[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 127 (Friday, August 3, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1713]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO THE 150TH HARFORD FAIR

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER P. CARNEY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2007

  Mr. CARNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 150th 
Harford Fair to be held from August 20th to August 25th of the year Two 
Thousand and Seven, in Harford, Pennsylvania. The Harford Agricultural 
Society has held the fair as an annual tradition since 1857.
  The first fair was held on November 9, 1858, in the sheds around the 
First Congregational Church. Seventy-six people attended. One of the 
first recorded exhibits was five heads of cabbage. Each weighed 
seventeen pounds. A few years later the fair was moved to October. The 
entrance fee was 10 cents and the main attractions were speakers, brass 
bands, plowing matches and agricultural displays.
  In 1865 the fair doubled in length, spilling over to two bright 
October days. By 1880, 3,500 people and 1,000 teams of oxen were 
flocking to the 117 acres of fairground. In the early 1900s the fair 
hosted the first automobile and victrola, merry-go-rounds, wire 
walkers, drum corps and the occasional circus. The Lenoxville Band 
first performed in 1940 and continues to entertain fair-goers.
  Now, every year on the third week of August, 65,000 visitors pour 
into tiny Harford to enjoy one of the few agricultural fairs left in 
the nation. It has grown into a six day event that allows both the 
young and old to present handcrafts, agricultural items, fruits, 
vegetables, baked goods, animals, photography and art work. Last year's 
fair featured 7,519 items.
  The Harford Fair is my hometown fair in Susquehanna County and I am 
proud to recognize the fair as an enduring tribute to community pride 
and cooperation. I salute the many tireless volunteers who maintain the 
Harford Fair and its rich traditions.
  In closing, Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
recognizing the Harford Fair for 150 years of family entertainment, 
agricultural displays and community fellowship.

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