July 10 – July 14, 2012
A Companion Reader
13th AnnuAl
THE FABULOUS FIFTIES
shland’s thirteenth Annual CHAUTAUQUA proudly
presents The Fabulous Fifties beginning Tuesday, July
10 and continuing through Saturday, July 14. The event
features five evening performances on stage at the Guy C.
Myers Memorial Band Shell in the City of Ashland’s
picturesque Brookside Park along with numerous daytime
programs held throughout Ashland County for youth, adults
and seniors. All events are free and open to the public.
A
At CHAUTAUQUA, youth and adults witness history in its
most compelling form - first person historical portrayals. Five
trained scholar/actors assume a historical figure from the
1950s as they present exciting living history performances.
Through a mixture of education and entertainment,
ASHLAND CHAUTAUQUA 2012 hosts these nationally
recruited scholar/actors to portray historic figures including
Pulitzer and Nobel-Prize winning author and human rights
activist Pearl Buck, Major League Baseball player “Pee Wee”
Reese, marine biologist and conservationist Rachel Carson,
Senator Joseph McCarthy, and Sarah Ophelia Colley, creator
of American country comedian “Minnie Pearl”.
Produced through a partnership among the City of Ashland,
the Loudonville Theatre & Arts Committee, Ashland Area
Convention & Visitors Bureau, Ashland University
Departments of Communication Studies and History,
CHAUTAUQUA has developed a strong audience in and
around Ashland County due to support from the Ohio
Humanities Council and their production of the OHIO
CHAUTAUQUA. Ashland has been a host site on five
occasions for the annual OHIO CHAUTAUQUA event
which began in 2000. With Ashland's strong understanding
of, and demand for, the program, ASHLAND
CHAUTAUQUA continues the tradition in 2012 with
major underwriting from the OHC, Ohio Arts Council and
the City of Ashland’s Parks & Recreation Department.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pee Wee Reese..............................2
Joseph McCarthy ........................4
Rachel Carson ............................6
Pearl Buck....................................8
Sarah Ophelia Colley ................10
Schedule of Events ....................12
Ashland Chautauqua 2012 receives Major Support from:
www.ashlandchautauqua.org • [email protected] • 419-281-4584 •
Rain Site: Ashland High School Little Theatre • Hot Line: 419-281-3018
HAROLD “PEE WEE” REESE
when he was beaned by a Chicago Cubs’ pitcher and later in
August he broke bones in his foot on a slide into second base
and was out for the rest of the year.
Pee Wee was back as the regular shortstop for the 1941
season and the Dodgers won their first National League
Pennant in over 20 years. He had a productive World Series
against the New York Yankees but the Brooklyn Dodgers
endured the first of six such series’ losses before the team
moved to Los Angeles in 1958.
World War 2 cost Pee Wee three prime years of his career
while he served in the U.S. Navy. Military brass saw the
opportunity and used a large number of major league
ballplayers in the services to foster troop morale. Pee Wee
spent much of his service time playing baseball with other
great players such as Joe DiMaggio and Phil Rizzuto. While
in the Pacific preparing for the invasion of Japan in 1945, he
was discharged with thousands of other soldiers after the
atomic bombs were dropped.
is real name was Harold Henry Reese but he was better
known simply as Pee Wee, a name given for his play in
marbles’ tournaments as a preteen growing up in Louisville.
Against all odds he earned an opportunity to play
professional baseball, star at shortstop for the Brooklyn
Dodgers, play in seven World Series, and be enshrined in the
Baseball Hall of Fame.
H
Born 1918 in Ekron, KY, a small farm community in Meade
County, Pee Wee grew up in nearby Louisville and graduated
from DuPont Manual High School where he played a few
games on the baseball team in his senior year. After
graduating he took a job as a line splitter with the Louisville
Telephone Company and played weekend baseball in the city
church league.
In 1938 Pee Wee signed a minor league contract to play
professional baseball with the Louisville Colonels. After his
second season with the Colonels he was signed by the
Brooklyn Dodgers and in 1940 Manager Leo Durocher
made him the regular shortstop. His rookie year was plagued
by injury – he missed over three weeks early in the season
2
By Dick Usher
Colonel” who threw to first baseman Gil Hodges for the
putout.
Pee Wee’s last season as a player was in1958, the Dodgers’
first season in Los Angeles. He retired at age 40. Soon he was
offered a job as broadcaster with CBS Television and
beginning in 1960 he and the legendary Dizzy Dean did
weekly telecasts on the CBS “Game of the Week”until1965.
He continued as a Radio/TV sportscaster into the early
1970s. In later years he was a representative for the Hillerich
and Bradsby Company in Louisville.
Pee Wee had a marvelous smile and a stalwart countenance;
he personified “The Happy American” and “The Greatest
Generation”, steadfastly game to give life his best shot. When
he led the Brooklyn Dodgers onto the field they were truly a
team. To many the Brooklyn Dodgers during Pee Wee’s
tenure was America’s Team – the players were human,
humble and honorable and Pee Wee was most loved for his
gentle humor, genuineness and quiet grace.
Pee Wee rejoined the Dodgers in 1946 and in the 1947
season he played a prominent role in baseball’s integration.
Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play major
league baseball arrived in Brooklyn in 1947 against a
backdrop of pressure, intolerance and resentment. Pee Wee
Reese set an example of acceptance by refusing to sign a
petition that threatened a boycott if Robinson was not
removed from the team and later walked across the field in
Cincinnati to put his arm over Jackie’s shoulder in a gesture
of friendship and solidarity.
Pee Wee Reese was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in
1984 with the following inscription:
“What a decent human being,” Jackie once said, “how much
he helped me. But he refuses to take the credit.”
He died in 1999 after a valiant struggle with cancer and is
buried in Louisville.
Pee Wee said: “When I look at it, I think he ended up helping
me more than I helped him. He taught me about life.”
DAYtIME PROGRAMS
It was widely acknowledged that Pee Wee Reese did the little
things that helped his teams win; bunt the runner over, go
from first to third on a base hit, range deep into the hole for
a ground ball. He was the best all around shortstop in the
National league in the late 40s and into the mid 50s.
Youth Workshop: take Me Out
to the Ballgame
Shortstop is one of the most difficult positions to play in
baseball because it requires the greatest range, the strongest
arm, the softest hands, and the quickest release of all the
infielders – he (the shortstop) makes more plays that demand
stronger, more accurate throws with less time to make those
throws. Leo Durocher said, “Nobody ever won a pennant
without a star shortstop.”
In 1955 Pee Wee Reese was 37, but he still sparked the
Dodgers, and after they won their sixth pennant, they finally
beat the Yankees in the World Series. It was fitting that the
final out of that series was on a ground ball to “The Little
Shortstop and Captain of great Dodger teams of 1940s and
50s. Intangible qualities of subtle leadership on and off
field. Competitive fire and professional pride complimented dependable glove, reliable base-running and
clutch hitting as significant factors in 7 Dodger pennants.
