Minnesota State Fair Grand Stand

THE GRAND STAND

State Fair Grounds, Twin Cities

Property comprising 350 acres and 100 buildings, worth nearly $1,750,000. Grand stand is 370 feet long, 171 feet deep, 105 feet high, has 160,000 square feet of exhibition apace, and seats 13,000 persons.

estimated date of postcard 1916-1920 

The 2015 Minnesota State Fair is August 27 – September 7 

Ohio State Fair Grounds -- Horticultural Displays

The first Ohio State Fair was held in 1850 in Cincinnati. Locations varied in the early years of the fair. In 1886, the Fair moved to its current location in Columbus, Ohio.

The dates of the 2015 Ohio State Fair are July 29 to August 9.

This postcard was mailed in April, 1915.

New York World's Fair: Sunshine Bakers

Those very merry midget Sunshine Bakers are shown building a good foundation for a business here with one ton of Krispy Crackers — America's No. 1 Cracker! These little bakers are drawing great crowds at the Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company exhibit at the New York World's Fair, entertaining with a variety program of magic, singing, dancing and dramatic sketches. Don't miss 'em! Food North building.

CELEBRATE THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1939-40 WORLD'S FAIRS
Look for more World's Fair Postcards on the Postcardy Blog on Fridays.
To view past World's Fair posts, click here or on the exposition label.

Dayton Company 1940 Aquatennial Float

This is a postcard of the 1940 Dayton's Department Store Minneapolis Aquatennial parade float. 1940 was the first year of the Minneapolis Aquatennial, which is still celebrated every July.

This postcard is printed in a greenish tone that isn't reproduced accurately on my computer. The back is labeled "OFFICIAL AQUATENNIAL VIEWS • GILE PRESS, MINNEAPOLIS."  This suggests that Gile Press may have published other postcards of Aquatennial views, but this is the only one I have seen.

I was able to identify the year of the float on my postcard when I found a black and white photo online of the same float.

1940 Dayton Company Float

source

I also saw images of Dayton's 1941 Showboat float that looked similar, but not the same.

1941 Dayton Company Float

 source

Here is a historic video of the Aquatennial parade, dated 1941.

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Beautiful Aquatennial Parade

This postcard doesn't identify the year of the float in the description on the back. through the internet, I was able to discover that it is the 1957 Dayton's department store prize winning float. If you look closely, you can see the Dayton's name on the front of the float near the bottom right of the postcard.

Dayton's was the leading department store in Minneapolis for many years. The Dayton's building is still in downtown Minneapolis, and it is still a department store. But now it is a Macy's and the only department store in downtown Minneapolis. I'm not sure it should even be called a department store, because it is missing many of the "departments" formerly found in department stores.

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1939 World's Fairs

This year is the 75th anniversary of two important world's fairs (expositions) held in the U. S. One was held in San Francisco and the other in New York. Both fairs were held a second year in 1940. To celebrate the 75th anniversary, I am going to feature postcards from these fairs on my blog on Fridays.

The San Francisco fair was called the Golden Gate International Exposition and was held on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. It celebrated the completion of San Francisco's two large new bridges--the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (opened in 1936) and the Golden Gate Bridge (opened in 1937).

The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was held at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (also the location of the1964–1965 New York World's Fair). This exposition was based on the future, allowing visitors to view "the world of tomorrow."

CELEBRATE THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1939-40 WORLD'S FAIRS
Look for more World's Fair Postcards on the Postcardy Blog on Fridays.
To view past World's Fair posts, click here or on the exposition label.

Riddle on a Stick

 

This is a postcard with a corndog riddle that I got at the Minnesota State Fair a few years ago. A corndog is a hot dog sausage coated in a thick layer of cornmeal batter, typically deep fried and served on a stick.  Corndogs are one of the oldest and most popular foods on a stick, but there are many other foods on a stick available at the state fair. A long list of Food on a Stick at the Minnesota State Fair is here, and a list of the 10 Most Unusual Foods on a Stick at the MN State Fair is here.

 I am posting this now because today is National Something on a Stick Day. Earlier this week, March 22 was National Corndog Day.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Here are two maximum cards featuring the Gettysburg Address stamp that was issued on November 19, 1948. The issue date was exactly 85 years from the date Abraham Lincoln made his most famous speech at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The first card shows the Lincoln Speech Memorial at Gettysburg. The second postcards has the text* of the speech.

November 19, 1863 was four and a half months after Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. November 19, 2013 is the sesquicentennial (150 years) anniversary of the Gettysburg Address.

Beginning with the now-iconic phrase "Four score and seven years ago," referring to the Declaration of Independence, written at the start of the American Revolution in 1776, Lincoln examined the founding principles of the United States in the context of the Civil War, and memorialized the sacrifices of those who gave their lives at Gettysburg and extolled virtues for the listeners (and the nation) to ensure the survival of America's representative democracy, that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." (source: Wikipedia)

* There are five known manuscript copies of the Gettysburg Address that are each named for the associated person who received it from Lincoln. The versions differ in their wording, punctuation, and structure. The Bliss copy, named for Colonel Alexander Bliss, has become the standard version of the text and the source for most facsimile reproductions of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. 

This is a post for Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Minnesota State Fair 2013 -- Postcard Exhibits

 

I entered some Post Card Frames in the Minnesota State Fair for the first time this year. I entered a frame of Twin City Lines postcards by V. O. Hammon in the Minnesota category (above) and a frame of Smokey Bear postcards in the chrome category (below).

