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The Tulelake-Butte
Valley Fair is an outgrowth of the Rotary Junior Livestock
Show, which was organized and supported by the Tulelake
Rotary Club in 1949, 1950 and 1951. These shows were held on
the grounds of the present Elementary School. Prior to the
time of the Livestock Shows, it was necessary for young
exhibitors to take their livestock to Yreka to the Siskiyou
Golden Fair.
When Chet Main, Dan Crawford, Ivan Rose, Charlie Weiss and
Otto Schultz contacted Sacramento with the idea of
establishing a fair in Tulelake, they were told there was no
possibility. It had been decreed by the powers that be that
there were to be no more fairs established under any
circumstances in the State of California.
Chet and his committee, and undoubtedly many others, went to
work on Senator Collier and Assemblyman Lester Davis to get
this decision reconsidered and allow us to build our fair
for Butte Valley and Tulelake.
Despite the objections of the Western Fairs Association, a
bill was passed in the California State Legislature
authorizing the organization of the 10-A District
Agricultural Associations, so named because it took part of
the territory of the 10th District Agricultural Association
(Siskiyou Golden Fair in Yreka).
Governor Earl Warren appointed the first fair board of eight
men. It consisted of Chet Main, Bill Hagelstein, Webb
Staunton, Pete Bergman, Arnold Criss, Vern Hemstreet, Toad
Boyd, and Paul Christy. Chet Main was elected President.
At the first meeting of the Fair Board in February of 1952,
the board took up a collection to get started since there
were no funds. At the end of the first meeting we had a
budget of $7. There were no grounds to hold a fair, so
arrangements were made to hold the first fair on the old
high school lawn. The carnival was set up in the street in
front of the Legion Hall along side the old bowling alley.
Vern Hemstreet contributed a hog, which was auctioned off
over and over to get the premium money for livestock awards
before we became a state fair.
Since there were no grounds, we could get no money for
buildings or anything else except bare essentials for
administration. The board looked the situation over and went
after the present site, which was then Don Potter's alfalfa
field, but owned by the Bureau of Reclamation. Thanks to the
efforts of Congressman Clair Engel and many others, we were
finally able to get title to this land through an act of
Congress in Washington D.C. and could go ahead with Plans
for buildings and grounds.
What do you do when you have a 35-acre alfalfa field and
somebody tells you to build a fair on it? The first question
the board had was, What kind of a fair did they want to see
here in twenty years from now? They wanted our fair to be a
place where the people of Butte Valley and Tulelake, and our
friends from over the line in Oregon could meet and visit
and compete and enjoy each others projects and things of
mutual interest. They |
wanted our fair
to be a place with winding curbless streets and green lawns
with benches for neighbors to stop and visit and rest a
spell under a shade of trees. They wanted our fair to be a
place where parents could lose their kids without fear of
them being hurt and where kids could wander away from their
parents knowing they would be found and they were among
friends. They wanted our fair to be a place where there
would be easy entrance to all buildings so people in
wheelchairs or disabled could move as freely as possible
wherever they wished. They wanted to see the grounds and
building maintained so people take pride in THEIR fair. They
wanted the fair put together so maximum use could be made of
the buildings and grounds throughout the year by the local
schools, community groups and citizens. Their feeling was
that the more our fairgrounds could be put to use the year
around the better it could be justified. These were the
basic ideas the Fair Board started to work with.
Sam Kellet was the manager of the fair in 1952. In May 1953
the Board hired William C. Whitaker as manager since he had
experience with fairs in Utah. He was instructed to draw up
a master plan for the construction of the fair. The plan was
completed and approved by the State Department of
Architecture in late 1953 and construction began in the
spring of 1954. Leona Carter was the tried and true
secretary from the very beginning. The first fair on the
present fair grounds was held on Labor Day weekend in 1954.
The buildings consisted of two cattle barns, one restroom,
and auction building which that year was also used for
indoor exhibits (the present auction barn). Construction
continued as funds became available: 1955- underground
sewer, water and electricity, office building, main exhibit
building; 1956-commercial building, sheep & swine barn;
1957-home economics building, concession building, horse
barns; 1959- grandstands, paving, maintenance shop (present
office/museum building); 1962-two restrooms; 1963-carousel;
1964-judging arena (present shop); 1967-sheep/swine barn
(present enclosed sheep & goat barn); 1968- arts & crafts
building; 1970- concession building.
In 1967 Mr. Whitaker resigned to take another position and
Mark Reed was hired for two years. He was replaced by Ralph
Morrill, who was a natural since he had been Senior
Maintenance Supervisor for 14 years. Ralph Morrill
meticulously put the pieces together and maintained the
entire operation so that our fair is a matter of great pride
throughout the entire Klamath Basin.
It must be understood by all who read this, that there is no
tax money involved in the construction or operations of this
fair. All funds are derived from 2% of the funds raised by a
tax on pari-mutuel betting on horse racing at California
tracks.
Leona Carter retired in December of 1982. In 1983, Cindy
Wright was hired as business assistant. She had been a
seasonal worker with the fair since 1970. Ralph Morrill
retired in May of 1987 and Cindy Wright was hired to replace
him. Cindy has since retired in 2006. The new CEO is Dave
Dillabo. |
