If you want to laugh until your ribs ache, don’t fail to be at the opera house Saturday evening,
October 4th. There is to be a potato race, which is probably one of the most novel ideas, in the
way of sport, that has yet been introduced. The plan is about as follows: A pail filled with potatoes
is placed on the floor. Each contestant has an empty pail. At a given signal they all make a rush
for the pail containing the fruit, the party getting the largest number winning the race. Imagine
the pail upset, the contents rolling over the floor, and a dozen or more men and boys scrambling
after them, and you have a vague idea of what the race will be.
(Walnut Bureau, Thursday, Sept.25, 1884, p. 1)