The Princeton union., 1919-04-17
A BASEBALL SMOKER.
Three Hundred Stays Attend the Big
Blowout at the Armory and
Have Glorious Time.
Speeches, Music, Cards, Cafeteria
Luncheon and Other Things
Enter Into Festivities.

the armory last Friday evening
proved a real event and brought out a
larger crowd, developed more enthusi-
asm and stronger sentiment in favor
OF Princeton being represented on the
diamond this season than the biggest
optimist on the committee had even
dreamed of. Promptly at 8 p. m. the
fans started coming in and, by 10
O'Clock the spacious main floor was
literally covered with about 300 base
ball enthusiasts, all busily engaged in
playing cards and other light forms Of
indoor sport. The big gathering in
cluded men from all walks of life, and
goodly sprinkling of farmers, who
had braved the bad roads and driven
miles to attend the smoker, were just
as enthusiastic over the coming base
ball season as was the wild-eyed vii
lage fan. Surely it was rousing tes-
timonial for good, clean, amateur base
ball.
Promptly at 10 o'clock Captain Nor
ton sounded "mess call" and everybody
made beeline for the dining hall be-
low, where Dad Hill and his French
army cooks had prepared an appetiz-
ing buffet lunch. This feed proved to
be all it had been cracked up to be-,
and, had an army recruiting officer
been present, there is no doubt but the
whole bunch would have Joined up
right then and there that they might
have such cooking for all time. After
lunch the crowd gathered again in the
main hall and Attorney E. L. McMil-
Ian called them to order for a short
entertainment and business meeting.
The lead-off hitters were Messrs. Car
rison, Umbehocker, Stacey and Briggs.
who, in the form of a quartet, enter
tanned the. crowd with few choice
vocal selections. Evidently the heavy
smoke barrage that the crowd was
sending over made vocal acrobatics
extremely difficult because the singers
had enough Of the smoke long before
the crowd had enough of their music.
Mayor Vandevanter was next to bat
and hit it right on the nose for a
corking single in the form of a short,
spicy appeal for support of baseball
in this mans town this season. He
was followed by "Sliver" Pratt, the
tall jack pine of Zimtown, who got up.
and, figuratively speaking, hit the ball
clear over the center field fence. His
speech was one of the best of the
evening and, given partly in confess
sion form, mixed with satire, humor
and pathos, sent the big crowd off into
bursts of applause when he had fin
ished. "Heinie" Plaas then kicked in
with homemade poem in which he
the whole Princeton
baseball team, past managers, direc-
tors and fans, and closed by paying
a touching tribute to one Of the de-
parted players, personal friend of
the writer's, DR.. L. B. Mallette, who
gave his life that this country might
live and endure.
Prof. Hayes then made an impas-
stoned plea for baseball for both
young and old, and logically proved
that the great national game had been
a big factor in building up the STAN
ina of the American soldier who went
over to Europe, went over the top,
met and defeated the methodically
trained kaiserite at his own game of
war and on his home grounds. E.. K.
Evens, on the part of the fair asso-
citation, called for closer getting to-
gether of the community and better
team work in that rot only baseball
but the county fair, and other kindred |
interests might mutually benefit there
BY. Timely advice and timely given.
Rev. Milne followed with strong
argument in favor of good clean |
athletic sports, and intermingled with
MS logic several appropriate short
stories that greatly amused the crowd.
A board Of five directors was then
unanimously elected by those present.
The following are the lucky ones:
Roos, Evans, Osterberg, Manke and
I'd. Nelson. It was also unanimously
lecided that the election of the mana
,er and captain should be deferred to
! later date and be taken care of by
he board of directors and prospective
'layers. The chairman then called on
he quartet for the closing ode, but
" this time the smoke barrage was SO !
lose and dense that the singers de-
lined with thanks and, instead, Max
lruschke wheeled his mountain gat-
ing gun into position and soon had
charlie Chaplin going through his
omic antics to the great merriment of
he whole bunch.
NOTES.
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