The Shawnee Daily News-Herald (Shawnee, Okla.), Vol. 21, No. 104, Ed. 2 Sunday, September 19, 1915 Page: 1 of 8
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COUNTY FAIR SUPPLEMENT OF
THE SHAWNEE DAILY NEWS-HERALD
SHAWNEE, OKLAHOMA, SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 19, 1915.
SECOND SECTION—EIGHT PAGES
NUMBER 104
jfjfg
Pottawatomie County Free Fair Opens Monday at Benson Park
Pottawatomie County
Fairs, Past and Present
Frojp the beginning of the his-
tory of Oklahoma, agriculture has
been its chief industry and depen-
dence for the wealth of its citizens
and it will no doubt continue to be
the source of all permanent pros-
perity for its people. From the very
first wre find that the good people
who engaged >n the cultivation of
the virgin soil of this great state
did all they could for the advance-
ment of the work and made strenu-
ous efforts to upbuild their calling
and make it as scientific as pos-
sible, and among these first efforts
the county fair was recognized as
one of the (best ways to encourage
the tiller of the soil, by simply
showing what his neighbors could
do, and by putting their efforts in
competition with each other. This
idea ha«j grown and developed with
the passing of the years until now'
we have laws upon our statute
books that enable the counties to
appropriate certain amounts for the
maintenance of fairs.
The first fairs held were usually
under the supervision of some pri-
vate company or corporation, and
people paid admission fees for the
sake of visiting and looking upon
the products of their county.
Possibly the first fair in Pottawa-
tomie county was at the old fa**
grounds out in the Kickapoo addi- j
tion of Shawnee several years ago
•but the growth of the city soon
swallowed up the grounds and it
was platted and sold off in building
lots. Another fair was held down
near the river, where a race track
was built, but this soon came into
disuse, and the Chamber of Com-
merce of Shawnee, feeling that the
custom should be encouraged, took
upon themselves the task of carry-
ing on the fair, and held several in
the Convention Hall of the c>ty
meeting the expenses of the fair by
popular silbscripthyi and throwing
the doors open wide for all to come.
About two years ago the progres-
sive citizens of Tecumseh organized
another company and built a track
furnished the grounds and held a
county fair.
These fairs have all been of much
benefit to the county at large and
the interest thus manifested by the
citizens of these different communi-
ties and counties over the state, led
the last legislature to believe that
a good couny fair in each county
would do much for the •upbuilding
of those communities, and accord-
ingly it enacted a law that enables
the expenses of these fairs ft) be
shifted frcm a few and allows them
to be borne by the people at large
thus givin? each individual of the
county a personal interest in the
fair and combining the efforts of
all communities into one grand ef-
fort for a greater and better fair.
The law as passed requires two
men to be elected or appointed from
each township in the county as
members of the county free fair
association, tli; s making each town-
ship responsible for the success of
the fa*r and insuring a united ef-
fort from all parts of the county.
The law provides that the first
election should be called under the
supervision of the county farm
demonstrator and this was done by
Mr. R. C. Moore, the present
(aunty agent with the result that
every township in the county now
has two representatives on the fair
association board, who have charge
of the affairs in that township and
are responsible for such township
fairs as may "be held.
At the first meeting of the Potta-
watomie county free fair associa-
tion they elected Mr. J. D. Seay
a prominent farmer of near Tecum-
seh. as president of the association
and much is due Mr^ Seay for his
untiring efforts to make this first
fair under the new law a successful
fair in every respect.
For flie secretary, Mr. Geo. A.
McDonald of Shawnee was chosen
and his experience in holding the
fairs in "Shawnee under the Auspices
of tlfe Chamber of Commerce for
the past three years has been val-
uable in assisting to institute this
fair. For the executive board. Mr.
