Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1912-09-25
GRANT COUNTY FAIR
FOUGHT BAD WEATHER
Contested Against Downpour of
Rain Most of Week.
Aeroplane Flights Were Made Three
Days and on Saturday, the Full
Program Was Given.

inclement weather, the Grant County
Agricultural Society's fair 1912, held
in Lancaster last week, can always be
alluded to as a striking example.
a drilling rain on Monday created
dire forebadings of what was Ia store
during the following days, which were
the dates of the societys 9th annual
fair. Tuesday looked somewhat better,
but Tuesday night brought more rain
and it kept up all day Wednesday
which was the first, or get-ready day,
the day for making entries and bring
ing the exhibits to the ground. And
how they did come. LII spite of the
almost constant rain and the wretched-
ly muddy condition of the roads.
strings Of teams wendell their way to
the fair grounds all day long and
Wednesday evening showed the
largest list of entries that were ever
brought for exhibit at this fair.
On Wednesday night the board of
fair directors held a meeting and de-.
cided to carry the fair over Saturday,
and bills announcing the fact were
printed that night and sen to all
parts of the county on Thursday morn
ing.
Thursday dawned fair and bright
and the weather was ideal throughout
the day. The gates we're thrown open
~ all 00Oonru rS%hn17f ahor0n fhof
day, and hundreds were present to
size up the lay out. Men were at
work all day putting the race track
in condition for use the judges were
all busily engaged in examing and
passing upon b merits of the
premium entries, and about five
O'Clock, the aeroplane was run out
from it's enclosure and a remarkably
successful and beautiful flight was
made by aviator Nels Nelson.
He circled the grounds several times
at a height of from one to two hun
dred feet, then gradually steered his
machine to higher levels and scared
out into wider circles which carried
him two or three times out over the
city, where hundreds Of people watch
ed him from their own homes or from
the public streets.
Whatever the two succeeding days
might have in store, the officers in
this successful flight made by Mr..
Nelson on Thursday redeemed them
selves from the disappointing exper-
fence of last year, when the CuTtiss
Company failed to provide the flights
they had contracted to make, and had
the satisfaction Of knowing that they
had at last made good their promise
to give the people of Lancaster and
surrounding country an airship flight
upon their grounds. And this surely
must have been a satisfaction to them
in view of the malicious stories that
have been told concerning last years
disappointment and the persistent and
humiliating sneers that they have had
to face from ''doubting Thomases"
who would not admit that the officers
were honest and sincere in their
efforts to secure such a big and ex-
p~ensive attraction for this fair.
But the airship really went up and
stayed up for uver seventeen minutes,
controlled at will by the careful but
intrepid aviator. who made wide and
graceful circles, rising and dipping
from one altitude to another as he
desired and finally descending and
gliding to the earth on the level field
of the fair grounds inside the circle
of the race track, as lightly and grace.
fully as a bird. These flights were
made five times in all during the fair
once on Thursday afternoon, once
on Friday forenoon and three times
on Sa~turday-the last two taking
place about a half hour apart late
Saturday afternoon, the wind max
ing it too dangerous to attempt it
earlier.
The thing mostly to be regretted IN
connection with these flights is that
weather conditions made it impossible
for Nelson to 20 up at all Friday
afternoon when there we're at least
1000 people on the grounds, waiting
in the rain to see him, and that on
Saturday afternoon many farmers
were obliged to return home before
the wind had gone down enough to
admit of the flights, which took place
shortly before and shortly after five
O'Clock. They were all good flights,
free from sensational or freaky
features, but all made with skill and
grace, not skimped as to time and Of
a sufficiently varied character to prove
that Nelson is d level headed and
thoroughly &C competent aviator doing