Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1913-07-10
27 YEARS OLD
BIG CELEBRATION HAS
GONE into HISTORY

"Other towns about may be big
ger, and have larger business blocks
and more expensive residences; bus
when it comes to celebrations, they
must all take off their hats to Ex-
iar.''
A stranger from neighboring
city was talking to a bunch OF
friends who were spending the
Fourth in our midst; and all of
them agreed that it was so.
Another said: eff they only had
another address like the one this
morning TO fill in the afternoon
program, it would be a little ahead
of anything l ahve ever seen for a
Fourth of July"
Some did not grow enthusiastic
over the Jubilee Singers. They
were mostly the people whose ears
have been tuned to Verdi and Wag-
ner. Darky fun and darky melodies
are different again; and what we
heard were the songs and jests of
the old plantations of Virginia and
Georgia.
An incredibly long line of decor
ated cars were in tn parade, which
was led by DR.. Newlon's car, effec-
tually concealed behind an impen-
etrable screen of Iowa's famous
products. Boy Scouts, floats, the
band, and even the calithumpiam
mule with its dignified drivers, fol-
lowed after. 1t was one of the fin
est and showiest parades ever Civ
en- by home talent in Audubon
County.
The number of cars which gather
ed I'M Extra was one of the amazing
features OF the day. A fairly rea-
sonable estimate placed the number
at two hundred. They came from
all points of the compass and from
many unheard-of places as we'll as
those nearer home. There
were cars from every county on the
River to River Road between Des
Oul6S anu SOuuCll olu1lo, duu Cf0
some from east of Des Moines.
There weren't any giant crackers
or dynamite torpedoes to speak of.
In this respect the day was singu-
larly quiet-and safe. Neither was
any one found I'M the entire multi
tude who was inclined to be bois-
ferrous or quarrelsome. 1t was a
peaceable, good-natured crowd, dis
posed to visit and have good
time, and to help everybody else
to have one.
The vocal chorus was unusually
good; and the two bands kept
things lively throughout the day.
The ball game was one of the
best seen in Extra in many a day.
BY a sad stroke of fortune, Extra
drew the little end of it,; but this
does not alter the fact that it was
a pretty and exciting contest from
beginning to end In the racing,
Frank Dimick proved the big sur
prise. Less than sixteen, he enter
ed and won the race for sixteen
year-olds, then entered the next
class up and beat the eighteen-year-
olds, and finally wound up going in
to the free for all, and cleaning
up the best men in the neighbor-
hood.
While some features of the event
were not handled as satisfactorily
as they might have been, 1T may be
fairly said that it was mostly due
to the fact that the crowd was a
large one to be taken care of by a
town of Extras size. Old timers
express doubts whether a larger
number of people was ever gather
ed together here, and Extra has
had some record-breaking crowds
in the years gone by.
At any rate it is certainly true
that the town did her level best to
show her guests a good time, and
it is pleasing to know that there
were very few fault-finders in the
vast throng that spent the day
within her borders.