Pekin in 1924: a city celebrates its centennial (Part Six)

This week’s “From the History Room” article continues our series on the 1924 Pekin Centennial Celebration. Having completed the presentation of the Pekin Daily Times articles from the 2 July 1924 edition, we now move on to the Daily Times’ main front page banner headlined article from Thursday, 3 July 1924. Below is the transcription of that article:

BARBECUE FEATURES SECOND DAY OF FESTIVAL

CANTON’S FAMOUS P. & O. BAND HERE FOR TODAYS PARTY

U.S. Congressman Rathbone Addresses Large Crowd At Mineral Springs

MASKED DANCE TONIGHT

The Centennial moved a pace today. Favored with ideal weather, the celebration took on a new impetus today after the inauguration of the festivities yesterday.

At noon the barbecue, an innovation in Pekin, was the principal attraction of thousands. A long trench had been dug east of the baseball grounds in the new addition to the park, and 2,500 pounds of beef had roasted throughout the night on grates above glowing coals of a wood fire.

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The barbecue was in charge of a Peoria man, experienced in the art of open air feasts. This feature of the Centennial offered many Pekin people their first opportunity to taste barbecued meat, famed in the southwest.

P. & O. Band Here

Canton’s famous P. & O. band, accompanied by the uniform rank drill team of the K. of P. lodge, and other Plow City residents, invaded Pekin this morning to take part in the celebration. Shortly after arriving here, the delegation formed in a procession, led by the drill team, and staged a parade through the business section, continuing on out to Mineral Springs park. It proved to be one of the most entertaining features of the Centennial.

Besides this delegation, there were about 250 more visitors from Canton today. Canton’s Centennial will be staged next year in September and already they have started an extensive exploitation campaign. Each member of the delegation today wore a badge on which was printed, “Canton Centennial September, 1925.”

During the parade, the band stopped in front of the TIMES office, where it rendered a serenade, primarily honoring F. S. Austin and Dixie Ruble of the TIMES staff. Canton was well represented in the delegation which was composed of city officials, business men and lodge men. Geo. Cogshall, manager of the band, was not with it, but sent his congratulations to Pekin.

Downtown streets were deserted this afternoon while Congressman Henry R. Rathbone delivered his address on Lincoln to an audience of several thousand at the park. The Congressman has delivered this oration here before under a Chautauqua tent and it was repeated by him today because of numerous requests.

At 3:30 o’clock the Pekin Fans and Lawrenceville Havolines met in the first of their two game series on the Mineral Springs diamond. Following the storms of last week the infield has been groomed and given special treatment until it was in wonderful shape today. The bleachers in the outfields had been increased until they reached almost to the road in expectation of the monster crowd of fans.

Chief White Eagle and his Indians were to present more pantomimes, dances and historic tableaux at the Indian village tonight while at eight o’clock the climax of the Centennial’s second day was to come with the Centennial masquerade ball.

Many believed the masked dance tonight would eclipse the Centennial play of last night in the throngs that would attend it. It promises to be a unique collection of costumes depicting the fashions of every age, with Cinderellas, Neros, William Penns, John Smiths, Pocohanta’s (sic), Rip Van Winkles and other figures of history and fiction.

Fair weather is again promised for tomorrow, the final day of the celebration, when the historical pageant and parade, another address and base ball game at the park, band concerts and other varied entertainment is billed.

Visitors continued to pour into the city today from the surrounding county towns, from every section of the state, and from distant parts of the country.

One man registered yesterday from Sydney, Australia. Others were from as far away as California, Arizona, New York, Mississippi and Oregon.

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Next week we will continue our presentation of the Pekin Daily Times’ coverage of the 1924 Centennial Celebration with further articles from the issue of 3 July 1924.