The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1929-05-31

1t should be a show window of the
County'S development in all lines of
,endeavor The real County Fair is
show time for the merchants and
business men as well as for the folks
living on the farms of that communi-
ty. The County Fair is not a trade
extension time for the merchants. If /
it is going to succeed, the folks living
in town must consider. the Fair a time
to show their products as we'll as it is |
a time for the farmers to show what
they have produced during the season. !
With these thoughts in mind, there
are many definite steps that must be
taken If County is to build up a !
successful institution. l will discuss
those points in the order that 1 believe
they should be considered by any
County starting toward a goal of
building up a County Fair.
1. Acquisition of Grounds and
Buildings
The first step necessary in the
building of Fair is the obtaining of
suitable Fair grounds and the con-
struction of satisfactory exhibit build
ings, grandstand and race track, to-
-,ether with lighting equipment anu
many other things that will be found
essential. In selecting the location for
Fair grounds, several factors should
be taken into consideration. Of pri-
mary Importance is the type of soil.
1t should be of medium clay loan
type. Heavy gumbo or gravel is OBJ
! iectiOnable.
Second, the location of the Fair
! grounds in regard to roads and ease
of access should be considered. II
! should not be too far away from
town, neither should it be too close in.
Considerable money is going to be re-
qul1ed for the purchasing of suitable
grounds of not less than forty to fifty
acres, and the construction of i'm
prOVements. | believe that any Coun-
ty starting out should acquire consid-
cradle capitol and be content to place
their efforts toward getting grounds
and buildings for a year or so before
they even attempt to hold Fair. I'm
less this is done, it will be found too
much of financial burden to acquire
grounds, put on improvements and
hold a County Fair all in one year.
The cost of the grounds and improve
ments, of course, W i'll carry under diff
ferent conditions; however, | believe
that the minimum amount necessary
would not be, in many cases, less than
ten to twenty thousand dollars.
] would suggest to you folks here
that you take advantage of the State
Law governing County Fairs that
makes it possible for your County
Commissioners to appropriate as much
as a mill and one-half levy each year
and obtain this levy for at least one
to two years before attempting to
hold a County Fair. During this
time, this money can be used for &C
quiring grounds and constructing i'm
provements.
2. Community Cooperation
During the time that you are &C
curing a location and putting up i'm
provements, much good work can b.
done by interesting the various com
munities of your County in holding
Community Fairs and increasing com
munity interest. l believe that
Will be very dlI1lculC mueeu 1or dh
County Fair to succeed without gen
eral community cooperation. Fror
our experience in Richland County
we have found that until our commu
mites started holding Fairs, they di
not become much interested in tn
County Fair proposition. AS an ee2
ample of what Community Fairs an
co-operation will do, would like
cite the facts in regard to the Rlcf
land County Fair.
During the early days of our Fa
when the communities were not c.
operating, the number of exhibitor
was less than two hundred, while
1928, with thirteen OBJ cOmmuniti
cooperating, the number of exhlblto
was lob. To summarize, it is G