EAST FAREWELL
NEWS
Thursday, September
9, 1954 Vol. C480
LOCAL
NEWS
COUNTRY FAIR & ARTS
FESTIVAL HUGE HIT
East Farewell – The 4th annual Country Fair &
Arts Festival took place over Labor Day weekend. The Country Fair has been a
tradition since the late thirties, but it has only had the Arts Festival added
in the last four years. Every year it has gotten more extravagant and hosted
more artists and craftsmen as well as more food vendors and presented a more
diverse music offering. One thing that has stayed the same is the livestock
auction. The auction was the centerpiece of the Fair back when the area was
mostly farms, but as the town grew and the base changed from a farm culture to
a more industrial base with the opening of the Iron Works and the arrival of
the Mighty Keystone Railroad emphasis has shifted away from the livestock
auction to more of a State Fair feel with a midway, food vendors, artisans and
craftsmen plying their wares.
That does not mean the auction was completely dismissed, quite to the contrary,
it was moved to early Saturday morning and since last year, held on the infield
of the fairgrounds. Last year it attracted a huge number of spectators, as well
as the farmers who were there to take care of business. This year was no
different. Many people crowded the grandstands before the 6:30 AM scheduled
opening and auctioneer, Jimmie Lee Ray had a microphone and loudspeaker for the
first time. The farmers got front row seats while the interested bystanders
watched from the upper stands. The beautiful weather made the whole event a
wonderful experience for the “city folks” and farmers alike.
The whole
weekend started with the Friday Night Stroll that has become another tradition
with the town closing off Main
Street and Lakeshore Drive to traffic and folks meandering down, stopping
to have a drink or a bite to eat in the one of the many restaurants, cafes and
shops along the way.
This year the
Fairgrounds hosted the entire event. Last year the Arts festival took place at
Lakeshore Plaza and the entertainment took place at the Fairgrounds. “It just
made sense to combine everything together. The Arts Festival has grown so big
that the Plaza couldn’t hold it and the Fairgrounds is a perfect place for
everything,” said Tom Connally at the opening ceremonies.
All throughout
Saturday, Sunday and Monday exciting shows, concerts, and vaudeville type shows
took place on the three stages that had been set up. Among the entertainers
were the Local Players performing scenes for the hit Broadway show “The
Merchant of Venice” and “Peter Pan”. The Regional High School Jazz ensemble provided
the music and also gave concerts on Saturday night and Monday. The Great
Mysterio baffled and befuddled the audience with his nationally renowned magic
act, including a woman sawed in half and a disappearing tractor. Local favorite,
Jerry Tabor and his Swing Band performed six shows, two each day. Rhythm
and Blues band, Big
Roy and the Magnificents also gave six shows and really got the place
jumping.
There were over
125 vendors packed the midway offering almost any type of food you could
imagine, mostly deep-fried and craftspeople offering high quality, unique
pieces hand crafted. Angela Boyle, local fine woodworker, and Walter Strump,
local landscape artist showed off their wares along with other excellent
craftspeople, mostly local.
Fireworks
concluded the Fair on Monday night. They were set off so they would explode
over Lake Charles but were easily visible from the Fairgrounds. “Once again
this has been a wonderful event. It was all made possible by the giant effort
put forth by the Planning Committee and all the people who joined in to make it
happen,” said the ubiquitous Tom Connally, Town Council President, at the end
of the fireworks.
Kids watch the Livestock Auction
SPORTS
TRAVELERS SPLIT IN ERIE
Erie – The Travelers were able to get
one win out of their final seasonal trip to Erie. They played a double header
on Saturday and probably would have preferred to leave after the first game.
They won the first game, 5-3, but they were crushed in the second game, 12-4.
In the first game Travelers pitcher, Joey Alfred pitched a very strong nine
innings and only let in three runs, all in the seventh. The Travelers offense
helped him out with early scores in the second and third. Nice base running by
little used infielder, Davey Franks set up the first score. He was walked then
stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch by Eagles pitcher, Samuel
Daws. Johnny Cloos had three big hits including on blast in the eighth inning
the sealed the win.
In
the second game the Eagles bats came to life as Travelers pitcher, Billy Green
had trouble finding his groove. Frank Hayes, Eagles slugger had a field day
with Green’s difficulty. He smacked two homeruns, hit a double and a triple
scoring three runs. He totaled five RBIs for the game. The Eagles relentlessly
moved runners around the bases, hitting little bloopers and aggressively
running the bases. They were able to score in every inning except the first.
The Travelers were only able to score four runs off Eagles pitcher, Wilson
Demur. By the time Demur got Artie Archibald to pop out in the top of the ninth
the Eagles had 12 runs on their side of the leger and that was it.
The
Travelers finish their season with an arch-rivalry matchup against the Slate
Mountain Miners next Saturday. If they win and Corning loses, the Travelers can
tie for the league crown. The game begins in Slate Mountain at 3:05.
NATIONAL NEWS
IKE & HOOVER FISH TOGETHER – IKE EXTENDS
SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS – SOVIETS EXPLODE BIG BOMB – BERRA POWERS YANKEES –
TENNESSEE ERNIE ADDS FORD TO MAQUEE – RCA MOVES INTO NASHVILLE
President Eisenhower and Ex-President Herbert Hoover fish for trout in Colorado on Labor Day holiday.
While in Colorado, President Eisenhower signed into law, legislation extending Social Security coverage and liberalizing benefits to 10 million additional Americans and providing for greater benefits. The new law also increases payments into the Social Security fund on the part of both employees and employers.
The Soviet Union announces it has exploded another atomic weapon to study its battle effect.
Over 43,000 see Yogi Berra pump new life into New York’s American League pennant hopes, pounding out a home run and two singles to pace the Yankees to a 4-1 must win over Cleveland.
Tennessee Ernie recently added his last name to his professional namesake. Why? Scuttlebutt says it was the first step in changing Tennessee from a character of the hills into a more sophisticated gentleman. Says Ernie: “We’ve had discussions along that line. My darling wife decided it was about time – what with the children growing like weeds – that I start to establish my last name. So we added the Ford portion.”
RCA
Victor will be the first major record company to operate its own studio in
Nashville. They should begin recording out of the new studio before the end of
the year.
Many, many
thanks to www.mrpopculture.com for
contributing to this section of the East Farewell News.
