[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 93 (Tuesday, June 19, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1080]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ALAMEDA COUNTY FAIR

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 19, 2012

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the 100th 
anniversary of the Alameda County Fair. The annual 17-day Alameda 
County Fair, which takes place in Pleasanton, California, is the 
largest single event in Alameda County and draws close to one half 
million patrons each year.
  In 1912, the first Alameda County Fair was held at a local racetrack 
in the Hamlet of Alisal, which is now Pleasanton. The owner of the 
track, Rodney MacKenzie, organized a group of local business leaders to 
form a non-profit organization and pledge their personal assets as 
collateral to fund the Annual Fair & Race Meet.
  This new organization, The Alameda Fair Association, was formed on 
June 29, 1912 and consisted of fifteen businessmen, agriculturalists 
and livestock raisers from Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, Hayward, San 
Ramon and Irvington. The first fair opened in 1912 on Wednesday, 
October 23 and ran through Sunday, October 27.
  In 1941 the non-profit Fair Association purchased the first 100 acres 
of what is now the 268-acre Fairgrounds. The 10-day Fair & Race Meet of 
1941 was touted by the Oaldand Tribune as ``Northern California's 
Largest County Fair.''
  The Fair Association subsequently donated the property to the people 
of Alameda County to guarantee that the residents of this region would 
have a County Fair & Race Track. Alameda County still contracts with 
the nonprofit Fair Association to manage and improve the Fairgrounds. 
The Fair Association continues to provide a significant public benefit 
without receiving any tax support. The Association has an annual 
operating budget of roughly $19 million.
  On the 100th anniversary of the Alameda County Fair, the Fair 
Association will dedicate an Alameda County Historical Monument, on the 
Fairgrounds, that represents a slice of the rich history of Alameda 
County. The Historical Monument represents the many people, businesses 
and leaders that settled, developed and call Alameda County home.
  I join the community in applauding the 100th anniversary of the 
Alameda County Fair. I also pay tribute to the Fair Association for 
creating and dedicating a Historical Monument on the Fairgrounds to 
honor the rich history of Alameda County.

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