The daily sentinel., 1907-03-20
WITNESSED BY 1900 PEOPLE
The Salvation Army Wedding at the
Auditorium Attracted
Vast Crowd.

It is safe to say that the young
people who were united in marriage
| last night at the Auditorium. under
the auspices of the Salvation army,
have the pleasure of knowing that
their list of guests was the largest
that every marked any wedding cere-l
mcny solemnized in Grand Junction
or probably in Western Colorado.
1t was the first army wedding ever
held here and the interest taken in
the event was very wide. Long be-
| fore eight o'clock the hour appointed
for the opening of the service the
Auditorium was packed to overflow
ing. Hundreds of extra seats had
been placed in the building but in
spite of this over two hundred peo-
pie had to stand up. 1t was one of
the largest public gatherings held
in the city in the past year. Not less
than twelve hundred people were in
attendance.
j Shortly after eight o'clock the
members of the army, about thirty
] strong, appeared in the building and
took seats on the stage. Major Har-
ris. of Denver, with his wife came
over especially for this service, was
in charge. The other guests of hon
or of the evening were Brigadier Gen
eral Pebbles and wife, of Chicago.
They were en- route to Seattle, WASH
| ington, to attend the great Booth
! meeting and were induced to stop
} over for this occasion.
The singing of old hymns by the
J army people and the congregation
} made up the early part of the serv-
, ice. Then Mayor Harris called upon
t a young unmarried man and woman
fortestimony as to the saving grace
e of God. Then a married couple were
called upon, All responded with
= short but sincere and earnest talks.
A duet by Brigadier General Peb-
bles and his wife, a solo by Mrs. Har-
ris and duet by Mrs. Capt. Harlan
and daughter, were hugely enjoyed.
The brigadier general read from the
scriptures and discussed the passag-
es. Then a collection was taken to
/ defray part of the expenses of the
big meeting. Less than S25.0O was
collected, out of that great crowd at
e least $4,000 should have been secur-
/ ed.
Then came the solemnization OF
the marriage. The ceremony employ
Y ed by the army is an extremely beau
d tiful and impressive one. The bride,
Miss Maude Morris, very pretty and
only seventeen years old. and the
groom, Lewis NJ. oalkes. a young man
o of excellent character. had occupied
seats on the stage all during the serv-
ices. The bride was dressed in the
regular army costume with a sash of
white extending over one shoulder.
: Her single bridesmaid was likewise
dressed. The groom wore black and
his best man" sat with him during
the services. When the ceremony was
pronounced the young people stood
n with Major Harris between them.
e with the bridesmaid and best man in
the usual positions and with promin-
NAN NAANSAs anu iAtlhutIs OF Iue army
: grouped around them. Over the
groom was suspended an American
flag, over the bride, the flag of the
t army. The charges to each were most
i impressively delivered by Major Har-
r ris. Then the vows were spoken by
" each. with hands clasped. The ring
IS service was employed and after a
n brief prayer the pretty ceremony was
c sealed by kiss. 1t was in reality a
Is beautiful marriage solemnization.
It The audience was then dismissed
p Mr.. oakes and his bride will make
their home in this city. Each is a
member of the local corps of the
~ rrmy although the young lady's home
is at Delta.
There is only on criticism to offer
II regarding the Army wedding, the
= services were too long. extendine
y over two hours. however the grea,
h crowd waited patiently for the i'm
. portant event and but few left the
hall during the evening until the
A benediction had been pronounced.