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CHAUTAUQUA PRESERVATION SOCIETY | |||||
| WAXAHACHIE, TEXAS | ||||||
| Creating a Cultural Experience in a Historic Setting | ||||||
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CHAUTAUQUA PRESERVATION SOCIETY | |||||
| WAXAHACHIE, TEXAS | ||||||
| Creating a Cultural Experience in a Historic Setting | ||||||
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ON THE STAGE:
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| Shakespeare | Chemistry Demonstrations |
| Will Rogers Performed | William Jennings Bryan |
| Small Turnout for Will Rogers | John Philip Sousa |
| 1900 Programs | 1918 Programs: World War I |
Saturday, August 4
Return to Top The Waxahachie Enterprise’s accounts of the Chautauqua Assemblies of the early 1900s show that Shakespeare was a favorite topic for lectures and programs.
During the 1905 Assembly, the Chautauqua Auditorium was "jammed with humanity" to greet Frederick Warde, the eminent actor and speaker, and to hear his lecture Shakespeare and His Plays. "A cultured, refined, and appreciative audience" gave undivided attention for a little more than one hour to his discussion and his "artistic readings" of Shakespeare. (Waxahachie Enterprise, 7/28/1905)
Later, at the 1908 Chautauqua Assembly, "Dr. F. Hyatt Smith delighted a large audience at the auditorium" with his lecture Shakespeare and His Times. "The lecture was heard with much pleasure by many members of the Waxahachie Shakespeare Club. Dr. Smith is one of the foremost lecturers on literature in this country. His diction is pure and he treats his subject in a popular fashion. No one can listen to him without being benefited."
Part of Dr. Smith’s lecture was recounted as follows: "Untraveled, Shakespeare travels the world; unread, he is read by all mankind; untaught, he teaches all. His works are the best English history and the finest biblical commentary. Customs change, habits alter, traditions die, but he remains. His characters do not resemble life, they are life itself. Hamlet is the tragedy of the will; Othello is the tragedy of jealousy; Macbeth is the tragedy of retribution; Julius Caesar is the tragedy of politics; Lear is the tragedy of ingratitude; The Tempest is the colossal picture of the supernatural world." (Waxahachie Enterprise, 7/17/1908)
From July 2000 edition of Chautauqua News
CHEMISTRY DEMONSTRATIONS IMPRESSED CHAUTAUQUA AUDIENCES Return to Top When the current Waxahachie Chautauqua Assemblies present chemistry, they are following a tradition that started at the first Assembly in 1900.
The Waxahachie Enterprise (August 3, 1900) described the discussion and demonstration of "The Air We Breathe" by Professor S.L. Hornbeak of Trinity University. It stated "…he showed the audience what the elements of the air could be resolved into and what could be done with the ingredients. He presented some beautiful experiments and some startling ones." The article went on to describe some of the experiments. "When he burned a steel watch spring like a rich kindling splinter it was startling and beautiful, when he applied a lighted match to a portion of sulphate of magnesium it was startling."
When Prof. W.B Patty took the stage at the 1903 Waxahachie Chautauqua Assembly, "the large auditorium was packed almost to suffocation and many were accommodated with chairs on the stage. The lecture was all that was claimed for it and proved to be the most intensely interesting, instructive and profitable entertainment that has been given during this meeting of the Chautauqua. It was a scientific treat and the audience sat in open-mouth wonderment as the lecturer performed one experiment after another showing the many uses to which liquid air may be adapted. Several times was the lecturer applauded." Prof. Patty began his lecture by explaining the properties of liquid air and showing how it was manufactured." He then performed experiments which showed the properties and capabilities of liquid air. He also showed the results of the interaction of liquid air with alcohol, mercury, water, and heat. (Waxahachie Enterprise, July 31, 1903)
Later, at the 1906 Waxahachie Chautauqua Assembly, there no standing room left in the auditorium when Professor W.B. Patty gave "demonstrations in liquid air, wireless telegraphy, and other scientific subjects." (Waxahachie Enterprise, August 3, 1906)
From April 2000 edition of Chautauqua News
SOUSA DID NOT COME TO WAXAHACHIE! Return to Top There has been much speculation about whether or not John Phillip Sousa and his band ever played in the Waxahachie Chautauqua Auditorium. So far in our research we have not come across any newspaper account or other documentation telling us that he did actually play there. In fact, thus far, indications seem to tell us that he did not. Here are two related items that we have found:
1) Waxahachie native Josephine Ruskin, in her research for the restoration of the Chautauqua Auditorium in the mid 1970s, stated that the U.S. Marine Band appeared in the Auditorium on November 4, 1914. "Most oldtimers here remember this event, but many mistakenly believe it was Sousa’s Band." She concludes from her research that Sousa never played in Waxahachie. (Lecture Series on the History of Ellis County, Southwestern Junior College of the Assemblies of God, May 10-14, 1976)
2) In Rose-Mary Rumbley’s book Dallas, Too (Eakin Press, Austin, Texas 1998), she describes an itinerary handwritten by Sousa himself which listed his band’s touring engagements from September 1925 to March 1926. They played matinee and evening performances, never taking a day off, and visiting almost every state in the union. In December 1925, many Texas cities were on the list, including Waxahachie, which was scheduled for December 28. However, Waxahachie was crossed out and "Korsikana" was written in for that day.
