The favors were tiny dolls, each dressed in a short bright-fringed paper skirt, orange, green, blue or pink, to match the color of the lei which each lady had already received as a souvenir.

During the luncheon the hostess played several Hawaiian musical selections on her phonograph.  If any of her friends had owned or played a ukelele, doubtless the plaintive music would have been a feature.

A WATERMELON FROLIC

When watermelons were ripe and plentiful, big pink posters cut oval with a painted border of green and black lettering on the pink startled the village with the notice of a watermelon frolic.

They read: 

  Do you like watermelon? 
  Anyway
  Be sure to come to a watermelon party
  on the local fairgrounds
  next Tuesday evening
  Admission 25 cents
  This entitles you to see the minstrel show
  Proceeds for the Epworth League
   of ——­ Church

Long plank tables on wooden horses were improvised for serving the watermelons which were contributed by the members of the society.  Some of the men acted as carvers of the melons, and the girls served the portions, which were sold for ten cents each.

The grounds were lighted with strings of electric lights in pink and green paper lanterns.

Besides the main attraction there were several booths and side shows, arranged country fair fashion, which drew well.  One was labeled THE WATERMELON PATCH.  For this, real watermelon vines had been obtained from somebody’s garden and placed naturally on the ground.  To the vines were tied any number of artificial melons made of green paper stuffed with cotton wadding which concealed tiny favors.

On payment of ten cents any person had the privilege of picking a melon.  The prize inside was supposed to be worth the fee.

At another booth, “watermelon cake” was served at five cents a slice.  The secret of this was that in making a plain cake the batter had been colored with pink sugar and sprinkled with raisins.  The cake was then baked in a round tin and when sliced resembled the pink of watermelon filled with black seeds.

As it was sweet corn season, and as corn is also typical of the South, there was a hot corn vender, who sold steaming ears straight from kettle to buyer.

One feature of the evening was a watermelon contest among the boys.  Volunteers were called for and lined up at a table.  They were then supplied with large wedges of melon and at the sound of the referee’s whistle the race began.

The prize was a whole watermelon.

There was also a watermelon hurdle race.  The course was laid out with big watermelons and time was kept for each hurdler.

The main attraction of the evening, however, was the minstrel show.  On a raised wooden platform sat the performers with blackened hands and faces.  They wore grotesque garb and each one fingered a guitar, mandolin, or banjo.