How Colorado Celebrates Strawberry Day 



By H. G. Overbeck 



STRAWBERRY' DAY was cek- 

 brated for the ninth annual time at 

 Gienwood Springs, Colorado, on 

 June 16. Out here in the Centennial 

 State it has become a custom for the 

 various agricultural districts to hold a sort 

 of harvest festival, each named after a 

 principal fruit product of the district. 

 Thus, on the v^estern slope of the Rocky 

 Mountains, which produces most succu- 

 lent and delicious strawberries, Gienwood 

 Springs has chosen Strawberry Day for 

 its annual e\'ent. 



The 1906 program v\as characteristic 

 not only of Strawberry Day, but gi\es 

 some idea of the nature of these celebra- 

 tions in general. The leading attraction 

 was a big free feast of strawberries and 

 cream with cake made by the very best 

 bakers in the world — Colorado women. 

 A hundred and fifty crates of berries 

 were prepared, the ladies' committee in 

 charge of the work spending the entire 

 previous day, assisted by \olunteers from 

 among the school children, in hulling and 

 washing the berries. Cream was fur- 

 nished b\- the general executive commit- 

 tee, seventy-five gallons being provided. 

 Cakes were furnished by the housewives 

 of the town to the number of 450. 



Long tables, built of trestles and planks 

 on the floor of the opera house, were ap- 

 propriately decorated with freshly gathered 

 wild flowers. Plates v\-ere placed along 

 both sides of these tables, filled with ber- 

 ries ready to be eaten, and at frequent in- 

 tervals were great platters of cake and 

 pitchers of rich cream. The great crowd 



PART OF THE STREET DECORATIONS AT GLENWOOD SPRINGS 



The dead tree standing in the enclosure came from the territory in which President Roosevelt 

 hunted last year, and was the refuge of one of the bears captured on that occasion 



of participants was admitted through the 

 main entrance of the building until all the 

 benches ranged along the tables were 

 filled. Then the gates were shut, to be 

 reopened whenever a table had been de- 

 serted and replenished with fresh supplies, 

 .those having been served retiring through 

 another door. This manner of serving 

 prevented confusion and also helped to 

 contiol the rush of small boys who would 

 overwhelm everything if not restrained in 



THE BIG OPEN-AIR SWIMMING POOL ON STRAWBERRY DAY 



This pool accommodated over 1,000 people at one time on this event 

 There were 500 people in the water when this picture was taken 



some such way. And we wouldn't give 

 much for a boy who didn't want his 

 share of strawberries. The feast lasted 

 three hours, and in that time over 5,000 

 persons had been helped to a liberal por- 

 tion of the juicy fruit and its accompani- 

 ments. There was enough for all and 

 no single guest was disappointed — a char- 

 acteristic of Rocky Mountain hospitality. 

 A fine orchestra discoursed appropriate 

 music throughout the duration of the feast. 



The dominant idea of the general ex- 

 ecutive committee which had the day's 

 program in charge, was "everything free." 

 No entertainment was allowed at which 

 an admission was charged, with the single 

 exception of a baseball game between the 

 local club and a team from one of the 

 neighboring towns which sent a large 

 delegation of visitors. All the brass bands 

 in the surrounding country were engaged 

 for the day and concerts were given 

 hourly on many street corners. 



One of the show places of Gienwood 

 Springs is the big swimming pool which 

 is kept filled by the flow cf hot water 

 from the mineral springs from which this 

 city takes its name. This pool was 

 thrown open freely to all visitors during 

 the afternoon and many hundreds accepted 

 the invitation to take their "annual bath" 

 at Gienwood Springs? The day was 

 rounded out with two dances in the even- 

 ing, both free. One was an out-of-doors 

 affair, the floor being a large canvas spread 

 on the town square. The other was at 

 the opera house, where the large tables 

 used for the strawberry feast had been 

 removed and the floor waxed for dancing. 



The town has adopted one annual 



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