SC Rewind: Remembering Fall Fairs

In this week's Rewind Robert Smith takes a nostalgic look back at the ‘Old Days’ when harness racing at the annual fall fairs in many communities was a popular pastime. A number of old and interesting photographs accompany today's offering.

The following excerpt was taken from an August 2008 copy of LEGION magazine. It reveals some interesting details of how and when country fairs first began. Today some 250 years later, fairs are still popular but have obviously undergone many changes.

On May 21, 1765, approximately 100 farmers from the District of Windsor in central Nova Scotia, just west of Halifax, trudged along rough and rutted dirt roads to the settlement that had sprung up around the British garrison known as Fort Edward. They left behind fields and farms to participate in the first country fair to be held in North America and they brought with them their best livestock -- horses, cattle, oxen, hogs and sheep -- not to mention samples of their grain and homemade foodstuffs.

Agricultural fairs and exhibitions have been a part of our culture dating back to colonial times. While the earliest of fairs were small and featured mainly agricultural exhibits, they soon grew in stature and their scope of activities widened. Their main purpose has always been to entertain those who attend. According to historians, the early fairs were modelled after those held in England. It is believed that around the mid 1800's is when harness racing became an essential part of many fairs. From that time on, the majority of fairs featured the sport in its most basic form.

Every fair was a bit different and obviously some were better than others. The bigger fairs raced on multiple days and probably offered larger purses. Some spots such as Lindsay often offered a special incentive such as a $5 bill to a winning driver. The "good" fairs provided free straw and maybe even hay which was an added bonus. Also of interest was the food that was served on the grounds as hungry travelling horsemen and their families liked to gather following the race day and enjoy some of the local down home cookin'. When a local merchant or horse loving individual gave a blanket or a cooler to a winning horse, that was a great prize!

Harness racing at fairs reached its peak during the 1940's and 50's. As an example, 60 years ago in 1954 at least one day of racing was held at a total of 206 locations in nine provinces across the land. While not all were part of fairs, the majority were. Listed by Province, the number of locations are shown in parenthesis. Ontario (124), Quebec (24), Saskatchewan (21), Manitoba (13), New Brunswick (8), Nova Scotia (7), P.E.I. (5), Alberta (3), B.C. (1) Newfoundland (0). Sixty years has spelled a lot of change.

In the small town where I grew up, our annual fair was an important part of most resident's annual entertainment calendar. People set aside the days to attend the events and many were involved in various capacities on a volunteer basis. I can recall the time when all of the 14 local schools, most were the one room type, assembled on the opening day of the fair and marched several blocks ending at the fairgrounds. Each school carried a banner showing their school's SS# as it was known as in those days. Children wore simple crepe paper sashes and arm bands. A judging took place with an award going to the best looking school's marching corps. Of course once in the fair's gates it was a day of fun. I am pleased to say that the fair is still ongoing now in its 160 th year. In the early years they had racing I'm told, but not in my lifetime.

Hijinx on the Track

The following short anecdotes are but a few meant to recall the old days of racing at the fairs.

One of my favourite stories from the "Fair Era" involves the legendary Barney Hughes of London, Ont., a larger than life character that seemed to be involved in some way with nearly every old story. It seems that the judges ruled Barney off the track for beating the pole horse away too many times which was a "no no" in the old days before the era of the starting gate. He was told to leave the racecourse and secure another driver. After a very lengthy delay, Barney's horse reappeared on the track. The ‘new’ driver had altogether different coloured driving silks than Barney, but somehow there was more than a minimal resemblance in build and stature. If you have caught on by now to Barney's attempt to remain in the race, you have also uncovered his wily ways. And YES, he was, along with his horse, eventually ruled out of the race.

Many years ago while racing at the Lindsay Fair, future Hall Of Famer Vic Rowntree was involved in an accident driving a mare named Iola Grattan. In the process he was propelled high in the air, but luckily was not injured and in fact walked away unhurt once he landed. Shortly after the incident a young reporter from the local paper approached him for a few details in hopes of writing a story. When asked how high he had been thrown in the air, Vic replied, "I went up so high that I could see the time on the clock in the Town Square, and it's a half mile away."

Tom French was racing at a fair somewhere near his home area of Elmvale, probably some little spot up in Simcoe or Dufferin County. He had a trotter that was a bit erratic but one that could get the job done when he stayed flat. On this day it was ultra foggy; in fact, dense fog shrouded everything. As the field left the post Tom's horse went on an extended break, pretty much out of it before the race started. When Tom finally got him settled the field was so far ahead they couldn't be seen. An idea popped into Tom's mind so he pulled up at the head of the stretch. The others went on cutting through the fog. As thundering hooves were heard past the three-quarter pole the second time around, the cunning Mr. French started his horse in motion and this time with his smooth trotting gait displayed, he sailed under the wire, a winner by many open lengths !
(This story had to be true because every time Tom told it, he did so with a straight face.)

While today the era of fall fair racing is but a distant memory to many, there are still those around who got their start there. The racing was often a bit disorganized; sometimes races were held up for what seemed like forever waiting for an entrant to make their way on to the track. Many other similar calamities were natural occurrences of those long ago days. Whatever it was, people loved it and showed up in droves to watch their favourite steed in action and when the season was over they couldn't wait until next year.

For the older folks in the reading audience, undoubtedly many personal recollections remain from this bygone era. If anyone has a special memory they would like to share, please feel free; I'll bet your story will be interesting. It is hard to imagine that at one time so many fairs held racing. This year just a handful continue the tradition with just two in the entire Province of Ontario. Times do change.

Pictures & Captions

Twin brothers Boyd and Lloyd Ayre show their prize twin Southdown sheep at a fair in Oshawa in 1930. [Archives of Ontario photo]

Driver Bill Hicks and his father Vern on the left accept the Brillinger Trophy at the 1968 Markham Fair. Family members were on hand to make the presentation following a victory by Missile Dares. Not a lot of people wore fur coats at the fairs so this occasion must have been special.

A field of horses are sent away by the starter at the Lindsay fair [Courtesy of Lindsay Ex]

Caledonia, Ont., located along the Grand River, was once a popular racing spot as evidenced by this vintage photo

A very old aerial photo of the Lindsay fairgrounds shows a huge attendance. The track is visible at the rear of the grounds [Courtesy of Lindsay Ex]

In the 1950's a series of races were held at Niagara Peninsula tracks called The Peninsula Stakes. Here is a 1960 picture taken at the Ancaster Fair following that year's final. The winner was Germika, driven by Ron Feagan shown receiving a trophy from Mrs. Thos. McDonnell. At the horse's head is Jack Kenney while Allan Dickenson is next to the driver. The cooler was courtesy of Les Ehrlick.

This great old photograph taken many years ago at Rutland, Vermont (see the name on the grandstand roof) shows a field of horses entering the first turn. The infield with cars parked close to the track made a great vantage point for race viewers. Because of the closeness of the northern border of Vermont and the Province of Quebec, many Canadian horsemen competed there especially at fair time. Towns such as Rutland, Essex Junction, Barton, Tunbridge and Lyndonville were stops in The Green Mountain State.