8 M
THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: . SEPTEMBER 28, 1919.
Life Story of Ak-Sar-Ben
and Enterprise of Hardy
Men Who Conceived Project
Times Were Bad in 1895Papier Mache Figures
Bought in New Orleans and Floats Made Here
Historic Omaha , Incidents Were Dipicted Band
, Wore Col. Cody's Uniforms.
It is interesting to take a retro--'spective
glance and ponder on what
has occurred in the world's affairs
ince Omaha witnessed its first Ak-Sar-Ben
- parade, held" Wednesday
evening, September 18, 1895, during
the week of the state fair, which at
that time was held here,
v This was the occasion of the be
ginning -of the (freat organization
' known as Ak-Sar-Ben, which has
grown to be of nation-wide fame,
for it may be said in truth that
Omaha's electrical parades and the
Ak-Sar-Ben initiation are known of
in every city in the land.
How It Got Started.
"' Times were hard in 1895, when a
group of enterprising business men
turned their faces to the rising sun
. and ventured upon this great enter
prise which has grown so strong
during the passing rears. W. R.
Bennet, Walter Jardme, Edgar Al
len, Vance Lane, the late Emil
Brandeis and a few others got to
' gether and talked it over. They
conceived the idea of holding a fall
festival in connection with the state-
fair.
' Dudley Smith suggested going to
New Orleans and buying the floats
of the Rex parade.
Gus Renze, then in the decorative
business, proposed that the floats
should be built in Omaha, he having
had experience in St. Louisxwith
the Veiled Prophets. Someone as
serted that it was preposterious to
think that local talent could fashion
electrical floats. A committee com
prising W. R. Bennett, Dudley
Smith, E. M. Bartlett, William
Koozer and Qus Renze went to New
Orleans and contracted for a car
load of paper ipache figures and a
lot of costumes which were shipped
- to Omaha, where these materials
were used in the fashioning of a' se
ries of floats, whose theme was
known as "The Feast of Mondamin."
The name of "Ak-Sar-Ben" was
suggested by Mrs. Mary Turkleson
and the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben at
first met in the Oddfellows hall at
.Fourteenth and , Dodge streets,
where the initiations were held un
til the organization , was incor
porated and the old Coliseum on
..North Twentieth street was leased
The First Parade,
f ft is interesting to. turn back to.
the files of the newspapers of Sep-
' . i . nrt r .... : i . 1 .
. lemDer, ioyo, ana reaa me accounts
of the first Ak-Sar-Ben parade ..and
bal. Tuesday ; afternoon, Septem
ber 17, of- that year a civic parade
was held. The decorations of the
town were red, green and yellow,
which have been and now are the
official Ak-Sar-Ben colors. In that
parade were roughriders, led by
Rattlesnake Pete, Long-haired
Burke and Kid Nuckolls. ' -
Sergeant Her aAd, a platoon of
mounted police headed the column.
M. H. Collins and H. J. Penfold
were marshals of the first division
and Max Meyer and J. C Colt had
charge of the second division One
of the floats was a model of the sod
house occupied by Daniel Freeman
at Beatrice, - he having been the
first homesteader in the United
States. On the Union Pacific float
were Tom McGovern, since city
councilman and passed to the great
beyond; George Everett, P. E. Cu
sick and Fred Busch. The Durant
Hose company of 18 men appeared
in command of Chief John Reed. '
The1 Douglas county float was de-
fsigned by E. G. Solomon and Os
car Pickard. E. R. Tauzer of
Council Bluffs was marshal of the
third division.
Xbe North Platte bandrappeared
in uniforms given by' the late CoJ.
W. F. Cody. Trie last float repre
sented the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben,
with Maj. R. S. Wilcox as high exe
cutioner, Edgar Allen as grand
mufti, Guy Doane as Foo-Choo and
Herbert Martin, Alexander Jeffrey
and M. Levy assisting.
" Presentation to King.
The following evening, September
18, "The Feast of Mondamin" elec
trical floats were shown, with Maj.
