By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
IS doubtful if one Amer
ican in ten could tell you
Elkanah Watson was
he did that should
make his name remembered.
Yet, about this the
year millions of Americans
the farms of
who
or what
time of
who live on
our country pay homage to
his memory, unconsciously
attending
« in an annual event which
as distinctively American as base
ball or the Fourth of July or Thanks
giving day. For Elkanah Watson
the “father” of the county fair and il
was due te
perhaps, by and
his persistence i
more than a hundred
sgo that rural America, and especial
ly the youth of rural America,
forward each year to “going to
the fair.” Insofar as the “county
is an institution which had a
ular appeal to rural America, it is in
teresting to note that its founder
ity u
his idea
look
partic
it was a man, tired of city life,
retired to the country at the
fifty enjoy “rural
and, ing to find it,
years to
conceived
idea which resulted first=real
fair,
the idea of a fair itself is not
one,
county
Now,
been
employed In Asiatic countries from
time immemorial for the purpose of
bringing traders and customers togeth-
er for an exchange of their commod-
fties., The great distances to he
by the Asiatic merchant with his
caravans, the sparsity of popula-
exactly a new Fairs have
Cov.
ered
glow
tion, except in the cities,
ligion and
made a
differences in language, re
and trade customs
a necessity of comm
social
ree, especially
among barbaric
ples,
where fairs been held
dreds of years they essentially
of barter and trade, So It
remained for America, where the com-
petitive spirit is so
the of a
to make it an exchange of ideas
er than an exchange of goods,
The first fairs of held In
this couniry were those sponsored by
and semibarbariec peo
have for hun
were
affairs
marked, to
idea fair a new
any sort
New
modeled
Amsterdam, but hey
on the European
1641 Governor Kieft established
fairs in New Amsterdam, one on Oc
tober 15 “for cattle generally,” and
the other on November 1 for hogs In
1648 there was also held in the Dutch
colony, late in August and at the be
ginning of September, a Dutch “ker
mess” which was strictly commercial,
where the burghers met to exchange
commodities. The custo. was con-
tinued even under English rule
as late as 1676 had the sanction
Gov. Edmund Andres,
3ut the county fair of today Js not
a lineal descendant of the Dutch “ker
mess.” although it may resemble it in
gome of its features. It grew out of
thie interest in agriculture which be-
gan to manifest, Itself early in the
history of the new nation. The leaders
of that time, such men as Washing:
ton and Jefferson, were farmers and
farming was the most important busi.
ness in the country, Between 1785
and 1792 agricultural societies sprang
into being in Pennsylvania, Maine,
New York, Massachusetts and South
Carolina as evidence of the organized
interest in agriculture, These societies
began offering prizes for superior farm
products but they held no fairs or
exhibitions and really did but little
to stimulate better farm production,
The principal interest seems to have
been in live stock and in 1804 and
1805 three live stock exhibitions were
held In Washington. At the second
one members of congress began to take
an interest and subscribed half of the
$100 fund which was raised and dis
of
tributed as prizes for “the best lamb,
sheep, milch
and horses actually sold.” In 1800 the
Columbian Agricultural
Washington
the city of
this was not
appealed to ti
for it
steer, Cow,
society
organized in and held
exhibition In
nearby. But
thing that
farmer of the day
an
ayerage
Was more or
OMe one
list reads
register, headed
the United States
and his lady and the cabinet mem
“Its
the
ns said,
like
President ef
attendance
more
social
by the
}
ned for Elkanah
fair In
would
It rem:
the com-
mon farmer interested be
cause he could feel that he had a real
part in it. Who he was
did this is described in
“Tollese of Land and
Yale University Press
America,” as follows:
which
be
and how
the
Sea,” In
if
“Pagea
t an
hieenth
On Was n
f the E
hool of agricultura
and writers, but he wan jis
tinguished pupil. As =a
he had traveled along the
board and in Eu
Ave up «
sing at Pittafield, Paring ®
our years he made his ribu.
to the
century
mont dis.
busin
Atlantic -
In 1807
. sol -
¥
mmerce and k
ten
Mass
dev A
By 1511 he had completed
iigation of the Berkshire
ietly
elopment of yerican
alti re
culture
wrote In 1828: “In fall
I procured the pair cof
sheep that a
shire, if not 0s
induced to n«
cas WO
the
eriain
appeare i
siate
an exshibitizn
sheep inder the great
Im in square In
Many and
females were excited by curiosity
to attend this first
tion, It was by
dent 1 reasoned thus if two
capable of exciting =o
farmers
even
animals
much
ate
farmers present responded to
marks with approbation
acquainted and from that day te
present, agricultural societies,
shows, and all in connection therewith
have predominated in my mind”
The Berkshire Agricultural
was founded in 1811. The principles
on which it was based proved pop.
