THE 1897 Dryden, N. Y. Fair

"The main exhibition hall is octagonal in form..." This 20th century photo shows an old fair building often used by Dryden Department of Public Works for vehicle storage.

Cortland Evening Standard, Thursday, September 23, 1897.

THE DRYDEN FAIR.

A GREAT CROWD AND A FINE EXHIBITION.

About 15,000 People in Attendance Wednesday—Entry List Greater Than Ever Before

—Cortland Largely Represented Among the Exhibitors.

   There has never been a time since the Dryden Agricultural society was organized that its fair has not drawn together a great crowd of people. But in the earlier days it used to be said that the exhibition itself was not remarkable for its size or variety, but that people went largely for the sake of taking a holiday, having a good time and seeing each other.

   If there was ever any truth in that assertion, it is surely not a fact now, for with each year the exhibition itself has grown. The society has prospered; it has added to its grounds and to its buildings; it has increased its premiums and enlarged its premium list. And the exhibitors have noted these things and each year has seen a number of new applicants for space in the halls, while all former exhibitors are every time sure to come around the next year. The business men and merchants appreciate the fact that it is worth their while to display their goods and their wares in a place where they will be seen by 15,000 people each day whose sole purpose and object in that vicinity is to examine what they have to show. Many sales are made on the grounds and orders taken, and even when that is not true the visitors make themselves familiar with the firm and the place where they can secure certain articles when the time of need comes round.

   The Dryden fair is a tremendous success. Nothing succeeds like success. The people go in crowds. Every thing has to be put aside and postponed if it seems likely to conflict with the dates of that fair. And the exhibition has come to be excellent in every line. This year is the banner year. The entry list was never so large before. The exhibitors were never so crowded for space. The management never sold so many tickets before—and that tells the story without question. It is estimated that there were 15,000 people on the grounds yesterday—at any rate they were about as thick as they could stand.

   Up to 4 o'clock Wednesday afternoon 1,785 family tickets had been sold. These tickets are each supposed to be limited to five grown people, children passing free, but when a wagon load of eight or ten presents a family ticket the gatekeeper supposes they are all of one family and thinks it would be hard to compel one pater familias to buy more than one family ticket, and in they go, no questions being asked. A gatekeeper yesterday told a STANDARD man that he knew of upwards of a dozen instances where one man with a family ticket had taken in a large load, and then had driven out with in empty wagon as he said to leave his team at a stable outside, but pretty soon back he came with another load to go in on that same ticket. The gatetender recognized the men in these cases. He presumed there were hosts of other instances where he did not recognize the parties. He made no objection in these cases, because he knew they had all come to have a good time and perhaps they didn't have any more money with them. That is the way the Dryden management treats its guests—for surely it regards them all as guests.

   That is the way it has built up the tremendous patronage of its fairs. To be sure in one sense it does not get so much money, but it gets it in other ways, it gets the crowd, and one crowd brings another, and the people spend money. The management believes it can afford to be liberal and it is liberal.

   As stated above, 1,785 family tickets had been sold yesterday afternoon, and that number would be a fair estimate of the number of teams on the grounds yesterday, and when one comes to think of it 1,785 teams make quite a showing, at least they seemed to do so at Dryden. In addition, 1,713 single tickets were sold on Wednesday alone. All the houses for miles around Dryden had a deserted look yesterday afternoon. All the roads for miles were filled with teams, early in the day headed for Dryden, later, away from Dryden.

   But it is assuredly a fact that the Dryden fair would not be the great success which it is along the line of exhibits if it were not for Cortland. There were at least thirty-eight exhibits made there by Cortland business men and women, and these were some of the very choicest of all. There may have been more, The STANDARD man may have overlooked some, but that number was noted.

   This year the two large halls (one used to be sufficient) would not contain the exhibits of those who needed booths, and two great tents were erected, besides a host of smaller ones. The exhibition of cattle, sheep, swine, poultry and pet stock was unusually large and fine. The halls presented a very handsome appearance. The booths had been carefully fitted up and in many cases much artistic taste was displayed. So constantly did one see Cortland names (and for that matter meet Cortland people) that it was almost to be imagined that the site had been changed to our own village.

   At the right of the main entrance to the large hall Joiners' Business school had a booth. Mr. Joiner was kept constantly busy writing visiting cards for the crowd who surged around him, while Mrs. Joiner operated a typewriter, producing some fine work.

   The next booth was a long one occupied by the Fair store, in which was displayed handsome lamps, beautiful china and electric silverware. Mr. Geo. P. Yager was himself in charge of the booth.

   Next was the booth of George H. Ames, in charge of Charles P. Dunbar, where a full line of shoes and footwear was shown.

   Genial Fred Thomas' beaming face was seen in the booth of Case & Ruggles. The special display here was a full line of cloaks and jackets, as well as of other lines of dress goods.

