A Night of Masks and Revelry
Yakima’s firemen transform the opera house into a glittering masquerade, capturing the spirit of a frontier city at play.
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.
Mason’s opera house Christmas night was like a scene from fairy land, and the firemen covered themselves with glory and filled their depleted coffers. Prince Carnival never had a more enthusiastic or brilliant reception in central Washington. There were an unusual number of masquers and the costumes were gorgeous and grotesque. The floor was constantly filled with dancers, and all present seemed to enjoy themselves to the fullest extent. Almost all nationalities were represented and queer combinations were formed upon the floor. A Sioux chief was seen whispering sweet nothings to the morning star, the devil waltzed away with a seductive-looking Hebe, Uncle Sam threw his protective arm around a demure school girl, a monkey paid marked attention to folly, and an English dude could not tear himself away from a colored lady. When the firemen looked over the throng of spectators and the kaleidoscopic melange on the floor they could not but congratulate themselves on the success of their efforts. The spectators gradually left for home, but the dance went on, and light feet and light hearts sped to the excellent music of Read’s orchestra till the bashful dawn was beginning to creep in upon the merry maskers.
“A Sioux chief was seen whispering sweet nothings to the morning star, the devil waltzed away with a seductive-looking Hebe.”
Local fire departments have historically been the hub of community social life. The 'opera house' culture described here highlights how central these spaces were to civic entertainment before the advent of broadcast media.
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