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• FARMERS’ FAIR ADD FESTIVALWAS A VERY GREAT SUCCESSThousands of Visitors Were Delighted, Some Almost Bewildered at the Magnificence of the Displays—An Object Lesson for the Peopleof Western Maryland.No Finer Apple and Potato Country on Earth ThanAllegany and Garrett Counties, Md.—Other Resources Yet Uudeveloped—Prize Winnersand Other Fair Information.1rr5 5 5 5 553533333333333333333333333333330OoOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooThe Farmers’ Fourth Annual Fair and Festival, which was held in Stern’s Hall, this city, October 15th, 16th, 17th and 19th, by the Allegany and Garrett County Agricultural Society, was a great success in every particular, even though the weather was very unfavorable for an event of that kind on the 15th and 16th. Notwithstanding the rain and general disagreeableness of the weather on the first two days of the Fair, people thronged the large hall in great numbers on all four of the days on which the Fair was held.Although the big event was billed to last only three days, it proved to be such a great success, so far ahead of all expectations, that the officers of the Society decided, upon being urged by many in attendance at the Fair, to add one more day and bring the event to a close on Monday evening, the 19th inst., instead of Saturday evening, the 17th, as per arrangement first made.The large amount of exhibition space was conveniently arranged for proper display, and the decorations of the hall, consisting chiefly of autumn leaves and corn, were arranged in a most artistic manner, producing a very pleasing effect.Wonderful Exhibits in All Lines.The exhibits in all lines, including agricultural, horticultural, art and culinary displays, were all highly creditable to all concerned, but the fine exhibits of apples and potatoes, it is generally conceded, outranked all the others in magnitude, and also outclassed most of the other exhibits in points of excellence. Of course, the culinary products, as well as some of the grain and art exhibits, were the equal of anything on display in point of excellence of quality, and as The Spirit stated last week, the housewives of the two counties come in for as much credit as do the farmers and other men who figured in the exhibits.Uudeveloped Resources.While apple and potato culture have been developed to a considerable extent in Allegany and Garrett counties, yet those branches of agriculture and horticulture, as well as many others, are only in their infancy in this locality, where the soil and climate is particularly favorable to the best, or at least as good products in that line as can be produced anywhere else in the world. The exhibits of apples and potatoes at the Fair bear out this assertion, as does also the testimony of Dr. George Bloan, of North Yakima, Wash., a former Frostburger who was attendance at the Fair, and whomJO3d}S-inik:e.knows as much about apple and potato culture, intensive farming, etc., as any man we have met in a long while.Dr. Sloan has traveled far and wide, and takes great interest in the subjects named. He resides in one of the great apple belts of the United States, and he has visited many other localities noted for one thing and another, and he declares that few sections anywhere are more favorably located or better adapted to the culture of apples, potatoes, cherries, pears, plums, berries, etc., than Allegany and Garrett counties, Md.Neither is there a locality better adapted to sheep - raising, general grazing, dairying, cheese manufacturing, poultry-raising, etc., than the hills and dells of this picturesque and productive region.The same can be said of many otherbranches of the animal and agricul-•tural and horticultural industries, all of which could be followed with great profit here by intensive farming on 10 to 20-acre tracts.The Art Department.No one can describe the many beautiful things in the Art Department of the Fair. It would be too big a task, and this entire paper does not contain space enough to do a description of the kind justice. However, one feature of the art exhibit cannot be passed by without special mention. We refer to the historical, comical and sentimental quilt, or whateyer you might call it, that was begun in 1863 by Miss Maria Cruise, a highly esteemed resident of Borden. The quilt is made up of 49 squares, in which are artistically worked with silk thread and other material, illustrations. The titles of some of them are as follows: “Anguish,” “Hello, Central,” “The Original Arkansas Traveler,” “Pocahontas,” “Santa Claus,” “All Quiet Along The