Jefferson National Expansion Administrative History

The VP Fair and Jefferson National Expansion Memorial

Every division of JEFF must put their best efforts into each year's VP Fair. A lot of hard work and time go into the planning, implementation, protection, and cleanup for each of these events. [111]

Superintendent Jerry Schober, reviewing a decade's worth of VP Fairs, reflected:

Bill Cosby performed at the 1991 VP Fair. NPS photo by Al Bilger.

[The VP Fair] put us in connection with some of the largest corporate heads in this town. You got there first, you let them see how you manage and they could acquire respect for you. One time it came down the pipeline that one corporate president said, "I had not had anybody tell me no in fifteen years. And that sucker [Schober], I was not with him for an hour before he told me no three times . . . [But] I think I know where he is coming from and, damn it, he's working for me and so I can take it." I think we earned a lot of respect for the job that we do, for the entire Park Service. And it has enhanced us.

For instance, we got a half million dollar Indian Peace Medal collection that we would never have received if we hadn't struck up a relationship with one of those individuals. [112] We can get support from them from time to time. But it's involving them and working with them, not just working by ourselves.

It has been very costly. . . . If we had all the money in the world, we probably would not put on the VP Fair here. But, since we are putting one on, and if they are going to do it right, we're not going to backstab them or short-circuit [it]. We want it to be the best VP Fair ever put on. So that's how we look at it each time. We don't work counterproductively. [113]

The grounds of the Gateway Arch during the 1990 VP Fair. NPS photo by Al Bilger.

Hosting the VP Fair had many drawbacks during the 1980s. It took time for the park and the VP Fair Foundation to work out problems involving destructive use of the grounds, prompt payment for repairs, the improved representation of African-Americans, and their own financial difficulties.

But the fair had many benefits as well. It served as a showcase for local business, and a contact between the park and corporate heads. The gifts bestowed upon the city from its profits were important, as was the international publicity and goodwill it generated for the city. The VP Fair was also important because it became a part of the warp and woof of life in St. Louis. Since Jefferson National Expansion Memorial was partially created with funds obtained from the city of St. Louis, the park remained a place which belonged to the people of the city as well as the people of the entire United States. The annual VP Fair was a time when the people of St. Louis could enjoy their park in a unique fashion. Few National Park Service areas could claim such a close identification with their community, both as a regional symbol and sight-seeing attraction, and as an integral component in their city's largest annual celebration.

Crowds line the riverfront at the 1989 VP Fair. NPS photo by Al Bilger.