FARM 1950 COMMUNITY Fair Day

Pine Mountain Settlement School
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FARM 1950 Community Fair Day

FARM 1950 Community Fair Day

Draft of 1950 Fair Day Announcement. [fair_day_ 00024_1950_16]

FARM 1950 COMMUNITY FAIR DAY
September 30, 1950


TAGS: 1950 Community Fair Day, agricultural fairs, country fairs, BGrace Rood, Fair Day programs, Burton Rogers, songs, spelling bees, ballads, announcements, book sale, puppets, REA demonstration, used clothing sale, exhibit lists, sign-up sheets, masters of ceremonies, planning notes, spelling bee, William Hayes, Henry C. Creech, M. Jeanette Blair, home economist demonstrations, Fair Day Planning Committee, Fair Day Church Committee, teachers


INTRODUCTION: 1950 Community Fair Day

The Community Fair Day is one of many annual events that has a long history at Pine Mountain Settlement School. It started in 1917 as an extension of the Harlan County Fair and the School’s “Farmer’s Day.”

While the fundamental program of the Fair has remained remarkably consistent, the scale and scope of the Fair have varied from year to year as interest in fairs has waxed and waned in the School, the community, and the nation.

The following images of items related to the 1950 Community Fair Day represent planning notes, advertisements, staffing and sign-up lists, the Fair Day program, an exhibit list, and correspondence. They give an indication of the people involved and the planning and coordination that were necessary for a successful Fair Day.

EXCERPT: 1950 Community Fair Day

HISTORY PMSS Summary 1950-1951 mentions that Grace Rood gave free typhoid shots during the fall 1950 Fair Day.

CONTENTS: 1950 Community Fair Day Plans and Correspondence

[Note: Letters from PMSS staff in the PMSS Collections are carbon copies, typewritten, unsigned, and meant for the Office files. The original signed copies were sent to the correspondents. Planning notes or letters from others are typewritten originals unless specified otherwise. The following list of contents is in chronological order and not necessarily in the order of the file numbers of the images.]

Undated Planning Papers

File No. 03 N.D. SCHOOL PROGRAM” [handwritten notation in top margin “Fair Day 1950”]. Includes the opening song (“Heigh Ho, Come to the Fair”), Invocation by Roy L. Brown, Welcome by Burton Rogers, Song (“Cotton Needs Picking”), Ballads by Upper Grades, Spelling Match, Announcement, Book Sale, [notation: ”Clothing Sale”], Afternoon Program (Mr. Punch, Puppets, R.E.A. Demonstration, Children’s Games).

04 N.D. “SALE OF USED CLOTHING,” a memo announcing the date of the fall sale. “There will be a special on women’s coats at $1 each.”

05 N.D. Exhibit List of items by categories, such as Field and Garden, Home Canned Goods, Home Orchard, and Flowers.  “All entries will be judged on merit. The ribbon system will be used. Blue ribbons will receive a cash prize…. People who wish to bring farm produce for sale at the Fair may do so.”

14 N.D. Copy of the Exhibit List for 1949 Pine Mountain Community Fair, listing display items by category, with handwritten edits.

23 N.D. “EVENING ACTIVITY Sign-Up Sheet,” with 2 columns of students’ names and accompanying columns for “In” and “Out.”

02a-x N.D. Handwritten list of names, apparently those who received the August 29, 1950, invitation to join the Fair Day Planning Committee.

07x N.D. Two pages torn from small notebooks, one with the address for M. Jeanette Blair and the other with a phone number for Ray Bird, Tri-City News.

08x N.D. Handwritten list of Fair Day responsibilities and names of those assigned to them, including ”Master of Ceremonies, Bill Hayes.”

13x N.D. A four-column list of nouns and adjectives, used in a school’s spelling bee at the 1950 Fair Day.

16x N.D. Edited announcement with handwritten notations updating the year from 1946 to 1950. “Announcing the Pine Mountain Community Fair to be held  SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1950 at PINE MOUNTAIN SCHOOL. All Day Program” with a list of nine types of activities.

17x N.D. Fair Day plan, listing staff and their responsibilities, including Master of Ceremonies, Bill Hayes. [Handwritten notation in top margin lists the judges.] “Notice to papers – Thousand Stick, Harlan Enterprise, Tri City News, Mountain Eagle, Hazard Herald.”

