On the Road Again
I spiraled into a deep depression after seeing the damaged scenery at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center during the Singers in Accord concert. I can always channel anger into some creative project, but devastation and despair shut down my spirit and productivity. Regardless of all desire to simply curl up into a fetal position and stay in bed each day, I focused on the upcoming deadline for the Santa Fe Scottish Rite book and I threw myself into this project. I was working as the Volume Editor and a contributor for both the Scottish Rite Theater essay and the Santa Fe Scottish Rite timeline. Some days it was a balm for my spirit. Here was a Scottish Rite Valley that would survive and its members understood the significance of their scenery collection. It was the beginning of March and I desperately anticipated my departure for USITT (United States Institute of Theatre Technology). This year, the theatre conference was taking place in St Louis, Missouri.
In addition to attending the conference, I planned to evaluate two Scottish Rite collections on the trip, as well as stop by the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, on my drive down to St. Louis. Surprisingly, I was most excited about the theatre museum as it had been on my “bucket list” for over a decade.
Although the museum was currently closed for the season, I scheduled a private tour with one of the local volunteers. Her name was Monie and we were both excited to meet each other after having had several phone conversations. We both shared an interest in Steam Shows and theatre history – a winning combination if ever there was one! I don’t know what I was expecting, but the little brick opera house next to the Steam Threshers Reunion grounds genuinely surprised me. It was adorable. Since 1972, I had attended the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion in Rollag, Minnesota – it was one of my family’s annual traditions. For me, a Steam Show AND a Theatre Museum were an ideal combination that made me contemplate defecting to this city every Labor Day weekend instead of our annual trip up to Rollag, Minnesota. By the way, “steam thresher reunion” refers to threshing machines connected to a steam engine.
The Theatre Museum posted very little information about their contents other than advertising “a unique collection of memorabilia from early American popular entertainment. Stage drops, playbills, scrapbooks, costumes, scenery, artifacts, scripts and music scores dating from the 1850s.” Here is the current link: http://www.oldthreshers.org/index.cfm/?pageID=81 The new website should be up and running soon at www.thetheatremuseum.com
The Theatre Museum exhibits were packed full of artifacts and little displays, all backed by historic backdrops that had been used for tent shows from the 1850s to the 1950s. The museum was created in 1973 and hundreds of theatre folk had donated memorabilia since then. There was one thing in particular that made the entire trip worthwhile for me, a display on the painting table and scenic art materials of Jesse Cox (1878-1961). Cox was the generation of scenic artists immediately after Thomas Moses. Born in Seneca, Illinois, he moved to Estherville in 1891. By 1894, he went on the road with Noble Dramatic Shows of Chariton and that was when he became interested in a scenic art career.
Cox is credited with being the originator of the Diamond Dye process for stage scenery (mixing dye with warm water to make it much lighter in weight and transported more conveniently). The exhibit on Cox includes his paint bench, bowls, brushes and other products used in the diamond dye process, plus some of his designs. I was in heaven!
I could have spent hours carefully looking at and documenting each color, bowl and brush. This was a place where I would have to return someday, hopefully with colleagues and other scenic art students. It was an absolute treasure! This display was almost similar to what I had envisioned for a few of the personal artifacts of Thomas Moses at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center; it would accompany his scenery collection from Fort Scott. Remember, the theatre at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center was to be a working museum, an extension of the central museum and not just a rental space. Each area in the MMHC complex had been proposed as museum extensions, including the library and the lodge room. In these various areas, there would be a series of rotating artifacts that would encourage repeat visits by the general public and Masonic groups.
I had recommended that the Moses exhibit go between the entry doors of the Ives theatre. That display would include where the historic scenery collection originated and the scenic artist, Thomas Gibbs Moses. His Masonic cap, painter sweater, paint brush, charcoal sticks, and glue pot were just a few artifacts in the 4’ x 6’ display case. People who entered the theater would have the opportunity to understand the unique collection representing a shared cultural heritage between the Fraternity and the general public. The CEO had explained during the Spring of 2016 that there simply wasn’t enough money to create a Moses’ exhibit – maybe later. Instead, the CEO had selected a printed reproduction of an existing mural at the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia.
Now with an unsightly and damaged scenery collection, the possibility of providing any artistic provenance connected with Moses for this internationally significant scenery collection in any display seemed impossible.
To be continued…
