Month: September 2018

Part 501: Thomas G. Moses and the Ravinia Park Theatre, 1905

In 1905, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Ravinia Park Theatre was done in February.” He was referring a new amusement park near Chicago, accessed by the Chicago & Milwaukee Electric Railroad. The park included a theater, pavilion, baseball diamond, electric fountain and casino building, complete with dining rooms and a dance floor. During the winter months, the baseball field was flooded and successfully transformed into an ice-skating rink, hosting many hockey games. Advertisements promised that the park was “equipped with every facility for attracting people of taste and fashion.” Other ads described Ravinia Park as “A place of entertainment for people of culture and refinement.”

In 1904, the A.C. Frost Company created Ravinia as a forty-acre amusement park located south of Highland Park. It was Partially created with the intent to lure riders to the fledgling Chicago & Milwaukee Electric Railroad. The park opened during August 1904, but the theater that Moses provided scenery for was not completed until 1905; February 1905, as Moses indicates in his memoirs.

The Ravinia Theatre was built in the prairie-style. It is now the only building on the grounds that dates back to that original park. Later renamed the Martin Theatre, the venue is an 850-seat indoor hall originally planned for vaudeville, opera, and chamber music.  1905 Newspapers advertised that Ravinia Park Theater featured, “refined and high-class vaudeville,” every day except Sunday.

Unfortunately in 1907, the park was forced into receivership and changed hands. At the time, a group of Chicago and North Shore residents organized to raise the $15,000 needed to save it, fearing that it would be purchased by a cheap amusement company. However, in 1911, the park once again faced financial difficulty. This time residents were led by Frank R. McMullin of Highland Park, Illinois, to raise $75,000 for the purchase of the park. By June 21, 1911, the Ravinia Company was incorporated, with the park re-opening once again

Historic images of Ravinia Park were recently posted along with an article by Neil Gale, PhD, at the Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal blog: https://drloihjournal.blogspot.com/2018/08/ravinia-amusement-park-highland-park-illinois-1904-1910.html Gale’s article with images appeared on August 9, 2018.

Today, the Ravinia Park is the home for the Ravinia Music Festival, offering over 100 concerts each summer from jazz to classical to rock to kids concerts. The Ravinia Theater, now Martin Theater, is still in use.

To be continued…

 

 

Part 500: Thomas G. Moses and  “The Woggle-Bug” 

This is a long installment, but too bizarre to leave anything out. In 1905 Thomas G. Moses wrote that he worked on a production called “Woggle-Bug.”  It opened at the Garrick Theater in Chicago on June 18, 1905, and closed on July 13 of the same summer.

Written by L. Frank Baum, with the musical score by Frederick Chapin, Baum hoped to duplicate the success of his earlier production – “The Wizard of Oz.” The story was also transformed into a short children’s book in 1905. Here is the link to the Woggle-Bug eBook at Project Gutenberg with illustrations by Ike Morgan: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21914/21914-h/21914-h.htm

Noted as a “spectacular extravaganza,” The Woggle-Bug was reported to be an “artistic and dazzling panorama of light an color” (The World To-day: A Monthly Record of Human Progress, Vol. 9, page 703). The “Chicago Tribune” reported, “The scenery is abundant in quantity and good in design and coloring and the costuming is in exceptionally fine taste. The stage pictures are made of uncommon beauty by the skill with which they are lighted. Better stage lighting; nicer discrimination in the changing and employing in their handling has not been seen in Chicago in many a day. The stage pictures, thanks to the elaborate scenery, the handsome costuming, and the excellent lighting become beautiful enough to make “The Woggle Bug” an impressive spectacle and well worth the seeing” (19 June 1905, page 9).

The “Inter Ocean” reported included an extensive article on “The Woggle-Bug” (20 June 1903, page 6):

“The Woggle-Bug,” a musical extravaganza in a prologue, two acts, and an epilogue, was written by L. Frank Baum, author of the book from which it is derived, “The Marvelous Land of Oz.” The story concerns the experience of Tip, the rightfully Princess Ozma, changed into a boy by the witch, Mombi. Tip steals the old lady’s can of Magic Powder, which brings to life inanimate objects, and with Jack Pumpkinhead, a combination scarecrow and jack-o’lantern, enjoys numerous experiences, including arrest by the upsurpers of his throne, before he reaches the domain of Queen Maetta, the sorceress, is turned back into a girl again and placed in charge of the Jewel City. The Woggle-Bug is an incidental character, representing a highly magnified insect.

The world has turner over and times have changed. This summer Chicago has become the London of America and her producing theaters miniature Drury Lanes in holiday time.

In the Garrick Theater last evening there was added one more to the list of prevailing spectacles for children. “The Woggle-Bug” is entertainment pap for the little ones. It is as huge an extravaganza as the stage of the Garrick will permit it to be, and it tells all about fairies and witches, goblins and jack o’ lanterns, magnified bugs, clouds of cats and dogs, fields of lady chrysanthemums and other things.

The children will like “The Woggle-Bug.” The adults will be divided – those with the hearts of children will approve; those who prefer the stronger fare that suits their years will not. For, so far in its career, it has been written and staged apparently with the intention of appealing directly to children, and only incidentally to their guardians. It is smothered in simplicity in which the child mid will revel, and before which the adult mind will not.

