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We Called It Culture - The Story of Chautauqua
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Dieser Artikel gilt, aufgrund seiner Grösse, beim Versand als 2 Artikel!
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WE CALLED IT CULTURE Authors Preface and Acknowledgments It is probable that no single wholly American institution, with the possible exception of the Model T, left a greater imprint upon the social and cultural life of the rural communities of the nation than the Chautauqua movement. The statistical record alone is staggering. For more than two decades the Chautauqua tent circuits spangled the continent. During the peak year, 1924, an estimated 30,000,000 Americans sat in the brown tents pitched nearby some 12,000 Main Streets and enjoyed the lectures, music, drama, and other cultural items making up the typical Chautauqua week offering. What brought Chautauqua into being What caused the movement to expand so enormously Most puzzling and in triguing to millions of living Americans, for whom the ban ners still wave and gorgeous bands play on in nostalgic memory, what happened to Chautauqua These questions, never adequately answered heretofore, presented a challenge which lured the authors into an ex ceedingly pleasant if difficult task the compilation of this volume. It was pleasant because it dealt with a phase of Americana which is homespun and heart-warming. Chau tauqua was as American as corn pone, and as body-building. It was difficult because the concrete record is meager the Yi UTfiOR . PKEMCE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS passfing if a gre ajt r 5n t. it6 ion must be traced largely and al most exclusively through the reminiscences of the men who created Oraiifrauqua, built it to such staggering dimensions and then, helplessly, watched its decline and fall. In this latter field we are immeasurably indebted to that great maestro of the Chautauqua tent circuits, J, Roy Ellison, who createdthe standard Chautauqua contract upon which the great edifice was built and personally managed the first and finally the greatest of the circuits that served the conti nent. Without the aid of his wealth of personal reminiscences, the narrative would have been incomplete and lifeless, no matter how carefully the supporting data were assembled. We are also indebted to the trustees of Temple University for permission to reproduce in full that most famous of Chau tauqua and Lyceum lectures, Dr. Russell H. Conwells Acres of Diamonds which appears in the Appendix, and to the many individuals whose suggestions and recollections aided our attempt to analyze and portray that elusive ingredi ent called the spirit of Chautauqua. THE AUTHORS Contents CHAPTER 1 THE GENTLE APPROACH The First Western ContractForce of the Chautauqua TraditionNew Type of Community Salesmanship CHAPTER 2 WHAT WAS CHAUTAUQUA 11 Beginnings at Lake Chautauqua Scope of Programs-Home Reading Courses Chautauqua Press Ohio Assem bly and Others Program at Gladstone, Oregon, in 1902 CHAPTER 3 THERES MONEY IN IT 22 Origin of Tent Chautauquas Brief History of Lyceum J. Roy Ellison and Keith Vawter Lyceum Experience Applied to Chautauqua The Circuits Begin Expansion of Circuits CHAPTER 4 REMEMBER THE DAY 33 In Nostalgic Vein-The Tent The College Man The Talent Chautauqua Week CHAPTER 5 CHAUTAUQUA MUSIC 42 Appreciation of Chautauqua Music Artists and Musical Ensembles Request Program in 1921 Sample Program in 1914 Estimate of Music viii CONTENTS CHAPTER 6 THE NEW WORLD OF DRAMA 50 Public Resistance to Drama Impersonators and Dramatic Readers Breakdown of Blue Sunday One-Man Troupe-Later Plays Synopsis of Turn to the Right 9 CHAPTER7 ACRES OF DIAMONDS 61 The Inspirational Lecture Analysis of Acres of Dia monds Dr. Conwells Theme Brief History of Dr. Russell H... |
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