Omaha daily bee., 1908-06-25
CITY MISSION PICNIC DAY
Five Hundred Happy Children Are
Taken to Lake Manawa.
TEACHERS ACT AS ESCORTS
Children of All Races share I'm This
Annual Fenst and Fun and
Frolic Run Riot Dur
ing Day.

Say. youse kids sure did miss 1t. We
was over at Lake Manawa on the picnic.
What picnic? Well. whatd yous tink? The
City Mission picnic, Of course. Gee, l ct
so much ice cream an cake l nearly
busted"
The atmosphere in the neighborhood Of
Tenth and Dodge streets was seriously
confused, bruised, bent, twisted and warped
Wednesday morning by the happy voices
of 800 children of the City Mission, who
embarked there for Lake anawa 1t was
the day of the annual picnic and in hun
dreds Of homes little ones were up very
early looking anXiously at the sky. The
sun truly did his part. He peeped above
the horizon with a smile on his honest
face, a mile that spoke direct to the hearts
of the little boys and girls who were
banking so heavily on this great day.
And as he, rose he maintained the fine
thermal and cerulean conditions. There
were no clouds. There was just enough
breeze to make the temperature comforta-
, BILE.
The picnic is the second greatest event
on the City Mission calendar. Christmas
comes first, Indeed, there are those among
the juveniles who hold that the picnic is
first. Is there ice cream at Christmas
time? Certainly not. On the other hand,
is there a Santa Claus at the picnic? Man
ifestly not. The question, therefore, re-
solves itself into the proposition, Which Is
the greater, Santa Claus or ice cream? AS
this difficult problem Is solved, so do the
children range themselves upon the prop
osition whether the picnic or Christmas is
the greater.
Some Think IL n Riot.
Well. there were those who thought there
49,. - :. MT - A-..1. N-zat
The crowd was visible from afar, even
from farther than the cheering could be
heard. People came running breathless to
see what horrible accident had drawn the
crowd together, only to learn that 1t was
the annual picnic of the City Missionites.
Some OF the kids were on hand as
early as s o'clock. True, the cars did not
leave until 9:15. But they weren't going
to run any chance of losing out. Per-
haps something would happen that the
cars would leave an hour earlier and II
so they would be there. BY 8 o'clock the
corner was TANNED and a man who drove
up with a big dray full of store boxes and
the store boxes full of things to eat, could
hardly get through to the curbstone to UNI
load. Three big fat ice cream f~reezers
stood In the shade of a building and were
a sort of shrine where worshiped many
little boys ana girls win watering
mouths. But they didn't touch them for
the city mission children know how to
behave.
OF course. such patriarchs in the mis-
sion as Sunshine" and Alphonse. who
have gone to many picnics and have at
tended Sunday school so long that they
can't calculate it moved about among the
crowd with a certain distinction. AL
phonso's black face shone with application
of soap and water, while little Sunshine
who is of the Italian race seemed to vie
with her namcsake in the heavens.
These distinguished young women Of the
colored race, Gladys Travis, Georgia Dun
can and frankie Elegan moved about like
the three graces, their medals displayed ir
a prominent place. What have they done
Bless you, they have delivered temperate,
o~rations with such surprising power and
excellence that they won these medals
and became the envy of all their friends
at the same time.
Cheering a Very BedlRm.
II the cheering was loud at first, /
became a very bedlam when three big car
rounded the corner two blocks to the ives
! and moved with solid grace toward tn
party. When they had come to a stand
still the little human avalanches began I
get aboard. When half of them were on
seemed the cars were full,
They'll have to get three more cars,