ular, Slowly at first, then mors and
more rapidly the Berkshire system
spread until it reached west into the
new states of Indiana and Illinois and
even penetrated the southern cotton
kingdom. Unlike its predecessor, the
agricultural societies of Philadelphia
and New York, it was an organization
of the common farmer In its time it
served his Intereats well,
Watson was a student of human
nature, The purpose of the organization
was to hold each year an exhibition
of the best handiwork and the best
products of the farmers of the locality,
Prizes were awarded for pre-eminence
in farm animals and crops, and in
butter, cheese and cloth made In the
home. At the end of the exhibition came
the general assembly in the largest
village church, Here amid impressive
ceremonies, the honors were distrib.
uted, each prize accompanied by a
certificate of distinetion which, hand-
somely framed, held a place of hoaor
on the wall of the farmer's parlor.
Watson's greatest problem was to
arouse the active interest of the ladies
in these exhibitions, The diplomatic
siifts to which he and others re.
sorted in order to win over the coun-
try women, unaccustomed to activities
outside thelr own homes and fearful
of arousing comment by appearing in
a public competition, were finally
averywhere triumphant, At the end of
the general assembly came the “pastor.
my re»
For
endlessly fo
fabored
" By
the ald of Govern i
York,
twelve yen
Watson
“put RIK Ufa Goross
1810, with
LArope or
ts ene
fitlatle &x-
hit the best
ality
ality
offer.
sees and a host
added to ie
day
0 Exh
wk of the lo
vement by
interest and exd rom ond
Coun.
around
¥
t has grown to ur
niles
r sheds
the
end sepa.
crowds that
It has be-
res
valefar
ering
:
from
mers come
3 and with them
y people, The fair is no
nerely a farmer's
natitution
Today it is estimated that there ars
more than 3.000 agricultural fairs held
annually in this country, including
the town, county, stats, national and
international exhibitions, Some spe
cialize in live stock, some in dairy
in poultry, some in
garden truck and others in
crops. But the greater part of
are the general county fairs
which are held in August and Septem
ber. Most of them now are in the
Middle West, for New England, where
the fair originated,«has lost its lead
ership in number and importance of
its fairs. But even though modern con
ditions have changed the county fair
in many respects, essentially it is the
same as it has been for the last half
century or more, For this institution
has an appeal which no other annual
event In American Ife has and
nothing ever can or likely will take
fts place. So the next time you spend
a day at the county fair and enjoy
the pleasures which only it can fur
nish, just give a thought for a mo
ment to that “Yankee of Yankees who
was born within rifle shot of Plymouth
Rock,” Elkanah Watson, and be grate
ful that he was willing to spend twelve
years of his life popularizing an idea
which won for him the title of “father
of the county fair”
some
field
Plan Beautiful Lake
An artificial lake, three square
miled In extent, and as beautiful in
its surroundings as any astural lake
in the country, Is part of the North
Wales scheme for providing electric
power,
Blight Not Serious
it was at first thought that the de
struction of the chestnut would leave
large gaps in the forests, requiring
extensive planting, but the results of
recent Investigations indicate that the
blanks cansed by the dead or salvaged
chestnut are rapidly being filled by
guch valuable trees as the oaks, hick:
ories and white ash, which can, In
many respects, tuke the place of chest.
nut in the manufacture of wood rrod
ucts. The forests are still far from
being fully productive, and will con-
tinue to be much below normal far a
number of years after the blight has
done its work, though progress toward
complete recovery is wvearly every
where satisfactory.
Domestic Tragedy
“Mother,” sald the twelve-year-old
boy, * have I got a daddy?”
“Yes, son,” replied the mother
“Then where i8 he? 1 don’t re
member ever seeing him.”
“Sou haven't seen him since you
were a little baby,” But 1 hope and
pray you will see him soon. 1 ex-
pect him bome In the next gear or
two.”
