ENTERTAINMENT
Entertainment is a fact of life. Regardless of conditions people have need of it. Before the days of radio and television people adapted to the times. Reading was a favorite pastime. Books were often scarce in remote areas but people borrowed and loaned. In fact this practice was used even for farming tools. Some or all of the family often went to a neighbor's home for an evening of cards. Rare indeed was the household that didn't have a deck of cards. Sunday gatherings at various spots were common. The Baptists were often opposed to this sort of thing but they merely stayed away. Sunday afternoon impromptu rodeos were not unusual. Modern fans would hardly recognize them. Riding a green or outlaw horse was not for the faint hearted. No chutes were available except at places where regular rodeos were held. A common practice was to snub the horse to a good, big saddle horse and the bronc was then saddled using the gender horse for a shield. Sometimes if it were necessary they might ear him down. Horse's ears are sensitive and a good hold on an ear will do wonders. After all is made ready the rider got on as best he could and if it was just a case of seeing if he could be rode, he was turned lose. What followed was not always predictable. If this was the first time the horse was rode it might buck real hard or it might pitch a bit and start off running. In any event a few mounted men were usually close by to help the rider. Sometimes a bridle was used and sometimes a halter or hackamore. When using a bridle and bit it was necessary for the rider to be careful because too tight a rein might cause the horse to rear and come over backwards. Training horses is becoming a science but in those days it was more of a contest of wills. Don't misunderstand, there were some well trained horses back then. A great deal depended on the man who rode the horse. Some had the gift and others just broke them. Rodeos always occurred on Sundays and of course in the day time. Every town or community had a baseball team. This was serious business. Many of them had uniforms and were quite good. Age was no barrier but most players were probably under thirty five. A few teams that I can think of were Tasco, Quinter, Lucerne, Studley and usually St. Peter and Morland had teams. It was not unusual for heated argument to occur and sometimes fist fights broke out. If it was a fair fight the contestants were simply allowed to fight it out. It seems that these sports passed from the local scene by the mid thirties. Times were hard and money scarce and most of the young men left to find work elsewhere. We younger boys might gather for an afternoon of baseball but it was not organized competition. I remember of going to the Chicago School over in the N.E. part of the county one time. The Bee Hive School over on the red line was another place where we gathered. Sometimes the men would gather at Getz's store in Tasco. The boxing gloves were put on and matches were fought. Dad was considered a fair boxer in his day. Clarence Jones, a life long resident of Sheridan Co. recently told me that he remembered one time when Dad gave Vance Cass a good lickin'. Vance was much younger and a sort of a blowhard. Carnivals made regular stops in the communities. They often were accompanied by a fighter who would challenge all comers. I have been told that Dad often took part in the contests. He tried to teach me a few times but I was not really interested. I think that I was probably a disappointment to him in many ways. When radio came along, and there were very few around when I was very young, Getz's store was a gathering place to listen to such events as the World Series.
No sketch of Tasco would be complete without mentioning Houseworth Lake. It was a man made lake completed in 1924. Dad was the contractor. I remember some incidents that happened when it was built. Horses and horse drawn equipment moved the dirt. In its heyday it had a dance hall situated in a grove of cottonwood trees, a flowing stream where people could get a drink, a ball park and rodeo grounds, complete with stock pens, chute and bleachers. The busiest place here on Sundays was a concession stand where swimming tickets were sold and boats (row boats) could be rented. There was also a motor powered boat that gave rides around the lake. It was a very busy place. I can remember that it was often very crowded. For a few years dances were held there on a regular basis. Directly west of the lake on flat, higher ground, a barnstorming pilot would land his aircraft and offer rides for a fee. I never went aloft. Money was scarce in our family. My favorite Sunday pastime was riding the country side on a saddle horse. Sometimes I rode with brother Wallace or a neighbor boy but often alone. Things were different then but not dull. There was another place in the northwest part of the county or maybe in Thomas or Decatur. It was on the Prairie Dog. It was known as Brookwood Park. I was never there.