Instrumental in easing acceptance of Jackie Robinson as
baseball’s first black performer.
Join Dick Usher as he leads a variety of interactive
baseball activities including a portrayal of “Pee Wee”
Reese, a sing-a-long, practicing the short-stop position
and demonstrating bat swings.
Adult Workshop: Baseball
Experiences & trivia
“Pee Wee” Reese makes a guest appearance
followed by a sing-a-long with Dick Usher. Participants
will have an opportunity to share their baseball
knowledge and personal experiences while Mr. Usher
also discusses broadcaster Dizzy Dean, Louisville
Slugger bats, Armed Forces Baseball, the Brooklyn
Dodgers and more.
TIMELINE: “PEE WEE” REESE
1918
1921
1936
1938
1939-40
1941
1942
1945
1947
1949
1951
1952
1953
1955
1956
1958
1960
1984
1999
Born July 23 at home, Ekron, KY.
Family moves to Louisville, KY.
Graduates from DuPont Manual High School.
Signs professional baseball contract with Louisville Colonels.
Brooklyn Dodgers purchase contract; injury-plagued
rookie year in National League.
First World Series. New York Yankees win 4 games to 1.
Marries Dottie. Dodgers lose pennant to Cardinals.
Enlists in Navy after season ends.
Discharged from Navy. Jackie Robinson signs Dodger contract.
First season for Jackie Robinson with Dodgers.
Lose World Series to Yankees, 4 games to 3.
Named team captain. Dodgers lose World Series to Yankees,
4 games to 1.
Famous playoff loss to Giants on Bobby Thompson's 3
run homer in 9th inning.
Yankees win World Series 4 games to 3.
Yankees win World Series 4 games to 2.
Honored on 37th birthday at Ebbets Field. Dodgers win World Series
over Yankees, 4 games to 3. Famous Amaros to Reese to Hodges
double play.
Yankees win World Series, 4 games to 3.
Dodgers move to Los Angeles. Last year as player.
Announcer for CBS Baseball Game of the Week with Dizzy Dean.
Hall of Fame induction, voted by Veteran's committee.
Died in August. Buried in Louisville – Resthaven.
REESE BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jonathan Eig, Opening day: the story of Jackie Robinson's first season
(New York, NY. Simon & Shuster, 2007).
Peter Golenbock, Teammates (San Diego, CA. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990).
Doris Goodwin Kearns, Wait till next year (New York, NY. Simon & Schuster, 1997).
Roger Kahn, The boys of summer (New York, NY. HarperCollins Publishers, 1998).
Roger Kahn, Into my own: the remarkable people and events that shaped a life
(New York, NY: St.Martin's Press, 2006).
Dave Klein, Great infielders of the major leagues (New York, NY. Random House, 1972).
Thomas Oliphant, Praying for Gil Hodges (New York, NY. Thomas Dunne Books, 2005).
Gene Schoor, The Pee Wee Reese story (New York, NY. Julian Messner, 1956).
Michael Shapiro, The last good season: Brooklyn, the Dodgers and their final pennant
race together (New York, NY. Broadway Books, 2003).
Curt Smith, Voices of summer: ranking baseball's 101 best announcers (New York, NY.
Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2005).
Mark Reese, Director, ESPN DVD, The Brooklyn Dodgers, the original America's team.
2005. First installment—The quiet ambassador: the Pee Wee Reese story. Final
installment – The boys in winter.
BaseballLibrary.com (accessed March, 2007), The baseball index, bibliography for Pee
Wee Reese.
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/sabr/tbi/R/Reese_Pee_Wee.tbi.stm.
ABOUT DICK USHER
With over 33 years of teaching in higher education,
appearances in over 25 theatre productions and a
lifetime of baseball experiences, Dick Usher has been
portraying “Pee Wee” Reese since 2007 when he was
accepted as a member of the Kentucky Chautauqua
program. He holds an elementary education degree
from Murray State University, along with graduate and
doctorate degrees in psychological foundations from
the University of Florida. He has taught at the
University of Northern Colorado and Murray State
University where he is now a Professor Emeritus.
OPENING ACT: The Moonlighters Doo Wop Quartet
Performing hits from the 50s and early 60s, the
Mansfield-based a capella quartet includes Michael
Miller, Rusty Cates, Dalton Derr and Dirk Eachus.
While their performance offers up plenty of
comedy, the real focus of the show will be the
musical numbers such as Stand By Me, Sh-Boom
and Are you Lonesome Tonight.
3
JOSEPH MCCARTHY
By John Moser
gained him the nickname that would stick with him for the
remainder of his life – “Tail Gunner Joe.”
Hoping to reenter politics, McCarthy resigned his
commission in April 1945, four months before the end of
World War II in the Pacific. He campaigned for one of
Wisconsin’s seats in the Senate in 1946, first defeating
incumbent Republican Robert M. La Follette, Jr., and then
going on to win the general election. Campaigning on the
slogan, “Congress needs a tail-gunner,” he ironically won
endorsement of the left-wing United Electrical, Radio and
Machine Workers of America, which preferred him to the
anti-communist La Follette.
Although he became popular as a speaker and a guest at
cocktail parties, few outside Washington noticed McCarthy
during his first three years in the Senate. All that changed
when in February 1950 he made a bombshell speech.
Addressing the Republican Women's Club of Wheeling,
West Virginia, he announced that he had evidence that in
spite of the Truman administration's efforts to eliminate
disloyal elements from government service, 205 members of
the Communist Party continued to work for the State
Department.
t is difficult to think of an example in all of U.S. history in
which a member of the Senate gained as much notoriety as
Joseph R. McCarthy. Although he served in that body for
only ten years – dying before the completion of his second
term – he gained a huge following for his self-proclaimed
crusade to rid the government of alleged communists and
communist sympathizers. At the same time, his tendency
toward unsubstantiated assertions and reckless accusations
made him one of the most hated men in the country.
I
McCarthy was born on a farm outside Appleton, Wisconsin
in 1908, the fifth of seven children. Although he dropped
out of school at the age of fourteen to help with the farm, he
later returned to finish his education, working his way
through Marquette University, where he received a law
degree in 1935. After three years of legal practice he was
elected as a circuit judge, but he gave up that post in 1942,
soon after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. McCarthy
then received a commission as a second lieutenant in the
Marine Corps, and for the next three years he was assigned to
a dive-bomber squadron in the South Pacific. In that capacity
he flew twelve combat missions as a gunner-observer, which
4
It is likely that even McCarthy himself was surprised at the
public reaction to his revelations. In the past two years the
United States had watched as China had become a
communist country, the Soviet Union successfully tested an
atomic bomb, and North Korea launched an invasion of
South Korea. America, which had seemed the world's
dominant power in 1945, felt its position slipping away, and
McCarthy's accusations provided a convenient explanation
The Senate, therefore, was inclined to look into these
charges, and a committee was soon set up under Maryland
Democrat Millard Tydings. The charges, Tydings concluded,
were without foundation, but few were paying attention.
