On June 5, 1909, the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, along with the towns of Port Orchard Bay, celebrates its Special Day alongside the festivities for Children’s Day, making for a boisterous day at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific (A-Y-P) Exposition. The exposition took place on the University of Washington campus in Seattle between June 1 and October 16, 1909. More than three million visitors came from around the state, the nation, and the world to view hundreds of exhibits, stroll the lushly manicured grounds, and be entertained on the midway, while Seattle promoted itself as a gateway to the rich resources of Alaska, the Yukon, and Asia. Each day (except Sundays) of the A-Y-P was designated as a Special Day for one or more groups. Special Days drew people involved in the featured organizations, and the resulting programs, lectures, ceremonies, parades, and athletic competitions gave local people a reason to visit again and again. The Navy Yard closed for the day and the towns of Port Orchard, Charleston, Manette, and Bremerton nearly emptied as residents took the opportunity to enjoy the fair and boost their communities. The fair hosted several Children’s Days that showcased the children of the state, while also giving the fair an opportunity to highlight programs of interest to children and their parents.
We Are Here!
About 6,000 residents of Port Orchard Bay, who lived in the towns of Port Orchard, Bremerton, Charleston, and Manette (the latter two are now part of Bremerton), attended the fair on that day. Boats arranged for the day carried them to the fair in the morning and then home again in the evening. Upon arriving at the grounds, "300 school girls dressed in white with red, white and blue sashes lent color to the scene as the crowd marched after the Exposition band through the grounds to the natural amphitheater," where the girls gave a singing performance ("Large Number Attend Fair").
For the rest of the afternoon, residents of the bay enjoyed the fair’s sights wearing badges emblazoned with their town’s names and a picture of a battleship and hollering their official yell:
"Bremerton, Charleston, Port Orchard, Manette,
Uncle Sam’s Navy Yard, Don’t Forget,
Hiyu Kitsap, Don’t You See,
We Are Here at the A.-Y.-P."
("Port Orchard Bay Ready for Fair").
For Those Who Will Live the Future
A guest speaker at the program for Children’s Day opined that, given that the theme of the fair looked forward into the future when Seattle would be the gateway to the Asian and Alaskan trade, it made sense that the children who would live that future should receive special attention. For their part, the children could hardly contain their excitement.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that a group of children walking to the fair came upon an empty horse-drawn wagon and hopped on board. The driver happily situated them on board before heading toward the fair grounds and his "good nature reflected the feeling in every heart. There was so much joyous laughter and enthusiasm, the older ones could not resist the influence and they joined in with the children in making it a happy day" ("Children Enjoy Wonderful Day at the Exposition").
Once at the fair, the children kept "the policemen and peanut vendors busy" while they took in the sights and experiences of the exposition. The children examined every inch of the grounds, giving the Forestry Building "an inspection such as it never got before" ("School Children Have Day at Fair").
As part of the day’s activities, 1,700 Seattle school children assembled on the stage of the natural amphitheater (where Padelford Hall is today) to present a program under the direction of Lucy K. Cole, music supervisor for Seattle's public schools. The Post-Intelligencer described the scene as "a forest full of song birds ... little hands were waved to friends in the seats above them in the big semi-circle and they chattered like magpies during the few minutes’ wait ... . But when Miss Cole raised her baton, the piping voices hushed as if a stray breeze had rustled through the forest and been followed by a dead calm" ("Children Enjoy Wonderful Day at Exposition"). Although the children had practiced only twice as a group, their year-long preparation of the songs made the program a success.
The military band from the Japanese squadron anchored in Elliott Bay accompanied the children. Lieutenant Tokunosuke Yatsui, from the Aso gave a speech in which he thanked the city for its hospitality. He then led the band in a banzai, a Japanese cheer, for the prosperity of Seattle.
Mothers Too
The fair also featured programs for mothers in conjunction with Children’s Day. Margaret J. Blair, a professor of Domestic Arts at the University of Minnesota, gave a lecture titled "Mothers’ Congress." The first in a series of 12 lectures Blair gave at the A-Y-P, it focused on home economics. She urged mothers to follow the principle of "artistic simplicity," citing William Morris and the Japanese as the inspiration for the tenet. Later lectures focused on fashion, textiles, shopping, industrial education in schools, cut glass, and art for the home.