R. S. Wilcox as grand marshal and
the' following a's aides: W. H. Mc
Cord, Warren Rogers. Thomas Fry,
E. E Bryson, R. E. Wilcox, W. R.
Bennett, Max Meyer, William Pax
ton, jr., and W. S. Jai;dine. When
this pageant reached Eighteenth and
Farnam streets, Lieutenant Govern
or Moore sat in review and Mayor
George PrBemis presented the keys
ofthe city to the king, wno pledged
the city's prosperity. The mayor
broke 'a bottle of wine, which was
a form of beverage in those nays,
and-"then handed the elixir to the
lieutenant, governor, who in turn
handed it over to the king. The
king held fast to the wine, which he
took, to the Den, where the corona
tion ceremonies were held. At the
Den he. was given a golden gojblct
for use by himself and the queeri
Mediaeval Venice: Never
such (iorgeousness
'Judge E. M. Bartktt was the king
and Miss Meliora Wpolworth was
'the queen. Miss Lynn Curtis and
Miss Grace L. Himebaugh -served
as maids to the gueeri.
; The names of the- first floats
were: "The Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben
Celebrate the Feast of Mon
damin," "Ak-Sar-Ben, the King,"
"The Harvest Festival," "Monda
min's Castle," "War of the Ele
ments," "Samson's Arrival in Oma
ha." "Fountain of Youth," "Water
Witch Opening the Flood Gates,"
"Grand Vizier Heralds Return f
f Prosperity," "Queen of the Rose
Fairy "Quivera Fairies Before the
King," "Revelries of the Court,"
"Ak-Sar-Ben's Counselor," "Lord'of
the Exchequer," "Ak-Sar-Ben in the
Chrysalis State," "At the Shrine of
"Mondamin," "Ak-Sar-Ben's Fish
eries," ."Mondamin Preparing for
the Feast," "Enchanted Forest.";
An idea of the grandeur and splen
dor of the first Ak-Sar-Ben ball
may be gained by reading the fol
lowing excerpt from an account of
that function: )
"Only Ak-Sar-Ben, of all the
world, could have produced such a
symposium of sweetness, of color
and merriment-as were diffused at
the ' ball last night. ' It was a be'
fitting close for the autumn festival;
brilliant and gorgeous, like the
splendid carnivals of medieval
Venice! when that city of passion
laughed through endless mirth, and
music. Such a riot of radiance and
pleasure, suc a succession of love
ly faces and fairy forms, such a
flood of light and wealth of flowers
never before challenged society'
criticism or extorted appreciation
from pessimistic cynic. . '
"No shadow of lucre rested upon
those' mad, merry hours. It was a
Nebraska show of patriotism', and
harmony, and alone represented
what Nebraska can do as the queen
of a great west and the garden of
the earth: Never was there held a
more royal fete, and thus weeks and
months of busy and anxious prepa
ration found their fruition in the be
wildering' and beautiful social func
tion of last night , .
"All previous events of the week
were as straw in the balance com
pared with the vast outpouring of
the smart people of the. town, and
the visitors from the north and the
south, to testify to the loyalty
awakened by the .saturnalia of lord
ly Mondamin. Stereotyped balls
and parties there have been before,
comprehending all the requirements
of swell and belledom, but a ball
combining so many glories as that
of yesternight comes" closer to the
heart of manly men and womenly
women, and is understood and en
joyed without alloy." ;.,
Master Conjurer of the
' Den and Electric Floats
The piece de resistance of the Ak-
Sar-Ben fall festivals is the electri
cal parades, which have been held
' without interruption for 24 years,
- and the one scheduled for next
Wednesday night will be the 25th
pageant of the kind in Omaha.
Gustavus Adolohus Renze flie
lines xo nave nts name spenea out
in its fullness) has had charge of
the float construction for a quarter
of a century and never has he failed
to have this great spectacle out on
time. Precisely at 8 o'clock, on the
,-appointed evening each yer, the
large doors of the Den are swunr;
' open and this mighty pageant of
f color and light comes out as if seme
mighty conjuror had commanded
- fairyland to open and reveal ?u hid
den beauties.
Work in "The Den."
The general public has little con
cern of what occurs out at the Den,
which is a great workship for sev
eral months prior to the appearance
of the floats. When the theme of
vthe floats has been selected Mr.
Renze then proceeds to draw his
plans as carefully as an architect
draws the plans of a house or a
large building. He gathers his
workmen, Jpgether and then, with
out a stop, hey address themselves
to the task of fashioning these
marvels of the creative art.
Has Built 50rFloats.
