The Grand Masquerade Ball of 1871

     On Tuesday September 5th, 1871 the Litiz⁽¹⁾ Springs Hotel hosted a most wondrous and extravagant Masquerade Ball. Dignitaries, prominent businessmen, and members of high society from all over Lancaster County received invitations to this delightful affair. General Richard McCallister of Washington, D.C. was the Master of Ceremonies for the evening, and Mr. Harvey Clyde was the Treasurer. These two gentlemen came up with the idea for the Ball, and planned the entire evening of festivities. As guests arrived, they quickly went to designated rooms where they put on their colorful and elaborate garb. A.R. Van Horn, costumer from Philadelphia, supplied guests with a roomful of costumes for the evening, and the dress ranged from the plain Domino, to the most beautiful attire of Prince and Noble. As the guests finally ascended the staircase towards the ballroom, onlookers saw men with contorted faces; distorted forms; long noses; no noses; and broken noses. As for the women, they were dressed as slender shepherdesses; gorgeous fairies; pretty peasant girls; and beautiful queens.

    The ballroom was very handsomely decorated on its walls and pillars with evergreens, and a vast amount of flags. This was all the hard work of the female employees and the management of the hotel. In addition, Chinese lanterns were suspended along the hallways, adding to the beauty of the night. At exactly 9:00 p.m., the Ball was officially underway. Keffer’s Full Orchestra provided the excellent music for the entire night. A total of 22 different dances were played, including “Les Lanciers Quadrille,” “Quadrille Polka,” “Redowa and Galop Waltz,” and “Quadrille Mazourka” just to name a few.

On the ballroom floor, W.T. Snodgrass of Philadelphia was spotted dressed as Louis XIV, with his date dressed as a French Lady. Mr. R.R. Tshudy was dressed as a man wearing full 1821 wedding attire; and his date, Lizzie, was dressed as a Queen of Fairies. A.W. Sumner of Harrisburg was decked out as The Duke of Cambridge, while his date for the night, Fannie, was comically dressed as the Queen of Folly. C.M. Curtis of Philadelphia was seen dressed as Mephistopheles, while his date named Mollie was dressed as a Daughter of the Regiment. In addition, Jacob B. Long and his date Alice were both dressed in white dominos. Mr. H. E. Slaymaker was wearing the costume of a Druid Priest, while his date for the evening was wearing the outfit of Pocahontas. Other costumed guests included C.A. Lichtenthaeler of Litiz as Montezuma and Jacob L. Steinmetz as a Druid Priest. Even costumer Van Horn got into the act, dressing as Punchinello. Among the guests who were spectators but not dressed in costume included General John A. Sutter, J.B. Erb, D.G. Eshleman, and John Worley.

The music, merriment, and dancing continued throughout the night, and at exactly midnight, all of the attendees dressed up for the Ball unmasked, and departed to a lower room where they partook in much needed refreshments. The Ball then continued, and at 3:30 a.m. after the last musical selection was played, all guests retired to their rooms or left by carriage to their homes.

A large balance of funds taken in from the Grand Masquerade Ball of 1871 was then managed by Treasurer Harvey Clyde. It was decided that these funds were to be handed over to former school teacher John Beck, who would distribute these monies for charitable purposes of Beck’s choosing.

 

by Cory Van Brookhoven, LHF Historic Journal, Summer 2010

⁽¹⁾Early spelling of Lititz