The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-08-14
ELKS HAVE THEIR
ANNUAL OUTING
Fine Weather and Big Crowd OF Beauti.
full Lake Ariel.
VERY ENJOYABLE TIME WAS HAD
Fat Mems Race tho Principal Feat
urc ofthe Day--It Was Won by Will
watkins-- Concert bv Bauer's Band
and varions Other Entertainme ents.
Day Passed OF without Mishap OF
Any Unpleasant Occurrences.

The weather clerk, also, evidently be-
lieves that the Elks are the best peo-
pie on earth. Such weather as he
dealt out yesterday showed beyond
peradventure that he was as good as
his word that he would make UP for
his neglect of a week ago Thursday in
not acquainting himself with the fact
that Il was the day selected for the
Elks' annual outing. Twenty-Five car
loads of people took advantage OF the
day to enjoy the delightful ride to
Ariel and the invigorating ozone which
abounds tbout the lake.
The crowd went UP on four trains,
two in the morning and two in the
afternoon. The train which left the
Erie and wyoming station at 1:30 p.
m. was the principal excursion train,
being made up of ten coaches and
carrying 600 people. The band came
from the grove to meet 1t and with a
lively quickstep headed the excursion
lists in their march or rather rush for
the picnic grounds.
AFTERNOONS LARGE CROWD.
1t had been rather quiet during the
earlier part of the day, but after the
arrival of the main body of the pleas
ure seekers at 2:30 things began to
liven up Extra help was put to work
at the lemonade and other stands and
the various entertainment committees
rolled up their sleeves and pitched in.
To say that everybody had a good
time Is unnecessary. The Elks never
allow their guests to have anything
else but a good time and yesterday,
! as may be we'll believed, was no eX-
ception.
To tell the truth, the lake was some-
what of a superhuity yesterday.
Maybe 1t was that the crowd didn't
take to it's chief ingredient or that the
| grove offered more enticements, but
| be that as 1t may, it was poorly
| patronized most of the excursionists
| satisfying themselves with a cursory
glance at its beautiful expanse and a
casual comment on it's attractiveness
| They were, however, to tell the the
truth again, justified in preferring the
| grove to the lake, for all the fun Gen.
| tered in the latter place and there
was no stint of that self-same fun.
FAT MEMS RACE.
Chief among the features of the day
was the fat mems race, which wa:
pulled off at o'clock. There were 81,
entries, the contestants and theil
weights being as follows: w. w. Wat
kins, 220 pounds; County Commission
er John Demuth, 212 pounds; Ton
Jones, 240 pounds; Tom Dunn, 2S
pounds: Joe Jeffreys, 264 pounds; Chic
p. ]. Hickey, 260 pounds. The course
was 25 yards, and the prize a silk um
brella. Watkins and Demuth got the
start, and as they blocked the who'll
width of the course no one could ge
past them and they finished in th'
order named. Dunn took cut through
the brush and reached the tape first
but he was protested and after bit
ter wrangle was ruled out by Refere
Billy Craig and Starter Alex Dunn
Chief Hickey afterwards challenged
the winner and another contest is like
ly. The time was 2:40.
Among the other interesting feature
were a slack wire exsibition by tn
Coleman brothers, a lightning drill ex
hibition by Professor F'rutchy, and las
but far from least concert by Bauer
band, lasting for an hour.
The day passed off without misha
or unpleasant occurrences of any kline
and the excursionista upon their re
turn, last night, voted, with one accord
that it was, as usual, the gala excur
sion event of the year.