The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1924-05-09
MAKE MARKET FOR
HOME PRODUCTS
THAT is THE IDEA OF ANNUAL
SHOW THAT is PUT ON
AT KALISPELL
Show Has Greatly Stimulated Con-
sumption of Home Products and
Every Large Center of the State
Should Emulate Example.

ton to conceive the idea that if the
local manufacturer, farmer ana
merchant were to find home mar
ket for their products that 1T
would not only stimulate industry,
but at the same time would in
crease the community wealth by
keeping the money at home, ana
effect a great saving in the cost OF
transportation?
Possibly it sounds like a Utopian
dream, but it is dream that the
Kalispell Kiwanis club, with ABOUT
SO members, had early in 1928.
Somebody had the nerve to tell his
dream at a meeting Of the club, ana
strangely enough the other members
didn't think it was entirely crazy
idea. 1t was fully discussed, and the
upshot of the whole matter was that
the club finally decided to father a
home products exposition.
The first move was to enlist the
aid of the Rotary club, the chamber
of commerce. the farm bureau, and
all the women's clubs and organiza-
tions, and everybody went after it
with the same interest that a hired
man displays when he hears the din
ner horn.
Community Losses
The dates were fixed for May 10,
IL, and IL, 1928, and the next step
was to create public interest. This
was done through publicity COM
mittee, which furnished write-ups of
what the exposition was going to be,
stories of local enterprises, and stat
istics showing what the community
was losing by importing amounts of
commodities which could be produc-
ed locally.
A survey of the community was
made, which showed that in the job
bling district supplied by Kalispell
each year approximately $1,000,000
had been going out for supplies and
materials which were manufactured
there. Prominent in the list were
packing house products with 2,000,-
600 pounds of cured meats, which
was something of a revelation.
In addition there were butter,
cheese, canned milk, cereals, and
canned goods. 1t was found that
Kalispell alone was consuming. $780,
600 worth of canned tomatoes an
nually although certain sections of
Flathead county produced as fine
variety of tomatoes as is obtainable
anywhere. The figures thus obtain
ed were arranged on placards and
prominently displayed at the exposi-
ton.
The committee then solicited adj
vertising from local business houses,
on which the newspapers allowed
M ccinTa xrhi0h fn haIr, fin
ance the undertaking, and the rest
of the expense was met by an admis-
sion charge of 10 cents, many mer-
chants buying tickets in quantity and
distributing them free of charge to
their customers.
Entertainment Features
With the opening of the exposition
it was evident that it was a success.
Everyone was interested, and many
lines of enterprise were brought to
light which the public generally did
not know existed.
In the way of entertainment each
afternoon and evening a short pro-
gram was put on by the schools, the
Flathead band and the several wo-
mems clubs. A home products play,
written and staged by local women,
was a markedly successful feature of
the program. On each occasion an
address was made by way of argu-
ment for home products, and care
was taken that this was not subor-
dinated to features which merely pro-
vided entertainment.
The booths were arranged in Writ
ually the same manner as display
window, and no charge was made for
the space to exhibitors. Among the
products displayed were: Dairy prod
ucts, meat products, tailoring, honey,
cider, vinegar, and orchard products,
basket weaving, hemstitching, milli
merry, bakery products, forestry dis
plays, which featured the heating
value of wood, local product, as
against coal, foundry work, harness
and saddlery, flour, cereals and mill
products generally, furniture, knit
ting, weaving, sash and doors, cabi-
net work, Montana beet sugar from
Billings, canned goods from Boze-
man, and printing. In connection
with the last named, one of the most
glazing inconsistencies of local mer-
chants was their opposition to mail
order merchandising, while many of
them were sending their printing out
Of the state.
Manufacturers were urged, so far
as possible, to demonstrate their
food products by giving away sam
pies, and coffee houses were permit
ted to serve coffee. as this did not
in any way compete with any Mon
tana product, and added to the sue
cess of the exposition.
The show was opened for an after
noon and evening period each day.
The hall was fairly well filled at the
first afternoon session, but after that
hundreds were turned away on each
occasion, unable to even find stand
ing room, and on the last evening 1t
was necessary to hold an overflow
meeting in another hall. 1t was held
in two adjoining halls, one 5Ox15O
feet and the other 26x65 feet.
The venture was at once pro-
nounced the "livest thing" that had
ever been held in Flathead county,
and plans were put under way for
an exposition in 1924.
A State Wide Affair
In order that farmers might more