It Must Have Been Picnic Season

First Grand Annual Picnic will be given by the members of the Baltic Base Ball Club at Pecan Grove, Ill., Sunday, June 25th.  Cars leave Terre Haute Depot at 8 A.M.  No intoxicated liquors will be on the ground.  Cars return at 6 P.M.

-Missouri Republican, June 25, 1865


Yesterday, we saw that the Jackson Club was holding a picnic and now we see the Baltics doing the same.  It must have been the cool thing to do.  More importantly, this shows that the social function that a ball club served had not been completely consumed by the growing competitive nature of the game.  These were still social clubs and not just baseball teams.

The reference to Pecan Grove, Illinois, is puzzling because I can't find a town in Illinois by that name.  It's possible, based on quick research, that it may have been in Greene County but that might have been a bit far to travel in 1865.  It's an odd reference.