The Holt County Sentinel · Oregon, Missouri · 1910

A Sane Fourth Every Way

Oregon, Missouri's pitch for July 4, 1910: an eagle, good speaking, delightful music, plenty of water and shade, and two ball games at 10 and 4 between two of the strongest teams in Northwest Mo. The ad never says which teams. Turn out anyway.

For the 134th anniversary of American independence, Oregon, Missouri bought most of a page in the Holt County Sentinel, put an eagle on it and announced: “YOU ARE INVITED!” The promised program runs “Good Speaking, Enjoyable Amusements, Delightful Music All of the Time, Plenty of Water and Shade,” summed up as “A Sane Fourth Every Way.” A sane Fourth was the era’s national slogan for an Independence Day that did not end at the doctor’s office, and Oregon’s version swapped the gunpowder for baseball.

Twice, in fact. “2 Ball Games 2,” at 10 a. m. and 4 p. m., featuring “Two of the Strongest Teams in Northwest Mo.” Which teams? The ad does not say. When your morning and afternoon are already spoken for by the two strongest teams in Northwest Missouri, names are a detail for people who were not planning to attend anyway.

This is the same town that sent the Azureines out against the St. Joe Monarchs in 1889, so a holiday built around the ball park was not a new idea in Oregon. It was simply the correct one, twenty-one years running.