Alma record., 1915-08-12
BIG CELEBRATION
HARVEST FESTIVAL
Field Sports, Balloon Ascen-
sion, And Automobile Pa
rade To Be Headliner
IN PLACE OF BOOSTER DAY
Alma To Hold Biggest Celebration
of Year On Wednesday
August 25th.

Alma will hold its first Harvest
Festival, Wednesday, August 25th
with the biggest celebration Of the
year 1t will take place on the
Monthly Booster Day, combining all
the bargain features of that occasion
with a day Of sports, feature attrac-
tions such as a balloon ascension and
parades etc The keys of the city will
be handed over to the farmers living
within a radius of twenty five miles
and one and all are invited to come
to Alma, for a day of enjoyment.
Every merchant viii shave off the
price on some article or series of ar
ticles to a bargain price lower than
cost, so that in financial way every
one who attends the celebration from
oat on tne city will be more than re
paid for coming, but in point OF en-
ioying an Old fashioned good time
along harvest day lines the Harvest
Festival of August 25th will be q
hummer from daylight to darkness.
In the morning an automobile pa
rade will be held with every car own
ed In Gratiot county, which is avail
able, to be found somewhere in it. The
parade which will undoubtedly be sew
eral blocks long will proceed along the
streets of the city The cars will be
decorated ia a way appropriate to the
harvest season. To the car owned by
parties outside of St Louis, Ithaca,
or Alma which judges shall decide is
the best decorated prize of ten dol
lars will be given. a second prize o.
five dollars viii be given. The prizes
have been made large enough so that
considerable inducement is given for
the exercising of artistic skill. Per
sonally, we have seen many stalks Of
wheat and oats on farms near Alma,
that would make a mighty appropri-
ate and suggestive decoration for the
Harvest Festival parade
To the auto dealer having the larg-
est number Of cars of his company 5
manufacture in the parade a prize of
five dollars will be given. To the
township having the largest number
of home cars in the parade a prize Of
five dollars will be available to be
used by any society which the town
ship heads may name.
After dinner at one thirty o'clock
tug Of war between the strong men
Of Sumner and Seville townships will
be held. To the winning team will 90
a prize of five dollars. At two o'clock
special match one hundred yard dash
will be held. The race is open to ev-
eryone living in Gratiot county. out
side Of Ithaca, st. Louis or Alma.
All entrants must be amateurs
professionals being barred. One half
hour later, or after the finishing of this
race, fat mans race will be held.
This Is open to every man in city or
country who can claim a weight of
two hundred pounds or more. We
can think of at least ten men right
here in Alma, who make two hundred
pounds look like a boarding house
lamb chop, who would make it q
real interesting race if they could
be persuaded to enter Take George
Biesch, Henry Miner, John Chick and
few others for instance. At any
rate, there is one dollar in it for the
heavyweight who can outdistance all
competitors, and half dollar for the
second man.
A special race for country boys
will also be held with one dollar 90
ing to the winner and fifty cents to
the boy who finishes second. AT
three thirty o'clock, a sack race. at
four o'clock wheelbarrow race. at
four thirty a biscuit eating contest
and at five o'clock a pie eating con.
test will be held. To the winner in
each case one dollar will go and to
second best man half dollar. In
the case of the two latter races the
money can undoubtedly be expended
on dyspepsia tablets after the cele-
bration is over.
Although a definite announcement
cannot be given yet, it is very proba.
bic that balloon ascension will be
made at five thirty in the evening
The Alma City band will play
throughout the day. The committee
who has the celebration in charge i,
(Continued on paoa Al