Page:Final Report of the Northwest Territory Celebration Commission.pdf/57

 McConnelsville. Ohio (Population 1,618)

"THE LARGEST CROWD EVER TO ASSEMBLE IN THE TWIN CITIES"

Racine. Wisconsin (Population 74,400)

"LARGEST AUDIENCE EVER TO ATTEND EVENT IN HORLICK ATHLETIC FIELD SAW PAGEANT"

Plymouth, Indiana (Population 4,338)

"15,000 SEE PARADE; 10,000 SEE PAGEANT"

Vandalia, Illinois (Population 3,316)

"9,000 {{uc|Saw Pageant}"

Marion, Ilinois Bane 10,748)

"A Crowd that Thronged the Fair Grounds Until Not Even Standing Room Left in Grandstand saw 'Freedom on the March'"

Sheboygan. Wisconsin (Population 35,100)

"PAGEANT DRAWS BIGGEST CROWD TO BOWL"

(30,000 to 40,000) Jackson. Ohio (Population 5,842)

"GREATEST CROWD. IN HISTORY OF JACKSON VIEWS NORTHWEST TERRITORY CELEBRATION"

Fergus Falls. Minnesota (Population 7,581)

"10,000 PEOPLE OUT FOR PAGEANT"

Lawrenceburg, Indiana (Population 3,466)

"Greatest Crowd in History of Lawrenceburg" (15,000)

Terre Haute, Indiana (Population 73,500)

"20,000 PEOPLE VIEWED SPECTACULAR PAGEANT"

Programs ranged from one day to a full week, and probably averaged two days.

Parades, banquets, and speaking were common to all. In many cases communities held pageants of their own history, with large casts, and either professional or local direction.

Local publicity was splendid, and in a very great many cases official reports indicate the largest crowd in the entire existence of the community. In fact, in looking through the commission's scrap books of clippings perhaps the most striking single feature, aside from the tremendous amount of publicity, is the frequently recurring head line "Largest Crowd in History Visits...", etc.

It was quite common for the attending audience to be from two to five hundred per cent of the entire local population,

It is necessary to point out that this was not true in the large cities, where there is more competition on entertainment and where the commercial activity predominates. Also, large centers of foreign population, unfamiliar with American history, do not afford receptive audiences.

The appended chart shows the relation of attendance to population in various size centers.

It is only fair to say, however, that had the entire Northwest Territory Celebration been held in a Chicago or a Cleveland, its percentage of attendance would have still been small as compared to the local population.

The local committees reported to the Federal Commission on