Our archives has a treasure trove of Tavistock Fair Prize Lists from years gone by. One of the very best days of the year was (and still is!) the day the Prize List was published. Families poured over the pages with each person noting what he or she would show. Once those big decisions were made, it was time to read the advertising … everything from tombstones to Tip Top tailored suits.

Here are some fun things you may not know about the Tavistock Fall Fair.

Admission to the Fall Fair in 1935 was 10 cents for adults on Friday and 25 cents on Saturday: 5 cents for children on Friday and 10 cents on Saturday: 25 cents per car at any time.

A merry-go-round and ferris wheel made their first appearance at the 1936 Fall Fair to the delight of children and adults alike.

The 1954 Prize List included 23 classes for fowl (chicken, geese, ducks and turkeys); the opportunity to show 28 different types of apples; a class labelled “9 sandwiches for afternoon tea”; and a knitted hot water bottle cover.

The “centennial” Fall Fair of 1952 had a special class … a decorated 2-storey dark fruit cake with first prize of $25. The winning cake was offered for sale by public auction at the Fair. Schoolchildren attending the Fair that year were eligible for a special draw with the winner receiving a budgie bird and cage. Attendance records in every category were smashed. The Saturday afternoon show didn’t conclude until 8 pm when the last entrant in the tractor rodeo made his rounds of the course. The horse show finished at 7:30 pm after a very full day of events. Every possible wiggle room of space within the park was was used for concessions. It fact it was so full with two booth were set up on the street outside the grounds.

If you were a first-prize baker in 1955 your first-prize money was 75 cents. If you were a seamstress and won first prize for ladies handkerchiefs— 1 each with tatting, embroidery and crochet trim— your prize was also 75 cents. It was the same for the category called “chesterfield set”. Things weren’t quite as good for the gardeners as first prize for “floral arrangement, suitable for church” was 60 cents.

Since its beginnings in 1852 there has only been one year when Tavistock did not have a Fall Fair. That was 1873 - reasons unknown. We hope it continues forever.