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What was the first Los Angeles County Fair like in 1922?

Signs at the L.A. County Fair — which begins its final week on Thursday and ends May 30 — remind visitors that this is the fair’s centennial and that the fair began in 1922. And that may make you wonder: What was the fair like in 1922?

Was there a 1920s version of weird fair food? (I’m picturing deep-fried Salisbury steak on a stick.) Did thrill rides force you to hold onto your fedora or hold down your petticoat?

Also, I wonder if there were nostalgic concert acts. I picture washed-up bands performing their big hit from the 1890s.

Allow me to try to answer these questions, with the assistance of 1922 newspaper clippings dug up for me by the Pomona Public Library’s Allan Lagumbay and a 2012 column by my history colleague Joe Blackstock about the first fair.

Let me set the scene. Pomona merchants casting about for ways to boost their town realized there was no Los Angeles County Fair. Rushing to fill a void, they set about hosting one. The hair-raising part must have been making it happen within months.

The original grandstand and race track are under construction in this photo prior to the Oct. 17, 1922 debut of the Los Angeles County Fair. The fair is now marking its centennial and ends May 30. (Courtesy Special Collections and Archives, Cal Poly Pomona)
The original grandstand and race track are under construction in this photo prior to the Oct. 17, 1922 debut of the Los Angeles County Fair. The fair is now marking its centennial and ends May 30. (Courtesy Special Collections and Archives, Cal Poly Pomona)

The fair association was incorporated in April, 40 acres of beet and barley fields north of Ganesha Park were bought in July, construction on a grandstand, race track and barns began in August and the fair was ready to go on Oct. 17. Wheee!

The Southern California Fair had just ended in Riverside when the Pomona fair opened. The five-day event ran Tuesday to Saturday, Oct. 17-21. Excitement was high. Hotels filled for miles around, including the Avis, today’s Mayfair Apartments, in downtown Pomona.

The first morning, 200 people were waiting to enter when the fair opened at 10 a.m. Children got in free that day and most schools in the area simply closed. Cars parked at the fair and along the sides of local streets. If you wanted to take public transit, you could ride the Pacific Electric trolley via a new spur line to the fairgrounds.

Music was offered by the Pomona Municipal Band, a forerunner of the Pomona Concert Band. Vaudeville entertainers did their acts. Lumberjack Charley was one. Another was Miss Edythe Sterling and her trained horse.

To my knowledge, the modern-day fair perennial, War, did not perform. If it had, the band could have sung “Low Rider,” about a lowered buggy.

The plane seen in the upper left corner of this photo was among the entertainment at the 1922 Los Angeles County Fair, which occupied a 40-acre field in Pomona. The fair this year is marking its centennial and ends May 30. (Courtesy Fairplex)
The plane seen in the upper left corner of this photo was among the entertainment at the 1922 Los Angeles County Fair, which occupied a 40-acre field in Pomona. The fair this year is marking its centennial and ends May 30. (Courtesy Fairplex)

Some entertainment took place in the air, courtesy of stunt flying and wing-walking exhibitions. Horse racing and chariot races occurred on the new track.

The midway was the work of Snapp Bros. Consolidated Shows. A photo shows a carousel and a Ferris wheel that looks no more than 30 feet high, the sort of thing you’d see at a carnival today.

The city, according to the Pomona Progress, banned “booths where things were won by chance.” So much for winning a stuffed animal for your date.

Speaking of which, livestock, which returned in 2022, was big in 1922, Pomona and L.A. County being primarily agricultural. Swine, cattle, goats, sheep and horses were judged, and displays included rabbits, guinea pigs and poultry.

Also, nearly 1,000 pigeons. The Pomona Bulletin reported that the fair would be “the largest pigeon show ever held in the west.” Let’s not dwell on the cleanup.

Three pigeons who served in World War I were special guests. They did not escape the war unscathed, although they did depart the fair without being deep fried.

“One of the hero birds has a leg shot off, another is minus an eye,” the Bulletin wrote, “and the third has a record of 53 messages carried over the trenches.”

Did fairgoers say to the birds “thank you for your service,” then offer to pay for their feed?

A view of the inaugural Los Angeles County Fair, which occurred Oct. 17-21, 1922 in Pomona and drew 50,000. Most of the activities took place in tents; only later were buildings constructed. The fair is now marking its centennial and ends May 30. (Courtesy Special Collections and Archives, Cal Poly Pomona
A view of the inaugural Los Angeles County Fair, which occurred Oct. 17-21, 1922 in Pomona and drew 50,000. Most of the activities took place in tents; only later were buildings constructed. The fair is now marking its centennial and ends May 30. (Courtesy Special Collections and Archives, Cal Poly Pomona

On the subject of feed, the first fair had 115 concessionaires. There was no Chicken Charlie, Bubba’s BBQ or other sprawling food stands selling giant turkey legs or crazy stunt food. Instead there were small operators or service clubs with homemade items.

A KCET story on the centennial says that at the first fair, “clubwomen served mince meat pies, pickled walnuts, potato chips and a homemade drink called the Ebell Zip.”

The Bulletin didn’t go into detail on the offerings but wrote that one could buy — pay close attention here — “food, drink, popcorn, candy and other indigestibles.”

Since the Bulletin was boosting the fair, either the writer was being cheeky or he or she meant “comestibles,” a fancy word for food items. But “indigestibles” may have been closer to the truth.

Were there any demonstration booths? Probably not. But I like to think some entrepreneur was selling a rug beater with a contoured grip (“As Seen in the Newspaper!”), or a Miracle Churn, promising you could churn your butter in half the time.

Pomona had never seen an influx of people like the first fair, which drew 50,000 people. Banners were hung on poles downtown, where an eye-popping number of American flags were flown, an estimated 2,500.

The main drag, Second Street, saw signs and banners of all types, leading to “a veritable forest of colors,” the Bulletin wrote. Today that would lead to a veritable blizzard of code-enforcement citations.

This crazy-quilt effect inspired a Second Coming-style headline across the top of the Bulletin’s front page: “City Riot of Color for Fair Opening.” That’s anticlimactic, although any headline that begins “City Riot” has a lot going for it.

There were no actual riots, to my knowledge, but plainclothes policemen roamed the fairgrounds to keep an eye out for pickpockets and such.

And police urged Pomonans attending the fair to take a precaution before leaving home: lock your doors. Readers, please take note of this innovative crime-busting tip.

Hard to believe today, but people back then routinely left their doors unlocked. If there was a 1920s version of Ring, instead of video of your doorstep, you would have gotten a telegram: “Unshaven man in domino mask and blackjack STOP. Ran when neighbors yelled STOP.”

Anyway, the first fair drew nearly 50,000 people, exceeding expectations, and was deemed a big success. Enough money came in to pay off the construction debt.

Thus, future L.A. County Fairs were all gravy. Mmm, gravy.

David Allen writes Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, more indigestibles. Email dallen@scng.com, phone 909-483-9339, like davidallencolumnist on Facebook and follow @davidallen909 on Twitter.


Source: Orange County Register

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