Three days after the Maryland senator publicly rejected
McCarthy's accusations Julius Rosenberg was arrested for
passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. The issue of
Soviet penetration of the U.S. government seemed
shockingly real. As for Tydings, when he stood for reelection
later that year McCarthy and his allies accused him of being
"soft on communism." Marylanders took the charge
seriously – Tydings, who had been in the Senate since 1927,
was defeated.
The message sent by the Tydings defeat was clear: It was
dangerous to stand in the way of Joe McCarthy. For the next
two years the accusations flew, and quite a few Democrats
(and even some Republicans, such as Margaret Chase Smith
of Maine, who dared criticize the senator from Wisconsin)
found themselves accused of being "communist
sympathizers." In 1952, aided in part by McCarthy's
accusations--but probably more so by the stalemated war in
Korea--the Republican Party won control of both houses of
Congress, while GOP candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower was
elected President in a landslide.
In the short term at least, Republican dominance in
Washington gave McCarthy new prestige and power. He was
awarded the chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations, and used his position to subpoena a series of
government employees. His accusations did not remain
limited to the State Department. Soon employees of Voice of
America, and even officers and enlisted men of the U.S.
Army, were called before McCarthy's committee and accused
of being at best naïve dupes of communism, and at worst
traitors to their country.
In the long run, however, Republican control of Congress
and the White House led to McCarthy's downfall. Many
Republicans had privately expressed doubts about
McCarthy's reckless accusations, but had remained silent
when his targets were Democrats. Among these was
Eisenhower himself, who as a Presidential candidate had
refused even to defend his former Army colleague George C.
Marshall when McCarthy suggested that he was a subversive.
However, after 1952, the Wisconsin Senator was becoming
more and more of an embarrassment to the GOP. When in
1953 he began to suggest that communists had infiltrated the
Army, Eisenhower went on the attack, issuing an order
forbidding any member of his administration from testifying
before McCarthy's committee.
The final straw came in 1954, when the Army accused
McCarthy and his chief lieutenant, Roy Cohn, of pressuring
the Army into giving preferential treatment to Cohn's friend
G. David Schine. Now it was McCarthy himself who was on
the hot seat, and in the resulting Army-McCarthy Hearings,
broadcast on nationwide television, the Wisconsin Senator
came across as a common bully. The Army's chief counsel,
Joseph N. Welch, finally shamed him with the famous
words, "Have you no sense of decency, sir?" In December
1954 he was formally censured by the Senate, which put an
end to his investigations once and for all. A painful chapter
in America's history had at last come to its close.
Although McCarthy continued to serve in the Senate, it was
clear that his political career was finished. He had long been
a heavy drinker, but in the months that followed his censure
he began to show signs of advanced alcoholism. On May 2,
1957, at the age of 48, he died at the Bethesda Naval
Hospital, with acute hepatitis listed as the official cause of
death. He was survived by his wife, Jean, and their adopted
daughter, Tierney.
TIMELINE: JOSEPH MCCARTHY
1908
1930
1935
1939
1942
1944
1945
1946
1948
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1957
Born in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Enrolls as a freshman at Marquette University.
Earns a degree in law from Marquette University.
Elected judge of the Tenth Circuit Court, making him the youngest
circuit judge ever elected in Wisconsin.
Enlists in the U.S. Marine Corps with the rank of second lieutenant.
While still on active duty in the Pacific, campaigns for the Republican
nomination for one of Wisconsin’s seats in the U.S. Senate, but is
soundly defeated.
Resigns his Marine commission and is reelected judge with
no opposition.
Runs for and is elected to Wisconsin’s other U.S. Senate seat.
Alger Hiss accused of having passed classified documents
to the Soviets.
At a Lincoln Day dinner at Wheeling, WV, formally launches his crusade against communists in government declaring that there are
“card-carrying Communists” working for the U.S. State Department.
The precise number is unclear – he is quoted in the press as saying
205, but would later claim that he had said 57.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg found guilty of spying for the Soviet Union,
and sentenced to death.
Re-elected to a second term in the Senate, with a 54-46 percent
margin of victory over his opponent.
In the new Republican-controlled Senate, made chairman of the
Committee on Government Operations, as well as its subcommittee
on investigations. Immediately launches an investigation of alleged
communists in the U.S. Army.
Discredited after a devastating television segment by broadcaster
Edward R. Murrow, as well as an embarrassing performance in the
televised “Army-McCarthy hearings.” In December he is censured by
the Senate for abusing his power as a senator.
Hospitalized for acute hepatitis, and dies several weeks later.
ABOUT JOHN MOSER
John Moser has a Ph.D. in history from the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and is currently
associate professor of history at Ashland University. He
is author of three books on U.S. history, most recently
Right Turn: John T. Flynn and the Transformation of
American Liberalism (New York University Press, 2005).
His current work investigates the ways in which the
Great Depression helped to bring on and shape World
War II. John’s other involvement in living history are
his portrayal of Howard Cosell at several Chautauqua
events; as Living History Coordinator for the Ashland
County Historical Society and portrayal of several
individuals important to the history of northeast Ohio.
He lives in Ashland with his wife, Monica, and their
daughter, Constanze.
MCCARTHY BIBLIOGRAPHY
Richard M. Fried, Nightmare in Red: The McCarthy Era in Perspective
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1991).
Robert Griffith, The Politics of Fear: Joseph R. McCarthy and the Senate
(Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1987).
John E. Haynes, Red Scare or Red Menace? American Communism and Anticommunism in the Cold War Era (Lanham, MD: Ivan R. Dee, 1995)
Arthur Herman, Joseph McCarthy: Reexamining the Life and Legacy of America’s Most
Hated Senator (New York: Free Press, 1999).
David M. Oshinsky, A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy
(New York: Free Press, 1983).
Richard Gid Powers, Not Without Honor: The History of American Anticommunism
(New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1998).
Ellen Schrecker, Many are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999).
DAYtIME PROGRAMS
Adult Workshop: What Was So Bad About
McCarthy, Anyway?
This will be a group discussion of McCarthy, his career, and the “ism” that he made
famous. It will attempt to put the controversial senator in his proper context, explore the
reality of Soviet penetration into U.S. institutions, and examine McCarthy’s place in the
larger phenomenon of American anticommunism. Finally, we will consider what lessons
the McCarthy era offers us in today’s political and international climate.
Adult Workshop: Remembering the McCarthy Era
Participants will be invited to recall how the phenomenon of McCarthyism affected their
lives. What did they think of McCarthy’s accusations? Were they worried about
communism? Did they, or anyone they knew, find themselves under suspicion of having
communist sympathies? How have the past sixty years affected the way that we
understand McCarthyism today?
