonstrations during
their performance as the results of press
agents yarns about them. They purpose to
be rich, and they have other ambitions which
Will be mentioned here.
THEY FED THE PIGS AND PLoUGHED.
There are five Cherry sisters-Efie, Jessie,
Lizzie, Addie and Ella Their father was a
parent Of the old school type. He believed in
making his girls work. They did work. They
fed the pigs, husked sthe corn, milked the
cows and ploughed. When the weather was
bad they went to the district school, and in
the winter they arose early in the morning
to do the chores and be in time for the open
ing exercises.
they were the delight of the hearts OF the
Cherry girls. They practiced their pieces
at recess, on the way home and on the hay
NOW after they reached home to the great
disgust of their honest old father, who re-
garded all this as a sheer waste of time.
At last the old manNdied and the sisters,
free from all restraint, were left to cultivate
their artistic tastes, and, incidentally, to
manage the farm. The result Of this ambi-
tious self-cultivation was that one evening
the district school house was filled with
country audience prepared to enjoy the first
performance of the young amateur actresses.
The sisters were clad in smiles of conf
dence and in abbreviated costumes, in which
were mingled strikingly, If not harmoniously,
the demonstrations Of approval were liberal
offerings from ethe garden and the poultry
yard. and these have been prominent feat
ure at the Cherry sisters entertainment
ever since. The all-star Quintette held con-
sultation after the performance and decided
that it had beena successs Henceforward- they
would devote every spare minute to the de-
velopment of their phenomenal talents.
Fortunately. each sister had speciality.
Ella turned herg gattent ton ftDs skesehingn and
painting. issAddie ,ssswho n.posed as,Abeine a.
dreamy and imaginative young person + COM
posed for their programmes many poems and
songs, which were advertised as entirely orig
inal. That the advertisement, was not g. whit
exaggerated is to be seen from the following
stanza from one of the most familiar of the
Cherry sisters songs
Mine years ago 1 was called an old maid,
But now l skittish and fly: Sc@
Of all the old bachelors ! was afraid,
And was most uncommonly shy;
But all of sudden, one nice day in June
1 found young man to my mind;
When he tickled my chin l thought l would
swoon,
But love is only blind"
Dazzled by success; the sisters finally de-
cided, as Ella put it, to "quit playin afore
folks what aint got no tasts." Marion, Ce-
dar Rapids and many other towns were ia
vored by an evening with the stars. Every
where the result was the same In the first
act the audience howled with glee, in the
next applause and vegetables rained down
upon the stage and in the third and last
the enthusiasm could only be checked by the
girls calling the marshal or by rushing upon
the stage with target rifles and threatening
to shoot the first galoot what insults us
ag'n."
Finally Lizzie the inventive genius, con-
ceived the idea of playing behind a wire
screen and this has been followed ever since
But the box Office receipts piled up, for hun
dreds went to see the girls, who were by no
means all concealed by their fearfully and