Posts Tagged State Fairs

Herbert Sellner of Faribault, Minnesota invented the Tilt-A-Whirl in 1926. He built the first fourteen rides in his basement and yard. A year later, in 1927, he opened Sellner Manufacturing and the Tilt-A-Whirl made its debut at the Minnesota State Fair. 

One Tilt-A-Whirl costs around $250,000.

Further Reading
Chuck Haga, “Aug. 31, 2001: It’s been a tilting, whirling ride for 75 years,” Star Tribune, March 29, 2007. Found online here.
Koutsky, Kathryn Strand and Linda Koutsky. Minnesota State Fair: An Illustrated History. Minneapolis: Coffee House Press, 2007.
Photos found on Minnesota Public Radio website.

Roosevelt at the 1901 MN State Fair

In 1901, vice president Theodore Roosevelt first spoke that the US should “speak softly and carry a big stick” at the Minnesota State Fair.

- On September 14, 1901, two weeks after he uttered his famous line, he became president when President McKinley was assassinated.

[Information found here: Koutsky, Kathryn Strand and Linda Koutsky. Minnesota State Fair: An Illustrated History. Minneapolis: Coffee House Press, 2007, 162. Photo found here.