Rutland Historical Society Quarterly Vol.20, No.2, 1990 by Rutland Historical Society

Author:Rutland Historical Society
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Rutland Historical Society; Rutland Historical Society Quarterlies; Rutland; Vermont

Ed Congdon, who served as president and general manager of the Fair for 17 years and has continued as general manager since 1980.

Be that as it may, we were in the Roaring Twenties, as the movie feller says and rum running and flaming flappers crept up all the way to Rutland, Vermont, Cal Coolidge from Plymouth was U.S. President and, not being* one fer small talk (unlike yer's truly) he let the times speak for themselves. And speak they did, with illegal booze —some good some bad (ask me, I tried 'em both), all the soljer boys comin' home to a dry country (some of 'em went right back), and everybody investin* in the stock market like there was no tomorrow.

Downtown in Rutland, the Playhouse was showing such theater marvels as "The Old Homestead" with Denman Thompson. You could pay your admission and see The genuine Irene Castle dancing the latest steps and showin' off the latest fashion. An' you'd shed a tear or two for her 'cause her husband, Vernon, got himself killed in a military plane crash during the Geat War. Anyway, us young fellers would slick down our hair with brillantine, dress in our bells, and stand outside Shangraw's Drugstore and whistle at the girls. Some of the farm boys called us "Jelly Beans" but what did they know 'bout big city ways. And we'd go to the movies. How we loved the movie stars . . . there was Bebe Daniels, Glenn Hunter, Richard Dix, Lewis Stone, Mary Astor, Pola Negri, Ricardo Cortez, Jack Holt in "The Tiger's Claw," Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino and Lila Lee. My, but couldn't a feller dream away.

The Rutland Fair rolled right along. These were boom times, and the Great Rutland Fair and Live Stock Exhibition showed it. For shows they had the world's greatest driver name of Ray Claypool from Kansas City. There was Miss Mamie Spencer, World's Best Horseback Rifle Shot; fancy trick riding and roping by Miss Reine Hafley; The Amazing Apollo Jumping Horse that could leap over seven cars; Ali Ben Hassen's Wild Tumbling Arabs; Dr. Frederick Do Bell, the electrical wizard of the High Wire; The Apollo Brothers — Zeno, Moll and Carl —who got themselves all painted up in bronze and considered themselves three perfect specimens. That was the 1923 Fair and 10,000 people came on Opening Day, Sept. 3. The Midway blazed with lights even though it rained a little bit, and of course we had fireworks. There was some decent harness racing with Charles Direct going at a 2:15 pace, Natiguey coming in on a 2:17 trot and Col Bidewell scorching the track at a 2:09 pace. There was a large Machinery Exhibition and Brand New Car Show. And my favorite tune of the day was "When You Walked Out, Someone Else Walked Right In" played by the Knickerbocker Orchestra.

Well Sir, the Twenties danced right along with everybody takin' flyers on the stock market and figgerin* that good times would never end. I didn't worry too much 'cause most any money I had went in one pocket and out the other.

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