School, Church, and Home Games Part 22

When the doors were opened on the first night it was not surprising to see a crowd all ready to push in and enjoy the sports prepared for them. No admission was charged, but each sport, exhibit and event had its price plainly marked in black on a bright blue sign at the entrance.

That first evening it seemed as if the golf course was patronized as freely as any of the sports. It took up one large corner of the hall, where a miniature nine-hole course had been laid out on dark blue denim. The "holes" were marked out with rings of white paint, and there were a few hazards of sandbags and a very low brick wall. For the most part it was a putting game, a putter being handed to the player after he had paid his admission to the "caddie" at the turnstile gate.

They say the boys had the time of their lives at the baseball diamond, and some of their fathers too, to judge from the receipts. Back on a large piece of canvas Bill Simons had "dashed in" with cold water paints a baseball diamond, with trees in the background and bleachers on each side, all in a queer perspective which didn't hurt the game any. In the curtain Bill had cut holes just a little larger than a baseball, so that throwing the ball through these holes was not any bush-league business. On the diamond he had marked under the holes, First Base, Second Base, Third Base, and Home Run at the plate. Back of the plate were two holes quite close together, one marked Strike and the other Ball. Two holes in the outfield and two "over the fence" were also arranged in pairs to make pitching difficult. Regular baseb.a.l.l.s were sold, four shots for a nickel. The ruling of the game was simple: Three strikes out, four b.a.l.l.s a chance to try first base, or one of the "over the fence" holes for a home run; after first base, second and third had to be hit successively before a home run could be scored, and to make it harder there was a "grounder" hole near third base which put one out of the game; b.a.l.l.s which merely struck the curtain were counted as fouls, four fouls being out. Back of the curtain Bill had hung an old mattress against which the b.a.l.l.s bounded to the floor. This was covered with a black cloth to make the holes in the diamond visible.

Seeing the Old Home Town

Down the line next to the baseball diamond came the bowling alley, where everyone who was not a fan or a golf fiend was taking a hand at the sport. This alley was laid on a long board table, and the game played with tenpins and small wooden b.a.l.l.s. Six b.a.l.l.s for a nickel they sold here, and because the sport needed something to speed it up a bit they linked it with the food table next door. The best cooks in town presided over this. You paid your money for your tenpin b.a.l.l.s, and proceeded to run up a score by counting the numbers on the pins you knocked down; the pins were set far apart to make it difficult. Then you took your score to the food table, where certain numbers of points brought you a gla.s.s of jelly, a can of mince-meat, a box of cookies, or a jar of mayonnaise. That bowling alley certainly did appeal to the women!

And if there was ever a more successful grab bag for the children than the quoits game, the Ashton Welfare Committee wants to hear about it.

They called it a Good Luck booth for it had a horseshoe-shaped opening with a row of numbered pegs across the back. The kiddies bought the quoits, little wooden horseshoes cut from cigar-box wood, and tossed them over a peg. The number of the peg corresponded to a numbered tag which was handed out to be redeemed at the parcel-post window near the aerial mail plane.

This aviator, by the way, was an official of the Cupid Airline, so he advertised on his aeroplane, which was painted on a large curtain with a hole cut out where the seat would be, and the wheel of an electric fan poked through at the front and set going for a propeller. His mail bag hung over the side of the car inside of which he stood in aviation uniform, and for ten cents you could get your fortune in a small white envelope out of the mail bag if you were a man, or in a pink envelope if you were a girl.

But say, for a real scream, you had to take a sight-seeing trip in the auto! It was worth twice the toll. Dottie Earle had charge of it, and she made one of the funniest guides you ever heard. "This way, ladies and gentlemen," she would shout through her megaphone; "get your tickets for a tour of the city in the most magnificently equipped sight-seeing autos that ever ran on three wheels and one cylinder! Only twenty-five cents, two bits a ride! See the birthplace of Ashton's mayor, the history of Ashton's past, its chief industries," and so on.