OPENING ACT: Steve Brown, Oldies Rock ‘n Roll
As a piano player and vocalist, Steve has been a
professional musician in north central Ohio for over
30 years and does everything from jazz to 50s and
70s rock and roll. For this year’s Chautauqua
performance, Steve will play and sing some great
tunes from the early rock and roll era by such artists
as Jerry Lee Lewis, Del Shannon and Elvis. He will
also take the audience on a reminiscent trip of TV
theme songs from the 1950s.
5
RACHEL CARSON
By Dianne Moran
would adopt her 5-year-old grand nephew, Roger Christie,
son of one of the nieces she had already raised who had
recently passed away. Rachel seemed to have boundless love
and concern for those in need, whether human or animal,
she made no distinction.
Roger would become Rachel’s child and all her passion for
the earth’s creatures was absorbed daily by the little boy. He
gave her the immeasurable pleasures of his childhood. In a
letter to a friend, Rachel wrote of the wondrous enjoyment
of sharing Christmas with a five year old who was fascinated
by space ships. It would be Roger, who awakened the
importance within Rachel to share the beauty of the natural
world with a child. Among her numerous books was one she
had hoped to dedicate to Roger, The Sense of Wonder. Rachel
wrote, “If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder,
he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can
share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and
mystery of the world we live in.”
Rachel also had a dear friend in Dorothy Freeman; a fellow
nature lover and close neighbor in Southport Island, Maine
where Rachel had a summer cottage. An entire book, Always,
Rachel is dedicated to the letters of these two women who
both felt touched and honored by knowing one another.
Rachel would say, “All I am certain of is this: that it is quite
necessary for me to know that there is someone who is
deeply devoted to me as a person, and who also has the
capacity and the depth of understanding to share, vicariously,
the sometimes crushing burden of creative effort.” Rachel
found this in Dorothy Freeman.
remember when my friend, a crop duster, chided me with
his story of how farmers cursed the day Silent Spring came
out and how they could not use the pesticide DDT on their
crops anymore. “That Rachel Carson doesn’t know a thing
about farming, because of her, thousands of insects will
destroy the crops,” they would say.
I
Rachel Carson grew up as many nature lovers do, with a
seemingly innate love of all life forms.
Her natural passion for wild things was boundless and her
mother, Maria, indulged her little daughter’s interest. Rachel’s
mother was her most ardent fan; she was so proud of Rachel’s
accomplishments and was not shy in telling a passersby about
her daughter’s new book, The Sea Around Us.
Rachel would often comment how her mother’s influence of
a reverence for all life forms helped her develop her own
philosophy for living things. Rachel lived with her mother
until Maria passed away in 1958. Rachel had lost her father
years before in 1935, but Rachel had been supporting her
family since 1930 when the family moved from Pennsylvania
to Baltimore. Rachel was the youngest of three children.
When her sister died in 1936, Rachel would raise her two
daughters (her nieces) as her own. Years later, in 1957, Rachel
6
The name of Rachel Carson has become synonymous with
many things…her numerous books, most recognizable,
Silent Spring, DDT and pesticide use in general, the
environment, a reverence for life and the web of life. Each
subject evokes an image of its own, but all things trickle
down to the same eons old tradition of life immerging from
the sea. Rachel Carson’s legacy, like the ageless sea of which
she wrote, flows on and on. She awakened the world to a
new concept that whatever we did to the earth, in the end,
we did to ourselves. With her astounding books, she opened
eyes as she helped close the countless bottles of chemicals
haphazardly applied to the environment. She has been called
the Mother of Environmentalists and rightly so.
Long before the term environmentalist came into use, Rachel
was concerned for the earth and its creatures. By informing
the public about their impact upon nature, she gained
notoriety as a meaningful yet scientific writer. Her blending
of scientific knowledge and beauty of the written word
mesmerized her audiences. Many of her books focused on
her first love, the sea, Under the Sea Wind, The Sea Around
Us, The Edge of the Sea, but there would be many more
dealing with all aspects of the natural world. With her fame
came many appeals for speeches and she nervously worried if
she could speak to the large groups requesting her. Like most
naturalists, she was a loner and did not feel at ease in the
company of many. However, she called upon her strength
and her heartfelt responsibility to empower people with the
frightening facts of what contaminates were already doing to
the earth. She felt the time for chemical controls was in the
present, for everyday new and dangerous combinations that
are more lethal were being developed by the chemical
industry.
In a disturbing letter from a friend, Rachel learned that her
friend’s private land with a bird sanctuary had been aerially
sprayed with a pesticide so powerful that it killed multitudes
of birds. The friend was heartbroken and Rachel knew then
she had to take up the cause to fight for controlling
legislation in the chemical industry.
In her quest to alert the world of dangerous pesticides she
made many enemies, a lesser warrior would have backed
down when the powerful chemical companies began
attacking her beliefs. They refuted her book, Silent Spring by
saying, “The major claims of Miss Rachel Carson’s book,
Silent Spring, are gross distortions of the actual facts,
completely unsupported by scientific, experimental evidence,
and general practical experience in the field. Her suggestions
that pesticides are in fact biocides destroying all life is
obviously absurd in the light of the fact that without selective
biologicals these compounds would be completely useless…”
(and without the chemicals, insects would destroy the earth.)
Rachel calmly answered, “We must have insect control. I do
not favor turning nature over to insects. I favor the sparing,
selective, and intelligent use of chemicals. It is the
indiscriminate, blanket spraying that I oppose.”
When Silent Spring released in 1962, Rachel began a fight to
save the earth. She did not know her own death was quickly
approaching. Despite the agonies of cancer and its treatment,
Rachel would appear in 1963 on CBS Reports. The response
to the program was overwhelmingly in favor of Rachel’s
warnings.
Rachel Carson will be revered by many and honored as an
environmental hero. At the time of her death, April 14,
1964, she did not know the positive impact she had made.
“Except…at night, there is a whole universe waiting to be
discovered…tiny creatures scurrying in the stream before our
sloshing footsteps, moon light mirroring my old face as I
gaze in wonder at the beauty before me…bring your nets
and buckets my little guys, we have work to do…”
By Dianne Moran
TIMELINE: RACHEL CARSON
1907
1918
1925
1929
1930
1932
1935
1936
1937
1941
1945
1949
1951
1952
1955
1957
1958
1960
1962
1963
1964
1980
Born May 27 in Springdale, PA, the youngest of three children.
Writing career begins at age 11 with publications in the children’s magazine St. Nicholas.
Graduates high school and receives a scholarship to attend Pennsylvania College for Women. Begins college as an English major but
transfers to Biology in her junior year.
Earns a B.A. in science magna cum laude and receives scholarship for
graduate study in Zoology at Johns Hopkins University and a fellowship at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory. Sees the ocean for
the first time.
Begins supporting family when they move to Baltimore.
Earns an M.A. degree in zoology from Johns Hopkins.
Father dies. Works part time writing radio scripts for U.S. Bureau of
Fisheries to support family.
Moves to Silver Spring, MA with mother and cares for passing sister’s
two daughters.
First major publication, Undersea published in the Atlantic Monthly.
