1907 - A Beautiful Day for the Twentieth

The Charlotte News, 5/20/1907, p. 5:

A BEAUTIFUL DAY FOR THE TWENTIETH

The May Military Festival Begun—Lasts Until the End of the Week—Midway, Fireworks and Artillery Drills Among the Features of the Celebration.
 
The celebration of May 20th began this morning and for one solid week the music and amusement program furnished by the May Military Festival (First Battery Field Artillery) will be in order both day and night.  The main attraction will hold forth at Latta Park within the fair grounds enclosure where the 12 or 15 shows of the St. Louis Amusement Company have pitched tents.  The midway will open each day at 1 o’clock, and until midnight the spieler, barker and noise makers of every kind will be on hand.
 
While the celebration this year is different from that of last year, people are here from all over the Piedmont section and hundreds from the from the country.  Since the first break of day the roads have been lined with vehicles of all description and long before noon the back lots were crowded with wagons and buggies.  The streets were thronged with an enormous crowd waiting for some kind of a demonstration and towards the middle of the day when the sun was shining hottest, scores jumped on the street cars for Latta Park, where they spread their luncheon and spent the rest of the day on the mid-way.  The low rate offered by the Southern and Seaboard Railways brought hundreds of people into Charlotte from all over North Carolina and many from South Carolina.  The rates went into effect last week and the tickets will be good to return until the 26th.
 
The St. Louis Amusement Company offers a dozen of the best carnival attractions to be found in the country.  The shows are all high class.  In addition to these attractions the Lorre Troupe will give free acrobatic and trick performances every evening.  This troupe is composed of family of skilled acrobats and they offer some of the most difficult feats ever attempted.
 
One of the most interesting events of the week will be the daily drill and instruction of a detachment of the artillery by Captain Cassell, of the United States Regular Army.  He has been ordered here from the War Department for a period of ten days to instruct the artillery according to the rules and regulations of the regular army and his coming at this time will add special interest to the celebration, and more especially to the military feature.  Drills and instructions will be held at the park every morning during the week.
 
An interesting athletic event at the park this afternoon will be a dual track meet between the teams of the Charlotte and Columbia, S. C., Young Men’s Christian Associations.  The contest will begin at 3 o’clock and will consist of the following events: 100 yards dash; 220 yards dash; 440 yard run; half mile run; mile run relay race for four-man teams, high jump, broad jump, pole vault, shot-put hammer throw.  The team from Columbia will probably consist of the following named men:  Heyward, Jones, Dwight, Crawford and Holmes.  The following have been selected to act as judges during the meet: Robert Glasgow, Jr., W. T. Corwith, G. C. Huntington, E. R. Bucher, M. W. Helm, J. M. Oldham, C. G. Zerbies, J.C. Byrd and William Bradfield.
 
The grounds will be opened tonight at 8 o’clock and at 9 o’clock, according to the program, there will be a grand fire works display.