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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1975-09-18, Page 171 Jf t • e W y,;1pmasi,s you ''14►R ►wel oaanerp Wiagham Advance, Times end.ht t Forest Couf dente s're*4 bit 3340eople * the i"h earti*ud of Midwestern (Baassed QC 3.5 readers ,_'each of 9,150. homes.) Fifty-five yr: R ublished every °Weitkin The Listowel Banner, inn er, The Wingham Advance -Times and The :Mount Forest Confederate by Wenger Oros. Limited. of "hard wo i fun `.- C MAI�I�,oa e'•"'Mber The Belgrave, BIfh and Brussels SchooI Fair is unique "We decided to attend the School Fair at Belgrave. As nine schools were competing, we ex- pected something extra and we were not disappointed. When we arrived, buggies, democrats and cars filled to their utmost cepa-- city were pouring in from every direction; soon the village was .crowded and still they came .. . For a while It looked like a II reunion as everyone was shaking hands with everybody . ' a With this descriptive narrative, a correspondent known only as 'Once a School Girl" began her review of the very first Belgrave School Fair held October 5, 1920. She didn't know then that the first fair was to spawn so many others throughout the years, reaching its 55th anniversary this year. But some sense of the his- toric occasion of that first fair obviously made itself felt, as the enthusiastic correspondent con- cluded, her lengthy accolade: "Soon the people were bidding each other goodbye, promising faithfully to visit each other soon. v The crowd began to dwindle and before long the village looked de- serted. But all felt they had spent )he most enjoyable afternoon and that the first School Fair at Bel - grave was a grand success and would stand out as a red letter day to be reviewed in years to come with a great deal of pleasure." In this Miss "Once a School Girl was not mistaken. For not only did the pleasure of that first fair brighten many memories, it gave more than sufficient reason to continue the fair for almost every year after to this day. Only once was the fair cancelled: in 1937, when a polio epidemic caused all school fairs still in existence to be cancelled. THROUGH THE YEARS An account of the first fair in the October 14 issue of the "Wingham Advance" gave full details of its progress. The exhi- bits were housed in Foresters' Hall; the poultry in the Presby- terian sheds; and the cattle in the Methodist sheds. The reporter for the Advance announced firmly in his lead statement: "The East Wawanosh and Morris Townships School Fair was held in Belgrave, October 5, and. was a pronounced success in every respect." A participant in that first fair also remembers the fair as a "pronounced success" but with slightly different memories. Harold Vincent, later to be- come one of the presidents of the event, was just starting school in that year, and for him, the fair was a spectacular affair. ' "It wasn't as large as it is now," he remembers, but for .a schoolboy it was large enough. "I'm not sure exactly what I entered that year, but I think I remember my dad helping me put together boxes and screens, for rabbits, I think." Aside from the standard exhi- bits of grain, vegetables, flowers, livestock and poultry, which con- tinue until now, some of the dis- plays were so typical of the 1920 GIRLS' SLIPPER KICK — Kim Craig, 12, entered the contest with about twenty other young girls. Kim is a student at Blyth Public School. era they deserve special menti ## Included among the spf*I exhibits were: a hammer handl; a milking stool, a patch on a:gira bag, weeds, five pound! Rept butter (homemade) and a patch on cotton (girls only) . The sports events were also re.= markable, if only `for one e0017 petition that is no longer include in the program : best developed boy and girl. How the judges- must have enjoyed that event!: In 1921, the, organizers added* picnic and a concert night to the list of events. The concert, heldat the Foresters' Hall, consisted,.of: recitations, spelling matchef public speaking contests, singing. and mouth organ competitions4.. Until 1934, ° the concerts were' always held on the night of the fair day. After that, they Were scheduled at different times until`:' they were discontinued in 1:0 So it continued ; through the, years, something added ant something dropped in every pro- gram. There was no fair in 1937 due to' the polio epidemic, but the 1938 fair was set apart by another event called "SLrathcona Exer- cises". One example of these exercises gave these instruc- tions: .J "Exercise 5: Trunk bending downward' to grasp one ankle. Class Attention, with a jump, feet astride place. Grasp the left ankle, 'down, up. Right ankle, down up." The 1930's also saw such exhi- bits as: three button holes, wash- . r cloths, a cardboard !Model 01 a , matchbox, a window stick and a bootjack. WITHDREW SUPPORT The government was an avid - supporter of the Huron County School Fairs in the 1920's and 1930's, and the Belgrave Fair was one of many in the province that received a boost from both the Ontario Department of Agricul- ture and the Department of Edu- cation. In 1940, however, the govern- ment withdrew its support. Only six Huron County schools decided to carry on, )among them Bel - grave. The -drganizers expanded the prograiin that year to include an official sports program; com- piled their own prize list; pur- chased their own seeds; and started inviting the local mem- bers of Parliament as guests. The exhibits that year included a plain cotton broadcloth slip and a knitting bag, and the evening