The Fairest of the Fair
Don Terwilliger, Past-President Del Mar Historical Society

This article was previously published in the Del Mar Times July 7-13, 2000 [Historical section] under the title of Fair Memories.  It did not appear in the July/August print issue of the Sandpiper.

Photos Virginia Lawrence

The first San Diego County Fair was in October, 1936 and I was there -- as well as every other fair in the intervening years. Only World War II kept the event closed for a few seasons. At the early fairs I was especially impressed by the agricul­tural exhibits set up in large tents and telling what the 22nd Agricultural District was really all about.

For much of the fair's history, my parents and I were active participants in the summertime event. For 29 years my father was fairground superintendent and one summer my mother was a fair hostess dressed, as was the custom, in authentic Spanish costume. For me, the fair provided regular summer employment between 1946 and 1974.
 
I did everything from distributing programs to the gates and exhibit halls, to selling ginger beer, and being an official VIP escort. But the last eight years were the most fun, work­ing in the infor­mation booth sponsored by the San Diego Union newspaper.

I was 15 years old when I made my fair debut as a performer in a dance program organized by the La Vielle Studio de Dance, a Del Mar school to which my mother had sent me "to get some culture" and a smattering of social graces. That same year I was employed sorting entry forms for the exhibits and doing one-fin­ger typing.

In 1947 Tommy Hernandez first played the role of Don Diego, the fair's symbol of hospitality and good­will. This wonderful and memorable person was my friend for 37 years, until his death in 1984. When Tommy
came on the scene, another fair tradition was begun -- the title of
Fairest of the Fair” that was giveneach year to a local beauty queen.  Previously, the name had been Queen of the Fair.

Among the early "Fairest" title holders were Marla English, who later became a movie actress under contract with Paramount Studios, and Raquel Tejada, better known as Raquel Welch. I had dinner with Raquel and Tommy Hernandez in 1958 at Del Mar's Namara Inn, now known as the Stratford Inn. However, some years later when she had become famous, she chose not to remember our "date."
 
In the late spring of 1952 I was invit­ed to perform in a touring promotion­al show called "County Fair Previews." For 12 weeks we visited San Diego County towns with a two-­hour variety pro­gram. Admission was free. Besides being treated to a tap-dance routine by yours truly, the
audience heard local singers Ruth Ann Hunt and Bill Apple accompanied by the Don Diegan Orchestra. Wow!

The show's main purpose was to select each town's entry in the competition for "Fairest of the Fair." And young ladies between the ages of 4 and 10 were chosen for the national "Miss Sunbeam Contest," the grand prize of which was a trip for two to Paris, France. The winner  was supposed to most closely resemble the picture of an idealized blond child that adorned the wrappers of America's favorite, Sunbeam bread.

"County Fair Previews" also brought fame, but no fortune, to many a San Diego County housewife who had the nerve to design and wear an original creation for the "Gunny Sack Vogues Contest"­ -- clothing made from burlap.

Talking about contests, at one of the early fairs I won two baby ducks in a game long banished by the Humane Society. It involved tossing lightweight rings around the necks- of the unfortunate birds. My prizes led a good life, wander­ing freely around 20th Street in Del Mar, much to the annoyance of our neighbors. The adult ducks later won first-and second-prize ribbons in the poultry show, in a year when mine were the only duck entries at the fair!

The view from the top of the Ferris Wheel

In the late '40s and '50s, the San Diego County Fair used the area's Spanish-Mexican heritage as a theme for its decorations and workers' cos­tumes. The fair's big show was called "Fiestacade" with Leo Carillo as master of ceremonies. Xavier Cugat's orchestra and the Tipica Band from Mexico City supported a line of chorus girls and a number of specialty acts.