IMH 74:4 p326
"Chronicles of Upper Burnet" (1)
Friday, October 8th.
Father cut some more of the buckwheat this morning. About 9 o'clock all things being in readiness the three men of the household
started to town in the wagon. We got there about eleven o'clock and found humanity thronging the sidewalks on 3 sides of the
square thickly. About half an hour afterward the street parade began. It was of great length. Delegations, glee clubs, banners,
and large files of mounted men and women, many of them in uniform, stirred up a fearful dust and raised great enthusiasm. Uncle
Ripley introduced the speaker Hon. Jas C. Robinson of Illinois who entertained the audience with a sensible homespun speech
full of telling points. But little drunkenness in proportion to the size of the crowd. We got a letter from Grandmother.(20) She seems
to be comparatively happy. Mary Perkins is to be married on the 3rd of November next. Grandmother don't talk very strongly
of coming out here. The day was warm and clear
Teaching Notes: This was probably a political parade. You might ask the class why Mary did not join them. It was to be another
40 years before the womens suffrage movement succeeded.(19th ammendment, August 1920) The comment about drunkeness
point out another issue that led to the 18th ammendment in January, 1919. The temperance movement was widespread in
midwestern US.