Wednesday, Aug. 23, 1967 – Lorain County Fair Schedule

It's kind of neat seeing what was going on at the Lorain County Fair fifty years ago today. The tall ad shown below ran in the Journal the day before and provides a nice glimpse of what was then a five-day fair. (Is that Beaver Cleaver standing next to his prize bull?)

The ad reflects the popular culture of the times. For entertainment, we have Myron Floren and Jack Imel of the Lawrence Welk Show, which my grandmother enjoyed.

Note that on the same bill was J. Fred Muggs! 

His biography for a similar appearance at the 1965 Clearfield County Fair sums up his career nicely. “You've seen him on television . . . On the Today Show for four and a half years . . . On The Jackie Gleason Show, The Martha Raye Show, The Perry Como Show, Howdy Doody, Ding Dong School, with Winchell and Mahoney among others as guest star. He's a trap drum expert. . . A fencing champ ... A punching bag artist ... A rifle drill monster ... A ball player . . . A rock 'n roller. He's J. Fred Muggs, the world famous chimpanzee."

Happily, J. Fred Muggs is apparently still with us, according to this Wiki page.

By the way, did you notice the glaring typo in the ad?