Huntington Beach’s country fair

A LOOK BACK

It was 1943 and the war was going badly. With many of our Huntington

Beach boys fighting in the military, morale at the home front needed

a boost.

The burdens of our townspeople were being stretched to the limits.

What with nightly blackouts, air raid drills and the threat of a

surprise attack on oil fields, it was no wonder our residents needed

an outlet for their emotions.

Going to church helped, but with the town’s Fourth of July parade

canceled, residents needed some kind of community involvement to take

their minds off the war.

This came about in a round-about way when the Huntington Beach

Garden Club began to plan their small fall festival event for their

members in 1943.

And as their ideas grew, so did the size of the event. With the

help of Bill Gallienne and several local townspeople the Garden

Club’s fall festival began to evolve into an old-time, three-day

country fair.

There would be bands, prizes, carnival rides, a carnival midway

and famous people appearing. Main Street would be decorated with corn

stalks, pumpkins and an old-fashion husking bee.

Old surreys and hay wagons would be parked at street corners to

give the business area a country look. The Pav-a-lon would be

converted into a country “corn palace” with banners and beautiful

senoritas playing guitars, singing and dancing to early California

tunes.

The idea was suggested that local merchants and residents dress in

country attire and when this was presented to the people everyone

liked the idea. Eve Druxman and Jack Robertson were in charge of the

costuming.

As plans were being made, more and more of our residents began to

take part in the event that would be held on Sept, 14 through 16,

1943.

Nearly half the town volunteered to be on some committee and there

were more than 35 committees, from Farmers Committee to Canned Fruits

and Vegetable committees to Cacti Committee, Flower Committee. Well,

you get the idea, there were a lot of committees. Gallienne, of the

Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce, prepared a 36-page booklet

explaining the how and what you can enter into the fair.

He mailed 2,000 of these booklets to the housewives living in the

Huntington Beach area.

Even our City Council got into the spirit of a country fair by

letting the fair be held in front of the pier and the use of the

Pav-a-lon.

Huntington Beach Mayor Tom Talbert authorized the use of city

equipment and police and firemen during the three-day event. Now what

would a country fair be without a “Fair Queen” and this fair would

have one, only this queen would be chosen a little differently.

She would be chosen by which girl sold the most war bonds up to

the day before the fair began and that girl would be queen.

Seven local girls entered the contest and these girls were Mary

Louise Chamness, Florence Dale, Lee Dodge, Colleen Gotschalk,

Hildreth Clark, Florence Pederson and Eileen Riley.

By now the fears of war were pushed to the back of the mind as

everyone started pitching in to make this event a big success. The

reception committee invited personal from several Army and Navy bases

to the event. Included were Col. Bennie Bierman, Col. Dick Hanley,

Capt. Clipper Smith, Capt. Marcus M. McCallen, Major Sam Houston

Flanagan, Ensign John Hawley and baseball legend Sgt. Joe DiMaggio.

At 8 p.m. on the evening before the opening of the fair, War Bond

Chairman George J. Wheat announced that Hildreth Clark had sold the

highest dollar amount of war bonds and would be crowned queen in the

ballroom of the Pav-a-lon on opening day.

The doors of the Pav-a-lon were opened wide at 6 p.m. as more than

2,500 people would came to watch Col. Dick Hanley of the Marines

crown Clark queen of the fair.

Music for the first day was provided by the Long Beach Women’s

Symphony, the U.S. Navy Coast Guard Band and the Huntington Beach

Girls’ Chorus under the direction of Ralph Hawes.

On the second day of the fair the doors were opened at 1 p.m. and

the day was known as Long Beach Day and at 2 p.m. a baby show was

given.

People came from all over to ride the Ferris wheel and partake of

the midway treats. The Main Street merchants got dressed up in their

best country clothes. That evening the Long Beach Municipal Band

played along with entertainment by the Vera Downs singers.

On the last day of the fair was Road to Romance Day and there was

a livestock how at the corner of Main Street and Orange Avenue. At

noon, the Old Settlers Picnic was held with Gallienne showing up in a

10-gallon hat, red flannel shirt, cut away coat, cowboy boots and a

big red dahlia in his buttonhole.

George Wardwell wore a full evening attire complete with a high

silk top hat and cane.

After the picnic a Milkmaid’s milking contest was held, and after

that came a parade of livestock down Main Street followed by a dog

show. Later, the 140th Infantry Band gave a concert in the evening at

the Pav-a-lon.

Louise Jenkins of the Garden Club was thanked for her untiring

efforts at making this event so successful. And for those three

wonderful days and the weeks that preceded it, the fair brought a

measure of joy and relief that lifted the burdens of war from the

hearts of every Huntington Beach resident that year.

* JERRY PERSON is a local historian and longtime Huntington

Beach resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write him at

P.O. Box 7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.