The Press. (Stafford Springs, Conn.) 1883-1935, 1907-10-09
THE STAFFORD SPRINGS FAIR.

Vile program this year was not as
good as has been offered some years.
Several months ago the officials made
arrangements for number of at
fractions with a New York booking
agency. Included was an automo-
bile to loop the loop and several other
good acts. Some ten days before the
show the manager of the booking
agency went to Europe for reasons
of his own, and the attractions were
not available. 1t required some
hustling to make a new program on
such short notice, but it was accom-
plished. The Heras family in their
acrobatic performance are the best in
the world, and the excellence of their
performance was revelation to many.
The seeminsly impossible acts of these
wonderfully trained people we're we'll
worth the price of admission to the
grounds. The quintette of negro
singers and dancers were excellent,
but lacked the element of novelty.
The cockatoo circus aroused wonder
as to how birds can be taught to per-
form such marvellous tricks. The dog
circus, the Indian cyolist, the mega
phone song man and sevreal other acts
completed this branch of the program.
The midway, to many the most in
teresting part of the grounds, was as
populous as ever. The brass lunged
fakirs made themselves heard above
all the other noises. The wild man
was there, as wild and unsubdued as
formerly, but the catch-penny shows
have ceased to come IN any number,
finding it impossible TO vie with the
excellent attractions on the platform.
Those who find Amusement in throw
ing balls at animate or inanimate OBJ
jects had numerous chances to try
their skill, and win the pure Havan-
ma perfectoes offered as rewards of
merit. There was a Ferris wheel
that was run by hand power, and a
few fortune tellers-timid. retiring
creatures, who would faint away if
confronted with a mouse. The rest
of the available space on the midway
was occupied by the eating pavilions,
cider men, cane racks, etc.
There were several accidents on the
last day. The first occurred when the
driving horses were being shown.
The judges had asked that the con-
testants drive around to the quarter
I'd hn okr koh
Yiska, bay mare driven by r. @.
Bork and owned by Mrs. E. j. Rich
ardson of Somers, fell nearly in front
of the judges stand. A small blood |
vessel burst in the mares neck and
she bled profusely. 1t was at first
thought that the horse would die, but
she rallied and was driven home |
later in the day. The accident was
caused by pulling the horse up sud
denly and causing her wind to be
shut off. About the same time a
young man from Willimantic fell in
a dead faint on the track. He was
carried to the lower room of the
judges stand and revived later. In
the afternoon O. M. Lockwood, the
driver of Charlie King in the 2.22
class, was thrown from his sulky on
the first quarter by swerve of the
horse. The animal ran around with |
the bunch, and the other drivers
showed good team work and courage
when they finally passed. the thor
oughly frightened runaway. The
driver was uninjured, but the sulky
was a mess. While there was a good
field of entries for each trotting event,
the races the first two days did not
prove so exciting as was expected,
owing to the fact that they were won
in straight heats. The last day there
was more competition, and the card
Of three races made an afternoon of
sport that was not completed until
dark.
The exhibits of cattle and horses
this year were up to the usual stand
ard, and the premium lists to be pub
lished next week will show more COM
the entries and prizes
awarded. The drawing contests for
oxen and steers attracted a lot of
favorable attention. Samuel Rock
we'll, the veteran whip, was present
and showed the boys a few things
about managing cattle. A feature
Continued on page 2.)