We Learned About Arizona

We Learn About Arizona By Attending

The entrance to the Arizona State Fair opens on to the Avenue of Flags, especially impressive when we arrived because the school bands were parading. They marched smartly to the grandstands where the main stage was the focal point of activity at the moment. We followed along. At that time we didn't realize that it was impossible to keep pace with all the activities that occurred sometimes simultaneously. This is what we enjoyed most. Wherever we went there was either a show or a judging or a contest or a band playing.

Some of the events and displays would astound the Arizona pioneers, who held their first fair in 1884. Back in those days Arizona was still a territory. The fair commission boasted of a fine race track, exposition building, grandstand, stalls, and baseball diamond. In the center the cowboys had their "rodio." The old fairground was near the Salt River on South Central Avenue, in Phoenix, where Wheat's Nursery is now located. Horse, pony, and mule racing were featured in the afternoon and baseball in the forenoon. The novelties of this first territorial fair were a half-dozen bales of cotton grown in Arizona and a steam bicycle made by a man from Tempe. The Home Economics Department displayed fine lace entered by a woman inmate at the territorial prison in Yuma.

The big events were Indian pony races, wagon races, calf roping and pony express races. Everyone knew the cowboys and most of the time the same horses were entered in many different events. Baseball was a magic word even in those days. A series between Phoenix and Tombstone would only be arranged during the cataclysmic time of the territorial fair. Tombstone was rolling in wealth and bought only the best players. Phoenix scouted the many military forts in the area for good talent. There, good batters could always be found, since baseball was an army game.

Going to the fair was more of a social thing in those days. Arizona families met sometimes only once a year. Times were hard and people needed one marvelous diversion to forget all cares. Many an Arizona lad first met his future wife at the fair. This was the time to show off that new baby or share a special technique for raising corn or preserving peaches.

"A fair is a periodical gathering of persons held at a particular place, generally for the transaction of a particular class of enterprise." The reference books tell us that the religious holidays or festivals in Europe first afforded the most favorable opportunities for the fair's beginning. In the Middle Ages the first fairs were chartered by the princes and magistrates of the realm. The fair at Lyon in France is reputed to have been founded by the Romans and others are known to have been in existence as early as the 5th Century! England, too, has its great Strowbridge Fair chartered in 1211 by King John. But it would seem that nowhere did fairs gain the brilliance and importance of those which flourished in France from the middle of the 12th Century.In the United States fairs appeared in the colonies early in our history but it would seem that the good old fashioned type that we have come to know evolved through the foresight of a prosperous merchant, Elkanah Watson, of Pittsfield, Mass. in 1810. With this beginning at Berkshire Agricultural Society became the first sponsor in the United States of a permanent fair. As a matter of course, and people knowing a good thing when they see it, fairs quickly spread along the eastern seaboard and gradually made their way West following those hardy souls who had settled the land and shown first to themselves that a livelihood could be wrested from the wilderness. Surely, the remembrance of perhaps those fairs “back East” and the desire to share with their neighbors their own techniques for raising wheat or corn or pigs, etc. was probably the start of early frontier fairs plus the fact that people needed once in a while a marvelous diversion to take their weary minds off the hardships that must have faced these early settlers. And even today, who can deny that a fair is a wonderful thing? Whether it be held at a neighborhood church once a year, or the county, it's wonderful! Smiling faces, hot dogs, kids coming back time after time for “just one more nickel.” But, of course, the daddy of them all is the good old State Fair.

BY DOROTHY AND HOWARD HENRIQUES The Arizona State Fair

The forerunner of the Arizona State Fair as we know it today had its beginning at a banquet held in 1905 in Phoenix to which the leading business men of the city were invited. The banquet was given by J. C. Adams ofPhoenix, hotel man and a breeder of thoroughbred horses. The southern Arizona valleys afforded a climate and conditions for raising horses that could not be equalled in the world. Mr. Adams knew that the horse breeder would be the soul of any territorial fair undertaking, though all of Arizona lacked exploitation. At the banquet, none of the guests having been told of its purpose beforehand, (Mr. Adams not only was a successful horse breeder but was an excellent student of human behavoir!) the host discoursed on the need for a fair and the fact that the territory itself could not finance one, but that he had a plan. (Did his guests find the room suddenly warm?) They should organize a Territorial Fair Association with capital of $50,000 to buy the grounds, erect buildings, etc. and lease the plant to the territory for one week each year at $10.00 for the purpose of holding a fair. The association would be financed by stock subscription and its revenues were to come from the leasing of the grounds during the rest of the year for other purposes, if possible. But even if there were no revenues the land was cheap and it would surely increase in value and in the long run the benefit to the territory and the community would more than offset the stock subscriptions even if there were no returns. Mr. Adams announced the passage of legislation during the 1904-05 session appropriating $15,000 for fair buildings and $7500 annually for the maintenance of a fair. This, he noted, was not enough to make or run a Territorial Fair but it was a new and brighter beginning. Before the evening

