May Fete of 1915

How many of you have ever seen local picture postcards labeled “May Fete – May 17, 1915”?  The photos are quite eye catching-- children dressed as various flowers and vegetables, chickens and blackbirds, as well as farmers, Indians and prize fighters.  Over the years I have seen many postcards bearing this label and wondered what type of celebration would include the elaborate costumes pictured.  Since 2015 marks its centennial, it seems like a good time to do a little investigating to see what the May Fete was all about.

Library Aid Society Fundraiser

Flower Girls

Sponsored by the Library Aid Society as a fundraiser, the production, authored by Mrs. E. B. Wilson of Jefferson, Iowa, was originally scheduled to be presented on Friday, May 14^th.  Souvenir buttons were sold for 25¢ each and served to admit the wearers to the fete.  They were about the size of a nickel and featured the state flower in the center on a blue background with the saying “The World is Better for its Play Days” wrapped around the edge.  One could also be admitted to the extravaganza on the day of the event for the payment of 25¢.

Over six hundred men, women and children were needed to execute the extravagant program.  The city school teachers assisted the Library Aid Society in the production.  All of Kossuth County was asked to participate in the fete and the Algona business houses agreed to close between the hours of 2 and 5 p.m.  Thousands were expected to attend.  And then, as is often the case in Iowa in the spring, weather intervened.  Heavy rains fell on Thursday evening, May 13^th, and Friday dawned with a drizzling rain.  The occasion was regretfully postponed until Monday, May 17^th.

The celebration begins

The big day finally arrived, although quite cool for an outdoor event.  By 2 p.m. the participants were ready.  The parade formed on the Carnegie Library lawn.  Led by the Algona Military band, the beautiful floats passed through the business district on their way to the fairgrounds.  The pageant was staged in front of the grandstand, taking up about two and a half acres of land.  The grandstand was full of spectators, automobiles lined the fences, and hundreds of people were seated on the grounds near the Floral Hall.

The prologue presented the history of Kossuth County and was entitled, “Our Yesterdays.”  It began with a band of Indians who made camp complete with the men performing a war dance and the squaws setting up the tepees.  They were followed by emigrants driving prairie schooners with signs such as “Bound for Kossuth – Land $1.25 an acre, 1854” emblazoned on the sides.  Other presentations included a log cabin scene representing settlement and the uncertain time of the Civil War.

Parade Float

The floats then passed in review followed by four delightfully decorated automobiles.  The first was decorated in the national colors and carried several Civil War veterans.  The next marked the introduction of United States mail service and was filled with mail and packages and another carried several early settlers of the county and members of the Library Aid Society.  Still another brought forth much applause from the crowd as it passed, displaying banners with the words “Votes for Women” and bearing members of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.  

After the floats and autos had passed, the couriers were the first to arrive.  They consisted of twenty young ladies who performed drills and counter marches.  A group of boys representing florists came next, bearing hoes and sprinklers. They were follows by August Huenhold who brought his home grown vegetables which consisted of a number of youngsters dressed for the theme.  

Farmers and agriculturists were represented by another group of boys wearing overalls and straw hats and carrying hoes.  

They were followed by children dressed as chickens and blackbirds.  Girls wearing aprons declaring “Good Cooks are the Angels of the County” passed by followed by boys dressed in white pulling a cart containing a churn and milk pails and dairy maids carrying banners setting out the number of pounds of butter manufactured in 1914 by the creameries located in the county.  Many groups of children clad in various costumes such as flowers, butterflies and bees passed in review.

And then, “Miss Iowa” arrived in a handsome car decorated with two white doves of peace.  Fittingly, Miss Iowa was portrayed by Miss Sheridan, the city librarian.  To honor her, a unit of young ladies representing all 99 Iowa counties entered, each bearing a wand with an ear of corn.  A drill was presented by a band of boys dressed as sunflowers.  The next group demonstrated the spirit of play and consisted of little girls with their dolls and boys with baseballs and the like.  A portion of the infield had been fenced into individual sections for each individual group to gather once they had passed before the grandstand which at that time faced west.  As the parade drew to a close and each group was in their assigned section, the scene created by their colorful costumes was quite spectacular.

The program begins

Grandstand View

After the entire troupe had paraded before the delighted crowd, the real program began.  A large platform had been erected in front of the grandstand which was now occupied by Miss Iowa and her attendants.  Each group then appeared individually on stage and presented drills, dances and songs accompanied by piano and the military band.  This even included a re-enactment of the Jack Johnson-Jess Willard prize fight by two little fellows, creating much merriment.  Amid patriotic songs and music, the United States flag was raised to close the program.

Jackson - Willard Prize Fight

According to the news reports of the time, an outdoor program such as this had never before been presented in Algona.  Attendance predictions for the original advertised date had been estimated at 4500.  Due to the postponement because of the inclement weather, numbers were drastically reduced.  Actual tickets sold were 1432, plus hundreds of children and all of the adults involved in the program were admitted free.  After deducting all expenses, the Library Aid Society was able to raise a little over $300 to be used for library improvements.

Story Book Characters

Harry Nolte, the well-known local photographer, appears to have taken photos of almost all of the groups featured in the fete.  He was able to preserve the memories of a very special occasion in the history of Kossuth County.  The postcards created from the images he captured are able to bring this event alive once again, one hundred years later.

If anyone has any of the original Nolte postcards from the May Fete and would like to send a scan of it, I will be happy to share it on the KCHB Facebook page.

Until next time,

Jean (a/k/a KC History Buff)

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