Recreation

Recreation. Settled 1852. , Prior to the automobile era, Lancastrians were largely dependent on their own resources for entertainment. Horse racing remained popular for decades. Most of the men were hunters and when game became thin along Ten Mile Creek local Nimrods tranferred their activities to Bois d' Arc Island on the Trinity, where deer and occasional bear were killed until about 1880. Fishermen had unpolluted Ten Mile Creek at their back door. Baseball teams were organized and a fierce rivalry existed between the "North Lancaster" and "South Lancaster" players. The young people enjoyed watermelon feeds, ice cream suppers or "socials," and picnics on the creek, all of these, of course, under proper chaperonage., After arrival of the H.& T.C. railroad and the "Tap" or "Dummy" a day at the Texas State Fair become popular., Mollie Bailey's Circus came to Lancaster annually. Just as colorful was the frequent arrival, always with ample advance notice, of a troupe of professional actors or "players" to put on a performance, usually on three successive nights. The "opera house", a large upstairs hall in the White building, was transformed with folding chairs, a movable stage, kerosene lights and reflectors, and curtains. No one needed to use the word "theatre", by common consent a term applicable to sinful showhouses in New York but never in Lancaster. Needless to say, nothing offensive to Lancaster sensibilities was ever seen or heard on these occasions, which were enjoyed by everyone.