The Ballard Business Carnival
Forty-five local firms were represented by young women in a grand march and drill that signaled a community's growth.
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 business men's carnival held at Ballard in the Odd Fellows' hall on Monday evening, under the auspices of the Berachah Baptist church, was a great success. It clearly showed that Ballard is without a hall large enough to accommodate an audience of this size. Over a hundred were turned away from the doors unable to gain admission, and the parade and exercises were repeated on Tuesday evening to allow those who were unable to attend an opportunity to witness the spectacle. Forty-five different business houses were represented by young ladies, dressed in becoming costumes, each carrying a handsome banner with the name of the firm painted in prominent characters. At 8:15 the parade—grand march—and drill began under the skillful leadership of Mrs. C. A. Donoghue, to inspiring music by the Columbia brass band. After the drill, a large number recited verses extolling the houses they represented.
“It clearly showed that Ballard is without a hall large enough to accommodate an audience unusually large.”
Ballard, now a quintessential Seattle neighborhood, began as an industrial city in its own right. This 1891 carnival captures a moment of civic pride when local business boosterism was the primary way residents forged a collective identity in a booming, unincorporated frontier space.
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