by Louis May

Some towns are “Fair Towns.” Others are not. There are many things that go into the making of a town or county that may be classified as a “Fair Town” or “Fair County,” such as population, agriculture, industry, tradition, and the spirit of enthusiasm of the people. Yet, many towns and counties with much of the above don't have food fairs and some have none at all. Whatever the formula, it can be said without a doubt that Greenville and Pitt County have what it takes to support one of the best and longest-running fairs to be held in the entire state. Of the nearly 60 state, county, and regional fairs held in North Carolina every year, the Pitt County American Legion Agricultural Fair can take its place easily in the top eight or nine, and the speculation has it that it has more potential than any fair in the state, and it may be in the top four or five in a few short years. It has been going that way for the past 89 years, or ever since September 21, 1920.

When World War I had ended, the economy began to jump and everyone began to enjoy a brief period of booming prosperity beginning in 1919. It was about this time that one of Greenville's leading businessmen of the first half of the century, W. Haywood Dail, began thinking in terms of Greenville hosting an annual county fair. Largely through his efforts, and with an investment reported at that time of almost one hundred thousand dollars, a fairground was purchased and exhibit halls and a large race track built in the area of what is now Guy Smith Stadium on Memorial Drive. The facilities were claimed to be the finest in the state for a county fair and an enormous amount of publicity was generated concerning the event The Daily Reflector began publicizing the fair every day with front-page coverage for nearly two weeks in advance.

On Tuesday, September 21,1920, the first Pitt County Fair opened with a parade down Dickinson Avenue at 11:00 a.m. and the official opening of the fairgrounds at 12:00 noon with an address by the Honorable F. C. Harding. After this, the horse racing and auto racing began and exhibits were viewed. The midway was played by the Krause Greater Shows, which advertised itself as being one of the four largest carnivals in the United States, traveling on 22 railroad cars and carrying 300 people, 20 great attractions, and four of the newest and most sensational riding devices. The premiums for the first fair were offered through the Greenville Chamber of Commerce and published in the Reflector for one week in advance.

It was a great event Thousands of people flooded the grounds on September 2l, 22, 23, 24, 1920, to make the first fair a giant success. Greenville and Pitt County have been “Fair Territory” ever since.

Throughout the 1920's the Pitt County Fair continued to grow and prosper through the energetic efforts of Haywood Dail and his associates. The list of exhibits and premiums grew each year as did the auto and horse racing events. The midways of the 1920's were played by some of the great railroad shows on the eastern seaboard such as Max Linderman, Willie Ziedman, Endy Brothers, 'Mighty' Sheesley, and Frank West Wonder Shows. In fact, one of the annual fair traditions was seeing the great show trains unload in the area, where the Norfolk Southern Railroad now crosses Memorial Drive. In 1928, the Pitt County Fair was regarded as one of the top fairs in the state and its horse racing and horse shows were considered the finest anywhere.

By 1929, the fair had been expanded to six days and nights and gate admission was fifty cents. The season of 1929 was not a good one, not because of the depression (the stock market did not crash until eight days after the fair was over) but because of the weather. Over half the week was lost to rain. This did not itself hurt the fair so badly, for it had enjoyed a prosperous and steady growth, but it did not put the fair in a good position to meet the disastrous depression year of 1930.

With little money for food or anything else, few people had any money to spend on a trip to the fair in 1930. Nevertheless, plans were made to go ahead with a big show and exhibit program in hopes that somehow things would improve by fair time. They did not. Frank West’s Wonder Shows returned but did little business. Exhibits were presented but there was little money for premiums and the fair had a poor season as might be expected. Admission: 25 cents. By 1931 things had not improved and many thought it was pointless to even put on a fair. True to his energetic spirit, however, Haywood Dail went ahead with his plans for a fair in 1931. There was no carnival, only a few free acts, some races and exhibits. However, the fair was surprisingly well attended- but a far cry from its 1928 zenith.

The bottom of the depression was reached in 1931, but so well had the people of Greenville and Pitt County demonstrated that this was a “fair-going” area that plans for a 1932 fair were made. A small amount of money was secured for premiums and exhibits were readied. A small carnival, Roland Exhibition Show, was contracted, and the 1932 fair, billed as the Pitt County Free Fair, proved to be a modest success.

