Ohio State Fair Ad – August 24, 1951

The iconic Ohio Gate entrance to the Ohio State Fair (1966 - 2002)

We should be pretty happy that the Lorain County Fair was back this year. For the second year in a row, there was no Ohio State Fair for the general public to enjoy. (It was cancelled last year, and limited this year to livestock and educational contests, all because of the pandemic.)

I haven’t been down to the Ohio State Fair for about five years or so. I hope to make it down to Columbus next year, when the Fair is scheduled for July 27 – August 7, 2022. For one thing, I still haven’t seen the new Smokey Bear over at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources area. 

Anyway, here’s a vintage ad for the Ohio State Fair. It ran in the Lorain Journal back on August 24, 1951 – 70 years ago this month.

As you can see in the 1951 ad, back then the Fair ran from August 24 through the 31st, which is pretty late compared to now.

An article in the Journal on August 23 noted that the 1951 Fair was expected to draw a record crowd of 500,000 people. It would be the first time that the Fair ran for eight days.

The article noted, “A galaxy of exhibits, events, contests, shows and demonstrations are promised to farmer and city dweller alike. Horace Heidt and his “Youth Opportunity Television program” will be featured nightly from August 25.

“Two new breeds of beef cattle will be seen for the first time at the fair and 29 classes of galloways will compete for $911 in prizes.

“The State Department of Natural Resources will have a four-tent exhibit, featuring a beautiful lake, a fast water stream, a 10-foot waterfall completely surrounded by a 90-tree forest of all Ohio trees. Visitors will pass thru the forest to view the exhibit. A simulated natural channel will form the stream thru which 84,000 gallons of water an hour will be pumped. Another tent will show an extensive wildlife display of mounted animals, birds and fish native to Ohio.”

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You can visit my other posts about the Ohio State Fair (and my time as a member of the All-Ohio State Fair Band) by clicking here.