Friday, December 13, 2013

1893 World's Fair as Seen Through the Eyes of my Grandfather

By Miralee Ferrell

My father was a number of years my mother's senior, having been born at the turn of the 20th Century, and his father was a newly married young man when the World's Fair, also called The Columbian Expo, came to Chicago in 1893. My grandparents, Edwin and May Gould, took the train from North Dakota to Chicago, where they spent a few days taking in the sights with friends. The following is part of my grandfather's diary entries for that week.



1893

9/17. Owen took May and I to Gilby where we took the N.T. train for Chicago and the World’s Fair.

9/18 Arrived in St. Paul 7:20. After eating our lunch we took a walk up town. May bought a hat and brush. Left for Chicago over Burlington road at 3:30.




9/19 Arrived in Chicago at 7:10 a.m. Took Adams Co. horse car. Got off at Lexington Ave, 863 St. and registered at Hotel Hayes. Arrived on fair grounds at 9:45 and went at once to N.D. Blvd., where we met friends, when all hands started out sightseeing. First passed through CA State Building and then took in many attractions. We walked down lake front to anthropological bldg, also Columbus fleet, Krupp gun exhibit, Viking ship, and wooded island. Left grounds at 6 p.m. after supper, Geo. and I took electric road for city. I bought two tickets at Chicago Opera House.

Viking, replica of the Gokstad Viking ship


9/ 20-22. Got on grounds at 9:20. Passed through horticulture building, Women and children’s buildings, from there to fisheries building where we saw the wonderful display of beautiful fish. From there to Manufacturing building to meet Dr. and Lila. Then to Guatemala coffee house and had dinner. U.S. Govt. building after dinner. Saw old time stage coach and modern stage coach, coins of all the countries in the world. Big tree from Sequoia Nat’l Park, 26’ in diameter, 81 ½’ in circumference, 300’ high. Old time plough, made in 1740, drag thresher used in Asia Minor, made of stones set in board. Smith ploughs patented 1800, cotton plants, Burpee orchard, water buckets used by George Washington while a member of fire company at Alexandria Va., N.Y. Herald printing machine, light keeper’s outfit, World’s fair Post Office, sea lion, stuffed poultry and birds display, Indian on horse, canal locks, dry docks, pontoon bridge, Sims Edison fish torpedo, (each cost $85.00), rifles and cartridges, 14th century gun found in Hudson River, Gattling gun—1200 shots per minute, Pen State building to see Liberty Bell.

US Government Building at World's Fair


To Chicago Opera house and saw Ali Baba played. Brazil: thatched hut. Havana: cases of cigars. Trinidad, cases of small stuffed birds. Mexico: sugar, cotton plants. Japan, long tailed fowl. Germany: monument of chocolate- 30,000#. Several states showing large display of cereals. North Dakota: Lady Dakota in wheat. New Jersey: canoe with mast of grapes. France: chocolate arch. One days make, weight 50 tons, value $40,000. Ivory tusk 7 ½ feet. After leaving forestry bldg. we took in dairy and Indian village, then took R.R. around grounds and took in Chicago gun boat.

9/23. Transportation building in morning. Sulky drawn by Nancy Hanks when she made her big time. Pullman palace train, old coaches and R.R. transportation of every description.

We all went down the Midway and took in Moorish palace and theater. We scattered and I took in the Arabian Settlement and ostrich farm, from there to Cairo, saw them ride camels. Took in Theater and saw abdominal dancing girls. From there I left fair grounds and took in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. Home to hotel from there.

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show


9/25. Got on grounds at 8 a.m. Saw the new Peace bell. Took a look in Swede building, saw largest band saw in world—220’ long, 12” wide. To choral boulevard to hear Mexican orchestra. Saw Arabian trick players and Rosa the Turkish dancing girl. At 6 we left the golden door and fair ground, paid our bill at the Hotel and packed our trunk.


9/27. Arrived in Johnstown in the morning and Owen met us with horse and buggy.


