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Fountain dedication in 1889 added extra sparks to July 4th

In 1889 Springfield bicycle dealer Roscoe Pierce made a bold promise: to teach his customers how to ride their new bicycles.

Clark County Historical Society In 1889 Springfield bicycle dealer Roscoe Pierce made a bold promise: to teach his customers how to ride their new bicycles.

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Photos: Springfield Shopping 1889

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C.C. Fried's ad in the Kelly Fountain dedication book is reminiscent of the billboard for Dr. T.J. Eckleberg in F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel

Clark County Historical Society C.C. Fried's ad in the Kelly Fountain dedication book is reminiscent of the billboard for Dr. T.J. Eckleberg in F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel "The Great Gatsby."

Springfield loves a parade, and slow mule races, too

By Tom Stafford, Staff Writer Updated 7:11 AM Monday, October 26, 2009

At 6 a.m. school and church bells rang and shop whistles blew.

At 1 p.m. a parade set off around the downtown, converging on the city’s new Esplanade.

Then came speeches from O.S. Kelly, Mayor W. R. Burnett, Gen. J. Warren Keifer and future Ohio State Supreme Court Justice John L. Zimmerman.

And after a 50-child chorus sang “My Country Tis of Thee,” the assembled throng joined in to sing “The Star Spangled Banner.”

All that was just the beginning of a grand day for Springfielders on July 4, 1889 — a day on which they’d celebrate both the nation’s birthday and the dedication of the 41-foot fountain Kelly donated to christen the city’s new civic center.

The throng that attended the parade would return downtown at 8:30 p.m. for the grand pyrotechnic display. (See related story.) But in the meantime, they rode street cars and horse-drawn rigs to the Clark County Fairgrounds, now Davey Moore Park, for an afternoon of fun.

The slow mule race

For those interested in legitimate races, a three-horse runoff for $200 (winner take all) was scheduled among pacers Frank A., owned by M.H. Asbaugh; Patsy K, owned by Kearns & Sullivan; and Oliver K, owned and driven by A. Coleman.

Next, amateurs were summoned to the track for the Farmer’s Trot. The prize was a steel mower made by William N. Whitely’s company. Warned the day’s program: “None allowed to enter in this race but farmers, driving their own animals.”

The purse for the slow mule race was $10 in gold, although the program fails to indicate whether the slowest or fastest mule would win.

Stakes for the boy’s foot race were a nice suit of clothes from When Clothing House, and the winner of the boys goat race (in harness) got his suit of clothes from the London Clothing Co.

Another fan favorite had to be the fox chase, in which the owner of the hound catching the fox got $10 and crowing rights.

Only butchers were allowed in the Butchers’ Race for a Fat Beef, but all were encouraged to run for $25 purses in the 100-, 200- and 300-yard dashes.

“Handsome prizes and purses” also went to winners of the wheelbarrow race, sack race, greased pole climb and greased pig scramble.

Funny and not so ...

If that wasn’t enough to tickle the fancy, the official program for the day offered a couple of snippets of humor.

“Dressmakers,” said the program, “are of necessity people of much bias.”

“All men are not homeless,” it added, “but some men are home less than others.”

Intended as sound advice — not for purposes of amusement — were some now seemingly humorous household hints:

• Try hot lard for removing mildew.

• Rub your table with a ripe tomato to remove the grease.

• To remove warts, get a little bullock’s gall and keep it in a bottle. Rub a little on the warts two or three times a day, and in short time they will disappear.

OK, the last one may not be funny but does require some explanation. A bullock is a young bull. The gall is presumably the gall bladder or a product of it. And that, we can assume, was easily available at a city market.

And although the truth may be lost to history, it stands to reason that warts might disappear if someone rubbed bullock’s gall on them two or three times a day.

Wouldn’t you?

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0368 or tstafford@coxohio.com.

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