USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York > Part 51
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" Why might not the state conventions appoint a summer institute in the principal cities, to continue three or four weeks, taking candidates through the course in that time ? We are sure the christian families of those cities would open their homes to the country teachers for that length of time as they are now so often opened to the members of general assemblies, confer-
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THE CHAUTAUQUA ASSEMBLY.
ences and conventions, and we are confident that no hospitality would pay as well to the church. With competent lecturers and instructors what moral power might these institutes soon wield !- and right liberally could the mana- gers and lecturers be paid."
Erie conference was favored with a visit in 1868. At a conference sun- day-school convention held in Meadville in 1869 Lewis Miller was associated with Mr. Vincent. His mechanical skill was noticeable in the facility with which he explained the Scriptures by throwing diagrams on the blackboard. When in 1873 Dr. Vincent proposed to Mr. Miller the project of holding in his model church at Akron a "summer institute" of some three or four weeks, taking candidates through a course of study in that time, on the instant Mr. Miller was ready with an answer. " We can do better ; take it to a camp-ground. The church accommodates hundreds, the camp-ground thousands." Dr. Vincent listened to Mr. Miller's forcible arguments and acquiesced in them. It was made apparent by them that the grove was none too roomy for the free handling of the new and great ideas, nor for the accommodation of the multitude which would be eager to receive them. After canvassing every state in the nation it was found that Chautauqua was the most desirable place for establishing the new enterprise.
In the organization of the Chautauqua system of popular education Lewis Miller has served as president from the beginning, and has never had a com- petitor, and no one has ever thought that the office of chancellor could be filled by any but Bishop Vincent. These, offices are recognized in the by-laws as equal. From the first, Bishop Vincent and Mr. Miller have been co-ordinate in the administration. When they came together for counsel in 1873 two deep and wide streams of thought met, and, though retaining their individual characteristics, they mingled together and formed a mighty river which already has greatly stirred and enriched the world of thought. "Chautauqua " is not simply a town, a place, a lake, a summer city, a sum- mer meeting ;- it is an uprising, a new departure, creating an all-the-year- round system of popular home-study, through self-help and local correspon- dence aids. It is the mother of all the " Chautanquas " and of all the differ- ent summer meetings held. These " Chautauquas" may be found in nearly every state of the Union, in England, on the Continent, in Asia and in Africa. The Chautauqua movement may be seen, in its fundamental ideas, wherever instruction and recreation are combined in summer outings, as at Northfield, Mass., under the direction of Mr. D. L. Moody, in the University Extension Summer School at Philadelphia, at the Roman Catholic Chautauqua on Lake Champlain, and the summer meetings at Oxford and in Switzerland. What are the basal elements of this Chautauqua movement ? I. It involves systematic instruction in various forms for out-of-school people, chiefly by
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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N. Y.
lectures, class-work and individual correspondence. 2. Its work is intended especially for adults, recognizing the ability of mature minds, for whose direction no provision has been made to use its advantages. Such people need assistance as much as children. Under its influence their children at home will receive more perfect school cooperation. This system of instruct- ing mature minds is also helpful to the general cause of education, as it ensures a longer attendance at public and high schools, and sends a larger number of young people to seminaries and colleges. 3. The Chautauqua movement increases church influence by sanctifying what are called the " secularities " of life, increasing the teaching power of the church, promot- ing Bible study, normal work for the preparation of teachers, and enlists the laity in educational work, guaranteeing more sympathy and more financial aid in the promotion of the higher education. 4. The silent influence of Chautauqua in its out-of-doors fellowship and recreation, especially where various members of a single family are permitted to enjoy it together, is great and salutary. In America, where our style of life is so hurried and distracting, and youth enters the arena so early, and parents and children are so little together, the best results follow where the members of a family can find a common interest for a few weeks in varied occupations of a domestic character. 5. Chautauqua fulfills a beautiful spiritual mission by promoting unity of life, neutralizing the materialistic and avaricious tendencies of the times by the infusion of higher and more enduring thoughts, and by the enrichment of ordinary life through courses of good reading perused syste- matically by plain, hardworking people. Intelligence exalts religion, people find life more interesting as conscience becomes its supervising element, and the church as the advocate and representative of religion is elevated.
