95 years ago, Albemarle held its first county fair

In kitchens filled with the delicious scent of freshly baked bread, women judged golden-hued loaves with discriminating eyes.

In homes throughout Albemarle County others were selecting their best jars of jelly, finest cookies, tastiest cupcakes or superior batches of freshly churned butter. Icings were carefully being applied to cakes, and pies were being produced with attention to both looks and flavor.

In pens, yards, barns and corrals animals from cows to horses to hogs and dogs were being cleaned and groomed. Even poultry was being gathered and cooped in the hope of winning a cash price or satin ribbon.

‘Bring in the best’

It was mid October 1914, and the first annual exhibit of the Albemarle County Fair Association was just days away. It would run from Oct. 21-23, and everyone in the area was being urged to participate.

“Bring in the best farm products you have in order to let the county at large see what Albemarle can produce,” proclaimed a piece that ran in The Daily Progress on Oct. 12 that year.

“It is to the interest of every person owning an acre of land to cooperate with the association and bring in something. Apples are plentiful this year, and our prizes compare favorably with other county fairs, therefore feel it your duty to exhibit something.”

The best pound of butter would earn a prize of $2. The best loaf of yeast bread would earn $3.50 worth of merchandise from the H. M. Gleason store. Best cake with chocolate filling would win a rocking chair given by M. C. Thomas.

The list of categories and prizes went on for an entire column running from the top of the newspaper to the bottom. If it lived on the farm or grew from the ground it likely had a place at the fair.

Come one, come all

Organizers weren’t just relying on pets and product to attract people to the Horse Show Grounds in Charlottes-ville where the fair was to be held. There would be “high-class free” attractions as well. The K & E Amusement Company was seeing to that.

On the lineup were the Bouncing Hay Wagon Rubes, comedians who were said to have created an uproar at the New York Hippodrome. Also performing was Dorsett’s Big Vaudeville Acts, billed as the biggest show of its kind.

E.W. Smith’s Great Wonder Show would display interesting oddities from around the world. And the Lady Song and Dance artists would entertain as well.

But clearly the person who would likely attract the largest crowds was a young man performing under the name Dare Devil Oliver. If advertisements were to be believed he was, “The world’s youngest, highest and most scientific back somersault high diver.”

Oliver’s claim to fame was diving from a platform 104 feet in the air and slicing into just 54 inches of water. U-No the high diving dog would make the plunge from 50 feet up.

There were also a number of attractions charging admission. One of these was an authentic African village consisting of 45 men, women and children. Another feature was Dottie’s Dancing Dolls.

Attendance on opening day of the fair was less than hoped for. Nonetheless, the Bouncing Hay Wagon characters and Oliver and his dog were received with great enthusiasm by patrons.

The numbers increased that evening, but only slightly.

“Hardly enough people being in the grounds to make the carnival spirit infectious,” a Progress story reported in reference to the opening day. Attendance did improve during the second and third day, but overall it doesn’t appear to have been the resounding success fair officials had hoped for.

Of course this was a time when most people still had to rely on horse-powered transportation. So it was going to take something like Oliver risking his neck to motivate them to load into the family buckboard.

Just a few weeks later an exhibit that rode the rails all the way from California arrived in Charlottesville. It was betting that plenty of folks would be willing to plunk down a few cents to seen a sight to remember.

In this instance the main attraction was a “monster shark” caught in Monterey Bay, Calif. The gigantic fish was said to be 36 feet long, and weighing in at 10,383 pounds. Without explaining how it’s age was arrived at, it’s lifespan was placed at 460 years.

The exhibitors had amassed what it called “a regular world’s fair on wheels.” Arranged in the railroad cars were an assortment of varies types of sharks, a huge sea turtle, an alligator, Gila monster, ostrich and a two-headed lamb.

As an added bonus, every visitor would receive free of charge a “beautiful sea shell novelty.”

The two railroad cars were scheduled to be in Charlottesville Nov. 21-25. No evidence could be found that this was indeed, “The greatest exhibition for little money you ever saw.”

One might suspect that paying nothing to see a guy plunge 104 feet into a water trough would trump paying admission to visit a smelly boxcar. On the other hand, there were those free novelties.