When her tourists a.s.sembled in front of her machine, which was a real car, at least the front half of one, an old relic which the garage had just about decided to sc.r.a.p, its latter half hidden behind a dark curtain, Dottie led them back of the curtain where the sights of Ashton were hidden. In another black curtain were a series of holes not any larger than a quarter, and behind each was one of the sights, a cradle, a picture of the town dump, a scrubbing brush and a large pen-knife for the sights already mentioned. For the Home Team she had a snapshot of the Warren twins, for the compet.i.tor of the Herald, a telephone, and so on with eight other "hits" on town topics and characters. So many guffaws and squeals of laughter came from behind the curtain that they had to call in a "traffic cop" to keep the crowd outside quiet.

The "traffic cops," by the way, were boy scouts. They had dark blue costumes of cheap drill, trimmed with white braid, and wore white cotton gloves and shiny badges. They really did have power invested in them by the committee to preserve order and keep the crowds moving. At one point they were allowed to stand with a semaph.o.r.e and hold up the crowd, not allowing anyone to pa.s.s who could not show a certain number of tags from the various booths. This tag system was to insure that all would play fair, for there was so much fun just watching other folks spend money that the tightwads might never have taken their hands out of their pockets or opened their purses.

A Racket Around the Candy Booth

Mrs. Peterson, who sells the best bread in town, had charge of the cake archery. You bought arrows for this, three for ten cents, but you could not shoot until a dollar's worth of arrows had been sold. Then you took your turn at the bow and arrow. The arrow which hit nearest the bull's-eye got the cake, of course, and it was some cake, if it happened to be one of Abbie Southerland's angel foods.

The Girls' Club had drawn the candy table for their share of the fair, and a pretty booth they made of it, using all the tennis nets they could beg, borrow or steal to drape it with and putting up all the candy in ten-cent packages wrapped in white waxed paper to look like tennis b.a.l.l.s. Someone got funny and asked why there was such a racket around the candy booth!

The fair lasted three days. What with changing the attractions, keeping fresh food on the refreshment tables, making special attractions for children in the afternoons after school by offering prizes for sports events like sack races, obstacle races, and so on, getting up interest in golf tournaments and baseball series, the place was kept packed from three in the afternoon until midnight.

In The Ladies' Home Journal, Jan., 1921. Published with the permission of the author, Claire Wallis, and The Ladies' Home Journal.

CHAPTER V

RACING GAMES FOR PICNICS

In these games partic.i.p.ants are divided into a number of equal teams.

Each team is lined up in single file behind a base line. A distance line parallel to the base line and about ten yards from it is indicated on the field.

Egg and Spoon Race

A basket of eggs, apples, potatoes or stones is placed in front of each team and a spoon given to the first member of each team. Empty baskets are placed on the distance line opposite the position of each team. At the signal to go the first player on each team, keeping the left hand behind the back, takes one egg from the basket by means of the spoon and carries it on the spoon to the basket from the distance line.

Returning to the base line the spoon is handed to the second member of the team who repeats the performance of the first. The game continues until the last player on each team, after carrying the egg forward, returns across the base line. The team first succeeding wins.

Should a player drop an egg, he must gather up as much of the egg as possible and carry it to the far basket and there deposit it before returning with the spoon to the next member of his team.

Pea Sh.e.l.ling Race

A basket containing peas and an empty dish are placed on the distance line opposite each team. There should be at least six peas contained in each basket for every player on the team. At the signal to go the first player on each team runs forward, sh.e.l.ls his peas into the dish and lays the six empty pods in a straight line behind the dish.

Accomplishing this, he returns and tags off the next player on the team who repeats the performance of the first. The team first succeeding in sh.e.l.ling all of the peas and having each player's pods lined up in a straight line, wins.

Needle Threading Race

An individual holding a needle and a short piece of thread is on the distance line opposite each team. At the signal to go, the first player on each team runs forward, takes the needle and thread, threads the needle, hands it back to the individual and returns and tags off the next player on the team. The individual holding the needle unthreads it, ready for the next player to repeat the performance of the first.

