Thread City Cyclers - Part 1 by Pete Zizka 9-3-2022 |
Last week, we mentioned the Thread City Cyclers
performance of a comic opera. The opera was considered by all who
attended to have been well-staged and the singing and acting were “up to
the high standards which Willimantic’s singers and actors always
maintain”. It was felt that it was the popularity of the Cyclers that
enabled them to “call the best amateur talent in the city to the aid of
Mister Burton…and the result was an entertainment which fully merited
the hearty applause which it received”. Less than a year later, they
produced yet another evening of entertainment which, “in kind and
quality has never been excelled and rarely equaled by local amateurs”.
The Cycler’s Basketball team was now playing regularly against local and
outside competitors. Not to be outdone, the Cycler’s baseball team was
also playing against Willimantic and out-of-town teams. Both teams
played hard and drew good crowds but nothing could compare with the
success and popularity of the club’s theater productions. The club had
also added an annual banquet to its many functions. At the 1903 banquet,
held at the Hooker House, almost 100 members and guests gathered for
dinner, several humorous speeches and music. Late in 1904, the club
introduced a series of “concerts, assemblies and socials”. Helmolds
Orchestra played at many of them. These continued for several years. In
January, 1907, for example, there was a largely attended “Snow Dance” at
Washburn Hall. The decorations carried out the theme. Christmas trees
and evergreens covered with cotton represented the snow. “During a
waltz, an imitation moon furnished the necessary light and the dancers
were showered with confetti thrown from the gallery”. Still, nothing
could compare to the popularity of the club’s minstrels. In February,
1909, the Opera House was packed for the night of entertainment. The
club’s charter members occupied one of the Opera House boxes while Mayor
Dunn and his party occupied another. The production, as always, featured
only local amateurs. In 1916, the TCC was the oldest club in the city.
At their clambake at the Ridges, they planned to have “a moving picture
machine” on hand to take movies of the event, “what they do, who are
there, how they behave at table, and a lot of other things”. They
planned to show the movies at local movie houses. It should be noted
that the Cyclers provided a great deal of charity. For example, at
Christmas, they bought gifts for the poor and prepared “baskets of good
things to eat and bundles of useful things” and then distributed them to
the needy. The club members also sponsored services at the
Congregational Church and would gather to hear a sermon and listen to
selections of sacred music.. In 1918, the club decided to stop meeting,
at least for the duration of WWI. Forty-seven of the club’s members were
serving in the military at that time. In 1919, the club began
functioning again and in November of that year staged its last minstrel
performance. The matinee and evening performance both drew good crowds
to the Opera House. In 1920, the club’s only activity was to sponsor a
carnival. Years prior, club members had realized that barely any members
still rode bicycles and so had turned to sports teams and social events
to maintain membership. After WWI, however, membership and participation
dwindled. When the club officially disbanded in February, 1921, it was
said that, “many of the staid businessmen of Willimantic were charter
members of this popular organization”. At one time, the club had over
300 members. It had
sponsored large bicycle racing meets at Horseshoe Park. During the
second half of its 30-year span, the club focused on social activities
and staged “some of the leading social functions of the Thread City”.
These included the club’s hugely popular Thanksgiving Day minstrels.
This week’s photo shows a group of Cyclers in front of the Tilden Block
in which they had their meeting rooms. The Tilden Block later became the
Jordan Block. As a result of the November 23,1916 fire, the group lost
all of their furniture, pool and billiard tables and a piano. They were
insured and could be replaced. Sadly though, they lost all of their
historic photographs, award cups and trophies. Even so, the Cyclers said
they would still perform their annual Thanksgiving Day minstrel on the
30th. (At that time, Thanksgiving was celebrated on the last
Thursday of the month.)
Click on photo for larger version |
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