K. H. Warren, of Shawnee, Mr. J.
A. Wyatt of Wanette, Mr. G. W.
Fyke of Maud. Mr. Frank Douglas
of Tecumseh and Mr. Len Hampton
of Dale were chosen, all men of in-
tegrity and worth, being leaders >n
their various lines of business and j
all vitally interested in the better-j
rnent of the agricultural interests of •
the county. |
The question of a location for the'
fair was a subject of much discus- j
sion and all phases of the question
were discussed and every point
carefully weighed, with the result
that Benson Park, midway between j
Shawnee and Tecumseh, was de-1
cided upon as the only logical place
for the fair, and the matter was
taken up with the management of.
the nark, who after due considera-'
tion placed this beautiful park with j
its fine shade, trees, grassy lawns,'
water and light and all buildings at
the disposal of the fair association,
absolutely free of charge, and there
the fair will t>e held for 1915 and
19>1'6 wtfth all possibilities of its
being a permanent location. |
The management also secured the
right to use a large shady tract of
ground just west of the south en-
trance to the park for a Ramping
ground* for the use of the people
attending the fair. The exhibits
will be cared for as follows: All
farm products will be housed |n
the ibuilding Known as the skating
rink, where will also be the mer-
chant booths and the boys' club
work exhibits. The swimming pool
in the building just north of the
skating rink will be floored over
and there will be the exhibits from
the school district, the fancy work
and the domestic arts. The poultry
department will be in the smaller
buildings on the south side and the
livestock on the south side of the
park, where three large tent stables
have been erected with stalls, and
all exhibitors will be assured of
the proper housing of their exhibits.
The management are doing all In
their power to make it a safe and
sane fair with Safety First as their
watchword and no gambling devices
will be tolerated, nor will anything
be tolerated that will interefere.
with the comfort of the patrons of
the fair.
That people from all parts of the
county may have edeq.ate means
of transportation the management
requested the C. R. 1. & P. and
the A. T. & S. F. to arrange their
train service in such manner as
would best s uit the people and they
have kindly made .i,ie following
scheduler
The Rock Island local south to
Asher will 'be held at Shawnee until
six o' clock p. m. for south bound
passengers; the passenger No. 42
leaving .Shawnee at 10:50 p. rn. will
stop at Karlsboro avid Seminole, and
the A. T. & S. F. will hold their j
south bound local at Shawnee until
six o'clock p. m. This schedule is
for Tuesday and Wednesday. Sept.
2 l«t and 22nd. The Interurban ser-
vice will be all that is necessary
to care for the crowds and refresh-
ment stands will toe on the grounds
where you can get everything from
a sandwich to a full meal.
Shawnee day will be Wednesday,
Sept. 22nd. which date the mayor
has designated as a holiday for the
city, and the public schools will be
dismissed all day and the pupils
given the chance to attend.
Ther,) wi,l be speaking Dy some
of our public mon and other attrac-
tions for the entertainment of the
people. The Shawnee band will
furnish the music every afternoon
and night, and everybody is invit-
ed to come and enjoy yourselves.
1*0TT A >V ATO M IK (' 0 1' N T Y A
SPLKMHI* AGKHTLTl'KAL
EMPIRE.
It was 24 years ago, lacking
three days, that the agricultural de-
velopment of Pottawatomie county
began. It was then that thousands
of men made the "run" for the
virgin farms. At that opening to
settlement some sought town lots,
but the grand prizes that lured
most were the fertile quarter sec-
tions that had for ages awaited the
coming of the plow.
Very naturally the early farming
operations in the county were rath-
er crude. At that time little was
known of scientific farming, a large
proportion of those securing the
homesteads were mere adventurers,
not expecting to till the soil; those
who were bona fide farmers in
search of a home, if they possessed
the knowledge of farming, very gen-
erally had not the means to go
about the business properly. The
24 years has seen many changes
and much development in the farm-
ing interests of the county.
Those early settlers had a choice
section in which to set up business.
Pottawatomie county, encompassing
as it does the geographical center
of the state, is "the Heart of Okla-
homa'' not merely geographically.
It deserves the title also by reason
of the rich soil to be found within
its boundaries, and its infinite va-
riety, affording a like variety of
products. Within the county's bord-
ers there are 480,000 acres of land.
Seldom this far west is a section
of country to be found so well suj
plied with good streams. It i;
traversed by three rivers and by i
number of tributary streams of de
pendable flow. One-fifth of the area
is bottom land.
Oraiiiatre Improvements
On Little river 26,000 acres o'
overflow land has been reclaimed
by means of a big drainage pro
ject, and like work is in progress
on Salt Creek' whi?h will reclaim
16,000 acres more. While the assess-
ments for these improvements will
be no little burden upon the own-
er* for some years, it has madt
valuable land out of what was prac-
tically worthless,—has added a vast
amount to the soil wealth of th<
county. There is considerable morr
of such lands In the county which
should he drained likewise. In time
this will oe done, and when i: is
all cleared up and put in cultivation
under modern farming m •"
Pottawatomie "nnnty a., . ,
will be far richer still.
