USA > Illinois > McLean County > Heritage of the prairie : a history of LeRoy and of Empire and West townships, McLean County, Illinois > Part 6
USA > Illinois > McLean County > Le Roy > Heritage of the prairie : a history of LeRoy and of Empire and West townships, McLean County, Illinois > Part 6
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On the grounds there were 90 shingle-roofed box stalls for horsemen, a good well of water and new offices, all of which made this one of the best equipped fairgrounds in central Illinois.
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 magnificicent grandstand which was free to the public and from which every foot of the race track could be seen. The races were one of the leading features of the weck.
In the year of 1910, a ticket admitting horse, team or automobile once was 25c. Admission to the grandstand for each afternoon performance was 10c. There were 26 different departments for exhibits that year.
The harness races each afternoon were pacing and trotting races with $300 as the purse in each. Also, there were running races; on Tuesday a half-mile; Wed. 3/4-mile; Thursday 5/8-mile and one-mile dash running on Friday with $50 purse for each race.
Five-mile car races were included in each day's program. Class A was for runabout or roadster costing under $1200 with a purse of $20; a purse of $25 for a car costing over $1200; a purse of $30 for a touring car costing under $2000; and a purse of $35 for a car costing more than $2000. There was a special premium for the best display of four or more one make of runabout or touring cars with a purse of $15.
There was a special exhibit, a baby show with four divisions : babies under 6 months, 6 to 12 months, babies 12 to 18 months, and twin babies under 8 months. Prizes of silver
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Racing at the LeRoy Fair
cups, knife, fork and spoon sets or medals were given to baby boy and baby girl winners in each division.
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. Harry W. Powers, the bi-plane aviator, gave the crowd more than their money's worth. Each afternoon at 3:30, he sailed up several hundred feet, and flew several miles in a circular course above the heads of the spectators. He made these successful flights, always alighting with the same great skill and getting the same glad hand from the crowd.
The baby show was held Thursday morning with 40 babies on exhibit. Among them were four pairs of twins.
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.
On Thursday, August 19, 1915, the LeRoy Fair had the largest attendance in all of its 21 years. Auto loads from 50 and 60 miles away were in attendance. Men stationed at the gates in the evening counted the cars as they left and the count was 1,376.
Ruth Law, known as Queen of the Air, made flights three days. On Wed. and Thurs. she rose to a height over 2000 feet, and carried a passenger who made a parachute drop. As he descended, circles were circumscribed around him by the flying machine. This was a most spectacular stunt. Miss Law made a second flight each day, a race with an auto or motorcycle. She used a large sized Wright machine with a wing spread more than 40 feet. She was paid $1000 a day.
The thirtieth annual LeRoy Fair was held August 12 to 16, 1924, and was a very successful one in all areas - attendance, exhibits, races, entertainment, and whatever goes to make up a county fair. The exhibits were larger in number as well as in size of the entries than they had been for several years. This was especially true of the garden produce and fruits.
There was real competition, especially in the cattle and swine departments. There were many entries in the sheep department as well, there being about 100 head. More horses were entered than ever before, about 150 head.
The fine exhibit of farm machinery, most of it in motion, was of particular interest in that it presented to interested buyers the latest in corn shellers, corn pickers, binders, cream separators and washing machines. Also on exhibit were three "Range Eternal" ranges that created much interest.
Other departments that included flowers, canned fruits, jellies, culinary goods, and textiles were swamped with entries.
Perhaps the one with the most entries was the Baby Conference with 207 entries and in which $145 in premiums was distributed. Scoring was done with a scientific method developed by the American Medical Association. There were five areas of testing : mental; physical; oral and dental; eye, ear, nose and throat; weight and measurements. Each mother received a copy of the examination record and from this record it was possible to know in mathematical terms the degree of perfection of her child.
The most perfect child between the ages of one and five years was given a Sterling silver trophy by the state governor, Len Small.
The conference that year included a new division, the Improvement Class. This included all children under six years of age who were examined at the fair the year before and were entered again. Awards were made to the four children showing the greatest improvement during the year.
Governor Small gave a sterling silver trophy to the most perfect child, one to five years of age, and a certificate of merit to each child attaining a score of 90% or better.
The Better Babies Conference was inaugurated to encourage and promote better human stock.
There were some special features for the 1924 fair. A nine-piece orchestra, The Whispering Syncopators, enter- tained on the grandstand each afternoon and evening with the latest popular jazz and ragtime numbers. All could also sing and dance.
The LeRoy Band, under the leadership of Bernard Strongman, 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
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The Grandstand is fult at the LeRoy Fair
and a fireworks display lasting 45 minutes. Some of the special set pieces were the Bombardment of Fort McHenry, Spark Plug and the noted Head-on Collision, where two locomotives come together. Trapeze performers and the "Bucking Ford" added their share to the entertainment for the week.
