In the summer of 1840, a common greeting of the women of Massachusetts was: “What are you doing for the Fair?” Those who knit stockings, crocheted in worsted of various colors, who were skilled in embroidered work, or who were merely good at plain sewing strove industriously to get ready for the Fair that was to earn money for the Bunker Hill Monument. Ten years earlier, the women of New England had made a noble effort to secure funds for the monument, but as the contributions from females and children had been limited to a maximum of $1.00 each, the total was small. Now, although the maximum sum ever raised at a Boston fair was $3,000, they felt that a sizable sum could be realized in a fair in Quincy Hall, near Faneuil Hall. Despite the criticism that “women were stepping out of their sphere,” Sarah J. Hale, the leading spirit in this remarkable effort, persisted.[10] Quincy Hall was 382 feet long by 47 feet wide, and it was crowded with the 43 tables of things to sell, when the seven-day fair started in September, 1840. A Whig Convention, in this year of a presidential election, undoubtedly helped to increase the attendance at this very successful fair. The price of admission on the first day was double that of the remaining days, which was $0.25. [10] She was editor of _Godey’s Lady’s Book_ for 30 years, and is credited with promoting the establishment of the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. The success of the Quincy Fair was phenomenal. The net sum of $30,035.53 was realized and turned over to the directors of the Bunker Hill Monument Association toward the completion of the Bunker Hill Monument. This amount was nearly one quarter its total cost. The Yankee ladies did not know that two contributions of $10,000 each, with several smaller donations, were available by now. The gift of $10,000 by Judah Touro was peculiarly heartening, as an example of the expression of the gratitude of the son of an immigrant to the country of his adoption. The father of Touro had been rabbi of a synagogue in Holland. The younger Touro was born in Newport, R. I., in 1776; he had sailed to New Orleans with an assortment of New England commodities and had made money in their sale. A soldier in the Battle of New Orleans, in the War of 1812, he had been given up for dead in the battle. He had become a millionaire and, learning of the proposed gift of $10,000 by Amos Lawrence, toward the completion of the monument, Touro had matched it. Thus, in the year 1840, the success of the Bunker Hill Monument was assured. It could now be built to the full height planned by Baldwin and Willard--about 220 feet. _The Riggers_