A Foolish Wager on Main Street
An overconfident local man loses money after betting his horse could outrun a human in a downtown race.
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.
A number of people collected on Main street last Thursday, attracted by an unique contest. Frank Webster, believing his loose-jointed horse could outrun a man, bet his pile that the horse could win any race. It was agreed that the distance should be 13 feet, and Frank Bartell, Jr. was chosen to race against the horse. In two heats, the horse was defeated, much to the surprise and disgust of Mr. Webster. The incident resulted in a brief arrest for illegal street racing, though the fine was eventually remitted.
“Mr. Webster never had his eye teeth cut on speed jobs that he was going up against, and he mourned that the quantity of his substance only equaled the sum of 72 plunks.”
Public street racing may have moved from horses to motors, but the local impulse to settle personal disputes and ego clashes through ill-advised public spectacles remains a timeless feature of small-town life.
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