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A Look Back: 150th Blake’s Prairie Fair is here

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Elephants occupied the grandstand area from Sept. 9 to 11, 1908, as many attendees watched close by.

The exhibits are always a prominent part of the fair, bringing in participants from local youth groups. Anyone can walk through these items features in the exhibit hall. Pictured are two women viewing some of the items years ago.

By Rachel Mergen

 

“It is your fair. Make it a great success this year,” John M. Kipper and Oscar Knapp, president and secretary, respectively, of the 1920 Blake’s Prairie Fair, stated when publishing their line up almost a century ago. Since then, much has changed with how the Bloomington fair operates. Yet, when the fair celebrates its 150th year July 13 to 16, it will still be the people’s fair, a time to celebrate and enjoy the community.

After an original meeting on Aug. 1, 1868, the Blake’s Prairie Agriculture Society was formed on Aug. 15, of the same year, according to 1924 records from the Grant County Banker’s Association. Only a month later, on Sept. 16 and 17, the first fair was held between Canal Street and the bluff. An annual membership fee was $1, which is approximately $16.60 today, and a life membership was $10. The original fair board contained a president, Wm. Humphrey; first vice president, John Milner; second vice president, John Batie; secretary, Jesse Brooks; and treasurer, D.F. Brown. 

Since the fair’s creation, it has become, “one of the most enduring Bloomington assets,” declared Snapshots in History, a Bloomington history book available at the village’s library. 

The fair moved from the Canal Street area in 1887, to its current location on Fairground Road, which David Ballantine, a prominent area resident, leased to the society for $10 a year. The 15 acres of land was purchased from Ballantine in 1900. 

Photographs from 1908, show a circus during the fair, with an elephant roaming the grandstand area. Attendees are shown dressed in their best clothes, bonnets and suits. 

Another prominent event took place on July 5, 1909, when William Jennings Bryan, the three-time Democratic presidential nominee, spoke to nearly 3,000 people at the fairgrounds. 

In 1967, when the reputation of the fair began to decrease, a reorganization occurred, including new, younger fair board members. The queen contest was created, along with the official selling of admission buttons. A year later, the fair was declared a junior fair. This change meant the contests would only be open to youth groups.

When speaking of the change, Mary Sue White, board president from 2004 to 2007, said, “I find [the change to junior] to be a fascinating thing, and a lot of people don’t understand why. I feel it’s important to include the junior.”

The society incorporated in 1987 and became the Blake’s Prairie Fair Association. Currently, the board members are Roy Quick, president; Al Mergen, vice president; Sara Adrian, secretary; and Jen Nies, treasurer. 

Many people helped create the fair board they now lead. Prominent members over the years included, presidents Orlo Champion, 1952-1964, and Virgil Johnson, 1967-1979; vice presidents Ed Moris, 1974-1987, and Dave Meoska, 1995-2009; secretaries Nona Quick, 1969-1987; and Ione Meoska, 1995-2007; treasurers Neil Thornton, 1968-1988, and Jim Warczak, 1989-2004; and manager Bill Pohle, 1967-1977.

It was challenging to find new members as years passed. Warczak, for example, was added to the board when they noted he was already there constantly to report for the newspaper. Local FFA advisers were also automatically included in the board.

The Blake’s Prairie Jr. Fair hasn’t always taken place in the middle of the summer. The fair moved from its original time in September to August, then July. For a great deal of time, the third ,week of August claimed the fair. The festivities would often end the night before school started. Farmers would breed their sheep in February, so that they would have the best animals for the competitions. When the fair was moved to July, these farmers were known to have complained, because their animals would be smaller than usual. Board members kindly reminded them that everyone’s animals would be smaller then, too. 

The current date was chosen for many factors, a main reason being finding a carnival. It is still a struggle, because no carnivals’ travel loops cover the rural area.

“Nobody wants to watch paint dry. They want noise,” White reminded when it comes to choosing the line-up for the year. Over the years, there have been circuses, baseball tournaments, huge machinery displays, helicopter events and random little games. One game included betting on how long it would take a candle to blow out. 

Warczak remembered being flown over the event in a farmer’s plane, so he could get the best shots of the weekend. 

Currently, car and combine derbies define the fair, along with a tractor pull, which once lasted until 1 a.m. Mutton bustin’, where spectators watch brave children take control or be controlled by sheep, and human foosball also entertain those who attend. 

Queen and king contests are also held each year. The first queen was Karen Meyers Stoebig in 1967. Kings were not introduced to the fair until 2000. Grand marshals are also included, and they can either be a single person or two. The first, in 1984, was Dr. Howard Brooks. 

To describe the 1920 line-up entertainment, Kipper and Knapp said, “In the matter of entertainment, the society has prepared the best program ever presented at the fair. The attractions will entertain and amuse all patrons.” The line-up included the Ewing’s Ladies Military Band, Wooster’s Big [Horse] Racing Feature, boxing tournaments, baseball, races and field sports and a live stock parade, along with a variety of evening entertainment. 

An 1877 Blake’s Prairie Fair Agriculture Society Booklet was also preserved. In the booklet, the departments of the fair were listed, from first to last, as horses, cattle, sheep, swine, poultry and birds; mechanical; farm, household and dairy products; and home manufacturers. Today, there are 34 departments, with dairy cattle being the first. The booklet also featured a list of life members, which included Wisconsin Governor Nelson Dewey, and many members of the Woodhouse and Ballantine families. 

For the animal contests held, large prizes were given in 1895. The best stallion reward was $8—or about $220.33 today.

“The annual fair at Bloomington, which is noted for bringing the rain when nothing else will, is used to surviving a normal storm,” Warczak wrote in 1997. That year, a storm hit that caused chaos. “The electrical part of the storm caught everyone’s attention at 1:07 p.m. (that’s when the office wall clock stopped) when lightning hit a utility pole near the fair office. A surge entered on the phone line (fortunately, no one was using the phone) and blew the cover off a cutoff switch box and also knocked off part of a plastic switch above the phone.” 

Warczak, White and Ione Meoska still have the moment carved into their memories, describing it as a “fireball going across the desk.” A new sport was discovered during this storm, though, where young men and women would repeatedly run and slide into a muddy pond created by the rain.

In 1939, another powerful storm tore down the amphitheater that was built for only $200 in the 1880s. Fair board members would deal with such storms by going out in the rain and holding down tents. 

Along with having to sacrifice themselves to the rain, fair board members have put great effort into keeping the fair pristine. Sometimes, help came in, like teams from the community who built new structures. Local sheep were the lawn mowers from 1925 to 1927. 

Many new buildings were built and torn down throughout the 1900s, including the “Art Hall,” which stood from 1910 to 1984. The oldest building on the grounds today is the exhibit hall, built in 1982. 

In the beginning, to help with the costs of the growing fair, each member was required to pay a small fee. These amounts were used to cover the debts until a stable amount was set aside for future years. 

The fair board and Warczak have been careful to preserve the history of the fair. During the 150th fair, old photos, information and posters will be available to view. Also, saved are meeting minutes dating back many years, newspaper stockholders listings and information on who participated in each fair, along with many other items. 

Father Phil Krogman, in his work “The Fair: Reflection on the Old Days,” described the fair as, “A joyous stampede of wagons, trucks, human oddities and horses invaded the North Road [Fairground Road]. This was a slice of summer to relieve the monotony of haying and endless milking. Everyone needed the fair.”

To this day, the fair welcomes the community, ready to give attendees smiles, laughter and great memories to look back on for years to come. 

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