If anyone has other information that can help us answer the question of Sousa's appearance in Waxahachie, please let us know. We are still researching!
From April 2000 edition of Chautauqua News
WILL ROGERS PERFORMED FOR ENTHUSIASTIC WAXAHACHIE AUDIENCE IN FEBRUARY 1927 Return to Top Internationally famous cowboy humorist Will Rogers arrived in Waxahachie by train on Saturday afternoon, February 26, 1927 to the city’s excitement and praise and anticipation for his performance at 8:30 that evening at the Chautauqua Auditorium. In the week leading up to Rogers’ arrival, the Waxahachie Daily Light had daily articles, photos, and advertisements announcing his upcoming program and describing his life, career, and character. Several articles and ads indicated that he would close out his show with some of his famed lariat tricks. One article stated that early ticket sales indicated that a capacity crowd was expected.
At the Chautauqua Auditorium that evening, while the audience waited for Will Rogers to appear, “a radio program was received and amplified to fill the air with music through a receiving set up through the courtesy of the Walter Music Company.” Following this, the entertainer appeared and provided the audience “one hundred and one minutes of engrossingly entertaining comments and crossfires on topics of the day.” The following day’s Waxahachie Daily Light described his discussion of his trip to Europe, Mussolini, U.S. foreign policy, the League of Nations, disarmament, the plight of the farmer, former Texas Governor Jim Ferguson, college students, prohibition, airplanes, automobiles and bad roads.
Rogers performed to an enthusiastic crowd at the Chautauqua Auditorium. However, their “one disappointment came when he closed his act without displaying his skill at trick roping, at which his dexterity gave him his first attention in vaudeville and the name of ‘poet lariat’.” After finishing his show “and adding a fresh stick to his unwieldy chew of gum, he walked out where a waiting car took him to the train for California.”
Rogers’ February 1927 visit to Waxahachie was his only appearance in this part of the state that was scheduled for that year. He had just returned from a trip to Europe and was now on his third American tour.
Will Rogers died in a plane crash on August 15, 1935 with his friend and pilot Wiley Post (who himself had visited Waxahachie in 1932). The Waxahachie Daily Light’s large bold headline on that day said: “CRASH KILLS ROGERS AND POST”. The page included Rogers’ photo and two lead articles retelling the story of his 1927 visit to Waxahachie.
On September 19, 1975, Will Rogers, Jr. followed his father’s footsteps to the Waxahachie Chautauqua Auditorium, just two months after its restoration. He spoke on “My Father’s Humor”, discussing the life, influences, and career of Will Rogers, Sr. He said that he had heard the term “Waxahachie crowd” from his father and understood it to mean “a warm and friendly audience.” He said that Waxahachie had “a wonderful auditorium but all you need is some soft seats." (Source: Waxahachie Daily Light)From: June 2000 edition of Chautauqua News
SMALL TURNOUT FOR WILL ROGERS REMEMBERED IN FEB. 1927 Return to Top
The following remembrance of a Will Rogers’ performance in Waxahachie is taken from a Dallas News article from May 28, 1956. The date of Rogers' performance was not given.
“Miss Eva Grizzard, a sprightly charming lady who is a former elementary school principal [of Waxahachie’s Ferris Ward School], remembers well the night that the rope-twirling humorist [Will Rogers] appeared in Waxahachie. ‘He had an open date between engagements in Dallas and Fort Worth,’ as she remembers it, ‘and his agents booked him to appear here on short notice.’The above account differs substantially from the February 26, 1927 Waxahachie visit recounted by the Waxahachie Daily Light (above). It appears that Will Rogers may have been in Waxahachie more than once. In fact, Will Rogers scholar Dr. Doug Watson, states, “It would not surprise me to find that he was [in Waxahachie] on several occasions, since his friendship with Amon Carter took him to the Fort Worth area.” Further research or information from readers may help solve this mystery.
There wasn’t enough time to advertise his appearance widely. When he walked out on the stage of the city auditorium, he was confronted by the discouraging sight of 2,000 vacant seats, plus a mere hundred or so persons, clustered down front. Miss Eva and her family were among the embarrassed few present, as was Rogers’ wife.
The cowboy philosopher, true to form, reacted philosophically. He grinned wryly and went on with his act, even giving the meager audience more time than the program called for. His wife remarked afterward that he was in unusually fine fettle that evening, Miss Eva said.
