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	Franklin County, Kansas, USA

2009-11-07

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2009-11-05

Agriculture

Lifestyles

Thursday, May 28, 2009 11:26 AM

Photo courtesy of The Franklin County Historical Society

A crowd gathers around the fountain in Forest Park during a Chautauqua in the 1890s. The fountain, which was made of cast metal, was melted down to scrap for use in World War I, Franklin County Historical Society Director Deb Barker said.

Chautauqua: Past meets present

Historic event returns with messages relevant in today’s troubled times

By BRIAN WILLIAMS, Herald Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of The Kansas Humanities Council

The Chautauqua performers include Fred Krebs as Louisiana Senator Huey Long, left, Doug Watson as humorist Will Rogers, Patrick McGinnis as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Wanda Schell as Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston and Tonia Compton as evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson.

Yesterday and today will collide when the Kansas-Nebraska Chautauqua comes to Ottawa Wednesday through June 7.

The contemporary relevance of the “Bright Dreams, Hard Times: America in the Thirties” Chautauqua hit home for one of the re-enactors after last year’s performances at Lawrence and Beloit.

“Who knew three, four months later we’d have a stock market bust,” Fred Krebs, who portrays Louisiana Sen. Huey Long, said.

“We kind of feel there’s going to be a lot of relationship, talking about ‘Bright Dreams and Hard Times,’” Krebs said.

Wall Street’s woes aren’t the only common thread between today and the time of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl.

“Rising unemployment defines both eras. So do mounting bank failures, home foreclosures, business and personal bankruptcies, a sharp decline in foreign trade and increasing signs of political instability,” Patrick McGinnis, a University of Central Oklahoma history professor, who portrays President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the Chautauqua, said in a news release.

“I don’t know that that’s not going to have some interest to people,” Krebs, who has been a professor in the social sciences and humanities division at the Johnson County Community College for 39 years, said.

Krebs and McGinnis will be joined by Doug Watson as humorist Will Rogers, Tonia M. Compton as evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson and Wanda Schell as Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston.

“These are all people who took a great deal of emphasis in appealing to popular culture,” Krebs said about the five historical figures.

Each reenactor will have two scholar workshops and an evening performance under the tent at City Park, Fifth and Main streets, Ottawa. During the tent performances, the reenactor will speak in character and then answer questions — both in and out of character — after the presentation.

“This is the best way I’ve seen to teach history — not just history but the humanities,” Krebs said. “It’s a program that entertains, educates and ultimately inspires.”

Chautauqua isn’t just for adults and history buffs.

“There’s something there for people of all ages,” Krebs said.

Three events are designed with children in mind. A Youth Chautauqua Camp for children in grades 4 through 8 will be from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m June 1-5 at the Franklin County Annex Building, 1418 S. Main St., Ottawa.

Led by Ann Birney and Joyce Thierer of Ride Into History, participants will identify and research a local historical figure of the 1930s a nd will portray that person under the tent at 6 p.m. Friday at City Park.

To register, call (785) 242-1232.

“Making Murals with Folktales: How Butterflies Were Made” is for all ages and will be 10:30 a.m. June 4 at the Courthouse Square Apartments Conference Room, 235 S. Main St., Ottawa.

During “Dear Eleanor, Dear Michelle,” children 8 and older will learn about the letters children wrote to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt during the Depression and then will write letters of their own to First Lady Michelle Obama. The workshop will be from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. June 5 at the school room of the Old Depot Museum, 135 W. Tecumseh St., Ottawa.

To learn more about the Chautauqua and the reenactors go to www.knchautauqua.org

Chautauqua events include:

Monday-Friday (June 1-5)

• 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. — Youth Chautauqua Camp, Franklin County Office Annex.

Thursday-Sunday (June 4-7)

• 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. — The Dust Bowl Traveling Exhibition, Carnegie Cultural Center, 515 S. Main St., Ottawa.

Thursday (June 4)

• 10:30 a.m. — Making Murals with Folktales, How Butterflies Were Made, Courthouse Square Apartments.

• 1 p.m. — Will Rogers, Film and American Society, Franklin County Visitor Information Center, 2011 E. Logan St., Ottawa.

• 3 p.m. — Huey Long and State Innovation, Carnegie Cultural Center.

• 7 p.m. — Will Rogers, Film and American Society, City Park.

• 7:30 p.m. — Franklin D. Roosevelt, City Park.

Friday (June 5)

• 10 a.m. — “Dear Eleanor, Dear Michelle” Youth Workshop, Old Depot Museum, 135 W. Tecumseh St., Ottawa.

• 10:30 a.m. — Crisis and the Role of the Demagogue, Ottawa City Hall, 101 S. Hickory St.

• 1 p.m. — What Do Historians Say?, Franklin County Visitor Information Center.

• 3 p.m. — Radio in the Thirties, Carnegie Cultural Center.

• 6 p.m. — Youth Chautauqua Camp Performances, City Park.

• 7:30 p.m. — Aimee Semple McPherson, City Park.

Saturday (June 6)

• 8 a.m. — Breakfast with the Chautauquans & Forest Park Tour, Old Depot Museum.

• 10:30 a.m. — Go Gator and Muddy the Water, Ottawa City Hall.

• 1 p.m. — Agriculture Then and Now, Franklin County Visitor Information Center.

• 7 p.m. — Radio Show Entertainment by ACT Ottawa, City Park.

• 7:30 p.m. — Zora Neale Hurston, City Park.

Sunday (June 7)

• 1 p.m. — Floods, FEMA, and the Faithful, Franklin County Visitor Information Center.

• 3 p.m. — The Role of Political Satire and Commentary, Carnegie Cultural Center.

• 7 p.m. — Will Rogers, City Park.

• 7:30 p.m. — Huey Long, City Park.