With cooler temperatures and colorful leaves, fall officially arrived on Sept. 22. For farmers, fall is one of the most important times of the year — harvest time. Food was gathered, preserved, and stored to last through the winter.
Harvests were a time for rural communities to come together and help one another with the work to be done. Afterwards, since community members were already gathered in one place, food, dance, music, and friendly competitions were had. Today, for many people, fall means all things pumpkin, festivals, and a visit to the local county fair. The fairs that we know today differ from those of yesteryear, but one thing remains the same: agriculture.
Fairs began in the United States in the early 1800s and were usually held in August, September, or October. They acted as a social and business event for people to gather together and showcase farmers’ best produce and livestock in competition. People sold products for home and farm, but fresh, hot food was a main draw. Entertainment consisted of music, races, rides, and sideshows. However, education was the prime goal of fairs which included agricultural history as well as introductions to new technology for the public and farmers alike.
Community fair exhibits often fed into the county fair and were a joint effort between community and county officials. The White Plains Community Fair of 1919 is one such example. Locals were encouraged to enter exhibits into the White Plains Community Fair and then take it to the county fair, all in order to have the best fair year for Surry County.
The Virginia-Carolina Fairgrounds, also called the Mount Airy Fairgrounds, held an annual county fair since the early 1900s. What we know as Veterans Memorial Park today was built on the Mount Airy Fairgrounds. Since 1947, the Surry County Agricultural Fair has been held there and continues to do so.
In 1941, attendance to the Mount Airy Fair was high and people came from Surry and its adjoining counties in North Carolina and Virginia. Tensions were high as the second World War raged in Europe and the United States had yet to join the fight outright until December of that year. The county fair served as a welcome momentary distraction and source of merriment.
War disrupts all aspects of life. Many fairs were cancelled due to lack of manpower and allocating all resources to supporting the war effort. However, when possible, fairs were held to keep a sense of normalcy and boost morale. Adding to the fun was a most unusual occurrence: The year boasted its own “Charlotte’s Web” (the book wouldn’t be published until 1952) and the newspaper reports below:
Amazing Spider Writes In His Web
An educated spider who writes in his web as he weaves it has been amazing the townspeople here for the past few days by producing legible writing. The spider was discovered at the home of Roy L. Campbell on Rockford Street on Tuesday morning and at that time his web clearly contained the words “Mt. Airy, NC” and “Winston-Salem” as well as a man’s name beginning “Mr.” with the rest undecipherable. The web was viewed by many interested persons Tuesday but the intelligent spider was not satisfied and tore it down during the night to replace it today. Construction is still going on at last reports.
In 1942, the Mount Airy American Legion Fair was dedicated to a “Victory” theme and was set to “offer fun-lovers of Mount Airy and the surrounding territory six big days and nights of fun and surcease from the worries of a war-torn world.” Due to the “Victory” theme, emphasis was put on the production of victory gardens and field crops. Other incentives included free admission to soldiers, sailors, and marines as well as a $50 war bond to be given to a school child.
The North Carolina State Fair began in 1853 and is in its 168th year. However, the fair has been cancelled multiple times: from 1861 to 1868 due to the Civil War and Reconstruction, in 1918 due to World War 1 and influenza, and from 1942 to 1945 due to World War II. The year 1953 marked the 100 year anniversary, but due to the cancellations, the Fair was only on its 86th edition that year. The State Fair began last week in Raleigh, and runs Oct. 14 through Oct. 24.
Make sure to support your local county fairs and keep the rich traditions and innovation of agriculture alive.
Justyn Kissam is the manager of learning at Kaleideum.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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