The Chicago child should be proud of itself to thus force so many examples of the infant spectacle in the heat of summer. And the parents of the Chicago child should be proud of themselves. Partly on the child’s account they supported “The Wizard of Oz” and “The Babes in Toyland,” and now we see what they’ve done! But that endorsement they have convinced a whole flock of managers that their patronage is just the richest possible harvest of Chicago’s summer time, and just now there is enough to amuse all the nurseries in the country at the same time. If they keep coming we’ll be talking baby talk and wearing sailor hats with ribbons, and playing ring-around-aroses before fall.

The Woggle-Bug, we repeat, will please the children. It is full of startling incidents for the Chicago youngster. There is a pretty little princess who is turned into a prettier little boy by a wicked witch; there is a funny woggle-bug, picked up by a school teacher and magnified so highly that it comes to life and sings a very tuneful song; there is a scarecrow with a pumpkin for a head which is sprinkled with magic powder and becomes a man; there is a sawhorse which also responds to the sprinkling and jumps about in lively fashion, and there is an outlandish young person who will make papa and mamma laugh because she is a regular cut-up.

There is, too, much scenery which is attractive, and electric lights of all colors and in all sorts of places, and a whole stage full of girls who sing right out as though they enjoyed it. Sometimes they have decorated stepladders to help them sing, and sometimes vine covered and illuminated summer houses. They always have something, and it generally lights up.

During one scene, when they are dressed as soldiers, they attack the walls of the Jewel city-think of that, children!-and very pretty walls, too, studded with rubies and diamonds and emeralds, and a few chorus men who are on the other side of the fight. And when they charge someone in the Jewel city shoots toy balloons at them through great big cannon. Yes, sire, they do. But the girls don’t care; they just throw the balloons back and finally capture the Jewel city.

Afterward there is a cyclone, as there was in “The Wizard of Oz,” and on the screen are shown what appear to the corpses of numerous white cats and dogs – an uncanny effect that the managers likely did not count on. Following this there is a field of nodding chrysanthemums shown, as were the poppies in “The Wizard;” then the Woggle-Bug Tip, and Jack Pumpkinhead comes wandering in as the Woodman, the Scarecrow, and Dorothy did in the other play. In fact, “The Wizard” is palpably the inspiration for newer extravaganza. The chief difference is this: Someone took the book of “The Wizard” after Mr. Baum got through with it and did so many things to it that the original author could hardly recognize it, while with “The Woggle-Bug” the impression is strong that the original manuscript has been altered but little. The children’s show was incidental in “The Wizard;” it dominates “The Bug.”

The costuming is pleasing in design and coloring, if not rich in material, and the scenic setting is at all times effective. “The Woggle-Bug,” taken in all, represents an earnest effort to provide an extravaganza free from objectionable feature. The music is an attractive virtue, and reawakens the hope that some day Composer Chapin will have a real good book to work with.”

The show did not do well at all. By July 13, 1905, the “Chicago Tribune” published, “’Woggle Bug’ is Hungry – Salaries unpaid; electrical apparatus taken for debt. Creditors of the Company Playing at the Garrick Theater Clamor for the Money Owed Them and Probably Will Force Close of the Engagement- Show is Given Under Difficulties Without Lighting Effects-Owner Makes Efforts to Continue” (page 3). The company was obliged to turn over its electrical apparatus to the Garden City Calcium Light company. Then the fifteen electricians struck and would not do their work until guaranteed wages by the house management.

When a show about lights loses the lights, it makes for a difficult time.

To be continued…

Part 499: Thomas G. Moses and the Jewish Bazaar at the Chicago Coliseum in 1905

In 1905 Thomas G. Moses recorded that he worked on a project for the Chicago Coliseum. He wrote, “a big Jewish bazaar at the Coliseum took us a month to complete.” He was referring to the charity bazaar for the benefit of the Orthodox Jewish Home for the Aged.

The event raised proceeds from seventy-five booths, each with a unique theme, such as the Japanese Tea Room. The Inter Ocean reported that the event promised to be “the largest one of the kind ever attempted in the United States” (Inter Ocean, 12 Feb. 1905, page 7). Mayor Harrison of Chicago gave the opening address on February 25, 1905. 3,000 people were in attendance for the opening, but over 10,000 men and women were anticipated to contribute funds until the end of the event on May 5. The bazaar closed, however, for the Jewish Sabbath. The goal of the event was to clear the $20,000 mortgage on the Orthodox Jewish Home for the Aged. Over $25,000 worth of goods were donated for the event, including such prizes as an automobile, a piano, and $2,000 in “bottled goods.” There was hope that enough money would be made to put the home on a “solid financial basis for a decade to come” (Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb, 1905, page 12). Smart idea.

After opening day speeches by Mayor Harrison, Dr. E. G. Hirsch and Rabbi Yudelson, “electric lights flashed, and in the center of the Coliseum, at the entrance to the dancing pavilion…The word ‘Charity’ was blazed forth in fiery letters” (Chicago Tribune, 26, February 1905, page 12). Then 3,000 attendees then flooded the Monte Carlo dancing pavilion.

The “Chicago Inter Ocean” reported, “One of the important features of the affair will be the Pike, comprising of nine theaters. Many of the attractions at the St. Louis World’s Fair have been secured.” The Inter Ocean commented about this area: “Barkers on the ‘pike,’ which is located in the north end of the building, added to the noise and confusion. Outside of the Monte Carlo and the dancing pavilion, the ‘pike’ was the one particular feature which attracted the visitors last evening. Twelve exhibits are included in the department, consisting of moving pictures, Alpine theater, continuous vaudeville, laughing gallery, and Ferris wheel” (Inter Ocean, 26 Feb 1905, page 8).

