A WATERMELON FROLIC
When watermelons were ripe and plentiful, big pink posters cut oval with a painted border of green and black lettering on the pink startled the village with the notice of a watermelon frolic.
They read:
Do you like watermelon?
Anyway
Be sure to come to a watermelon party
on the local fairgrounds
next Tuesday evening
Admission 25 cents
This entitles you to see the minstrel show
Proceeds for the Epworth League
of —— Church
Long plank tables on wooden horses were improvised for serving the watermelons which were contributed by the members of the society. Some of the men acted as carvers of the melons, and the girls served the portions, which were sold for ten cents each.
The grounds were lighted with strings of electric lights in pink and green paper lanterns.
Besides the main attraction there were several booths and side shows, arranged country fair fashion, which drew well. One was labeled THE WATERMELON PATCH. For this, real watermelon vines had been obtained from somebody's garden and placed naturally on the ground. To the vines were tied any number of artificial melons made of green paper stuffed with cotton wadding which concealed tiny favors.
On payment of ten cents any person had the privilege of picking a melon. The prize inside was supposed to be worth the fee.
At another booth, "watermelon cake" was served at five cents a slice. The secret of this was that in making a plain cake the batter had been colored with pink sugar and sprinkled with raisins. The cake was then baked in a round tin and when sliced resembled the pink of watermelon filled with black seeds.
As it was sweet corn season, and as corn is also typical of the South, there was a hot corn vender, who sold steaming ears straight from kettle to buyer.
One feature of the evening was a watermelon contest among the boys. Volunteers were called for and lined up at a table. They were then supplied with large wedges of melon and at the sound of the referee's whistle the race began.
The prize was a whole watermelon.
There was also a watermelon hurdle race. The course was laid out with big watermelons and time was kept for each hurdler.
The main attraction of the evening, however, was the minstrel show. On a raised wooden platform sat the performers with blackened hands and faces. They wore grotesque garb and each one fingered a guitar, mandolin, or banjo.
First they gave a number of well-known Southern melodies such as Old Black Joe, Swanee Riber, Dixie, Massa's in de Cold, Cold Ground. Some whistling numbers were much appreciated and My Alabama Coon, with its humming and strumming, proved a great success. As a special item of their musical program they sang a parody of Apple Blossom Time called It's Watermelon Time in Dixie.
The watermelon frolic was a great success and is recommended to any organization in town or country at watermelon time as a fun—and funds—producing social.
Parody
"When It's Watermelon Time in Dixie"[1]
After
"When It's Apple Blossom Time in
Normandie"
(Sing with appropriate motions)
Repeat:
When it's watermelon time in Dixie Land[1]
Ah wants to be
Right dher[2] you see
In dat dear old melon patch
To eat a batch!
When it's watermelon time in Dixie Land
Dat's de time of all de year
When Ah grin[3] with cheer from ear to ear
Watermelon's jes' GRAND!!!
[Footnote 1: Sway heads and bodies]
[Footnote 2: Jerk thumbs backward over shoulder]
[Footnote 3: Grin broadly—stretch hands from corners of mouth to ears.]