The use of the "little man" as a trademark
of the Fall Festival began early in the 1960's. The job of publicizing the
barbecues, and later the Fall Festivals, was delegated to me for
several years.
About 1962, I was searching for a humorous
cartoon character to use in Festival ads and flyers. I came across
the little man, wearing the colonial hat and coat, and blowing
a bugle, (used in main header on this site) in a stock-cut book issued by Cobb Shinn.
I bought the right to use the illustration and began to incorporate it into Festival literature. The "little man" caught on
immediately; merchants began to use him in their ads, and the figure
soon became a symbol of the Festival.
Eventually, the Fall Festival was more than the Rotary
Club could handle on its own. Other organizations were
invited to join in the event and a Plymouth Fall Festival Board
encompassing more than Rotary was established. The Festival was expanded from the one-day event sponsored by
Rotary, to a several-day affair with many segments of the
community represented.
In spite of a deluge on Friday, September 5, the attendance
at the 1975 Fall Festival shows how much the event has grown
since that Sunday in 1960 when Rotary served 2,800 dinners.
In 1975, Rotary served 16,000 chicken dinners; Kiwanis, 2,556
pancake dinners; the Jaycees, 2,500 rib dinners; and the Lions,
hampered by the rain, 1,700 fish dinners. The arts and crafts
show attracted 8,000 visitors, and the Antique Mart drew 3, 400.
There is no doubt, in terms of sheer numbers, that the
Plymouth Fall Festival has exceeded the wildest expectations
of its early planners. Whether it has gone too far in one
direction - the satisfying of the stomach and not enough in
another - the satisfying of the mind and the spirit - depends on
your viewpoint. I know that some of us, who were in at the
beginning, hoped it might develop into a minor league Edinburgh Festival of art, drama and music.
Those who are young, and to whom gustatory delight is still
a prime consideration, may prefer the direction the Festival
has taken. Many of their elders, however, who need no help in
expanding their girths, must be forgiven if their tastes run less
to Kielbasa, and more to Kandinski, Kafka or Kreisler.
Those who serve on the Fall Festival Board have
no easy
job in piloting the event in a direction
which will please all of us.