The Bumper Crop.
Years ago this county became
famous for its cotton, potatoes, alf-
County Fair Officials
EXECUTIVE BOARD
JAMES 1). SEAY, President.
GEO. A. McDONALD, Sec'v.
KIB II. WARREN,
JAMES WYATT,
FRANK DOUGLAS,
L. A. HAMPTON'.
G. W. FYKE
RUSSELL C. MOORE, County Agent.
MRS. VERDIE E. MOORE, Woman Agent,.in
charge of the Home Demonstration Work.
Office i Jt' Secretary, Shawnee, Oklahoma.
COMMISSIONERS
A. N. Brown,
Joseph Bradburn,
C. M. Cade, Jr.,
Alva Christian,
J. B. Collins.
E. S. Douglas.
Elovd Epperson,
(J. W. Fvke,
J. M. Farley,
Edward Hendrix,
L. A. Hompton,
W. J. Ingram,
Elza Klinglesmith,
Thomas Lyons,
J. B. Melton.
F. H. McDivitt,
Geo. A. McDonald,
John Morrow,
S. J. Russell,
George Rapp,
James I). Seay,
S. C. Strickland,
Thomas Tefferteller,
J. L. Swarb,
W. R. Tolen,
Kib H. Warren,
M. H. Wagner,
J. A. Wyatt.
alfa and fruits, and for these it ii
still famous. The movement for
diversified farming, however, has
tended to diminish the prestige of
cotton raising in this section. Our
farmers are rapidly getting away
from the one-crop habit, for a hab-
it. and a bad habit, it largely is.
This season the rainfall has been
so copious that we have produced
record-breaking crops in nearly
everything, except cotton, which has
been injured to a great extent by
unfavorable weather. Besides, the
acreage for that plant was cut about
35 per cent in the county from that
of 1914. There have been other good
crop years in thie section, but never
before has there been raised so
much of so many different products.
All summer man has feasted on veg-
etables and fruits, the like of which
have never been seen, and the live
stock has reveled in the luxuriant
grasses. Furthermore, of the abund-
ant feed crop for both man and
beast aplenty has b^en or is being
put up for the future. Our bumper
corn crop will be something to tell
future generations about. The sea-
sons have been perfect for both the
early and the late planting.
Live Stock Industry.
While live stock is an important
feature of Pottawatomie's resources,
and while the slogan now is to "put
legs on your corn," rather than to
dump it upon an indifferent mar-
ket, there is not now in this county
the amount of live stock there should
be. Especially is this true of the
beer cattle supply. And, desiring
to buy cattle to make meat out of
his feedstuffs, the farmer ii now
fyeed with the fact of high prices
for feeders. So he has got to do
some figuring. At least he can af-
ford to invest in females for breed-
ing purposes. And this is the time
#lor Pottawatomie farmers, in re-
plenishing the herd*, * to Improve
the breeds* That very thing is go-
ing on hereabouts now to a con-
siderable extent.
Dairying.
No other thing demands decided
development In this section just now
as does the dairying industry. There
are several hundred dairy cows in
the county, but the marketing of the
product so* far has been entirely
too much at haphazard; and not
enough pains has been taken to
Wild up the breed of the cows.
There shold be speedily established
in Shawnee a large *in-to-date
creamery and cheese factory to
furnish a good market for the but-
ter fat. Than a good dairy cow,
properly handled, and her product
properly handled, nothing makes
money faster nor more of it. More
dairy cows will help consume that
abundant feed.
Farm Demonstration Work.
A powerful agency In the better-
ment of agricultural cond. :ions and
methods has been the progress of
farm demonstration work in this
county under joint auspices of the
btate and the U. S. Department of
Agriculture, operating through the
State Agricultural & Mtchanical
College. This great movement orig-
inated in the mind of S. A. Knapp,
some nine years ago, upon observ-
ing the plight of the Texas farmers
who were being harassed by the
ravages of the boll weevil. For a
time it was carried on as a philan-
tro&hlc enterprise, later taken over
by tile government. Finally in July,
1914. the Sm'ith-l>ever bill went into
effect, under the terms of which
the Department of Agriculture aids
anf w farmer
thi| •P'tVi£n,A!1 "Wi" College. In
the finished organization now exist-
ing there are four agricultural
districts in the state, each with a
agent amenable to the state agent,
and each county may have a farm
agent by paying half his salary,
the federal government paying the
other half. All the agencies in
this organi/.ayon work through the
State A. & M. Nearly two years
ago R. C. Moore was appointed as
agent for this county. His field
of labor is a wide one, in an ad-
visory capacity as wide as the
great f i3ld of agriculture itself.
