The Fairs That Build Men

Where Citizens of Tomorrow Are Trained

By Mrs. A.J. Wilder

We accept, without thinking about it, the fact that happy nations do not appear in history. But only lately I have realized that events of greatest importance are least noticed, even while they are occurring under our very eyes.

I realized this when I walked down the steps of the Hartville high school building, thinking of the fair I had just seen and comparing it with the others I remembered. There was the unforgettable World's Fair in San Francisco, the several great state fairs at Sedalia, the land congress fairs, county fairs, stock fairs, poultry fairs—all of them interesting and admirable. But this fair I had just seen, this small fair unknown outside Wright county, mentioned only in the Hartville papers, seemed to me more important than any of them.

The great World's Fairs show what has been builded by nations: the small rural fairs are building the nation itself, for the training which these children are getting in co-operation and honorable competition will make of them useful and possibly great citizens of the nation and the world. It means much to a child, in character building, to learn to be an honest winner or a good loser in whatever contest he takes part, whether it be a World War or a poultry show.

This fair was a fair of children, and—under guidance—by and for children. School children made nearly half of the record-breaking attendance of 2,500 who crowded the school building and grounds.

Girls Cook and Can.

The children of the Hartville school cooking class served luncheon to them all, and were kept rather more than comfortably busy preparing the quantities of toothsome dishes. If it had been possible to use the food exhibited there would easily have been an abundant supply of the best quality. It made one's mouth water to gaze on the quantities of beautiful canned fruit and rosy-cheeked apples, the nuts and grains and vegetables.

The growth, care and selection of all these exhibits must have made farm work, thru the year, intensely interesting to the pupils of the 24 schools represented.

There were 44 varieties of canned fruit exhibited by New Mountain Dale school. There were 15 varieties of grasses and 78 kinds of native woods shown by Rodgers School. There were 18 varieties of forest leaves collected by the Hall School. These exhibits were in addition to those of the regular school work, agricultural and manual training displays, among which was a special model of a milking stool designed by one of the Rodgers school class.

Little Creek School brought 27 varieties of forest leaves, 21 varied grains, 22 kinds of seeds, 14 species of insects, 10 noxious weeds, 70 kinds of native woods. Little Creek school by this astounding total won second prize for exhibits.

Pleasant Hill School carried off first prize with a large display of turnips, pumpkins, potatoes, melons, grains, grasses, weeds, knots, agricultural maps, general school work, fancy work, patchwork, potted flowers, 37 varieties of canned fruit, 11 varieties of apples, a roomful of chickens, and a calf, with an overflow into the school yard of two pens of hogs.

Blanchard School won third prize for exhibits.

Lone Star School, with 100 per cent attendance, accompanied by their entire school board, for the second time won the attendance prize.

The teachers of these schools, Emmett Jones, Pleasant Hill; J.M. Vestal, Little Creek; Homer Smith, Blanchard; and Mrs. James Shelby, Lone Star, certainly deserve honorable mention. And what a training all these rural teachers have been giving their pupils in observance of the world around them, in seeing and knowing leaf and weed and insect and all the varied, interesting things on the farm.

Many Other Features.

Reading contests and singing contests were features of the last day of the fair. The song contest was won by Pleasant hill School. Glenette McGowan, of Blanchard School carried off the prize in the reading contest.

Basket ball and other athletic games, played on the campus in a spirit of friendly rivalry and good temper, were a pleasure to witness.

Good speaking during the fair added must to the interest of the occasion.

In the exhibits and school work, health, agriculture, poultry and dairy farming were emphasized and much interest was shown by farm folks attending, in the definite lessons presented on feeding dairy cows, poultry and hogs by Professor Hess's vocational class and also in the soil exhibit showing methods of fertilization and testing for the need of lime, while the model poultry house and the model farm with its impressive lesson in the necessity of crop rotation to maintain soil fertility were much talked about.

All this can not fail in affecting for the better the farming methods of the county and being an education for parents as well as children.

The Wright County School Fair for 1923 was a remarkable success and much of the credit for this is due Professor Hess of the Hartville Schools, University Extension workers and County Superintendent Ray Wood, who with his hard working rural teachers, backed by the business and professional men of Hartville, worked together for that object.

Mrs. A.J. Wilder. "The Fairs That Build Men: Where Citizens of Tomorrow Are Trained." Missouri Ruralist (January 15, 1924): 28.  CLICK HERE to see this article as it originally appeared in the Missouri Ruralist. This article was accompanied by two photographs: one of Mr. Wood, the Wright County School Superintendent at the time, and one of a classroom filled with exhibit items.

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