Chautauqua Comes to Cambridge

Aside from history buffs, the word Chautauqua doesn’t mean a thing to people today. But a hundred years ago it was familiar to everyone, and most had experienced them firsthand. So what is a Chautauqua? They were traveling shows that provided both entertainment and enlightenment, the stage hosting lecturers of all types, including evangelists, politicians and comedians. Chautauquas also featured musical acts, theatrical performances and even motion pictures in their formative years. I first heard the term Chautauqua years ago in the fabulous book by Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and I’d like to quote the definition used by the author to explain an ongoing lecture he proposes to give:

What is in mind is a sort of Chautauqua - that’s the only name I can think of for it - like the traveling tent-show Chautauquas that used to move across America, this America, the one that we are now in, an old-time series of popular talks intended to edify and entertain, improve the mind and bring culture and enlightenment to the ears and thoughts of the hearer. The Chautauquas were pushed aside by faster-paced radio, movies and TV, and it seems to me the change was not entirely an improvement.

The postcard shown above was postmarked in 1909, which would place the photograph in the earlier years of Chautauqua popularity. I’ve been unable to find anything about “Electric Park”, but the name seems to have been a popular one, as it was used in several communities across the country. I searched Google for photos of other Chautauquas, and there were dozens to be found. The size and number of tents varied, with some even housed in permanent structures erected for the purpose, but the gatherings were more similar than different. Given the limited avenues of communication at the time, Chautauquas played a significant part in spreading ideas and entertainment.
For whatever reason, I always find myself calculating my father’s age, or that of another relative, at the time of historical events. I suppose I just like to put history into a context that has meaning for me. In this case, the card was mailed six years before dad’s birth (in Cambridge, 1915), and when my grandfather was only 21 years old. Just think: When dad was born traveling Chautauquas were still extremely popular, telephones were somewhat of a rarity in the home, the Model T Ford was in the middle of its production run, and horses were still a frequent mode of transportation. Dad was well-suited for the changes to come, the industrial and technological triumphs that defined twentieth century America. He enthusiastically followed, and participated in, this progress, and it seems to me that he saw an era that isn’t liable to be repeated. It must have been a heck of a ride.