Indian Summer Day in Chariton --- during 1952

"This photo has 1950s written all over it," I said to myself yesterday after coming across it while inventorying an archival box of images at the museum. 

And that turned out to be the case, in part at least, because it is dated on the back "Sept. 11, 1952." Only one person is identified --- the young man in a feathered headdress at lower left is Paul Hoskins (1924-2015). 

The view is northwest from the northeast part of the Lucas County Courthouse lawn where a considerable crowd is enjoying a meal on a pleasant day.

Tracing the image backward through Chariton newspaper files, I discovered that Sept. 11, 1952, was Indian Summer Day --- a promotional event sponsored by the Chariton Chamber of Commerce and held on a Thursday, the day all the weekend bargains were advertised each week in The Herald-Patriot.

Chamber members (dressed in cardboard and feather headdresses) had started serving free pancakes to all comers at 10 a.m. and a children's carnival had opened at the same time on the west side of the square.

A big parade was scheduled during the early afternoon and all of Lucas County's rural schools, as well as city schools, had been invited to take the day off and join the fun. There would be a firefighting exhibition featuring Old Betsy and, also during the afternoon, a shock-proof Wyler watch provided by Brightwell Jewelry would be dropped from a plane over the square.

The WHO-Radio Entertainers were scheduled to perform at 3 p.m., following the parade; in the evening, there would be a free ballgame between the Lucas "girls" and the "Chariton Cuties." And a square dance on the square would round out the day's entertainment. Dwight Vredenburg had chaired the Chamber committee in charge of organizing the event.

By all accounts the day was a rousing success and 21st century Chambers of Commerce probably would give their collective eyeteeth to be able to hold the attention of a similar crowd for a day-long event. I'm doubting, these days, that feathered headdresses would be featured, but otherwise can't think of much I'd do to change it.