The Mena weekly star., 1911-08-24
wHAT or OUR FAIR?

held the ilIteentH of tHtii diiiiud' fairs.
 In attendance, in amusement fea- lures and perhaps in some other ways it was as successful as any that have passed bcfore--but was it generally satisfactory?
 And if not, why not?
 Those are questions which should be answered, and now, when fresh in the minds of the people, is the best time to do so.
 Whether these annual fairs have deteriorated in character or not may depend on individual taste, but they have changed in character.
 In the beginning, when Mena was less than one year old, men who sought unselflshly the good of the community, it's upbuilding through an improved condition of the people that composed it, planned and car- ried out what was termed a fair. They knew full well that as con- ditions then existed, the only way to do this was by raising money by donations. by free will offerings, to pay premiums to those who brought in products of brain and brawn.
 Then, to pay expenses of certain entertainment features to aid in drawing the people, other gifts Of money were asked.
 There was no thought then of holding fair such as were common in other and older places. 1t would have been impossible.
 But the plan adopted brought re- suits. The people for miles around came; some brought articles and competed for premiums, and as years went on the result was shown by better products-the people were induced to strive to excel, and good examples spread far and near. Then people came from abroad, saw the fine things that were produced, and this helped to populate and build up a more prosperous county.
 Each succeeding year the de- mands became greater. As the spir- 1t of the fair developed the people desired better class of entertain nnent, and the premium lists grew apace--all calling for more and more fends. The load became so heavy that means had to be devised to secure funds outside of donations.
 Then new grounds had to be had on which to hold the fairs. Citi- zens came forward with hundreds of dollars, bought land and gave it's use free for ten years to tine Fair Association. Then the grounds had to be improved and buildings cost ing a good many hundreds of dol- lars had to be provided--more do- nations and more scheming to raise the money. And with the best ef- forts, each year the managers fell behind in meeting the expenses, and the officers had to stand good" for the deficit. Last year this deficit was $500. This years report is yet to come.
 A step was made in raising funds 10 meet the expenses when the track and amusement grounds were fenced and admission charges made to cer- tain classes of amusements. This step aroused good deal of oppo- sition among the out-of-town peo- pie, despite it's obvious necessity.
 Then last year there was talk of charging a small fee 10 certain classes of exhibitors. where good premiums were offered the suc- cessful competitors. This raised such storm that it was abandoned.
 All this time no entrance fee was charged those competing for prem iums, nor to any part or feature to the exhibition proper. Anyone was free to come. bring fruit, vegetables, farm products, livestock, etc., win premiums, enjoy the band music, watch parades and see good many interesting features and go his way without any charge whatever against his pocketbook.
 The people only were asked to pay a moderate admission fee to cer- tain strictly amusement features and this to help pay expenses of the fair. No officer or worker received | dollar of profit.
 But many grumbled even at this situation.
 This feeling. together with the fact that the fairs have utterly out grown the plan by which they were first conducted, have changed their character.
 They have gradually developed from an exhibition of the products of the connly with it's conseauent