Faithful friends who are dear to us

It looks like the fun times at the Fair are over. Sam and Ruth are wrapping up their Fair adventures and heading home soon. School starts next week. I imagine it's the same for Josefina Ester. Thanks for the fun time at the fair! 

Next year all our troubles will be miles away.
Once again as in olden days, happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us, will be near to us once more.
Someday soon we all will be together, if the fates allow
Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Meet Me in St. Louis, 1943

Meet me in St. Louie, Louie (oh no)

Sam, Ruth and Josefina Ester join Esther and Rose at the piano.

Giddyup! Today's the Horse Show Parade at the 1904 Fair's Livestock Forum which got me thinking about lyrics you don't normally hear.

"Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis," better known as "Meet Me in St. Louis," is a popular song from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair featured in the movie, Meet Me in St. Louis. 

In the 1904 song "Louis" is pronounced "Louie" and the chorus is the same for the first two verses but varies for the rest of the song to reflect the verses.

Verse 1
When Louis came home to the flat

He hung up his coat and his hat
He gazed all around
But no wifey he found

So he said, "Where can Flossie be at?"

A note on the table he spied

He read it just once, then he cried

It ran, "Louis, dear,"

"It's too slow for me here,"

"So I think I will go for a ride..."
 

Verse 2

The dresses that hung in the hall

Were gone, she had taken them all

She took all his rings

And the rest of his things

The picture he missed from the wall

"What, moving?" the janitor said

"Your rent is paid three months ahead!"

"What good is the flat?"

Said poor Louis, "Read that!"

And the janitor smiled as he read...
 

Chorus

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis,

Meet me at the Fair

Don't tell me the lights are shining

Anyplace but there

We will dance the "Hoochie-Koochie"

I will be your "Tootsie-Wootsie"

If you will meet me in St. Louis, Louis,

Meet me at the Fair.
 

(The rest of the verses are usually left out. Can't you just see Esther secretly singing these with Rose? Or even Mr. and Mrs. Smith when they were alone!)

Oops, you caught me!

Verse 3

Lew Woods was the name of a horse,

that ran at the New Orleans course,

I played him one day

for a dollar each way,

and I charged it to profit and loss;

He started to run in the wet,

the son of a gun's running yet,

That crazy old skate,

he made straight for the gate,

and I hollered, “Hey Lew! don't forget.”
 

Chorus 3

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair,

Take my tip and don't stop running until you are there,

You're a wonder that's no liesky, if you don't fall down and diesky,

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair
 

Verse 4

There came to the gay tenderloin,

a Jay who had money to burn,

The poor simple soul

showed a girlie his roll,

and she said, “for some wine dear, I yearn.”

A bottle and bird right away,

she touched him then said, “I can't stay.”

He sighed, “Tell me, sweet,

where can you and I meet?”

and the orchestra started to play.
 

Chorus 4

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair,

Don't tell me the lights are shining any place but there;

I'll be waiting there my honey, to divorce you from your money,

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair.
 

Verse 5

The clerks in the bank said, “It's queer,

did anyone see the cashier?

It's way after time,

and we haven't a dime,

we can't open the safe 'till he's here.”

The President shook his gray head,

“Send out for an expert,” he said,

The door's opened wide,

not a cent was inside,

just a card, that was all, and it read:
 

Chorus 5

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair,

All the boys and all the girls are going to be there;

If they ask about the cashier, you can say he cuts a dash here,

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair
 

Verse 6

In church sat a man near the door,

asleep, he was starting to snore,

The Minister rose,

and he said, “We will close

singing, Meet on the Beautiful Shore.”

The man in the back then awoke,

he caught the last words that he spoke;

He said, “Parson White,

you can meet me alright,

but The Beautiful Shore is a joke.”
 

Chorus 6

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair,

Don't tell me the lights are shining any place but there;

I'll be waiting at the station, for the whole darned congregation,

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair

The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair
Daily Calendar

Friday, Sept. 2, 1904

• Fraternal Aid Association
• Horse show parade at livestock forum

Hail Italia

Sam, Ruth, Josefina Ester and I check out the Italian Pavilion.