“But
youth,
“He's playing 88 holes of golf on
the public links” explained the
mother,
The first map on which the word
Austenlin appears was published In
hie year 1824,
where ls he” persisted the
Coins Valuable Only
to the Numismatist
Coins and qurrency once valued at
millions of dollars make up the col
lection of Cere C, Standford of Greg
ory, 8 D, The currency Is worth
less now, except to collectors. The
most valuable piece In the collection
wag taken from ruing at Pompell,
One piece of Austrian currency,
worth at one time £300,000, is in the
collection, In United States gold
coins, Standford has $2 and BO cents
in single pleces, a J0-cent and 25
cent gold coin, He has United States
paper money in 00-cent, 10-cent, &5-
cent and Scent. denominations, A
sliver plece in the collection 18 one of
peace medals given by the
States to Indian chiefs in
1871. He has an Egyptian coin with
the pyramids stamped upon It
Money used In Hongkong has a Chi.
nese emblem one glide and the
English Queen Victoria on the other,
Coins from the Philippines have
United
on
English on the other,
Who Will Donate Peacock?
An obituary of a peacock,
which had been a friend of the bishop
of Worcester, Englund, and his family
for some years, recently appeared in
the Diocesan The apprecin
tion, written by the bishop, clo®es:
“May I add that his disconsolate wi
dow, being of the
bile sex, would,
come another p
a peacock to spare
notice
Gazette,
viarium ef muta-
wel
artner any one has
as she tells
me,
Family Agreement
‘ y ; ¢
“And how do you get on
»
*
with
does what
noon
Opinion.
ment
do
You Tell ’Em
George—It isn't tl
that a fs
i amount
money How's father has
here at college,
No, it's the
1}
money the
counts
Gone
father's
amount o
gon hae,
On the Blacklist
The Producer's Agent—Th
Hiom shows married ifs
The House Manage
Ou local CPnso
barred
Rem
mopping
A Wet
Claude still
the hotel
“Yes,
flusher.”
ark
yet
be's the
It Isn't what a
makes him happy,
that
he doesn't
man posserRses
but what
Bee Brand
INSECT POWDER
03 yo (01/1158
It Kills Them!
Non - poisonous.
Won't spot or stain.
The Bee on every package
~ig your guarantee,
Send for {ree insect book-
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write
McCormick & Co., Baltimore, Md,
MONUMENTAL WORKS
land Ma: est, 1564; re, $60;
te; sacr.; price $12.840 File J-2127.
ALTO AGENCY AND GARAGE
¢ agency in Maryland, covering #
well OWE ar; repts. $110,000 yr. 3
¥ ENE fae yr. 4 File J-13%8
tion so she decided to catch him. She . CONFECTIONERY—LUNCH ROOM
4 Cumberland, MA opposite large school;
him which part of J-1968
the slory rice y r oe $6. 560 File
that they had just read he liked best. . LAUNIRY AND BEAL ESTATE and
He studied a8 moment.and said: “The
' $12.06 Terms : Pile J-191%
4 pr y
part that Mary just told.” GROCERY AND MEATS
The teacher was not
1s $900 wi
iim the
“Well,”
know,
It Didn’t Work
In a certain Indiana rural
the teacher noticed that one young brig
ster was not paying very close atten- rion 3%
:
vig
school,
asked
BBL
res
price 37.3710 Fils
: COMPANY
be outdone ‘ 8 eit
to be outdon THE APPLE COLE
Detroit, Mich,
class could lislen
he
nid FOR READY
r Jie ehel
¢ i
BALES
UAH Perot
ARR
re BUT
m ted de.
5 rally re-
ut Branch either
City Bank. A
agian
Hybrid Triumph
pment will convince you
ai is #8 an 3 HALPERN & COMPANY
Market, Drooklivn,
Cruise
MEDITERRANEAN 25%
88 'Transylvania®® sailing Jan. 30
Clark's 25th cruise, 66 days, including Madeira,
y Islands, Casablanca, Rabat, Capital of
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i cludes hotels, guides, moors, etc.
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FRANK C. CLARK, Tides Bldg. N.Y.
regarded
nt breeding has just very | H29 Wallabout NY.
ST
Inks
JRE
| W. N. U., BALTIMORE, NO. 33-1928.
It’s Called Progress
04] y the old
in Bookkeep >
dave
vy sald,
Pledge of Affection
Hi Ki } +7
-) Pf
He—How
Khe-—RBu
He—Ther
keen six bite
week?
© Ihe
Che
shel
Nearly every newly married womax
thinks ¥
that a lot of other
envy her.
women 3 s
ated little boy, poor child.
uly. 100% more Whip
t and Willys-Knight
than
uring July last year.
- Come in. Let us arrange for an
3 SHoNsttdion 40 Shut You
may ju
Io alte
mod
~
TOLEDO, OHIO