A GREAT EXHIBITION
Fair promotes education, entertainment for more than 65 years
The Four States Fair & Rodeo occurs every year. ¶ We expect it, as if it were the sun coming up in the east, but it hasn’t been that easy. Too many people to list worked long hours over a long period of time to get the fair started, and many others through the years have added their energy and enthusiasm to keep it growing and going.
The purpose of the Four States Fair, as written in the original charter dated Aug. 14, 1945, is “for the scientific and educational encouragement of agriculture, horticulture, livestock, poultry and farm products by maintenance of public fairs and exhibitions and to promote generally the welfare of same in the state and nation.”
In 1992, Marion Reed, who had a long record of service to the fair, wrote in a historical account, “The Fair is still trying to live up to the original purpose with the addition of encouraging our young people in the Home Arts, Fine Arts and other educational activities in keeping with our times.”
The first Four States Fair held on the Texas side was Oct. 9-14, 1945.
It incorporated an amazing number of the present-day features.
It did such a good job of it that F.W. Farley, executive editor of “Southern Stockman,” a cattleman’s magazine published in Memphis, reported that the Hereford and Aberdeen-Angus cattle shows were “as good or better than those of the Southeastern International Exposition in Atlanta, Ga.”
He added, “It (the Four States Fair) was a better than average state fair, better than those of Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.” Farley traveled to many fairs all over the states for his magazine.
In addition to the agriculture and livestock activities, it included exhibits by y the Garden Clubs under the leadership leaderof of Mrs. Albert Easley, y, general chairman man of ga rd den en councils. At that time, the Tejas and Pansy Garden Clubs were active on the Texas side, and the Azalea Garden Club on the Arkansas side.
Home Arts included canning, clothing, needlework and baking. One extension specialist and one home demonstration specialist did the judging.
Hobbies were under the chairmanship of Mrs. Hayes McClerkin. It displayed collections of such things as butterflies, dolls, model air planes and scrapbooks in addition to many other examples of hobbies. Photography was organized by Ernest Hackworth, who enlisted the help of four professional photographers to be judges Martin Patterson, Cyril Casteel, Coy Yarberry and Fred Boatner.
Fine Arts Exhibit was under the direction of Walter McDonald, who also requested the help of a committee to judge. j g One was Jerry Bywaters, the director of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts; Mrs. Albert McDonald of Texarkana, who helped found the Springfield Art Museum at Springfield, Mo.; and Adrian Brewer of Little Rock, an outstanding painter of the Southwest.
Another feature of the 1945 Four States Fair that might surprise some was the daily air flights over the fair offered by the local fixedbase operators. This treat was organized by the Civil Aeronautics Administration, the U.S. Weather Bureau, American and MidContinental airlines. The final session of the aviation tour included the Texarkana Junior College and the Municipal Airport for visitors to see and listen firsthand how air traffic was handled. They also learned how weather was determined and its importance to flying. It was estimated that 51,000 , p patrons
attended.