Michigan State Fair

by John Minnis, Lauren Beaver

Overview

First held in 1849 in Detroit, the location of the Michigan State Fair rotated in the early years between Detroit, Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo, Adrian, Jackson, Grand Rapids, East Saginaw, Lansing, and Pontiac before settling permanently in Detroit. When Detroit department store magnate Joseph L. Hudson sold 135 acres of Woodward Avenue farmland to the Michigan State Agricultural Society in 1905 for $1, the permanent home of the Michigan State Fair was established. On February 12, 2009, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm signed an executive order effectively ending a 160-year tradition—the Michigan State Fair.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738577890
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	08/23/2010
Series:	Images of America Series
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

John Minnis has more than 25 years of experience as an editor and journalist. Lauren Beaver is a Michigan State University student pursuing a career in book publishing. Photographs included in Michigan State Fair are courtesy of the Burton Historical Collection of the Detroit Public Library, Wayne State University's Walter P. Reuther Library, Michigan and state fair archives, and promoter Bob Harris. This book will serve as a lasting memory of the Nation's Oldest State Fair.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 6

Introduction 7

1 The Nomadic Fair 9

2 At Home in Detroit 25

3 Pre- and Postwar Years 43

4 The "Boom" Years 65

5 The "Bust" Years 77

6 The Promoters 105

7 "Mr. State Fair" 109

8 World's Largest Stove 113

9 The Last Michigan State Fair? 121

Editorial Reviews

Title: Review: 'Michigan State Fair' a fun walk back in time

Author: Michael H. Hodges

Publisher: The Detroit News

Date: 8/21/2010



The late, lamented Michigan State Fair closed its gates for good last September, another victim of the state's wretched finances.



Those who mourn the fair will be pleased to learn that the Images of America paperback series will introduce "Michigan State Fair" at bookstores Monday, along with a companion pack of historical postcards ($7.99).



All told, the fair had a 160-year run, first setting up in Detroit in 1849.



"Michigan State Fair" is a handsome collection of historical photographs with informative captions. They paint an intriguing, mostly chronological portrait of the fair that grabbed the hearts of millions, and was for years the state's official end-of-summer rite.



Fascinating trivia abounds, from a picture of the state's very first Ferris wheel in 1894 — just one year after its worldwide debut at the Chicago World's Fair — to a rather shocking and exploitative parade of South Sea Islanders in their native dress, bare-breasted women and all.



Here you'll find generation upon generation of Miss Michigans (and her local competition, Miss Michigan State Fair), entire gene pools of farm animals and their handlers, and an unctuous chorus of glad-handing politicians. The book winds up with images from the 2009 fair.



The postcard pack of 15 is a great idea, featuring historical pictures from girls in 1890s-style broad-brimmed hats to the Garland stove, the world's largest, that made the fairgrounds its home for decades. Alas, all the photos are just a little fainter than one would ideally like. Some Photoshop work might have helped these cool images really snap. GRADE: B+



From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100821/ENT05/8210305/1422/ENT05/Review—-Michigan-State-Fair—fun-walk-back-in-time#ixzz0yJZVWkYD

From the Publisher