I was fascinated when Josefina Ester told us she and her family were participating in the Italian Pavilion at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, so I headed to the library.

During the Fair, visitors walked up the wide stairs through the Ionic columns into a pavilion designed to resemble a Roman emperor's villa. Concerts featuring Italian music entertained Italian visitors and special guests in the pavilion and its lovely surrounding gardens. Visitors walked through the pavilion's reception room to view reproductions of statues from the ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii along with modern works of art.

I found this in a book published in 1913:

Italian Pavilion and Italian Day:

The Italian pavilion was opened June 6, 1904 with an official reception. The guests began to arrive at 4 p.m., and for the next two hours the building was thronged with guests representing the Italian and other foreign governments, the exposition management, the National Commission, Board of Lady Managers, United States government board, Philippine commission, the many state commissions, the various departments of the Exposition and St. Louis society.

A canopy covered the walk from the Ionic columns fronting the pavilion to the main entrance, where the guests were announced by a member of the Italian commission.

At the opening of the reception, which lasted from 4 to 6 o'clock, the Italian colors were unfurled from two gilded flagstaffs in front of the building. The Colorado Italian orchestra played inside the pavilion and Professor Conterno's Italian band outside in the garden. As the official representatives of the different foreign governments arrived they were greeted with the national airs of their respective countries. Italian music was a favorite with the visitors, and next in popularity came Hail Columbia, the Star Spangled Banner and other American airs.

Among the many distinguished visitors was Count Henry Prevost de Brebiere. The ladies were presented, each, with a bouquet of flowers and a box of Italian bonbons tied with red, green and white ribbon, the colors of Italy.

Oct. 12, 1904, the 412th anniversary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, was Italian Day at the World's Fair. The Italian pavilion was decorated outside with the national colors of Italy and the United States, and on the walls inside hung banners picturing the history of the Roman Empire from the earliest days to the discovery of America.

One of the main features of the celebration was a parade through the exposition grounds to the Italian pavilion and back to St. Louis Plaza where Baron des Planches, Italian ambassador at Washington, presented a very handsome Italian flag which had been carried in the procession by a guard of honor composed of 12 Italian marines, to Mayor Wells for the city of St. Louis. The Mayor gracefully accepted the flag in the name of the city and extended a cordial greeting to Ambassador and Mrs. des Planches and all of the visiting Italians. Signor M. Salvini, the Italian sculptor who had been selected to act as "President of the Day," delivered an address in which he expressed the hope that the time would come when the 12th of October would be celebrated regularly in the United States as a public holiday. After addresses by the President of the Exposition and Commissioner-General Giovanni Branchi, the latter read the following cablegram from Rome, which had just been received by Signor Angelo Pavia, president of the royal commission, from Signor Rava, the Italian minister of commerce.

Present to the great friendly nation, whose name reminds us of the greatest achievement of our country, the best wishes of the Italian government today when Italy celebrates its participation in the great International Exposition at St. Louis.

A banquet in the afternoon at the International Cafe on the Pike was attended by 1,000 guests, most of them Italians, Signor Pavia acting as toastmaster. An illustrated lecture by Professor Brunialti, of Rome, on "Italian Monuments," filled Festival Hall between 6 and 7 p. m. In the evening the celebration of Italian Day was fittingly closed with a water carnival on the lagoons, the distinguished guests being taken through the waterways in Venetian gondolas and launches to the strains of Italian music.

The Universal Exposition of 1904, Volume 1

David Rowland Francis

Saint Louis

Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company
1913

The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair
Daily Calendar 

Thursday, Sept. 1, 1904

• Tennessee Day (Hermitage - President Jackson)
• Indiana Day
• Horse show awards 

The house next door

The girls asked Me today if I would take them to see 5135 Kensington Avenue.

I was happy to oblige and they filled Me in on the story as we headed over.

Sam, Ruth, and Josefina Ester try to get me to hide!

The well-off Smith family lives there with four daughters and a son.

