First Annual Produce Fair

Our First Annual Produce Fair- September 10 & 11, 1914

Bayfield Progress – September 18, 1914

A Rousing Success—More than 300 Entries—List of Premiums Awarded:  Meager mention was made regarding Bayfield’s first fruit and produce fair which took place at the Bayfield Opera House read the sub-titles on this date. Below we publish a list of the prize winners.

Class 261- Grains and Grasses in Sheaf: F.L. McKean, Best sheaf spring wheat-.75; J. F. Hauser- Best sheaf barley & sheaf oats-.75, Frank Murray- Best sheaf alfalfa- 1.25; O. G. Mills- Best sheaf red clover and alsike clover- 1.25, F. L. McKean- Best sheaf timothy- 1.25, J.F. Hauser, best sheaf millet, sheaf buckwheat- 1.25, William Barningham- Best 10 ears yellow dent corn- 1.25; C. G. Harris- Best 10 earns flint- 1.25;, J. E. Carlson- Best 10 ears pop corn- .75; F. Kern- Best 10 ears sweet corn- .75, H. J. Wachsmuth- Best 4 stalks corn any variety- .75.

Class 261: F. Kerns- Best peck winter wheat; J. E. Carlson-.75; Best peck winter rye-.75; Frank Murray- best peck shelled beans-.75; H. J. Wachsmuth- Best peck navy beans-.75

Class 262- Vegetables: Ed Carver- six blood beets, large squash- .50; John Hagberg- 3 long red mangels & three yellow tankards-.50; J. F. Hauser- 6 each  kohlrabi, parsnips, rutabagas, flat turnips, vegetable oysters, white winter radish, leeks, 3 Hollander cabbage, 3 pointed cabbage- .50; Charles Reiss- 6 black winter radish- .50; Harvey Nourse- 6 ox heart carrots, 6 heads celery, Peck red tomatoes, Peck Red Onions, Peck Yellow Onions- .50; A. M. Thompson- 6 cucumbers, 3 cauliflowers- .50, Mrs. Lamerand- 3 drumhead cabbage-.50, C.E. Patterson- 3 muskmelons- .50;  M. Halvorson- 3 watermelons- .50; Wm. Barningham- 3 yellow pumpkins- .50, Pete Menard- large pumpkin- .50

Class 254- Potatoes: O. G. Mills- Early Ohio– .50; A.M. Thompson- Rural New Yorker– .50; J. F. Hauser- Early rose, Sir Walter Raleigh, California Russet– .50; H.  J. Wachsmuth- Burbanks– .50; C. W. Smith- Carmen #2– .50, O. G. Mills- Triumph– .50

Class 270: Apples

Single Plate Displays: 5 Apples with varieties listed: John Engbloom- Alexander– .25; John Hagberg- John Davis, Oldenburg Duchess & Wolf River– .25; F. V. Holston- Dudley & Yellow Transparent– .25; O. G. Mills- Iowa Beauty– .25; J. E. Carlson- Malinda– .25; A.E. Hartman- Northwestern Greening– .25; John B. Bovee- Patten Greening– .25; Peterson Brothers- Wealthy– .25

Peck of Apples: Max Carver- Dudley– .50; John Hagberg- Patten- .50; August Turnquist- Wealthy & Wolf River– .50.

Class 271- Box Apples: F.V. Holston- best bushel box of Dudley– .50; Nels Hagman- Wealthy– .50

Barrel Apples: Nels Hagman- 1^st, best bushel basket- Oldenburg Duchess- 5.00, John Hagberg- 2^nd Oldenburg Duchess– 3.00 & Wealthy- 5.00

Class 272: Plate Crab Apples: Peterson Brothers, Hyslop– .25; R. A. Yeiter, Transcendent, plate of 10- .25; John Hagberg- Virginia plate of 10- .25, C. T. Andreas- Whitney– plate of 10- .25: William Bell- any plate of 10- .25

Special Premiums: Elmer Beebe- Best Display of Plums- .50; A.E. Hartman- Best Display of Grapes- .50; Peter DeBraie- Best Display of Pears- .50; C. R. Rowley- Best Display of peaches- .50; J. F. Hauser- Best bushel early potatoes- 1.50; Tony Larson- Best bushel late potatoes- .1.50

At 9:00 Thursday night the packing began, and some of the products were shipped to Milwaukee to occupy a prominent position in the north Wisconsin section.  The committee in charge of the fair was as follows: H. C. Hale, John Hauser, F. W. Kern, and J. Hauser- Supt. of Exhibits, Orlando Flanders- Sec., A.H. Wilkenson- Treasurer, and E.J. Delwiche- Judge of Exhibits.

As a footnote, “Why not make an annual apple show an institution Bayfield and date the beginning from today.  The fact that ten thousand boxes of apples will go out of the town this year, is reason for local recognition of new industry.  In five years from now from the orchards now planted, the local shipment of apples alone will total five hundred cars for the year’s crop. 

The inspiration of the first show came from Frank Kern, the manager of the Bayfield Peninsula Fruit Association.  Mr. J. F. Hauser, chairman of the State Fair Committee of Bayfield County exhibits had gathered an enormous assortment of horticulture specimens for preliminary selection.  As an exhibit of size and quality it was of course the greatest ever held in any of the upper counties of the state.  So it needed no great vision to see the possibilities of an annual event, focusing public attention Bayfield’s greatest industry, the commercial apple.

The varieties exhibited included the Wealthy, Oldenburg Duchess, Patten Greening, Northwestern Greening, Wolf River, Yellow Transparent, Iowa Beauty and the Transcendent, Hyslop, Martha and Florence crab apple. 

The specimens for the State Fair exhibits were selected by E.J. Delwiche.  Included in the display was Champion peaches grown by C.R. Rowley of Russell’s Crossing, grapes grown by John Bovee, Charles Reiss and Guy Campbell, pears grown by Curtis T. Andreas and Peter DeBraie.  Some splendid specimens of dent corn were also shown to be over eleven feet in height.  Onions, squash, plums, cherries and tobacco were also conspicuous in the display of Bayfield resources, those from the Red Cliff Indian reservation attracting favorable notice. From the time period magazine named the Lake Superior Farmer.

This history brief was written by Robert J. Nelson. Generously sharing our local history through his research and writing.