When the last player crosses the starting line after threading the needle the race ends.

b.u.t.ton Sewing

As many b.u.t.tons as there are players on each team are placed on the distance line opposite each team, a strip of cloth, a needle, and as many short lengths of thread as there are players. At the signal to go, the first member of each team runs forward, threads the needle with one of the pieces of thread, sews a b.u.t.ton on the strip of cloth, using up all of the thread in his piece. He leaves the needle stuck in the cloth at the distance line and returns and tags off the next player, who repeats the performance of the first, as do all other team members.

Rope Skipping Relay

A piece of rope is necessary for each team. At the signal to go, the first member of each team skips rope forward to the distance line. From the distance line he runs back and hands the rope to the next one on the team, who repeats the performance of the first. Each player must skip the rope at least six times in each direction. The last member of the team, after skipping the rope forward to the distance line, returns across the base line, ending the event.

Rope Skipping Contest

A piece of rope is needed for each team. At the signal to go, the first individual skips rope ten times, in place, hands the rope back to the next individual who skips ten times, and so the rope is pa.s.sed on until it gets to the last one in the line, who skips twenty times and pa.s.ses the rope back to the one next in front of him in the line. The rope is pa.s.sed until it gets to the first member of the team, each one skipping ten times upon receiving it. When the one in the front of the line has skipped ten times, he ends the race by running forward across the distance line.

Dizzy Izzy

A cane or stick is given to the first player on each team. Upon the signal to go he places the end of the stick upon the ground, holding the stick in a vertical position, and places the centre of his forehead on the upper end of the stick. In this position, he circles around the stick three times and then runs forward to the distance line and returns, handing the stick to the next player on his team behind the base line. The second player places his forehead upon the stick and repeats the performance of the first, as does every other player on the team. The last man ends the race by crossing the base line.

Caterpillar Race

The players on each team sit upon the ground in single file, with the head of each team behind the base line. The knees are bent so that the feet are near the hips. Each player reaches back with his two hands and grasps the ankles of the player next behind him. At the signal to go, the entire column moves forward, endeavoring to keep from breaking the column by any one losing his grip on the ankles of the next member of the team, behind. The caterpillar creeps forward across the distance line and returns. When the rear end of the column crosses the base line, the race is completed, provided the column is unbroken.

Potato Race

Two peach baskets and two potatoes, stones or blocks of wood for each contestant are needed for each team. One basket is placed before each team on the base line and one directly opposite on the distance line.

The potatoes are placed in the basket on the base line. The first player takes a position on the right hand side of the basket behind the base line, with a potato in his hand. At the signal to start, he runs around the basket on the distance line, dropping his potato therein. He returns, running around the basket on the base line, picks up the second potato, which he carries and drops into the far basket, as he circles it. He then returns and tags off the next player on the team, who, after being tagged, picks up the first potato and carries it to the far basket, returning for his second. Each player in turn carries two potatoes, one at a time. Both baskets must be circled in carrying the potatoes forward. The player is not allowed to touch the basket in running around it. If his potato fails to go into the basket, he must pick it up and put it in before he goes for his second potato or touches off the next runner. The last player on each team ends the race by crossing the base line after having properly deposited his two potatoes in the far basket.

Apple Race*

A strawberry basket full of small apples is handed to the first member of each team. At the signal to go the basket full of apples is pa.s.sed back over the heads of the players until it reaches the last player in the column. The last player, upon receiving the basket full of apples, runs forward on the right hand side of his line to the distance line, where an empty basket has been placed. He pours the apples from his full basket into the empty basket, leaving the basket which is now empty on the distance line. He returns with the full basket to the front of the column and starts pa.s.sing the basket full of apples back over his head. When it reaches the individual who is then at the rear of the column, he runs forward, repeating the performance of the first.

The race ends when the last man on the team to run returns across the base line after having changed the apples on the distance line.