Things were looking up slightly in 1933. Roosevelt came into office with his New Deal and the spirit of the people everywhere was rising. Haywood Dail planned a bigger fair in 1933 than any year since 1929 and he called it the Pitt County New Deal Fair. '”Mighty” Sheesley returned with his great railroad carnival (claiming that he came to Greenville direct from the Chicago World's Fair), and over 20 free acts, including a high diving horse, were lined up. Races and other grandstand shows were featured and a couple was married by a local minister on horseback (a frequent feature of many fairs in those days).

During those lean years, as would be expected, the facilities at the old fairgrounds were neglected and many of them were in great need of repair. If the fair was going to continue, it was evident that more money than the fair was making would have to be pumped back into it and money was not easy to come by in those days. Therefore, when the East Carolina Chamber of Commerce, which was headquartered in Goldsboro and dedicated to furthering the economic interest of some 10 cities in Eastern North Carolina, conceived the idea of sponsoring fairs in each of the member towns, Greenville went along with the idea. Thus, in 1934 the name of the Pitt County Fair was changed to the Greater Greenville Fair. Money was channeled into the grounds and facilities at the same location which was owned by the Pitt County Fair. Only the name and sponsoring organization were different A new carnival, Kaus United Shows, was signed for the midway and with tobacco selling much better in 1934, the fair was a success in every way. It started off that year with a parade down Dickinson Avenue out to the old fairgrounds exactly as the first fair had started in 1920. A crowd estimated at 30,000 people attended the fair that year and if a new hope and new spirit had been on the horizon in 1933, clearly it came into focus with the 1934 fair. Virtually the same sponsorship and name were continued for the 1935 fair despite a late October date and cold weather. After the 1935 season, however, the East Carolina Chamber of Commerce decided not to sponsor any more fairs and the Pitt County Fair was destined for a major change.

By 1936 the Pitt County Fair was owned solely by Haywood Dail, but he had relinquished the management of it to the East Carolina Chamber of Commerce in 1934. It was felt that a sponsoring organization was definitely the way to go if the fair was to continue, and what better organization was there than the American Legion. Therefore, in 1936 the fair was taken over by the Greenville and Farmville American Legion Posts and operated at the old fairgrounds for the 1936 season. This proved to be a great success and late in 1936 the American Legion reincorporated the fair as the Pitt County American Legion Fair, Inc. The old Greenville fairgrounds were long deemed as a great sight for a new ballpark for Greenville and the Coastal Plain League going pro; Greenville needed a fine ballpark and stadium. The American Legion needed a new fairground and bought a site on the Falkland Highway where the Medical Pavilion now stands, and the old fairgrounds became the site of Guy Smith Stadium. Thus, the Pitt County Fair had its second of four homes in its 65-year history, and the American Legion approached the 1937 season as the Pitt County Fair's proud new owner.

The remaining fairs in the 1930's were successful under the ownership of the Greenville and Farmville American Legion Posts. (Ayden’s Post joined the ownership a few years later.) Mr. A. J. Grey was hired as the manager and the exhibits and agricultural themes grew better each year. Tents were first rented as exhibit halls but later a fine exhibit building was built on what is now the intersection of Memorial Drive and West Fifth Street (or the Falkland Highway). Kaus United Shows played the fair from 1934 until 1939 when the Art Lewis Show brought its carnival to Greenville.

By 1940, Greenville and the Pitt County area were proven to be great “fair territories.” It seemed that neither rain, cold, drought nor economic woes could get the Pitt County Fair down and keep her that way for long. The fair had proven to be an annual way of life for the area's population and it was destined to stay that way. However, unsettling times were again ahead-this time not from depression, but from war. Greenville hosted the fair in 1940 and felt the effects of a rejuvenated tobacco crop with exhibits in full bloom and Endy Shows on the midway. A successful fair was held in 1941 with A. J. Gray as manager and the Kaus United Shows returning after a two-year absence. The agricultural, machinery, and livestock exhibits received wide praise from agricultural officials in Raleigh during the 1941 fair.

The 1942 fair was planned despite the fact that the nation was at war and the future was very uncertain. The 1942 fair almost did not happen at all.