Mrs. A. M. Rothschild was in charge of one of the booths featuring a Turkish smoking room and café. She was assisted by twenty-five young women of “prominent in Jewish society.” They were attired in Eastern garb, serving champagne, cordials, Turkish coffee, cigars, cigarettes, and Oriental knickknacks. Other booths included a Russian tearoom, Japanese garden, Old Vienna restaurant and café, a Gypsy camp, a doll booth, an orange grove, a candy booth, and liquor booth. The book and stationary booth featured an autograph volume of the messages and speeches of the President, presented by Mrs. Roosevelt, and placed on exhibit for almost a week (The Inter Ocean, 28, Feb. 1905, page 12). Another valuable volume on display was the 400-year-old Nurnberg Bible.

There was even a competition with thirty contestants to be Queen of the Jewish Bazaar. Other events included a confetti battle. The confetti battle used “eighteen bushels of colored bits of paper as ammunition (The Club-fellow: The Society Journal of New York and Chicago, Volume 6, 1905).

The “Chicago Tribune” noted that an emergency hospital was also on site, reporting, “In case the visitor should faint on being charged an extra admission to the ‘Pike’ or try to commit suicide after an unfortunate venture at the roulette table, to the left of the main entrance is an emergency hospital with a physician and two nurses” (26 February, page 12).

Of the attendees, there were thirty residents from the Jewish home who were brought to the Jewish Bazaar. The “Chicago Tribune” reported, “In the convoy of the superintendent and several matrons the distinguished visitors were taken to the refreshment room for luncheon soon after the exhausting trip downtown in the carriages. L Simon, aged 96 years, after being assisted to a seat and tied round with a huge napkin, nodded approvingly when a bottle of beer was brought to him, and shook his head in emphatic refusal when a plate of cookies and some sandwiches were offered him. All the fifteen old men followed his example…The party was then taken the rounds of Monte Carlo, the Pike, the Japanese village, the sideshows, the Ferris wheel, and all the multitudinous objects of interest in the wonderland that has been created in the Coliseum” (26 February, page 12).

To be continued…

Part 498: The Financing of Scottish Rite Theaters, 1905

In yesterday’s post, I talked about the financial incentive for Sovereign Grand Inspector General’s to increase the membership of 32^nd degree Masons in their Orient (State); a 1905 resolution allowed them to received $2.00 per incoming 32^nd degree Mason until its repeal in 1909. During that time, membership was skyrocketing. The situation was comparable to the goose that laid the golden egg. There was a belief that future dues from a continually increasing membership would support the construction and maintenance of ever-increasing Scottish Rite homes. The idea that membership would always increase was not a realistic scenario and no one anticipated any decline, stock market crash, or a world war. No one also realized that during times of plenty, many Masonic leaders would not invest the funds into the maintenance and repair of their buildings as they aged; deferred maintenance would become the norm and is now causing many insurmountable problems.

There was something else, however, that facilitated the growth of the Fraternity during this first “golden age” of Masonic construction – the financing!

While I was doing research at the University of Texas’ Harry Ransom Center during the fall of 2016, I came across an intriguing letter from the western sales representative of M. C. Lilley & Co. – Bestor G. Brown. Again, Brown was the Past Grand Master for the State of Kansas in 1903. Brown belonged to many other Masonic orders, and was known as the only “Masonic Stage Carpenter” in the country. He also was the stage director for the Scottish Rite in Wichita, Kansas. Brown moved to Kansas City in 1904 where the regional offices for M.C. Lilley were located and formed quite a financial enterprise. As I mentioned yesterday, for Scottish Rite scenery and stage machinery production, Brown – on behalf of M.C. Lilley – subcontracted all work to Sosman & Landis of Chicago. Brown’s employer, M. C. Lilley and Co. was an established business with deep pockets; they could wait a while for payment on goods. THAT is what was needed to push the Scottish Rite into outfitting their theaters, sometimes beyond their means, with state-of-the-art stage systems. Many Scottish Rite theaters rivaled any counterpart on Broadway, Chicago, or the West Coast. Everything was top of the line at the time.

In 1913, Brown was negotiating a sale of stage machinery and a used scenery collection with the Austin Scottish Rite Bodies. He used their standard financing formula, allowing the Austin Scottish Rite Bodies to purchase 64 of Guthrie’s drops for $1,650. The drops had been accepted on credit toward the purchase of a new scenery collection in Guthrie, their first scenery collection was only eleven years old. Here were the standard terms for the production of a painted scenery collection, the manufacture of props, construction of costumes, delivery of stage machinery, stage lighting and the completed installation- a third due upon installation (in cash), a third due the following year, and the final third due in two years.

This financing was standard for most Scottish Rite endeavors delivered by M.C. Lilley. I am unsure how many other scenic studios or regalia suppliers cold afford to carry the debt of Scottish Rites across the country at that time. Brown even wrote, “In fact, if we had not been able to carry the Bodies in the Southern Jurisdiction as we have, we believe that fully one half of the development of the past ten years would not have been possible.” It becomes understandable why M. C. Lilley and their subcontractors dominated the market. From 1900 to 1904 there were a total of seven Scottish Rite Theatres outfitted with scenery and stage machinery by Sosman & Landis. From 1905 to 1909, there were sixteen Scottish Rite Theatres outfitted with scenery and stage machinery by Sosman & Landis – almost double. Between 1910 and 1915, there were another eighteen Scottish Rite Theatres outfitted with scenery and stage machinery by Sosman & Landis. This was simply their share of the Masonic market and represented approximately one quarter of all incoming work.

