Russell's Farm Festival of 1922 was a "Great Affair"

Russell has been staging a fall event of some sort for about as long as there's been a Russell --- as of 2022, 155 years. When I was a kid it was just "Homecoming."

But a century ago, it was Farm Festival --- held during a period when there was no Lucas County Fair. The big Derby Fair compensated for that, as did the more compact Fall Festival down in Washington Township.

Here's a report from The Chariton Herald-Patriot of Oct. 5, 1922, of the Fall Festival held on Sept. 28-29 that year. The postcard records an earlier Farm Festival, but I don't know which one.

In any case, the Herald-Patriot report was introduced by a four-decker headline about half as long as the story itself: "Fall Festival a Great Affair; Russell Has Recorded Another Big Success in Its Two Day Farm Festival; Weather Man Smiled; The Exhibits of Products Were Large and Livestock up to Show Class; Other Things Accordingly." And here's the report itself:

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The person who did not attend the Farm Festival at Russell last Thursday and Friday missed much. It was certainly filled with autumn enjoyments and thrills. The weather was so fine, in the first place, that one felt like shaking hands with every other one he met and expressing the grand salute, "What is finer than Iowa's autumn days?" And the answer is, "Nothing could be finer --- when you feel right." And everybody was feeling right, and friend met friend with many a blessing and "howdy-do."

The fair itself was like the son of the Harvest Home with rhythm aplenty. It was just the country brot into town and shown up in a bunch, the fields of golden grain, the orchard fruits and garden abundance, and everything was first class --- everything was entitled to a premium and the judges worked a miracle out of the standards of decision. But everybody was satisfied, even though it did take fine discrimination to make the award. The stock and poultry looked like a mammoth zoo of domestication. And too, there was cookery, household handwork and whatnot. the parade was a fine one, with the pretty floats in line and the march of the schools was certainly something to be proud of.

Now there was music, races and games galore --- and big chicken dinners for everybody in the church basements. The theatrical talent of the town was in evidence and put on some good plays and farces, and acts professional, but all were classical. The big tent had been erected in the street near the (Presbyterian) church and the programs were carried out there.

C.W. Hunt, president of the Farm Bureau Federation, spoke on the first day and ably presented the accomplishments of the Farm Bureau and its general aims for the betterment of agricultural conditions and society in general. On Friday, Judge Hubert Utterback of Des Moines made the address, his subject being, "Big Business." This he defined as not commercial but in the proper rearing of boys and girls, the future sovereignty of America, and it certainly was the most important business to be looked after to see that they were morally surrounded and had opportunities to develop healthy bodies and minds. It certainly was a splendid address full of good suggestions.

A vegetable Zoo: The vine things have grown so large this year that the display at the recent Russell Farm Festival looked almost like a vegetable zoo. There were great big, striped watermelons weighing at least 50 pounds. Had Nature just grown little legs on them they could have been palmed off for zebras, the only difference being the stripes ran the wrong way, while the pumpkins resembled baby elephants and the crook necked squashes acted as though they might turn giraffe, get up and eat the foliage off the ladies' bonnets. Who knows? Mr. Darwin contended that after all animals and humankind may have descended from the vegetable kingdom. This we do know, some men have not gotten beyond the pumpkin stage yet.