Chautauqua as it is, is not a sudden mushroom growth, but the result of varied experience, much thought and the expenditure of large sums of money. In the purchase of grounds, public and private buildings, and the cost of . holding assemblies more than $2,000,000 have been expended. Bishop Vin- . cent has been engaged in teaching, preaching, and devising schemes for the better education and culture of the laboring classes since he was fifteen. At the beginning of his pastoral life he organized in his churches classes for Biblical, archeological and normal study. He held, in Illinois, the first still- day-school institute, and organized the first sunday-school normal class in America. He devised and published the system of lessons which has become international, and, as early as 1856, prepared a scheme for personal reading and study by which adults out of school and in business might pursue a course of reading covering the college curriculum. He also provided for a scheme of out-of-school ministerial education, now more fully realized in the Chautauqua School of Theology and the "Itinerants Club," which is becom- ing so popular in the Methodist Episcopal church. The Chautauqua of
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THE CHAUTAUQUA ASSEMBLY.
today is the embodiment of all this thought and labor and all these long years of experience. The best part of two great lives has been given to Chautauqua.
We have endeavored to assign to President Miller and Chancellor Vincent only their proper relation to Chautauqua, and we simply wish to add that the Chautauqua scheme of education was original with them, that they were without precedents as guides, that they were without experience, that the enterprise involved the expenditure of large sums of money, and that personal financial returns were out of the question. .
Mrs. Bishop Vincent by her observation and unobtrusive counsel has done much for the growth and development of Chautauqua. Her few words spoken as the result of a calm judgment, have often carried conviction to one who who had the authority to make them effective.
There is a common error afloat that Chautauqua has very much changed since its inception. While this is true concerning the physical Chautauqua and the enlargement and prosperity of the institution, and also concerning the variety of departments to which the Chantauqua idea and impulse have been applied, the aims, standards, principles and methods have not been changed. It is today what it was in 1873. The Assembly was never a camp- meeting. It was never a popular convention. Its earliest work was educa- tional. The Assembly began as a "school,"-not as a "conference." It took the highest possible stand at the start as an institution for " training "- for training by the best instructors; it aimed at the highest standards; it adopted the most advanced methods. That the general subjects for the first years were chiefly biblical and ecclesiastical, and that the immediate object was the improvement as educational institutions of the Family and the Sun- day-school, and the organization of special Church classes, does not affect the fact that the very highest educational processes were then employed. It is the glory of Chautauqua that it applied to a long neglected field of educa- tional opportunity the most thorough, radical and advanced educational prin- ciples and methods. And these were not new ideas to the Chautauqua man- agement. They were but the continuance in the open air and under the trees of methods which had been in use in other spheres of activity by those who made Chantaugna what it is. The addition of the " Teachers' Retreat," the "School of Languages," Classes. in Science and Philosophy, Lecture Courses in Literature and History, etc., was not a new departure in any essen- tial feature from the original Chautauqua Assembly. The educational spirit, ideals, and apparatus, were present from the beginning. All the detailed plans of the " University Extension movement " for example, were in use at Chautauqua in 1873, the very year when this movement, unknown to the Chautauqua leaders, began in England. The study of the official reports for
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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N. Y.
1873, 1874, and 1875, and of the Assembly Herald, published first in ' 76, will confirm the high educational character of the Chautauqua movement from its first day.
During the first year, (1874) there were held under able management "normal classes," "institute and normal class conductors' converzasioni ;" "sections " for the training of teachers in primary, intermediate senior, and . normal classes, with superintendents' and pastors' "sections " also. Studies in the models of Palestine and the Jewish tabernacle were conducted. A competitive written examination, entered into by two hundred persons, was held on the last day. The popular lectures were of the highest character, by distinguished men representing several denominations. In 1875 the School of Languages developed. A Hebrew class of forty members was organized under the direction of the venerated Dr. S. M. Vail, of Boston. In '76 a Scientific Conference, with a series of brilliant lectures, was held. The class in Hebrew and a class in New Testament Greek were admirably sustained throughout the Session of 1876. In 1879 the formal opening of the Chautauqua Normal School of Languages, and of the Chantanqua Teachers' Retreat took place. The professors in the School of Languages were Prof. Timayenis, of the Hellenic Institute, New York, in Greek ; Miss Emma M. Hall, of the Detroit High School, in Latin ; Prof. J. H. Worman, of the Adelphi Academy, in German ; Prof. A. LaLande, of the Sauveur School of Languages, in French ; Dr. S. M. Vail, in Hebrew ; Dr. James Strong, of Drew Theological Seminary, in New Testament Greek; Prof. Bernhard Maimon, of the Oriental Institute, Chicago, in Oriental Languages ; Prof. A. S. Cook, of Rutgers College, in Anglo-Saxon. The teachers in 1879 in the "Teachers' Retreat " were such men as Prof. Phelps, of Minnesota, Prof. Atkinson, of Boston, Dr. Joseph Alden, of Albany, Dr. John Hancock, of Dayton, Ohio, with others. The work of the School of Languages was of the highest character, and attracted the attention of many eminent educators. It increased in efficiency and power. Dr. Vail continued in charge of the Hebrew in ISSo, Rabbi Nathan Noah, of New York, in 1881. Prof. W. D. Mcclintock took the place of Prof. A. S. Cook, in Anglo-Saxon. Psychol- ogy and pedagogy, geography, kindergarten, industrial education, elocution, gymnastics, clay modelling, first lessons in art, were sustained during this season in an able manner by foremost representatives. The work of the School of Languages in 1882 was very successful. "Advanced Hebrew," "French receptions," "German campfire," "Latin and Greek symposium," were new features. In 1883 Prof. Worman continued in charge of the German, Prof. LaLande of the French, Prof. Henry Lummis of Greek, Prof. E. S. Shumway, of Rutgers College, of Latin, and Prof. W. D. McClintock, of Anglo-Saxon.
