On his way to visit the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, the editor of a small-town newspaper in Kansas met a fellow traveler from Lebanon, Indiana, (Mr. J. R. Anthony). On their second day at the Fair, the men toured the Midway Plaisance together and eventually found their way to its central attraction.
“The Ferris Wheel next demanded our attention. We were reluctant at first about making this circuitous aerial trip, but Mr. Anthony insisted that we try the experiment and we acceded. That peculiar feeling of awe and distress experienced at great heights affected us but little, but when we called our companion’s attention to some places of interest we noted a peculiar paleness come over his features, and when he did not care to look out of the car he knew he was badly frightened. When we made the descent, with a sigh of relief, Mr. Anthony remarked that it was his last trip over that infernal wheel. This remark created merriment when the conductor reminded him that he was compelled to make another revolution as the car did not stop until it had gone around two times. All fear was banished when the second revolution was made, and Mr. Anthony now prides himself for his bravery.”
One of the passenger cars of the Ferris Wheel at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. [Image from Bancroft, Hubert Howe The Book of the Fair. The Bancroft Company, 1893.]
SOURCE
Webster, John L. “World’s Fair Letter” Johnson City (KS) Journal p. 4.