Kennewick Plans Benefit Ball for Belgian Relief
The Commercial Club organizes a dance to support humanitarian aid efforts during the early months of the Great War.
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 Belgian Benefit Ball will be given in the pavilion Thursday evening, December 10, under the direction of a special relief committee of the Commercial Club. At last week’s luncheon R. C. Mounsey and A. R. Gardner were named as a committee to solicit funds for the Belgian Relief work which has been taken up by practically every town in the Northwest. In addition to soliciting cash subscriptions the dance committee has planned the dance as one means of raising funds. The use of the pavilion for the evening has been donated by Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Conway, local musicians have kindly consented to donate their services and it will be possible to turn the gross proceeds of the evening into the relief fund. The following evening the mayor and city council of Pasco will give a municipal ball for the same purpose. All those who wish to contribute and have not yet been solicited are requested to notify Mr. Mounsey at the Tum-A-Lum Lumber company’s offices.
“The Belgian Relief work has been taken up by practically every town in the Northwest.”
In 1914, Kennewick's civic organizations were rapidly mobilizing to provide aid for war-torn Europe, mirroring the long history of regional volunteerism in the Pacific Northwest. This event shows how local social life was leveraged to support international crises before the United States officially entered the conflict.
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