Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1907-12-05
HOW TO DRAW CROWD
Small Kansas Towns Unique
Idea That Helps Trade.
ADJUSTMENTS ON SATURDAY,
Committee Advertises Prizes For Lioht.
est Married Woman, Heaviest Lady,
Queerest Dressed Boy-Fat Mems
Race-Other Funny Stunts.

The trouble with some small towns
Is that nothing ever happens in them.
That's why people don't care to "come
to town." The farmers around about
stay at home Saturday afternoons and
p1ddle around If work is slack rather
than hitch n drive into town and
find themselves too lonesome to live.
What the small town needs to keep up
Its spirits, attract people, draw trade
and make life worth living is amuse-
ment.
There is a little town in Kansas call
ed bingham which has realized this
fact and has done something unique.
Dillingham; has a new Commercial
club. The Commercial club has a
special committee to work up stunts"
A "stunt' is something that is made to
happen by artificial means. This COM
mittee got its several heads together
and figured out a series Of Saturday
afternoon "Stunts" that make most
town affairs look like a plugged nickel.
Every Saturday afternoon now there
are hundreds of out of town people in
Efingham. Any town with spunk
enough a do likewise. Those people
trade at the stores and other places
and help the town along.
In a recent issue the Kansas CITY
Star thus describes one of Effingham's
stunt" Saturdays:
On Saturday the Commercial club
just said that certain things would be
done on Main street Saturday after
noon at 2 o'clock, and Saturday after
noon at 2 O'Clock those same things
were done. And there were about 200
farmers wagons in town. That's all.
They said there would be a fat
mems race. There was. Five hun
dred farmers brought their families to
town to see it. The winner got a bug
gy whip, a bottle of grape juice and a
facial massage. They said there would
be a twenty-five yard race for girls
under twelve, the winner to be given
a neck charm and two pounds of can
dy. They said that each Of the two
heaviest women coming to town to-
gether in n vehicle should receive a
china silk shirtwaist pattern, and the
heavier 81 in cash. They said that the
two lightest married women coming to
town In one vehicle should receive a
white embroidered parasol and Il
cake. They said the most ludicrously
dressed boy should receive two collars,
a necktie and q pair of socks. The
week before they said there were $50
In money and a sack Of flour waiting
for the heaviest load of women com
ing to town in one vehicle.
1t rained Saturday in bingham. 1t
rained quite some, but the CONNER
cial club, through it's committee on
stunts, had said there would be things
doing on Main street at 2 o'clock, and
the rain didn't melt anything With
them. They got a scraper and a team
of mules, skinned about thirty inches
of surface off Main street and in ten
minutes everything was ready for
the fat mems race.
"All ready to enter here" called
Willis Cahoon. "This is the fat mems
race. Who's M"
Doc White stepped up to the line. II
amt a fat man." he said. 81 only
WSlSu lou, DuL LII Willing 10 snow
what l can do"
Here" said Jim Stewart, ~ thought
this was a fat mems race. l weigh
80, but 1 amt going to run with no
living skeleton"
"Three hundred and twenty-six is
my figure" said Roy Wallack as he
toed tie line, ''but I'm willing to run
with thocn ,.oa.> ,,;lo,, so yI1,:la I'LL
take off that Panama hat. If the wind
gets under that it'll blow him across
the finish line. This amt no aero
plane contest; this is a foot race"
"Cut out that talk and wait for the
word,'' called out Starter Sharpless
"This is no debating society; it's Il foot
race to see who gets that facial mas.
sage"
"Tll give Stewart his now if he don't
quit crowding." said Wallack.
"Gov'
The word caught Stewart with his
mouth open, and he lost valuable time
getting it shut again that ought tc
have been devoted to getting his feet
out of the mud. The crowd standing
SAAih ShS oIol llhS lillC uuo W DG lOlO
about the race afterward. They didn'r
see anything after the first deluge OF
mud that followed the uplifting OF
those feet. They telephoned back from
the finish that White was the winner.
The weighing Of the two heaviest
women reused the partisanship Of the
crowd to the highest pitch. Cheers
went up when Mrs. John Henry prov
ed by the scales that she weighed
205h pounds. Mrs. ]. r. Goodpasture
only smiled. LEAD me to it," she
said. AS she stepped on the platform
the crowd quivered with excitement
So did the scales. IT may have lost
some," said Mrs. Goodpasture mod
estly. 81 haven't been weighed since
yesterday at 4 O'clock"
The clerk Of the scales. Mr.. Arthur
showed traces Of deep emotion. "Mad
am" he said. "if you have lost any
thing it isn't weight; it is all here. G.
to the committee and get a shirt wais'
pattern and 81 in cash. The scale.
quit at 245h."