The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-12-07
Every Form of Amusement En-
ioyed During Vacation.
Explosion of Carbide in Tin
Cans Is Popular.
WAVE FROM FLAG POLE
Risky Stunt Performed From In
Front of Church.
Hucks and Toms Are Sending
Parents Into Frenzy.

| With the schools closed on account
| of the flu the kids are having the
time of their young lives finding
something to occupy their restless
days.
AS a result, hundreds of Topeka
mothers and fathers are thrown into a
frenzy wondering where their children
are spending their days, usually away
from the immediate neighborhood.
The leading sport seems to be the
explosion of carbide. A quantity of
this substance is placed under a. tin
can with nail hole in the top. The
boys spit" on the carbide, hold the
| can over it with a thumb pressed
tightly over the nail hole. Fof half
minute the gas is allowed to collect in
the can, then the boy holds a match
to the hole and blooie! Sometimes
the cans are thrown fifty feet in the
air. The amusement is rather danger
Gus but popular nevertheless.
The Boys Live in Caves.
The boys who are possessors Of
rifles and shotguns are roaming the
countryside shooting rabbits and
squirrels. Many gangs" of young
sters have journeyed up the river. dug
caves, and live In these dugouts for a
week at a time.
Caves in town are favorite resorts.
The boys will pick out a convenient
vacant lot, get out dads garden tools,
bore into the ground, scatter over the
! unburnt coal from cinder piles, and
everything is complete--with the pos
sible exception of the old time Frank
Merriwells and Diamond Dicks.
One covey of youngsters in the Elm,
hurst neighborhood enjoyed a real
thrill for a couple of days this week.
Then their parents were notified and
the sport has been declared off-by
mutual consent. These lads, averag-
| ing seven years of age, gathered
q hn f1aD in
Westminster Presbyterian church,
corner Huntoon and College avenues.
After drawing straws to see who would
| be the lucky victim. the chosen one
| on the tall flagpOle. His companions
would pull and in a few seconds the
| boy was waving and swaying in space
at the top of this thin steel mast.
Several of the boys are still standing
up to their meals because their
parents found 'em out.
Fight in S. A. T. G. Trenches.
The College Hill neighborhood lads
| have taken possession Of the Wash
| burn 8. A. T. C. trenches and bayonet
| boche dummies. Battles are fought
over this -Man'sLand daily. The
| boys have organized into complete
army divisions and their fights are
more realistic than they metimes
I are intended to be.
The pictures of the Yanks smoking
in the trenches in France have been
gloriously initiated by the Topeka
youngsters since the schools have
closed. Corn silk. of course, is scarce
in town, but the boys have learned
| from unguarded remarks by daddy
that coffee makes a luscious pill"
Smoking behind the barn" has been
the cause of a good many early-to-
| bedders among the homes of the va
rious Huckleberry Firms and Tom
! Sawyers.
thorities state, the small number of
flu cases that have appeared among
the children of Topeka during the cpl
demic. outdoor playing is held re-
I sponsible. The kids don't have to
study these days and they are build
ing up their constitutions in the Kan
sas atmosphere.
Bless their little hearts!