(The Fair Edition of Grenada Sentinel, October 1924, featured a profile of the president of the fair, Mr. John Borden of Glenwild. The original article has been clarified and condensed for today. Little known by many but of interest is John Borden’s brother William. William Whiting Borden was a student at Yale when he made a decision to become a missionary to Muslins in China. After graduation at Yale in 1909, he entered Princeton Seminary and graduated in 1912. From there he sailed to Cairo, Egypt, to enter language school. Upon arriving in Cairo, William contracted spinal meningitis and died shortly thereafter at the age of 26, before arriving on the mission field. Before leaving for Cairo, William bequeathed his own inheritance to missions and mission work in the field. According to William Borden’s biographer, Mrs. Taylor Hudson, William wrote the following words in his Bible: “No Reserve” was written after giving away his inheritance to missions; “No Retreat” was written in his struggle to serve Christ as a missionary; “No Regrets” was written in his Bible before he died. William Borden is buried in the American Cemetery in Cairo, Egypt. His epitaph reads, “Apart from faith in Christ, there is no explanation for such a life.”)
Grenada Sentinel
Friday, October 17, 1924
John Borden, President, Fair Association
John Borden was born in New York City, May 21, 1884. His father was William Borden and the maiden name of his mother was Mary DeGarmo Whiting. John Borden’s siblings were Mary, William and Joyce. John Borden graduated at Yale University, and graduated from the Law Department of Northwestern University. He married Miss Ellen Waller in 1907 and to this union two daughters have been born. He is a Presbyterian in religion. Borden has traveled in nearly all the foreign countries of the world, and has had a wide and a varied business experience. He volunteered for service during the World War and donated his personal yacht and equipped it at his own expense for service in routing submarines in the Bay of Biscay and English Channel. The yacht, Kanawha II, was commissioned USS Kanawha II April 28, 1917, with Lt. Commander John Borden in command. The vessel was renamed Piqua on March 1, 1918. Piqua was decommissioned July 1, 1919, and returned to her owner.
Just whatever attracted John Borden to Grenada is a matter of conjecture. When Borden came to Grenada and bought a piece of farm property, he meant to be of real service to this section. With brevity of words, he has chosen to be eloquent with his purse and has opened it to many things where there could not be even a thought of dollar returns. The needs of the poor have been observed by him and remembered. He took upon himself the duty of providing a fund whereby unforeseen demands for public care might be provided for, and in providing this fund he never overlooked the unfortunate young man or woman struggling to be educated. All these things not only speak well for what is in his heart and for the real life of the man, but show that material things are not first in his mind and that he wished to reach out a hand to the less favored and improvident.
His connection with the Fair is little less than extraordinary. In a very large measure the Fair as it is today may properly be said to be Mr. Borden’s Fair. He not only got behind the Fair with his energies and his talents, but he voluntarily put his bank account behind it. He struck the rock of his own credit and abundant revenue sprang forth.
Mr. Borden will be present at the Fair and will have as guests some half hundred friends from Chicago and other points.