   H. C. Harrington's booth completed those upon that side of the hall. Pianos and organs were shown, and sheet music was on sale. This was a center of attraction, for during a considerable portion of the time the fine voice of Frank Lanigan was heard here as he sang ballads for the ever enthusiastic audience.

   On the other side of the hall A. S. Burgess had a large display of men's and boys' clothing, neckwear, trunks, etc. Mr. Harris T. Burgess was in charge.

   Next came Baker & Angell, the "foot milliners," so called. They were able to show every thing needful for dressing the pedal extremities in comfort and style.

   Though in the notice here given little attempt will be made to mention other than Cortland county exhibitors, for they were indeed in the majority, still one could hardly pass by the booth of Weyant & Kingsbury which came next without a word, for the reason that it presented such a tasteful appearance, and more particularly because of the fact that until recently both members of the firm have been residents of Cortland. They are now a leading hardware firm of Dryden, and they showed a complete line of the Andes stoves, and also round oak stoves.

   Bingham Brothers & Miller in a large booth showed a large variety of men's clothing, and also a large line of children's suits.

   The Dryden Herald, with commendable enterprise, each year publishes a daily edition during the fair, and from a booth in a prominent location on this floor they were passed out to every one free of charge.

   The main exhibition hall is octagonal in form with booths about the sides upon two floors. The entire center is open to the roof, and a large frame in the central open space in the form of a section of a cone is given up to the floral display, which this year was more than usually fine. The cut flowers, both loose and in set pieces were wonderfully pretty and could not fail to rouse the admiration of all beholders. Among the foremost exhibitors in this line, as well as in the classes of fruits and nursery goods was John H. Ryan of Cortland.

   The second floor was largely devoted to the department of fine arts, ladies' needle work and the school exhibit. The entries in the ladies' department were unusually numerous. It seemed as though every conceivable article of feminine handiwork was there displayed. The school exhibit was much to be commended. In the fine arts department Mrs. L. S. Watkins had a large and beautiful display of china painting of exquisite designs and dainty coloring.

   Mrs. Darby-Turner and Mrs. T. Everts had a booth together, and it was a center of attraction for ladies, containing as it did toilet and hair dressing articles from the store of the former and fine millinery from the establishment of the latter.

   In the second exhibition hall Cortland was again very largely in evidence. The Gillette Skirt Co. had a large booth with a full line of their celebrated Paris skirts in silk and sateen made in many styles.

   McKinney & Doubleday limited their display to cameras and camera supplies, showing at the same time some fine work produced from their cameras. Prof. J. Rittenhouse, the optician, took advantage of the presence of these cameras to secure many snap shots about the grounds not only at exhibits, but at the crowd itself.

   D. E. Shepard had a double booth, one part devoted to his millinery department and the other to general dry goods, cloaks and draperies. Both attracted much attention.

   G. F. Beaudry showed bicycles and bicycle supplies. He had on exhibition the following makes of wheels: Johnson, Stormer, Linwood, Eclipse, Altair, and Crescent.

   J. T. Davern &Co. had a bewildering array of millinery and ladies' goods, with special attention paid to the latter. The way the ladies crowded around this booth closely examining the goods gave evidence of its attractions for them.

   H. B. Hubbard showed both a beautiful array of crockery and lamps and also a choice line of groceries, particularly bottled and canned goods. From 11 to 2 o'clock Wednesday tea was served free to the crowd, and over 500 cups of tea were given away. Mr. Hubbard is making a particular push upon a certain brand of 25 cent tea which he believes to be first class, and from the fact that he regularly sells over eighty pounds of this per week one would judge that the public was coming to the same opinion. This was the brand of tea which was served at the fair.

   Edgeomb & Maritt showed a full line of shoes and footwear.

   M. L. Decker exhibited Standard and New Home sewing machines and part of the time certain of them were in operation, showing some of the finer classes of work that can be produced upon them.

   Mrs. G. T. Chatterton had an attractive display of the Perfection skirt of which she is the maker. They were shown in silk, sateen and imported moreen.

   Hyatt & Tooke had the last booth in this building with a handsome display of some of their newer photographic processes.

   One of the tents was wholly given up to poultry, and here among other exhibits were found those of Patrick Dempsey, W. J. Greenman, Lampman & Schouten, I. F. Rice, A. H. Watkins and J. D. Pierce of Cortland and of C. D. Dye and G. D. Henry of McGrawville. In this tent too, pet animals of various kinds were shown. Warren Nye of South Cortland had his famous black cat with a white spot on her tail, accompanied by a litter of kittens. Dogs and rabbits were also shown here.

   In an adjoining tent an incubator in full blast with chickens hatching while you wait and chickens growing while you watch proved considerable of a curiosity as well as an attraction.

   In the other tent was the carriage and sleigh exhibit, and also fruits and vegetables. Peck Brothers of Cortland were conspicuous for their display of harnesses, blankets and cutters. Keator, Wells & Co., The H. M. Whitney Co., and Allen & Chubb of Cortland all showed carriages of different styles.

