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Show A SUNDAY SCHOOL JUBILEE) ON JULY 24, 1877 or 8. John K. Hall, Supt. James T. Worlton 1st Ass't, and James R. Stuart 2nd ass't, Henry Florence Secretary. Celebration under their direction. It was held near the river down under Enterprise Point in a grove of Cottonwood trees on the west side of the Union Pacific Railroad. There was a platform erected from which speeches were made, songs were sung and musical selections were rendered. Charles Bull played violin solos and Cy Eardly, a cousin of Moromi Clawson, played cornet solos. The children danced on the grss, so also, did the grown ups. They had a barrel of lemonade, made without lemons. Sugar, lemon extract and tartaric acid. The main feature of the entertainment was a demonstration of what the telephone would be. It was in 1876 that A. G. Bell made the first exibition of his telephone in the east. At the time of the celebration it had not reached the west, but the fact that it was being used was known to the people of the west. The demonstration was engineered by T.R.G. WELCH, assisted by some others. The booths were two large grocery boxes set up possibly two or three hundred yards apart. The transmitter consisted of a tomato can, or a can about that size, with a bladder stretched over it. To this was attached a string. The receiver was the same sort of instrument. First of all one would speak through the transmitter. Then the one on the other end of the string would reverse it and say, "I received it." But Mr. Fry says, "We hollowed so loud that it could be heard without the use of the string." The children all lined up awaiting their turn to either send or receive a message on this improvised telephone system. Information given by R. R. Fry. |