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The 1922 Arkansas State Fair was held in Little Rock, exactly where it was held in 1921.
No, it wasn’t at the current State Fairgrounds off Roosevelt Road. And it wasn’t at Fair Park. Nor was it in Forest Park in the Heights. MacArthur Park? no
It used a long slope and wide hill near what is now the Arkansas School for the Deaf and the Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The main entrance gate to the State Fair in 1921 and 1922 was on West Markham Street at Thayer Street.
Not that anyone should care about that except history students, history teachers, and retirees who are, shall we say, history tourists. Everyone else should be only vaguely aware that the state fair is moving and hasn’t always been in Little Rock. The old news got too excited about this years ago when the column was young and didn’t know up from down yet. (See arkansasonline.com/96old and, for good measure, arkansasonline.com/1010pulco.)
A curious feature of the 1921 nine-day state fair is how it was hailed as the “first” state fair in Arkansas, even though the first state fair in Arkansas was in November 1868 around where 17th Street meets Center Street in Little Rock today. Compounding the confusion, the 1922 fair was billed as the second Arkansas State Fair.
But leave it. Instead, let’s talk about livestock valuation.
On its page “Society and Clubs Section” on August 13, 1922, the Arkansas Democrat announced that it was working with the State Fair Association to find the most photogenic girl in the state. This Queen of Arkansas will officially open the doors to the state fair on October 9, the first day of the seven-day fair in 1922.
A court of six lower-ranking beauties would attend the queen. All seven will be selected through a time-efficient method, photo verification. Subsequent news reports explained that the judges would not be giving in-person interviews, as that would be unfair to “outside” contestants who could not afford a train ticket to Little Rock.
“Awards will be made on the basis of general appeal, by disinterested judges,” the paper promised. They were Mrs. Will Henniger of the Henniger Music Studio; Charles Evans, secretary of the Central Supply Co.; and TS Shannon of Turner-Shannon Stove Co. And who better to appreciate female beauty than a stove dealer?
The contest was open to any girl in the state…who could get an 8-by-10-inch print and mount it on a mat no larger than 11-by-14 inches. Also, this photo must be no more than 12 months old and free of “colorants”. Names and addresses must accompany photographs.
About 300 women submitted photos, and the newspaper published collages of their mugs in the weeks leading up to the fair. Out-of-town entries far outnumbered Little Rock residents. The newspaper reports that “the small-town photos are a revelation to the beauty pageant editor and prove conclusively that the ‘country girl’ is fully capable of holding her own against her urban rivals.”
Rewards include entertainment for the Queen and her attendants. In addition to receiving free railroad tickets, “during the two days the Queen and her attendants will be guests of the Arkansas Democrat and State Fair Association, they will be the center of such social gatherings as a reception at the governor’s office, a grand ball, and a “ceremony the coronation’, which will rival the splendor of European palace scenes’.
QUEEN FOR 2 DAYS
Originally planned for the steps of the state Capitol, the October 9 coronation actually took place at the Old Statehouse. Whoever wrote the scene for the Democrat almost painted the page purple.
Governor Thomas McRae respectfully crowned Miss Anna Marie Slaughter of England and Arkansas City (and formerly of Little Rock) “on the picturesque portico of the historic War Memorial Building with bright morning sun streaming through the tops of stately trees whose shadows cast a lace pattern on her snow-white columns.”
The queen – a well-built blonde with deep dimples and large blue eyes – proceeded “up the dignified approach to the steps of the Old State House, followed by her six maids, who rivaled their queen in feminine beauty.” These beauties were from Little Rock, Russellville, Hazen, Judsonia, Conway and Fort Smith. One of them, the Little Rock lady, was not a maid but a matron, Mrs. Julius S. Bemberg of 1110 E. 13th St.
The crowd fell into “awful silence as the Queen ascended the steps against the palm trees.”
The scene was “tinged with a glow of romance that recalled the mystical charm of a” … something or other now obscured by a blot of ink.
A radiant vision of beauty, Slaughter stepped forward to be hailed as “the most perfect example of a young woman in the community.” Moreover, her coronation was “an honor such as had never before been conferred on a beauty in the history of the state, and the ceremony had all the pomp and dignity appropriate to such a remarkable occasion.”
She wore a gorgeous chiffon velvet creation “designed and created” by Madame Fisk of the Gus Blass store. It was “a drapery pattern along Grecian lines” and reached below the ankles. Her feet were ‘encased’ in ornate silver slippers and her mass of golden blonde hair was dressed in the style of a queen, but simply polished.
She was so beautiful, everyone.
Two days later, Slaughter and her court abdicated and went home after various meals and opening the gate, dressed in fancy dress and all. They were even seated together in a box at the Majestic Theatre, where the emcee led the crowd in three wild cheers.
IN THE INTERIM
Tens of thousands of fairgoers discovered a gap, a grand performance with circus acts and four elephants, a car show and much more.
A state fair celebrates agricultural achievements, and anything that can be valued will be valued at the fair – dozens of cattle, pigs, chickens and sheep of various ages, of course, but also bread, pastries, small cakes, various small cakes, candies , jellies, fruits, vegetables, floriculture. There were also displays of farm implements, tree pests and pruning, the latest in beekeeping, cotton (39 varieties), apples, butter piles, grains, sorghum, kefir, sweet potatoes … and much more.
A physical map of the state’s soil types irked an Ozarks man who complained that his section was represented by crushed rock.
Anyone who has read about the American eugenics movement will not be accused of cringing at the reports that the Better Babies Health Department at the fair measured and evaluated 300 babies, white and black. Infant mortality was painfully high in the 1920s and an open to all health assessment clinic was a real need. But keep in mind that this assessment wasn’t quite like today’s health fair screenings. The “qualified professionals” gave each child’s parents a score card.
The ideal was standardized babies. See arkansasonline.com/1010yikes.
The two mostly perfect babies at the fair, reported in the Oct. 22 Arkansas Gazette, were undeniably cute, though. Charles Alvin Price Jr., 27 months, and Gloria Belle Jones, 30 months, tied for first place with scores of 99.5%. Both won silver love cups.
Charles was already a prized specimen after winning a blue ribbon at the state fair in 1921. But he did not grow up to enjoy the health that his fair measurements predicted. Two-year-old Charles died of a bone infection in February 1923. He was buried in Oakland and Brethren Historic Cemetery Park.
Email: cstorey@adgnewsroom.com
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