Chief Askew's Diary: July 4, 1930

Ballgames and boxing entertain Newnan; American woman wins Wimbledon

Newnan shut down for the Fourth of July, with “all the stores closed for the day except the drugstores,” Chief Askew wrote in his diary. There was plenty to do besides shop.

In the morning and in the afternoon, there were baseball games at the fairgrounds, with two cotton mill teams facing off. Dixie Mill was the winner of both. “They also had some horse races in the afternoon and some negro prizefights at night, but crowds were very small,” he wrote. The ad below appeared in the July 4 edition of the Newnan Herald.

In addition, the Fox Follies of 1930 were playing at the Alamo Theater, which placed several small ads almost begging people to come. “We have tried our best to give you an exceptional program for the Fourth and after screening the ‘Fox Follies of 1930’ we are satisfied we have succeeded,” said one.

No one seemed to be playing tennis, but in England, tennis star Hellen Wills of California again claimed the title in the women’s singles matches at Wimbledon, defeating another California woman. Paid subscribers can read about this phenomenal female athlete, who also popularized the tennis visor.

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The July 1930 cigarette trading card of Helen Wills was accessed via Wikipedia.