Title: Wisconsin State Fair: Publicity Records
Inclusive Dates: 1921-1964 (bulk 1948-1961)

Creator:

• Wisconsin State Fair

Call Number: Series 2049; PH 3975; PH 4072; PH 4079; PH 6793; PH 6794; PH 6795; M96-177; M97-078; 2013/010

Quantity: 3.6 cubic feet (7 archives boxes and 1 records center carton), 2 reels of microfilm (35 mm), 0.4 cubic feet (4 oversize folders) of posters and drawings, 3406 photographs, 17 negatives, and 1 transparency

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Incomplete records, mainly 1948-1961, of the office responsible for creating advertising and publicity for the Wisconsin State Fair and for the 1948 Wisconsin Centennial Exposition. Included are correspondence, minutes, publicity schedules, attendance records, and media consultant and financial reports relating to the creation of publicity. Also included are some products of that activity including advertising copy, press releases, public service announcements, newspaper clippings (available only on microfilm), brochures, and photographs of events, exhibits, and Alice in Dairyland. Printed programs and other publications are available in the Historical Society library.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-ser02049

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

The Wisconsin State Fair began in 1851 under the auspices of the State Agricultural Society, remaining under Society control until 1897. From that year until 1915 the fair was organized and run by the State Board of Agriculture. In 1915 the newly-formed State Department of Agriculture superseded the board and oversaw the fair's operation until 1961. In 1929 the Department of Agriculture was renamed the State Department of Agriculture and Markets, and in 1939 it returned to the name State Department of Agriculture. In 1961 the fair was incorporated into the State Exposition Department, where it remained until 1968 when the department was renamed the Wisconsin Exposition Center and transferred to the Department of Local Affairs and Development under the Reorganization Act of 1968. State fair operations and its three-member board of control for the state fair park were transferred back to the Department of Agriculture in 1971. Then in 1977 the fair was transferred to the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection.

For the period represented in these records, most state fair publicity was generated within the department. Creative writing and copy editing was performed by staff employees, while photography and printing was contracted to private vendors. In addition, a media buying organization, Klau-Van Pietersom-Dunlop Associates, was hired to schedule publicity for the 1948 State Centennial Exposition.

There are many gaps and inconsistencies in the documentation provided by Series 2049. For example, while there is little early textual material, the correspondence and administrative records for 1955 and 1960 are relatively complete. The incomplete coverage is probably attributable to the poor physical condition in which the publicity records were originally received at the Historical Society. For example, several volumes of newspaper clippings from the 1930s are known to have been destroyed at that time because of water damage, and some correspondence files from the period 1949-1953 were discarded as well.

The State Fair publicity records are arranged into three categories: CORRESPONDENCE, ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS, and PUBLICITY PRODUCTS.

The CORRESPONDENCE (1940-1963) is arranged by year and then subdivided alphabetically by subject. It includes letters received and sent by fair officials, agreements and contracts with outside vendors, and correspondence regarding radio and television air-time and print advertising in popular and agricultural newspapers. Well represented are William M. Masterson, manager of the State Fair, whose letters span the period 1946 to 1959, and publicity directors Carroll Benson and Robert D. Shanahan, whose letters span the periods 1954-1959 and 1960-1964, respectively. Records for the 1948 Centennial Exposition and the years 1955-1959 are most complete here, but also useful are files on media consultant Klau-Van Pietersom-Dunlop Associates and Olsen Publishing Company. There are also interesting files for attractions such as Roy Rogers, Pat Boone, and the West-O-Rama rodeo and for the Alice in Dairyland activities, all of which suggest the way in which fair officials attempted to broaden the appeal of the state fair. Biographical sheets completed by amateur and professional race car drivers in 1955 provide interesting insights into participation in this sport.

The ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS, mainly 1955 and 1959-1961, include attendance reports, publicity logs and schedules, minutes and related notes from publicity staff meetings, memos, weekly progress reports, and biennial and annual financial reports. Though these records seem clearly to be those of the publicity office, there is some unexplained overlap between this series and the content of the general administrative records in Series 757. The section is divided chronologically by year or time period and then arranged alphabetically by subject.

PUBLICITY PRODUCTS are arranged by genre as brochures, photographs, scrapbooks, and press releases. This section is particularly useful, as it contains information about the nature and content of fair advertising for a period otherwise undocumented in the records. Of particular interest are the clippings, releases, and photographs over a period of several years of Alice in Dairyland, a young woman selected each year since 1948 to promote and market the state's dairy and agricultural products, as well as some clippings about the Dairy Queen contests which predated the Alice program. Also relevant to a study of state fair advertising are supplementary printed materials held by the SHSW Library including official programs, livestock catalogues, premium books, award lists, and short histories.

The press releases here include draft and final copies of public service announcements; news releases; and related notes and correspondence, 1943-1963, with releases pertaining to the 1948 centennial being particularly extensive. Additional press releases (1964-1974, 1978) received as a result of the state documents depository program are available in the SHSW Library.

Photographs, which are stored as three photo lots, cover the period 1921-1964. They represent work produced by the publicity office itself or its agents for documentation, advertising, and promotional purposes; photographs submitted by the agents for entertainment and feature events who hoped to contract with the State Fair have been separated and transferred either to the Circus World Museum or to the relevant classified files in the Visual and Sound Archives. The remaining photographs are grouped into two lots which document fairs from the 1940s through the early 1960s. PH 4072 contains photographs of special events including an appearance of Elsie the Cow (1951); activities honoring Wisconsin governors Heil, Rennebohm, and Kohler; stock car racing and daredevil thrill shows; and views of agricultural and commercial exhibits and judging. PH 3975 documents Alice in Dairyland, 1948-1957. These photographs include portraits and candid photographs of various Alices presenting awards and posing with fair-goers (including Luci Baines Johnson), livestock, and dairy products.

Plans depict mural design and exhibit areas at the Junior Fair Building, 1946, and at the Youth Exposition, 1944. The Youth Exhibition plans were designed by William J. Koch; the Junior Fair drawings, some hand-colored, are signed by Jorns.

Posters, 1941-1947, depict announcements for and schedules of Wisconsin State Fair events.

The newspaper clippings are microfilmed scrapbooks compiled by the publicity office for the years 1930, 1932, 1937, 1939, 1943, and 1944. The clippings were removed from the scrapbooks so that they could be filmed at which time duplicate copies of news stories were removed. After microfilming the originals were destroyed.

Note

The state fair publicity files and photographs were accessioned in 1968 as part of a large group of departmental records that included correspondence, administrative records, and financial reports relating to the overall organization and operation of the fair. At that time the publicity records about the State Fair were arranged and described as Series 757. (In 1985 the publicity photographs in the series were removed to the Visual and Sound Archives.) In 1972 additional publicity files containing correspondence, administrative records, and press releases were received from the Department of Local Affairs and Development along with more general correspondence and administrative files. In 1985 the publicity files from both accessions were arranged and catalogued as Series 2049. At the same time the remainder of accession 1972/141 was added to Series 757. In 1985 Series 2049 was reviewed and the photographs were incorporated into the series.

Acquisition Information

Accession Number: M96-177, M97-078, 2013/010

Processing Information

Processed by Jim Cavanaugh, 1985; reprocessed with the addition of photographs by Charles Dean (1991 intern), 1992.

