McLEAN COUNTY HISTORY & GENEALOGY NEWS
By Euleen Rickard
The last few years the McLean County Fair has been called “A CELEBRATION OF SUMMER.” In the beginning the fairs were fall events taking place in late September or early October and there were many school displays and activities.
Directions for the student’s displays were “All exhibits must be prepared during this school year” and “All work must be done by pupils enrolled in McLean County Schools.” Teachers were encouraged to “carefully observe the rules and regulations in selecting and registering pupils, to register their pupils under the proper event” and “all events will start on time.” The teachers had only a few weeks to teach and instruct their students in preparing exhibits.
The 1930s and 40s were very patriotic times and awards were given for best patriotic poster, best defense display, and best Colonial (American history) display. Awards were given for best artistic typing, best journalism display, best page of Arabic figures, best cartoon and for best wild flower display, which would be highly discouraged today.
In the farm animal department awards were given for dogs…. the best bird dog, fox hound and bull dog.
Eleanor Halstead recently recalled winning fifty cents in a hundred-yard dash, beating a girl from Beech Grove. She did not remember the girl’s name. Some winners in athletic events were rewarded with theater tickets or ice cream cones.
Some of the “SPECIALS”and the prizes they received were a cane for the oldest man, a shawl for the oldest woman, a 12lb.sack of flour for the oldest man and wife, a 24lb. sack of flour for the largest family (all present), a feed basket for a man best at calling hogs, an egg basket for a woman best at calling chickens, a milk bucket to the person best in the milking contest. Winners in the fat woman and fat man races were given 1year subscriptions to the Livermore Times newspaper.
Some of the events of today’s McLean County Fair are quite different from those of the early ones. There are prizes for forestry, geology, photography, woodcraft, painting, watercolor, pottery, even school exhibits of Legos from imagination or kit or pattern. There is a pet show, western horse show and a washer-pitching event. Still some things remain the same. In school athletics there are races and broad jumps, in the women’s department there are prizes for canning and needlework, there is a parade and a midway with rides to be enjoyed and prizes to be won.
Many fairs bring back memories to me but the 1937 McLean County Fair holds the best memory of all. It was there that I met my husband during a softball game between Livermore and Sacramento. Sacramento won the game on his grand slam home run. A memorable day at the fair!
The result of our appeal for old fair books has been good. We now have 1937, 1938, 1941, all of 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. We would like to have some of the later fair books and more material is needed for the fair exhibit. If you have fair memorabilia to contribute or loan for exhibit please contact Helen Anderson or Mildred Iglehart.
Attend the fair (July 15-19) and stop by the museum on Friday, 18th for a porkburger lunch and a look at Fair Memorabilia of some of McLean County’s winners. CELEBRATE SUMMER!