Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-08-24
CELEBRATION OF COMPLETION OF new
CONCRETE Street A GREAT SUCCESS

y .
Nearly 10000 people joined in the
celebration in this city yesterday aft
ernoon and evening of the compile
ton of the new concrete surface on
Main street. The two Waterville
| bands played almost continuously
throughout the evening while hun
| dreds of couples danced on the
cement surface. made smooth by
ton of corn meal spread at $50
Traffic was barred from the street
| from 6 A. NJ. until 10 p. NJ. and even
| the electric cars suspended service
from to 10 +. NJ. Two band con-
! certs were given in the afternoon on
! the Common and between the con-
| certs vaudeville artists from Bos-
| ton kept the audience entertained.
| Late Wednesday night and early
| Thursday morning crews of men
could be seen busily engaged in
washing the street with the fire hose.
The men started from the Haines
| theatre and washed toward Lockwood
street and when the work was done
any housewife would have been
proud of the clean. surface. The
| firemen, anxious to help make the
| affair success, turned out early yes
terday morning and washed the
street from the Elmwood hotel to
| Appleton street.
! At A NJ. the police placed bar
riers at all points where streets en-
tered Main street and across Main
street at Appleton and Silver streets,
| From then until 10 Z. NJ. the only
j kind of vehicles seen on the street
We're baby carriages and bicycles.
Police officers were stationed at all
points where vehicles might attempt
! to enter Main street all through the
, day and evening Pedestrians seem
| ed disinclined to walk an the street
| in spite of the absence of traffic and
not until evening was the street It
self crowded. Throughout the fore
! noon and afternoon the Sidewalks
! were thronged with pedestrians ana
when the first band began to play
several thousand people gathered at
| Castonguay square. Throughout the
! day workmen were busy stringing
lights from pole to pole along the
| street and when they We're turned
] on Main street was literally great
white way. At one O'Clock Ore"
Watervile band started playing on
| the bandstand in Castonguay square.
! The crowd began to gather gradual
" and by o'clock fully LOW peo-
/ nle were grouped around the band
stand. The crowd stretched across
the electric car tracks ana oliIceIS
were busy every few minutes clear
! ing n path for the cars. Drew's
| band played continually for two
hours and this concert ended at 3
o'clock. John Foster Choate was the
! announcer and in stenatorlan tones
he told the people through a mega :
nhone what would happen through
the afternoon and evening.
At 3 o'clock the apparatus was
nrenarcd for the vaudeville perform
crs. Kennedy and Nelson. comedy
acrobats. amused the crowd WIN
humorous stunts that were diflcuit
enough to draw appreclatlEe "p-
plauSc. ond To-
Dean. comedy acrobats and barrel
runners. was very good. One of the
hrothcrs dressed like clown Kept the
hundreds of children gathered con-
yulsed with laughter and all tne tl'ne
hotb of the men were doing difficult
and hazardous stunts. The maj part
Of the act was perhaps the pest. one
OF the boys was blindfolded ano' wear
ing roller skates. climbed on top OF
barrel set on top OF table jumped
from this barrel into another ana then
turned a somersault onto the stage.
The St. Onge trio. composed or Two
mon and a girl, drew the biggest mana
Of the performance. First thcy oiu
some clever tumbling work. linen
aerial rings were set up ana the! per
formed on this. One act That c2lleu
forth much applause was one wnere
one man hung down and held MS Ieet
rigid. The other man turned COUPE
of somersaultS and the last 'hie
caught his toes around the ankles vi
the other, man and swung in the air
that pleased was one where one hung
down by one foot and the other one
hung from his hands and the girl hung
by her teeth and spun around raplolE'
After these acts were over the wa
terviIIe Military Bond. led by Nlillam
Haines. gave concert from to
o'clock. During the supper hour the
street was practically deserted.
AS 7 O'Clock approached the craWd
began to grow rapidly. The last car
went to the barn shortly before Z and
a group of men began TO arrange
chairs at the junction of Main ana
Temple streets for the Waterville Mil
itary Band. while on the common
Drew's Waterville Band was stationed.
The sides Of the streets filled first ana
thcn toward the center. Gradually the
whole street filled and from Appleton
To silver street nothing could be seen
OF the cement street, for it was COM
pletely covered with people. There
wer thousands of them. They leaned
from the windows and still every
street coming onto Main was hlled
with steadily moving black lines. one
man who has lived in the city all his
life declared that he never before saw
such a sight and never expected to
live TO see so many people gathered
on Main street at one time. Meanwhile
confetti peddlers were busily disposing
of their wares and they found ready
market. Streamers. horns and every
sort of noise-making device was at a
premium. Shortly after O'Clock
Drew's band came up the street leau,
mo the grand march with Mayor and
Mrs Leon o. Tebbetts leading the
marchers. After this division had
passed by, the Waterville Military
Rand led fhe second division while MT.