Evening star., 1932-08-08
TRY ADJUSTMENTS
OLD FOLKS LIKED
Midwest ToWnspeopIe ReveI
in Medicine Shows and
Home Festival.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

OMAHA. Nebr., August (CPA)-
Folks in the small towns of the Middle
West are having a swell time this SUM-
mer, much as their grandpa5 did.
The lull between the wheat harvest
and cornhusking is being given over to
community events, State fairs. home-
talent pageants and to revivals of that
famous institution of yesterday, the
medicine show
medicine show has Just completed
two-week stand at Malvern. Iowa. 20
the ediflcation Of thousands of lockers
on and to the profit of the L0sS. The
rural community being not far from st.
Joseph, Mo, and Omaha. the city folk
by the scores drove to hear the nightly
harangues and discovered the perform
ance to be extremely entertaining.
No new-fangled innovations in the
program. The Fallyhooer, who careful "
refrained from any claim of medical
knowledge himself, but who quickly be-
came doctor" to his aides and his audi
ence. left the community with several
thousand dollars in his jeans. while the
farmers have on their medicine shelves
bottles of curative samples and jars of
healing SalveS.
"Wild West" Revived.
His show" was a small edition of
the old minstrel entertainment, with a
couple of clowns armed with glib wise
cracks and tinkling banioz, they sang
cracked ancient jests and danced In
intermissions the doctor" proclaimed
the marvels of his prescriptions while
statesmen in the audience extracted
quarters half-dollars and dollar hills
from the natives. The grand climax
was a home talent vaudeville show,
with prizes offered by the doc for
the best performance. and final gift
event in which a genuine" diamond
ring was absolutely given away. Every
body had fun.
glorious days of their past history IN
pretentious pageantS and festivals.
These range from the annual Oregon
trail pageant at Gering. Nebr, to pas
sion plays put on at Bayard and at
Kearney. using natural scenes and
local church folk. At scores of towns
in Iowa, Nebraska. Kansas and Missouri
there also is a revival of revivals, and
shouting preachers, both men and
women, are gathering the faithful into
tent. meetings and winning pledges of
new conservation to religious life.
Grow Long Boards.
In connection with local fairs and
celebrations. men in dozen towns OF
the Middle West are competing for the
honor of growing the most luxuriant
boards. This contest had its origin in
the Diamond Dick" celebration ut
Deadwood S. Oak. where each year
the scenes and characters Of the gold
rush Of the 70s are used IN pageant
and parade, while the youths Fprout
boards that would have made Wild Bill
Hickok green with envy.
In Fullerton. Neb., preceding the
Nance County Fair. business men went
barefooted during hours of each day,
while the women wore old-fashioned
pinafores and ribbons in their hair,
after the style of homesteading days.
County fairs this year are eschewing
entertainment features characteristic of
the Jazz age and are going back to the
stunts of the '80s and '90's. The high
spots on this years programs, aside, of
course, from the display of live stock,
grains. garden truck and canned fruits
and vegetables, are such events as the
pursuit of the creased pig, foot races
for the children, Shpper-kicking con-
tests for the wives and fat mems races.
Scenes of the final stages of the
Indian wars are being re-enacted in
various Western communities. In
canyons where the redskins slaughtered
small bands of covered wagon pilgrims,
or where the Army of the Great White
Father put down the rebellious, Sioux
and Pawnees, local groups, usually the
American Legion, are holding stirring
pageants reviving these scenes.
Rodeos Provide Thrills.
Rodeos. with calf -roping, wild-horse
riding, steer bulldogging and similar
sports of the wild and woody West are
going on in dozen towns, rivaling the
famed Cheyenne frontier days in thrills.
An attempt in Custer County Nebr.
to include bull fight in the rodeo pro-
gram has brought protests from animal
friends as far East as New York, and
the Attorney General is pondering &C
tion.
Meanwhile tribes of native Americans
are holding their annual pow-wows and
gathering silver pieces from the white
brothers. At Winnebago, Nebr the
Winnebagos last week completed their
pow-wows with feaSting and singing.
The Omahas, occupying part of the
same reservation. will hold their festival
at Macy, beginning Sunday.
The movies. the dances, the vacation
trips to the big cities are being gen.
orally abandoned. The moSt-popular
feature of the fairs is the merry-go-
round. The Middle West is going back
to grandpas days.
Copyright, 1922
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