entertainment received praise from one of the judges : "Mr. Eckmeir ... said there was im- •b provement from the singing of a year ago and this proved what training could accomplish." In 1942, a "greasy pig contest" was added to the list of events, followed in 1945 by a "freak conveyance" competition. The organizers celebrated the 25th anniversary of the fair that year and instituted the first music fes- tival under,, its auspices. Since these were the war years, the fair of 1945 was the first to skip a well- known delicacy. The minutes of the board meeting that year dic- tated: ."As the fair would be on meatlessTuesday, it was decided not to have hot dogs." There were 1,275 entries in the fair for the anniversary celebration. OVER -2,000 ENTRIES In 1947 there was a record at- tendance of 21 schools at the fair. Total entries for the fair, the con- cert and the music festival. reached over the 2,000 mark. The exhibits included two button holes (obviously due to the short- ages of post-war years) and a wooden sock stretcher, while the sports event incorporated a calf race and a tug -o -war. The completion of the Belgrave Arena in 1949 finally brought the fair under one roof. No more would livestock be paraded on the main street, and no longer would public speaking contestants vie for prizes on - the church steps. That year, the organizers decided to: sell advertising space in their -•,prograiu'list to help offset -some Of the costs Orgariiiers added a ball game after the fair and an exhibition of antiques to the list of special features. The 1960's brought several changes, some for the worse. The decade started out auspiciously, with 18 schools attending the 1960 fair. It was officially opened by James Bowman, president of the Huron Junior Farmers' Associa- tion, who praised the fair, say • - ing: "A fair like this must be the envy of fairs all over the province . .. The people who come here. don't have to be lured by special attractions." That year, however, the organ- izers discontinued the prizes for the parade. There was no school concert in 1966, and the concerts were completely discontinued in 1968. In 1967, the new central school system was introduced in the province and the name of the fair was officially changed to the Belgrave, Blyth and Brussels Annual School Fair. The music festivals were discontinued in 1969. TO THE PRESENT The fair celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1970 to the blare of trumpets and the cheers and ap- plause of delighted students. It was a gala occasion, held on a Saturday for once, and itfeatured a grand parade, floats" and a fair princess contest. Although the music festivals had ended the previous year, a variety concert provided substitute entertain- ment. And to crown the event, some of the teachers and students who had participated in the first fair of 1920 were present to aug- ment the sense of historical achievement. The work to organize the 55th Annual Fair started back in January. Most of the school projects are conceived in the three schools during the school year, so the teachers and stridents need advance notice of the exhibits and themes to be completed. All school work is entered in the fair by the end of June. The students are not in- formed, however, of the winning exhibits until the very day of the • fair. George Johnston, president of the fair for six years, ex- plained, "The fair is their day .. . and it's always great to see the kids when you open the doors rushing in to see what prizes they won." About 6400 children participated in this year's events. Aside from the regular exhibits of school work and agricultural products, each school entered a group exhibit for display. The winning individual exhibits received prizes from the fair organizers. Mrs. John Gnay, secretary of the fair for four years, admitted that the prize money was not much but added, "The kids sure look forward to it, even if it's only 20 cents." The fair is financedby the schools, the advertising, a silver collection and various donations. The Huron County School Board donates an $800 grant for the fail'. An incredible amount of work goes into making the fairs a suc- cess, and the organizers like to think that no fair has ever failed.' The fair is almost one of the last, if hot the very last, of its kind in Ontario. So what keeps it going? For one thing, the enthusiasm of the organizers. "It has a,. good place in the community," Vireo, tor Mrs. Stan Hopper explained. got an educational v Harold Vincent says. < An+ Couites, 1975 president ,,rtdi "It's a worthwhile:projt, so you have to like It." A lot of the credit goes to the parents, for theenthitsiasm, and support they generate. And the teachers, for the work they put into the school exhibits and the schoolwork during 'the year, But the greatest credit goes 'to children, themselves, whose thusiasin, zeal and eager harp work should keep pg fair go for at least another 50 yearsi' 1 DOG SHOW CONTESTANTS waited behind the screen of the ball diamond at the fair grounds for their chance at fame. It was all pretty traumatic for this little guy. "THAT'S SUNSHINE" said Dianne Campbell of RR 4, Wingham as she polishd her pet's hooves in preparation for'tPie Senior Beef competition. FULL HOUSE -- There were lust as many people inside the arena as there were on the grounds. Student art, scrap books, produce baking and flowers were shown Inside the arena.• . SENIOR CALF COMPETITION — Eric Cook, on the left, prepared his Brown Swiss calf Grace to compete agilinst Chris Meier's Holstein Mawd. Both boys are from Belgrave.