Times-Republican · Marshalltown, Iowa · 1907

A number from New Hartford went to see the Boston Bloomer Girls

The New Hartford News for August 2, 1907: the butcher is racing around in his new automobile, a number from town went to Cedar Falls to see the Boston Bloomer Girls play base ball, and the home team lost at the Stout carnival, 9 to 0. Some weeks the visitors are the better story.

The New Hartford correspondent of the Marshalltown Times-Republican filed three items in a row in August 1907, and together they make a complete portrait of a small Iowa town’s sporting week. First: “Frank Hoffman, the butcher, is racing around in his new automobile.”

Second, the main event, which happened two towns over: “A number from New Hartford went to Cedar Falls Thursday to see the Boston Bloomer Girls play base ball.” The Bloomer Girls were professional barnstormers, women who toured the country by rail taking on local men’s teams, and when they came within driving distance, New Hartford went to them. No score is given. The trip itself was the news.

Third, gently, the local nine: “The New Hartford base ball team played at the Stout carnival against Parkersburg. Parkersburg won the game, 9 to 0.” One line for the tourists who drew a delegation from a town they never visited, one line for the home team’s shutout loss at the carnival. The correspondent knew exactly what order to put them in.