Series 2049	Series: Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   1	1940-1943, General
Box   1 Folder   2	1947, General
	1948
Box   1 Folder   3	Centennial brochure
Box   1 Folder   4	General
Box   1 Folder   5	Klau-Van Pietersom-Dunlop Associates
Box   1 Folder   6	Program suggestions
Box   1 Folder   7-8	Radio stations
Box   1 Folder   9-10	Special days
Box   1 Folder   11	Wisconsin Agriculturalist and Farmer
Box   2 Folder   1	Wisconsin history
Box   2 Folder   2	WTMJ
	1955
Box   2 Folder   3	Ad offers
Box   2 Folder   4	Brochure
Box   2 Folder   5	Century Farm Home program
	Correspondence
Box   2 Folder   6	Incoming
Box   2 Folder   7	Outgoing
Box   2 Folder   8-9	General
Box   2 Folder   10	Olsen Publishing Company
Box   2 Folder   11	Photography
Box   2 Folder   12	Program
Box   2 Folder   13	Sports car driver biographical sheets
Box   2 Folder   14	Teacher recognition program
Box   2 Folder   15	Wisconsin Agriculturalist and Farmer
	1956
Box   2 Folder   16	General
Box   2 Folder   17	Outdoor advertising
	1957
Box   2 Folder   18	General
Box   2 Folder   19	Benson, Carroll
Box   3 Folder   1	Photo services
Box   3 Folder   2	Program
Box   3 Folder   3	Radio-television
Box   3 Folder   4	Special days and events
Box   3 Folder   5	West-O-Rama
	1958
Box   3 Folder   6	Alice in Dairyland
Box   3 Folder   7-8	Roy Rogers Show
	1959
Box   3 Folder   9	Legislative correspondence
Box   3 Folder   10	Lincoln Sesquicentennial
Box   3 Folder   11	Livestock marketing
Box   3 Folder   12	Masterson, W.M.
Box   3 Folder   13	McDowell, D.N.
Box   3 Folder   14	Memoranda - Masterson and Freitag
Box   3 Folder   15	Publicity program
	1960
Box   3 Folder   16	Alice in Dairyland
Box   3 Folder   17	Boone, Pat
Box   3 Folder   18	Bumper stickers
Box   3 Folder   19	General
Box   4 Folder   1	General (continued)
Box   4 Folder   2	Market comparisons
Box   4 Folder   3	Parade
Box   4 Folder   4	Program
Box   4 Folder   5-6	Radio
Box   4 Folder   7	Radio-television farmshows
Box   4 Folder   8	Special days
	1961
Box   4 Folder   9-10	Brochure
Box   4 Folder   11-12	Correspondence and memoranda
	1963
Box   4 Folder   13	General
Box   4 Folder   14	WTMJ-TV
	Series: Administrative Records	⇧
Box   5 Folder   1	1933-1961, Attendance figures
	1955
Box   5 Folder   2	Alice's itinerary
Box   5 Folder   3	Annual report of farm products promotion program
Box   5 Folder   4	List of fair employees
Box   5 Folder   5	Mailing list
Box   5 Folder   6	Publicity
Box   5 Folder   7	Publicity log
Box   5 Folder   8	1958, Weekly reports of department activities
	1959
Box   5 Folder   9	Meetings
Box   5 Folder   10	Newsletter
Box   5 Folder   11	Publicity reports
Box   5 Folder   12	Weekly reports of department activities
	1960
Box   5 Folder   13	Final reports
Box   5 Folder   14-15	Future of the State Fair
Box   5 Folder   16	Staff meetings
	1961
Box   5 Folder   17	Biennial report of the Department of Agriculture
Box   5 Folder   18	Final publicity reports
	Series: Publicity Products	⇧
2013/010	Awards lists of animals, crops, crafts, and home economics projects, 1954-1956, 1959, 1961, 1966-1968
Series 2049 Box   7 Folder   4	Brochures, 1955, 1959-1961, undated
PH 4072	Publicity photographs of the state fair