During his term or office much
progress hat been mad.- in the
betterment of farm ooodttI me! He
feels that the work has but fairly
begun, considering the vast possi-
bilities in scientific farming, when
the principles and precepts and
methods are universally accepted
and followed. Yet perhaps In no
other county in the state has as
much progress been made in the
co-operative demonstration work.
In this county he has 127 adult
demonstrators co-operating w« h
him, whereas the average number
in the various counties is but 65.
These demonstrators follow in-
structions as to scientific methods,
keep careful record or results, find
make regular reports or sanie to
headquarters. Mr. Moore maintains
a mailing list or rrom 500 to 800. by
odds the largest or any county
agent in the state. He ia required
to make rrequent reports to the A.
& M. authorities and to the de-
partment or agriculture, and once
a year to the board of county com-
missioners. In his boys' club work
he has 109 boys co-operating vari-
ously in corn clubs, kaHr clubs,
peanut clubs, broom corn clubs,
and pig clubs.
I Just at this time Mr. Moore is
kept pretty busy suppressing hog
; cholera by vaccination. Also he is
busy assisting with the county fair
] and encouvaging the buying of 1m-
I proved breeds of livestock. Some
idea may be given of his acti-
I vities by printing his diary for
a recent week, which, however,
| gives no account of a deal of
office detail and conferences each
j day.
Week With the County Agent
j "Monday. Sept. 6.—'Went by car
25 miles. Vaccinated 70 head of
hogs for U. S. Indian Agency,
j Helped secretary or county ralr
association at fair grounds.
| "Tuesday—By car 40 miles. Vac-
cinated 8 hogs for Thos. Mathis,
four for Fulton. 19 for Grimes. 3
j for McWilliams. Visited W. V.
Britten's farm, also Ollie Spencer's,
Mr. Shaw's and Mr. Griffith's. Co-
, operated with county commission-
ers.
| "Wednesday. - By car 20 miles.
Helped fair orfiolals. Visited busi-
ness men ot Tecumseh. " Was be-
fore county commissioners on road
work. Visited T. H. Mathis' farm,
and had conference with Seminole
county agent, Mr. Laird.
I * Thursday.—(By car 3(0 miles,
j ESI Reno to Geary with S, B. Jack-
son. Visited A. B. Campbell's herd
j of cattle and hogs—poland china.
Interviewed L. P. Patterson at El
Reno.
"Saturday. -By train 40 miles.
By car 20 miles. Visited J. B.
Whlstller's herd; also" Lucka-
baugh's. All night in El Heno.
Visited L. R, Patterson's herd.
With R. C. Green, A. C. Neal and
O. A. Spencer, purchased 11 head
of thoroughbred cattle—four regis-
tered males—for Pott, county peo-
ple."
Oklahoma is situated a little .-juth
of the geographical center of the
I nlted States. It was admitted
Nov. 16. 1907. as the 46th state in
the union. It is larger than any
state east of the Mississippi river.
The total area is 70.740 square
miles. The population in 1907 was
1.414.177. at the present time about
1,700.500.
With the exception of the ex-
treme western part of the state
there is an abundance of rainfall.
It varies rrom 40 Inches in the
southeast corner to 25 inches near
the western side, and in the strip
to the northwest formerly known
as "No Man's Land," the rainrall
varias rrom 10 to 25 inches. As a
rule the rai\fall is well distributed
through the growing season. The
state has a good climate. The
winters are not very cold and there
are no periods of more than a rew
days at a time of extreme hot
weather.
Scenes at Beautiful Benson Park, Site of the Free County Fair.
hMiihitioii Hall
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The Lagoon.
Picnic (iroiimh
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The Shawnee Daily News-Herald (Shawnee, Okla.), Vol. 21, No. 104, Ed. 2 Sunday, September 19, 1915, newspaper, September 19, 1915; Shawnee, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc128898/m1/1/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.