History was made this past week.. The Bloomsburg Fair made the call: THE FAIR HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE SECOND TIME IN IS HISTORY…

The 2020 event won’t happen.. all that build up.. all that controversy, including a man pretending to be the Pennsylvania Health Secretary, or Marylin Monroe???? n a dunk tank for a fundraiser on the fairgrounds for a local fire department…

After all that, no fair..

This is how they made the announcement:

In these uncertain and ever-changing times, the board members of the Bloomsburg Fair Association found it necessary to gather and interpret vast amounts of information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Any decision that will ultimately affect thousands of people and an entire region should not be made casually. Each year the Fair is responsible to our 1,100 vendors, thousands of exhibitors, many local artists, our generous sponsors, and the families that enter our gates in search of education, fun, and memories that last a lifetime.
After much deliberation, local community concerns and concerns from local government, the board has made the decision to cancel the 2020 Bloomsburg Fair. This was a very difficult decision, but our concern for the health and safety of our community outweighs our desire to host this years fair. The Bloomsburg Fair Association is committed to the overall well being of the entire region, and we do not wish to put anyone in jeopardy in order to open our gates. We will, instead, take this time to make improvements, train staff, and look to the future.
We are already busy planning the 2021 Bloomsburg Fair, which will be full of exciting opportunities for our visitors. Many entertainers have already agreed to perform on our Grandstand stage in 2021, new and impressive free entertainment is planned, many innovative surprises will delight families, and, of course, all of our traditional food, livestock, and educational opportunities will be available for all to experience at our 2021 Bloomsburg Fair, to be held from September 24 through October 2. So, although many in our community will miss the fair, we look forward to providing a safe, secure and healthy event next year!

And with that, Bloomsburg’s famous fair became the latest to not occur in 2020..

Before that back in May, the other big Pennsylvania York Fair decided to cancel for the same Covid reasons.

While the call was controversial, it was also predictable.. gatherings the size of what occurs in Bloomsburg during the annual autumnal event are against Health Department rules, and also seemingly contrary to common sense during an historical global pandemic.

But equally, it hurts. It hurts because this event, this annual foray into the bizarre and amazing, has led to so many memories for families.. romantic partners.. teenagers and college students.. It has been one of the most important annual events in the state’s history..

And now, like so many other things during the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020, it’s gone.

But fairs have been gone before, too..

THE NON YORK FAIR OF 1918

In the summer of 1918 as the Spanish flu raged, the York Fair canceled its event.

As a matter of fact, an emergency hospital was established at the York Fairgrounds during the flu pandemic in 1918 instead of the annual event..

This is how we know the series of events occurred 100 years ago:

By the month of July 1918, large numbers of Pennsylvanians succumbed to symptoms, starting in Gettysburg. A few months later, the York City Council declared that all flu cases must be reported daily.. Within hours, 123 cases of the Spanish Influenza were reported in York.

Just like 2020, Pennsylvania’s leaders ordered all saloons, theaters, clubs and amusement centers including the York Fair, to temporarily close.

Hospital beds cascaded across the lawn of the York Fairgrounds. One hundred and fifty beds in tents were used to help flu patients in what’s called the “fresh air” treatment:

X X X

But what about Bloomsburg?

Prior to 1930, the Bloomsburg Fair was scheduled in October, and was variously placed on the calendar from between two and eight days. What began as a one-day event increased to a four-day event by 1913. Advertisers capitalized on this growth, calling it “The Big Bloomsburg Fair” and “The Great Bloomsburg Fair” as early as the first quarter of the twentieth century.

By the years 1917 to 1918, the Fair had grown to such an extent that fairgoers were offered a chance to win an automobile by raffle…

As the Spanish flu hit.

Unlike the York Fair in 1918, the Bloomsburg Fair went on! As a matter of fact, 2011 marked the first time the Bloomsburg Fair was canceled in its history until 2020.

That cancelation was due to severe flooding from tropical storm Lee, which damaged large portions of the town of Bloomsburg.

x x x

But prior to 2011, there were no delays.. no call-offs..

1918

In 1918, this was the advertisement for the Big Bloomsburg Fair from the Mt. Carmel Item on September 18, 1918. They spoke of the a $.25 admission and a prize of a $1250 new Oakland Touring Car:

Prior to the fair, the Danville Morning NEWS reported that the Pennsylvania Health Chief prescribed plained old sunshine for “grip” victims.. Let that sunshine in and avoid crowded places, Dr. Royer said:

But crowded places did not get avoided in Bloomsburg days later!!

When the Bloomsburg Fair began in 1918, newspapers reports including the Danville Morning NEWS reported cars and people streaming into the fair grounds, and also a seemingly tragic report about a dove shot to pieces!

Fair during the Flu

Days prior to the Bloomsburg Fair in 1918, newspapers reports indicated that the Spanish Flu was spreading in the area.

Weeks after the Bloomsburg Fair, the Daville Morning News reported new cases were keeping hole families “down” and the “State Hospital for Insane” was infected:

On October 18, 1918, the Mt Carmel TIMES reported that the Spanish flu had come to Pennsylvania.. The Board of Health of Mount Carmel issued an order to close schools, churches, and bars… A strict quarantine was put into effect:

It is unknown–and will forever be unknown–what effect having the Big Bloomsburg Fair had on the Spanish Flu, but one thing was solidified in history: 40,000 were reported to be dead from October 1 through November 14 by the Harrisburg Evening NEWS in 1918:

X X X

But we know this, a number reported in the Danville MORNING NEWS on October 9, 1918, just days after the BIG Bloomsburg Fair went on: 1,500 were reported with the flu in the town on that date… And nursing shortages abounded.. The paper reported that they hoped for a large number of ‘humane women’ to volunteer for pay..