Title	Advertisement-Marks and Benson
Subject	Advertisements; Excursion boats; Clothing stores; Ohio River; Steamboats
Description	In the early 1900s Marks and Benson, a men's clothier, began an advertising campaign that they would continue for over 25 years. Some of the rules and offers changed over the years, but basically when any boy, accompanied by a parent, purchased a suit of clothes he was given a six months subscription to "American Boy" magazine. In addition, any man or boy who purchased a suit or overcoat would receive a free ticket on an excursion boat to Fern Island (later called Rose Island). Other members of the family could purchase tickets for a nominal price. The excursion was called "The American Boy Excursion and Annual Picnic". Fern Island was located about sixteen miles above Louisville on the Indiana side of the river, about where Fourteen Mile Creek empties into the Ohio River. It was a popular picnic area and was perfect for day trips. There was a merry-go-round, swimming, baseball, boating, footraces, and more. Marks and Benson chartered a boat and on the appointed day, hundreds of Madison families packed a picnic lunch and boarded the boat. They returned to Madison in the evening. The excursion became a tradition, usually taking place in the month of July. There are two pictures in this collection of the excursion boats, the "Carmania" and the "Loucinda". You can use the search feature to locate them.
Creator	Unknown
Contributors	Madison-Jefferson County Public Library; Jefferson County Historical Society
Date	Advertisement dated 1911
Type	Microfilm
Format	Original: tif, scanned at 1200dpi with a MicroTek ScanMaker 9800XL. Online: jpg, saved at 72dpi.
Identifier	"MJCPLriver5217-americanboyspicnic"
Source	Madison Courier, June 23, 1911, and July 18, 1930 MJCPL Historical Files
Rights	Permission to reproduce this image for other than personal use must be requested from the Director of the Madison-Jefferson County Public Library. Please contact at 420 W. Main St., Madison, IN 47250 (812) 265-2744.