Rocky Ford enterprise., 1908-09-04

Melon Day at Nocky rofos IN
this year of grace 1907, Is just 9 re-
production of all that; only little
metmorphosed as it has come down
to us through the ages: And melon
Day" at Rocky Ford is perhaps the
ton of those harvest festivals of an
cient times that we have anywhere
in these United States. Excursion
trains bring hundreds of people a
distance of hundreds of miles to at
tend it. There are a few people who
make annual pilgrimages from as far
east as Iowa and Illinois to be pres
cnt, and the gate admissions to the
Arkansas Valley Fair. which Is held
in connection with the melon feast,
showed an actual attendance last year
of 1900 people.
The melon feast itself is open and
free to all-comcrs, and lasts but ono
day. while the fair continues four days
of the week; and for the whole week
the town is practically given over to
the festivity. The Rocky Fordite Is
not so pious as the ancient Egyptian.
There are no white robed prieets IN
procession. and he throws none OF his
all the rest is there. No bull-6ghts.
to be sure, but there are steer-rop-
ings; no boat races, but plenty of
horse races, winding up with the cow
boy race and the burro Spanish for
jackass) race. The main streets of
the town are lined with fakirs plying
the crowd for patronage; and the
gamblers are plying their trade. In
stead of tawdry trinkets of shell and
bone and sandal-wood, there are the
gaudy souvenirs" of metal and rib
bon, the pin. the buckle and the but
ton, all bearing on some of their an
giles the words Rocky Ford, and
spreading It to the ends of the earth.
The Fair opened very auspisiously
Tuesday. The weather Is invariably
good with US. and this year the two first
days were tempered in their heat by a
slight eloudiness that added to the public
comfort And what the fine weather
didn't do in that line the public comfort
committee did by its attention to the
wants Of the incoming crowd. U. S.
Ringer and Robert Steele were the act
i've faetotums Of that committee, having
booth on the station grounds where
every fair patron could see a list Of
places Of entertainment and check hand
baggage till he looked the town over and
got located. The auto men were in evil
denee and for o cent fare switched
the new arrivals direct to the fair grounds
or to any part Of town in search Of lodg-
ings.
Tuesdays attendance was as good as
a first day ever is. though It probably
disappointed the souvenir vendors and
the sandwich dealers. Wednesday added
very eonspieuously to the crowd, and
Melon Day brought the customary rush.
notwithstanding the prediction that hard
times" would affect the patronage Of our
big holiday. Somehow the people get
there. and when the melon pile Is opened
the consumption indicates that there are
no off years either in our supply or the
! public demand. The melon pyramid
looked about the usual size before the ex-
eursionists got there, but it melted rapid
ly after their arrival The fair manage
ment now have the melon distribution
well in hand after years Of experience In
dealing with the crowd, but they will
never be able to control the wastefulness
Of the crowd who get their melons free.
The slaughter Uf the luscious fruit left
the melon grove as u.ual-a juice stained
battle field Of toothsome red pulp as well
as green rinds.
The Pike" or the Midway whichever
way you define it, has a more active
string Of fakirs than usual. Palmist,
phrenoloRists and snake eharmsrs vie
with each other for trade.
The Art Gallery in the picture division
is decidedly deficient this year. There
are few good bits but the collection As
whole is not up to previous years.
J Among the new exhibitors is noted some