New-York tribune., 1903-05-17
Il NAY DAY FOR TWINS.
Fifty PAIRS Among Eight Thousand
YOun gsters IN Central Park.

Yes, sir said James ]. Hagan. ex-warden of
the Tombs enthusiastically, he braced himself
against a spreading chestnut tree In Central Park
yesterday and mopped his moist and shining fore
head. yes, sir, this is the May party Of the Am
sterdam Democratic Club. We've got about eight
thousand youngsters of both sexes here, and were
trying give them the time of their lives Going 10
feed them high too. Got 50 cans of milk, 3oo gar
Ions of ice cream and $40 complete luncheons, in
Guiding each a sandwich, piece of apple pie an
annie a banana and an orange. I expect the chill
dren IL knock spots out Of it all little later
And they did
Mr. Hagan in his capacity Of president of the
Amsterdam Democratic Club Amsterdam-ave- and
Sixtieth-st. arranged the party. and was IN large
part responsible for its unqualified success Like
the spirit of joy incarnate, he hovered about the
scene-the guide, philosopher and friend OF every
body-wiping the tears of wailing babies chucKlng
little girls under chin, patting the youngsters
calling each chila Billy Mamie or Johnnie
or Katie as the occa sion demanded, and chafhng
the mothers
Starting from the clubhouse, the children gay
In red white and blue jockey caps ana "dNlls
small American flags Paraded down SlNty-nrst anu
Sixty-sixth sts along Amsterdam-aVe 10 the Pel N
They fell on the park about noon The result was
rather like the ope:ations of a horde of locusts-
What was greensward when they hghteo was
bare of herbage when they left it. Hllls FalieI
and powders We're strewn with paper pass' aPp'
cores peanut shells, tissue paper, lunchcoh ooAeS'
garters, a broken parasol or two and motley COZ
lection of wearing apparel belonging to the
mothers About each ice water barrel the ground
was converted into q shaking quagmre'
Leading the procession a band OF tnHV
pieces Their came a youngster nameu ChdI le"
Brady. riding in a go-cart drawn by two Whlte
Shetland ponies Followed the king and queen
of flowers under the most wonderful canopy all
red white and blue and paper flowers. and eS-
corted bv fifty children under ten years OF ase,
who carried baskets of flowers. ne roy ydltSo vi IL
the traditional crowns and purple Iopes, ,t, nt
queen also white dress ana d VIZ . - a.
flowers. She was Marjorie f1IiiS' anu nv w.
Following were eighteen boys in baseball UNI, I'M
forms the nine of St Matthew parIsr @ anu ~ Ma :,
Nevada nine-deadly rivals VINO iaIer Wete u P''
the rubber game before GREATNESS most 49,.
Last of all came the colored chlIdren,,~ II
two hundred of them. They, too. had a band ana a
king and queen OF thelf own lam - ~
over fifty pairs of twins took part in the process
sion. Mr.. Hagan had seven c-hildreh children Oh MS own III
line and Peter Dooley had several
When the great procession had wound. gaud5 /:
sinuous and waverng, across the playground ana
had bivouacked for a minute on the slopes tne!
began 10 Iylay games and dance ground the May
poie one pleasure was hotfoot on the heels Of
another till - ,, .
small coIored boy with dirty shirtsleeves stick
ing out through the holes at his elbows Ihat was
about 2:3O O'Clock. Instantly there was a STAN
pede the direction of the Ice cream buckets.
At one time there came being riot, and a
stick had TO be brandished over the beads of the
crowd to keen Il from the ice cream anc the men
who served it The ice cream was o. tla hii,u @
affine paper. You ate, sucked or drank your cream
The committee in charge were, besides Mr.. Ha-
gan. John A. Gorgon, jeremiah O'Connor Chris
fonber a Brady Peter Dooley, George Form, An
drew Fair. Max Weiss and William Ginslinger