I believe that the special financing for Scottish Rite Bodies was HUGE! It presents how Scottish Rites were able to purchase state-of-the-art scenery, props, lighting and costumes; they were buying everything on credit and only had to pay a third upon receipt of goods. To pay off the new building and theater simply meant increasing membership numbers to generate even more income. It appeared to be a win-win situation.

 

Was everyone on board with the construction of Scottish Rite theaters and the staging of degree work? No, for many it went against the teaching and guidance of long-time Grand Commander Pike who reigned over the Southern Jurisdiction from 1859 to 1891. Although the Supreme Council had other Grand Commanders, there was no longer a unified vision directing the Scottish Rite. There were those who understood Past Grand Commander Pike’s desire that all of the members should take their time with the degrees to fully understand the Masonic instruction. There were others who saw the massive infusion of wealth into the organization. In 1915 an argument was made for the use of staged degree work in “Transactions of the Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction” –

“The interpretation of a degree, either by picture or stage scenery or other adjuncts, and most frequently, is, allowable, because men may be taught through the eye and frequently with more ease and facility than through the ear” (page 84).

True, and the demographic had shifted over the past century to include those who were not the top intellectuals of the country. There were many farmers, ranchers, businessman, and others from the rising middle class of American Society. It was no longer a group of visionaries who supported public education, riding the crest of every social wave that washed over America.

The Fraternity had survived a period of anti-Masonic sentient during the nineteenth century. The few brilliant men who were prevalent in the order at the beginning of the 18^th century were replaced with hoards of “good men” by then end of the nineteenth century. There were still brilliant intellectuals, but they no longer dominated the organization. For some, the Scottish Rite became a social organization, with the great potential for networking their business; others held onto the message and potential to better mankind. Membership growth and massive candidate classes and increased activities blurred the divide. During the early nineteenth century, the enormous infusion of cash allowed some to place the construction of massive stone monuments ahead of the Fraternity’s mission. These large buildings were perceived as the Fraternity’s crowning glory – look what we achieved! In some cases it was a competition to see who could build the biggest and best in their Orient. Sometimes it became more about the building than the everyday message that the Fraternity offered to better the world.

To be continued…

 Part 497: Transactions of the Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction, 1905

I am taking a brief pause from looking at Thomas G. Moses’ painting projects during 1905 to provide a little Masonic context for that year. Moses’ supervision of Scottish Rite scenery production would dramatically increase during the next five years. There are a couple of factors to consider as the Scottish Rite’s membership and the construction of Masonic theaters dramatically increased during this time. It is imperative to understand the structure of the Scottish Rite, however, before explaining significant Scottish Rite legislation that was passed during 1905.

Here is a very brief summary of how the Scottish Rite is organized. The Supreme Council, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, USA, oversees the Scottish Rite in 35 states. There is also a Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, but I am not discussing that right now. The headquarters for the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction, or Mother Council of the World, is located in Washington, D.C. Presided over by a Grand Commander, other members of the Supreme Council are called Sovereign Grand Inspector Generals (SGIG). There can only be 33 Sovereign Grand Inspector Generals at one time; they are each in charge of an Orient. Other heads of the various Orients who are not members of the Supreme Council, are titled “Deputies” of the Supreme Council. Either an SGIG or Deputy is the Scottish Rite leader for any given state, or Orient, with any given number of Scottish Rite Valleys. For example, the Valley of Minneapolis is located in the Orient of Minnesota. Minnesota used to have an SGIG, but he retired and is now a Past Sovereign Grand Inspector General of Minnesota. We now have a new Deputy. Not all Deputies achieve SGIG status, as some are replaced when a new Grand Commander is installed.

As far as Scottish Rite degrees go, here’s the breakdown: There are four Scottish Rite Bodies divided by degrees – the Lodge of Perfection (4-14), the Chapter of Rose Croix (15-18), the Council of Kadosh (19-30) and the Consistory (31-32). A 32^nd degree Scottish Rite Mason has completed all of the degrees in the Scottish Rite up to the 32^nd. There is also an honorary 33^rd degree, the Inspector General Honorary, but that does not pertain to this particular tale and not everyone achieves that status.

That is the basic structure of the Scottish Rite in the Southern Jurisdiction, as my tale today pertains to the thirty-three Sovereign Grand Inspector Generals from 1905 to 1909.

In 1909, SGIG Harper S. Cunningham repealed a 1905 resolution. This action is recorded in “Transactions of the Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction.”  It was Cunningham’s name that made me stop and re-read the entry in the entry while I was looking for information to include in the timeline of “The Santa Fe Scottish Rite: Freemasonry, Architecture and Theater” (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2018). Cunningham was the SGIG of New Mexico in 1909. Previously, he was the SGIG for Oklahoma and Indian Territory.

Cunningham was instrumental in the growth of Scottish Rite membership in the western region of the Southern Jurisdiction during the end of the nineteenth century and first decade of the twentieth century. He was known as the “Temple Builder.” Cunningham helped expand the Scottish Rite in Oklahoma and Indian Territory, encouraging the construction of large Masonic facilities with theaters, such as in Guthrie and McAlester. They were designed to include theaters for the staging of degree productions, as those appearing in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction and some of the Southern Jurisdiction. The use of theatrically interpreted degree gained popularity under the leadership of Charles Rosenbaum (SGIG Arkansas) in Little Rock.