Passenger planes were on the grounds throughout the week and carried all passengers who cared to ride. Many took advantage of the opportunity for an airplane ride.
The harness races for Thursday featured a 2:09 pace, a 2:20 trot and a 2:25 pace. There also were running races.
The automobile races on Saturday were conducted by the Central Illinois Racing Association, whose headquarters were in Rantoul. The association guaranteed at least 16 cars at the races and often had as many as 25. Nine cars took part in the main 20-mile race for a stake of $500.
The Fair Association felt that the 1924 fair was one of the most successful, and had accomplished what a county fair is supposed to do ... provide entertainment and instruction through a diversified program featuring something of interest to every man, woman and child who attended.
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 grounds, 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.
WOMEN AND THE LEROY FAIR
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 was 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.
There were about eight classes which were of special interest to women and to enter into competition in any one of these meant plans must be made far in advance of fair days.
If one were interested in the culinary arts, she must can the fruit at just the peak of ripeness, and make the jellies and preserves at that time. If her interest lay in the textile department, most likely the quilts, knitting, crocheting, tatting, etc. were all done during the long winter hours preceding the fair with each one dreaming of a premium or premiums she hoped would be hers.
There were divisions that boys and girls could enter: textiles, produce, poultry, and educational. If sons and daughters wished to enter one or more, mother would have to oversee the work and make decisions as to what ones were ready for competition. This competition was by either age or grade in school. Father was usually too busy to help this supervision, either with the summer harvesting or perhaps getting some farm animals ready for exhibit.
A special exhibit in a class by itself was the Baby Show. The entries throughout the years grew from about 40 to more than 200. Who would be more involved beside the babies than the mothers?
There was still another classification of which the women became a part. This was the equestrianship class and men. women, boys and girls could compete. There was both riding and driving and competition was usually keen, particularly in the ladies' riding.
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. This required extra cleaning, cooking, and planning on the part of the homemaker.
Many families spent the entire day at the fair and usually planned a picnic dinner at noon. There was usually a little extra food provided in case some of the family met a friend or friends from out of town who would be invited to eat with the family.
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Motorcycle Race, Carl Booker, at the LeRoy Fair
LeRoy Fair officials spared no time and expense to bring to the people of this vicinity unusual features and attractions. One year the fastest pole team in the world was here - a beautiful, bay in color, named Lady Maud C. and Hedgewood Boy.
The LeRoy Fair Association is said to have originated the $1,000 harness and saddle stakes. For 10 years there were five $1,000 harness and saddle stakes, attracting the largest stables in the central west, as well as stables in New Hampshire, Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, and other states. They attracted some of the finest horses in the United States.
Two noted flyers here were Lincoln Beachey and Lieuten- ant Locklear. Beachey was the first man to loop the loop and fly upside down. What a thrill for the LeRoy Fair crowd!
The fair in 1903 was advertised in a rather unique way by an advertising folder showing a pretty young lady in a bathtub. The copy on the folder advertised the fair as "more exhibitions, more races, more attractions, more amuse- ments than any fair in the state." Spencer's Military Band of 24 men was slated to play every day of the fair. This advertising folder was found in a house that was being dismantled near Padua and brought to The LeRoy Journal in June of 1948.
In 1911, Aldo Smith of LeRoy purchased a new Indian motorcycle and expected to enter it in the races at the fair in August. Other boys who had motorcycles and took part in the races were Adlia Whitaker and Lester Moss of LeRoy, and Charley Bane of Ellsworth.
On Tuesday morning about nine o'clock August 15, 1911, before the fair was officially opened, Wilson Richmond of Champaign was killed while trying out his racer on the track. Permission had been granted him to do this. He was going 50 miles per hour and tried to make a square turn at the northwest corner of the track. The strain was too great for a
wheel which severed loose spokes. His machinist who was with him jumped and escaped with only a few scratches.
Part of the Rules and Regulations for 1913 stated that anyone hitching to or defacing any of the trees, or anyone getting into the fair grounds in an unlawful manner, would be prosecuted and fined $5 and the cost of prosecution.
Much amusement was afforded the crowds by the mule races. The riders could never tell if they would go, and if they did go, where. The pony races were surer to go as expected and were a source of much interest to everyone.
One person who took advantage of what the LeRoy Fair had to offer was Mrs. Grace Brittin, who was interested in equestrianship and made a great success of it. She was started on her riding career by the Ball Brothers of Versailles, Ky. and was with them for 10 years. She had eight years with W. D. Alexander of Bloomington. Her first gaited horse riding was for Carl B. Hayes of Mt. Vernon. She also rode for other noted stables. Her successful career took her to many places in Illinois and in other states as well.
