The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1913-10-10
COUNTY FAIRS AND THE lMPoR
TANT PART THEY PLAY
IN LIFE
To the Editor ocala Banner:

To the Editor Ocala Banner:
Winter comes apace and all that
will remain of the county fairs will
be memory of what was and what
might have been. The good old farm
err who failed to have his hig yellow
pumpkin score, or mis- brindle steer to
walk away with ribbon OF
the desired color, will soon be shap
ing things for days of storm and plan
ming in his mind of the prizes he pro-
poses to carry away when the next
fair is held in his county.
And, speaking of county fairs, re
calls the fact that they are not ex-
actly as they used to be when Heck
was a pup" and big Bill Shocks ran
100 yards in something over Is sec
onds, vaulting two bars while going
down the speedway, with his best
girl looking on, and the young and old
folks yelling like mad. Bill was a
great runner in his day, but his day
is over, and now he hobbies about at
the county fairs and tries to tell the
new generation what a great jumper
and runner he was many, many years
ago. Still, there are in these piping
days, many old-fashioned county fairs
held all over the country, and some
good ones, too. Of all the countries
that put on county fairs, perhaps
Canada, my native country, and where
spent my boyhood years, takes the
lead when it comes down to back
woods exhibitions, for the people of
the rural districts of the Province o.
Quebec love fair as they love fam
lily ties, and tales of "befo' de wah"
to the people Of Georgia.
The county fairs of Florida, and all
other states in fact, are interesting
and instructive. They are the elbow
holes" for men both old and young,
and the women, too, who have tolled
through sun and rain to produce crops
that the hungry may be fed, and they
will roll up a nice bank account.
After all, the county fairs of the
country haven't changed much with
the birth of new years. It's the same
old crowd, with new faces, it's the
same old exhibit of products, and it's
the same old free" attractions and
side-shows that once held spellbound
many a man and woman, then young,
who have passed over the divide"
The popcorn stands are there, just
as they used to be, only little more
elaborate. The man with the dolls
and the box of balls is never missing,
nor are the "see-gars'' that go with
every successful throw. About all
that is missing is the man who used
to operate tin-type outfit, for tin
types are no more. In their place
has come the photo man, who takes
ones picture for dime or a quarter,
according to the number on the pos
tai card.
The hairless calf and the man-eat-
ing serpent, "the only two known in
the world" always draw at county
fairs. The bearded lady and the liv-
ing skeleton join hands and smile as
the barker at the door tells of their
to- Col h.
strong man, who can lift with one
hand a ton or less, vie with each
other for favors. The people come
and the people go. 1t isn't the big
scientific things that make life worth
the living, anyway. It's the little
chit-chat and the oddities
that send the blood through the veins
with renewed vigor.
Were we to discuss heavy matters
all the time, it is said by scientific
men, in a few years We would all be
and have heads shaped
much differently from what the aver
age is shaped now.
People want to be entertained, no
matter whether at county fairs, street
carnivals or elsewhere, and that is
one reason why so many county and
city people are found each year at
the places where a variety of enter
tainment is always on tap-early and
late.
All honor to the county fairs. May
they continue, and may the attend !
ance be satisfactory every time the
doors to the grounds are thrown open.
And in conclusion, and very seriously
may l say, that the value of fairs held
annually to any community cannot be |
doubted, and to make the results real
the fair must not be held only occa-
sionally, but must be an annual prop !
osition for this reason: If the fair is
held each year, more and more you
get the interest of different farmers