The midway contract that year was made with Cetlin & Wilson Shows, a railroad carnival that later grew to be fourth largest in America. However, in 1942, it was what was called in those days a “gilly show,” because instead of transporting on wagons and flat cars, it hauled its equipment to and from the fairgrounds in “gilly wagons” or baggage wagons. The equipment was then loaded in baggage cars. Two weeks before the Pitt County Fair, this show was playing the Petersburg, Virginia Fair when torrential rains mired the show and the lightly-constructed “gilly’ wagons broke under the strain of teams and tractors trying to get them off the lot The lot became a river of mud and mire. There was no way the show could get to Wilson, its next stop, and then Greenville the next week. There were two choices-cancel the Wilson fair and come to Greenville, or cancel Greenville and go to Wilson during Greenville's week, or move both fairs forward a week at the last minute. After many discussions, the latter was agreed upon, and the Pitt County Fair was held the first week in November—the first time in November since the 1920's and more than likely the last time. The theme for 1942 was “Pitt County's Victory Celebration,” but it would be three long years before the slogan would be appropriate.

It was decided not to have a fair in 1943 because of the uncertainty of everything. Many fairs were suspended for the duration of the war (there was no State Fair in 1942, 1943, 1944 or 1945) and it was assumed that the Pitt County Fair would not be held again until the war was over. However, early in 1944, the thinking on the subject began to change. The war had reached a turning point and people needed a chance to forget the tensions of everyday life during wartime, even briefly. Furthermore, the people of Greenville and Pitt County missed the fair not held in 1943, and it was thought that if a carnival could be signed, an attempt to hold the fair would be made. The J. C. Weir Shows, a 25- car railroad show made up of the old Art Lewis Shows that played the fair in 1939 had just been formed and was owned by J. C. Weir and James E. Strates. They made a specialty of playing American Legion-sponsored fairs because of the war and also because Mr. Weir was an active legionnaire. The 1944 fair was blessed with good weather and good crowds. The fair was held again in 1945 with Lawrence Greater Shows on the midway, despite the fact that owner Sam Lawrence was killed in Kutxtown, Pa., six weeks earlier. Thus, the Pitt County Fair missed one year during the war when many fairs were suspended for up to four years. A. J. Grey remained manager.

Beginning in 1946, Greenville and Pitt County began to grow and the Pitt County Fair began to grow. Exhibits and livestock grew each year, enthusiasm grew, the midway grew, the crowds grew. In fact the fair was outgrowing its grounds. As early as 1947 there was speculation that the fair would have to move to larger quarters some day. With the building of the new hospital near the fairgrounds in 1950, the American Legion purchased a new site for the fair across from the airport 1950 was the last season at the Falkland Highway grounds. Norman Y. Chambliss had been named manager of the fair in 1949 and his expertise in fair management was to guide the Pitt County fair over the next twenty years. Mr. Chambliss, from Rocky Mount, was the owner of the Rocky Mount Fair and during the thirties had managed the North Carolina State Fair. The midway was played by Triangle Shows, Marks Shows and Prelis Broadway Shows through the 1950 season. Dr. J. L. Winstead was president of the fair in 1947 and 1948. David J. Whichard was president in 1949.

With a new home on the north side of Greenville, the Pitt County Fair was set for a bigger than ever season in 1951. Under the management of Norman Y. Chambliss the fair that year was good and many favorable comments were heard about the new facilities. Livestock and the Junior Dairy Show began to be an important part of the fair about this time. The fair adopted a new slogan to go with its new facilities. This slogan 'Pitt County on Parade' was used for many years and is still used today. The only disappointing thing about the 1951 fair was the midway. Lawrence Greater Shows, which had played the fair in 1945, returned, but the show was not up to par.

During the next 28 years (from 1951 until 1978) the Pitt County Fair established itself as one of North Carolina's finest. Exhibits, especially in the livestock area, were better each year and the enthusiasm that the people of Greenville and Pitt County had for the fair grew.

Over fifty thousand people were estimated to attend each year and once again the fair seemed to be outgrowing its grounds. Norman Y. Chambliss served as manager until the close of the 1969 fair and was then succeeded by the very capable Sam Winchester who had directed the exhibits for many years.