Under the Sea Wind published. WWII begins and book sales
do not do well.
First writes of DDT, submits to Reader’s Digest, but they won’t print
such controversial material.
Promoted to editor-in-chief for Fish and Wildlife Service.
Becomes nationally and internationally known for her book, Sea
Around Us.
Two books on Best Seller list. Retires from Fish and Wildlife.
Edge of the Sea Wind published; outstanding book of the year award.
Adopts 5 yr. old grand-newpher Roger Christie. Builds home
in Silver Spring.
Mother dies. Begins research on Silent Spring and effects of DDT.
Diagnosed with breast cancer, but continues her research.
The New Yorker prints a 3-part version of Silent Spring. Rachel accused of communism and threats of her publisher being sued do not
stop her. Silent Spring printed.
CBS TV produces the special, "The Silent Spring of Rachel Carson.”
Rachel receives the Conservationist of the Year Award from the National Wildlife Federation.
April 14, cancer claims 56-year-old Rachel Carson.
Awarded posthumously the Presidential Medal of Freedom by
President Jimmy Carter.
ABOUT DIANNE MORAN
Dianne Moran is an award-winning folklorist who has
worked with audiences for 35 years as a living history
performer, chautauqua scholar and naturalist, including
25 years at the St. Louis Zoo. She lives deep in an Ozark
forest where she says she is free to enjoy wild things and
the spirits of the pioneers who linger on there. Her
programs reflect her passion of history and may include
Mt. Dulcimer, relic displays and her live animals, which
serve as metaphors for her historic tales. Dianne's
programs receive funding from the MO Arts Council,
she is on the rosters of St. Louis and K.C. Young
Audiences. She has produced numerous recordings and is
honored to have received a Program Award for artistic
excellence and educational effectiveness from Young
Audiences of St. Louis.
CARSON BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1962).
Rachel Carson, Under the Sea Wind (New York: Oxford University Press, 1941).
Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us (New York: Oxford University Press, 1951).
Rachel Carson, The Edge of the Sea (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1955).
Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder (New York: HarperCollins, 1965).
Rachel Carson, Lost Woods (Boston: Beacon Press, 1998).
Rachel Carson, Always, Rachel: The Letters of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman
(Boston: Beacon Press, 1995).
Linda Lear, About Rachel Carson: Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature (New York: Henry
Holt, 1997).
Mark Hamilton Lytle, The Gentle Subversive (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007).
Peter Mathiessen, Courage for the Earth: Writers, Scientists and Activists Celebrate the
Life and Writing of Rachel Carson (Boston, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2007).
Craig Waddell, And No Birds Sing (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press,
2000).
DAYtIME PROGRAMS
Youth Workshop: Amazing Animals
Animal bio-facts and a few live animals will be the theme of this highly engaging program
for children who love and are amazed by animals. Children identify the bones, skins, etc.,
working as groups followed by a discussion about the love of animals.
Adult Workshop: the Web of life
Dianne Moran leads this explanation of how the web of life actually works and its
implications in nature. How human activities weave or unravel the threads within the
“web.” A display of animal bio-facts (bones, skeletons, skins, etc.) add a participatory
element to the program.
OPENING ACT: Krista Solars, Fiddler
Krista returns to Chautauqua with her mentor Perry
McKinley playing accompaniment acoustic guitar and
offering comic relief between songs. While winning several
fiddle competitions and performing all around the
Midwest, Krista earned her bachelor’s in violin
performance from Oberlin College, and is currently
pursuing her master’s degree at Indiana University.
tent Provided by
Ashland Evening lions
7
PEARL S. BUCK
By Karen Vuranch
overthrew the Manchurian dynasty. By 1916, all vestiges of
national government were gone and warlords ruled China.
The tension and violence mounted as the Nationalist and
Communist movements fought to control China. In 1927,
Pearl was living in Nanking when the Communist Army
attacked the city determined to kill all foreigners. Pearl and
her family would have been killed had her Chinese friends
not intervened. When Japan invaded China, Pearl decided to
return home to America. She quickly became the unofficial
authority on all things Asian. Her best-selling novel, The
Good Earth, was read by millions of Americans. For many it
was the first and only understanding they had of China and
the East. Near the end of the decade, a poll was taken of
Americans asking what they knew about China. Over 90%
responded that the only thing they knew about China was
what they had read in Pearl Buck’s books. Harold Isaacs
stated that The Good Earth influenced American views of
China “…in a way that never could have been accomplished
by event or propaganda.”
By 1941, Pearl and her second husband, Richard Walsh,
were active in almost all of America’s non-governmental
dealings with China, according to her biographer Peter
Conn. Both Pearl and her husband were active in the China
Emergency Relief Committee and United China Relief.
Regarded as an authority on Asia by the American people
and just four weeks after Pearl Harbor was attacked, Pearl
was invited to the White House by FDR. The President
gathered American and Chinese officials who wanted to hear
what Pearl had to say about the Japanese and the Asian war.
earl Sydenstricker was born in the rural, Appalachian
community of Hillsboro, West Virginia. Perhaps it was
here that the family influence in pacifism began. Her
mother’s family refused to fight in the Civil War. When her
mother’s brother was conscripted by Confederate forces,
Pearl’s grandmother refused to let him go and hung on to his
leg after he mounted his horse. The rebel captain shouted the
command for the horses to run down the road at full gallop.
Looking back a mile later, he saw Pearl’s grandmother still
clinging to her son’s leg determined her son would not be a
soldier. This indomitable woman got her way and was able to
take her son home. This was the same home in which Pearl
was born some 40 years later. However, at the age of three
months, her missionary parents took her to China. She lived
there until she was 40, returning only once as a child. So, it
was China that she knew growing up, assimilating its culture,
values and wisdom.
P
But, China was changing and that change would manifest
itself in violence and war. As a child, Pearl and her family had
to flee to Shanghai to escape the Boxer Rebellion. They
returned to West Virginia for a furlough returning the
following year. Pearl states in her autobiography, My Several
Worlds, “The revolution that would rock China did not
come at that time. But peace covered China like a thin sheet
of ice beneath which a river boiled." Pearl would still be
living in China in 1911 when the Chinese Revolution
8
But it was the fight for equality and civil rights for AfricanAmericans that was nearest to Pearl’s heart. Her own
experience in China as a girl made her understand what it
was like to be treated differently because of the color of one’s
skin. After all, she had grown up a blonde-haired, blue-eyed
girl in a brown skinned country. During the war years of
America and after, Pearl quickly became one of the most
outspoken and tenacious opponents of discrimination. Racial
tension was on the home front and in the military. It was
Pearl who spoke out encouraging African-Americans to fight
for equality in the military. She even went so far as to say, “If
we persist in discriminating against blacks, then we are
fighting on the wrong side of this war. We belong with
Hitler.”
