PROCEEDINGS STATE AGRICULTURAL CONVENTION 103 



The growing place which women's activities are having in the 

 life and progress of the state as a whole was amply demonstrated 

 by the all-embracing women's department of the 1922 Iowa State 

 Fair. The programs were so widely varied and so thoroughly devel- 

 oped that it would have required the entire period of the fair for 

 any one person to have witnessed and participated in all of the 

 events scheduled. Style shows, baby health contest, home econom- 

 ics lectures and demonstrations, little theater plays, pageants, dress- 

 making exhibits, cooking demonstrations, citizenship talks — these 

 and dozens of like numbers vied with each other for the attention of 

 the thousands of women who came to the fair. 



In the baby health department there were more than 550 entries. 

 Judging of babies had to be started a day earlier than usual in order 

 to complete it on scheduled time. 



One of the most widely interesting features of the fair was a 

 contest to select the most beautiful girl in Iowa — to be crowned 

 Queen of the State Fair. Miss Bonnie Murray of Sioux City was 

 chosen queen from among more than 6,200 girls from every coun- 

 ty in the state entered in the contest. The coronation ceremony 

 took place before a packed grand stand on Thursday afternoon. 

 Miss Murray was presented with "a check for $1,000 by the Des 

 Moines Register, which co-operated with the State Fair manage- 

 ment in conducting the contest. 



Another new attraction at the fair and one of the most popular 

 was a series of grand opera presentations in front of the grand 

 stand in connection with the evening performances. Nine eastern 

 opera singers, a ballet and a chorus of 50 Iowa voices enacted the 

 first scene of the second act from "Aida." The feature was pro- 

 nounced one of the finest on the entire amusement program of the 

 fair. It bears promise of being taken up by many of the other 

 larger fairs in response to a popular demand. 



Horseshoe pitching as a form of sport and of popular amusement 

 reached its climax at the Iowa State Fair in a National Horseshoe 

 Pitching Tournament, open to the champions of every state in the 

 Union. There were 85 entries from 12 states in the men's national 

 tournament. Every available inch of standing room and seating 

 accommodations was taken throughout the period of the tournament. 

 The national title, after several days of hard-fought pitching, was 

 finally won by Frank Lundin of New London, Iowa. A state horse- 

 shoe tournament, with 85 entries from all parts of Iowa, also at- 

 tracted wide attention and was also won by Frank Lundin. The 