Mr. Renze has designed and con
structed 500 electrical floats during
his 25 years with Ak-Sar-Ben, and
he has built as many more floats
for , daylight parades of various
kinds. He has seen the "-Knights of
Ak-Sar-Ben grow from an original
membership of less than 500 to its
present strength of 5,000 members.
There will be more than 600 men
appearing on and with the electrical
floats next Wednesday night. Of
that number there will be 216 local
business men in costume, most of
whom will appear as characters on
the floats. The others will be in
the bands or will serve as torch
bearers and trolley holders. Nearly
10,000 electric lamps will be used
on the floats this year.
Fat Girl and'Some of Her Side-Show Friends
In a Moment of Repose at Carnival Grounds
jfy; iv.Lr.i h U
SEVEN CITIES OF
CIBOLA AND THE
LflND 0M1UIVJRA
Omaha Is Chief of Historical
Metropolis and Capital
of the King- Vl
dom. ' ,
"You should see my big brother; he's bigger'n me,"' said Jolly Nellie, the fat girl of the King's High,
way, when she was being photographed with some of her show friends.
Cannibalism Prevails
, . In Armenia, Says Nurse
Uhrichsviler O., Sept. 27. "It
would rot and we're, starving," is
what' some " Armenian, children . told
Miss Blanche Knox, a, IJhrichsville
nurse, when she. saw them eating the
hearr of their" dead mother. Miss
Knox is doing work. in the Russian
Caucasus. 'In her letter Miss Knox
said the acts of cannibalism caused
by starvation are indescribable. In
many shallow graves, she Said, tehe
saw bodies, from which the trunks
had been removed for meat.
Hot Water Supplied Free ,
In a Canadian ?ark
Hot drinks can be served at pic
nics in a recreation park at Toronto,
Canada, withdut the troublesome
operation usually necessarv to. ob
tain boiling water in such places.
This is made possible by a conven
ience (ilaced on the grounds by the
city authorities in the form of a gas
water heater, which delivers; hot
water ill' any quantity through a
faucet to all who care, and have oct
ca&ipn to use it. No charge is made
for the service. A wooden shed
houses the heater, and a sign on the
building calls " attention to the fact
that hot water is iree.
Wheel-Mounted Dog
Sled Used by Alaskan
Snow and ice are not perpetual in
Alaska, popular belief to the con
trary, and while dog sledsare com-
Tnftnlv 1lcfH Inrinfr 1m rrAfr
months, they are of' no value in the
summer, when the ground lacks its
covering of wtfite. This latter fact
led a resident of the territory to in
vent a conveyance to be drawn by
his doc; tam during the warm sea
son. A sled of Indian design was
mounted on four small bicycle
wheels, and a steering column and
wheej from an automobile were con
nected to the front pair. Five dogs,
hitched in the usual manner, draw
tlie wheel-mounted sled. The inter
esting vehicle is illustrated in tins
Ostober Popular Mechanics Magazine.
Do you know that Omaha is in
the kingdom , of Quivira, and that
the Gate City of the West is the
chief city of the seven cities of
Cibola? , -
In carrying out the mythical as
sociations of the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben,
the story of Francisco
Vasquez de Coronado, Spanish ex
ploTer, was used to suit the occa
sion. ,
Bread Basket of World.
King Ak-Sar-Ben is supposed to
rufe over the land of Quivira, being
this great "bread basket" of the
world, the great ' corn belt of
Omaha's trade territory.
Following the conquest of Mex
ico by Cortez, Coronado was ap
pointed to command the northern
province of the land where Carranza
and Villa now abide. Coronado.
early in the spring of 1540, started
out with 1,500 of his men to find
the fabled seven' cities of Cibola.
This adventurer and his men be
lieved that these seven cities con
tained vast quantities of wealth and
were of gorgeous splendor.
The party was unable to find the
seven cities of fabled wealth, so
they Teturned, and, during the
spring or 1541, started out on an
other journey. Historians believe
that Coronado made his second
start from Pecos, on the Pecos riv
er. Coronado and his band march
ed 700 x miles to the northeast,
raaching what' is believed to have
been the Arkansas river. The in
triped explorer pushed on which 30
of "his brave followers, making their
way to present the southern boun
dary of Nebrkska. This country was
knovn as th realm of Quivira.
Located at Columbus.
