The year 1920 arrived like a refreshing breeze, there was a sense of calm and normalcy about our little town. The Great War was over and there was peace in our nation.
The talk down on Main Street was somewhat routine as President Woodrow Wilson sat in the White House.
There was a United States Census being conducted and the people within our community answered questions about themselves, sparking memories of the countries they immigrated from and sometimes a tear as they thought of the homeland overseas.
There was much discussion over non-alcoholic beverages, for the 18th amendment signaled the start of prohibition in the United States. As the sober young men sat on Main Street consuming fresh cider they talked about the news of the day, especially about a man from New York City named George Polley. It was a strange occurrence in New York City as George Polley climbed the Woolworth Building to the 30th floor where he was arrested for climbing without a permit. George became known as the Human Fly and history remembers this very early adventurist fondly.
There was a streetcar strike in 1920 in Denver and the people of Concord were concerned for their own streetcar system.
The younger children in Concord were accustomed to attending school and working on their assigned chores when they returned home late each afternoon. One of the key diversions the youngsters welcomed was a school program that allowed them to plant and maintain their own gardens from spring until fall. My own grandfather was involved in this event during his early school years in Concord, a wonderful time in a youngster’s life to work together producing food for those in need. The year 1920 was no different for the gardening program in Concord, students were very active and they held that memory closely for the remainder of their lives for gardens became a staple of American life for many years to come.
The most exciting aspect of gardening was the harvest season. As the evenings started to cool the students knew the days of weeding under the hot sun were coming to an end, the harvest was about to begin.
Harvesting here in Concord meant many things to many people. The fields were ripe and the fruits and vegetables were in need of picking. As the students enjoyed the fruits of their labor, they also consumed them. The families enjoyed the benefit of their young students being in the school district gardening program, students bringing home a large variety of produce as well as fresh apples and peaches to be enjoyed over the coming winter months. The scent of apple pies and the sweet taste of jams and jellies on homemade bread certainly became a memory steeped in nostalgia.
The ongoing dilemma back in 1920 was the need for more structure and organization to manage the students planting in the Concord fields each spring. The program was rooted in education and the instructors wanted the young students to understand important aspects of a successful garden such as crop rotation, fertilization and the need for water and weeding.
When the Concord students returned to school, they were all anticipating the annual Harvest Festival, a treat they all earned for the hard work of cultivating another successful crop. The fall of 1920 saw the Fall Festival celebrated at the State Armory and attended by no less than 500 students. There were group folk dances, the Concord High School Chorus enriched the program with choral music too. There were vegetables on display and many varieties of beautiful flowers. It is said that during the summer of 1920 the students planted and harvested about 450 gardens in the greater Concord area.
In the fall of 1920, there was an agenda for the much-attended Fall Festival at the State Armory. As the Chorus performed all of the Concord Junior and Senior High School students paraded into the festival. The group broke out into song with singing games such as Captain Jinks and Carousal. There were many games enjoyed such as Hickory, Dickory Dock, By-Lo Baby Bunting and Sing A Song of Six Pence. The young boys and girls broke into American Country dances such as Portland Fancy and John Brown. There were also character dances such as Dublin Jig and Highland Fling. Some of the traditions celebrated the countries of origin of far off homelands. There were folk dances such as Bleking, Tantoli and Seven Jumps and harvest-themed dances such as Reap the Flax, Vineyard Dance and Harvest Dance. The final solo dance at the 1920 Fall Harvest was “The Spirit of the Harvest.”
The Concord Harvest Festival, celebrated just one hundred years ago, was enjoyed by all young and old, especially the young boys and girls that labored to plant and harvest their own crops. As the cool fall led to an even colder winter here in Concord, the children had the warm memories of the Fall Festival to sustain them until the next planting in the spring.
The children learned about the planting techniques required to produce the abundance of crops one hundred years ago. Most importantly they learned about life, working together, communicating, planning and directing while never giving up on their plan.
They celebrated in unison for it was all of the students that accomplished this remarkable feat each year and they felt the pride they so richly deserved. Their celebration was indeed festive, but most importantly enjoyed because they earned each dance, song and treat.