   In this tent too L. B. Lewis had considerable space devoted to the Perfection milk cooler, of which he is the patentee and maker. Dairymen constantly manifested their interest in this.

   D. G. Ingalls of Cortland showed the baking powder of which he is the maker.

   The attention of all ladies was attracted to a combined chair and table invented, made and sold by Mrs. C. W. Hutchings of Homer. It is a new thing and is a model of convenience and usefulness.

   The display of fresh fruit, and also of canned fruit was very excellent indeed, particularly of the canned fruit.

   The display of agricultural implements was large and varied.

   A prominent attraction upon the grounds was the exhibit of the Page Woven Wire Fence Co., of Adrian, Mich., for which Miller & Rose of Cortland are the local agents. To show the fence in fine style this company sends out a buffalo, three elks, two deer, one bear and an owl, and encloses them all within a fence of their own manufacture. The crowd of course stops to see the animals which are so much of a rarity in this vicinity, and incidentally notices the fence. A representative of the company told a STANDARD man that his company had four such exhibits out this year in different parts of the country attending fairs. The buffalo shown is a male 5 years old and weighs 1,400 pounds. He was raised at Keokuk, Ia. The male elk is 8 years old and weighs 800 pounds. The female elk is 5 years old and weighs 600 pounds. There is also an elk calf 4 months old. The fence is made of spring steel coiled and great elasticity and strength is claimed for it.

   The dance hall has been crowded during the whole fair. McDermott's orchestra is furnishing such fine music that all who crowd into the building seem at once possessed to get upon the floor.

   One of the special features of the Wednesday's program was the ladies' driving contest, for which Beard & Peck of Cortland offered a special prize of a $25, chamber suit, and the officers of the society offered a second prize of $10 and a third prize of $5. There were ten entries and nine starters. Each lady was required to harness her horse, hitch to any vehicle such as she chose,—and drive twice around the track with horse on trot or run or at any gait. Certain conditions were attached to the preparation of the harness for the contest and to the style of harnessing. When the word was given each lady stood at her horse's head, the animal having nothing on but a halter. The ladies got their horses harnessed and got away in the following order:

   1. Mrs. Huldah M. Smith, Groton.

   2. Miss Ida Stowe, Harford.

   3. Mrs. F. B. June, Slaterville.

   4. Miss Bertha Sutfin, McLean.

   5. Miss Lena Johnson, Cortland.

   6. Mrs. T. A. Hough, Landing.

   7. Mrs. S. L. Allen, Trumansburg.

   8. Mrs. C. M. Griswold, Dryden.

   9. Miss Frances Stowe, Harford.

   The first six ladies to complete their mile were as follows, and in the order named, the order of the remaining three not being taken: (1) Miss Ida Stowe, (2) Mrs. Huldah M. Smith, (3) Miss Bertha Sutfin, (4) Mrs. T. A. Hough, (5) Miss Frances Stowe, (6) Miss Lena Johnson.

   There was probably more enthusiasm over that contest than in almost anything else during the fair. The crowd surged up to the track so that it was almost impossible for the officers to keep the way clear. The time of the winner was 4 minutes and 54 seconds. This includes the total time from the moment the word was given to begin harnessing till the winner crossed the line at the end of the mile. It was the intention of the judges to take the time also for public information when each lady finished harnessing and started to drive her mile, though the prize included both the harnessing and the driving, but judges, and timekeepers were so excited in watching the contest that they forgot all about it, and nearly forgot to catch the time at the end.

   Every lady drove her horse for all she was worth. Every horse was running at full speed on the whole mile and every driver plied her whip freely. It will be noticed that Miss Smith got away first and came a second, while Miss Stowe got on second and won the race. Mrs. Smith harnessed so quickly that she got along, lead in the beginning of the race, while Miss Stowe who was less speedy in harnessing had the better horse. During the last quarter of a mile it was almost neck and neck, both horses running, and never did professional drivers show more skill in getting speed from their horses than did these two ladies. Miss Stowe scarcely won by more than a neck. It was the most exciting contest ever seen on the grounds.

   The races were in progress during the afternoon Wednesday and the Dryden Cornet band was furnishing fine music.

   The fair closes to-day. One of the special attractions of this afternoon was the baby show which was scheduled for 2 o'clock. At 5 o'clock last night eighteen babies had been entered and the entry books were not to close till the judging was ready to begin to-day. The management expected at least a dozen more babies to enter the lists.

   Though this fair is a great success it does not attain that result by accident or chance. It is by downright hard work. The Dryden Agricultural society recognizes the efficiency and capabilities of its officers and re-elects them year after year. There is but one President S. G. Lupton. There is but one Secretary J. B. Wilson and but one Treasurer D. F. Wheeler. These men have excellent assistants and backers, but they are responsible, and the results show that the responsibility is well placed. But the officers could doubtless give evidence of weeks and months of steady hard work which they devote to keeping up the good name and exalted reputation of the Dryden fair.