The United States government did not look on her views
favorably. While Pearl was most definitely not a Communist,
she warned American leaders to keep the lines of
communication open with Mao Tse Tung. She did not
support Mao, but was positive he would eventually control
China. The events following the war confirmed her worst
fears. Mao came to power and the “Red Curtain” fell cutting
off communication with China. Now, Pearl would find
herself embroiled in a different kind of war, the Cold War.
Throughout the 1950s, Pearl Buck continued her efforts to
promote peace. She approached Harry Truman with a plan
for American women to reach out to Japanese women of
Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Her proposal went unanswered.
But Pearl had bigger problems of her own. Because she
advocated communication with Mao Tse Tung, she was
branded a “Communist.” Pearl would declare, “There is not
a Communist drop of blood in my body.” She simply knew
the Chinese culture and the people and realized it was
inevitable that Mao Tse Tung would eventually dominate
China over his counterpart Chiang Kai Shek, an alleged
democratic leader and supported by the American
government. Pearl pleaded with government officials telling
them that Chiang Kai Shek was not democratic, but a
corrupt war lord.
Speaking out against Chiang Kai Shek garnered many
enemies for Pearl including Henry Luce, the publisher of the
popular Life and Fortune magazines. He, too, had
missionary experience in China and was a promoter of
Chiang Kai Shek. When Pearl spoke out against his friend,
Luce became very combative. There is even still in existence a
memo from Luce to his editors saying, “nothing good about
Pearl Buck may ever be printed in Life or Fortune magazine.”
J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI also found fault with
Pearl Buck. Hoover tried to prove Pearl Buck was a
Communist, to no avail. In fact, there is a letter in Pearl
Buck’s FBI file that tells Hoover’s true concern. A member of
the Johnson administration wrote saying that they were
considering Buck for a committee advisor and asking if she
was a Communist. Hoover wrote back and said, “We have
no proof that Ms. Buck is a Communist. But we believe she
is a threat to the American people because she believes in
racial integration.”
Pearl Buck was clearly a woman ahead of her time. Peter
Conn states, “She had achieved an influence that was
unusual by any measure and especially rare for a woman.”
Her values of equality for all people are exemplary by
contemporary standards but resulted in serious denunciation
and criticism during the turbulent years of World War II and
the ensuing Cold War. Perhaps the perspective of a new
century will allow us to reevaluate the place the pacifist Pearl
S. Buck should hold in American history.
DAYtIME PROGRAMS
Youth Workshop:
Chinese and Asian Stories
Pearl Buck considered herself nothing more than a
Chinese storyteller. Karen Vuranch will tell stories written
or collected by Pearl Buck in addition to stories that
Karen learned during her own travels through China.
Adult Workshop:
Radio, Wave of the Future
Karen will share a brief overview of the history of radio,
then invite participants to perform several radio shows
from the 1950s complete with sound effects.
h
TIMELINE: PEARL BUCK
1892
1901
1902
1911-14
1914
1917
1921
1923
1925
1931
1932
1933
1935
1936
1938
1940
1941
1942
1949-53
1949
1951
1953
1954
1960
1963
1965
1966
1967
1973
Born June 26 in Hillsboro WV, moves to China 3 months later.
First trip home to America.
First published article in Shanghai newspaper.
Attends Randolph Macon College.
War in Europe. Pearl returns to China.
Marries Lossing Buck, May 30, moves to Nanhsouchou.
Carol is born on March 20.
First professional publication is printed, In China, Too.
Year at Cornell. Adopts Janice. Wins Laura Messenger Award.
Publishes The Good Earth. Bucks move to Peking. MGN offers
$50,000 for the rights to The Good Earth.
Awarded Pulitzer Prize.
In April, proceedings begin to try her for heresy. Receives honorary
doctorate from Yale in June. Asks Lossing Buck for separation.
Moves to U.S. Divorce to Lossing granted and marries Richard Walsh
the same day. Receives the Howells Medal.
Elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Adopts John and
Richard. Movie of The Good Earth is released.
Receives Nobel Prize for Literature.
Receives honorary doctorate from WVU.
Receives Order of the Jade from Chinese government.
Founds the East West Association.
Writes under the pseudonym of John Sedges.
Establishes adoption agency Welcome House.
Adopts Henriette, aged 5.
Richard has a stroke.
Adopts Chieko, Joanna and Teresa.
Richard dies.
Visits India, meets with Nehru, makes notes for Mandela.
Opened the Opportunity Center and Orphanage in South Korea.
Dedication of Pearl S. Buck Foundation for Amerasian Children.
Adopts Julie.
March 6, dies in Danbury VT at the age of 81.
BUCK BIBLIOGRAPHY
Buck wrote 100 novels, 73 short stories, 60 books for children and literally hundreds of
articles. In addition, she produced 16 films with her own film production company. Below is a
list of autobiographical books by Pearl Buck and academic biographies about her.
Pearl S. Buck, A Bridge for Passing (New York: John Day, 1960).
Pearl S. Buck, China As I See It (New York: John Day, 1970).
Pearl S. Buck, For Spacious Skies (New York: John Day, 1966).
Pearl S. Buck, My Several Worlds (New York: John Day, 1954).
Peter Conn, Pearl S. Buck: A Cultural Biography (Cambridge; New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1996).
Harold Isaacs, Scratches on Our Minds: American Images of China and India.
(New York: John Day, 1958).
Don Rogesin, producer, East Wind, West Wind: The Life of Pearl Buck. Video produced
by West Virginia Educational Broadcasting, 1992.
Hillary Spurling, Pearl Buck in China: Journey to the Good Earth (New York: Simon and
Shuster, 2010).
Nora Stirling, Pearl Buck: A Woman in Conflict (Piscataway, N.J.: New Century
Publishers, 1983).
ABOUT KAREN VURANCH
Storyteller, actress, and writer Karen Vuranch weaves together a
love of history, a passion for stories and a sense of community.
She has toured extensively through West Virginia and the
United States with her traditional storytelling, plays based on
oral history, and living history presentations of famous
American women. Karen studied theatre at Ashland University
and at the University College Galway in Galway, Ireland. She
has a M.A. in Humanities from the West Virginia Graduate
College (now Marshall University) and teaches introduction to
theatre, fundamentals of speech, Appalachian studies and coal
culture in West Virginia for Concord University.
OPENING ACT: Spoken Images Readers Theatre
This Ashland-Richland County based readers theatre
troupe has performed publicly throughout Ohio since
1997. As the narrator sets the framework for the
dramatic presentation, other actors use their voices,
facial expressions and hand gestures to interpret
characters in the stories.
9
SARAH OPHELIA COLLEY CANNON (AKA MINNIE PEARL)
Right from the start, Colley had a desire to be a performer.
