My Best Lifetime Experience

An essay I did in college many years ago. We had to come up with a fictional story of us experiencing the Columbian Exposition in Chicago back in the 1800s. You have to know the history of it.

Dear Ma and Pa,

            Y’all should most definitely come to the Columbian Exposition in Chicago where it is well-fixed with the extravagant White City, the long Midway Plaisance, the enormous Mr. Ferris’s Wonderful Wheel, many different restaurants and so many townsfolk from around the world that you could get lost in the adventure of it all.

            As y’all may have known from me talking about it over and over about how excited I was to go to this fair it was much more than I had ever dreamed of. When I arrived to Chicago on the train I could not hold my excitement in as hard as I tried. I rode a carriage to the fair and at the gate the scenery was already marvelous. Everyone had to walk across this long bridge to get to the opening and you would not believe how huge the crowd was just to get in. There were tons of folks from all over the world I could just tell that there were so many from different countries  just by the language they spoke and the way they appeared.

            Upon entering everyone was handed a map of the whole Fair and every place you could go to during your experience there that way you would make sure you got to see everything before you left. It was time consuming because there was so much to offer that you had to make sure you could make it to all of those places. Right in the middle of everything was a giant wheel with seats on it that you were able to ride. I was very nervous at first about trying it out that it actually took me a few minutes to think it over. I finally decided I would ride it because I wanted to feel the experience of it all and I hoped that it would go real slow so that when I got to the top I would be able to take in the beautiful view of the whole fair, oh how marvelous that would be!

            During the arrival at the wheel there was a sign that had information on it about the wheel itself. First of all it was called, “Mr. Ferris’s Wonderful Wheel.” The wheel was approximately 246 feet above the ground which gave me the fear of heights. It held 36 cars with 60 passengers each in one with a total of 4100 people on the ride at a time. It took a while to get on the ride because there was a long line which I was not surprised because it was the most popular ride there. Finally it was my turn to get on.

 Once I got to the top I was just in “awe” of the scenery it was like a painted picture and I could see in every direction. I could not believe how big Lake Michigan actually was compared to being on the ground. I was even able to see the whole view of the fair and so I started planning out where I would go when I got back down to the ground. I decided I would go eat at the German Village Resturaunt for lunch where I ordered a beer and a schnitzel that was served by a Bavarian barmaid. As I enjoyed my food and drink I listened to some of their cultural music which made me want to dance.

After I finished my meal I decided to make my way around the Midway Plaisance. Up ahead I spotted a balloon high in the sky beckoning me to see what it is about. As I was walking toward it I saw different villages along the way. There was the Austrians, Chinese, American Indians, Africans, Scandinavians, Hungarians, Moroccans, Samoans, Germans and even an Ostrich farm! As I reached the balloon I could not wait to get on it. It only aloud fifteen people at a time and it went up to fifteen feet. Of course I had the same view as on the Ferris wheel just not as high.

After the balloon ride I strolled down the Midway some more and came upon a circus that had all sorts of entertainment. I laughed so much and thought about how much mom would love it especially all the animals that were in it as well as the animals that were in the zoo they had. An interesting village was the Cairo village where we got to watch them belly dance and they were teaching a new dance called the “hootchy-kootchy,” and oh what fun it was! I made my way to the Chinese Theatre and upon entering there was a large man telling fortunes in which I did not take part in because I thought it was silly. It was the most ornate building I have seen because it seemed to be overpowering everything else. There was one more ride I wanted to check out before it started getting dark. This ride was called the “Ice Railway” and it looks like such fun or perhaps just a little time for relaxation. It was an 875 foot long track meant to be a means for transportation, but they turned it into an amusement ride instead.  

The sun had eventually sat and I rested on a bench listening to the music of many musicians like Joseph Douglass, a Violinist, and Scott Joplin, a Pianist. I decided to go eat some dinner somewhere so I chose to eat Indian food and it was quite different, very spicy.  I reflected on my day at the fair. I closed my eyes and opened them once more to realize how extravagant the White City really was with all the lights on around it. I also realized how powerful and amazing electricity really was because the lights just drew you into their power. It really was a magnificent view.

I hope to bring y’all to the fair some day with some others maybe because it truly is a marvelous sight. I am glad I had the opportunity to experience the Columbian Exposition and see the different type of ethnic cultures. As soon as I can get y’all here, y’all can see for yourselves how unique and spectacular the White City, Midway Plaisance, and Mr. Ferris’s Wonderful wheel truly is.