Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1914-07-10
IS 4 BIG DAY.
Commercial Club Behind CeIe-
bration Which Draws
Crowd

me rain almost spolled I'M
Fourth. Almost but not quite
There was a rain Friday and i
was decidedly gloomy on Satur.
day morning Up to s O'Clock
even the ardor Of the youngsters
was 50 dampened that they did
not have nerve to shoot even q
firecracker. The lethargy wore
off later however and they did
start something.
It was a pretty sane Fourth
here. Few If any injuries were
reported and the noise was
small. The shooting Of the
usual pistols and firecrackers
was done mostly prior to the
Fourth. When the great day
arrived the small boys had ex-
pended their noise money and
what they had left they devoted
to the welfare of the vendor of
soft drinks, ice cream and pea
nuts.
Nowadays the principal part
Of the Fourth is the crowd. If a
big crowds gathered together
they can usually have a good
time and they did here. There
was a big bunch of people here.
They commenced coming through
the mud early in the morning
and continued to arrive up to 2
p. m. when the incoming rigs
ceased and the next move was
for those returning totheir home
in the evening.
The rain and mud caused
) plans to change. The parade
which was to have been in the
morning was changed until the
afternoon and it was 2 or 2:3O p.
m. before the line Of march was
taken no. The band occupied q
wagon and was among the lead
ers Of the procession. After the
parade the races and contests
were carried out and prizes
awarded according to program.
The program continued up to
6 6o'clock when the crowd had
supper and remained for the
band concert and the picture
show. The band had a platform
on top the awning of the Thrash
Bras. drug store and they played
untilnearly 1890 o'clock. There
were two picture shows with
crowded houses at each per-
formance and after the show a
dance was put on at the
American theatre for those who
had left enough energy to dance.
The dance heretofore has been
on a platform erected in the
open but this year the platform
was not erected.
The band furnished pleasing !
music all during the day. There
was plenty of drinks for all.
There was no dust but this was
compensated for by a big lot of /
confetti which proved entertain
ing to the youngsters and con
gester of collars, etc. for the
older folks. 1t was a day de-
voted to a reunion and many
people who had not been here
for a long time were seen on the
streets. They came from all
over the county. Order was
maintained by the marshals of
the day and everyone was tired \
and felt they had celebrated
when the day was over. The
Commercial Club was back Of
the affair and they did good
work in advertising which drew
the crowd. The club broke even
or a little ahead on the fund in {,
hands for the celebration. +
THE PARADE Ii
The parade was not whatit II
would have been had the rain
not put several floats out Of com
mission and interfered with the Il
completion Of others but it was
fine as far as it went, Many Of
the turnouts were indeed ex-
callent and reflect great credit Is
on those who worked so hard to
get them up. j
The procession was headed by
Grand Marshal Parks and Chief /
fTYs !. \ y