Attendance for four or five successive days at the fair required careful planning for each one's wardrobe. In those earlier days many women and girls made their own dresses and that required many hours of sewing long before fair time. Even though many made their own clothes, there always was shopping to be done. New shoes were needed, and in those days, all women and girls wore hats. To think of going to the fair without a hat, and usually a new one at that, was unheard of.
The LeRoy Fair was not all work, for the women availed themselves of the opportunity to see the livestock. the machinery, the 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.
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Parade at the LeRoy Fair
Automobile Race
Horse Racing Automobile
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P & J Cafe
Route 150 LeRoy, Illinois
Hubbard's Sunoco 301 S. Chestnut LeRoy, Illinois 61752 Phone 962-9631
Davis Standard
Highway 150
LeRoy, Illinois 61752 Phone: 962-9409
Our 25th Year of Continuous Service Glenn L. Smith Farm Equipment Service 202 West Pine Street LeRoy, Illinois
JOE & FRANCES
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Miller's Poultry FRESH EGGS BY THE DOZEN OR CASE
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LEROY, ILLINOIS
962-9453
Mart's Welding Shop PORTABLE WELDING SERVICE BOLTS - BELTS - BEARINGS Phone 962-9160 LeRoy, Illinois
(309) 962-6921
C F & H CONSTRUCTION GENERAL CONTRACTOR
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500 E CEDAR ST LEROY. ILL 61752
Moss' Mobil Service
Complete Tire and Battery Service One Stop Truck and Auto Service Route 150 LeRoy, Illinois
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Le Roy Comedy Co.
LEROY COMEDY COMPANY
The Opera House
There was always something going on at the opera house. It was the entertainment center for the whole community. Young and old climbed the long, steep stairs and settled themselves in the theater-type seats to view the most delightful plays, the latest musicals, the funniest comedies, the most educational lectures, or the most exciting melodramas when the audience always hissed at the villain. Local young people played their violins, piano solos, sang, read poetry or gave readings.
LeRoy had an orchestra that played the "Stars and Stripes" as the opening number for all performances. During fair week, nightly stage shows were scheduled. Tubs of ice with fans behind them served as coolers on those hot summer nights, long before air-conditioning.
Rivival meetings were held there for a week of evenings at a time. Graduation exercises also took place there.
The Opera House was built in 1892 after the fire which burned out most of the block by Adam Murray and Dr. William Buckworth, who operated the dry goods store and the drug store below. It was lavishly decorated with brightly
colored fresco, panels and ornate embellishments donc in oils. It was wired for electricity in 1895. The backstage wall was, and still is, plastered with huge posters of the coming attractions of the times: "A Millionaire Tramp." "Burlesque, Burlesque, Burlesque," "The Old Hayseed" and others. The tiny dressing rooms are covered with the graffiti of actors' names.
In 1902 the Opera House was being managed by Murray and Buckworth. In 1908 the advertisement listed D. L. Buckworth as manager. After the death of Mr. Murray, Mrs. Murray was the manager for a time.
In 1914, she had a fire escape built. There was a platform along the windows on Center Street, 4 feet wide and 19 feet long. A ladder extended from the platform down to the sidewalk. In 1914, the 44 x 100' building was sold by the Adam Murrays' son, to J. E. Williams. The lower floor was occupied by Williams' Drug Store and the Variety Store for many years.
The Opera House was then used for dances frequently on Saturday nights with Mrs. Henry Oneal and her musical sons and daughters providing orchestra.
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. The Imperial Bell Ringers
GIRL FROM LOCATA
ELMER WALTERS'
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FEBRUARY
FEBRUARY
OFFERA
Play Bills on east wall of LeRoy Opera House
Money drawer in ticket office of LeRoy Opera House
Decorations around stage opening
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Main light fixture in ceiling of Opera House
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At the Chautauqua on East Center Street
A letter from Elmer Doggett in 1962 to the Journal in which he recalls the opera house days, follows in part:
"I then decided, for the benefit of the younger generation, to write a letter telling them about the LeRoy that I knew as a youngster and the closing of the Opera house as described by the former Bona Williams, for it leaves a memory of when I was 12 or 14 years old, shifting scenery in the opera house for the various shows that were held there. In return for this work, I was privileged to watch the shows from a "reserved seat."
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. There were also the usual number of medicine shows wherein the "Doctor," with his tall, silk hat, black mustache, rouged cheeks, and flashy "diamond" on his finger, would extol the merits of his tapeworm remedy and Kickapoo Indian Sagwah which was a sure cure (at a dollar a bottle) for any ache or pain the purchaser might be suffering from.