NOTES FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS FOLLOWING COLOR PAGES

"ARIZONA STATE FAIR - AVENUE OF FLAGS" BY DOUGLAS BRADER. Photo shows the main entrance to the Arizona State Fairgrounds at the intersection of 19th Avenue and McDowell Road in Phoenix. The camera was located approximately eighty feet above the grounds by means of an elevated platform. The Arizona State Fair will be held this year from November 1st through November 11th. 4x5 Deardorff View camera; Daylight Ektachrome; f. 8 at 1/200th sec.; 90mm Angulon lens; November; afternoon sun.

"AGRICULTURAL DISPLAY" BY DOUGLAS BRADER. The county building at the Arizona State Fairgrounds is always a popular attraction for visitors. Here the various counties in the state display their prize agricultural products. Exhibits also call attention to outstanding scenic areas in the counties. 4x5 Deardorff View camera; Daylight Ektachrome; f. 11 at 1/5th sec.; 152mm Ektar lens; November; ASA rating 64.

"MISS ARIZONA INDIAN CONTEST" BY DOROTHY MCLAUGHLIN. Pretty girls from the various Indian tribes in Arizona vie for top honors in the Miss Arizona Indian contest and the competition is always keen. Hasselblad Model 1500 camera; Ektachrome; between f. 11 and f. 16 at 1/200th sec.; 135mm Ektar lens; November; afternoon sun; Brockway 250 meter reading; ASA rating 160.

"INDIAN DANCE GROUP" BY DOROTHY McLAUGHLIN. Photo taken at the Indian Village at Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix last November. Here Hopi Indian dancers are performing their tribal dances in tribal regalia. Typical Indian hogans and wikieups are interesting features of the Indian Village. Hasselblad 1500 camera; Ektachrome; between f. 8 and f. 1 1 at 1/200th sec.; 135mm Ektar lens; bright sun; Brockway 200 meter reading; ASA rating 64.

"HOME ECONOMICS DISPLAY" BY DOUGLAS BRADER. The Home Economics Building at the Arizona State Fair features the finest creations of Arizona homemakers in many categories of the domestic arts. Blue Ribbon prize winners cherish their awards. Deardorff View camera; Daylight Ektachrome; f. 16 at 1/5th sec.; 152mm Ektar lens; November; ASA rating 64.

while others wove baskets and rugs.

Though it was hardly time for lunch when we arrived at the village, we had to try some of their dishes. This was the first time we had seen Indian concession stands. There were quite a few and so like all truck stop advocates we went to the one frequented most by the Indians. We discovered a quiet little area away from the main path of traffic where a very gifted Indian lad was sand painting. This relaxing pastime was the perfect setting to enjoy our Indian fried bread.

Just about the time we finished eating there were chanting-like sounds coming from the opposite side of the lagoon. It turned out to be tribal dancing with authentic music. This was a real treat, for the movie Indians never sounded like this. There was something eerie about the spasmodic sounds which seemed more like calls of nocturnal animals than notes. This was all jumbled together like the song of a mocking bird.

From the village we took a short cut over to the Indian Arts and Crafts Building. This turned out to be one of the highlights of the day. A rather distinguished looking Indian was standing at the door as we entered. His welcome smile invited conversation. We complimented him on the beautiful silver necklace he was wearing. He remarked that his father-in-law passed this on to him. In Indian society the mother's line predominates. Her surname is perpetuated from one generation to the next through her daughters. This gentleman turned out to be an expert on Indian arts and crafts. His name was Fred Kabotie and after introducing himself he offered to show us around. Mr. Kabotie is a Hopi and lives in Oraibi, Arizona, the oldest continuously inhabited town in the United States.

