The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1919-10-24
RAIN DIDN'T
BREAK SPIRIT
OF WELCOME
MONETARY GLOOM CAUSED BY
RAIN BUT FESTIVITIES
WERE HELD.
QUICK CHANGES WERE MADE
Dinner Indoor and Parade Was Aban.
doned But Crowd Was Large and
Enthusiasm Was Never Lacking for
Celebration.

Members of the committee in charge
of the Maury county veterans home
coming celebration were made glad
by rays of sunshine streaking through
the gray clouds of the east when they
began their activities Wednesday
morning, but their joy was short
lived Thickening clouds brought
first drizzle at o'clock and then a
downpour of rain to blast their hopes
for day of sunshine that would have
attracted the largest crowd ever gath
cred in Columbia. Rumbles of thun-
der added to the gloom. Tables being
constructed for the dinner by a force
of carpenters who went to work at
dawn on High street were abandoned.
The Red Cross apd American Legion
registration booth was moved under
the shelter of thesCentury Club porch.
The Red Cross canteen on the front
piazza of the Old Bank building snug.
gled little closer to the walls and
other arrangements had to be made
mE serving the dinner
Aqrhere was no thought of turning
back or abandoning the day, for il the
committee had not announced Tues
day that the celebration would be
held rain or shine" there were too
many other circumstances to compel
procedure with the festivities. The
crowd began trickling in about the
time the rain began to fall and by 10
o'clock all down town streets not
roped off for pedestrians only We're
jammed with parked automobiles and
buggies. Uniformed soldiers and sail
ors began to make their appearance
accompanied by members of their fam
lies. Others might have stayed away
because of the wetness, but not the
veterans who had faced too many
wet days in camp, in the trenches, on
deck and battlefield to be deferred by
the shower of that day. 1t was their
day to be welcomed and they were
here to be welcomed. The people
wanted to welcome them and they had
to be welcomed.
With an efficiency that would have
been marvellous in any other than
Maury countians, the committee, men
and women, set about the joyous task
of making the best of a disagreeable
situation over which they had no con-
troll The First Methodist church au-
ditorium was generously offered as a
place for the welcome addresses; the
First Methodist and First Presbyte-
rian Sunday school rooms were with
equal generosity offered as places for
serving the dinner; the third floor Of
the Masonic building was made avail
able for the afternoon dance. Only a
shelter for the parade was not availa-
BILE, so that had to be abandoned, it
being considered impracticable if not
an imposition to ask the veterans to
expose themselves for march in the
rain while the spectators looked on
from sheltering windows, doors and
umbrellas.
Estimates of the size of the crowd
that disregarded the rain and came
anyway varied from 1000 to 5000,
not counting the inhabitants of the
city. But regardless of what the ac-
tual number was, it was an immense
crowd. 1t was fine crowd. 1t was
crowd of cheerful patriotic men,
women and children whose smiles
glimmered on the wet pavements and
pools of water as brightly as would
the rays of the sun that was hidden
behind a mass of thick gray clouds
that fingered over the city throughout
the day. AS great as was the crowd
it would have been greater had it been
clear day. So eager were the peo-
pie for this celebration that favorable
weather would have brought out vir-
tually the whole population of the
county. Nobody who came. however,
regretted it, and the people of Colum-
bia were glad they didn't postpone the
celebration.