|
Pony Ride at the World's Fair
Jordan Ed (Jay) Pybas and his mother and father, J. C. and Tressa Pybas,
lived upland from the Red River in Warrens Bend, Cooke County, in the
early thirties. His birthday was December 26, 1926. He always said he
only received one present, "Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday."
However, he received a great gift the Christmas he was four: a Shetland
pony, tied to the mantle, actually indoors in front of the fireplace.
Having learned to ride at an early age and to handle a stubborn Shetland, his
expertise would serve him well during a trip to the world's fair in
Chicago in 1933. As an only child and the only grandchild of Emma
Rozelle and Ed Richards, he was never treated as a baby and quickly
became quite self-sufficient and independent. He was curious and
observant and scouted the woods, watching wildlife found in the river
breaks. Surrounded by adults, Jay listened to talk of failing prices for
crops, of banks closing, and of little money.
His mother, having
been a schoolteacher before her marriage, and his father, being widely
read, began Jay's education before he started to school. His grandmother
was an early feminist in her time, filing a homestead claim in Oklahoma
Territory as a single head of household in 1889. She was also a pioneer
self-taught nurse and midwife. Always abreast of national and current
events, Emma Richards was very interested in the Chicago world's fair in
Chicago in 1933-34.
The mid-thirties were a time of difficult
economic hardship. However, the City of Chicago had begun plans for a
huge exposition in 1928 to be called The Century of Progress Exposition,
observing Chicago's centennial. It opened in May 1933. An unbelievable
attendance of forty eight million persons came to the fair, located on
424 acres on the shore of Lake Michigan, over the next two years.
Because of the depressed economy, the site did not rely on extravagant
architecture and buildings, but focused on industrial and scientific
achievements. There were exhibits of past accomplishments and creativity
but also ideas of future technology.
With careful planning and a
little extra money, Tressa Pybas and her mother managed an exciting trip
to Chicago by train. They decided to take six-year-old Jay along as a
treat and education, although by the time they returned they may have
considered it a mistake.
Arriving in Chicago, grandmother
Richards located relatives they could stay with for their visit to the
World's Fair. The city had built streetcar lines to the site. New energy
development had lighted the entire city and spectacularly illuminated
the fair grounds.
Every day the little group rode the streetcar,
touring the city and sightseeing, spending long hours at the fair. They
visited the women's exhibits: quilting, canning, new kitchen equipment,
displays of mechanical washing machines and labor-saving appliances.
Kiosks from many countries showed their culture and contribution to
society. Trailing along was six-year-old Jay, becoming ever more
obstinate and rebellious. He was not interested in any of the exhibits
the women thought most important.
Finally they agreed to take him
to the midway, where the sights and sounds and calliope music were
enough to appease his appetite. There was the merry-go-round and the
Ferris wheel. Tents of sideshows were touted by barkers, inviting them
in to see the fat lady of five hundred pounds and the swallower of a
two-foot sword. There were games of chance, smells of hot dogs and
sarsaparilla, an atmosphere of excitement and expectation.
Suddenly Jay spied a pony ride, with real ponies. Immediately
interested, he begged for a ride. A small circular track was the path
for six or eight small ponies for children to complete a ride of only a
few minutes. Their bridles and saddles were decorated with bright
ribbons, the reins secured to the saddle horn. The track was contained
with walls on the sides and an attendant with a watchful eye. Mounted at
the starting gate, some little girls squealed nervously, while others
waited patiently astride their ponies until all were in the saddles.
"That's what I want to ride," Jay declared.
"You don't want
to ride those little old horses, you have a good one at home," his
grandmother chided him. Jay merely became more obstinate and louder.
"Not this time." His mother joined the argument. However, they were finally
bested by a stubborn, bored little boy and gave in.
Jay's
account: "I saw pretty soon that this ride was only going to take a few
minutes. Just barely moving along, just at a walk. I decided that I
could make the ride last longer if I turned the pony around before we
reached the end and could start over again.
"There was not much
space between the boards on the track but I thought I could get him
turned around. At first he wouldn't mind the rein. But I just kept
jerking it and jerking it and finally I just hit him up aside of his
head. Then he jumped to one side, then jumped again with me holding his
head back. On the third jump, we were going back the way we came. It
wasn't much different than handling my Shetland.
"Immediately,
the handler at the track was yelling at me. 'What do you think you are
doing?'
"I said, 'I haven't finished my ride.'
"The
guy snarled, 'Oh, yeah, you have. Your ride is over right now! Git off
that pony. How the hell did you turn him around?'
"'It wasn't
easy, but I done it.'
"The man looked at me real hard, then asked
my mother, 'Where is this kid from?'
"'Why, he's from Texas and
has been riding since he was four,' she said.
"Still puzzled,
unbelieving, he shook his head as we walked off."
Barbara Pybas
Gainesville, Texas
Published:
November 14,
2005
Categories
Related Handbook of Texas Online articles
Other My Texas stories by this author
| 
