The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1920-04-24
"MA" SWEET AND DAUGHTERS
Gave Rib-Splitting Demonstration
Before Large Audience.

Not the seven wonders of the world
but the seven wonders of the Goose
Green and Squag Holler theatre circuit
known hereafter and forever as Ma
Sweet and her seven wonderful, beau
tiful, talented and accomplished daugh-
ters, cut figures at the Universalist
church last evening that couldn't be
duplicated by any but the original
Sweet family in four leap years. Squire
Barefax of Cutler Corner, wrote the
following to The Times to-day about
the show: "They wuz all sober, every
one of 'em, teetotlers, / reckon, and
those thet wuzent feeble and sorter
rickerty, were dumplin plumb and
down fer all day-by hoehandle.
Wall the show started kinder late,
bout ten minutes aftur but wee wuz
all redy, so they begunned. And they
no sooner begunned and wee started
to laff, and we laffed and we laffed,
and they cried and we LATED, and whe:i
they stopt cryin' we wouldn't stop
laffing, so they cried some more until
we all laffed and then-well they just
kept on singin' and cryin' until we
thot we wuz throo, then they laffed
at us and we laffed at them and when
they got tired they stopt-but we
didn't, so we're still laffing. How s
those fer onions? No. they weren't
onions, but we acted as if they wuz,
cuz we had to cry we were laffing so
hard.
Somehow those seven daughters of
Ma Sweet made Rube and me feel back
home, especially when thet Minty Ann,
with her winning ways, sang tibet
purity littel ditty about the ehueh qhire
singin' thet hymn bout bringin' in the
fatted caff and the feller Johnson, half
asleep in the odienee, calling TO his
unkle to let down the bars said Mel
lie Popcorn to the Rev. Mr.. Hokerk as
she passed throo the door on Ruben
arm after the perform
ance.
And as the squire describes the first
part of the entertainment it was.
Everybody began to laugh when Ma
Sweet or that familiar figure, Miss Lii
liam Roberts, made the first horrible
appearance of the evening, that IS,
she made the first appearance in one
of the eight horrible costumes. Every
one acted their parts just AS Ma Sweet
had predicted and from all appearances
inherited their aptitude for the stage
from their mother, as she managed to
plav the organ. beat time, introduce
The seven daughters and recite little
between time--without a
hitch.
The second part of the entertain
ment was entirely different. Mrs. w.
NJ. Holden as Columbia. with two lit
tie maids in similar costume, and two
lag bearers, one at each side OF ahe
staging. welcomed in song the other
'our members OF the allies. This allie
sorieal act made Il splendid finish for
he entertainment.
The church seats were filed almost
% capacity, so that nearly 300. tickets
we're sold for the organ fund. Ice
.ream and cake were served in the so
.ial rooms in the basement after the !
The cast of characters:
Act Ma Sweet. lonely "relie," |
Miss Lillian Roberts; Our Minty Ann, !
With many winning ways. Mrs. Edith !
arr; Betsy Belinda, the delicate one, !
Mss Alice Blanchard; Carolina Cor
leila, Mrs. Beth Cutler; Dorothy De
ilah. Mrs. Myrtle Z. Hokerk, both |
wins; Elizabeth Eliza. by far the most
ttractive. Mrs Jessie lockwood; Fran
es Fedory. partial to flowers. Miss
,lary Fullerton; Glorianna Gadabout,
ho has an incesssnt giggle, Mrs. Eta
Sennett. Act 2-Mrs. w. II. Holden,
$ Columbia, sang 20 Columbia the Gem
{ the Ocean; Geo. Stuart, as Belgium,
ang My Belgian Rose; George Mae
.ay, as Great Britain, "Brittanis \
red Inglis, as France, La Marseil-
,ise": James Bennett. rs Italy, '0n
he Shores of Italy The quintet and
ntire audience then stood to, sing in
nion, "The Star Spangled Banner