Description:
In May of 1904, Oklahoma City celebrated its Spring Carnival. The Gaskell traveling carnival had arrived in town to provide the entertainment for the festivities which ran about a week. Regarding the Gaskell show, the Daily Oklahoman recounted that “when one enters the grand esplanade the brillancy of the illuminations is dazzling and the picture presented is like a scene from a fairyland.” Featured acts were a tight wire walker, high diver, La Fleur the acrobat, bicycle loop-the-loop rider, a trapeze artist and a weightlifter – all for only 15 cents. Other attractions at the carnival were performances of the musical comedy “The Girl from Up There” by Hugh Morton, a kinescope showing of “The Great Train Robbery”, several animal acts and something called the “McNally show, for gentlemen only” which the Daily Oklahoman disapproved of and called for its prompt suppression. The paper estimated that 10,000 people visited the carnival on its first day.
Another part of the Spring Carnival was the annual Merchants’ and Manufacturers’ Parade. The parade was, the Oklahoman said, “the crowning triumph of a community that makes a success of every enterprise which it undertakes.” Promptly at 2:00 pm on May 18, 1904 under perfect skies the procession began as thousands of citizens (the Oklahoman estimated 30,000) lined the streets including 5,000 children. The parade featured civic organizations and dozens of floats created by the city’s business community and when assembled measured two miles long; if one were standing in one spot it would take the entire procession one hour to pass by.
The view of the parade we see here is a view of Company M of the Oklahoma National Guard as it makes its way down Main Street. The guard followed the fire and police departments and the Chamber of Commerce Band and was led by Capt. Mont F. Highley. Many of these guardsmen were veterans of the Spanish American War (1898) and several Oklahoma volunteers formed part of the famed “Rough Riders” of that war. The guard received top marks and high praise for their drill from visiting Major General Samuel S. Sumner, who commanded the cavalry at the famous battle of Santiago in that war. Company M was also acting as honor guard in the parade for the Loyal Sixteen which was a group of young women chosen to represent the city at the St. Louis World’s Fair on Oklahoma City Day (September 5, 1904). The Oklahoman described them as “beautiful specimens of Oklahoma womanhood…a picture of rare loveliness” who “elicited huzzas all along the line of the parade.”
FURTHER READING
Franks, Kenny. Citizen Soldiers, Oklahoma’s National Guard. Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1984.
“Glorious Scene,” Daily Oklahoman, May 18, 1904.
“30,000 People Saw Parade,” Daily Oklahoman, May 19, 1904.
Trask, David F. The War with Spain in 1898. New York: Macmillan, 1981.