Date: September 24, 1930
Location: Northampton, Massachusetts
(Original document available here)
This is the time of year when the agricultural fairs are flourishing. Some of the younger generation of the larger cities probably have never had the opportunity to visit one of these excellent places of entertainment and instruction. But they are familiar to all our rural inhabitants and to most of the older urban population who have been recruited from the country.
These exhibitions of farm stock and produce, from the field and from the kitchen, are considered so important in stimulating and improving agriculture that they generally are encouraged by liberal appropriations from the state treasury. But their revenues, sometimes very large, are mainly derived from charges for admission. They are nearly all mutual benefit associations, so that there are no personal profits and the whole income goes for maintenance.
The more modern and intricate forms of amusement are not able to detract from the wholesome pleasure that youth and age derive from the old-fashioned fair and cattle show. These autumn days will carry many, through cherished memories, back to them. They are a natural expression of human, social instinct and friendly rivalry which nothing entirely can displace.
Citation: Calvin Coolidge Says: Dispatches Written by Former-President Coolidge and Syndicated to Newspapers in 1930-1931 (Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation)
The Coolidge Foundation gratefully acknowledges the volunteer efforts of Nicholas Jose Tenuto who prepared this document for digital publication.