When July 1 rolled
around in 1880s Hamilton, it meant that the anniversary of the formation of
Canada would be publicly celebrated at Dundurn.
On July 1,1886, Dundurn
was still a private residence and the grounds of the castle were rented
to the Irish Protestant Benevolent Society (I.P.B.S.)
As the grounds of
Dundurn were surrounded by a high wooden fence, the I.P.B.S. could control
access through a gate, at which admission would be charged. To attract visitors
in order to recoup the rental fee, and hopefully make a profit, a baseball game
was scheduled, bands were hired to provide music, a dancing platform set up,
and a massive fireworks display by the Hamilton-based T.W. Hand and Company was
the finale of the day.
The reporter covering
the 1886 July 1 celebrations did so in a vivid manner that was both distinctive
and creative. Instead of a straight documentary listing of what he saw
throughout the day, the reporter created a fictional character and used him as
a basis for his article. (Although the article was not attributed to anyone, it
has the style and approach of The Khan (Robert Kirkland Kernighan who would
later become nationally famous, often referred to as Canada’s Mark Twain.)
The article started
as the holiday began soon after sunrise when Little Willie Smith, the son of
the main character, Pa. got celebrations going with a literal bang :
“ Little Willie Smith
got up early yesterday morning before the family was awake and startled them
all by letting off a great big batch of firecrackers. He had several bunches
altogether. His father bought them for him the day before out of the money he
expected to make by backing the Rochesters.
“Willie thought he
would hold the firecrackers in his hand. The doctor was there half an hour
afterwards. Willie didn’t have as much fun for the rest of the day as he had
hoped for. Neither did his father.”1
1“How We
Spent the Day : the I.P.B.S. at Dundurn Park.”
Hamilton
Spectator. July 02, 1886
The Rochesters was
the name of the visiting baseball team which would play the Hamiltons at
Dundurn later in the day.
Willie’s accident had
painfully ruined his day, and it served as the first of a series of negative
things to occur to Pa as the day unfolded.
No one could complain
about the weather for the July 1, 1886 celebrations in Hamilton:
“The firecracker explosion had aroused the
whole family, and when they turned out of bed, they looked on a glorious day.
The sun shone from a cloudless sky. The hills were partially hid by the pale
blue haze that hung over them, and a light breeze stirred the air. It was a day
to dream of.”1
A doctor had been
summoned to attend to the burns on his sons hand, costing Pa some money but he
remained confident that in betting against the home team, he would be flush
with money once the game was over:
“After the doctor had
bandaged Willie’s hand, the family had breakfast. Willie’s papa was quite
cheerful. He felt sure that Rochester would beat Hamilton. He didn’t know that
Jones and Knight were going to pitch. In imagination, he had that $20 stowed
snugly away in his pocket, and he intimated in a casual way that he would make
his wife happy by buying her that bonnet she fancied the other day.”1
Later in the morning,
Pa left home, heading first to the downtown core, where would meet up with some
of his friends at a saloon before going to the baseball game:
“Pa thought he would
go and see the game and yell, “Rah for the Raws,” a couple of times just to
encourage them, so he started out from the house and met the gang downtown. He
saw an immense crowd streaking for Dundurn.
“They all smiled and
smiled as if they meant it. Pa hadn’t been reading the newspapers recently and
didn’t know there was anything there but the ball game.
“But there was. It
was Dominion day, confederation’s anniversary, and the occasion of the annual
I.P.B.S. Demonstration at Dundurn.
The procession was
coming down the street and he stood and watched it. Thousands of people were
around him. Young men and maidens, aged persons in stylish garments and summer
before last’s clothes, boys, girls and babies – all were there. The
irrepressible small boy howled and the itinerant with the hurdy gurdy worked
his machine as if it had been called for.”1
Once Pa arrived at
Dundurn, he walked all over the grounds noting the many types of people there
and the brightly uniformed Knights of Pythias who performed marching drills to
entertain the crowd :
“Spectators of every
kind were on hand in abundance. The slopes and sward were dotted with spring
suits and white lawn dresses. Pretty faces smiled from beneath attractive bangs
and coquettish hats. The ball players skirmished around with their Sunday girls
in tow, and all Dundurn looked as gay and festive as it only can look when the
I.P.B.S. demonstration is on.
“While the games were
in progress, the uniformed knights were drilling on the lawn. It is needless to
say that they drilled well. Hamilton’s uniformed societies always do. The
intricate movements and marching attracted large numbers of people and the
drilling was vociferously applauded.”1
People-watching and
marching drills were not on Pa’s list of things he was focusing on – he wanted
a drink of cold beer and so ventured over to the dancing platform area where
such could be purchased:
“Pa was getting
restless. He strolled down towards the dancing platform and discovered a hole
in the grandstand where he spent 15 cents. He felt better when he succeeded in
getting outside of the foam-topped amber fluid. He lit a cigar and hit the toe
of his right foot with a cane as he meditated on the vague unsatisfactory
nature of various things.
“The dancing on the
platform did not please him. He listened for a while to the monotonous drone of
the music and the incessant shuffling of feet.
“Presently he heard a
bell ring. He probed his vest pocket and discovered a flannel case with a gold
watch in it. He had only got it from the jeweler’s the day before and found it
quite handy for reference. He looked at it quite often when people were gazing
at him. He learned this time that it wanted three and a quarter minutes to
four.
“People were packed
in the grandstand like sardines in a box, but he fought his way in and was in a
good position when umpire Pearson twisted his moustache and shouted “Play
ball!”1
Unfortunately for Pa,
the Rochesters provided little effective opposition to the Hamiltons, the home
team winning the tilt handily:
“A couple of hours
afterward he walked across the diamond, feeling that life was a hollow mockery
and a bitter delusion. For him, the sun didn’t shine, the birds didn’t twitter
in the trees, the gentle breezes were like cyclones, the Thirteenth band’s
exquisite music sounded like a funeral dirge. He was poor, sad and unhappy. And
he mentioned to himself that he didn’t know anything more about baseball than a
crowbar.”1
Pa went home to his
family and had to face his wife who would not be getting that new hat he had promised
her.
While Pa was at home
as darkness descended, a huge number of people remained at Dundurn
“The fireworks were
splendid. Prof. Hand and Co. never gave a better display. The grandstand was
filled with people. Several strings of Chinese lanterns stretched from it to
the ground, and the general effect was very beautiful. It was the generally
expressed opinion that the day was one of the most successful that Hamilton has
ever known.”1
There was an
estimated 13,000 paid admissions to Dundurn Park on July 1, 1886, and except
for Pa, everyone had a very pleasant day.
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