River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1900-03-15
TOWN WITH NO BILLBoARDs.
Days when All shows Had to Have
Street TO Draw
the Crowd.

did you ever live in a town where
there were no billboards ?" asked a man
who was looking at a gang of billpost-
ers at their work.
II did a good many years ago." he
continued, "and we had some pretty
good shows occasionally, too. In fact,
the wayin which the shows advertised
themselves intensified the desire to see
them. / am not talking about cirsuses
or MINISTRIES. They always do the street
parade act. / mean theatrical COM
panies. / don't suppose you ever saw
Il theatrical company turn out TO pa
rade? have seen it in my old town in
the days when there were no bill boards
in that country.
II remember when Mazeppa' was to
be given in the town hall. There was
but one entrance to the hall, and above
it was a lodge room. / don't suppose
you could gull the people with any play
of 'Mazeppa' that didn't have the wild
horse, or some other kind of horse of
Tartary any more than you could fool
them with a Hamlet without the
prince. The Mazeppa' company that
an " my AONh ndu d VIII llOl 81. II
was necessary TO convince the people
of that fact. The only brass band in
town was hired and put into a big
wagon which was hauled through the
streets, the band playing what few
numbers it had. and the wild horse hal
tered TO the tail-end Of the band wagon.
In a few one-horse buggies were the
members Of the company. The young
oma who was TO play the title role
you know they always have a woman
for Mazeppa- rode in the first buggy
with the manager. OF urse a crowd
followed the parade. 1t does that in
town or city just the same. The horse
vas taken up in the hall before the play
began, and he remained until after the
show, when he was brought out as he
had gone in, on planks laid over steps.
He had a sort OF stall during the play.
made with a heap Of sawdust so that his
stamping would not annoy an audi
ence.
"The first night of the show, after the
performance, and after the wild horse
had been brought out, the men who had
that work forgot TO remove the planks
from the stairway leading TO the street.
The lodge above had a session that
night, and after the convocation the
members stepped on the planks, which
were quite smooth, and before they re-
allied what was up found themselves on
the sidewalk without the effort of walk
ing. There was some talk of suing the
company, but a few complimentaries
fixed that.
But it was not only the show with
the horse that paraded. I. remember
when The Lady of Lyons was played
there, the company turned ont in
sleighs, and the brass band was in a big
wagon-bed mounted on hobs. That was
the first time English music was ever
played by hat band in any town. The
management of the company brought
ii out. IT was the old familiar Cheer,
Boys, Cheer In The Lady of Lyons
company of which l am speaking was
some home talent. One was a young
painter of the town who was a very
good all-round man. He played First
Grave Digger in Hamlet and once
when an Uncle Toms Cabin company
same TO town and showed in a tent, and
their Uncle Tom couldn't appear, our
home talent, the young sign painter,
took the part.
1.-The young woman who walked the
rope stretched from the roof of a two
story building to a similar one cross
the street was a wonder. She was the
advertisement for a variety show. The
woman who made the ascension to the
top of the center pole of a circus was a
common care in those days, but the one
who walked across the street on a rope,
over the heads of the populace, was the
far-famed artist.
There was one newspaper in the
town, but for some reason the shows
did not p%atronize il. Hence they re-
sorted to outdoor parades TO draw the
crowd. and l never knew any company
to leave the town on foot-not even the
panorama of Kane's Arctic expedition
which stole the Newfoundland dog of
the mayor of the town and palmed him
off as DR.. Kane's."-N. Y. Sun.