The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-09-27
From a staff Correspondent.

From staff Correspondent.
Hartford, Sept. 26.-The first day Of
the fair of the Hartford Agricultural
society attracted goodly crowd of
onlookers. The fair grounds, which
are located on the summit of n high
hill about half mile from the bor-
ough of Kingsley, are exceedingly at
tractive and pleasant. The spacious
buildings, their welf-kcpt appearance,
the delightful grove at one end, and
the open lawn in front of the build
ings make an agreeable diversity and
suit each individual taste.
The fair grounds comprise about
thirty acres on the summit of one of
the highest hills in an extremely hilly
country The borough of Hartford, in
the valley below, is n thrifty looking
little village, seemingly in saucer
like depression, with high ranges Of
hills surrounding it on every side.
In the east are the celebrated Elk
mountains, the highest in this section
of the state, towering proudly in the
hazy distance. and on every side of
Hartford nothing but steep grades can
be seen.
The fair is as yet only in its begin
ming. The exhibition halls, the stalls
for horses and cattle, the pens for
sheep and swine and the coops for
poultry, are almost empty, but that
is always the way the first day. Con-
trary to the customs of most country
fairs, the exhibitors do not come until
the second and last day, bringing their
articles for competition then, having
them judged during the day and taxi
ing them back with them again at
night. The first day is but the pre-
lude or more properly speaking, the
stage is set for the pastoral scenes
that are to be presented tomorrow.
This has been the custom here for
forty-three long years and any depart
ure from It now or making this parti-
cular fair more modern in It's many
traditional features would be resented
by it's regular patrons of the past
four decades.
A FAMILY PICNIC.
The scenes that will be enacted here
during the continuance OF the fair will
rather partake of the nature of a big
family picnic, or family reunion, with
the members of it numbering many
thousands. The friends of auld lang
syne, who only see each other once
a year, will partake of a dinner seated
around in a group under the lofty ma
pies in the grove and "reminiscences
Of boyhood and girlhood will be eX-
changed by many n gray-head who
has driven twenty or thirty miles to
give a hearty hand-clasp once again
to the ones whom they see only at
this annual visit.
The buildings of the society are nu-
merous and cover about two acres in
a half square. They are kept in good
condition and are painted in a dull
red color with white trimmings. This
is quite an Improvement on many of
the fair buildings in this state, whose
unpainted walls and gaping, rough
sides, do not add to their attractive-
ness.
No racing of horses is INDUCED in,
there is not even a race track, which
in itself is a radical departure from
most any other county fair. No games
of any sort are allowed inside the
grounds, the only possible exception,
If 1t can be called one. being a merry
go-round. Fakirs are kept outside the
fence, and there are few of them as
yet. But no man can tell what the
morrow will bring forth.
THE OFFICERS.
The officers of the society are: Presi-
dent. G.. A. Stearns; vice president, T..
]. Whitney; secretary, L. Il. Jones;
treasurer, +. NJ. Watson; executive
committee, b. f. Hine, f. A. Osborn,
w. w. Wilmarth; general superintend-
ent, A. II. Harding.
The premium list is an extensive and
varied one, comprising fifteen classes,