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THE CHAUTAUQUA ASSEMBLY.
The Chautauqua system of education has grown to the following dimen- sions :
(a) The College of Liberal Arts. (b) The Teachers' Retreat, (Pedagogical)
(c) Schools of Sacred Literature.
(d) Schools of Music.
(e) School of Physical Culture.
(f) Classes for the entire season.
Shorthand and Typewriting.
Wood-carving. Cookery.
Piano Lessons. Organ Lessons.
Violin Lessons. Law courses.
Delsarte Culture. Business Forms.
Amateur Photography.
(g) Assembly Classes.
Free Kindergarten. Little People's Bible-Class.
Boys' and Girls' Class. Boys' Mock-Congress. Political Economy Club. Sunday-school Normal class. Girls' club. German club.
Women's club. French club.
(11) University Extension Lecture courses.
- Four-Years' course. Advanced courses.
Christian Endeavor course. Vesper Reading Circle. Spare-Minute course.
HOME READ- ING AND STUDY.
L
(a) Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle.
(b) Chautauqua Extension lectures.
(c) Teachers' Reading Union.
(d) Young Peoples' Reading Union.
(e) Political Economy and Social Science clubs.
(f) Society of Fine Arts.
(g) School of Photography.
(1) School of Business.
(i ) Chautauqua Normal Union.
( j ) Chautauqua Correspondence College.
(k) Correspondence School of Theology.
((1) University Extension lectures.
The "summer city," Chautauqua, occupying a well-wooded, naturally terraced land at a beautiful point on the west shore of Lake Chautauqua, contains more than 500 artistic and attractive cottages, a large and well- equipped hotel, an amphitheater elegant in form and of immense proportions, costing $20,000, and many other public buildings used for public exercises, lectures and recitations. A large model of Palestine and a miniature repre- sentation of modern Jerusalem, both recently renovated, are among the. peculiar attractions. The streets and parks are well laid out, and the work of paving the principal thoroughfares is now going on. In dry weather water sprinklers are in use all the day. The water supply is pure and abund-
SUMMER STUDY.
Drawing and Painting.
China Decoration and Tapestry Painting. Industrial Drawing.
Sloyd and Clay Modeling.
Elocution and Oratory.
Kindergarten Normal Training.
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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N. Y.
ant, the sanitation excellent and the climate generally cool and invigorating. $20,000 lias been expended in sewerage. It may be described as a city where municipal functions are extended beyond the usual point, and include free public instruction and entertainment. This expense is defrayed by a system of taxation which falls upon all within the town, however brief the term of citizenship. The tribute, instead of being collected from house to house, is exacted at the city gates.
The Chautauqua Reading Circle .- 1. A definite course covering four years, and including History, Literature, Seience, ete. 2. Specified volumes approved by the counselors. Many of the books are specially prepared for the purpose. 3. Allotment of time. The reading is apportioned by the week and month, 4. A monthly magazine with additional readings, notes, and general literature. 5. A membership book, containing suggestions for read- ing, review outlines, and other aid: 6. Individual readers, no matter how isolated, may have all the privileges. 7. Local circles may be formed by three or more members for mutual aid and encouragement. 8. The time required is from forty minutes to an hour a day for ten months. 9. Certifi- cates are granted at .the end of four years to all who complete the course. 10. Advanced courses, for continued reading in special lines-History, Litera- ture, etc. 11. Pedagogical course for secular teachers. 12. Young Peoples' Reading Course to stimulate the reading of good literature by the young.
