The last night of the fair was Oct. 31, 1934. My mother was in a room at the old Lewis Maternitty Hospital waiting for the birth of her first child and she could see the lights of the fair from her room. She wanted to be there. Rufus Dawes was president of the fair. He was a brother of former Vice President Charles Dawes from Evanston and he had a lot to be proud of. His decision to extend the fair for a second year into 1934 paid such big dividends that the fair managers even had money left over to donate back to the city. The fair had been a financial success even with money in short supply during the Depression. Maybe one reason for the success was that the B & O Raiload did such a great job of marketing their fair packages that were so cheap and affordabe for the almost half of the population of the country who could reach Chicago in one overnight trip. Families want to escape the Depression and this was a cheap way to take a vacation. My parents recalled some of their happiest days were the days they could go with their friends to the fair.
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 00:08:35 +0000
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