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THE POST, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1939
PAGE THREE
Dallas Was A Lively Town
When Fair-time Came
Folks Came By
The Thousands
To Enjoy Fun
Writer Recalls Dallas
Bs it Appeared When
Fair Flourished Here
Along about this time of year,
when fall begins to paint the leaves
of the shady elms and oaks and
maples, and the stubble of harvested
fields turns the countryside to a
rich gold in the evening sun, the
memories of oldtimers go back a
score or more years ago to days
when rare excitement visited Dal-
~ las.
Phil T. Raub’s old hotel, which
stood so close to the Lehigh Valley
tracks that smoke from the engine
funnels used to stir the branches
of the two big trees shading the
front porch, would be crowded with
a boisterous holiday throng.
Farmers’ rigs and wagons rand
horses would fill vacant lots along
dusty Main Street. The big general
stores of the day, and the lone bar-
bershop and little lunchrooms of
the town would be a meeting place
of old friends.
It seemed as if the whole region
this side of Tunkhannock converged
on Dallas.
And so it did, for along about this
time of year, in the latter part of
September, or early weeks of Oc-
tober, the big annual Dallas Fair at-
tracted farmer neighbors from all
over this part of the county, and
many from Wyoming County, too.
During the Fair week, business
would pick up considerably in Dal-
las. As a matter of fact, business
was pretty good all year around,
except when heavy snows kept folks
indoors, for the town was the real
trading center of this section.
Remember When ?
Those were the days when the big
general stores were Frantz’'s and
Reese’s and Ryman’s. Perhaps Ed
VanCampen wouldn't care to admit
it now, but as far back as thirty
years ago, he was Dallas’ leading
barber. Old timers will remember
C. D. Wall, whose boarding house
and restaurant shared P. T. Raub’s
trade.
B. W. Brickel, who was as promi-
nent then as his son, Ralph, is to-
day, was a furniture dealer besides
undertaker of the region. Miss
Mame Fleming used to serve a
hearty lunch in Fleming's Lunch
Room, where Dan Richards’ store
stands today.
George Norton had a drug store
on the present site of the Dallas
Five and Ten. And about 25 years
ago, Gus Kuehn came to town to
divide the pharmacy business with
Mr. Norton.
Hildebrant and Frantz . . . John
Frantz and the late John Hildebrant
. were merchant millers, located
just across the street from where
Devens Mill is now.
Instead of service stations and
garages, Dallas had livery stables
and blacksmiths. Most everybody
who lived here in those days re-
members B. F. Mott, who started
his livery stable over 50 years ago.
He kept his horses in the old barn
which still stands near Dallas Meth-
odist Church. J. H. LaBar adver-
tised himself as a practical horse
shoer, and his blacksmith trade was
the biggest in town. The late -J. H.
Finch was a dealer in horse goods
. feed and harness.
That was the little town to which
thousands came every Fall for a
community enterprise which flour-
ished thirty years or more. There
are some that claim the Fair really
put Dallas on the map.
Perhaps they're right, at that. For
weeks prior to the event, anticipa-
tion would be high throughout the
countryside. And after it was over,
the next year's Fair would be a
main topic of conversation until it
came about.
Fair Association
The Dallas Fair Association was
formed back in the middle 1880's.
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J. ARCANGELI, Prog.
he advised,
going to be a popular thing.”
In October, 1912,
three minutes and 32 seconds.
Motorcycle Races Thrilled Crowds At Fair
The Dallas Fair, which is only a memory now, had the distinc-
tion of introducing motorcycle racing in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
It was Ben Connor of Wilkes-Barre who was responsible.
cousin, Harry, brought the first machine to Wyoming Valley. “Ben,”
“if I were you I'd get the agency for this, because it’s
Ben took his advice.
in its account of activities at the Fair, The
Post reported: “The most spectacular exhibition of speed ever wit-
nessed on the Dallas Fair grounds was the motorcycle racing yes-
terday afternoon and the excitement of the crowd was held at high
tension while the daring riders circled the track. Frank Harter of
Dallas rode three miles against time and covered the distance in
Only one acci ident happened and
both rider and machine escaped injury.’