Home Study of The Chautauqua College .- 1. Correspondence instruction is offered in Latin, Greek, French, German, English, Mathematics, Psy- chology, Economies, History, Physical Science, Geology, and Botany. 2. The instructors are professors in well-known colleges and universities. 3. Each course is equivalent to the amount of work expected of a resident stu- dent in a school year. 4. The time required is about ten hours per week for each course. 5. Thirty-two lessons sheets are sent at frequent intervals to the student who fills them out and returns them for correction and comment. 6. The examinations are rigidly supervised by a local examiner. Depart- ment of Theology .- The same plan of correspondence instruction is applied to the study of Hebrew, Greek, Church History, Homileties, etc. Univer- sity Extension .- The Chautauqua College aids in establishing local lectures for university instruction, working in cooperation with assemblies, local cir- cles, college centers, etc.
Summer Lectures .- Lecture Courses on Literature, History, Econo- mics, Art, ete. 0 The University-Extension model is largely followed. Printed syllabuses, "quizzes," and prize examinations are features of the plan. Present-Day Topics in Sociology, Goverment, Education, Reform, ect., are discussed by prominent speakers. . Sermons are preached every Sunday by leading ministers of all denominations. Illustrated Lec- tures on Travel, Art, and Science. Music of a high grade, including
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THE CHAUTAUQUA ASSEMBLY.
piano and organ recitals, orchestral and vocal concerts, analytical talks on music, and biographical lectures on the great composers. Dramatic readings and recitations by noted interpreters and elocutionists. Well- known authors give readings from their own works. Recreation is provided in the form of light entertainments, out-door sports and contests, tableaux, illuminations, fireworks, spelling and pronunciation matches.
Summer Study at Chautauqua (July-August.)-The Chautauqua College offers summer courses in all the subjects taught by correspondence. The instructors are from Vale, Johns Hopkins, Michigan, etc. The work is thor- ough. The Pedagogical Department (Teachers' Retreat) is under the direct- ion of Prof. W. L. Hervey, of New York, assisted by a corps of able teachers. The Pedagogical principles and their practical application are carefully taught. The School of music provides courses in the theory and practice of music, class drill, lectures, etc. Schools of Sacred Literature offer Biblical courses in the originals and in English under the foremost scholars of the country. The Sunday School Normal is a training school for Sunday-school teachers in Bible study, teaching methods and school organization. Boys' and Girls' Classes give instruction in Bible History, Geography and Oriental Customs. The School of Physical Culture gives complete bodily training after the most improved methods, in a new, perfectly fitted gymnasium. Miscellaneous Classes give instruction in Art, Elocution, Wood Carving, Phonography, Photography, Penmanship, etc.
Government of the Chautauqua System .- Lewis Miller, president ; John H. Vincent, chancellor ; W. A. Duncan, secretary ; E. A. Skinner, treasurer ; W. R. Harper, principal ; G. E. Vincent, vice-principal. Chief office of instruction, John H. Vincent, 455 Franklin street, Buffalo, N. Y. Assembly Trustees .- John Brown, Chicago, Ill. ; Frank D. Carley, New York ; Wm. M. Clark, Liberty, Ind. ; W. A. Duncan, Syracuse, N. Y. ; W. L. Dunn, Alle- gheny, Pa. ; E. G. Dusenbury, Portville, N. Y. ; J. T. Edwards, McDonough, Md. ; C. D. Firestone, Columbus, O .; J. C. Gifford, Westfield, N. Y. ; E. M. Hukill, Pittsburg, Pa. ; H. A. Massey, Toronto, Ont. ; Lewis Miller, Akron, O .; Robert Miller, Canton, O .; H. H. Moore, Chautauqua, N. Y. ; E. Ocumpaugh, Rochester, N. Y. ; N. I. Rubinkam, Chicago, Ill. ; W. H. Short, Youngsville, Pa. ; E. A. Skinner, Westfield, N. Y. ; Jesse Smith, Titusville, Pa. ; Clem Studebaker, South Bend, Ind. ; Wmn. Thomas, Meadville, Pa. ; Jolin H. Vincent, Buffalo, N. Y .; W. G. Williams, Columbus, O.
While it is expected that President Miller's vigilance and care for Chau- tauquan's interest will be ubiquitous, Chancellor Vincent, as superintendent of instruction in the public exercises, has ever stood at the helin. Farragut never felt more at home on the deck of the Wabash than does Dr. Vincent on the Chautauqua platforin. He seems there to have found one of the most
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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N. Y.
fitting spheres in which he was born to act. In the ease and grace with which he manages a Chautauqua assemblage we see on the one hand the power to rule, and on the other intelligence and culture. His grave or face- tious introduction of public speakers have ever been regarded as models of appropriateness and taste. He knows exactly what to say of each speaker and never says too much. After his presentation speaker and audience know each other and both are at ease. He has frequently occupied the platform as a lecturer, but it is generally recognized that as a lecturer he is seldom at his best except at a vesper service in the Hall of Philosophy. He is always calin, self-possessed yet enthusiastic, brilliant and the people catch his spirit.
