The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1919-08-20
PACKARD CLOSES
THE CHAUTAUQUA
WITH BIG HIT
LAST NUMBER ON SEVEN DAYS
PROGRAM WAS BEST IN
IT'S LINE EVER HERE

When the Redpath Chautauoua
people put Alton Packard on their
program for a closing number they
EVIDENTLY did so with the intention
CT keeping the best treat for the
very last and such it was for Packard
kept his audience interested from the
time that he was introduced until he
bid farewell for the Chautauqua peo-
pie and closed the splendid seven day
program.
We tcld you of the Chautauqua
program up until Tuesday night of
last week. On Wednesday afternoon
Bohumir Kryl and his band, always
a favcrite number with local audien
ces gave concert. After the concert
a heavy rain damaged the tent some
what and the evening concert was
held in the M E. church. , On Thurs
day afternoon Miss Marie Rose Lau-
ler, of France, gave talk on The
Spirit of the Women of France"
which was very good. That night the
play at Pays to Advertise" was
given by a company of eight people
each one a real actor and there were
MANY people who had seen the comedy
r,ut on before but who thought that
the staging under the big Chautau--
qua tent was the best that they had
ever seen. Friday afternoon the
Metropolitan Quartette entertained
the audience and they were also on
the evening program before Mr'
Packard.
Mr.. Packard was the real big card
of the entire program, according to
the expressed views of many of the
l. Is~A~ II - NsxN &sl~
ing talk and saw his quick and excel
lent cartoon work. He chose fer his
subject "Uncle Sans Folks" and drew
pictures of various types of people
which one meets with in different
places. His two masterpieces for the
evening were one wherein a bare
footed boy stood fishing down at the
old swimmin' hole and another of a
beautiful sunset in which two old
people-a man and his wife, were
seen going down a path from their
little home to the orchard. Along
with this latter picture he drew the
face of little carefree boy and girl
who used to live with the old folks
and to whom the latter's memory
often turned. The lifelike little
barefoot boy at the old swim
of the time when he could have had
such a picture taken of himself and
the sunset in the west put one In
mind of the sunset in life for the bent
old couple in the picture.
Alton Packard is a gifted man,
both as an entertainer and as an ar
tist and his JOY night program at the
Chautaugua was right up tc and
away beyond expectations. He is by
far the best artist in his line that has
yer been in this city and his part In
the chautauqua was declared by
many to be the best number on the
seven day program.
The Chautauqua is an assured fact
for 1920, more than 600 people hav-
ing guaranteed to take tickets for
next years attraction and the neces-
sary guarantors having signed up to
bring the big tent back next year.
One thing which we would suggest
though to the Redpath Chautauqua
people is that they send US a good
tent with the next year, as the tent
which was sent here this year was
plainly unfit for service and should
be taken off from the circuit before
a windstorm hits it. Had we ex-
perienced scme of the windstorms
which we have had in the past, the
tent which they had here this year
would not have survived.
Mr.. c. K. Bakeman, superintend-
ent of the Chautauqua proved himself
a splendid fellow while here and
showed that he was prepared to meet
any emergency which might arise
when the rain interfered with them
after Kryl's band had left the tent.