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Centennial of Lafayette's Visitprogram was the introduction to the vast audience of Mrs. Mary even a disputewithout accident, disturbance or(Continued from p t e 4)PoseyCairo,heart, George YV iederhold, Raphael Lawler. G. Penn Parsons, Lloyd ,K.man, Marsh V.’iseheart, Thomas granddaughter of R. Reid, Hester Fais, Everett which was performedtook of the collation prepared by the citizens of the Rawlings.Toasts Were Given The following toasts were given during the repast:Mr. Rawlings— The president of the United States 'A member of the reception com mittee—“The heroes of the revo lution, our tears for th' dead, for the living our brightest smiles charming app ranee in thcii General Street “Our illustrious quaint, flaring skirts and dangling guest. His virtues have earned1 curls than did their impersonators him the noblest reward of humaHacker and daughter of granddaughter and great General Posey, by Dr.Mathis, George Land, Caroline Schmidt, president of the IllinoisDrone. J. B Holbrook, Nannie Historical society.Hmwll, Edith Logsdon Tom Ufi. Nex, ' the 'prrlgram wa, the and Laura Hubbard. Misses Rose, , ., , . .Roedel. Mary Ruddick and Hattie *mging of America, by the bigPeeples, all gowned in the vogue | audience, directed by Miss Buckot ldti years afo. And if their The Southern Harmony S'ngers grandmothers of 1825 made a more of 0maha were a pleasing nuniher. A choir of middle aged andexcellence, a people s life; yiay he live long and in its enjoyment Here General Lafayette arose and offered the following toa :“The citizens of Shawnee Town and Gallatin Count) May the ItTng continue to enjoy the bless ings which are justly due to in dustry and the love of freedom.'Judge Hall, the vice president, gave: “Our distinguished fello-citizens Governor Carrol! The Governor rose and expressed ac knowledgment for the unexpected compliment Said he was clad to meet h s fellow citizens of Illinois and begged leave to offer the ful lowing toast:Governor Carroll—“The State of Illinois May it be attended with the blessings of prosperity health The president gave - Governor Coles “George Washington Lafavette— “Liberty and intelligence We see their moral effects forcibly depict ed in the present state of the American peopleIt is historically related that during the reception of 1825. while the party was at the ban quct table, Genoa! Lafayette recognized an aged Frenchman looking through the hotel window as an old French soldier who had served under him in France, and had the old follower brought in and seated at the tabl * by bis side This itpageant. The role oT the old Frenchman w;.s ve-\ graphically sustained by Jacob Barger, and as a permissible deviation from the recorded history. Mr Barger w'as permitted to offer the followin', toast;on Centennial Day, pioneer life must have had its compensations.The program for the afternoon, which was directed by M E. Lambert, was opened at 1:30 o’clock in the park with a group of selections by the Pioneer City band. This was followed by the singing of the j four states s*ar Spangled Banner and another! time of hisvoices won deelderly gentlemen rendered a num her of songs from the oldtime hymnals. They had pood and their performance served applause.The pageant by Ridgway s in holized a reception tendered to General Lafayette by the twenty of the Union at theBoosters Cited for SuccessUnstinted credit for a finished success of the celebration is due to the collective and individual ef forts of the members of the Gal latin County Memorial committee Upon this group of untiring boost ers, composed of C. K. Roedel, chairman; Frank Waller. Hugh McKelligott. Thomas Daily, Mes dames Nannie Howell, G. Penn Parsons, George Wiederhold; Miss es Rose Roedel and Mary Ruddick devolved the task of building he (splendid structures from the ; ground up. Not alone of carrying 1 over the big undertaking, but of | creating for it community sym pathy. They have done their work j v eil and have earned for them selves and are receiving the ap plause of the whole state.And a word of appreciation for the statewide support given tosong by the school children of the county, led by Miss Elizabeth Buckof Ridgway.visit to Gallatin conn Gallatin count) ’demonstrationty. Illinois presenting to the guest i The best written and best acted of honor first the 13 original drama must fail without an audi states, and then the additional i t nee And to the multitude thatDr Schmidt Addresses GroupAt 1:30 o'clock a brief and time lv address was delivered by Dr. 0 L Schmidt, president of the I Hi nois Historical society, followed by the chief address by Hon C. J. Doyle of Springfield. Mr. Doyle, after paying a handsome compli i ment to the Gallatin county spirit which had inspired the celebra-n. took tip an eloquent educaeleven that had been taken inb the group up to 1823, The states were represented by 24 Ridgwav misses, every one of whom is a di reef descendent of ancestors who were present at the reception lt;d 1825 It made a poetic tableauthat appealed to the patriotic sen timents of all who saw it.An outstanding and the *ast number was a pageant represent ing the coming of Daniel Boonerallied to make our demonstration a monster social, the local people acknowledge a lasting sense of gratitude. It was such a pleasure for us to administer to their entertainment—such an honor to serve as hosts to so many of the state s superior people.tional sketch of