Lecture honors professor and fair

On Monday, Sept. 27, 2004, the UM-St. Louis department of history and the Missouri Historical Society collaborated to sponsor the 2004 James Neal Primm Lecture at the Missouri History Museum.

In 1965, Professor James Primm became the chair of the history department, which at that time was newly founded at UM-St. Louis. Over the years, Primm has had many works published including "Lion of the Valley: St. Louis, Missouri" and "A Forgone Conclusion: The Founding of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis."

Besides having these books published, Primm also became a member of the Missouri Historical Society and in 1987 was named Curators' Professor of history, in honor of his various contributions to his scholarship, the university and to the community.

The lecture on Monday evening was delivered by Professor James Gilbert of the University of Maryland. The topic of the lecture was the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

Terry Harris, St. Louis resident, shared his reason for attending the lecture.

"This seems like a great opportunity to learn something new about St. Louis," Harris said.

Gilbert spoke of the long time rivalry between St. Louis and Chicago and how St. Louis used the 1904 World's Fair to gain popularity and prestige over Chicago.

Because of the competition, St. Louis not only reproduced exhibits of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair but also expanded it.

Gilbert discussed how the fair had exhibits of museums, history, art, universities, circus shows and amusement parks from around the world. The fair also displayed what were called "human curiosities," like giants and Pigmies.

"It was amazing to compare the people who attended the fair to people of today. From what Professor Gilbert said, they were mostly interested in the entertainment of the fair instead of the educational aspects of it, and it seems that most people today are more interested in entertainment than education," Harris said.

According to Gilbert, a major crossroads during the time of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair was society's transition from production to consumption.

"Consumer products were a very important component of the fair. It was a place for many firsts. It was the first time that people were introduced to the soft drink Dr. Pepper and the first time that ice cream cones were used."

Gilbert expressed that the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair demonstrated the state of civilization throughout the world and where the United States fits in. He said that it showed that the United States could put together a sufficient, organized economy and that the United States was on its way to becoming successful and powerful.

Greg Palatnik, senior, history, is one UM-St. Louis student who shared his opinion of the lecture after attending.

"It corresponded well with what I have been learning about the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair in my history class," Palatnik said.