The family was shocked when Mr. Smith revealed that he had been transferred to New York, which meant that the family had to leave St. Louis before the St. Louis World's Fair!

Mr. Smith later announced that the family would not leave St. Louis when he realized how much the move would affect his family. And the whole family has been able to attend the World's Fair.

The story ends at night with everyone overlooking the lake at the center of the World's Fair just as the lights come up on the entire fair.

Sounds like a pretty good story to Me. Maybe someone could make it a moving picture someday and call it, Meet Me in St. Louis.

The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair
Daily Calendar 

Wednesday, Aug. 31, 1904

• Mining Gulch Day, 10,000 free watermelons given out
• Bulgaria's V.I. Exhibits opened
• Two simultaneous marriages took place on Observation Wheel
• Eagle Day

O Captain! my Captain!

Sam expressed interest is seeing my "newfangled" airship, The Enterprise, so I arranged for a private tour.

Not that it's hard when you're the Captain.

She was surprised that the blueprints were in German but I reminded her that I met Ferdinand von Zeppelin in 1863 when he acted as an observer for the Union Army Balloon Corps during the American Civil War.

I like to think I helped spur his interest in dirigibles and flight, so when I asked for my own little zeppelin he was happy to oblige. 

Sam, Ruth, and Josefina Ester seem impressed with my floating bookmobile. Sam wants to know if I can fly them (including Uncle Gard) back home to New York once they're ready to leave the World's Fair.

I don't know if she'll be so eager once she finds out how cold it can get up there....

We're fairly stuffed

Sam, Josefina Ester, Ruth and I check out my favorite exhibition.

Sam, Ruth, Josefina Ester, and I are having a grand time at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair! 

Samantha and Ruth are both from New York. Sam is curious about everything and Uncle Gard is accompanying the girls along with a maid as a chaperone. Ruth is a Society girl who wants to be where all the fashionable people are. New York City is great but St. Louis is where it's at right now.

(Samantha wanted to know if I arrived in one of those newfangled airships that are on display. Of course! Now, if I can just figure out how to get her on board the Enterprise....)

Josefina Ester is a first generation American who lives in St. Louis so she can show us where everything is! Her parents immigrated to St. Louis from Palermo, Sicily. She is named after her grandfather (Joseph) and her grandmother (Ester). Her father is a shoemaker and has his own shop in St. Louis. Her mother stays at home. Josefina Ester is an only child.

Her family and some other Sicilian immigrants are part of the Italian Pavillion at the Fair. She is very interested in many of the science exhibits.

Waffle ice cream cones

We've been busy taking in the sights ... and eating lots of yummy goodies!

Thankfully for us, doll food is calorie free!

As I mentioned yesterday, a number of foods claimed to have been invented at the Fair including the waffle-style ice cream cone, the hamburger, hot dog, and peanut butter. (It is more likely, however, that these food items were first introduced to mass audiences and popularized by the fair.) 

Cheeseburger with french fries

If you (or your doll) are now drooling over these luscious foods, drool no more! I can't recommend Pippaloo's doll food enough. She's the artiste who sculpted these luscious creations.

Don't they look good enough to eat?

Pippaloo creates realistic polymer clay food for your American Girl or other 18-inch doll. All items in her shop are ready to ship. She strives to make unique and high quality products that will delight dolls and their owners alike.

Hot dog with mustard

According to Pippaloo, "My polymer clay obsession started out quite innocently when my two young girls asked me to make some cookies for our American Girl dolls. Dismayed by the lack of realism and incorrect scale of so many of the foods that AG makes, I soon found myself on a mission. That was about four years ago. As you can no doubt imagine, we now have some very well fed dolls."

Are your dolls craving something specific? She is always happy to do custom orders. Custom orders can take from one to three weeks to complete, depending on the request.

Peanut butter and jelly

Food items are crafted from polymer clay and are in perfect 1:3 scale for American Girl dolls.

Because of the realistic nature and scale of the food, these items are not intended for children under the age of 6. Her food is not for human consumption - it is only tasty to dolls!

