You could find just about anything at the Southeast Missouri District Fair. These women wanted to give you a pamphlet on how to “Survive Nuclear Attack.” If you had more questions, you could fill out a form (using a pencil secured to the table with a string) and drop it in the Question Box. I wonder it they were the ones who turned in the radio active girls.
The boys in the background probably have copies of the of the Cape Girardeau Police Department’s Police Safety Report and have been taught to Duck ‘n” Cover in school. My bet is that they’re more interested in trying to win the free bicycle from the Western Auto booth than in nuclear holocaust. (Click on any photo to make it larger.)
Crafts and produce
Cape was still rural in the mid-60s, so you’d find lots of hand-crafted items and big watermelons.
In addition to commercial exhibits, you could find ones that had hand-lettered signs warning “Alcohol is not a food. Alcohol is not a medicine. The first and major effect is to numb the brain.”
It might have been raining outside, based on the wet hair on a couple of the girls and the wet shirt on the boy in the bike picture.
Trying to get lucky
This appears to be a booth for selling life insurance, so I don’t know what these boys were trying to win with the forms they were filling out. The boy standing on the left has a raft of shamrock necklaces around his neck. Maybe he thinks they’ll bring him luck.
Now I see what they were doing. When I made the frame larger, I could barely see that you could win a bike or a hair dryer. I bet that round thing on the table at the right was the hair dryer. I think I know which one the boys were trying to win.
Food for survival
Cape Girardeau had its share of pretty flower gardens, but a lot of back yards grew enough vegetables to keep the family well-fed.
THAT’S an ear of corn
The fair was where farmers came to hear about the latest and greatest developments to help them produce more with less.
Here are some past fair stories:
- The 1964 Fair, including the midway, food joints and, of course, rain.
- Mother covers the 2011 SEMO Fair (and does a pretty good job of it)
SURE IT,S RAINING IT,S THE FAIR, WE NEED TO HURRY UP THE FAIR SO WE CAN GET SOME RAIN, MY LAWN AND GARDER IT.
MWGIVENS
Momma & I always hit the arena bldg to see the crafts,flowers, food—we both loved sewing and enjoyed seeing wht others had made—–worked at fair one year in the restaurant in the arena bldg—–had a great time and met lots of “carnies”, visited in their trailer homes, and got to know a lot of them—now I’m friends with the “Flying Wallendahs” and will see Tino June 3rd.—-thanks for great memories!!!
Frony shot a picture of Civil Defense supplies being stored at the Arena Building in 1963. Fallout shelters at the time were the H-H Building, Rueseler Auto Sales, Marquette Hotel, Hirsch’s Midtown Grocery, Washington School, Central High School, Houck Field House, First Baptist Church, Junior High School and the Arena Building.
http://www.semissourian.com/blogs/flynch/entry/38208