On August 29, 1891, the brakemen and conductors who worked for the railroad held a picnic at Highland Park on the east side of Galesburg. The weather was pleasant, the park was in a lovely state of greenness, lake waters were calm and families had full baskets of homemade food to eat.

The Republican-Register reporter estmated the crowd to be between 1200 and 1500 people. A variety of races were carried out for the young and those a little older. The conductors held a 100 yard foot race which was won by C.M. Hill. He received a gold emblem pin as a prize. C.A. Palmgren won the brakemen's race and received the same award. A girls race was also conducted and the prize was a box of candy. The boys race was hotly contested with Clarence Hippert receiving a suit of clothes.

The fat man's race involved only two sprinters, Tom Maloney and S.E. Wilkinson. The later was Grand Master of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, so Maloney was considered to be very brave  to be competing in the race.

Boat racing in single and double sculls was held on the west end of Lake Rice. The distance was a half mile and was completed in about 4.5 minutes. A gold handled silk umbrella was the prize. In the swimming race, the prize was a bound copy of Trainman's Journal.

The last race of the day was supposed to be a ladies scull event, but the ladies were averse to rowing. It was finally decided the ladies would sit in the sculls while the men rowed. Three boats were thus “manned.” Harry Turner with Nettie Boyd won the first prize while Mr. and Mrs. Woodward and Mr. and Mrs. Wilkinson finished second and third. Willkinson admitted he had rowed a boat only four times before the race.

Before the racing events had finished the Gaines' orchestra began playing for dancing. A large wooden platform had been constructed just for that purpose. George Sanderson did the calling and the floor managers kept the dancers in proper formation. There was also a stand selling lemonade for refreshment.

An election for most popular conductor and brakeman was also held with Mrs. Wilkinson collecting the  ballots in a box. Conductor Bradley and Brakeman Powell received the most votes. Each man received a solid gold watch charm to signifiy the honor. No doubt the charms were proudly worn and would be freqeuntly noticed in the days ahead.

The dance continued until midnight when the band played “Annie Rooney” as a farewell.

More than likely the August Sandburg family spent the day at home as there was no one employed as a conductor or brakeman in their household.

Galesburg was becoming more of a union town in the early 1890s as the male workers of the city were joining together to strengthen their demands for the eight hour day and better pay.