If one of the cities of Cibola ac
tually existed near Omaha, the his
torians state that Columbus, Neb.,
was the location, this being deter
mined from records left by the
early Spanish explorers.
Evidences of early habitation
have been unearthed in various
places of this state by archeologists.
This story of Coronado and his
associate travelers is the foundation
for the fanciful kingdom Over which
the king of Ak-Sar-Ben reigns.
Free 6 Dozen Crown Bottle, Caps With Each
Can' of
S. & S. MALT SYRUP
at $1.25 Per Can
The Only Scientifically Prepared Syrup '
v Bakers Specialty Co.
Mfrs. of Home brew Specialties
Phone Douglas 4344. 1003 Farnam Street
Thumb Print Protects
' " Auto From Thieves
Professional automobile thieves
may cease to reap their regular bar
vest and find real cause for worry m
a system, for protecting and recov
ering cars by means of thumb prints,
one of which is placed on the instru
ment board of the machine by a
process that prevents its removal
without noticeable defacement of
the board. A card bearing a dupli
cate of the thumb mark is carried
by the owner of the car, while other
cards of a similar, nature are placed
on file with the police.
Ocean Bottom to Be
Dredged for Diamonds
.To supply the world's undiminish-
ing demand for diamonds a strong
company is reported formed for the
purpose of dredging the bottom of
the Atlantic ocean, according to the
October Popular Mechanics Maga
zine. This method of mining the
sparkling stones is unusual, yet may
meet with some measure of success,
as" a "chimney" has for years been
known to exist off the southwest
coast of Africa.
Good Printing and
Good Service
is our motto
Butt Printing Co.
1806 Harney
Tyler 4065
Honor Marine Corps r ,
Drum With Stripe
. Glory was not won by men alone
on the battlefields of the world war.
To illustrate, there is the bass dum
which returned from France rc r
cently with a regiment of the marine
corps, decorated with a wound '
stripe and four service chevrons
These marks'of honor were painted
on one head of the jnlrument. The
wound stripe was considered appro
priatvafter the-drum had been dam-
aged by a bursting shell. .. -.
ing
Good
Printing
at
Good Prices
Our Color Work Surpasses
All Expectations ;
Call Colfax 40 and Have Us
Estimate On Your Job
NORMAN
BURKETT CO. :
- ' 24th and Ames St.
yylj... .' )I1W...J .IP Win
1 " SEp-"
IF' tf& a
I w
NEW
MILLARD
HOTEL
13th and Douglas
Streets
ZUU Outside Airy Kooiro, Popular Priced
Phone DougrT924. H. Weiner, Prop.
4
WESTERN PRINTING
COMPANY :
" "Omaha's rew Printing Company"
Railroad and Commercial Printers
1412 Howard Street ' V Omaha, Neb.
. Telephone Douglas 5088 jL:
Navy Office, Collects
. Pictures and Letters
Photographs taken by private in
dividuals in naval camps or aboard
ships, ' personal letters written by
sailors, and any other' similar
( material that pertains to the activr
ities of the navy during the war, are
: to be placed in permanent files at
Washington, D. C, by the Navy
"Department. They will form a his
torical collection intended1, to pre
serve a viewpoint of the hostile
times notxontained inofficial docu
ments. A request has been made
that such items of interest be sent
to the historical section of the de
partment for examination.. Descrip
tion should accompany photos.
Fronrfhe October Popular Mechan
icSjMagazine. ,
' An Englishman is the inventor of
a greenhouse weighing several tons
and so mounted on tracks . that it
can be moved from one flower bed
to another as needed
Nt
f ; .' . a ." ' ' ' '' '
cljC- )lF E
25th YEAR OF
1 V '"' '
JFi!
Omaha, September 24th to Oct. 4th, 1919
. . " I .'
Girainid.
Elector Parade
WEDNESDAY NIGHT, OCT 1
s Grand
Aeto-Ffloweir If
THURSDAY AFTERNOON, OCT. 2
2) tvo y 7 ry
(Dili Di(Ul
V
Corbmatioh Ball
FRIDAY NIGHT, OCT. 3
CARNIVAL GROUNDS
DAY AND NIGHT
9
Congress of Rides and Mighty Midway Shows
"A. , ALL NEW-ALL GOOD
Information Bureau No. 1410 Douglas Street or Moon Theater
v-
T
s
v.