In last week's item regarding the history of the Pennsburg Civic Building, a mention was made of the Upper Perkiomen Valley Community Fair that was once held in that building and on the grounds surrounding it.

Over the years, the Upper Perkiomen Valley Community Fair was held at three different locations, Realty Hall/East Greenville Firehouse, East Greenville/Upper Perkiomen High School, and the Pennsburg Civic Building.

            It sparked quite a few questions about the event from folks who weren't around the area back then, who wanted to know just how big and popular it was.

            So I thought it would be a good idea to share some information about an event that spanned three decades and brought thousands of visitors to our community each year.

Samuel Morgan, Jr., Chairman of the Antiques Show, talks with interested visitors at the 1966 Fair.  Seventeen dealers exhibited a variety of antiques that year.

            It began on November 16, 1938, when the first three-night event was held at Realty Hall in East Greenville.  The fair was sponsored by the Vocational-Agriculture Department of East Greenville High School, supervised by Victor Ensminger.

At the time it was called the Upper Perkiomen Valley Farm, Home, and Community Fair and featured numerous cultural, vocational, educational, agricultural, and home exhibits.  A highlight of the fair was the photography exhibit.

Behind the stage of the hall was the poultry exhibit of the junior and senior high school students.

The East Greenville High School Band, under the direction of David Croll, provided the entertainment on opening night.

            There were 334 exhibitors at the first fair and cash prizes and ribbons went to the finest in the many categories.

            The success of the first event led to the formation of the Upper Perkiomen Valley Community Fair, Inc. to run the event.  By 1943 the event was moved to the grounds of

Frank S. Stahley of Green Lane stands near his display of his woodcraft on exhibit at the 1966 Fair

the East Greenville High School.

            The old East Greenville High School is now the Upper Perkiomen 4th & 5th Grade Center.  The three-day fair moved to September, usually after the Allentown Fair, enabling local exhibitors to participate in both.

            In the early days of the Upper Perkiomen Fair, three large tents were erected on school property.  One contained the finest and shiniest new automobiles from local dealers.  It was a natural since the new car season was just beginning.  The next contained local merchants displaying the latest in appliances and other modern conveniences.  The third was reserved for livestock.  The school auditorium was used for fruits, vegetables and canned goods.  Classrooms were used for other exhibits.

            All year long, people would plant, prep, brush, and clean for the early autumn affair.  The fun of competing for blue ribbons and bragging rights made all the hard work worthwhile. For years the Community Fair was a mainstay in our Valley.  It was a place where local residents brought their finest fruits, flowers, and vegetables from their gardens to be judged.  Farmers and youth clubs brought their finest livestock to the tents and temporary corrals to show off and compete.  The carnival atmosphere brought all of the communities of our Valley together for fun and friendship.  The fair brought out spirited, but friendly, competition among neighbors.

            This local fair was billed as an event to bring farmers and merchants together for a public display.  The directors of the Upper Perkiomen Valley Fair Inc. operated by the wisdom that the happiness, well-being and success of every farm and home in the Upper Perkiomen Valley depend upon the integrity and code of ethics pursued by farmers and merchants alike.

            In 1949, the Fair drew record crowds and exhibitors.  More than 3,000 visitors enjoyed 1,400 exhibits during that year's event.   One of the most popular exhibits was the "Hobby Show."  Seventy-four people took part in the display that included an angel orchestra whittled from wood, old-time mechanical organs and music boxes, soap figurines, dolls, stamps, pennants, collections of newspaper headlines and the fruits of many more pastimes.

            The event continued there until the late 1950s when it moved to the grounds of the Pennsburg Civic Building.  The big tents were still used to house the farmers and merchant's exhibits, and the gymnasium was a fine place to display the produce, hobbies and other exhibits.

            During the later years of the fair, it was expanded to four days.  It included an antique show in the basement of the Civic Building, along with exhibits of crafts and handiwork from area Girl and Boy Scout Troops, Brownies, and Cub Scouts.  Garages along West Side Alley in Pennsburg were converted into food and game stands for the benefit of a number of local non-profit groups.

            Art exhibits featured the talents of students from all grades in the Upper Perkiomen School District.  You could take home a blue ribbon for anything from baked goods to homemade soap, from hand-made wooden collectibles to livestock.  The first thing many local residents saw on a new contraption called a television was the great fall classic, the World Series, presented to them at the Community Fair.  This and all of the newest in-home appliance technology were on display at the fair by local merchants.

            At the end of each fair, an auction would be held to sell off the produce that was submitted for competition.

            In addition to all the regular exhibits, the 1966 event featured an antiques show in the basement of Pennsburg's Civic building with 17 dealers exhibiting.  A midway of carnival rides, supplied by Bill Nonweiler of Lehighton, was pleasing to all the younger attendees.

            The Fair also featured music each night, including the Red Hill Band and the Upper Perkiomen High School Band, along with free chest x-rays to anybody over 21 years of age.

            The popular event was even advertised in the nationally circulated "Billboard" magazine.  It was hailed as "Montgomery County's only Agriculture Fair."

More than 13,000 people visited the fair in 1966. 

            In June 1967, an announcement was made that the fair would be cancelled for that year because a replacement for the Community Fair's Secretary and Fair Manager Vic Ensminger (a position he held since the event's inception) could not be obtained.

            After an extensive and exhaustive search, no replacement could be found.  The Fair never returned.

            In 1969, the directors of the Upper Perkiomen Community Fair Association voted unanimously to disband and to donate their remaining funds towards the purchase of an electric organ for the auditorium of the brand new Upper Perkiomen High School in Red Hill.  They also voted to donate any remaining tables, chairs, lights, and other equipment to the Upper Perkiomen School District.

            The Community Fair was a place where local residents brought their finest fruits, flowers and vegetables to be judged.  Farmers and youth clubs brought their finest champion livestock to the tents and temporary corrals to show off and compete.  Crafters brought their finest works to be displayed and judged.  The country-fair atmosphere brought all the communities of our Valley together for fun and friendship. 

            The fair brought out spirited, but friendly, competition among neighbors.  Its rural theme helped to project, and remind us, who we were back then.