Arizona republican., 1909-05-17

 EXCURSION Double Headed Picnic an Unprecedented Success HIS TORIC HASSAYAM p 4
It Was the Scene of Two Enormous Festivals Where
 P opulace at LargeMin- gled With the Elect.All are ,, Now Hassayampers,

respOndence of The Republlcan)- Wiclsenburg has today been the Mecca of all duly accredited members of the Veracious order of Hassayampers within a radius Of a hundred miles. Many ot our visitors paraded under other names. They called themselves Elks, Fraternal Brotherhooders and even Common People But every last one of them declared himself or her self to be genuine and full-fledged Hassayamper If any new members joined the order. it must have been by a purely incidental and unpremeditat- ed route, since the hospitality of Wickenburg was of that character which precluded the necessity of drink ing Hassayampa water, except by free and deliberate choice. And still, con sidering the amount of lemonade, cof- fee and ice-water that was consumed, it is safe to say that there are a few more Hassayampers tonight than ever before
 The bulk of the visitors came from Phoenix, but there was a fair repre- sentation from the towns along the line. The A. & c. country contributed it's quota, and the boys from the min ing camps were well in evidence. Wick enburg itself turned out en masse, and each individual citizen did his or her part in insuring to the towns guests a lively and entertaining day.
 The chief credit, however, belongs to the local Elks. Wickenburg is strong in Elks. not only in the num- Der. but in the character of the antlered brethren, who inhabit the metropolis of the HassayamDa. When the Wicken- burg Elks get busy, there is sure to be something doing that is worth while. It is the pleasant habit of these same local Elks to give an annual picnic, not for themselves alone, but for every body. including everybOdy's family, friends and acquaintances. Just as they were beginning to bestir them selves for their usual spring event, they learned that the Phoenix breth- ren were figuring on a days outing on the Hassayampa, and they immedi- ately modified their plans so as to combine their local celebration with q royal welcome to the capital city Elks.
 A suitable grove just below the town was engaged, and preparations were going forward for putting 1t into proper condition for the festivities, when it was learned that the Phoenix lodge of the F'raternal Brotherhood would join with the Elks in the Wick enburg excursion. Thereupon a second l grove. just across the railroad track.
 was engaged, and it was believed that | in a greater portion of the days fes
 tivities the two bodies, together with | the mass of visitors connected with l ,f ont,I1 crIa n sl mon and fraternal spirit. and partake of the hospitality which Wickenburg
 was so ready and eager to extend. And | thereby hangs a tale which it is un- necessary to repeat, and the responsi | bility for which rests neither with the Wickenburg Elks nor any member of the visiting orders which have been named. Suffice it to say that the local | Elks surrendered their grove, secured a new one on the Bachtiger ranch, above town. and went ahead with their program The only regrettable feature in the whole affair was the necessary splitting of the crowd of visitors into two sections. whereas they should have been entertained as a single body.
 There were eight full car loads of excursionists in the train that pulled into Wickenburg at 10:40 this morn ing. The ElkS' contingent was head ed by Exalted Ruler George P. Driscoll, assisted by his lieutenants. Secretary l. J. Lipshin. Treasurer H. H. McNeil and Esquire J. L. Scott. These gentlemen, headed a delegation of between seven ty-five and eighty Ell<s, and an equal number O. ladies. more or less closely affiliated with said Elks
 The Fraternal Brotherhood-which should be called the Fraternal Brother and Sisterhood-Was led by President B. G. Pecka, of Maricopa lodge, No. 4S, of Phoenix There were about fifty members in the party, and enough rel atives and friends to swell the number to well above a hundred. The Indus trial Libert- band of Phoenix accom- panied the Fraternal Brotherhood, and their music was one of the many pleas ant features of the day.
 The program at the Elks' grove was one continuous round of pleasure. l am aware that that expression has been used before but it never fitted any better. First. there was the big barbecue. Two whole and carefully selected beeves. done to the exact and precise turn Of perfection bv those pastmasters in the barbecue art, J. w. Munchus and A. ]. Kellis. And then the baked beans and the coffee, both the products of the artistic skill of the same gentlemen. Of course, there were other things in such .sumptuous quan- tity and variet- that the mere men ton of them would read like the menu of metropolitan cafe But it was the barbecued meat, the beans and the coffee that will finger longest in the memory of those fortunate beings who dined out doors on the banks of the Hassayampa this 16th day of May. 1909.