A Gay Picnic

I ran onto an article recently in a Springfield (MO) newspaper about a gay picnic, and the descriptor had nothing to do with anybody's sexual orientation. Of course, the article was published in 1877, back when "gay" had a completely different connotation than it does nowadays. These picnickers were just happy and lighthearted. 

I found the article interesting because it sheds light on what fashionable young people of Springfield did for entertainment in the 1870s. On a Friday evening in mid-August about sixty "representatives of the youth, beauty and fashion of Springfield" left town around dark in a procession of omnibuses, carriages, and buggies, most of them "filled to their utmost capacity." Their destination was a social gathering hosted at the Rountree farm about two miles west of town. 

Upon their arrival, the "gay picnicers found the grounds brilliantly illuminated by torches, the poles being driven into the ground, giving the lights the appearance of lamp-posts placed at regular intervals, making the scene resemble a camp-meeting after nightfall, or a gorgeous French fete-champetre." 

A platform was set up for dancing, and a string band played "bewitching strains of music, inviting attendees to participate in the "poetry of motion." For those who did not want to dance, several croquet courses were laid out in the well-lit grove. Those who neither danced nor played croquet contented themselves to sit in the omnibuses and "hold hands." 

Later, refreshments, including ice cream, cake, lemonade, and other delicacies, were served. After the table had been cleared, the "dancing, croquet playing, and flirting were resumed." The party broke up some time after midnight, and the group returned to Springfield "heartily tired but full of pleasant memories of a delightful evening."