The public lectures have covered a wide field of literature, theology, bibical exegesis, philosophy, psychology, anthropology and the practical affairs of life. Some of the most scholarly and eloquent men of Europe and America have occupied the platform-Faibarn, Mahaffy, Drummond, Gough, Tahnage, Deems, Phillips Brooks, John Hall, ten Methodist bishops and others of equal ability,
The out-door facilities for study and recreation, conceived by Mr. Miller on the Canton camp-ground have become a practical reality before his eyes. Retaining its devout and spiritual element, the grove has vastly enlarged the scope of its practical influence. So great has been the change from camp- meeting work that apparently an Assembly is an original and new institu- tion. A peculiar educational force here appeared whose possibilities are practically limitless. The primitive campmeeting by a sudden apotheosis has broadened into a vast realm of Sunday-school and church work, liberal arts, literature, science and philosophy. An assembly is a new craft, embarked upon a sea on which sail had never been spread before. But with the conviction that religion and science are closely blended parts of our great realm of truth, and that both could be prosecuted in harmony as different departments of Chautauqua work, the founders have held steadily to their first idea.
At the second Assembly, Dr. Doremus with an extensive chemical appa- ratus was brought from New York to Chautauqua at an expense of more than $1,000, and, in the course of ten lectures on physics, chemistry, physi- ology, etc., it became apparent, not only that a laboratory could be set up and worked in the grove, but that thousands of the " common people " would be present to see what was done and hear what was said. To this day the sub- stance of those lectures is remembered, and from that time the vast possibil- ities of Chautauqua have not been speculative questions, but settled realities. Chautauqua is, then, an embodiment of science, literature, theology, Bible study, recreation, rest, health, religious devotion, Christian activity and social life ; each department conducted by accomplished specialists in the open air, amidst the inspirations of the scenes of nature.
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THE CHAUTAUQUA ASSEMBLY.
Chautauqua is distinctively a religious place in the broadest sense of the word, which embraces the highest physical, mental, and spiritual develop- ment of man. It is not under the control of any one religions body, is thoroughly non-sectarian, and members of all churches meet on a level of respect and esteem. Religious differences are for the most part ignored. Every Sunday the sermon is preached by a man well-known in his own church, and thus in one summer several different denominations are repre- sented. Several churches have clubhouses for strictly social purposes, but, with occasional exceptions, all unite in common services. This character- istic of Chautauqua life is a source of no little wonder to guests from Eng- land and the continent. Prof. J. P. Mahaffy, of Dublin, when he visited the Assembly, said he expected to see "an ecclesiastical . bear-garden,' but found 'a happy family.'"
It is twenty years since the first Assembly was held, and its scheme of education is well before the world. Its progeny of " Chautauquas," number- ing about sixty, have become conspicuous elements of civilization. It good- naturedly profits by the criticisms of the incredulous, and what future evo- lution may make of it can be seen only by the vision of a seer.
Woman has taken great part in the work and development of Chautau- qua. At the first Assembly Frances E. Willard graced its platform and spoke earnestly in the cause of temperance. Since then she has frequently been heard and her popularity and influence has increased. Mary A. Liver- more has often packed the Amphitheater, and her broad, statesman-like views of social and national questions received the closest attention from the best minds present. Susan B. Anthony has eloquently pleaded the cause of woman suffrage. Mrs. Emily Huntington Miller, the widow of Lewis Mil- ler's half-brother, is a thorough going .Chautauquan. She is a small woman of gentle manners, bright, original and sparkling, with practical ideas, and full of energy. She has charge of the " Woman's Club." Mrs. G. R. Alden, another thoroughly " womanly woman," holds an honorable place in the annals of Chautauqua. She is a voluminous writer, and four or five of her books are founded upon life at Chautauqua. She was a successful teacher of teachers of primary classes. It may be said of Mrs. Annie Kellogg, that, " though dead, she yet speaketh." Being an enthusiastic member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union at her death, her son, James H. Kel- logg, of Troy, N. Y., erected at Chautauqua as her monument a capacious Hall with pointed towers, to be used in carrying forward different kinds of Chautauqua work. It has three stories with several capacious halls and is richly finished in hard wood. The most elegant room is set apart for the use of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. The name of Mrs. Lucy Webb Hayes, as for a time the first lady of the nation, and as a high official in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, should perhaps lead the list
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