Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-10-02

Happy Brattleboro! In all matters of
public enterprise her sons and daughters
! take Brattleboro for their watchword. and
| with Brattleboro alone as their thought
/ and not individual profit or success, they
rally for her fair fame and name. 1t is
this animating spirit which has given her a
reputation that dwels apart like a shining
| star
For six years peculiar pride has been
! taken in the Valley fair, and annually the
people have joined in united effort for
its success. This year their endeavOr has
been more richly crowned than ever Not
only was the work unstinted, but there
was a happy combination of circumstances
/ and conditions which aided in bringing
about the satisfactory result.
To begin with, there never ,ros such
weather for a fair. \ month of unusually
enervating heat and humidity had been
experienced up to last Tuesday. Then the
clouds gathered. the rain fell, and the out
! look for fair skies on Wednesday was far
from propitious. But this rain was only
blessing in disguise, sent to settle the
dust and clear the atmosphere, and on
Tuesday evening the long, lacy, red clouds
! in the west gave promise of what might be
expected.
And such a day as it was on Wednes-
day, Never have the heavens vouchsafed
fairer smile than that which greeted Brattle-
| boro eyes, and those of the country dwell
ers for many miles around. as they awoke
with the Valley fair for their first thought
The air was clear, crisp and bracing; the
suns rays were bright and CHEEKY, and
these conditions prevailed throughout the
two days. In short, the weather was made
to order.
At an early hour Wednesday morning
the stream of humanity began to flow
through Brattleboro streets. First came
the teams bearing the exhibits, hut soon
the ways were filled with all kinds of con-
veyances, bringing those on pleasure bent,
and at half-past eight cheerful hustle and
confusion filled the town. In Main street
there was a long line of teams extending
from far above the town hall to below the
entrance the scene was similar. The reg
ular and special trains on all the railroads
were crowded to standing room. The
! Brattleboro ~ Whitehall train consisted of
II cars: the Valley special of seven; the
! Connecticut river special of Il, and a we'll
filled train came from the New London
Northern and Fitchburg Temporarily
! Brattleboro was the Mecca toward which
all this section OF New England made pill
grimage. Thursday morning was repe-
tition of Wednesday on a larger scale, so
far as the street scenes and the inpouring
of people were concerned.
The fair itself was Brattleboro tri-
umph. In size and excellence il has been
surpassed this year only by the New Eng
land fair and the Maine state fair; in
Vermont nothing has approached it. The
magnificent display of horses, oxen and
neat cattle, of sheep and swine, the agri-
cultural hall crowded to bursting with
vegetables, fruits and grain, temptingly ar
rayed, the poultry show eXcelling any
| other held in New England this year, not
to mention dozen other features, made up
| a great fair, which was satisfaction alike
to managers, exhibitors and spectators.
! A sight of these splendid specimens of the
! fruits of the husbandman's toll certainly
gave no suggestion of the existence of such
a thing as an abandoned farm
The attendance kept pace with the show,
and exceeded that of any previous year.
| 1t reached 300 on the first day and L, 800
on the second. From morning to night on
| both days there were an abundance of
features for the entertainment of the peO-
pie. The drawing contest of Wednesday
was more spirited, and attracted more at
tention than ever. The racing of both
days afforded good sport, but as is the
policy of the management, was so arranged
as not to overtop every other attraction.
The climax was reached on Thursday
morning when the picturesque cavalcade,
the finest ever seen in Vermont, wound its
way from the common through Main and
Canal streets, up the hill to the fair ground,
watched and appauded by admiring thou
sands.
Best of all, it was a clean exhibition,
with a sober, happy, well-behaved, we'll
entertained crowd in attendance every
member of which went home at nightfall
to praise the Valley fair and the public
spirit of BrattlebOro.
In the columns which follow The Phu
nix staff have gathered such pen-pictures
in the different departments as time and
space afforded.
THE CATTLE.