davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21
THE 0LD-TImE COUNTY FAIR O..

Then, after several years in
Albany, he suddenly put adven-
ture behind him by moving to
a farm near Pittsield.
But the country life expert
ment came too late, his habits,
as he said, being settled for city
life. 'To fill up the void in an
active mind led me first to con-
ceive the idea of an agricultural
society on a plan different from
all others.
''In the fall of 1907 I procured
the first pair of merino sheep
that had appeared in Berkshire,
if not in the state. was in
duced to notify an exhibition of
these two sheep under the great
elm in the public square in Pitts
field on a certain day. Many
farmers and even females were
excited by curiosity to attend
this first novel and humble ex-
hibition. 1t was by this lucky
accident l reasoned thus: If
two animals are capable of ex-
citing so much attention, what
would be the effect of a larger
scale, with larger animals?'
But Elkanah Watson soon dis
covered that it wasn't as easy
as all that. The farmers would
come to see, but feared to ex-
hibit lest they be laughed at.
Finally, after three years, he
got 26 of them to sign an zap
peaP' for a cattle show. "The
ice," according to the Pittsfield
Sun next day, "was nov broke
- all squeamish fe cling S
buried" The show came off.
An agricultural society w a
formed, with Watson as presi-
dent, and next year he began
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21

the fair with parade and
closed with a pastoral ball"
There were prizes to the amount
of $40.
BY the next year the pre-
miums had risen to $208, and
Watson, having made the fair
popular, now proceeded to seal
it with respectability. He had
conceived the shrewd notion of
enisting the clergy and women.
But neither clergymen nor
women were obtained without a
struggle. In 1911 no clergyman
could be found to officiate for
fear of being ridiculous. The
women were still more coy.
Though they sent in exhibits of
weaving and sewing, no woman
appeared to receive "the seven
valuable premiums of silver
plate" to be awarded
This was the crisis" wrote
Watson land l was extremely
agitated lest the experiment
should fail. Native timidity and
the fear of ridicule restrained
them (the women). To break
down this feeling we resorted
to a maneuver which in an hour
accomplished our wishes. l left
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21
Coincidence

IF YOU believe that COW started
Il the great Chicago fire in 1871,
then you can also believe that a
little negro boxer started the San
Francisco earthquake in 1906 "Dea-
con- Jones was his name and when
he was in his cups, he was quarrel
some and scrappy.
On the morning of April 18, 1906,
he staggered into THE Tip" IA
nous barroom owned by Tim Nc
Grath, and demanded a drink. The
bartender, seeing his condition, re-
fused to serve him.
Deacon" persisted in his de-
mand and upon being repeatedly re-
fused became very angry. Finally
he seized the bar rail and shouted,
White boy, rs gwine pull yo' bar
down if yo' don ge me dat drink"
Refused again, he began to shake
the bar.
Just at that moment came the
first shock of the historic earth
quake which not only destroyed
most of San Francisco but THE
Tip as we'll. Deacon was buried
under a pile of debris that tumbled
from the shelves.
A moment later he dug himself
out of the wreckage-sober and re-
pentant Looking up into the face
of the scared bartender he said:
please tell Mr.. McGrath I'm sor-
ry | caused such a disturbance"
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21

powered machinery Thanks
to human and metal machinery,
it is the acme of variety and eff
ciency."
Despite the swift moderniza-
ton of this time-honored Ameri-
can institution in recent years,
it is still possible in many parts
of the country to find the county
fair as it was described thirty
years ago by Eugene Wood in
his Back Home" sketches in
the old McClure's magazine and
illustrated by A. B. Frost (some
of whose sketches are repro.
duced in this article). There you
can join a group of good judges
of hossflesh' as they "hang over
the rail beside the racetrack and
yell: Go it! Go it! Go it!
ye devil, youp with your throat
all clenched that way and your
face as red as a turkey-gob-
bler's. ,"
Or you may find yourself
'kind of half listening to the
man selling Temperance bitters,
and denouncing the other bitters
because they have 'al-cue-hawr
in them and 'al-cue-haWl will
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21

Americana
By Elmo Scott Watson
Epitaph
DERHAPS the most famous cpl
taph in American history is this:

Epitaph
DERHAPS the most famous cpl
Il taph in American history is this:
The Body of
Benjamin Franklin, Printer
Uike the cover of an old book,
It's contents torn out,
And stript of it's lettering and gild-
ing.)
Lies food for worms;
Yet the work itself shall not be lost,
For it will (as he believed) appear
once more,
In a new and more beautiful edition,
Corrected and Amended by
The Author.
Franklin at the age of twenty
three wrote that for his own grave
stone. But the idea wasn't original
with him. He borrowed it from
one of two sources.
In 1851 Rev. Joseph Capen sug-
gested as an appropriate epitaph
for John Foster, who had set up the
first printing press in Massachu-
sets, one which likened the print
er's body to IAN old almanac, for
the present only's out of date" etc.
But the one which Franklin more
likely copied was written by Ben
jamin Woodbridge, a member of the
first graduating class of Harvard
college. 1t was for some unknown
friend in which he was compared
to "a living, breathing Bible" and
declared that:
When 9i,1 in a new edition, he comes
Without errata may we think he'll
be,
In leaves and covers of eternity!
AS matter of fact neither Ca
pens nor Woodbridge's idea was
original. Both probably borrowed
from a still earlier epitaph which
was engraved on the tomb of Jacob
Tonsen, a London bookseller, and
which contained references to 1.-The
original text" in his life and "a new
edition" in the future.
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21

when New York was New Am
sterdam, but they were modelled
on the European plan. In 1641
Governor Kieft established two
fairs in New Amsterdam, one on
October Is "for cattle general
ly," and the other on November
for hogs. In 1648 there was
also held in the Dutch colony,
late in August and at the be-
ginning of September, Dutch
''kermess" which was strictly
commercial, where the burghers
met to exchange commodities.
The custom was continued even
under English rule and as late
as 1916 had the sanction of Gov.
Edmund Andres.
But the county fair of today
is not lineal descendant of the
Dutch "kermess," although it
may resemble it in some of it's
features. 1t grew out of the
interest in agriculture which be-
gan to manifest itself early in
the history of the new nation.
The leaders of that time, such
men as Washington and Jeffer-
son, were farmers and farming
was the most important business
in the country. Between 1875
and 1892 agricultural societies
sprang into being in Pennsyl-
vania, Maine, New York, Mas
sachusetts and South Carolina
as evidence of the organized in
terest in agriculture. These So
cieties began offering prizes for
superior farm products but they
held no fairs or exhibitions and
really did but little to stimulate
better farm production.
The principal interest seems
to have been in live stock and
in 1904 and 1905 three live stock
exhibitions were held in Wash
ington. At the second one men,
bers of congress began to take
an interest and subscribed half
of the $100 fund which was
raised and distributed as prizes
for "the best lamb, sheep, steer,
mich COW, jack, oxen and
horses actually sold" In 1909
the Columbian Agricultural So
ciety was organized in Washing
ton and held an exhibition in the
city of Georgetown nearby. But
this was not the sort of thing
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21

oneD, "there are two things you
simply have to do or you aren't
right sure you've been" So
says Eugene Wood, who con-
tinues: lone is to drink glass
of sweet cider just from the
press (Which, may say in pass
ing, is an over-rated luxury.
Cider has to be just the least
bit 'frisky' to be good. 1 don't
mean hard, but 'frisky'. You
know and the other is to buy
a whip, if it is only the little,
toy fifteen-cent kind. On the
next soap box to the old fellow
that comes every year to sell
pictorial Bibles and red, plush
covered albums, the old fellow
in the green slippers that talks
as if he were just ready to drop
off to sleep-on the next soap
box to him is the man that sells
the whips. You can buy one for
a dollar, two for a dollar, or
four for a dollar, but not one
for fifty cents, or one for a
quarter. Don't ask me why, for
l don't know. | am just stating
the facts. 1t can't be done for
I've seen it tried and if you keep
up the attempt too long, the
Whipman will lose all patience
with your unreasonableness, and
tell you to go long about your
business if you've got any, and
not bother the life and soul out
of him, because he won't sell
anything but dollars worth of
whips, and that's all there is
about it.!
So says the "Back Home"
writer, but in these modern days
of the automobile, with fewer
whips being used than in the
days when the horse was king,
maybe he'd be glad to sell you
a whip for a quarter! If you
find the whip-man there, ask
him and see if he would!
When you go to the county
fair this fall, you might give a
thought to Elkanah Watson who
was its "father" and whose per-
sistence in promoting his idea
more than a hundred years ago
resulted in this American insti-
tuition becoming SO firmly estab-
liShed that it survives, even
though it's form is somewhat
modified, to this modern day.
Incidentally, this institution,
which had a particular appeal
to rural America, was founded
by a city man. But he was a
man who, tired of city life, re-
tired to the country at the age
of fifty years to enjoy rural
felicity" and, failing to find it,
conceived the idea which re-
suited in the county fair as we
now know it.
The first fairs of any sort held
in this country were those
sponsored by Dutch governors
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21
TO CAN TOMATO
JUICE AT HOME
Loss of Rich Vitamin Con-
tent Is Very Small.
By EDITH M. BARBER


