Friday, September 1, 2017

8/29/1957

EAST FAREWELL NEWS


Thursday, August 29, 1957   Vol. C635


LOCAL NEWS


MUSIC & ARTS FAIR OPENS TO BIG CROWDS


East Farewell – The 12th Annual Music & Arts Fair opened on Thursday night with the now standard performance by the Regional High School Jazz Band led by the most popular band leader in school history, Ben Grant. The now 17 piece band added an extra trumpet and another trombone to “bring out the brass” as Grant put it. The band started off with the National Anthem, officially opening the Fair. This year an extra evening was added because the roster of musical acts was expanded and the committee wanted to add an extra full day, Friday, for the Arts and Crafts displays. The music roster of Thursday night was a diverse batch from the Jazz Band to a young local group playing some of the new sound of rock and roll with a mixture of rhythm and blues and country and western in between. The music played late into Thursday night and the Midway opened early, 8:00AM, on Friday morning. Local artists set up shop all along the Midway as well as most of the local restaurants and shops from Main Street and Lake Shore Drive. The music continued Friday with mostly local musicians and bands. Slate Rock was represented by three different acts; Michael Tiller had a beautiful voice and sung some modern favorites with a very distinctive style, the Irish Band, the O’Dell’s got the crowd up a jigging with a nice selection a Irish reels, and Emory Davis, a blues singer who was both sassy and smooth.  Hailing from Ondita was the all girl choir from the First Baptist Church who sung moving gospel and something completely different, a rock and roll band named the O-Stars who were actually pretty good. Friday night had more headliners starting off with country and western favorite, Charlie Green followed by local favorite and national star, Jerry Tabor and his Swing Band.
            On Saturday morning the Farm Auction was held at the far end of the Fairgrounds. Starting at 6:30AM the auction is a holdover from the original Country Fair that preceded the Music & Arts Fair. As the Fair moved from being a farm and country fair to being a music and arts fair the auction was so popular that it was continued. It’s traditional time of 6:30AM turned out to be part of the appeal even though most of the current attendees were out until late the night before and not one of them knew the first thing about livestock, the local farmers were there also and this was always a real auction. It seems to have become the realization of the saying “putting lipstick on a pig”. The auction has taken a much less serious mood but it still serves its purpose for the local farmers and now, a large group of watchers.
            Saturday night brought more fantastic music.  The Gus Sloan Quintet played a slick jazz set and Jerry Tabor came back as well as Charlie Green who had Michael Tiller join him for a fantastic group of country and western tunes that had the crowd square dancing and two stepping across the fairground. The night ended with another rock and roll set by a favorite band with the younger set, the Blackjacks. The kids jitterbugged throughout the set and there was a lot of energy from the band.
            The gates opened later on Sunday, 12, noon. Things got underway right away and the afternoon was turned over to the storytellers, a new feature this year. Five different storytellers and poets took the stage and engaged both young and old. Richard Walker was a big hit with the kids as he wove his tales of magic and mayhem taking place in the world he created, New Sunland.  Poet Lucy Blair recited her own musical poems and accompanied herself on a lute. Sunday evening saw a return to the more conventional music with returns of both Jerry Tabor and Gus Sloan. The evening and the Fair ended with an ‘all hands on deck’ gathering of all the stars that had appeared throughout the Fair. The crowded stage was full of fun, arms around each other, smiles, all types of instruments and many, many voices singing in Good Night, Irene in unison. That song has become the de facto closing song for the fair having closed the Fair for the last three years.

            The day after the gates closed preparations were being made for next year’s Fair. The Committee met in the basement of the Town Hall to review the success and discuss what might be done better next year.

The Music & Arts Fair 1957


SPORTS


TRAVELERS MAKE ‘HOWLING’ FRANK GROAN


Bedford – The Travelers did not have much support from home town fans on Saturday but they apparently did not need it as they shut down “Howling” Frank Fowler and the Bedford Bears, 6-3. Fowler started out very strong and it looked like trouble for the Travelers. He was able to strike out the first five batters and only let two hits go in the first four innings. With each strike out he let out his trademark howl that had both an intimidating and irritating effect on everyone. He has been in the league for three years now so his howl and his antics are well known but he has always been able to deliver the wins, being one of the best pitchers in the league.
            The Bears were able to get on the board first with a two run third inning as Travelers pitcher, Billy Green, struggled with his curveball. Green was able to straighten out his problems and the Travelers were able to find a crack in Fowlers fastball. In the sixth inning after a double by catcher Joey Brown, Artie Archibald drew a walk then Billy Sweet was able to double and drive in both. In the seventh the top of the order came to life as Francis and Dunham singled, Watson drew Fowler’s only other walk and Johnny Cloos came up with the bases loaded. Fowler had struck out Cloos in the second and Cloos was able to single in the fourth but in this at bat Johnny waited for Fowler to try and blow his fastball by him. Cloos was not going to let that happen. He stepped into the low, outside bullet and connected. He sent the ball over the right field fence for a grand slam. The Bears we able to score one more in the ninth but that was too little too late as Green was able strike out O’Mara to end the game.
            The Travelers come home next week but they face another pitching ace when Corning comes to town with ace Bill “Smoke” Black who is leading the league in strikeouts. CGW (Corning Glass Works) is also tied for second in the league standings. The evening game will start at 7:05 at the ballpark.


 NATIONAL NEWS


JUDGE REJECTS PLEA TO POSTPONE INTEGRATION – COMMIES ANNOUNCE MASSIVE WAR GAMES – ARMS TO JORDAN – WRIGHT SUGGESTS 2 MILE HIGH SKYSCRAPERS FOR NYC – BURNS & ALLEN SON TO DO TIME FOR SPEEDING


A Federal judge tightens the South’s racial battle lines with a sharp-tongued rejection of a plea to postpone integration at Little Rock Central high School, where armed troops have kept Negro students away for a week.

Russia announces it will begin massive naval war games next week in Arctic waters within a few hundred miles of an era where the western NATO nations have scheduled sea exercises at the same time.

U.S. Globemasters and Flying Boxcars begin an airlift of arms to Jordan to buttress the Arab kingdom against any threat from Syria’s leftist-commanded army.

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright suggests that New York City erect two mile-high skyscrapers in Central Park destroy the rest of the city and plant grass on it. “Think of what you’d have n the way of a beautiful city, with two mile-high skyscrapers in Central Park. It would end the agony. And they would end congestion tremendously, that was one of the ideas in planning one” said Wright on Mike Wallace’s ABC-TV interview program.

Ronnie Burns (22) son of George Burns and Gracie Allen is sentenced to pay a fine of $450 and spend a weekend in jail for having tested a new sports car too exuberantly. Police said Burns was clocked at 85mph in a 25mph zone on Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills.




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