The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1916-09-28
CORN IS COMING
CROP IN OREGON
Addison Bennett Reviews History of
55 Years and Points Out Advan-
Ces Nade-COrn Crop Predict
ed Great Source of Future
Revenue.

(By Addison Bennett in Oregonian)
Salem, Ore, Sept. 26.-(SpeciaD--
The first State Fair held in Oregon
was | believe, just 55 years ago. It's
originators undoubtedly had in view
a double purpose-the developing and
fostering of the agricultural interests
of Oregon and the advertisements and
friendly meeting of the people of the
state.
1t would make an interesting story
to begin with the fair of 1861, when
many of the visitors came in OK carts
and lumber wagons, many of them
driving over 200 miles, and follow
along fair after fair until today when
automobiles by the hundreds bring in
their quota of visitors from every por-
tion of the state. To tell the story
properly one would have to deal large
ly with the camping grounds provid
ed for the visitors from the first fair
in the great grove adjacent to the fair
ground gates, later called the tent
city, ruled and governed as a munich
pality and many of the sites taken
year after year by the same people.
Indeed, good many Of the sites have
been annually occupied by the same
families or their defendants from the
beginning until now.
I Products of Soil Studied.
Believing that agriculture and the
livestock interests of the farm are
the foundation upon which rests the
State Fair, spent most of my time to
day in the new buildings devoted to
the horticultural and agricultural in
terests of the state.
As you enter the building from the
front you come at first to the Wasco
County exhibit, and then the follow
ing exhibits in the order named, pass
ing to the right around the lower floor
to the place of entrance Jackson,
Benton, Polk, Multnomah, Linn, Till
amook, Douglas, the onefarm exhi-
bit of G. A. Minor, Heppner; the one
farm exhibit of Chester Mickelsen,
Gresham; the Sagenhurst one-farm
exhibit, Morrow County, the exhibit
of the Eugene Chamber of Commerce,
Josephine County, the Asylum Farm,
Salem; Morrow County, Marion,
Clackamas, Washington, Union, Bak-
er, Malheur, the one-farm exhibit of
ID. M. Lowe, Talent and exhibit of
Ivan Stewart, one of the products Of
Jim Stewards homestead near Fossil.
Coos Shows for First Time.
First, let's look at the exhibit from
Coos, because that county has never
had chance to compete properly un-
til this year, having had no rail con-
nection with the rest of the state.
Coos comes in now with one of the
finest cheese, butter and corn eXhi-
bits ever shown in Oregon. Indeed,
it seems safe to say that the Coos
corn is as good as can be shown
in any county in the United States.
AS the quality of the cheese and but
ter, that can only be judged by ac-
tual taste, and that can be left to
the judges. The corn, however
speaks for itself. This year Coos
will turn out 100000 pounds Of
cheese and 100000 pounds of butter
from the four butter factories and
eight cheese factories of that county.
Morrow Exhibit Remarkable.
A word now about the Morrow
County exhibit, put together by W..
w. Smead, of Heppner: do not say
it is one of the star exhibits in the
building unless you take into consid-
Grafton the soil and climatic condi-
tions of that county. Until recent
years Morrow county has been looked
upon as wheat county pure and SIM
pie. So 1t shows what industry, in
telligence and perseverance can do to
look at the splendid products more
particularly the corn, presided over
by Mr.. Smead.
Now for a few words as to what
seems to be the coming dominant
crop of Oregon-corn. Some people
may laugh at that, for 1t was said for
more than two generations after the
first settlement in Oregon that "corn
will not grow we'll nor mature in Ore
gon." 1t was D. o. Lively whom I
first heard preaching the doctrine
cf the hog, the COW and corn. The
Portland Union Stockyards Company
pany employed Mr.. Lively, so per-
haps we should go back Of D. O. and
give lot Of credit to Messrs. Daug-
herty and Plummer for bringing him
to Oregon.