Cunningham worked closely with Rosenbaum and Bestor G. Brown, the western sales manager of M. C. Lilley, a fraternal regalia and paraphernalia company. Brown was a Past Grand Master of Kansas (1903) belonged to many other Masonic orders, and was known as the only “Masonic Stage Carpenter” in the country. He also was the stage director for the Scottish Rite in Wichita, Kansas. Brown moved to Kansas City in 1904 where the regional offices for M.C. Lilley were located that year. For Scottish Rite scenery and stage machinery production, Brown – on behalf of M.C. Lilley – subcontracted all work to Sosman & Landis of Chicago. Joseph S. Sosman was also a Scottish Rite Mason.

In New Mexico during 1908, Cunningham helped lead the planning of the new Scottish Rite in Santa Fe. He was still working as the SGIG of Oklahoma and Indian Territory at the time, but soon requested to leave his SGIG position in Oklahoma to become SGIG of New Mexico. Cunningham also suggested the sale of the used scenery collection from McAlester, Oklahoma, to the Scottish Rite bodies in Santa Fe, New Mexico; this was to get the Santa Fe Masons used to degree productions for their new 1912 stage. He knew how to promote degree productions and get men excited about their new Masonic theater.

Many, including myself, have partially attributed the rapid growth of the Scottish Rite to the use of scenery and theatrically interpreted degrees. During the nineteenth century, the initiation of new candidates shifted from an individual to group activity, thus creating Masonic candidate classes. Each candidate class was named after an individual, place or event; one example is the Santa Fe Scottish Rite Cody Class, named for the 175 candidates from Camp Cody before they entered the WWI in 1918. Instead of one candidate receiving the degrees in a lodge room, degree productions allowed one exemplar to represent an entire class of candidates. These classes became massive, even numbering in the hundreds of candidates. In 1923, the St. Louis Scottish Rite theater had a seating capacity of 3,000; this was to accommodate the enormous class sizes, as well as its membership.

In addition to the appeal of staged degree work, there was also an incentive for the SGIGs of each state to increase the number of 32^nd degree Masons after 1905. In 1905, there was a resolution adopted at the Biennial Session of the Supreme Council to provide each SGIG with a $2.00 payment for every 32^nd degree Scottish Rite Mason who joined their Orient that year. Today’s equivalent of $2.00 in 1905 is just over $57 per person, a great incentive to increase membership in a state. To add a little more economic context for this amount of money in 1905, the average worker in the United earned $400, while most physicians were making between $4,000 and $5,000.

The growth of the Scottish Rite from 1905 to 1909 is astronomical when compared with the previous four years. From 1900 to 1904, fourteen Scottish Rite theaters were outfitted with scenery from either Sosman & Landis (Chicago) or Toomey & Volland (St. Louis). From 1905 to 1909, Sosman & Landis provided scenery for sixteen Scottish Rite Temples, whereas Toomey & Volland provided scenery for ten Scottish Rite Temples; twenty-six Scottish Rite Valleys purchased scenery between 1905 and 1909. These were only two studios of many theatrical providers for Scottish Rite scenery at the time.

Think of the financial benefit of collecting $2.00 per incoming 32^nd degree Mason, as there were two Reunions every year, each with candidate class. Using Kansas as an example with SGIG Thos. W. Harrison. There were seven Valleys in the Orient of Kansas, one of which was in Wichita. In 1908 the Scottish Rite Temple in Wichita was formally dedicated on June 8. Grand Commander James D. Richardson and several members from the Supreme Council were in attendance for the event. In the days following the dedication of the building, 529 Master Masons received the 4^th though 32^nd degrees. In one week, the SGIG would have made $1058.00. The equivalent purchasing power in 2018 is $29,008.08 (CPI Inflation Calculator). However, this gravy train only lasted until 1909 when those incoming funds would no longer going to go to individual SGIGs.

Why did Cunningham call for the repeal of the 1905 resolution in 1909?

Well, here is what happened that same year. During the Supreme Council’s session in October 1909, a resolution was passed to enlarge or extend the existing House of the Temple in Washington, D.C., or to erect a new one. The new temple was designed by John Russell Pope and modeled after the tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus. In 1910, Grand Commander Richardson accepted the basic design for their new building. On May 31, 1911, the Grand Commander broke ground on the spot where the House of the Temple now stands at 1733 Sixteenth Street NW, in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. The cornerstone for the building was laid on October 18, 1911, and the building was dedicated four years later on October 18, 1915. The chairman for the dedication ceremony was Lieut. Grand Commander Charles E. Rosenbaum.

To be continued…

Part 496: George Samuel and “The Convict’s Daughter”

In 1905, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “My old friend George Samuels of ‘Convict’s Daughter’ fame, came out and gave us a good order. In 1905, the production was in its fourth season of a “powerful melodramatic success” and revamped the show with new scenery (Independence Daily Reporter, 18 Dec. 1905, page 8). The Independence Daily Reporter commented, “a wealth of beautiful scenery” and “startling mechanical effects” had been provided for the show. “The Daily Oklahoman” mentioned the new scenery, costumes and performers for the 1905 tour: “‘The Convict’s Daughter’ the attraction that will appear at the opera house, matinee and night, January 1 will be given this season with an entirely new scenic equipment, new costumes, etc., and a stronger cast that has ever been seen in the play before. The play still retains that strength and intensity that has in the past won its way to the hearts of the public” (31 Dec. 1905, page 14).

The article continued, “The play is in five acts and has a wealth of beautiful scenery, the dialogue is bright, witty and full of comedy, and every actor has been especially engaged for his or her respective part…The first scene in Act 1 is indeed charming-an ideal southern home where sunshine and happiness dwell hand in hand” (31 Dec. 1905, page 14).

