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Second celebration not as festive as first
Published on Monday, Nov 12, 2007
Peace arrived early in Akron. Giddy citizens poured into the streets in November 1918 to celebrate the end of the Great War. Motorists honked horns. Factories blew whistles. Churches rang bells.
As the word spread, businesses shut down and workers paraded through downtown. Traffic ground to a halt on major thoroughfares. From block to block, there was utter jubilation.
Unfortunately, the glorious news wasn't true.
Relying on a false bulletin from the United Press wire service, the Akron Press newspaper published an extra edition Nov. 7 with the bold headline ''PEACE.'' Newsboys raced across town with the ''hot scoop,'' screaming at the top of their lungs, distributing misinformation at every corner.
The Beacon Journal and Akron Evening Times tried to warn readers. The competing newspapers subscribed to the Associated Press wire service, which could not corroborate the rumor that Germany had signed an armistice with the Allies.
Citizens refused to listen. They wanted to believe that World War I was over.
''Nothing like the Akron celebration was ever witnessed in this city,'' the Beacon Journal reported Nov. 8, 1918.
''Pandemonium reigned and good nature prevailed. Until late in the afternoon the crowds packed the sidewalks; traffic congestion was so great that the police abandoned all attempts to control it.''
Hundreds of impromptu parades formed all over Akron that Thursday. Some collided at intersections and merged together.
Red Cross workers carried banners and marched in formal uniforms. Postal carriers walked in step to bass drums. Akron Mayor
I.S. Myers waded into the promenade with a gaggle of city officials.
Thousands of voices united in patriotic songs. Children waved flags, rang cow bells and banged on pots and pans. Hastily made confetti rained from downtown buildings.
''Factories closed, as the grim workers, in their greasy jumpers, coatless and hatless, went forth in trucks, in the business district, to join with other factory workers, lodge members parading with flags and bands, factory girls, noses unpowdered and in their working jumpers, city officials and others in the big celebration,'' the Evening Times reported.
The spontaneous outburst was cathartic for the city, which had mourned the loss of more than 300 sons in the war. For one afternoon, pent-up emotions exploded in joy.
Everyone forgot that the celebration was illegal.
Akron Health Commissioner Charles T. Nesbitt had banned all public assemblies during the Spanish Influenza epidemic, which claimed the lives of more than 600 residents and sickened 5,000.
Forget the flu! The boys were coming home!
Later in the day, Akron began to have doubts. The United Press wire service had sent out a correction.
As it turned out, Germany had not yet signed the armistice.
Mayor Myers ordered the city's saloons to close at 7 p.m. U.S. Army officers placed downtown under martial law with assistance from Home Guards, Boy Scouts and Akron police.
Crowds reluctantly broke up. Weary revelers called it a night.
The next morning, it was business as usual. Dazed citizens returned to work Friday. The great celebration must have seemed like a dream.
The Akron Press took a lot of heat for its ''cruel hoax.'' Not only was the news premature, but Akron's defense industry had lost a day of labor.
All weekend long, Akron waited for news from Europe.
The Associated Press bulletin finally arrived early Monday, Nov. 11, 1918. Germany had signed the armistice.
The Great War was over — and this time it was official.
Just for the record, the Beacon Journal had the real scoop. The news flash arrived at 2:50 a.m. The extra edition began rolling off the presses at 4:35 a.m.
Akron citizens poured back into the streets. An official, gigantic parade formed at 2 p.m. at Grace Park and marched from Market Street to Main Street to Exchange Street.
''The official parade was a monster, miles in length, with bands, thousands of marchers, hurriedly constructed floats, hundreds of automobiles and big trucks,'' the Evening Times reported Nov. 12.
Star-spangled banners fluttered everywhere. Uncle Sam and Miss Liberty stood proudly on floats. Marchers carried pictures of President Woodrow Wilson and U.S. Gen. John Pershing.
Effigies of Kaiser Wilhelm II, the emperor of Germany, were hanged, burned or dragged through the streets.
Thousands and thousands of spectators lined the sidewalks or watched from the upper windows of downtown buildings. The Beacon Journal called it an ''orgy of jubilation.''
Tragically, the massive parade claimed two lives. Chester Rader, 13, and Arthur Hamm, 36, who had been riding trucks in the procession, slipped beneath the wheels and were crushed to death. Most spectators didn't learn of the accidents until later.
The parade circled back to Grace Park where the units disbanded. This time there was no doubt. The war was over.
Although the official procession was impressive, most residents later admitted that the fake armistice on Nov. 7 was a better time. The spontaneity of that afternoon could not be duplicated.
The second celebration is the one that counted, though.
Akron was finally at peace.
Mark J. Price is a Beacon Journal copy editor. He can be reached at 330-996-3850 or send e-mail to mjprice@thebeaconjournal.com.
Peace arrived early in Akron. Giddy citizens poured into the streets in November 1918 to celebrate the end of the Great War. Motorists honked horns. Factories blew whistles. Churches rang bells.
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