In its last years, the Dallas Fair was known more widely for
its motorcycle and trotting races than for its agricultural exhibits.
His
Most of the old records have been
lost or destroyed, but the few old-
timers still alive place the year of
the first Fair as 1886.
The first directors put in enough
money apiece to purchase the Fair
grounds and erect the buildings
and race track. Each year the pro-
fits of the event, which sometimes
were a considerable amount were
turned back into improvements to
the grounds and other Fair ex-
penses.
Nobody is quite certain who made
up the first board of directors. But
among those who served in the
early years of the Fair were the
late Jeff Honeywell and P. T. Raub,
Will Conyngham and his brother,
John, now deceased, the late J. J.
Ryman and John T. Hildebrant.
William K. Goss, after whom part
of Dallas Township was named, was
active in the Fair Association, as
were the late Tom McKeel of Leh-
man and Penn Kirkendall, Charles
D. Gregory, Sr., grandfather of the
present Dallas barber, Dwight Woll-
cott, Zura Hess, Ira Shaeffer and
many others.
Sometimes as many as 1,000 ex-
hibitors entered the Fair, bringing
in load after load of farm produce,
and scores of fine cows and bulls,
sheep and horses, and other farm
animals. Because they figured that
it would be unfair to their less
fortunate neighbors, Will and John
Conyngham never exhibited.
One of the biggest horse racers
was the late William Bulford, whose
horses were driven to victory year
after year by Marvin Riley, one of
the best horse trainers and racers
of his day.
The crowds visiting the Fair,
which was a five-day affair, lasting
from Tuesday through Saturday
night, grew steadily each year.
Often, daily crowds reached to
nearly 10,000.
Its Closing Years
In its closing years, just before
the World War, the Dallas Fair en-
joyed its greatest prosperity. One
of the last crowds recorded, came to
well over 9,000 persons.
The final Dallas Fair was held in
1918. That year a handful of the
directors bought out the rest of the
men and sold the grounds to a pair
of realtors at a small profit. It
THANKS !
I appreciate deeply the fine
support of my friends Tuesday
in nominating me for council
in Dallas Borough. I shall do
my best always to fulfill
their trust.
JACK ROBERTS
DIAL %7-8873
would be hard to determine exactly
what that deal cost Dallas in pres-
tige and business over the last 20
years. But it has been a consider-
able loss to the town, and an even
greater one to the countryside.
John Frantz was: secretary of the
last board of directors, which in-
cluded the late W. B. Robinson,
William Bulford, D. P. Honeywell,
E. G. Stevens and John Conyngham.
Mr. Frantz and Will Conyngham
are about the only surviving mem-
bers of that board.
A Desolate Tract
Over in Dallas Township, not
far east of the Goss Manor develop-
ment, is a more or less desolate
tract, overgrown in some parts,
sparsely built in others . . . all that
remains of the old Fair grounds,
and the unsuccessful building de-
velopment that brought a grand in-
stitution to its end.
The half mile race track, which
used to be the best in the county,
has disappeared. Those who at-
tended the Fair remember the big
harness and trotting races, high-
lights of the Fair, and the parades
of prize-winning horses and cattle.
The old grandstand, which was cap-
able of seating 500 people, and used
to hold twice that many, has been
torn down. And nothing remains
of the big exhibit building—200 feet
long and 50 feet wide, it was—and
the horse and cattle barns, and that
old farmhouse which stood on the
spacious grounds.
A broom factory replaced the ex-
hibit building. But it seems that
nobody was interested in making
brooms, and the structure stood idle
[until it was razed by fire about ten
years ago. The realtors who took
over the Fair grounds had grandiose
ideas. They built a concrete road
to the Fair grounds, laid the 35-
acre plot out into neat building lots.
Few people bought. Not many years
later the salesmen gave up, dis-
couraged.
But the Fair has never come back.
AUTHORIZED
213147 (01
[BRIGGS & STRATTON
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33-35 EAST JACKSON ST.
WILKES-BARRE, PA.
