The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-07-08
Madison Lake Threw Her Doors Open to the
Public Yesterday and Entertained
Her Guests Right Royalty.
Old MapIeton Scene of Patriotic Demonstra-
tion--Races at Lake CrystaI--TraveI-
ing Men at SibIey Park.
From Tuesdays Daily.

From Tuesdays DAILY.
Madison Lake was quite a rendezvous
yesterday for the celebrators of the glor-
ious Fourth. From all the surrounding
country the incoming trains and car
riages brought their loads of marry max
ers. Probably as many as six hundred
came from the city of Mankato alone.
These, however, by no means comprised
the majority of the gathering, which
may be conservatively estimated to have
been in the neighborhood of two thous-
and, aside from the local villagers them
selves.
The first throng came at about seven
o'clock on the early morning Great
Western from Mankato, and streamed
down Sixth avenue, the main village
thoroughfare. The Minnesota Concert
band from Cream, all dressed in white
according to its custom, played well
come to the visitors, as they alighted
from the cars.
Sixth avenue was gay with flags and
bunting on both sides, all the way down
from the depot to the pastures on the
lake shore. The stores were all open,
as early as the outsiders came and the
little settlement had one of its rarest
chances of doing business.
Shortly after ten o'clock, the parade,
headed by the Cream band, marched
down Sixth avenue. The band was fol-
lowed by hugh float, on which were
ranged sixty children, all prettily dress
ed in red, white and blue. Bunting, show
ing the stars and stripes, decorated the
vehicle on all sides, and each child ear
-ried flag. Large flags waved, too, from
all parts of the float. In the center of
the group of children stood the well
known figure of Uncle Sam and Column
bia, decked out like the children in the
national colors. The former character
was represented by Patrick w. Smith
and the latter by Miss Elsie Ewing
both of the village. The children kept
singing, -"Oh, Columbia, the Gem of the
Ocean," while the band, directly in front
of the float, played various marching
tunes. One could listen to one or the
other, or enjoy a mixture as he saw fit.
1t depended on where he stood. Most
of the people stood where they could en-
Joy the mixture.
Immediately after the float came the
real entertainers of the day, the Madi-
son Lake Odd Fellows, eighteen strong,
by whose efforts the plans and prepare
lions for the whole celebration had been
made. Next came the sixteen ladies,
partly members of the auxiliary to the
A. o. Fl. and the rest belonging to the
Point Pleasant Rebekah lodge of the I.
o. O. F. Then marched thirty-four Hi
bernians, with their insignia of green.
Following these were twenty-four Unit
ed Workmen, mostly of Madison Lake,
clad in their uniforms of blue coats,
white trousers, and blue caps. Finally
marcher the baseball players, whose real
feelings were not apparent at this time.
The parade as whole was very
pretty one and was certainly credit to
the little settlement, by the efforts of
whose citizens, in the main, it was pro-
duced. 1t contained nearly two hundred
people, all told, and was under the direct
management of the marshal of the day,
A. II. Hanchett.
The procession turned up Walnut
street and was followed by the crowd
to the grove. Here the people gathered in
and around pavilion, whence waved the
flag of the Mankato Hibernians, and
from the rostrum of which the meeting
was called to order by the chairman, A.
L. Cummins, Of Eagle Lake. Mr.. Cum
mings announced the various numbers of
a very pleasing program, which was
largely musical. The best known pat
riotic songs of the time were rendered by
choir consisting of DIR. Parker, Arthur
Shell. Mr.. and Mrs. Geo. w. Southwick,
F. B. knott, Miss Grace Zuell and Mrs.
Busch, all of Madison Lake. j. E. South
wick sang SOLO, ga Thousand Years"
and Mrs. F. U. Baker, who played the
Accomplishments on the organ, also rem
dered vocal solo, "The Flag Without a
Stain"
The two main features of the program
were the addresses by Postmaster c. l..
Benedict and Hon. w. A. Funk, two of
the best known practitioners of the legal
profession of Mankato.
Mr.. Benedict, in recalling to mind the
real meaning of the great day that the
whole nation was engaged in celebrating,
dwelt with particular stress on the char
acter of the American people. He spoke
of the various strong and worthy ele
ments of European peoples, out of whom
the population of this, nation had been