th elite and career and brother Joe, enacted by New of General Lafayett®. He retold! Haven. The pageant was interThe first survey for a railroad to Shawneetown was made in 1868 and the second such survey in 1870♦R.uger Toastdear GenLafayette“My deal General Lafayette yre is to )ou am* our brave ers. who did their due The) J the co b’e them all and keep them True, till He shall c ill them, then Journey through After the toasts and a brief fare well address by Genera! Street, followed the general ie. eption in which all filed past the a M of honor, greeting him with a hand clasp, the ladies approaching him with the deferential courtesies rendered by their maternal anees tors to noble gentlemenAnd at the breaking up of the ceremonies the vi itor was escorted to the boat, which wathe story of the sacrifices made and of the immeasurable services rendered by this French noble man in the cause of American democracy, and of the inspiration! wrought by him in the spirit of a disheartened people The speaker extolled the sentiment that keeps alive in Southern Illinois the mem orv of Lafayette He rejoiced to meet and mingle with the descend ant of those who welcomed the French American friend of Wash irefon on the occasion o. his last visit to the land for which he had, done so much, and urged a rededi j cation to the spirit that tired the patriotism of a hundred years ago. Mr. Doyles discourse held the thousands who heard it spellbound, and it was unanimously acknowl edged that the historical society had furnished a speaker who. measured up to the occasion.The address was followed by an taged by Shaw neetown. a pantomime represent i ing the red man s planting jubilee.! the gathering about the campfire, an Indian dance, the coming of a commission of white men to peace fully negotiate the purchase of In Han 1 inds, the obdurat* protest of the chief, the final conquest of the white man’s diplomacy, the recon filiation and the smoking of the pipe of peace A little drama rem iniscent of the days of about 1780 It was full of life, was well acted, and was highly entertaining.The cast of the Indian characters was as follows: boarded Chief of the Shawnees, Frankby athe leading men old time Gallatin county,braves of the tribe, Marlarge company representing , Sandersnd women oij shall McKelligott, Clyde Hooker, esum Mike Kanady, William Lyle Waller,prably to accompany the distinguish ! Morton A Compton, John 1. May ed guest for a short station upon.and Charles Sheets; medicine men.gufhis departure. The putting out of the majestic steamer, with the waving of th his nds of handker chiefs on the shore and Lafayette bowing acknowledgments to an ap plauding multitude, was the climax of the picture. It was then that it was borne in upon all conce rn ed that Gallatin county had really staged a big show.The picture v\;w heightened by the participation of the following company of the leading ladies o the countv; Mesdame* Frank WiseEdwin Voyles. Victor Lambert and H Jennings; squaws, Aline Sheets, Pauline Sheets, Bernice Comer, Ida Belle Bartley. Ethel Martin and Amy G. Seelye.All of the parts in the pageant were splendidly taken. The members of the cast wore well both the clothes and the dignity of ye olden times, and the manners and graces had the true flavor ol gentlemen of the old school,Posey Descendants Introduced A pretty feature of the rostrumpreted by a prologue, and the leading incident was the marriage of Joe Boone The cast of char acters was as follows:Reader of the prologue—Rev.Gregg.Minister—B. E Bieker.Bride —Mrs E. E. Glover.Groom—J Boone Dagley.Best Man—J. A. Feeh.er Bridesmaid - Mrs R G. Mitchell Abraham Lincoln—Orval Allen Incidental to this number was the reading of a letter, written November 11, 1824, by Joe Boone, brother of Daniel, to Samuel Dae I lev of New Haven. This pageant was accurately costumed and ably acted and was thoroughly appreciated by the audience.Crowd Delights in Relics And throughout the day the mu!; litude found delight in the histori cal relics and landmarks that an .making of Shawneetown a meici j The home of General Posev. his tomb; the home of the first bank in Illinois, the scene of the manage of General and Mrs. John A Logan, the splendid bank edific« erected in 1837, the gate through which Lafayette walked, the well from which he drank, the substanti al structures erected in the ’50's and Ws, and the collections of hundreds of antiques, each telling its story of a by-gone generation, were reverentially viewed bv thousands and photographed by hundreds. The reminiscent at mosphere of haunts once familiar to Robert G. Ingersoll, General Wilson, General Posey, General Logan, Mark Twain, Colonel Mar berry Sellers and other world fig ures who have left their mark here permeated the festivities And the permanent charm of Gallatin county’s matchless landscape has been widely exploited.Gallatin, with the co-operation of the Illinois Historical society, has wrought out a fascinating chapter in the history of Illinois.Comment was made by evoiv body upon the couitesv cd effici enoy of the county and city peace officers. No large crowd was ever more courteously and diplomat! rally eared for. Few such events have ever passed so complete!)wLiltes-^' 'IIFromSchs
Newspaper Details
Shawneetown Gallatin Democrat
Shawneetown, Illinois, US
Thu, Jun 30, 1960
Page 21
Full Page
Clipped by
Evan W.
IL, USA 04 Jul 2024
Other Publications Near Shawneetown, Illinois
Shawneetown Gallatin Democrat