Potomac,” “Francis Scott Key,” “William Penn,” “My Old Cabin Home,” “Uncle Sam,” “In DixieLand,” “Liberty Bell,” “’Way Downro;ro;On The Suwanee River,” “Ben Franklin,” “A Life On The Ocean Wave,” “A Home On The Rolling Deep,” “I’ll Paddle My Own Canoe,” “The Old Oaken Bucket,” “When The Frost Is On The Pumpkin,” etc. On each square is worked the name of the subject. Francis Scott Key, author of “The Star SpangledBanner,” is shown standing upon the deck of a little white war vessel, with a little white anchor dang'ling from the stem, while “The Star Spangled Banner” proudly floats from a little white mast. In this way Miss Cruise has worked out her difficult subjects upon each of the 49 squares. The amount of patience and no little study that was required to complete this interesting piece of embroidery, occupying Miss Cruise for many 3*ears, can hardly be conceived. There is nothing in the whole range of the embroidering department that elicits more wonder as well as amusement than Miss Cruise’s historical, comical quilt, for which The H. B. Shaffer Company offered a special prize.Childhood, Youth and Old Age.The different stages of life’s journey from the cradle to the grave were well represented in the various exhibits, some of which are worthy of mention, as follows:A boy 10 years of age, John Hughes, who resides with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Hughes, of this town, received a red ribbon for displaying a set of portieres made by himself from wallpaper and beads. These portieres were quite novel and reflected the genius of an ambitious boy.William Byers, a fi2 -year-old Lona-coning boy, who last spring sold about $300 worth of cabbage and tomato plants, had fine exhibits at the show. His display of leaf lettuce, leek and parsle3r was a pretty feature of the vegetable table. Master Byers takes a keen interest in all the farmers’ fairs.The prize novelty of the show was raised and entered by a boy. It was a gourd 3^ feet long, and shaped like a baseball bat. This unique exhibit was entered by Ralph Pagenhart, of Westernport, (9 years old), a lad who is a rising farmer, and will be heard from at future shows.Charles Green, a 16-year-old Moscow lad, who makes a specialty of potato culture, won the first prize on Rural New York and Freeman potatoes, and his Freemans won first prize for best peck of potatoes on exhibition.Miss Catherine Thomas, only 6 years old, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Thomas, of Ormand street, this city, had on exhibition an outfit of doll clothes that were greatly admired by all who saw them. They would be a credit to a seamstress of mature years, and they easily took first prize. Such artistic work for a child of six was the marvel of all who inspected it.There were some remarkable exhibits in the art department, the work of women well advanced in years. Mrs. Bettie Price, 80 years of age, of Lona-coning, showed a beautiful colored centerpiece ; Mrs. Catherine Race, aged 85, a handsome rug ; Mrs. A. B. Turner, Mt. Savage, 81 years old, an exquisite colored centerpiece ; Mrs. Anna M. Hagamayer, aged 74, a beautiful quilt; Mrs. Mary A. Taylor, aged 73, a unique colored centerpiece; Mrs. A. J. Willis, also a venerable lady, contributed a beautiful colored centerpiece, and Mrs. Isabella Patterson, aged 73, three small centerpieces.A Fiue Good Roads Exhibit.One of the most interesting exhibits at the fair was the good roads exhibit placed there by W. L. Gladstone Hitchins. We fully agree with the following account of it which appeared in the Cumberland Times:“Good roads make good farmers, and when W. L. G. Hitchins added his fine collection of photographs of the good roads in this county and in Garrett county and fine literature on good roads general^ to the exhibits at the Farmers’ Festival, he performed a good service to the farmers, the count3r and the state.“Mr. Hitchins recently gained national prominence on account of the interest he took in trying to have the old National Pike improved between this city and the Pennsylvania line, when he was a road director. Mr. Hitchins first tried to convince people of the necessity of improving this stretch of road by taking them to the scene in automobiles. When he saw that people would not bother about even inspecting the bad road, he
Newspaper Details
The Frostburg Spirit
Frostburg, Maryland, US
Thu, Oct 22, 1914
Page 1
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Bob T.
PA, USA 02 Sep 2022
Other Publications Near Frostburg, Maryland
The Frostburg News
The Frostburg Spirit
The Frostburg Herald
The Frostburg Gleaner
The Frostburg Forum