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SERVICE CLEANERS
FOR QUICK SERVICE, PERFECT CLEANING AND CAREFUL
HANDLING OF LIGHT FABRICS, CALL SERVICE CLEANERS
— PHONE 2-5868 —
DIAL 17-8873
MEN’S
SUITS
15¢
ATTENTION
All Toll Charges Will Be Cheer-
fully Refunded When Driver
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COATS
1.00 | 75¢
CHECK YOUR WARDROBE NOW!
259 WYOMING AVENUE ©
DRESSES
| LADIES’
Rugs Shampooed, Curtains Clean-
ed, Upholstered Furniture Clean-
ed To Look Like New.
KINGSTON, PA.
Bloomsburg Fair
Opens Sept. 29
50,000 Boys And Girls
Invited To Exposition
Bloomsburg, Sept. 14.—More than
50,000 Central Pennsylvania school
children will be guests of the Fair
Association during the Bloomsburg
Fair, held day and night the last
week of September, opening Mon-
day, September 25.
The heads of more than 100
school systems in Luzerne, Lacka-
wanna, Schuylkill, = Northumber-
berland, Sullivan, Snyder, Union,
Center, Columbia and Montour coun-
ties have received letters of invi-
tation.
Acceptances already show that
more children see the Fair, with
many educators commenting on the
splendid educational value of the
exhibits.
The events in which there are
school boy and school girl partici-
pants, and there promise to be more
than 400, will be staged on Tues-
day, September 26. Judging events
will last through much of the day.
Columbia and Montour county
school children are guests of the
Fair on Tuesday.
Both from the standpoint of ed-
ucational exhibits and entertain-
ment features the Bloomsburg Fair,
which broke records at every hand
last year, is setting a higher stand-
ard for the exhibition now less than
a month away. There will be horse
racing and vaudeville from Tuesday
through Friday; automobile races
on Saturday, September 30, and a
spectacular night show, “World's
Fair Revue,” each evening during
the week.
Large Enrollment
Bs Misericordia Opens
The largest freshman class in the [
history of College Misericordia was
received when students reported for
registration on Wednesday. The
freshmen will participate in a four-
day program of orientation exercises
which will include an introduction
to the faculty, analysis of the cours-
es and an outline of college life.
Examinations and placement tests
for new students will be held dur-
ing the last half of this week. Upper
classmen will register on Monday
and the college will open on Friday,
September 22, with a mass of the
Holy Ghost, at which all students
will be present.
325 Pupils Enrolled
In Dallas Schools
Three hundred’/twenty-five pupils
are enrolled in Dallas Borough
Schools, Supervising Principal T. A.
Williammee announced this week.
There are 170 pupils in the six-
year Junior-Senior high school and
155 in the elementary grades.
MASONIS CAFE
231 BENNETT ST.
LUZERNE
Orchestra Every Wednesday Night
Farmer Dance Every Friday Néght
ELMER RHONE AND HiS
JOLLY MOUNTAINEERS
ORCHESTRA AND FLOOR SHOW
EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT
CHILD
HARVEY'S LAKE
Tth ANNUAL
REN'S DAY
PICNIC GROUNDS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER {7th
A GREAT DAY
130 MAIN ST. LUZERNE, PA.
FREE REFRESHMENTS
Ice Cream, Soft Drinks, Popcorn
Chocolate Milk, Etc.
ALL RIDES — 2¢
COME WITH ALL THE FAMILY
FOR THE KIDS
A high fashion favorite
for Fall. SUEDE delicate-
ly treated with BRAID.
Innumerable styles in
all heel heights.
DESIGNED TO COMPLIMENT
THE FALL FASHION THEME
106 MAIN STREET
FIVE DALLAS YOUTHS EARN
WINGS AT ILLINOIS AIRPORT
Five young men from Dallas are
attending the U. S. Air Corps Tech-
nical School at Chanute Field, Ran-
toul, Ill. They are Leon Austin,
Paul Kepner, James Oberst, Chester
Austin and Wayne Harvey.
James Oberst, son'of Mr. and
Mrs. Peter Oberst, and Chester
Austin, son of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon
J. Austin, are studying aircraft
radio mechanics and operation with
the 21st Reconnaissance Squadron,
Leon Austin, a brother of Chester,
is pursuing a course of training in
aircraft airplane and engine me-
chanics ih the 46th School Squad-
ron. Paul Kepner, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Thomas E. Kepner, is studying
aircraft radio mechanics with the
20th Bombardment Squadron.
