1904 was a magical time years ago
I wasn't there but I was here on earth when the 1904 World's Fair was celebrated in St. Louis. I have two gifts from there to prove it. A couple, friends of my parents, attended the fair and guess what? They brought a gift to the new little baby girl in the McCullough family. It was a darling green glass cup with a handle and gold trim (real gold) and the baby's name and birth date on it. Then, my friend Winnie Hartke found a little silk hanky among her keepsakes. On it were bright embroidered flowers and "1904 World's Fair." So see, I picked a magic time to enter this old world.
The fair also celebrated the Louisiana Purchase. Did you know that Kansas was a part of that big deal? So, why don't we celebrate our French heritage? We are just as an important part of the purchase as Louisiana. Why should New Orleans have all the glory?
It is claimed that the ice cream cone originated at the fair. The musical, "Meet Me in St. Louis," starring Liza Minnelli gives a good version of what it was like.
With the Hannaford family I did attend the World's Fair in Seattle, Wash. About all I remember is the tall tower with the revolving restaurant on top.
Several years ago Dollye Novak's mother lived in and managed the Elgin. She wanted to go to Hutchinson to the state fair to hear a well-known men's group of singers. So Dollye took us. A memorable occasion. I think it was the Oak Ridge Boys.
— NORMA HANNAFORD
