Guide to the Stikeman and Pierce Food Fair Collection (1916) – History

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The Stikeman & Pierce Food Fair was a week-long food and industrial fair organized by Stikeman & Pierce Grocers and Whitney Bros. It was held at the Armory in Santa Cruz. It was estimated in 1916 that 4,500 people attended the opening day of the fair. The food products were under Stikeman & Pierce while Whitney Bros. exhibited such items as aluminum cookware, stoves, ranges, and dairy equipment. There was an exhibit by Cox Electric Co. displaying sewing machines, electric ranges, heaters, vacuum cleaners and fans. There were many other exhibitors displaying clothes, furniture, ambroisal nectars, and even a two room bungalow by Central Lumber and Fuel Co. complete with a fireplace and beam ceiling. Besides the product exhibits there was a daily program: Tuesday – Millinery Fashion Show, Miss Carpenter; Wednesday – The Seaside Store Juvenile Fashion Show and the Annual Inspection of the Naval Militia by the government; Thursday – Drill by the Bay View Team and Military Fashion Show and Find the Mysterious Green Stamp Girl; Friday – Seaside Store Juvenile Fashion Show; and Saturday – Coast Counties Day.