Canton Merchants Association Raffle

In an effort to draw customers to downtown businesses, the Canton Merchants Association offered tickets to win prizes, including a new car. For every dollar of merchandise purchased, each customer received a ticket. The tickets and prizes were doled out in the weeks leading up to Christmas, with the grand prize drawing for the car, seen here, held on the last Saturday before Christmas. This crowd is gathered on the softball field, at the site of the current town hall.

Photograph courtesy of Canton Historical Museum

Caption courtesy of Michael Beadle, Canton (Images of America)