All items are crafted by Pippaloo in her smoke-free home studio.

Since all her clay food is handmade, no two will be exactly alike - but each piece you receive will look as realistic and scrumptious as the ones pictured. 

Now, what should I try next....

On the Net: http://www.etsy.com/shop/pippaloo

The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair
Daily Calendar

Tuesday, Aug. 30, 1904

• Improved Order of Heptasophs
• Olympic Marathon Race, temperature over 90 degrees. Fred Lorz crosses finish line, but had ridden a car for 11 miles. Thomas Hicks won the race, but required assistance after taking strychnine and raw eggs.

Well, she was an American Girl

Boy howdy, was I mad when I saw there was an American Boy Day at the St. Louis World's Fair on July 5, 1904.

Excuse me, but what happened to American Girl Day?!

Upon further investigation  I discovered it was sponsored by a then-popular magazine called The American Boy. 

More investigation showed it to be two hours of speeches in Festival Hall.

Yawn.

The American Boy was a monthly magazine published from November 1899 to August 1941. At the time it was the largest magazine for boys, with a circulation of 300,000, and it featured action stories and advertising for the young boy.

In 1929 the magazine merged with its rival, Youth's Companion. (Hey, Laura Ingalls Wilder read that as a girl!)

 
Out of curiosity, I looked and Girl Scouts published a magazine from 1917 until 1979, originally called The Rally (1917–1920) and then The American Girl, with the The later being dropped.

At one time this magazine had the largest circulation of any magazine aimed at teen-aged girls.

(The American Girl is not to be confused with the currently published American Girl magazine. Launched in 1992, the new magazine reaches 470,000 girls every other month.)

I am now somewhat mollified since girls have better things to do than to sit around listening to speeches.

Like explore the World's Fair with friends and discover new foods....

Meet me in St. Louis

I'm off to St. Louis for the III Games of the Olympiad and hope to meet my friends Sam, Ruth and Josefina Ester at the 1904 World's Fair while I'm there.

The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair opened April 30, 1904 and closed Dec. 1, 1904. While organizers tried to hold an Olympic event (such as tug of war) every day from July 1 to Nov. 23, the bulk of the recognized Olympic sports were held from Monday, Aug. 29 through Sept. 3. 

The first U.S. Olympics had originally been awarded to Chicago but St. Louis threatened to hold a rival international competition. The Olympians totaled 651 athletes: 645 men and six women representing 12 countries. (Those six women represented the U.S. archery team!)

The International Olympic Committee later declared that 94 of the events were Olympic, but only 42 events included athletes who were not from the United States since many European athletes did not come due to the expense. (The United States placed "first" with 239 medals and Germany came in second with 13.) 

The marathon included the first two black Africans to compete in the Olympics: Len Taunyane and Jan Mashiani, who participated in the Olympics even though they were supposed to be in the Fair's Boer War Exhibit. Taunyane placed ninth (dogs chased him a mile off course) and Mashiani came in 12th.

St. Louis organizers repeated the mistakes made at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris by reducing competitions to a side-show that were overshadowed by the Fair. The Games were so poorly run that the modern Olympic movement almost came to an end.

The 1904 Fair's 1,200 acre site was the largest to date with more than 1,500 buildings, connected by 75 miles of roads and walkways. Exhibits were staged by 62 foreign nations, the United States government, and 43 of the then-45 U.S. states. It was said to be impossible to give even glance at everything in less than a week. The Palace of Agriculture alone covered about 20 acres and 19,694,855 individuals attended the fair!

A number of foods are claimed to have been invented at the Fair including the waffle-style ice cream cone, the hamburger, hot dog, peanut butter, iced tea, and cotton candy. It is more likely, however, that these food items were first introduced to mass audiences and popularized by the fair.

I'm sure Sam, Ruth, Josefina Ester, and I shall be reporting on the foods later this week!

The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair
Daily Calendar

Aug. 29 - Sept. 3, 1904

• Third Olympic Games of the modern era, Track & Field events begin (U.S. won 23 of 25 gold medals)