In the past several Footnotes we have learned about the Chautauqua Institution and how it was the model for reading courses for farmers and farmers wives and college correspondence courses for those engaged in or desired to be engaged in agriculture. This week we will focus on perhaps one of the most valued features of Chautauqua – the spoken word.
During a typical day at Chautauqua there will be a variety of speakers appearing in the Amphitheater, the Hall of Christ, and the Hall of Philosophy plus smaller venues. The speakers may be prominent philosophers, journalists, political scientists, artists, writers, environmentalists, academicians and the list goes on and on.
Oscar Wilde said “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” If this is true, Chautauqua has been flattered a lot. Numerous groups “borrowed” the Chautauqua name to provide legitimacy or publicity to their organizations.
One of the groups to borrow the Chautauqua name were educators. Teacher Chautauquas were held at the local, state, and national levels. One example was Blaine County, Oklahoma which scheduled a Teacher’s Chautauqua for August 19-23, 1918 for their teachers and those who wanted to teach. All teachers and patrons were invited to attend. In Iowa there was an eight day meeting of the State School Teachers’ Chautauqua in 1906. There was even a Great International Teacher’s Chautauqua held in Colorado Springs in 1922. There was a Teachers’ Chautauqua organized for colored teachers in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Washington. See Figure 1 for a sampling of Teacher Chautauqua newspaper articles.
A search of Newspapers.com for the term “Teachers Chautauqua” between 1880-1925 resulted in 1,569 matches. There were matches in every state except for Nevada, Arizona, West Virginia and New Hampshire.
Figure 1. Left Column – The Hitchcock (OK) Clarion, July 25, 1918; Center Top – Kansas City Gazette, September 9, 1897; Center Middle – Raleigh (NC) News and Observer, June 20, 1884; Center Bottom – Emporia (KS) Weekly Gazette, April 13, 1922; Right Top – Harrisburg (PA) Daily Independent, September 7, 1895; Right Center – Birmingham (AL) Post Herald, June 23, 1900; Right Bottom – Coffeyville (KS) Daily Journal, July 26, 1906.
The Ku Klux Klan even conducted “Klantauquas.” You might be surprised to learn that Illinois was the epicenter for the Klantauquas. The goal was to host a series of Klantaquas all across the state to educate the people about the Klan. The typical Klantaqua was three days in length and featured speakers and entertainment. They were proud of the fact that they never met on Sunday (Herald and Review, Decatur, IL, July 3, 1924). As many as 3,000 people would be at a Klantaqua.
A number of state agricultural colleges, agricultural societies, local chambers of commerce, agricultural machinery manufacturers and others adopted the idea of using a Chautauqua approach (or the Chautauqua name) to attract farmers to their programs.
Chautauqua and Farmers
In 1896 the column heading in the Inter Ocean newspaper of Chicago was “Farm Chautauqua Organized.” The sub heading was “Will Study Agricultural Problems by Chautauqua Methods.” The article went on to report that on November 16, 1896 the Farmer’s National Chautauqua Association was incorporated in Springfield, Illinois. The purpose of the association was for “…the advancement of all matters relating to farm life…”, This article was printed in 70 different newspapers in 15 states. It apparently was newsworthy.
Figure 2. The Inter Ocean (Chicago), November 17, 1896
The Central Texas Farm Chautauqua held in Waxahachie, Texas in the early 1900s is one example of an agricultural Chautauqua. The local Chamber of Commerce sponsored it. In describing it, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (July 4, 1915, p. 32) reported “…the Chautauqua program will begin with short addresses by the most experienced farmers in Texas and adjoining states. It will be noted that the A. & M. short course, the same as is given at College State each year, and which hundreds of farmers travel a great distance to attend, will be had here and that farmers who desire to take advantage of it may do so without cost.” See Figure 3.
In the state of Washington, dairymen started a Dairy Chautauqua in 1923. The first one was held in Grandview, Washington and attracted 400 people. See Figure 3.
Figure 3. Left article from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 4, 1915. Right article from the Grandview (WA) Herald, September 7, 1923
In 1923 the Missouri Pacific Railroad had a special railroad car outfitted with poultry exhibits that traveled through 25 counties in Arkansas. This specially equipped car was known as the Chicken Chautauqua. This was followed by a series of Dairy and Poultry Chautauquas. A tent with a capacity of 400 people was used to present educational programming related to dairy cattle and poultry production. Agricultural movies were shown at night. This traveling agriculturally themed Chautauqua was found in various southern states served by the Missouri Pacific Railroad line (Kansas City Journal, September 26, 1930). See Figure 4
Figure 4. Kansas City Journal, September 26, 1930.
Railroads in other states were quick to adopt the Missouri Pacific Railroad Chautauqua idea. In 1925 the New York Central Railroad planned a four state (Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana) Dairy Chautauqua
In 1927 radio station KTHS in Hot Springs, Arkansas started an hour-long program called the Farmers Radio Chautauqua. It was broadcast daily from 12:30 to 1:30 PM and consisted of “inspiring and instructive talks, special music, weather and crop reports.” This radio broadcast was picked up by radio stations in 33 states stretching from Maine to Oregon. The radio broadcaster was E. B. Matthew, who was also the state supervisor of vocational agriculture in Arkansas. Agriculture teachers in the state would tune in to the program. Two different paper articles in Figure 5 tell the story of the Farmers Radio Chautauqua.
Figure 5. Left column -Lancaster (PA) New Era, May 27, 1927. Right column – Freeport (IL) Journal Standard, May 27, 1927.
There were even random agricultural events using the name Chautauqua. Kansas State Agricultural College held a Chicken Chautauqua in 1918 to encourage the raising of chickens. In the same year the National Swine Show and Exposition held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa used the term “Hog Chautauqua” to advertise the speakers they had lined up for the show. There was an “Embroidery Chautauqua” held for a week in 1910 in South Carolina attended by several hundred women. Many more examples of the use of the word Chautauqua could be given.
A search of Newspapers.com for “Farmer’s Chautauaqua” yielded close to 3,000 hits after New York and Kansas were removed from the search because both have counties named Chautauqua. Newspaper articles about Farmer’s Chautauquas were found in 42 states.
Concluding Remarks
When I was a freshman agriculture student in high school one of my jobs was to refresh the Purina Motivational Posters that were displayed in the agricultural classroom. The teacher had made a container to hold them. I would move the front card to the back every morning, thus revealing the next card. I remember one of the cards said “A Good Idea Doesn’t Care Who Has It.”
I am sure the founders of the Chautauqua Institution in New York never imagined the Chautauqua movement would one day be used to educate farmers. In this Footnote we have just scratched the surface of how the Chautauqua idea played an important role in improving agriculture. The Farmers’ Chautauquas were a good idea. The mix of expert speakers and at times entertainers was a winning combination. As teachers we need to be alert to ideas that can enhance our teaching.
Next week we will learn about the “Farm Camps” for young boys found at some of the daughter Chautauquas.