The Indian jewelry were masterpieces of silver craftsmanship. The style, use of semi-precious stones and characteristic markings, uniquely identifies each article to its Tribes. This ranged from the classic simplicity of the Hopi to the baroque styling of the Navajo. Some tribes, like the Hopi, hallmark their jewelry by craftsman. From the jewelry we went to the rugs where we discovered that there is no wrong side to an Indian rug. The poetry woven into these is world famous. Not only does it take an abundance of talent but an enormous amount of patience as well. An average of five months of weaving goes into one of these rugs. Finer rugs are woven with dyed wool. Devil's claws, sunflower seeds, sagebrush flowers and various berries, bark, and beans are used to produce the vivid shades; while vegetable dyes produce the muted colors. We were led to believe that a good weaver would not be seen with a package of All Purpose Rit in his dye vat.

Members of thirteen different tribes call Arizona home. In fact one-seventh of all the Indians in America live in Arizona. Across the northern plateaus the proud nomadic Navajo drives his herd of sheep. Where the sharp cliffs rise from the valley floor the industrious Hopi raises corn and other staples on terraced fields. They are a stationary people, many living in homes built centuries ago. Apaches are prosperous cattlemen living mostly in the rolling hill country found in the eastern part of the state. The Pimas are farmers, as are the Papagos. The Havasupai lives an isolated life at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Our next stop was the Commerce and Industry exhibits. By browsing through this building we were able to formulate a composite picture of the state's development. Manufacturing is relatively new to the state. Phoenix and Tucson are the centers of this growth. Electronics appears to be the major field of specialization. Others are aircraft parts, cotton seed oil, cement, and agricultural chemicals, fertilizer, and equipment. Reynolds Metals has the largest aluminum extrusion plant

in the U.S.A. It is located in Phoenix.

The Kennecott Copper Corporation had one of the most outstanding industrial displays. Their processing plants' complete operation was scaled down. This permitted the viewer to grasp a basic understanding as to how copper is extracted from ore. Copper is big business in Arizona. More copper is produced here than in all the other states combined. Gold, silver, lead, and zinc are other important metals mined. Nonmetallic mining in the state includes manganese, silica, mica, gypsum and coal.A concession stand is an excuse to eat at a fair and so again we stopped before going on to the livestock exhibits. When we entered the Beef and Dairy Building the milking contests were underway. We found a seat in the grandstand and watched the fun. Afterwards we toured the building where we saw many different breeds of cattle. One attendant told us that about eighteen calves are born during the fair. In fact, he said, one cow was due at any time and offered to show us the maternity ward but we quickly declined. A lady deserves her privacy at a time like that.

Arizona is matchless cattle country. Cattle range from the Patagonia foothills of the Mexican border to the Tonto Rim country of Zane Grey. Seventy percent of the state is still open grazing land for the huge cattle population. The little town of Willcox, Arizona, ships more range cattle than any other place in the world.

Our next stop was the free goat's milk counter. This was a "first" for us and a pleasant surprise, although it really shouldn't have been for more than half the world's population drinks goat's milk.

The Home Economics Building was next door. We arrived just in time to catch one of the best entries in the handsome dress fashion show. A beautiful child had waited so long to model granny's entry that she fell sound asleep and had to be carried on stage. Such a precious sight was enough in itself to win any contest. Never to be outdone, Arizona women came up with some prize exhibits all their own; their larder can easily be stocked with cactus jam and candy, canned venison, prickly pear and pyracantha jelly along with those old stand-bys strawberry preserves and orange marmalade.

The little horses! Cows on parade! Friends! What big cows!

Our last stop was the Agriculture Building where we learned a few more basic facts about our state. Cotton is its backbone. No other state in the Union grows as much per acre. Vegetables are next in importance followed by citrus, melons, alfalfa, barley and wheat. Lumbering is the most important industry in the northern part of the state. We didn't miss the safflower exhibit, the sweetheart of the TV commercials.

What actually made the Arizona State Fair so special wasn't the 150-pound pumpkin from Cochise County or the grapefruit size lemons from Maricopa or any of the seemingly phenomenal size fruits, vegetables and cattle on display. It is the tremendous wealth of this land, the natural resources as well as the industrial, commercial, and agricultural potential of the land. Wherever people are, they must earn their daily bread, and here in Arizona there is a bountiful supply.

To us, comparative newcomers to Arizona, our visit to the Arizona State Fair was a thrilling adventure and educational, as well. We learned much about Arizona we did not know before: the wealth of the land, the remarkable versatility of her people, the tremendous potential of the future, the color and variety of the landscape, and the incomparable climate (imagine shirt sleeves in November.) We urge all newcomers to Arizona, and visitors also, to see much of Arizona by attending the Arizona State Fair in Phoenix this year. State Fair dates are from November 1 through November 11. We promise you neither the fair nor Arizona will let you down.