	Animals
Box   1 Folder   1	Birds
Box   1 Folder   2	Cows
Box   1 Folder   3	Deer
Box   1 Folder   4	Dogs
Box   1 Folder   5	Horses
Box   1 Folder   6	Miscellaneous
Box   1 Folder   7	Pigs
Box   1 Folder   8	Sheep
	Attractions
Box   1 Folder   9	Bands and Parades
Box   1 Folder   10	Beer Pavilions and Milk Booths
Box   1 Folder   11	Fashion Shows
Box   1 Folder   12	Games and Activities
Box   1 Folder   13	Wisconsin Junior Fair
Box   2 Folder   1	Midway and Rides (including rollercoaster fire)
	Racing
Box   2 Folder   2	Cars
Box   2 Folder   3	Harness Racing
Box   3 Folder   1	Motorcycles
Box   3 Folder   2	Rodeo
Box   3 Folder   3	Thrillcade
	Exhibits
Box   3 Folder   4	Agricultural
Box   3 Folder   5	Arts and Crafts
Box   3 Folder   6	Conservation
Box   3 Folder   7	Food
Box   3 Folder   8	Horticultural
Box   4 Folder   1	Industrial and Commercial
Box   4 Folder   2	Military
Box   4 Folder   3	Photos used in Exhibits?
Box   5 Folder   1	Prominent Wisconsinites
Box   5 Folder   2	Science
	Miscellaneous
Box   5 Folder   3	Ephemera
Box   5 Folder   4	Food Inspection
Box   5 Folder   5	Non-Wisconsin?
	People
Box   5 Folder   6	Alice in Dairyland and Other Beauty Queens
	Celebrities and VIPs
Box   5 Folder   7	Fair Officials
Box   6 Folder   1	Performers
Box   6 Folder   2	Politicians
Box   7 Folder   1	Children
Box   7 Folder   2	Miscellaneous
Box   7 Folder   3	Pioneers (Pioneer Days)
Box   7 Folder   4	Scouts
	Views
Box   8 Folder   1	Aerial Views
Box   8 Folder   2	Automobile Panoramas
Box   8 Folder   3	Buildings
Box   8 Folder   4	Duplicates
Box   9	Oversize
Box   10	Negatives
M96-177 PH Box   14	Exhibits and demonstrations, 1921 Note: Photographs, made by the Photography Lab of the University of Wisconsin, include images of grain and vegetable displays and demonstrations by the members of a 4-H club.
PH 4079	Cutouts from photographs assembled to publicize the state fair, 1940s
PH 3975	Alice in Dairyland, 1948-1957 Note: Also Luci Baines Johnson, 1964.
M97-078 OP Box   14	Alice in Dairyland, probably Margaret McGuire, including a portrait and an image of her christening an airplane, circa 1948
PH 6793	Plans for mural design and exhibit areas at the Junior Fair Building, 1946 Note: Also plans at the Youth Exposition, 1944. Note: Formerly catalogued as 5-6450.
	Posters
PH 6795	Events and schedules of events, circa 1941-1942 Note: Formerly catalogued as 5-6454.
PH 6794	Announcements for harness races, automobile and motorcyle races, and other events, circa 1942-1947 Note: Formerly catalogued as 5-6453.
Series 2049	Press releases
Box   5 Folder   19-20	1943, 1946
Box   5 Folder   21-24	1948, Centennial Exposition
Box   6 Folder   1-4	Centennial Exposition (continued)
Box   6 Folder   5-13	1951, 1954-1955, 1957-1960
Box   7 Folder   1-3	1961, 1963
	Microfilmed scrapbooks (filmed without a counter)
Reel   1	, 1930 (in subject order)
Reel   1	, 1930 (random order)
Reel   1	, 1932 (random order)
Reel   1	1937, Dairy Queen
Reel   1	, 1937 (in subject order)
Reel   1	1939, Dairy Queen
Reel   1	1939, “Book 2” (in subject order)
Reel   1	1939, “Book 3” (in subject order)
Reel   2	1939, Dairy Queen
Reel   2	, 1943 (in subject order)
Reel   2	, 1944 (in subject order)