Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-08-12
WILLYS HOST TO
SIXTY THOUSAND
All the Employees of Mammoth
Overland Factory Have
Three-Day Party

|
Host to $4,000 people-one- quarter
of the entire population of Toledo
John y. Willys. president of The
WHY'S Company. of Toledo.
Ohio, entertained for three days
July %. IS and 80, the families of the
1890 employees of The WHY'S Over
land Company and those of several |
other Toledo factories associated with
his big automobile plant. with six
performances of the Barnum & Bailey
circus
For three days everything was free
from the tickets admitting their bear
ers to side shows. .menagerie tent and /
main attractions, even to car tickets
TO and from the circus. Each employe |
was presented with three admission /
| tickets and six car fares. Sixty thou
sand admission tickets and 10000 |
street car tickets were specially print
ed for the occasion and distributed.
| For three days huge Overland and |
Winys-Knight flags waved from the |
center poles of the big tops-replacing |
| for the first time the streamers of the |
Barnum & Bailey circus. Large over |
land banners were spread across the
! entrance to the tents. inviting all the |
| guests TO a joyous good time.
And from all reports a good time |
was the order of the day. Each per-
| tormance saw the big top-the largest |
circus tent in the world-crowded TO |
capacity. The clowns. the freaks and |
! performers sensed the unusual event |
interpolating number of new stunts
and feats, for the benefit of the auto
makers and their families.
! None enjoyed the show more than |
John \. Willys himself, who came to
! Toledo from New York for the open |
1,s
| his guests a number of the biggest |
railway officials of the country. In To- |
ledo they were joined by John Ring |
ling, head of the circus, who had also
come to Toledo to supervise personally |
| the Overland Circus Party"
| All of these voted the circus party
an entirely new and thoroughly de-
lightful departure in outings and en-
| tertainments. So well did John \.
| WHY'S enjoy the first show that he
viewed several subsequent perform
ances during its stay here.
But John N WHY'S, his friends, his
employees and their families were not
! the only ones to enjoy the party In |
! fact none were made so happy by the
! hree-days' stay OF the circus as the |
performers themselves. No parades |
for three days, and a chance to sleep |
| out of doors on the circus grounds or
| at hotels, instead of in stuffy sleepers, |
! caused a pleasant break in the monot- |
ony of circus routine.
| AS a result there were any number |
Of genuine and unsolicited boosts" for |
/ the Overland products from the per-
formers One of these took the shape |
of miniature parade, conducted by
Buck Baker. one of the shows lead |
| ing clowners. He secured a spawned |
and antiquated horse, named it An |
| ME One" a rafting and wheeZy mo- |
tor vehicle of uncertain vintage and !
/ Ia he1e6 iT after annfhar la nf
! tomobile, and brought up the rear with |
new Overland model. The legend |
then read. Any One Can Afford the |
| Overland Now" The clowns ingenuity |
earned him many laughs and compli- |
ments.
The performers. too, took turns rid
ing about in Overland cars, which |
were plentiful on the lot for several |
days. In fact the side show freaks all |
seemed to take delight in spinning |
around the race track which encircled |
| the circus grounds in a new Model |
75-B. The little car earned many
| compliments because of its strength, |
power and comfort from a number of
! performers who are owners of automo-
biles.
The Circus Party is an outgrowth |
| of Overland Day." which for a num- |
ber of years has been the big play day
OF the Overland plant. For FIVE years
! the entire factory had shut down for a
half day once each year and had
marched TO the baseball park in To-
ledo to attend professional ball games
/ In 1914 and 1915 major league ball |
clubs were brought to Toledo for ex-
hibition contests in mid-season. But
this year it was decided to include the
families of the employees in the festvi-
ties. The ball park could no longer ac-
mmodate comfortably even the en-
ployes Of the Overland plant. The cir
| ems nlan then biT nrO0 ARA GO
ments were rapidly made and carried
out so successfully that the Overland
circus party proved the biggest event
of its kind in the history of American
| industry.