Rogers, accustomed to packed houses, never forgot Waxahachie and its cavernous auditorium. Years afterward, writing or speaking elsewhere in the country, he referred jokingly now and then to his Waxahachie misadventure.”From: June 2000 edition of Chautauqua News
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN SPOKE FROM CHAUTAUQUA STAGE IN 1909 Return to Top The “silver-tongued orator” finally visited Waxahachie on September 13, 1909, after 4 or 5 years of invitations from the Waxahachie Chautauqua Board. William Jennings Bryan was big news in town because he was one of the best-known names in the country at that time and three-time presidential candidate. He came to Waxahachie to deliver his newest lecture entitled “The Price of a Soul.”
A reception committee, composed of local dignitaries and chaired by the Honorable C.W. Gibson, met at the Citizens National Bank to make arrangements for greeting and entertaining Mr. Bryan. This committee, along with an enthusiastic crowd of about 1000, met the visitor at the Katy depot late in the afternoon and escorted him to the Rogers Hotel for a dinner reception before going to the Chautauqua Auditorium for his 8:30 lecture. Tickets were sold for 50 cents and proceeds went to the Waxahachie Chautauqua general fund.
As crowds gathered in Chautauqua Park and made their way to the Auditorium, the Wise Orchestra performed. When Mr. Bryan took the stage, the band played “Dixie”, producing “an outburst of applause that almost raised the roof”.
Bryan began his speech by defending his choice of a topic, saying that the question of the soul was a question for this life not just the next world; a question for the laity as well as for the ministry; a question for the weekday as well as for Sunday. “He said that when he delivered a religious address, he was accused of talking politics and when he made a political speech it was construed as a sermon.” (Wax.Ent.9/14/1909) His lecture included opinions on money and greed, gambling and the stock market, political parties and corruption, war and peace.
His appearance in Waxahachie was part of a lecture trip that included Dallas, Fort Worth, Weatherford, and Mission, Texas where he had farming interests. The morning after his Waxahachie lecture, Mr. Bryan delivered an address at the state fair grounds in Dallas entitled “The Democracy and the Tarriff” in which he criticized the Texas platform of 1896 that declared a tax on raw materials, such as lumber, wool, hides, oil, iron ore, and coal. (Sources: Waxahachie Enterprise, 9/6, 9/13, 9/14, 9/15/1909)From: Winter 2005 edition of Chautauqua News
FIRST CHAUTAUQUA PROGRAMS GIVE GLIMPSE OF 1900 WAXAHACHIE Return to Top What were the first Chautauqua programs like? This question is difficult to answer since little remains of the first Assemblies (that we can find!) except newspaper articles. Even with these, some of the information about the programs is missing. Journalistic writing was a little different in those days and filled with editorial comments, but it still captures the spirit and essence of those first meetings.
Here are some highlights of the first Waxahachie Chautauqua in 1900 from the Waxahachie Enterprise:
Friday, July 27:
Opening ceremonies. The keynote address was given by the Honorable R.W. Hall, a representative from the Texas Panhandle, entitled, "Anti-past for the Twentieth Century." This was followed by religious instruction in a "chalk-talk" format given by Rev. Farr, Rev. McConnell and others.
Evening program. Judge O.E. Dunlap, a beloved Waxahachie lawyer and civic leader, and his travelling companions, J.V. Clark, Ralph Getzendaner, and R.K. Erwin, talked about their world travels. The auditorium was packed with people standing in the windows.
Saturday, July 28
Devotionals, bible lectures, and reports of various missionary work were held in the morning. Women's groups filled the afternoon with meetings.
Evening program. An orchestra opened the evening entertainment. This was followed by a choir, a violin solo by Miss Willbanks, a piano solo, and a women's quartette composed of Ms. Newton, Middleton, Spencer and Smith.
Sunday, July 29
Morning Sunday School, religious service, a "chalk-talk" lecture, and an evening service.
Monday through Friday, July 30-August 3Mornings:a devotional and a chalk-talk lecture. The topics of all but Tuesday's chalk-talk lecture on July 31 are unknown. That day, Prof. Bodenhammer from Trinity University in Tehuacana gave a presentation entitled, "The Educational Value of the Study of Mathematics."
Evenings:
Tuesday, July 31: Prof. S.Y. Hornbeck, also of Trinity University, gave a science demonstration lecture on "The Air We Breathe" using liquefied air. When he took the stage, the crowd spontaneously gave the Trinity yell. The main act that evening was to be a well-known impersonator from Chicago, Mr. Roberts, but due to an illness he did not come. Professor Stoakes, another Trinity University professor, substituted and gave a stereoptican (slide) lecture.
Wednesday, August 1: Professor Stoakes presented another stereoptican lecture. A severe thunderstorm coupled with the inattentiveness of the projector operator and equipment problems, spelled disaster.
Thursday, August 2: A favorite Ellis Countian, Dr. Ira Landreth, gave the evening lecture on Thursday, August 2. Dr. Landreth was the head of the Cumberland Presbyterian publishing house in Nashville and had just prior to the Waxahachie Chautauqua had accepted the presidency of Trinity University.
From: Summer 2003 edition of Chautauqua News
| 1918 CHAUTAUQUA PROGRAM REFLECTS WORLD WAR I | Return to Top |
From: April 2000 edition of Chautauqua News