The central figure of the play is William Woodruff, an escaped convict who is innocent, unjustly sentenced for another man’s crime, that of murder. He finally escapes from prison and becomes known as the tramp “Weary Willie.” “The Independence Daily Reporter” reported, “The great sensational scene is the jail yard, where convicts are at work rebuilding a wall beside a railroad. In this scene a locomotive and twenty freight cars cross the stage. As the train passes the wall, one of the convicts, standing on the top stones, leaps for liberty to the roof of the car” (Independence, Kansas, 19 Dec. 1905” Page 2). Of the train scene, newspapers boasted that this scene was the “most astounding and realistic scene ever presented on stage” (Willmar Tribune, Wilmar, Minnesota, 4 Oct. 1905, page 1).

The melodrama takes place in the bluegrass region of Kentucky. A local banker, Col. Mathew Gould, has in his house a young woman whom he adopted when she was a baby. A young clerk in Gould’s bank becomes enamored of Miss Gould. All arrangements for the coming marriage of the pair are made, but Mathew Gould is unwilling to give his consent to the match.

James Blackadder, the supposed cousin of the girl, is also in love with her. He tries several schemes to break up the engagement between her and her lover. While Col. Gould is telling the girl’s lover the secret of her birth and that she is not his daughter, Blackadder overhears the story.

Woodruff approaches the Gould house to get food. He is employed by Blackadder to present himself as the girl’s father. Later, when all is ready for the wedding ceremony, Woodruff appears at the Gould home as the girl’s father. He shows bogus proofs of his identity and brings his “daughter” to an old shanty in the woods, arranged by Blackadder. While living in the woods with the two men, the girl finds a letter one in an old Bible, left to her by her mother about her father and his career. While reading the letter to her supposed father, “Weary Willie,” Woodruff realizes that the girl is actually his daughter.

When Blackadder arrives at the shanty, the two men quarrel and Blackadder has Woodruff arrested as the escaped convict from Sing Sing. Woodruff is taken to prison to serve out the remainder of the sentence. In prison, he is a good prisoner and soon wins the confidence of the warden. However, one of the prison guards is working for Blackadder and hired to kill Woodruff for the least offense. A new stonewall is being erected around the prison yard and Woodruff has been chosen to do some work on it. Immediately outside the wall is a railroad. It is the suspicion of the guard that Woodruff will attempt an escape on a passing train. His suspicion is verified by Woodruff taking advantage of the guard’s back being turned, leaving the line of prisoners and scaling the wall and leaping on the passing freight train. Pistol shots follow, but Woodruff escapes unharmed. Woodruff’s innocence is proven by the confession of the dying murderer, who leaves all his property to him. He returns to the Gould home in time to witness the marriage of his daughter to her choice. Gould’s daughter marries the man whom she has loved and waited for many years, the melodrama ending happily.

To be continued…

Part 495: William A. Brady’s “All ‘Round Chicago,” 1905

In 1905 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Early in May I did a Wm. A. Brady’s ‘All Around Chicago,’ a big show at McVickers. Another $3,600.00 contract.” Moses was referring to “All ‘Round Chicago,” a musical review with a plot that involved an English Army officer escorting a king of the Cannibal Islands around Chicago. The king has lost his jewels, and the detective William Slinkertin traces them through various locations to the last act.

“The News Palladium” commented, “An enormous musical production and extravaganza is ‘All ‘Round Chicago,’ which William A. Brady presented at the McVicker’s theater for the first time on any stage last Sunday night. It is a show utterly unlike anything ever before seen in Chicago. It is a show of Chicago, about Chicago, for Chicago, and it undoubtedly pleased Chicago. It is the biggest and most enthusiastic first night audience at McVicker’s Theater this season. Hundreds of people were turned away, unable to secure admittance” (3 May 1905, page 3). The article continued, “The show is in twelve scenes and each one of them represents a well known part of Chicago. The fun starts at the well known restaurant, the College Inn, which is faithfully reproduced and introduces well known Chicago types. Other notable scenes are Michigan avenue boulevard, the lake by moonlight, the interior of the Auditorium on the night of the fancy dress ball, the board of trade, the new post office, and many other well known sights. The play is staged magnificently, 100 people being employed in the ensemble numbers.”

The “McHenry Plaindealer” reported, “The scenery is especially attractive, and as the play progresses the audience is taken to the College Inn, to the Auditorium, that lake front near the Annex, on State street, opposite the new post-office and onto the stage of McVicker’s where a burlesque of ‘Way Down East’ is the convulsing feature” (McHenry, Illinois, 18 May 1905, page 4). It was in the auditorium scene where twelve authentic Moulin Rouge dancers imported from Paris appear to perform their famous can-can, or “dance in the air.” The “McHenry Plaindealer” described, “The girls, who are garbed in exquisite Parisian gowns, lie on the floor, stick their feet up in the air and go through all the motions of a dance. The effect is charming and the girls are rewarded nightly by six or seven encores” (24 May 1905, page 8).