Fireworks, free acts and expanded exhibits contributed to the fair's success during these 28 years along with the help of legionnaires and hundreds of other people of Greenville and Pitt County who are simply too numerous to mention. In 1956, a contract was signed with the 0. C. Buck Shows of Troy, NY, to provide the midway and this proved to be a very successful venture. (Oscar C. Buck died in Greenville at the 1971 fair.) This great show and its successors, the Buck-Page Exposition and Amusements of America-long one of the East Coast's greatest carnivals with an arsenal of over 80 rides-have provided the midway continually for 29 years. Roland Page, owner of Buck-Page and now affiliated with the huge Amusements of America as well as the five Vivona brothers (especially Morris and Phil), owners of Amusements of America, have proven over the years to be real friends of the Pitt County Fair.

It was no secret that as early as 1961, people began to realize that once again the fair was too big for its home. At the same time, especially in the late 1970's, no one thought that the fair could afford to buy new fairgrounds at any suitable location. It would have to be on a main thoroughfare, at least twenty acres, and have suitable sandy soil. Such property was beyond the reach of the fair. This was an understandable assumption with the skyrocketing property prices at the time. But beyond the reach of the fair??? Les Turnage did not think so. After the opening of the eastern by-pass in the late 1970's Les found it. There it was–sandy soil, 31 acres on a by-pass and it could be bought. Thinking it too good an opportunity to pass up, Les told the board that if they did not think it feasible to purchase the property, he would buy it himself. They bought it and the Pitt County Fair had its fourth home.

The laying out of the new fairgrounds in 1979 was not something that was attempted in a haphazard manner. Conner Eagles, grounds and buildings superintendent, and Les Turnage secured two men from Agriculture Commissioner Jim Graham's office in Raleigh and they visited many fairgrounds around the state.

Throughout 1979 Conner Eagles was busy laying out the grounds and supervising the building of the new facilities. Under a small clump of oak trees at one end of the grounds, Mr. Eagles conceived the idea of letting the trees and an old barn stay to remind fair-goers of the way life used to be in the old days in an agricultural environment This seemed like a good idea to other fair officials and before long more and more was added to this exhibit This became what is now known as the W. Conner Eagles Farm Homestead. Also known as the Village of Yesteryear, this display of a farming village for the early 1900's is recognized over the state as the finest exhibit of the type to be found anywhere. The most recent addition is the old Winterville railroad station and most of the buildings were taken directly from their original sites in Pitt County. Most of the buildings are stocked with types of things of the past that were in them originally, all given by the generous people of Pitt County and adjacent counties who want to make this project an ongoing one. No other fair or museum can boast of anything of this type that is finer or more complete, including the similar display at the State Fair. With all of this, the exhibit grows each year and what a good place to display it-at the agriculture fair. This alone has made the Pitt County Fair famous among fairs in the state.

In 1983, for the first time since the fair had its first home at Guy Smith Stadium, a free automobile thrill show (Jake Plumstead and Tony Peterson's Hell Drivers) were presented at the fairgrounds. The fair had featured such acts in the late forties and fifties, but not at the fairgrounds because there simply wasn't room. These shows were staged on Sunday afternoon at the airport. The Hell Drivers Show will return in 1984 on Monday and Tuesday, October 1 and 2. A new grandstand area is being added this year with over 1500 portable seats and a 700 foot race track. Admission to the thrill show continues free, and Plumstead and Peterson promise an even bigger and better show.

Inevitably, one could not go to a fair of yesteryear and not hear the thrilling music of the midway pumped out by the always-present carousel organ. These organs are few in number and have been missing from the fairgrounds in Greenville and elsewhere for many years. However, 1983 and again in 1984 'The Carousel Queen,' a beautiful old 1910 carousel organ, win greet fair goers with midway music in its wagon between the exhibit building and the midway. This area will be equipped with picnic tables for the first time, this giving a rest area with fairground music to patrons. Truly a modem fair, but

with plenty of nostalgia. And if s a safe bet that the Pitt County Fair will soon be the biggest fair east of Raleigh while getting better all the time.

Haywood Dail would indeed be proud.