The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1915-11-01
ALL HALLOWEEN
SHOOK THE TOWN UP

1t is seldom that there is as much
noise and fun in Ocala as there was
Saturday night.
There were some indications Of the
Forthcoming festivity early in the
evening, but the riot did not really
commence until after business hours
were over ard the stores closed.
Then the rumpus began. A crowd
of about hundred boys and young
men, with several subcrowds, started
on. the rounds, and what they didn't
move in the next two hours was either
immovable, nailed down or redhot.
Almost cverybody's gate and some
of the fences were carried off and
things were shifted around in the
most homogeneous manner.
Right in the middle Of Oklawaha
avenue a fort was built with benches
for ramparts and joints of sewer
pipe for cannon. Signs were shifted
and many other articles were remov-
ed to the most inappropriate places.
How it is that none of the crowd
thought to move the traffic markers
at the street crossings is wonder,
but the one at the northeast corner of
the square was reinforced by a big
wooden frame, which was leaned up
against it.
knight & Lang's wagons and ag-
ricultural implements proved bon
ANA, as the boys after hauling them
all over town left them widely scat
tered. The same fate befell several
of the street carts. A bunch tackled
the road machine, which seems to
have become a permanent ornament
of Oklawaha avenue, but it was too
heavy to be moved.
Two or three carts and wagons
were backed up against the postoffice
steps and wagon was showed in the
entrance of the Temple theater. The
express company's truck with a
somewhat inelegant burden was left
at the Metropolitan Bank A sulky
and wagon or two were hung on tele-
phone poles.
For the first time in Ocala, the
crowd went after autos One man
left his Ford on the square while he
went into the barbershop. On his re-
turn, it was missing, but he found it
on the sidewalk, blocking &Helven-
ston's door. A bunch captured Bal
lard's car, which was in front of his
home on Magnolia street, ran it out
Lemon avenue, ran it into the woods,
and left it there. 1t. was damaged at
least $40 worth.
Another crowd took P. j.. Theus'
car far out on Fort King, and still
another ran off with Bruce Meffert's
fayorite runabout, but brought it
back.
1t will be just ais well for auto
owners to bring their cars into the
parlors on Halloween nights after
this.
The benches on the courthouse
square were great find to the crowd
They were piled on top of each other
or scattered around town, some Of
them being found mile off.
Several of the boys were heard to
speak in an uncomplimentary way
about the unpatriotic people who had
dispensed with fences, and conse-
quently gave them no gates to carry
away.
The newspaper offices came in for
their share. One of the Temples bill
boards were laid across the Stars
front door, and disinfectant tank on
wheels was run up on the sidewalk in
front of the Banner Office.
Promptly at midnight, the gang
rang the Presbyterian church bell
with such vigor that they broke the
rope.
Most of the fun was harmless, or at
most pardonable. However, as usual
on such occasions, some of the rough
err or more thoughtless spirits went
too far. They sent in two fire alarms
causing the department horses to ex-
haust themselves with long runs,
tore down hundred feet of Judge
McConathy's fence, and did some
other things that passed from the
realm of mischief to malice.
The Temple bill boards were scat
tered all over town, and Ed Bennett
says it cost him almost as much as
the advertising was worth to recover
them.
The window artists were out as
usual, and decorated the fronts of the
business houses with sarcastic signs.
Some Of the proprietors of the stores
arose early to rub out the inscrip-
tions, but the Stars reporter, who
didn't go to bed at all, was ahead of
them, and gives the list as follows:
B. F. Condon's: Gas plant. Why
pay less?
Gerig's drugstore: Gone. to Frisco;
be back in a minute.
H. A. Waterman's: Hook Shop, j.
Malever, proprietor.
Burnett's: Foundry. We mould any
thing