“In my time, when you asked little girls what they were going
to do, they’d say, “I’m going to be a nurse, ‘or a secretary or a
teacher; there wasn’t much choice. I always said, “I’m going
on stage.’” Aspiring to become a serious actress, Colley
attended Ward-Belmont College in Nashville and studied
stage technique and dance. Despite her aspirations of
becoming a serious actress, she found that her natural comic
flair kept sabotaging her attempts at serious parts. At the age
of 22 she got a job as an itinerant theater director with the
Sewell Production Company, traveling to rural southern
towns and staging plays. Colley spent the next six Great
Depression years on the road for Sewell. It was during that
time, traveling from town to town in the deep south, that
Colley found Minnie Pearl when she boarded at an old
mountain woman’s home in Alabama. She didn’t know it at
the time, but she was looking at the woman who would be
the inspiration for the character who would become her
alter-ego. For a while Colley just played at the character, but
her first stage performance as Minnie Pearl was in 1939 in
Aiken, South Carolina where she dressed her up for the first
time and was paid $25. The next year some executives from
Nashville saw her perform at a bankers’ convention in
Centerville where she had been asked to “kill time”. That
performance led to her opportunity to appear on the Grand
Ole Opry in November of 1940. “I’ve been killing time ever
since,” Colley joked.
veteran of 51 years on the Grand Ole Opry (not to
mention 22 years on Television’s Hee Haw), Minnie
Pearl was country’s preeminent comedian and one of the
most recognized and beloved performers American country
culture has ever produced. With her gingham dress, a price
tag dangling off her flower-strewn straw hat and her famous
bellow of “Howdeeee!”, Minnie Pearl became known
worldwide as an icon of rural America. Minnie Pearl wasn’t
the means or path that Sarah Ophelia Colley would have
chosen back when she started her career, but she
acknowledges, “God had been leading me in the right
direction all along. He always does.”
A
In many ways, Minnie Pearl is the antithesis of her creator,
Sarah Ophelia Colley. On October 25, 1912, Sarah Ophelia
(or, “Phel”, as her family called her) was born into a well-todo, cultured, Southern home, the fifth of five daughters.
Raised in Centerville, Tennessee, Colley was reared in a home
where refinement and education were held in high regard.
Her mother was educated and the epitome of a Southern
Belle and her father owned the local lumber business. Their
home was the first in town with indoor plumbing and they
owned so many books that their home was considered the
town’s first library.
10
With time, Colley gradually developed a full-fledged
comedic character. Minnie Pearl had to be from somewhere,
so Colley chose “Grinder’s Switch”, a little railroad switching
station outside of Centerville. No one actually lived there,
but she had lots of news involving her comical ‘ne’er-do-well’
relatives and plenty of gossip about the neighbors. Minnie
would appear on the Opry on Saturday night and then travel
all week with one of the touring units, often being the only
woman on the unit.
Colley had been performing as Minnie Pearl for seven years
when she met and married her husband, Henry Cannon, a
former Army Air Corps pilot in 1947. Sarah Ophelia Colley
became Mrs. Henry Cannon. Henry set up his own charter
service specializing in flying clients from the country music
business. Some of his clients included Eddy Arnold, Hank
Williams, Webb Pierce and even Elvis Presley. Of course his
number one client was his wife. Henry also became Minnie
Pearl’s manager.
As the country entered into the “Fabulous Fifties”, thousands
of young servicemen returning to America already knew and
loved Minnie Pearl; she had spent time overseas in 1942 and
again in 1949 as part of the Camel Caravan visiting troops in
the U.S. occupied zones. Minnie and the other members of
the troop had brought “home” to the boys when they were so
homesick.
By Elsa Wolff
Minnie’s success went far beyond any connection with
country music -- she made people laugh by “cutting the fool”
and imitating rural life without mocking it. She was a part of
the fabric of America.
Throughout most of the 50s, Minnie worked the Grand Ole
Opry with comedian Rod Brasfield doing “double comedy”.
Cannon loved these years of working with Rod Brasfield.
"I've never felt as funny since," she said of her work with
Brasfield after his death in 1958.
A big break for Minnie Pearl came in 1957 when she
appeared on NBC-TV’s top rated “This is Your Life”, hosted
by Ralph Edwards. Many more television appearances were
to follow that national exposure. In the 60s she branched out
to The Carol Burnett Show, Jonathan Winters Show and of
course became a wonderful part of the Hee Haw cast in
1969. Minnie was still a television fixture in the 80s,
appearing on TNN’s Nashville Now and other television
specials.
Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon became more known as
Minnie Pearl than as herself, but she always considered
Minnie not only her alter ego but her best one. Cannon
never could have guessed that this funny, lovable country girl
could become such an American institution -- she grew to
love and appreciate Minnie as the whole country did.
Minnie Pearl (Sarah Cannon) became the first woman
inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1975.
Offstage, Cannon was known for her fashion sense and
community involvement. She became dedicated to fighting
cancer in 1967, when she lost her sister to the disease.
Cannon herself had a double mastectomy in 1985 and
devoted much of her time to the American Cancer Society.
The center where she was treated was later named the Sarah
Cannon Cancer Center, whose slogan remains, “Cancer can
change your life in the drop of a hat.” In 1987, President
Reagan presented her with the Cancer Society’s annual
Courage Award.
Sarah Cannon suffered a serious stroke in 1991, bringing her
performing career to an end. She died at the age of 83 in
1996. Henry passed away a year later. There is a statue
honoring legend Minnie Pearl in the Town Square of
Centerville, Tennessee. There are also bronze statues of
Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff in the lobby of the Ryman
Auditorium, long-time home to the Grand Ole Opry.
Sarah Cannon said her philosophy of life could be summed
up in the quote by Ettiene DeGrellet: “I expect to pass
through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I
can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow
creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I
shall not pass this way again.”
h
TIMELINE: SARAH COLLEY CANNON
1912
1932
1934-39
1940
1941
1942
1947
1949-50
1957
1964
1965
1969-91
1975
1985
1987
1990
1991
1992
1994
1996
Born October 25 in Centerville, TN.
Graduates from Wald-Belmont College (now Belmont University)
in Nashville.
Works for Wayne P. Sewall Production Company.
Minnie Pearl makes first appearance on Grand Ole Opry.
Part of the Camel Caravan performing at military bases.
Camel Caravan goes to Panama.
Sarah Colley marries Henry R. Cannon.
Part of show sent to Europe to entertain in U.S. occupied zones.
Minnie Pearl/Sarah Cannon featured on NBC’s “This Is Your Life.”
Travels with Elvis to perform in Hawaii.
Named Nashville’s “Woman of the Year”.
Appears on Hee Haw.
Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Diagnosed with breast cancer and has double mastectomy.
Receives society’s Courage Award by President Ronald Reagan.
Sarah Cannon celebrates 50 years of Minnie Pearl.
The Sarah Cannon Cancer Center is founded. Suffers serious stroke,
ending performing career.
Awarded the National Medal of Arts.
First woman inducted into the Comedy Hall of Fame.
March 4, Sarah Colley Cannon dies (age 83) in Nashville, TN.
CANNON BIBLIOGRAPHY
Minnie Pearl with Joan Dew, Minnie Pearl (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1980).
