5 If you thought demolition derbies and pig races were about as wacky as fair entertainment could get, consider these attractions we came across while delving into the California State Fair history files.
Train crashes
Beginning in 1913, State Fair officials started crashing trains head-on – at 25 mph – to “amuse fairgoers,” author Carson Hendricks writes in “California State Fair” (Arcadia Publishing). Yep, and there’s proof: Official photographer Harold McCurry was required to document the fiery collisions from a close vantage point (he wisely moved into the camerastore business later in Sacramento). The crashes stopped after 1917 for one of two reasons: Officially, it was due to the shortage of metal during World War I. Unofficially, there was speculation that the Southern Pacific Railroad was losing too many engines to this fair frivolity.
Aviator antics
In 1910, fairgoers were similarly amused by the feats of aviator Charles K. Hamilton, reputed for flying faster than a mile a minute — a record at the time, Hendricks writes. But the plane’s engine misfired, and Hamilton nearly hit some telegraph lines on his way back to the ground. He was banged up during the landing but walked away. Undeterred, the aviator came back in 1912 to race against a local brewer — who wasn’t flying. He was driving a motorcar on the ground below.
Aquatic horsetracks
Horse racing has always been a big festival lure. But, as the history book shows, fair officials apparently couldn’t stand the thought of all that vacant land in the racetrack’s infield ... just sitting there. So in 1914, they built two large swimming pools for shows by “Diving Girls” wearing “fashionable” one-piece boy’s style swimsuits. In 1947, a massive lake was created in the infield for speedboat races and water-skiing extravaganzas, including a cowboy water-ski contest. As for the racehorses, they were either blasé or taking time off.
Big blasts
The final year at the old fairgrounds, 1967, prompted fair organizers to pull out the big guns. One was the “Human Cannonball,” Hugo A. Zacchini, daredevil son of a legendary circus family, who was fired over the crowd into a waiting net.
Odd displays
In 1924, California’s Domingo family was a big attraction. The fair recognized the 18-member clan, with its 16 children, as the largest family in the state, and then-Gov. Friend Richardson presented the family with a new car — a nice gesture for, oh, about a third of them. What if the next generations of Domingos continued to be fruitful? Legend has it that half the fairgoers you see today at Cal Expo could be descendants.