Ballard's Grandest School Gala
Over 1,000 residents packed the opera house for a military-themed school production, showcasing local pride and a new generation of talent.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Ballard school entertainment, given in the opera house on Friday night, was without exception the best in all respects that has ever occurred in Ballard. The attendance was the largest, over 1,000 being present, that ever gathered together in the opera house. The order was excellent and every part of the programme from the beginning to the end was well rendered without a hitch. One of the most interesting parts of the entertainment was the doll drill by twenty-two little girls, and 'Mother Goose Medley' by pupils of the third grade, under Miss Warren's teaching, had the prettiest costumes. The closing performance was a military march by eight boys and eight girls, trained by Capt. McAlpine, a G. A. R. veteran, who was also the donor of two gold and two silver medals presented by Mayor A. E. Pretty to the most efficient pupils. The fifty or more movements were performed with the military precision of regulars.
“The fifty or more movements were performed with the military precision of regulars.”
This 1893 event captures the intense civic pride of Ballard back when it was an independent town, distinct from Seattle. Today, the sense of local identity remains, though the 'opera house' culture has evolved into the neighborhood's vibrant modern arts and festival scene.
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