Minnie Pearl, Minnie Pearl's Diary (New York: Greenberg, 1953).
Kevin Kenworthy, comp., The Best Jokes Minnie Pearl Ever Told (Nashville, Tenn.:
Rutledge Hill Press, 1999).
The Best of Minnie Pearl. Questar, VHS, 1994.
Minnie Pearl Old Times. Opryland USA, VHS, 1988.
Minnie Pearl: The Starday Years. Starday, CD, 1998.
Queen of the Grand Ole Opry. Legacy-DNA, CD, 1993.
DAYtIME PROGRAMS
Family Workshop: laughter Is the Best Medicine
After a brief history of comedy, Elsa will guide the audience through some light-hearted
games and enter into easy “scenes” where you can test your Improv skills. No preparation
needed. All you need is an open mind, a creative heart and a willingness to not take
yourself too seriously.
Adult Workshop: Young at heart
Come for the fun as Elsa blends familiar, sing-along songs with down-home-MinniePearl-type humor and simple stories that will leave a smile on your face and a song in
your heart.
ABOUT ELSA WOLFF
A native of Colorado, Elsa Wolff, otherwise known as “The
Guitar Lady”, has been performing since 1997. She returns
to Ashland after appearing at the 2011 Ashland Chautauqua
as Amelia Earhart. She is a member of the Colorado
Humanities Council’s Chautauqua speakers bureau and has
performed with the High Plains Chautauqua in Greeley,
Colorado. She won the Ollie, Ollie, Oxen Free Story Slam in
2008 and came in 3rd place in 2007. She lived in Germany
from 1980 to 1985, earning a B.A. in education from
Willamette University in 1983.
OPENING ACT: Kelly Knowlton, Patsy Cline Revue
Local vocalist Kelly Knowlton performs a musical
revue of the legendary country singer Patsy Cline.
With songs such as Crazy, I Fall to Pieces, Walking
After Midnight and Sweet Dreams, you'll
experience the best of a true original legend from
one of our own. A graduate of Madison High
School and Ashland University, Kelly teaches
elementary music for New London Schools and
performs with many area ensembles.
6th Annual Lincoln Highway Car Show
Saturday, August 11th 9am-2:30pm
Samaritan Office Center 663 East Main Street
• Registration 9am-Noon
• $5 per vehicle
• Corvettes admitted FREE!
• $10 Swap Spaces
• Dash plaques, DJ, food, door prizes
Awards at 2:30pm
877-581-2345 • www.visitashlandohio.com
11
ASHLAND CHAUTAUQUA 2012
THE FABULOUS FIFTIES
is made possible with additional support from:
BLACK LEATHER JACKET
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS All Events are FREE and Open to the Public
TUESDAY, JULY 10
1:45 p.m.
John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs
Adult Program with scholar John Moser:
What Was So Bad About McCarthy, Anyway?
2:00 p.m.
Kingston of Ashland
Adult Program with scholar John Moser:
Remembering the McCarthy Era
4:00 p.m.
Ashland Senior Citizen Center with
Root Beer Floats at $1.25
Adult Program with scholar Karen Vuranch:
Radio: Wave of the Future
MYERS MEMORIAL BAND SHELL
7:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
Opening Act: The Moonlighters Doo-Wop Quartet
An Evening with “Pee Wee” Reese
MYERS MEMORIAL BAND SHELL
WEDNESDAY, JULY 11
10:00 a.m. Loudonville Public Library
Family Program with scholar Elsa Wolff:
Laughter Is the Best Medicine
1:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m.
Opening Act: Krista Solars, fiddle
An Evening with Rachel Carson
FRIDAY, JULY 13
Ashland County Council on Aging
Adult Program with scholar Dick Usher:
Baseball Experiences and Trivia
10:00 a.m. Brookside Park Upper Pavilion
Youth Program with scholar Dianne Moran:
Amazing Animals
Salvation Army Kroc Community Center
Family Program with scholar Dianne Moran:
The Web of Life
2:00 p.m.
MYERS MEMORIAL BAND SHELL
7:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
Opening Act: Steve Brown, Oldies Rock ‘n Roll
An Evening with Joseph McCarthy
Brethren Care Nursing Center
Adult Program with scholar Elsa Wolff:
Young at Heart
MYERS MEMORIAL BAND SHELL
7:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
Opening Act: Spoken Images Readers Theatre
An Evening with Pearl Buck
THURSDAY, JULY 12
SATURDAY, JULY 14
10:00 a.m. Trinity Lutheran Church Reading Enrichment
Youth Program with scholar Karen Vuranch:
Chinese and Asian Stories
1:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m.
Loudonville Public Library
Youth Program with scholar Dick Usher:
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
ASHLAND CHAUTAUQUA 2012
Downtown Cruise-In with Fabulous Fifties Troupe
Karen Aber
Dr. Paul Agee
Teresa Durbin-Ames & Larry Ames
Bob & Jan Archer
Ashland County Historical Society
Ashland Kiwanis Club
Ashland Noon Lions
Brethren Care Village
John & Lori Byron
Fin, Feather, Fur Outfitters
Earnest & Nancy Hatfield
Loudonville-Mohican Convention
& Visitors Bureau
Loudonville Theatre & Arts Committee
John & Dorothy Stratton
Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio
Robert & Kathleen Wendling
Mike & Judy White
Susan Whitted
LETTERMAN SWEATER
Lynne Conway
Mary & Alvin Garrett
John & Penny Miller
POODLE SKIRT
Ashland Board of Realtors
Joy Day
Phyllis Earick
Esoteric Group
Henley Graphics
IN-KIND
Ashland University Theatre
Spoken Images
MYERS MEMORIAL BAND SHELL
7:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
Opening Act: Kelly Knowlton, Patsy Cline Revue
An Evening with Sarah Colley Cannon
(a.k.a. Minnie Pearl)
ASHLAND CHAUTAUQUA 2012
COMMITTEE
Deleasa Randall-Griffiths
Department of Communication Studies,
Ashland University
Tricia Applegate
Performing Arts, Ashland University
Fabulous Fifties Costume Contest
Ashland Dream Cruise & Show
Amy Daubenspeck
Ashland Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
On closing night of the 2012 Ashland Chautauqua,
everyone is invited to participate in the Fabulous Fifties
Costume Contest. Dig out your poodle skirts, leather
jackets, letterman sweaters and wear your best 50s
costume to Saturday night’s performance of Minnie
Pearl. Prizes will be awarded to the evening’s best
costumes.
Join the Fabulous Fifties Chautauqua troupe at the 2nd
Annual Ashland Dream Cruise through the streets of
downtown Ashland on Saturday, July 14 at 1:00 p.m.
After the Cruise through downtown, the cars will
remain for a car show including a music DJ, food
vendors and more.
Ruth Guldenzopf
Community Member
12
John Moser
Department of History, Ashland University
Judith Webster
Loudonville Theatre & Arts Committee/Myers
Memorial Band Shell