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The
LeRoy Fair 1895 to 1924 >>>
Fair
time! Fair Time! This
announcement meant the time was
drawing near for the LeRoy Fair
to open. It had different
meanings to the people of LeRoy
and vicinity. To many, and
particularly the men, it meant
harness racing, livestock shows
and equestrianship. For everyone
it meant entertainment – a time
to forget one’s work and cares
and just enjoy the four or five
days of the big LeRoy fair. The
women had to begin planning long
before the week of the fair, for
there were many departments
where they were “Queen of the
Show” and they reigned supreme
in the floral hall where their
many entries were exhibited.
The
fairs were looked forward to by
not only local people but by
former LeRoy residents. What
better time to visit relatives
and friends than Fair Time. So
the home folks made ready to
entertain guests in the homes
for at least a part of the time,
if not for the entire week.
The LeRoy Fair was not
all work, for the women availed
themselves of the opportunity to
see the livestock, machinery,
races, and also to sit in the
amphitheater, relax and enjoy
the band music. In this way they
could forget the work and many
hours of planning that had been
theirs.
The
first LeRoy Fair was held
September 3-6 1895. $8,000.00
worth of stock was sold at $10 a
share. The departments included
livestock consisting of horses,
mules, ponies, colts, cattle,
hogs, sheep and poultry. Other
departments for exhibitors
consisted of grain, seed
(timothy and clover) and
vegetables.
Flowers, domestic arts,
textiles, fine arts, and
education were among the special
interest of the women. There
were riding and driving contests
for boys, girls and women.
By
1910, the LeRoy Fair and
Agricultural Association felt
that the improvement each year
had brought to the organization
made the fair one of the most
popular in the state. The
grounds were conveniently
arranged and its location at the
south edge of town made it only
a short distance from the
railroad depots. This closeness
and the stock chutes were the
two things that visitors and
stockmen alike greatly
appreciated.
 There
also was one of the finest
half-mile tracks in the state
with a track record at that time
of 2.11, and a magnificent
grandstand that was free to the
public and from which every foot
of the racetrack could be seen.
The races were one of the
leading features of the week.
Horse races included pacing and
trotting with running races at
½- mile, 3/4/-mile 5/8-mile and
one-mile dash. A five- mile car
race was included in every day’s
program.
The
1911 fair was quite different
from previous fairs in that
old-time harness races were cut
out in favor of up-to-date motor
races. They and the bi-plane
drew large crowds. The fair
association felt that the 1911
fair marked one of the greatest
successes and attracted the
attention of more people and
over a greater scope of country
than any county fair in the
state. 1915 was the year of the
largest attendance in the fair’s
21 years.
The
Fair continued to grow over the
years and by 1924 the Fair
association felt that the fair
was one of the most successful,
and had accomplished what a
county fair is suppose to do …
provide entertainment and
instruction through a
diversified program featuring
something of interest to every
man, woman, and child who
attended.
There were some special features
for the 1924 fair. A nine-piece
orchestra entertained on the
grandstand each afternoon and
evening with the latest popular
jazz and ragtime numbers. The
LeRoy Band played from the
amphitheater each afternoon. The
band music was always one of the
most pleasant features of the
fair. The
night show featured special
harness and saddle stakes and a
fireworks display lasting 45
minutes.
Officers were elected and plans
were made for another big fair
in 1925, but one was not to take
place. On April 8, 1925 after a
high school track meet held on
the fair ground, the
amphitheater caught fire and
burned to the ground. The
association decided to use the
insurance from the fire to pay
off the indebtedness and
dissolve the Fair Association.
Entertainment
>>>
The Opera House
There was always something going
on at the opera house. It was
the entertainment center for the
whole community from delightful
plays, the latest musicals, to
melodramas when the audience
always hissed at the villain.
The Opera House was built in
1892 after the big fire.
It was wired for electricity in
1895. In 1914 a fire escape was
installed and the building was
sold. Williams’ Drug Store and
the Variety Store occupied the
lower floor for many years. The
Opera House was then used for
dances frequently on Saturday
nights. LeRoy never was much of
a show town, as was Rantoul and
Bloomington, but it did have
good entertainment put on by
local talent known as the LeRoy
Comedy company. The Opera House
was used for other purposes as
well. One of
the most gala of these events
was the annual charity ball.
People in those days really knew
how to dance. When the strains
of the “Over the Waves” waltz or
“Two Little Girls in Blue” would
drift through the air, the
couples would sweep and twirl
gracefully down the length of
the polished floors.
Chautauqua
In
the gay 90s or at the turn of
the century the Chautauqua
became the most American thing
in America. LeRoy became part of
the circuit and was provided
entertainment for four or five
days at a time. Chautauquas were
still coming to town in the late
1920s. They offered great
orators, music, drama, magic,
art lessons, comedy, debates,
lectures, and political
speeches. Because of poor
attendance in 1928, a deficit
resulted. Movies, radios, and
the automobile were satisfying
the need for entertainment. With
the passing of the Chautauqua,
LeRoy lost one of the finest
types of entertainment and one
that the whole family was able
to attend together.
Turkey Trot Day
A
jaunty spirit would pervade the
crowds on Turkey Trot day. The
town would swarm with people
hoping to catch a turkey or
other fowl for Thanksgiving
dinner. It was July the Fourth
without the fireworks. It was a
carnival day without sideshows.
School was dismissed for the day
and all had a real holiday.
In
November of 1917, the first
turkeys were catapulted from the
embattlements of the store roofs
at 10 o’clock on Turkey Trot
Day, and then again on the hour
for six hours. Every turkey had
its own idea on how to reach
terra firma or the eager arms of
its captor. Some took a
tailspin, some looped the loop,
some had enough “gasoline” to
fly several blocks, some landed
in tree tops and others lost
control, but the pursuers were
relentless and their capture
followed.
150
turkeys, geese, ducks, chickens
and guineas were given away in
November of 1930. The fowls were
not thrown from the roof tops,
but were given away as prizes
for winners in the fat men’s
race, throwing the rolling pin
contest, the pillow fight, the
fiddlers contest, the husband
calling contest, funniest
dressed couple, the oldest
couple, the ladies egg race, the
wheelbarrow race and the couple
with the largest family. A
greased pig was let loose and
became the possession of the
most agile to capture it.
LeRoy’s Centennial
The
four-day celebration of the 100th
anniversary of LeRoy from Oct 17
to 20, 1935 was a great occasion
and made a fitting grand finale
for the end of the first
century. The Centennial brought
to thousands a consciousness of
the ties that bound them to
LeRoy. It was the awakening of
the mind to the many astounding
changes that had come through
the century. The four -day
celebration included stunt
pilots, parachutists, singers,
band concerts, parades, stories
of the history of LeRoy and the
early days, and inspirational
music provided an ending to a
most memorable event.
The
elaborate and popular LeRoy
Centennial Celebration in 1935
led citizens to begin holding
the LeRoy Fall Festival in 1936.
The multiple day festivals were
held yearly to the present
except the WW II years. Carnival
rides and changing entertainment
due to changing tastes of the
times brought thousands to the
festivals.
The LeRoy Fall Festival is
still an annual event in the
community.
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