Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1899-08-25

"lleeicsS desert, they called il, Then,
Haunted by beasts and tOrsUok 10y men.
Little they knew what wealth untold
lay hid where The desolate Iraii,es rolled
WhoWould have dared. vt. trush or pen.
A. this hand is uCw, 20 palt II them
And how would the wire ones have laughed in
sCOrn.
Had prophets foreto'd these walls Of corn.
W hose ban. cr~ toss On the breeze Of morn"
1t is not Of history that the uncients
met, organized committees, issued an
appeal and drummed up subscriptions
when tie season came 10 celebrate the
harvest Of the crops Naturally, spou-
taneously and unanimously TIE Atchis-
onans give one day in the year to corn
and hilarily and art This day is
when the frost is on the pumpkin and
the corn : in the shock" or, TO be cal
endarly accurate, the 2lst Of September.
All roads in the corn belt lead to AtChl-
son that day. They do their part by
carrying the corn grower, his wife, sons
and daughters and the hired man POO
miles for 81, and hauling them home
for nothing The return trip is up
grade, but it takes less locomotive pow
er. Hundreds of bushels of shelled corn
which filed the pockets of the jewellers,
have been left behind TO make 3-inch
carpet of the maize pattern on the wide
streets Of Atchison. This is one of the
unanimous features of the corn carnival
the name the celebration bears. Every
body throws corn, and nobody protests
The corn throwing is defensibe on
the theory that 1t affords the opportun-
ity for all to actively participate. 1t
isn't the most interesting feature or the
most distinctive feature of the carnival.
The city is decorated, and corn in Il
myraid of forms is employed. lndiyi-
dual ingenuity is given full play. The
business houses vie with each other in
elaborate devices to do honor to the
great cereal. Then there are corn cos
tunes. Last ear 1000 people clad in
garments and headgear devised from
corn walked the streets. What can be
done in decorating and costuming with
corn stalks, corn leaves, corn husks,
corn tassels, ears of corn, shelled corn,
popped corn, colored corn, corn cobs,
only those who have seen an Atchison
corn carnival can appreciate. Ladies
wear hats made of corn, frame and
trimmings, complete. They have capes
of golden brown fashioned from corn
husks. Men have hats and jackets of
corn. A lady OF Atchison, Mrs. Ii. }.
Cusack, has won national fame as
.'corn miliner." Her work is labor
of love. Her creations are gifts. Last
year Mrs. Mckinley received the pro
duet Of Mrs. Cusack's artistic eye aud
fingers, and there was much marveling
hen the box was opened at the White
House and the dainty corn bonnet was
lifted out This year Mrs Cusack is at
work on two dreams of corn bonnets,
one to go TO Queen Victoria, and the
other to the first lady" of the United
States.
The corn doll is one of the popular
souvenirs of the carr wal. Thousands
are made, with dresses and hats and
parasols If corn husks. and they sell
like hot corn cakes. Corn manufacture
extends to necklies and even 10 corn
shoes. Cornstalk canes are carried.
Almost endless is the variety Of things
which illustrates the idea of the carni-
val.
The king of the carnival tides in IA
chariot under a canopy of cornsiaiks
drawn by horses, ever the heads oi
which nod great plumes of husks. His
army is battalion after battalion Ui
marching corn shocks. Nothing more
uu,ci WIS ever seen il II street parade
than 200 corn shocks marshaled in com
paucs and moving in time behind the
chario. of the king. Concealed 10 each