The rules allow from 6 to 24 postcards on boards. There are 10 categories, and all except linens and chromes must be pre-1920. (Technically, the rules do not allow for cards of the 1920s. This doesn't seem right to me, since there are not always definitive clues to the age of white border and real photo postcards. I think it would make more sense to specify pre-1930).

The categories are:

• Mixed era: trace one subject using cards from more than one era
• Artist signed or greeting
• Minnesota post cards
• Views, place or buildings, etc. scenic nature (non-Minnesota)
• People: famous, occupational, etc
• Novelty cards
• Transportation cards.
• Topic: historical event, dogs, cats, mining, fishing, etc
• Linen era post cards
• Chrome (slick finish) modern post cards 

The frames are scored as follows:

• Quality of Material — 30%
• Design and general appearance —30%
• Condition — 20%
• Value in point of interest — 20%

The postcard frames are displayed in glass cases in the Creative Activities Building. I photographed the displays like I did in 2012 (see Minnesota State Fair - Postcard Exhibits). The photos are poor quality due to low light and reflections, but I think they interesting nevertheless in that they show the variety of topics and display designs. I wish they would show the category along with the board. Some could fit in more than one category; some don't seem to quite fit any of the categories; some could be from the "Creative Collections" division. Below are the postcard displays that received first and second place ribbons.(Click the images to enlarge them for a better view. Depending on your browser and/or operating system, you may then be able to enlarge more by right-clicking and choosing the "View Image" option. The original images posted are 1067px x 1600px).

Sweepstakes Winner — Little Bears Set by Tuck

St. Paul Winter Sports Carnival

Christmas Greetings from Santa Claus

Leap Year

Halloween Sets by Nash

Minnesota's Coast — North Shore of Lake Superior

Early Antique Postcards with Undivided Backs

Dark Haired Girl (left); Leather Postcards (right)

Swiss Guards — Guardians of the Pope

Early American Motorcycles

Snowbirds Vacation Circa 1935 (left); Why Not Collect Postcards? (right)

Niagara Cave

World War II Pre-Printed Postcards

World's Only Corn Palace

Marshall Field & Company

Gertrude

The Black Forest Village - Century of Progress 1934

The postcard above has a panoramic drawing of the "Schwarzwald Dorf" which was a representation of  a German country village in the winter. The German Black Forest Village was one of the foreign villages at the 1934 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago. (Merrie England was one of the other villages and was featured in last week's Sepia Saturday post). Buildings had synthetic snow banked on roofs and artificial icicles hanging from eaves. There were a toboggan slide, a frozen mill pond, and air-conditioned buildings.

Here is how the Black Forest Village was described in the Official 1934 World's Fair Guidebook:

Ice skating exhibitions are given continuously on the mill pond. Surrounding the mill pond are picturesque village houses and shops in which are carried on German home industries. You see cuckoo clocks made, canes carved and a village blacksmith hammering out small useful articles. Home manufacture of Kirsch is one of the village activities. German orchestra and strolling musicians give the musical entertainment. The villagers are in the quaint German mountaineer costumes.

The postcards below show some of the Black Forest Village scenes published by Western Photogravure Co. of Chicago. Put on your walking shoes and join the fairgoers for a walking tour of the village.

Exterior View

North Gate

Street Scene

Old Watch Tower

The Promenade

Ice Pond


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United States Bicentennial & Stamps

The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that commemorated the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. The Bicentennial culminated on Sunday, July 4, 1976, with the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

The maximum card above has an image of a bust of John Paul Jones and the U.S. Bicentennial stamp honoring him. This is one of MANY U.S. Bicentennial stamps, which were issued over a period of years from 1971 to 1983. I couldn't find a list of all the issues. Wikipedia's Bicentennial Series article even seems to neglect the John Paul Jones stamp which was issued on September 23, 1979, saying that there were no Bicentennial stamps between 1978 and 1981.

John Paul Jones (1747-1792) was an American Revolutionary hero who served in the Continental Navy. Born in Scotland, Jones later adopted the United States as his own country. He commanded the Bonhomme Richard and fought against the British during the Revolutionary War. It was during a battle against the British ship Serapis that he made the iconic statement, "I have not yet begun to fight!" Jones died in Paris in 1792. His remains were later returned to the United States and interned in Annapolis, Maryland. (Source: Arago)

The back of the John Paul Jones card has two cancellations related to him and two Bicentennial stamps. The American Militia and Continental Army stamps were issued on July 4, 1975. They are part of block of four designs that show uniforms worn by the Continental Army, Navy, Marines, and American militia during the Revolutionary War. These stamps have the Bicentennial logo.

The U.S. Bicentennial was a big event. I found a Bicentennial cartoon on YouTube that was produced by a U.S. government agency. It is packed full of iconic American symbols presented in a wild and crazy way with 1970s era graphics!

This is a post for Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

King Turkey Day - Worthington, Minnesota

The following description is from the back of this postcard:

KING TURKEY DAY: Worthington's annual late summer festival. Started in the late 1930s, featuring a large parade lead by a flock of turkeys and many other attractions including the Great Gobbler Gallop, a turkey race between Worthington and Cuero Texas to determine the Turkey Capital of the World.

In the “Great Gobbler Gallop” the turkeys race through the streets of each town. Worthington’s turkey racer is named Paycheck, and the Texas bird is named Ruby Begonia. The turkey is chased by a human racing team that tries to steer their turkey toward the finish line by using noisy paddles. They are not allowed to actually touch the turkey. The King Turkey Day Grand Parade, a one-half hour extravaganza, takes place after the race with bands, floats, politicians, beauty queens, clowns, etc.

The 2012 dates for King Turkey Day festival are September 14 and 15.