Waterbury Democrat., 1900-12-14
ODD FELLOWS. MINISTRIES.
A Crowded House Enjoyed Splendid
 Performance.


 complshed what many others in Wa terbury had attempted at various times and he had accomplished it SucceSSIui- ly. He had brought together the best local talent ill tie city and completed as good d minstrel performance aS was ever pres med OH any stage by ana taurs. It iS no wonder that last night d and to-day. and perhaps il will follow him for many days. that Ee was dubbed the rival uf Iii Henly' and Burt HaVerly. for h" certainly dis played gool ability aA Il minstrel man u@er. and inc gratifying success of hiS efforts will reward him i'll some meas urc for his labOr> of the past few nGnthS.
 l. was tht. long expected might. it Was the u,ca$iUn that had been anN- iou:sIy awaited by tho performers. thrir friends and the people of Nat"lAur@ who had been promised great thln&S. Il was tn:. night of the minstrel per formancr given under tne auspices of the .Au%aurl Wuv lodge of Odd Fellows Polls tIVa;ur Was crUWd"d lu th2 dUHrs long before the wheels Of Inl:E- Strt!%E were syt in motion. It was itn enthusiastic @ath"rin%. and among 1Ac>,. Iir; <'nt cu,ld Ic seen many who $, llum attend Il pcr.orlu&1lre of any kind. They were there to %iVr q wei come JJ the young luVn of NHt1fnulN Wua had worked 50 hard to create might of fun and frolic. EvpryhodE WaH there to enjoy tnr entert3lnm"ht and tu crticiZv. perhaps. il Il WaS ngcv+SIlE. Nj did enjoy ii. but :iS far as iiir criticism iS "ulicrrn"t. there can be oiily tlIp most faV3r2i'le words sad.
 It lvHS shortly :It;r quarter rISt when the i@I!al V;3l given Tor the cur 7aln to ascend. Nut H light WaS NlSl- bl, from any part Gf tn" huilS ; even ill.,. stage WuS i'll total darkness. and the stiffness was lrol.vn hT tie Nol|tS of th;. singers u& JIe curtain .r"rEcd the tup. suddenly out of th, darkness. high up il the ryar of the -laG~. "noNH tie h":l:IS ut the people iii thH first part. &it"ang thn tAr@2 links. emblem aIit. uI Ills. order uf 0,li Fellows. IhrE were arranged in hvHUtitUl r"l"t"h electric lights. ami th!r WH% he Wufn of Electrician George Vi. Nh.ip-H1n. This effect brought forth 1hr first Hl'- plauSr of the evening. Tl1 Mh"lr Siag,, Ha$ Siltdtuiy illuhliNyd. and tnrn Il l,rf.tiy sight WIS disclosed. No minstrel first part ever created the ell thuSi;rSm which the. one nf last night did Every enc of the artists on li'" s:ag.. Was ,a$1cfUIiy and elegantly cos tuned. fnr gray Wi9S and satin StiiiS of the singers We're all new and mate To order for the occasion. Ehr stage setting was pretty. decidedly so. amt t!!c arrangements could lot have been more perfect It. W:% q picture. that first part. and to thr skilled h"ndS ol John \. Charles belongs the credit Tor th.s picturesque scene.
 As the hrautifUl strains of music from the opening chorus fell upon the ears ut the audience. the applause be- c.mo more, apparent. and the 'N"r|h Of the Men Of HaTlprK" pr1Ne} fitting anpetiI"r for the rest of the program. Down ill thp orchestra box stood tHi man who has directed SD many must caf affairs in this city. and HS he swung lis directing rol to and fro. lie felt >atiSIi;d tn know that he h:'d "cro;A- pliSlied his share ill the &yncrHu$ sue cess Pref Bartlett iS too well knOWn 10 tiatttr tO3 highly but h:S work ol last evening ill the arranging of the musical portion uf lne cntpriHlnneHI G.st,rvc& all ti., @c"N things that can be said of it. NJ. !. hellihpr stood be fore the chorus as they sang. anu A!S baton SWur@ in perfect time with the strains of music -A% soon as the aN- pIaus., had cea:. q William II. sand land. who Sat OH the dliS ill the inter locutUrS chair. announced ill d clear voice the name of the first two com CdianS of the night. William Vi. Gil- lettp and l.. F. Davis made their ap- puarancp and they certainly created no end of alnuSem"nt. Their entrance and appearanrp were uniQu" and well conceived. In Tact. they made . very decided hit
 Edwin ". Reach was next intr1@u"Cd and sang very SWpvtly "A Garden of Roses" Ii was well rendered ;shd re- ceived q merited encore. l.. F. Davis then rendered himself of several bright things that le had been preparing for a few months. and they dige"tpd well with those present. The lmp2rIal quartettn consisting of McSSr$ !. Wal den Moore. W. Ii. Davis. !. Eranllyn Barbour and l. E. Clark. then sang q very bright and catchy selection enti- tied ..Stcp by Step It was sung su well that the audience asked fox ii again and again. Billy Gillette then got off a few of his droll sayings. and he proved himself an able exponent of the art of being funny. f. William Herr sang song composed by himself and it was well done. The song was My Owi' Sweet Rose Gillette and Davis th, proved their versatility by singing The "Oriental Coon." This pleased everybody so much that they were Kept pretty busy dodging the ;tp- plause. I. Walden Moore. Water bury's premier tenor. then sang very pretty ballad. The Way to Win d Wo mans Heart."' II was one of the bright gems of the evening and re ceived several encurps. There Was next introduced Charles -IIumphreN and Luke Henderson, the premier end men. and the way they kept the audi ellce in gootl humor proves that there yvas no mistake in putting them at tile head. Both told clever stories, ano Tan Davis who sat in the box close to the stage. will not soon forget thi witticism that was sprung at his ei pense by Henderson. The Orpheu, auartette gave the next number ''N"' little Girl. Don't Cry was the title of the selection, and the gentlemen who comprised the quartette were Nessrs James Johnson. w. T. Blather wick J. C. Henderson and r. H Woods. They sang to q deserved en core End songs by Henderson an[ Humphrey were also well done. Hen derson was presented with q head o1 cabbage for his efforts, but q searcl Beneath the outer leaves revealed