March 23 Fourteenth Session

The lengthening of the Florida assembly was the most significant feature of the 1898 session. For the first time, the management

scheduled the assembly for a full five weeks, indicating that the

previous year or two had been successful and held enough economic promise to venture capital outlay for a longer assembly. Writers of the printed program stressed that even with the increased length of time, the cost of tickets would not increase. Those in attendance would receive more goods for their money.

The front matter for the 1898 program copied the 1897 program nearly word for word. Opening descriptions of the Chautauqua, the location, accommodations, and fellowship followed trends from

previous years. The first departure in content was a notice of Colonel W. D. Chipley’s death. Chipley, an original founder of the Florida

Chautauqua in De Funiak Springs, had died during the preceding year. The notice lamented his loss, acknowledging that “[t]o his keen

foresight, contagious enthusiasm, and inspiring generosity, De Funiak and her Chautauqua owes everything” (The Florida Chautauqua, 1898, 5). The management planned a memorial service for the first Sunday of the assembly.

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With the extension of the time for the 1898 assembly came an expansion in course offerings. Course offerings in Corrective Reading, Point Lace, Woman’s Club, and Domestic Science supplemented the standard offerings of Music (with courses in voice culture, sight reading, and harmony), Art, Kindergarten, Sunday School Normal, and C.L.S.C.

The Corrective Reading course offered in addition to the Physical Training and Elocution course and taught by Miss Cmelia Adele Teal of Brooklyn, New York, utilized the Rational Method of Reading. The course was to include “exercises in correct poise and development of vocal organs, preliminary for clear enunciation for reading aloud and public speaking. Special attention will be given to pronunciation of words in common use. Use of synonyms and

antonyms with reference to composition” (The Florida Chautauqua, 1898, 9).

The Woman’s Club was a department continued from the

previous year. For the 1898 session, the club lengthened its schedule from one week to several weeks. The local Methodist Episcopal church provided the club with its daily meeting place. The club’s purpose, again focused on “noble women who are interesting themselves in great questions and who are preparing themselves to have a large share in the world’s work” (The Florida Chautauqua, 1898, 8), featured addresses by Mrs. Judge Nelson, known for her temperance work in the east, and Mrs. Judge Turnkey, who was to speak about interesting phases of missions work.

Two other classes appeared to be specifically targeted toward women: the School of Point Lace and the School of Domestic Science.

The point lace needle work class was a new offering, although related topics in needlework had been offered in the past. The Domestic Science class mirrors the first session’s school of cookery. The instructor was a graduate of the Boston Cooking School with “nine year’s [sic] experience teaching in this science” (The Florida

Chautauqua, 1898, 10). The emphasis was on the “science” of

cooking. The two-week class featured lectures with demonstrations. Since women were still largely not a part of the work force, they would be likely candidates to have time to invest in this line of classwork. The program does not indicate that there were classes for men only.

The analysis of the 1898 program reinforces the observations made beginning with the 1897 program, namely that the performance text shifts from a strong religious nature to a more entertainment- oriented focus. The assembly reached several important milestones in entertainment with the 1898 session. First was the use of the

cineograph and moving pictures. Mr. A. C. Coit of Bedford, Ohio,

brought the cineograph “with its wonderful moving pictures, the greatest invention of the age” (The Florida Chautauqua, 1898, 12). Second, the gramophone received heavy usage throughout the program, often incorporated into the concerts. The program indicates that the

attendees of the session had great interest in the gramophone. A note under “Entertainments and Illustrated Lectures” observed that “the wonderful Gramophone, the best talking machine yet made, will be used frequently” (The Florida Chautauqua, 1898, 12). Third, was the use of burlesque entertainment. A March 10 performance featured the Grand Burlesque Entertainment ‘Th e Knights of the Zorasters,” touted

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as “1000 laughs. $5 worth of laughs for 25 cents” (The Florida

Chautauqua, 1898,18). These changes represent the Chautauqua

promoters’ intent to adjust to current trends and to provide a specific class of cultural goods which held promise of economic reward.

In addition to these innovations, there was a continued increase in emphasis on the musical and speech entertainments. Concerts and recitals occurred once or twice daily (sometimes more frequently). The assembly included an increase in musical preludes before other

scheduled activities. The program showcased numerous “grand” concerts and a series of piano recitals. Many of the grand concerts featured a mixture of entertainments such as Rogers’ Goshen Band joined by several musical soloists and readers. One activity, labeled “Extraordinary Entertainment,” featured a magician, “marvelous whistling” and imitations, a child violinist, a male soprano, and a humorous impersonator.

While these entertainments were not formal educational ventures like the coursework, they served to educate the audience through experiential contact. This form of repeated contact was important in helping the individual master the tools necessary for

cultural competence without having to be exposed to formal instruction. Bourdieu speaks of the individual’s unconsciously absorbing the rules of art by repeated contact with the art. Attendance at concerts and recitals contributed to the consumer’s appropriation of cultural competence.

The remaining content of the program changed little, including approximately nine travelogue-type programs. The program still placed

an emphasis on the educational lecture, featuring such topics as

“Brains vs Brawn,” “Life and Shadows of Home and Marriage,” “How to Win,” “Freaks, Fools, and Facts,” and “Individuality.”

One interesting feature of the lectures was a series on physical education. Presented by Prof. E. B. Warman, the topics included “Colors most conducive to health, hints on eating and drinking, exercises of the flexibility of the joints," “Hints on bathing, breathing, bicycling, care of the teeth,” and “How to get Well and keep well; How fat people may become lean; how lean people may become fat.” The continuation of these types of lectures is an indication of their economic viability. The lectures were still a commodity in demand on which consumers were willing to expend capital. There still was no mass media vehicle outside of local newspapers capable of disseminating even basic educational material (like personal hygiene) to an extended audience. The Chautauqua was able to create a desire for this material and meet this need.

Special programs included a three-day missionary convocation and several days with the Woodmen of the World. This session also included several informal receptions at the Hotel Chautauqua.

In general, the session of 1898 retained characteristics of earlier assemblies, with the exception of the lengthening of the program. This increased length suggests that the sessions were more successful — success being measured in economic terms. The printed program boasted that “more than one hundred persons are employed on our program this year to furnish us pleasure and profit” (The Florida

The subtle shifts in the textual nature of the Florida Chautauqua identified in the 1897 program were continued in the 1898 program. There was an increased emphasis on pleasurable activities: more musical entertainers, readers, impersonators, and other entertainments than lecturers (which includes religious sermons and topics). The program throughout prominently featured and advertised the

technological wonders of the gramophone (“the best talking machine yet made") and the cineograph’s moving pictures. While Sunday observances did not diminish, still included Sunday school, morning sermon, vespers, song service, and evening sermon, there was a decline in other sessions of a religious or biblical nature. There also was an increase in activities and topics related to women. While there is nothing besides the program to confirm this conclusion, it would seem logical that women comprised a primary component of the population served by the assembly and that the planners increased activities aimed at women to help increase attendance and earnings.

1899

February 15 - March 28