The musical “All ‘Round Chicago” was advertised as “a scenic musical skit” and “a topsy turvy in two acts” (The Times, Shreveport, Louisiana, 7 May 1905, page 14). It opened on May 1, 1905 and written by A. Baldwin Sloane and Frederick Rankin. The “Minneapolis Journal” included an article titled, “ALL ROUND CHICAGO” HAS MANY SONG HITS on May 20, 1905 (page 10). The article gave a detailed account of the songs: “In the long list of ‘hits’ in ‘All ‘Round Chicago’ are three or four songs which have made particularly fine impressions. One of these is ‘Oh, Mr. Moon,’ sung by Nella Bergen and the chorus of men. Another is ‘The Cute Little Cannibal,’ in which the entire company is heard, Frank Hatch singing the solo. Others are Dan McAvoy’s ‘I’m Looking for That Man’ and ‘Dear Old Chicago For Me,” in which each member has a verse and the chorus comes out strong on the ensembles. The greatest hit of all, however, is the ‘Song of the Nations,’ in which the entire company takes part. There are the cute little Johnny Bulls – eight of them- and they sing ‘God Save the King’ in fine fashion; then follow the eight Gastons that speak for France; Ireland is represented by Laddies in green with shillalahs and shamrocks and Irish top hats; then there are Japs, eight boys in pink and green and eight soldiers in the uniform of the field; then eight dear little German kinder in wooden shoon and with big pipes. Last of all Columbia attended by the Rough Riders and assisted by Miss Dixie comes to finish the play and right rousingly do they do it. The strains of ‘The Stars and Stripes’ swell out with the chorus of 150 trained voices, the augmented orchestra and the magnificent pipe organ which is one of the glories of McVicker’s. This song makes an inspiring finish to the play.”

This novelty was further described by the “McHenry Plaindealer:” “There are a row of little ‘Johnny bulls’ lustily singing ‘God Save the King;’ a group of French boys lifting up their voices in the ‘Marseillaise,’ a roughish lot of Irish lads shouting out ‘The Harp that Once Through Tara’s Halls,’ a row of funny little Germans singing ‘Die Wacht am Rhein,’ Jap boys and Jap soldiers droning out ‘chop-stick’ music” (24 May 1905, page 8).

Of the lead, the “Butte Daily Post” published, “Jim Corbett is surely making good on stage. He is playing in a new production in Chicago, called “All Round Chicago,” and he is the hit of the big cast. He sings a clever song during the action of the piece and it is discovered that he has a voice, not a wonder, but enough to carry him along” (Butte, Montana, 12 May 1905, page 12). Less than a month later, this celebrity’s big personality caused the early close of the production.

The “Butte Daily Post” reported, “Jim Corbett has disrupted the company playing ‘All Round Chicago’ in that city by having trouble with the principal members of the troupe who have given their notice, and the show which has been a big success, closes Saturday night. He threatened to punch the head off Dick Bernard and, it is said that as Corbett is not in a hospital it is pretty certain he did not try it. Corbett is getting a big roast for the way in which he has acted and the end is not yet. Now that the ex-champion has become an actor it seems he will not allow anyone to tell him anything about the business, but he wants to tell the rest how they should play their parts. The closing of the show will be a loss to manager Bill Brady who spent big money on the production” (Butte, Montana, 9 June 1905, page 13).

Fortunately Corbett and Lick Bernard, who had the “little row” patched up their differences with the two explaining that the papers were incorrect about the story (Butte, Montana, 19 June 1905, page 7). The show, however, remained closed just the same.

Moses had designed and painted other Brady productions, such as “Under the Southern Skies” and “Pretty Peggy.” William Aloysius Brady (1863-1950) was an actor, dramatist, producer and manager. Among those personalities who he managed included Wilton Lackaye, Helen Hayes, Henry W. Dixey, Mary Nash, his daughter Alice Brady and James J. “Gentleman Jim” Corbett the heavyweight prizefighter. Throughout the course of his career, Brady produced over 260 shows and built two New York theaters (The Playhouse and the 48^th Street Theater).

To be continued…

Part 494: Thomas G. Moses and “An American Woman,” 1905

In 1905, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “My first production for the year was ‘An American Woman.’ For the First Act I had an illuminated drop supposed to be up north in the pine forests. The sky was one of the grandest sunsets I ever saw, purely accidental as far as I was concerned. It was the lights, but of course I took the credit, as long as they insisted that they lights were my suggestion.” “An American Woman” was a poetic drama in four acts written by Charles Eugene Banks for Miss Amber Lawlord. Lawlord starred in the leading role as Helen Chadbourne.

The “Sioux City Journal” commented on Moses’ scenic contributions: “The unusual stage settings were important adjuncts in many of the stage pictures, for it must be confessed it was the beauty of these pictures and also the music of some of the lines , rather than the dramatic merit of the play, which made the evening a pleasure to the altogether too small audience present” (17 Jan. 1905, page 6).

The Daily Times (Davenport, Iowa, 12 Jan. 1905, page 6) described the play in its entirety:

“The opening scene, laid at the residence of Senator Whittleson in the pine woods of the upper peninsula of Michigan, introduces the gigantic business deal in which the senator hopes to make millions from the forest lands. The Indian, ‘Eagle Wing,” delivers a powerful plea for the life of the trees, in which he is seconded by Helen Chadbourne, the niece of the senator, who wins over her lover, John Thorne, to the cause. The secret attachment between the Baron von Auerbach and her aunt, discovered by Helen, causes he to sacrifice herself in the climax to save the honor of her family name. The second act, laid in the Chadburne home in Chicago develops the plot of the baron to ruin the newly formed syndicate, and his attempts to gain possession of valuable papers, from Mrs. Whittleson are frustrated by the heroine. Helen Chabourne’s actions, misunderstood by her lover, have caused a separation between them and in her sacrifice to save her aunt is the theme of the romance. In the studio of Baron von Auerbach, shown in Act III, the strongest and best action in the play is developed. Mrs. Whittleson’s attempt to elope with the baron, taking her husband’s entire fortune in stocks with her, is checkmated by Helen who makes her see the error of her ways. The baron is caught in a cleverly laid net and the fourth act is only a rounding out of the happiness that the close of the third assures.”