Miralee and her husband, Allen, live on eleven acres in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge in southern Washington State, where they love to garden, play with their dogs, take walks, and go sailing. She is also able to combine two other passions—horseback riding and spending time with her grown children—since her married daughter lives nearby, and they often ride together on the wooded trails near their home.
It didn’t take long to discover she had a natural flair for the historical time period, having read and watched so many Western stories while growing up. Her 1880s stories continue to grow in acclaim each year. Her novel Love Finds You in Sundance, WY, won the Will Rogers Medallion Award for Western Fiction, and Universal Studios requested a copy of her contemporary debut novel, The Other Daughter, for a potential family movie.
After serving five years as the president of the Portland/Vancouver chapter of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), Miralee now volunteers as a board member and belongs to a number of writers’ groups. She also speaks at women’s groups, libraries, historical societies, and churches about her writing journey.

www.miraleeferrell.com
www.miraleesdesk.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/miraleeferrell

Blowing on Dandelions, First in the Love Blossoms in Oregon series, available NOW

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Katherine Galloway knew this moment of calm wouldn’t last, blown away like the dandelion seeds she scattered as a girl. In 1880, three years after her husband’s death, she struggles to run an Oregon boardinghouse and raise two girls alone. Things don't get easier when her critical, domineering mother moves in. Katherine must make the situation work, but standing up for herself and her family while honoring her mother isn't easy. And with a daughter entering the teenage years, the pressure on Katherine becomes close to overwhelming. Then she crosses paths with Micah Jacobs, a widower who could reignite her heart, but she fears a relationship with him might send things over the edge. She must find the strength, wisdom, hope, and faith to remake her life, for everything is about to change.

13 comments:

  1. What an interesting post on the Chicago World's Fair 1893. Interesting to note the things that were " big things" then- the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, printing machines, modern-day stagecoach!, etc. How things have changed, just in our lifetimes. Thanks for the research and the post. Nice to have parents' old diaries to browse through. Merry Christmas, Sharon, CA

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    1. Sharon, that was one of my thoughts when I first read it....especially the reference to the modern-day stagecoach versus the older ones. And to think that my grandfather was alive to see Buffalo Bill! Wow~!
      Merry Christmas!

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  2. What a cool account. It's hard to imagine their being such an elaborate event like this back in the 1800s. I have a small red glass pitcher that one of my ancestors bought 1893 World's Fair. Fun post!

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    1. I know what you mean, Vickie. I think of that time period as being much more uncivilized, but it wasn't the case on the east coast or as far west as Chicago. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment!

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  3. This is fascinating, Miralee. Thanks for serving us a delicious slice of your family's history! Your Grandfather's diary is a good reminder that we should be writing, leaving legacies for our own grandchildren. Merry Christmas!

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    1. So true, Julia. My brother keeps the family legacy going. I've tried from time to time, but never seem to keep up after the first few months of the year. Merry Christmas!!!

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  4. Miralee, I loved the sections from your grandfather's diary. Very interesting.

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    1. Thanks for taking the time to read it, Lena. I've learned some interesting things from our family diaries.

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  5. I enjoyed reading this first account of events at The Columbian Expo in your grandfather's words, Miralee. It's exciting! I'm reading a novel set in 1893 and partly at this fair. The protag gives her impressions of the buildings, Midway and the first Woman's Pavilion.. A momentum time with many new inventions and radical changes within society as the women Suffrage movement gains new momentum. Thank you for this post..

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    1. Hi Pat, I'd love to know the name of the novel you're reading, it sounds good! Yes, there have been such a large number of changes over the last hundred years. Thanks so much for stopping by.

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  6. I enjoyed reading this first account of events at The Columbian Expo in your grandfather's words, Miralee. It's exciting! I'm reading a novel set in 1893 and partly at this fair. The protag gives her impressions of the buildings, Midway and the first Woman's Pavilion.. A momentum time with many new inventions and radical changes within society as the women Suffrage movement gains new momentum. Thank you for this post..

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  7. Such a great memory, thanks for sharing.

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  8. Marjorie, thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to read and comment. That means a lot to a blogger! Merry Christmas!!!

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