The Du Quoin State Fair: The early 50s Lusty Song wins Hambletonian; W.R. Hayes dies

Part 4 of a series.

There was a lot going on in the new decade. ... the 50s which would wind up being perhaps the most memorable 10-year period in Du Quoin State Fairs history. Some memories are sensational, others are sad. Very sad.

Lusty Song, the Hayes' superb 3-year-old trotter won the Hambletonian! W.R. Hayes, the founder of the Fair, died. The Du Quoin State Fair was officially named the new site for the Hambletonian. Three monumental happenings in a 10-year period of time.

1950-1954

It was like a dream coming true for W.R. Hayes, the leader of "our band." There's so much to cover.

The 1950 Hambletonian. It was a surprise to some that the Hayes' even had an entry in this race, considered the Kentucky Derby for Standardbreds.

However, Lusty Song won it. Lusty Song won the Hambletonian in Goshen, N.Y. It was an amazing accomplishment for all involved.

And then, of course, there was the 1950 Fair:

Bob Hope was signed to close the Fair on Labor Day night. Bob Hope. One of the greatest entertainers ever. And, the Fair even had extended the roof over its huge grandstand stage, which, incidentally, is the size of a basketball court. How do we know? Because we headed a group of Elks members who sponsored a benefit game in 1958 on the stage.

The roof, however, did not prevent Hope - and other entertainers - from getting soaked. He made good use of an umbrella while performing on Labor Day night.

Rain on five of the nine days forced more cancellations than ever before in Fair history. Including in the cancellations were two of the three auto races scheduled. It was a rough year.

In addition to an umbrella, Hope wore a topcoat while performing. He renamed the grandstand stage, Pneumonia Gulch.

In addition to Hope, Vivian Blaine and Chico Marx were headliners during the week.

What made the weather fiasco somewhat tolerable, was that the Hayes' Lusty Song had already wonw the Hambletonian ... the greatest race in all the land for horses that trot. The Hambletonian for standard bred horses is the same as the Kentucky Derby for thoroughbreds. It's big. And, the Hayes' won it.

The weather was again a problem in 1951. In addition to the rain, the weatherman threw in heat this year. It was close to being intolerable. And there were other surprises as well even though Penny Singleton had pre-fair top previews.

Nevertheless, as one might expect, the Fair went on.

Milton Berle performed while holding an umbrella. Many fans in the stands also had some sort of protection while enjoying - and appreciating - Berle for his determination to perform without complaining.

It wasn't necessarily an enjoyable evening, but in true show-business tradition, the show went on!

And, somehow or other, much of the racing card went off on schedule. The Hayes-owned Star's Pride and Florican broke three world records in the same afternoon.

Florican won a heat in 1:57 2/5, but it lasted for only 90 minutes before Star's Pride bettered it.

The motorized races - all three - were held as expected and officials called it another record year. They also called attendance at 377,722, by far a record.

That's when it happened. W.R. had a heart attack the day after the fair closed and a second the next day. A good day followed and gave the family some hope, but the big man died on the fourth day after the fair.

R. Paul Hibbs, the outstanding speech coach and teacher at the high school, delivered the eulogy at Mr. Hayes' funeral held at the First Baptist Church.

A few excerpts from his elegant message:

"There are times when words are futile for the language of the heart needs more than words ... Mr. Hayes was a success in the greatest American tradition. He was a self-made man rising from his humble circumstances ... We have lost only a little of our great friend, Mr. Hayes. So much of him is still alive ..."

Mr. Hibbs quoted Shakespeare in closing when he said, "This was a man."

A St. Louis newspaper called Mr. Hayes, "undisputedly the grand old man of Midwestern fairdom."

The next year following W.R.'s death, his sons Gene and Don took over and the fair hardly missed a beat. They had been so actively involved in previous fairs.

The 1953 Fair had Bob Crosby as headliner for the weeklong show with Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadian Orchestra. Harry Belafonte was the Labor Day night headliner.

All else went off as usual with the horse and car races, carnival and all that the fair had become known for to attract and entertain its followers.

Misfortune returned the following year, however, despite good weather allowed much of the scheduled activities to be held as planned.

Eddie Fisher was the Labor Day night headliner after the Mills Brothers, and Roger Ray had entertained during the week.

A track mishap, Dick Stevenson's car crashing into the pit area, killed one worker and injured others. The Evening Call called it the worst accident in Fair history. Earlier in the week, Poplar Dell set a record when he paced a mile in 1:58 1/5 to win and lower Dudley's record of 1:59.

And so, it was another great year with overall attendance topping the 400,000 mark.

• Coming Tuesday: Gene and Don Hayes make the fair their own in the latter half of the 1950s.