Mexico weekly ledger., 1898-10-20
COME TO STAY.
THIS Is WHAT JUDGE KENDALL
THINKS OF THE STREET FAIR
HELD HERE LAST WEEK.
The Judge, Like Everybody Else, Was
Agreeably Surprised at What he
Saw-Thinks It Was q Very
Grand Success.
To the Editor OF the Ledger.

To the Editor OF the Ledger.
VANDALIA, NO., Oct. 19.--Friend
Bob: I received your paper giving
list of premiums and names Of win
ners, for which you will accept thanks.
1 went up to the street show expect
ing to Q a good show, as / knew that
Mexico never failed in anything, but
when / got onto the streets I had to
stop and look for some old landmark
before 1 could realize where I was. |
the first thing that I run up against
was the mammoth corn wheel of for
tune and I thought I must have went
to sleep on the train and had been CAR
ried on to the Omaha Exposition, but
on going a little further along the
great corn highway 1t looked too big for
Omaha and / Thought I was In some big
city and was on the market square.
So ] went along looking at the corn,
corn, corn and all kinds of grain and
seeds, and after 30 long q time ! run
up on Jim Ringo. I looked him over
and he looked natural enough, but I
being bswildered yet, and seeing SO
many old relics of bygone days,among
them Indian bows and arrows, qulvers,
tomahawks and old flint lock guns, I
thought I must be in some big museum
in New York or Chicago.
Not being satisfied I moved along
the Midway Piaisance and saw all the
sights except the gipsy girls when
came up to what 1 thought was some
great creamery butter market, and,
not yet awake, 1 went on and came to
the great potato market, both Irish
and sweet; many of them being to
large to be cooked without being cut
in pieces. 6 There was enough of them
to feed SIMPSONS army. And going
a little further l came to wagon loads
of pumpkins and s~quashes, many of
them as large as halt barrels; and
sighting those I stopped and said to
myself tina if / could get them all
made into pies that I would pitch my
tent and go into camp, but not having
my cook along / went ahead, looking
at the mammoth punches of sorghum
cane.
I fell in with Pate Morris and he
asked me if I had Q @ the cradle that
he was rocked in at Jim Ringo's and
the antlers of the two deer he had
killed. He said that they didn't say
how many hundred deer he had killed
b1tro4- tkncn frvn Than hn fnnk ms
along a little further and allowed me
his wonderful corn stalks, IL or Il
feet high with two ears on each stalk
and along side of Pate's display wa
some corn on stalks that would make
good stove wood. Then kept OF
around the south side and, after seeing
many fine exhibits, I run up agains
Noble Barnes standing knee deep Ii
corn, oats, barley, wheat, potatoe
and all kinds of grasses;i lin fact, he hat
some of everything that grows, and a
1 looked at his splendid display
thought that if he was as gooda Dem
ocrat as he was a farmer that he woul,
live always and then turn to old iron
Well, Bob, l haven't paper enoug
to write of the thousands OF thing
that I saw, but 1 must say that th'
|. poultry show was immense. Tn
horses, mules and jacks, also the cat
|, tie, hogs and sheep did honor to thei
, owners and are worthy of premiums q
any fair. And last, but not least, le
: me say that the fine arts and th
; ladies' displays were dazzling to tn
5 eye; and, to s a common saying
. they were out of sight. Then / run q
against Col. Clay and asked him wher
. 1 was. He said, "Don't you know ths
. this is the Mexico Street Fair?' The
I woke up and said to myself that thi
was an honor to the citizens of Mex
q leo and also the farmers who mad
!. exhibits, and will in the future dra
|. the line between agriculture and tn
race track; and, further, after seein
the produce grown in u county OF
land ought to advance $40 per acr'
And in conclusion let me say that
n believe the Street Fair has come
stay. Yours respectfully,
q s. E. KENDALL.