"COULD you tell me if it is pos
~ sible to preserve tomato juice
without cooking? I am on a vital
izing diet and wish to conserve all
the natural qualities. I intend bot
tling it in ordinary beer bottles
with air-tight metal caps"
1t is possible to prepare home
canned tomato juice with only a
small loss of the vitamins. Com
mercially canned juice, however,
when prepared by the best meth
DDS, which provide that the juice
is strained and processed In the
absence of air, will probably have
more of the vitamin C retained.
Exposure to air for any period of
time in connection with the action
of heat will destroy some of this
vitamin.
In order to retain in home cam
ming the largest possible amount,
handle the tomatoes in small lots
and work very fast. Select to-
matoes which are ripe and firm
and as fresh as possible, wash
thoroughly and remove cores and
all green and soft spots. Cut the
tomatoes in pieces, but do not pare
them, and simmer just long enough
to soften. Do not boil. Press the
pulp through a fine sieve, measure
it, add one teaspoonful of salt to
each quart, bring it quickly just
to the boiling point and pour i'm
mediately into hot jars, fill to over
flowing and seal at once. Good
rubbers and well fitting covers
must be used. I should not advise
the use of beer bottles unless you
have, as is unlikely, a Gaping
machine.
Tomato juice prepared in this
way will retain much of its vitamin
c. At the same time it will retain
its natural content of vitaminS A.
B and G..
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21

wy 10 ACPG LII
the oven. Food
will b r o w n
quicker, biscuits
and bread will
be lighter, a n d
C a k e S more
fluffy when the
baking is done
with the oven
covered on top.
In olden times
before there was
central heating
in houses, heat
lost in chimneys
and excess radi-
alton from stove
pipes was put to
excellent service.
Those who have
delved into old
heating methods
will recall the
quaint drums
that were used
i n conjunction
w j t h stoves.
Sometimes t h e
Lr,,,oo @ 1oOLoI
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21

make you drunk" And then as
you stroll along you find your
self in the hog barns where that
Glitter of sucking pigs seems
very interesting. Come, let's
have a look. And as
you lean on the top-rail of the
pen and look down at them, you
can picture in your mind, with
out much effort, ham, and side
meat, and bacon, and spare-ribs,
and smoked shoulder, and head
cheese, and liver-wurst, and
sausages, and glistening white
lard for crullers and piecrust-
Yes, I think pigs are right in
teresting."
After you've done such things
at this old-time county fair (if
you're lucky enough to find
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21
Guard Against Rust

The hinges and other metal parts
of window shutters should be in
spected occasionally. If the metal
is rusting and in need of paint,
don't delay giving it attention or
you're likely to have unsightly dark
streaks staining the walls beneath
the windows. Before repainting,
be sure that all rust is removed.
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21
Read 1t and Wonder

HEEMS TAYLOR is famous as
- the composer of the score for
the opera THE Kings Henchman"
and as one of the country's leading
authorities on music. But back in
1912 his name meant something
else-that of a writer of amusing
oddities in verse. For instance,
readers Of the Century magazine
must have rubbed their eyes when
they read over his signature this:
APE OWE 'EM
When fur stews can this i'll ear I'm
Toot rye tomb ache theme cen ink
leer,
Youth linked wood butt bee way
sting thyme
Use eh it's imp lean on scent shear.
Gnome altar, Anna lies align;
Nation mice lender verse says knot,
Fork rip tick poet reel Ike mine
How Aaron WELD demeans allot.
But when they read it again
slowly and aloud-they found it
was:
A POEM
When first you sean this silly rhyme
To try to make the meaning clear,
You think 'twould but be wasting
time
You say it's simply nonsense sheer.
No matter, analyze line;
Nay, shun my slender verses not
For cryptic poetry like mine,
Howe'er unwieldy, means lot.
g Western Newspaper Union.
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21
Only One Escaped

