The twelfth annual session of the Florida Chautauqua opened on February 20, and ran through March 18. The printed program followed much of the same format seen in previous years, although expanded to sixteen pages. The difference in size is due to several lengthy articles as well as an increase in advertising space.
A long article at the beginning of the entire program, “A
Chautauqua in the Wilds of Western Florida: An Historical Sketch,” was written by General George B. Loud and originally published in the June 1895 issue of Home and Country. In a manner similar to opening materials in the previous programs, this article’s apparent purpose was to create a favorable text for the first-time reader or to reinforce, as a sequel, the textual elements of the Florida Chautauqua already familiar to the return reader. The article completely fills three pages of the
program.
As its subtitle suggests, the article is a historical sketch combined with a strong dose of advertising. Drawing from the natural setting (and repeatedly referring to the assembly site and De Funiak Springs as “a veritable garden of the gods") and from the past presentations, the article presented a detailed picture of the Florida Chautauqua. A major group targeted by the article were those individuals who resided in the Northern tier of states. Frequent reminders of the “sunny South" as well as notations such as “How delightful to leave the snow banks of the North, and in 36 hours find yourself midst the flowers and blossoms of
opening spring” (The Florida Chautauqua, 1896, 11) enticed the reader to construct an experience and environment that placed greater value on traveling to De Funiak Springs than enduring the hardships of the winter. The emphasis on the natural setting was a recurring theme in the writings that presented the Florida Chautauqua and constitute a significant element of the cultural performance of the Florida
Chautauqua.
Often almost poetical in nature, these descriptions frequently introduced the reader to the Florida Chautauqua, preparing the way for the presentation of the educational and social aspects of the assembly. This article does not differ from that approach, using lengthy discussion and descriptions to present an institution in an almost Edenic setting.
When its elevation, sandy loam soil, absolutely pure water -than which none purer ever gushed from rocks or bubbled like lyrics and idylls from the soil-and sweetly scented breezes laden with the aroma of pine and magnolia are taken into consideration, its advantages as a health resort and winter retreat can be readily understood (The Florida Chautauqua, 1896, 4).
Purity of water would be a primary concern in a country which did not yet have a widely consistent delivery of potable water and in an area where malaria outbreaks were still common. The reader was also led to dismiss the notion of a harsh wilderness associated with the
unsettled panhandle region.
The reader may readily have grasped the natural benefits and easily created a textual representation of the Florida Chautauqua upon completion of the reading. Once the natural advantages were
knowledge, the writing began to present the educational and social benefits of the Florida Chautauqua.
In this article the writer began the educational presentation by taking great pains to associate the Florida assembly with the original Chautauqua in New York. “Chautauqua! I doubt if any other one institution has done so much to stimulate thought and cultivate a desire for higher and better civilization. What other institution with as high a purpose is so far-reaching in results?” (The Florida Chautauqua, 1896, 4). The writer linked the effects of the New York institution to the
possible effects of the Florida Chautauqua, stressing again the great advantages of education, a theme heard regularly throughout the programs and printed matter for the Chautauqua.
No one can fail to appreciate the advantages to be derived by a few weeks’ sojourn amid such surroundings. To the educated person it will serve as a polish to faculties grown rusty perhaps through disuse. To those whose early education has been neglected and who during the struggles and turmoil of every-day life are debarred from making up in later years for the deprivation of youth, Chautauqua-and I mention it now in its broad sense-is a rapid, a comprehensive teacher. New avenues of thought are opened up, new methods of self-instruction are suggested, and in a few weeks stores of knowledge are gathered in which otherwise would have required years of patient study in books (The Florida Chautauqua, 1896, 5).
Not only could one get education but one could achieve it in a relatively short amount of time, thus providing the attendee with two benefits simultaneously. This paragraph makes it clear that education was a good to be highly prized and one to be attained despite the cost.
This strong argument that the educational aspects of the Chautauqua movement were valid for all persons emphasizes the importance of attending. The assembly held value for all. If the
program could succeed in getting the reader to create a personal text with value in both the natural and educational aspects of the Florida Chautauqua, the reader was more likely to expend the goods needed to attend the assembly. If the promoters were unsuccessful in
marketing these goods, there was little promise of economic success. This opening article is important in the establishment of that text. The article presented material routinely included in Chautauqua
materials, but the difference with this article is the appearance of outside legitimacy. The article was a reprint from a national magazine, by a writer not directly linked to the management of the assembly. The article helped establish credibility for the session. An additional article, placed on page twelve, repeated the article from the 1895 program and reinforced the ideas presented earlier in the printed program.
The content of the 1896 session was similar to the 1895
assembly. As was common, the coursework did change from year to year depending on the availability of personnel. Music was a standard department offered again in 1896. Still under the direction of Dr. H. R. Palmer, three classes were offered: Chorus, Sight-reading, and
Harmony. China painting and Kintergarten were also offered.
“Physical Education: Literature, Elocution and Aesthetics” combined old offerings with new ones. The department offered Physical Education with a focus on gymnastics, starting with general exercise and leading into apparatus work. Also a part of this department was “Literature, Rhetoric and Elocution” that had as its goals
[t]he acquisition of an elegant and refined Pronunciation and of absolutely distinct Utterance. A flexible and melodious voice and
sensibilities, whereby correct, instant and vigorous emotional expression comes in response to thought (The Florida
Chautauqua, 1896, 6).
The area of Aesthetics sought to “develop lovers of art and the ability to understand some of the lessons of civilization embodied in the World’s art” (The Florida Chautauqua, 1896, 7).
Other departments offering coursework included the Children’s Hour, Primary Teachers’ Class, Art Needle Work and Embroidery, the Devotional Hour, Lectures on Christian Evidences, and C.L.S.C. Round Tables. A new and particularly interesting department for 1896 was the Woman’s Club. Led by Mrs. M. C. Hickman from Cleveland, Ohio, the club, according to the program, “will be gladly welcomed by the good women of to-day, who are interesting themselves in great questions and who are preparing themselves to have large share in the world’s work” (The Florida Chautauqua, 1896, 7). Many of the departments, including the new Women’s Club, held more interest for women than men. Since women would have probably been more available to attend daytime sessions, these courses would have more commercial promise than other coursework aimed at men.
The performance text for this session was similar to the 1895 session. As in that year, there appears to be a primary interest in the program in lectures presented on widely varying topics. Speakers presented attendees with such topics as "The Labor Problem,” ‘The New Aristocracy,” “Modem Science and Immortality,” T h e Sanctity of Marriage,” “Possibilities of Electricity,” and an apparently humorous presentation, T h e Joys and Sorrows of an Amatoo Fotygraffer.” The
trend of increasing entertainments continued in the 1896 session as well.