From Roy Rogers to 145-pound pumpkin, New Mexico State Fair has had its share of stars and oddities

Over the New Mexico State Fair’s decades-long history, people have watched baseball games, listened to country and western music stars and even stared at a large pumpkin.

“The state fair is a single event ... when folks — call them city slickers — get to see and even experience a slice of life outside the metro area, and when folks from outside the metro area get to come to ‘the big city,’” said Rodger Beimer, retired journalist and unofficial state fair historian.

“Everyone can see what this state is all about — from arts and crafts, entertainers, outdoor recreation, culture and food, and a ‘big bright carnival’ like no other in the state.”

And, in several days, the gates will open again for the annual State Fair — featuring fried delicacies, games of chance and performers including Wynona Judd and Cypress Hill.

While the acts, offerings and even the location have changed, the fair has been a mainstay attraction for over a century.

‘Remained undaunted’

The idea for a fair came about in 1854 when the Territorial Legislative Assembly wanted to start one in Albuquerque. But that did not happen due to a lack of funding and transportation to get to and from the community, author Wade McIntyre wrote in “State Fair! The Biggest Show in New Mexico.”

The right time came in 1880 when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad arrived in Albuquerque, he said.

“Engaged by railway magic, the local economy exploded. And the first New Mexico Territorial Fair burgeoned on the scene,” according to McIntyre.

The first fair took place on Oct. 3, 1881, near what is now Rio Grande and Central, Beimer said.

“It was where people lived. It was where the railroad was,” he said. “The Northeast Heights didn’t exist.”

The new fairgrounds were spacious and enclosed by a fence. It had a half-mile racetrack and grandstand. Many exhibits were housed inside canvas tents and consisted of items ranging from fruits and vegetables to liquor and minerals, Howard Bryan wrote in his Sept. 30, 1957, “Off the Beaten Path” column in the Albuquerque Tribune.

During the inaugural fair, heavy rain and mud caused events to be canceled and exhibits to be damaged, Bryan said.

“This bad luck might have discouraged less hearty souls, but the early Albuquerqueans remained undaunted and began making plans immediately for the second territorial fair in 1882,” he wrote.

The second fair included a circus and baseball game between the San Marcial Rio Grandes and Carbonateville Mountain Boys. Some may have watched the contest buzzed after sipping beer that a man was giving away until fair management told him to stop because he “was unfair competition with the saloon,” Bryan wrote in his Oct. 3, 1957, column.

The fair continued to operate in Downtown over the next few decades, including in 1911 when the event became known as the state fair despite the fact New Mexico was still a territory.

“... The indications were that statehood would be granted before the opening day of the annual fair, which this year would be held October 9-14,” the June 21, 1911, Albuquerque Tribune reported.

This did not turn out to be the case. New Mexico would not become a state for another few months, on Jan. 6, 1912.

That year, Albuquerque hosted the first official state fair, Beimer said. People were treated to automobile parades on Good Roads Day and an air show by aviator Lincoln Beachey.

The fair became so popular that businesses closed down to join in the festivities, the Albuquerque Evening Herald reported on Oct. 14, 1915. But in 1917, due to U.S. involvement in World War I and financial hardships, the fair stopped running.

“There was an attempt in the mid-1920s to revive it, but it never went anywhere,” Beimer said.

‘We urge you to come’

In the 1930s, contractor Frank Shufflebarger and Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce President Oscar M. Love decided to revive the fair.

After getting a loan the state matched, they bought a 200-plus-acre tract on what was called the East Mesa. Gov. Clyde Tingley garnered Works Progress Administration funding to construct the new fair site, according to the Albuquerque Historical Society.

The fairgrounds were built off Central and Louisiana and San Pedro, Beimer said. The new site featured a racetrack, horse barns and buildings, including one that would become a place to showcase artwork.

By 1938, the fair was back.

“We urge you to come. ... You’ll take a new pride in the arts and industries of New Mexico and enjoy a full program of entertainment and education,” according to an Oct. 2, 1938, Journal ad.

Guests were treated to motorcycle races, a knife throwing show and a performance by Louis Roth and his fighting tigers.

Over the next several decades, the fair expanded to include a State Fair Queen competition and the construction of the Indian Village and Spanish Village.

It also brought in popular entertainers.

In 1957, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and the Sons of the Pioneers performed at the then-recently opened Tingley Coliseum. In Harry Moskos’ Albuquerque Tribune’s “Inquiring Reporter” column, a reader wrote that “Roy and Dale were so generous with their time that no one was disappointed with the show.”

Two years later, “Wanted: Dead or Alive” actor Steve McQueen made an appearance at the fair.

When asked at the time if he wanted musical accompaniment to his entrance to the arena, McQueen reportedly said: “It’s alright with me — just as long as the horse doesn’t dance to it.”

There was more to the fair than entertainment, however.

Some people came to watch cowboys and cowgirls show off their grit at the rodeo, including Bill Ward of Hatch, who won the 1950 bulldogging event after posting a time of 5.7 seconds. Others cheered on the first state fair queen, Wilma Vaughn Fulgham.

People also saw exhibits featuring livestock, pies, fruits and vegetables.

“Fairs all across this country started as marketplaces and exhibitions (for) livestock, crops, etc.,” Beimer said. “It is a central part of what a ‘fair’ is expected to be.”

In 1985, former Gov. Tom Bolack brought in a 145-pound pumpkin.

“Mighty big pumpkin you got there,” Howard Bryan said in his column.

“It was growing at a rate of two pounds a day,” Bolack said. “If it hadn’t been picked, it would have reached 200 pounds.”

People may not find large pumpkins every year, but the fair continues to attract thousands of people from all over who come to experience over a week’s worth of 4-H shows, rodeos, classic car displays, musical performances and carnival rides.

What has changed, Beimer said, is social media and the internet, which “enhances lifestyles, no doubt, even livestock and art auctions are commonly held online.”

“But,” he said, “you have to come to the fair to really experience the sights, sounds and smells.”