In the retreat from Kabul in
1912, $4,000 British soldiers were
killed. An additional 4,0G0, con-
sisting of women, children and
camp followers we're slain The
only persons who escaped were DR..
Brydon, a regimental surgeon, and
private soldier.
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21
KarakuI Sheep Attractive

Karakul sheep are beautiful an
imals with soft wool curled tightly
to their sides. The lamb hides are
so valuable that the imperial fami-
ly of Japan paid $4,000 for one gar
ment made from the furs, and
prices of $1,000 for the cheapest
to $4,000 and $4,000 for the more
expensive garments are common.
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21
Blueberry Cake

2cups sifted flour
1-2 teaspoon salt
2teaspoons baking powder
1-3 cup butter
1egg
cup of milk
heaping cup berries
Mix flour, salt, baking powder
and sift three times. Wash, pick
over and dry berries and sprinkle
with flour. Cream butter, add
sugar and beat, add egg yolk and
milk, stir into flour and beat thor
oughly, fold in egg white and ber-
ries. Bake in shallow pans about
half an hour in a moderate oven
375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fruit Sherbet
IL cup orange juice
ID cup lemon juice
l cup crushed bananas
l cup powdered sugar
cups milk
Mix in order given and stir until
sugar is dissolved. Turn into auto
matte refrigerator freezing tray
and freeze three to four hours.
Red Raspberry jam
4 cups g pounds) prepared fruit
61-2 cups q 34 pounds) sugar
1-2 bottle fruit pectin
To prepare fruit, crush or grind
about two quarts fully ripe berries
Measure sugar and prepared fruit
into large kettle, mix well and
bring to a full rolling boil over
hottest fire. Stir constantly before
and while boiling. Boil hard one
minute. Remove from fire and stir
in bottled fruit pectin. Then stir
and skim by turns for just five
minutes to cool slightly, to prevent
floating fruit. Pour quickly in
clean, hot jars and seal.
Stuffed Eggplant
medium-sized eggplant
2 tablespoons butter, melted
l teaspoon salt
IL teaspoon pepper
egg
1-2 cups bnttered bread crumbs
Grated cheese
Wash eggplant well. Cut in half,
lengthwise. Remove pulp, being
careful to keep shell unbroken. Mix
pulp, add butter, seasoning, egg
and buttered crumbs. Refill shell,
cover with grated cheese. Place
in pan with small amount of water.
Let cook in moderate oven (375
degrees FahrenheiD for twenty-five
rnn ir,11tnc
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21
The Household
By LYDIA LIE BARON WALKER

D AKING on the oil stove, espe-
- cially one with portable oven,
can be greatly facilitated by cover
ing the top with a sheet or two of
asbestos. This does not have to be
fastened down. 1t can be merely
laid on top of the oven. 1t is
surprising the magic that this SIM
pie contrivance works. The heat
which is radiated from the oven
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21
War Paint First

Historically, paint has two func-
tions-one protection and the other
appearance. Which was the first
thought in its development is un-
known, but the famed use of war
paint seems to point to the prior
claim of appearance.
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21
Flat Paint

Flat paint is ordinarily wall
paint, but it may be used for a
printing or first coat on furniture.
1t has no gloss and should never
be left as the finishing surface on
any piece Of furniture.
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21
Striking Floor Finish

An exceptionally beautiful floor
for a sun-room or kitchen can be
obtained by painting the floor a
glossy black and then giving it
white spatter finish.
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21
Improves Awnings

The appearance of awnings that
are faded or soiled can be much
improved with exterior house paint
that has been thinned considerably
with turpentine.
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21

