1912: Boys encouraged to shoot down balloons for free fair ticket
In 1912, the folks at the St. Clair County Fair came up with an interesting way to promote the event, which ran from Sept. 10 to 14 in Belleville.
During the last part of August, they drove a car throughout the county. In the back was someone inflating toy rubber balloons, which were released strategically along the way so the entire county would be covered. Each one, 500 in all, had a tag that entitled the finder to a free ticket to the fair. You just had to go to the place mentioned on the tag to pick it up.
How to catch one? You could wait for one to land somewhere, but the preferred method, which was encouraged, was for boys to chase after them on horseback and shoot them down with cat rifles.
75 years ago Aug. 13, 1942
Fans who witnessed a game between the Shiloh Blue Sox and the General Chemicals, of East St. Louis, at Shiloh Sunday were accorded a spectacular performance when Donald “Pete” Heitman, 19, of this city, hurling for Shiloh turned in a “no hit” game, winning for the Blue Sox, 1 to 0. Heitman was in excellent form, only one batter reaching second base on a miscue and another getting to first base on an error. Heitman fanned 11 men who faced him and but two went via the pass route.
50 years ago Aug. 10, 1967
The city of O’Fallon and surrounding area was without its public dumping area today after state health authorities ordered it closed because of its unsanitary condition. The dump has been operated for many years on the Ivan Ping Farm north of town and was maintained jointly by the city and O’Fallon Township. Ping was paid a fee of $50 a month for permitting use of the ground. The area is a low place and years ago dumping was started there as a fill. It was reported that the dump was rat infested, had insects around and in it and that open burning of rubbish was going on at almost all times.
This story was originally published August 10, 2017 at 8:04 AM with the headline "1912: Boys encouraged to shoot down balloons for free fair ticket."