Evening star., 1953-09-22
Fair Ref|ectinq
Prosperity at
.Hagerstown
Crowds See Exhibits
OF Prize Cattle and
Funcy Poultry
By George Kennedy
Stee Stoff correspondent


HAGERSTOWN. Md, Sept.
22.-Washington County farm.
ers have had a good year ana
they are exhibiting their pros-
perity at the Great Hagerstown
Fair which will be open through
Saturday.
The stalls and pens are
crowded with dairy and beef
cattle, sheep and swine, and
crowds of country people are
passing through the turnStiles
today to see the exhibits. This
is real farmers country, where
men own and work their own
farms-there are practically no
managers" for wealthy farm
owners from the cities.
1--WE have diversified farming
here" says Mark Miller, the
county agent. Our farmers
grow everything grown in Mary
land except tobacco. But it's
primarily a dairy country, with
the milk going. to Washington.
Baltimore and Philadelphia and
some to the candy factory at
Hershey, Pa. Despite droughtS
the dairy farmers have had q
succession of prosperous years"
That can be seen in the splen-
did examples of the Holstein.
Ayrshire and Jersey breeds In
the stalls.
Poultry Featured.
But the big feature of the
HagerStown Fair is the poultry
show. The managers proudly
say that it used to be second
only to the Madison Square Gar
den poultry show and they are
now trying to bring it up to q
No. position. There are Piym-
outh Rocks with lacy feathers,
fancy Wyandottes. Orpingtons.
Minorcas and pheasants and
turkeys. 1t also has become
one of the big pigeon shows in
the country, giving the impress
sion that every Washington
County farmer has a dovecot.
The big poultry show was de-
veloped by the late John L. Cost,
local fancier. Ahere is a mon-
ument to him on the fair grounds,
erected by poultry men of the
United States and Canada with
these words carved in the stone:
"His good deeds are known
throughout the world"
Continuation of the fair has
been made possible by the big
money the fair grounds earn
during the race meet in August.
Merle H. (Fuzzy) Beard, who
runs the race meets, is now run.
ming the fair and he is getting
it off to a good start. Every
thing is in place except farm
machinery. AS has happened
at other fairs, the dealers pulled
out in a huff because they were
dissatisfied with the area as
signed to them.
In Show Business.
This fair is really in show
business. The big crowds used
to come in the daytime to see
the agriculture exhibits. Now
the large attendance is at night
to see shows put on in front Of
the grandstand by Impresario
Johnny Lonergan-Tom Packs
elephants. a ballet of spritely
sylphs and Leo Acquatic's DEATH
defying dive from a dizzy
height into a "cupful" of water.
Right behind the grandstand
is row Of luxury house trailers.
They are not being sold to WASH
ington County farmers for Flori-
da vacations but to Fairchild
Aircraft workers. The county's
agricultural prosperity is greatly
augmented by the 10000 pay en-
velopeS handed out at the air.
plane factory each week. The
cancellation Of Henry j. Kaiser's
contract for making the Flying
Boxcar" has increased the back
log Of the factory here. When
the fair is over, the space under
the grandstand will be used, as Is
every rentable space in the city.
to store machine tools moved
here from Willow Run, Mich.