by Laurel | February 15th, 2013
Carrie Nation
18 February 1904
Empire Theater Tonight
The attraction of the Empire theater this afternoon and evening will be Clark Ball’s company of vaudeville starts, with Carrie Nation as the leading “star.”
Adapted from The Springfield Republican.
19 February 1904
Carrie Nations Starts in to Reform Saloon-Keepers and is Treated Gently By them.
Holyoke saloon-keepers entertained Carrie Nation at their places of business last evening, and she game them and their patrons whole cart-loads of good advice, which they could carry home with them for their leisure moments. Mrs. Nation was dressed wholly in black, but wore a white veil, and she made a pretty thorough tour of the saloons of the city, and expressed her mind freely, but generally in a motherly manner, that produced in many instances a favorable rather than an unfavorable impression. In some cases she had a chat with the proprietors, who treated her courteously. Her talks in the main took the vein of advising the patrons of the places that they had better be at home with their families, and there were some who hear her rather shamefacedly. She was accompanied by an admiring crowd of 25 or 40 men, some of whom were given a little lecture from time to time.
Word of her coming receded her, being passed from mouth to mouth. “Here comes Carrie: but there was no demonstration nor no wicked boys sand as at New Haven “Good morning, Carrie.” Now and then a youth would attempt to guy Mrs. Nation, but he generally got as good as he sent, and sometimes better, for the little woman was good at repartee and a fluent speaker. The word traveled over the city pretty rapidly of her voyage about the saloons, and there were generally good-sized audiences to hear her when she made her visit. It is understood that Mrs. Nation will give an address before she leaves Holyoke, so the fact of the company being stranded may not, after all, deprive Holyokers of hearing her views on saloons and their place in the economic life of cities.
Adapted from The Springfield Republican.