Wayne Harvey, 49th Bombardment
Squadron, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Frank E. Harvey, is receiving a
course in aircraft radio mechanics
and operation.
Kepner, Oberst, Chester Austin
and Harvey went to Rantoul Field
from Langley Field and Leon Austin
was transferred there from Ran-
dolph Field, Tex.
First Lime Arrives
| For Pasture Treatment
Marking what the Luzerne Coun-
ty Agricultural Conservation Com-
mittee declares is the beginning of
a most important development in
agriculture here, the first carload
of lime to be used for pasture treat-
ment under the 1939 farm program
was unloaded in the county on
September 8.
This is the first shipment to be
distributed here under the plan to
encourage pasture treatment in the
county by supplying lime to farm-
ers who wish to use these materials
on pasture land now and pay for
them later out of money they earn
by carrying out these pasture im-
provement practices under the farm
program.
The committee urged all farmers
who are interested in searching lime
and super-phosphate for pasture
treatment to call at the County
Agricultural Extension C
Agricultural Conservation office lo-
cated at Room 22, Town Hall Build-
ing.
Rllentown Fair
Opens On September 19
New and original in its produc-
tion, the World’s Fair Revue, prob-
ably the largest outdoor stage pre-
sentation ever to go on. tour, will
provide patrons of the Great Allen-
town Fair when the appear on the
nights of September 19-20-21-22-23
with the ultimate in entertainment
which couldn’t be surpassed, any-
where else in the country, including
Broadway, where the dancing and
musical numbers of this stellar show
were conceived. Its catchy name
and many of its fine routines were
derived from the giant expositions
being staged in New York and San
Francisco.
” LOTS of EGGS ?
Follow the Purina 4-Point Program . . .
Feed PURINA LAYENA the complete
all-in-one feed, or
PURINA LAY CHOW, to
supplement your home grain
TRUCKSVILLE MILLS
STANLEY MOORE, Prop.
(Main Highway)
Trucksville, Pa.
— PHONE 58-R-2 —
cldditintetitintimetitincciecticteesttincdincedicsinietieiadednede
La
‘Gene Lazarus’ Sister
Dies In Kingston
Geraldine LazarusBehler, sister of
Eugene R. Lazarus, Dallas, died Sat-
urday at her home, 77 West Dor-
rance Street, Kingston. A native of
Wilkes-Barre, Mrs. Behler was ac-
tive in West Side civic and social
affairs. The funeral was on Tues-
day.
TO WHOM IT
MAY CONCERN
Those who need cash can
now obtain loans quickly,
conveniently. and confiden-
tially in an approved busi
ness-like way. A steady in-
come and established credit
make you eligible for
First National's
BUDGET-PLAN
LOANS
Rates are only $6.00 per
hundred per year . . . re-
payable in twelve month-
ly installments.
IRST
NATIONAL BANK of
WILKES-BARRE, PA.
59 Public Square
*
Member Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation
Body Is Taken From Lake
After A Week's Search
A week-long search for the body
East Northmapton Street, who
drowned September 2, ended on
Saturday in 70 feet of water near
erson, laid hold of the body with
grappling hooks. A professional div-
er who had waded through a four-
foot layer of mud in the search, had
given up the search several days
earlier and removed his equipment.
NE 2
of Millard “Slim” Haefele, 34, 315
Wardan Place. Charles Sprake, Ald- —
w Spectacular NIGHT REVUE
* Worlds Finest VAUDEVILLE
| % Thrilling HORSE RACING
# Saturday AUTO RACES
: wIHE WOR als!
0
c AN
_eveRY
ANCE
Oct
son
TIT » GREATEST
COUNTY FAIR
| LAST 2IDDAYS
| FRIDAY and
Watch The
Record and
For Adve
timely needs in home furn
in the values offered.
every department in the store . .
SATURDAY
Wilkes-Barre
Times-Leader
rtised Items
This Annual Savings Event brings sensational values from
. six floors just packed with
Plan
ishings and ready-to-wear.
now to visit Pomeroy’s September Savings Sale and share