22 N.D. Edited announcement that was originally dated September 25, 1948: FAIR DAY PROGRAM [Handwritten notation in margin: “Final Program.”] List of activities, including music on the P.A. system, chatter by Master of Ceremonies, attendee singing, Welcome from Mr. Benjamin, greetings from the county agent, school singing, folk dancing, spelling match, entertainment by Richard Chase, ballad dramatization. Movie: “The Miracle on 34th St.” 

Dated Correspondence

[See following list] August 29, 1950. Identical letters from H[enry] C. Creech, Chairman, inviting the following recipients to serve as members of the planning committee for the annual PMSS Community Fair Day. 

24 Mrs. Omeda Holbrook, Bledsoe, KY
25 Mrs. Charlene Wilder, Big Laurel, KY
26 Mrs. Maude Wilder, Pine Mountain, KY
27 Mrs. Otis Lewis, Putney, KY
28 Alonzo Turner, Incline, KY
29 John Wilder, Pine Mountain, KY
30 Chester Jackson, Pine Mountain, KY
31 Luther Turner, Big Laurel, KY
32 Creed Turner, Napier, KY
33 Arny Hall, Gilley, KY

02x September 2, 1950. To Arny Hall, Gilley, KY, from H.C. Creech., asking him to “bring out all the people you can from over there that would be interested in rural telephone service” for a Rural Telephone meeting.

06x September 8, 1950. To Miss M. Jeanette Blair, Home Economist, Cumberland Valley RECC, Corbin, KY, from Fern Hall Hayes, Secretary, Fair Day Committee. Henry C. Creech, Chairman of the Fair Day Committee, has asked Hayes to invite Blair to present a demonstration on Fair Day. She suggests that  Blair visit PMSS to “talk over the details.”

10 September 9, 1950. Message side of postcard to Burton Rogers from M. Jeanette Blair, Home Economist, Cumberland Valley RECC, Corbin, KY, asking to meet with Burton or the Committee for the Fair. 
11 September 9, 1950. Address side of postcard to PMSS, attn. Mr. Rogers.

09 September 12, 1950. To Miss Blair from Rogers. Responding to her postcard, he writes that Mr. Creech suggests she attend the Planning Committee for the Fair at Laurel House. “This Planning Committee is made up entirely of community folk with some staff members of the School brought in for special functions.”

17 September 20, 1950. To Mrs. Ruth Lewis, Big Laurel, KY from “Rogers for the Fair Day Planning Committee,” inviting her school to send representatives and two spellers for the spelling bee.

18 September 20, 1950. To Rev. Service, Helton, KY, from “Rogers for the Fair Day Church Committee,” asking for information requesting church activities to post on the bulletin board on Fair Day.

20 September 20, 1950. To Teacher, Bear Branch School, Gilley, KY, from “Rogers for the Fair Day Planning Committee,” inviting her school to send representatives and two spellers for the spelling bee.

21 September 20, 1950. To Teacher, Coyle Branch School, Gilley, KY, from “Rogers for the Fair Day Planning Committee,” inviting her school to send representatives and two spellers for the spelling bee.
15 September 21, 1950. To Miss Gladys Walden, Harlan County School System, Harlan, KY, from Rogers, inviting her to the Fair and asking her to “take part in the traditional spelling contest among the pupils of nearby schools….giving out the words and perhaps preparing the word list….”

16 September 22, 1950. To Miss Mabel Snyder, Big Laurel, KY from Rogers, enclosing “a copy of the letter inviting notices for the church notice board.” Rogers then lists the names of eight persons to whom he had sent the letter.

19 September 22, 1950. To Mr. Arnie Hall, Gilley, KY, from Fern Hall Hayes, Rogers’ secretary, asking him to “give the enclosed letters to the teachers of the Bear Branch School and of the Coyle Branch School. We didn’t know their names.”

11x September 25, 1950. Carbon copy of a letter to John Wilder, Pine Mountain, KY, from M. Jeanette Blair, requesting various items to use in the demonstration of the electric ironer.

12x September 25, 1950. Carbon copy of a letter to Brit Wilder, Pine Mountain, KY, from M. Jeanette Blair, requesting various items to use in the “freezing” demonstration.


GALLERY: 1950 Community Fair Day Correspondence

[Note: Images are in the order of their file numbers and are not in chronological order. File numbers ending with “x” indicate images with a different type of filename. Some file numbers are not included in the Gallery as they represent duplicate or non-existent images.]


Return To:
EVENTS Guide to Past Events
FARM AND FARMING Guide
FARM Guide to Community Fair Days
FARM COMMUNITY FAIR DAY History

See Also:
ART and CRAFT Guide
COMMUNITY – What is Community? – Post
FOODWAYS