Here is a schedule of events at the Erie County Farmers’
Picnic held at Cedar Point on Saturday, July 23, 1892.
An account of the picnic in the July 25, 1892 Sandusky Register reported that the event was a “success in every way,” except for attendance. Many farmers could not attend because of the
late harvest, which kept many farmers at home working in the fields. The article stated, “The programme heretofore
published was fully carried out and nothing was left undone by the Cedar Point
management that would add to the pleasures and comfort of those who were there
to enjoy the day.”
Musical entertainment was provided by the Great Western Band (above) and vocalist Ida Reynolds.
Charles Steen, pictured above with his wife Sarah, was
the Vice-President of the Erie County Agricultural Society in 1892. Mr. Steen
introduced the speakers of the day: I.F. Mack, Department Commander of the Ohio
G.A.R. and General William H. Gibson, from Tiffin, Ohio.
Mr. Mack gave an address which focused
on pensions for the Union Veterans of the Civil War. He indicated that
the pensions for former
U.S.
soldiers compared favorably with the pensions given to the veteran soldiers of
other countries.
When Vice President C. F. Steen
introduced General William H. Gibson,
of Tiffin, the
crowd gave an enthusiastic ovation. General Gibson, considered an outstanding
orator, was known as the “Grand Old Man of Ohio.” The Register carried a large portion of General Gibson’s speech, in
which he praised the farmers of the United States. He spoke of the
American wheat, corn, and cotton crops, and how wheat from the U.S. was sent to famine victims in Russia.
He continued “This is a great farm and we don’t want any drones on it. I have
worked ever since I was born and this is the best world I ever struck.” He
encouraged the young men in the crowd to “get forty acres of land in any part
of the state of Ohio”
and “hang on to it.” General Gibson
concluded with patriotic remarks, stating that America was the most popular nation
in Christendom, with bounteous wealth and infinite resources.
To read the full
article about the Erie County Farmers’ Picnic in 1892, visit the Archives Research Center
of the Sandusky Library, which houses decades of historical local newspapers on
microfilm, or find the article on Newspaper Archive, a subscription service available free to Sandusky Library cardholders via our local history resource page.
Pictured below is a picnic at Cedar
Point in 1906, several years after the Erie County Farmers’ Picnic.
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