EMH celebrating the Fourth
RSWE of July or observing
IN Thanksgiving day.
@@n~m9 No, we don't mean
going to the circus or
attending a Sunday school pic
mic or getting ready for the
first day of school, or even TAX
ing part in the whoop-and-hur-
rah of the Presidential cam
paign which comes to its climax
on November 3.
We mean going to the county
fair!
For the last week in August
and the first two or three weeks
in September is county fair time
and somewhere in county seat
town or some other trading
center of rural America this
great American festival is in full
swing.
There are not so many of
them as there once were. Back
in 1927 it was estimated that
nearly 5000 district, state and
county fairs were held on the
continent of North America.
That probably represented tn e
peak in numbers. Then along
came the depression and the
county fair, along with other
American institutions, felt the
pinch of hard times. Public
spirited business men could no
longer continue to "go in the
red' to support them. So in
hundreds of communities school
children Ito whom county fair
time" was one of the high spots
of the year) looked in the home
town newspaper for the an
nouncement of the dates of the
nearest county fair and they
looked in vain. What they found
instead was an announcement
that "the annual county fair at
Jonesville will not be held this
year" and that temporary sus-
pension became permanent
one.
Along with the reduction in
the number of these annual
events has come a change in
their character. Like so many
other American institutions it
has "gone modern" in more
ways than one. Gasoline COM
bustion engines have so radically
changed the picture of the county
fair that old-timers have diff
Guilty in reconciling themselves
to the great agricultural shows
of the motor age," says a recent
observer. Instead of a fair
ground at every hamlet, our
county fairs have become CEN
tralized, thanks in large part to
motor cars. Hitching rings and
posts have disappeared from the
neighborhood. In place of long
lines of box wagons and car
riages are serried ranks of mo-
tor cars.
1.-THE radius of attraction or
drawing territory is no longer
limited to ten or fifteen-mile
drives A hundred miles in all
directions is now covered by
county fairs advertising Pa
irons come by automobile or air.
plane in thousands and stay for
the night show before they start
home again. The modern fair is
'Jnade' by electricity and gas
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21
Old-Fashioned Radiator


This heat was supplied by a real
stove of which this was the stove
drum or radiator for the excess
heat, captured and distributed to
warm a room by the stove or on
the floor above. While all this may
seem quaint indeed these stove
drums were the forerunners of
modern radiators.
1t will be seen by the foregoing
description, that by capturing and
confning the heat within a specific
container much greater heat will
remain in the container. This is
just the effect of the asbestos COW
ering on the top of the oven. The
heat is not radiated but kept in
the stove, and so, of course, food
will cook better and much faster
in the protected oven.
To further promote quick heat
ing of the oil stove oven, remove
the plate, usually of open conStruc-
ton, that is over the burner. Let
the oven rest on the top of the
stove without being raised in the
slightest If it is raised, heat from
the burner will escape. Incidental
ly the plate may catch in the open
ing in the bottom of the oven, and
damage to the oven result.
Novelty Spreads
Light weight and dainty spreads
that are ornamental have come to
be known under the name of blan-
ket covers. These are more than
white counterpanes, which still re-
tain the name of spreads, as do
also very handsome and ornate
bed coverings. Blanket covers
were at first just what the names
say, a protection or cover for blan-
kets. These were used when the
decorative spreads were removed
for the night. The blankets would
be exposed, then. so the fashion
sprang up for covering them with
something more attractive than a
sheet.
One of the very latest styles in
blanket covers is the dotted muslin
cover The material is in one color
with dots in contrasting hue.
This secondary color is further ac-
cented in flounces while the foun-
dation color appears again in bind
ing on the ruff1es. Nothing could
be daintier for summertime use.
The sheerness of the textile is
made more apparent by the use
of the darker or brighter color for
the dots. When the foundation
is in color the white dots and
flounces tighten the color scheme.
Smart Use of CoIors
The combining of colors in the
unique way adds smartness and
novelty to the covers. 1t is i'm
portant to remember that ruffles
are in color of dots and bindings
in color of foundation.
Novelty ensembles consist of
blanket covers with bureau and
dresser covers to match. The sets
may also include bedside table COW
ers. Such a set to conform with
the color scheme of the room gives
a charm to the place that pleaSeS
the eye and the artistic senses.
The diaphanous quality suits the
summer season. These sets can be
made with small outlay even when
the materials are of a good grade.
Flounces can be gathered and
bound on a sewing machine.
G Bell Syndicate.-WNU Service.
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21

exactly like stoves, but on exami-
nation it was discovered that there
was no door! Yet the stove might
be hot.
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21
Lime Squash

lines
Crushed ice
Soda water
Sugar to taste.
Squeeze the lines and pour juice
into tumbler. Add some crushed
ice, soda water and sugar to taste.
g Bell Syndicate.-WNU Service.
The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-21
BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON

I. WON'T be long now
until some of us will
be enjoying one of
t h o S e annual events
w hic h are as dis
tinctively American as
playing baseball or
celebrating the Fourth
of July or observing
Thanksgiving day.
No, we don't mean