The local talent was excellent in productions such as "Dora Thorne," "Lena Rivers," and other novels of that age. LeRoy, being too far off the beaten track for the larger shows traveling to Chicago and St. Louis, had few of these big-time productions; however, we did see a few of these, including the operetta, "Under Southern Skies," and the comedy in three acts, "Pickin's from Puck." "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "Ten Nights in a Bar Room" were also standard fare for winter entertainment.
The old opera house, whose passing so many oldsters mourn, was used for other purposes also. One of the most gala of these events was the annual charity ball. Before the dance, a dinner was served on the stage by a troupe of Negro waiters and waitresses imported from Bloomington for the occasion. These people were entertainers as well as waiters,
and we were held spellbound by their agility as dancers. Decked out in long-tailed coats, the gentlemen would approach their partners with a sweeping, low bow, and they would dance the "cake-walk" with grace and skill that I never have seen equaled. The manager, D. L. Buckworth, always engaged me to shine shoes between dances. The fellows were anxious to impress each other, so they were very generous with their tips. I often made $25 to $30 during the course of the evening, which was a small fortune in those days.
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 swoop and twirl gracefully down the length of the polished floor."
CHAUTAUQUAS
In the gay 90s or at the turn of the century the Chautauqua became the most American thing in America. LeRoy became a part of the Chautauqua circuit and was provided entertainment for four and five days at a time. The tent was placed on the grounds where the Crumbaugh Library and Church is now.
Chautauquas were still coming to town in the late 1920s. There were both afternoon and evening performances. They offered great orators, music, drama, magic, art lessons, comedy, debates, lectures, and political speeches. It was not only entertaining, but also educational and was advertised as a "Feast for the Mind."
A group of people would sign a contract or guarantee with the Chautaqua company. Because of poor attendance in 1928, a deficit resulted. The need for entertainment was being satisfied by movies, radios, and the automobile. 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.
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S.F. A
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Races at the Fireman's Tournament looking west 1907-1912
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 Fourth of July without fireworks. It was a carnival day without sideshows.
Back 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 of 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.
A greased pole, eight inches in diameter, was placed horizontally and two boys straddled it, facing each other, and at the word "go" pummeled each other with sacks of straw until one fell off. As soon as one was knocked off, another boy took his place. About an hour later the winner received a chicken for the prize.
In November of 1930, the first Turkey Trot Day to be held since 1921, 150 turkeys, geese, ducks, chickens and guineas were given away. The fowls were not only thrown from roof-tops, but were given as prizes for winners in the fatmen'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 one most agile to capture it.
On Turkey Trot Day in 1931, guineas were released from a height. Some lit on window ledges and above awnings. There were daring pursuers who climbed walls to catch them. One lit on the roof of the Methodist Church and half a dozen men and boys found a way to climb up on the roof, but the guinea was captured by a lad on the ground.
These scrambles often caused some minor injuries, such as bruises, bumps and cuts. One boy fell eight feet from the Methodist Church roof and broke a bone in his foot. School was dismissed for the day and all had a real holiday.
HISTORIC SPOTS by Miss Oral Buck 1929
Naturally the historic spots which I will mention will be in and near LeRoy where I was born and raised. The building where Dr. Stephen Noble's office was located in the 1840s was a one-story substantial brick building which was razed only this year (1929) and an up-to-date structure erected in its place. The old building had been occupied continuously through these years - mostly by physicians - it being close in and convenient. My grandfather, Hiram Buck, was the first postmaster, justice of the peace and tavern keeper, having built this tavern in the early 1830s where the First National Bank now stands. $1 per week for room and board was the price paid to my grandfather and I can assure you the food was good because grandmother was chief cook and practically everything else about the tavern.
In 1839 the first saw, grist and cording mill was built by Elisha and Simon Gibbs on a slough at the southeast edge of town. The C.A. Pierce house, a modern structure, stands there now.
LeRoy, itself, is an historic spot for at one time in the 1840s it was the center of a half-mile race track. Folks could stand in their doors and watch the races. Some of the names of the race horses were Jim Crow, Black Hawk, Roan, Copper Bottom, Tiger Whip, and Clear the Kitchen.
In the early 1840s Edgar Conkling set out a mulberry grove for the purpose of starting a silk-worm industry but it never amounted to much. This plot of ground is now occupied by the J. T. & E. J. Crumbaugh Church, parsonage, and library. The first schoolhouse was built in 1840. It was a small, one-room, frame affair - and is still standing only a few rods from where it was built; two blocks north of the park and a little west, facing on the Illinois Central railroad. My father, Thomas Buck, has often shown me this old schoolhouse ... Some of the scholars in those days were Mrs. Amanda Buck, Crumbaugh, Aaron Conkling, Frank Kimler, Charles Whitaker, Ellen Buck Kline and Thomas L. Buck.
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