 

In many areas, the play was panned; the actors criticized the playwright, as well as each another for the terrible reviews. The tipping point for the production, however, was at the Willis Wood theatre in Kansas City when people in the audience audibly made fun of the play and of the star during the performance. Lawford struck back, blaming the author and her manager, The “Leavenworth Times” quoted Lawford in their article, “Miss Amber Lawford Finds She Can’t Act” (Leavenworth, Kansas, 2 Feb 1905, page 8). She was quoted as saying, “I know my play, ‘An American Woman’ is rotten. It was written by an amateur, Mr. Banks, a delightful old character, who howls if a line is changed without his consent. I designed the scenery and settings. My faith in Banks has ruined me. My company does not know how nearly I am to collapse and the public thinks I am an amateur and do not understand. The time will come when they will know me differently.” In Miss Lawlord’s interview with the paper, she said, “I don’t try to hide my identity. I am the widow of William Fairchild Morgan, who was accidentally killed while hunting in the Adirondack mountains four years ago, and have two children. My husband’s father was one of the richest men Kentucky has ever known and he bequeathed to my husband an immense fortune. I was married when I was 16 year old and I had an income of $100,000 a year until the death of my husband. I have traveled all over the world. I have had an ambition to go on the stage ever since I was a girl in the Roman Catholic convent at Notre Dame. That is where I was educated. I studied for the stage in Paris and devoted seven years to the hardest sort of work under the direction of masters of stagecraft. I joined Wilton Lackaye’s company to get experience. I took a minor part during the New York production, and was playing second leads before the end of the engagement. I played twelve weeks in Chicago with Mr. Lackaye…I still have money and property. Why I have a home at 7 East Thirty-third street in New York that has $100,000 worth of furniture. Do you know where 7 East Thirty-third street is? It is right on Fifth avenue and within a stone’s throw of the Waldorf-Astoria. Do you wonder that a woman of my experience, of my social standing, wealth, education and refinement whould resent these insults?…They say I am beautiful. But is it a crime to be beautiful? Cannot a woman be beautiful and still be something else? Is a woman cursed and hissed and ridiculed because she is beautiful?…The dresses I wear are the same that I wore a year ago at the horse show in New York, and they were favorably commented on in the society columns of the papers. But I will win yet, I am closing here and will have a play in a few weeks called “My Wife’s Husband.” It is a comedy. I will win of it tales the last drop of my life blood. I will be a star.”

In 1908, Lawford married Samuel Willets, “son of a millionaire, master of hounds for the Meadow Brook Club, owner of the great jumper Heatherbloom, and member of six leading New York clubs” (The Pittsburgh Press, 21 June 1908, page 5). He was considered “one of the most desirable catches in the matrimonial market” at the time, coming from “one of the old aristocratic Long Island families.” The same article described that the new Mrs. Samuel Willets was “born in Frankfort, Ky., in 1880, the daughter of J. Henry Lorillard, a planter, alleged to be distantly related to the Lorillards of New York. A strain of Spanish blood flows in her veins. Her mother died when she was two years old and her father sent her to Notre Dame convent, where she was educated, remaining until she was 13, at which time her father died. A year and a half later she became the child-bride of William Fairchild Morgan, a wealthy resident of New Orleans. Their married life was happy. Morgan died in 1900, leaving his fortune in trust for their two children. She shortly afterward went on the stage.”

Her life may have been the best plot for a play.

To be continued…

Part 493: Thomas G. Moses’ Old Mill Scenery for Luna Park in 1905

I return to other painting projects by Thomas G. Moses during the year 1905, after getting sidetracked by the Ringling Brothers’ grand spectacles. Thomas G. Moses was still creating amusement park scenery, but as a Sosman & Landis employee. Past New York Coney Island projects were created with Will Hamilton as part of Moses & Hamilton; the two had worked on the Trip to the Moon, Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, War of the Worlds, Fire and Flames, and other much smaller shows. In 1904, Moses moved from New York to Chicago.

In 1905 Moses wrote, “I had to go to Cleveland to put in a lot of old mill scenery at Luna Park. Ed Thompson went with me and J. H. Young went to do the properties and papier mache work.” In 1904. John H. Young had just opened his own studio in New York. He was a long-time friend of Moses; they had worked on various projects together since the 1870s. Young would later be known for his many Broadway designs.

The Old Mill in attraction in Cleveland and elsewhere was a “Tunnel of Love” ride. It had been a success at the Pan-American exposition and immediately replicated at Coney Island. Floating down a babbling brook, visitors traveled past simulated lakes, cavernous tunnels, and a picturesque landscape. The Buffalo Evening News described old mill rides as an amusement consisting of “many tunnels through which float boats on a stream of water” (Buffalo, New York, 10 August, 1905, page 22). On August 10, 1905, there was a breakdown of the plant of the United Electric Light and Power Company, plunging the Coney Island’s Luna Park into darkness. It provides some insight into the mechanics of the ride, as the loss of electricity caused the flow of the water to cease and the boats to settle to the bottom.

Luna Park in Cleveland, Ohio, opened in 1905 and lasted until 1929, when it was destroyed by fire. Constructed by Frederick Ingersoll of Ingersoll Construction Company, the park was located on a 35-acre site, bounded by Woodland Avenue, Woodhill, Mt. Caramel, and East 110^th Street. Ingersoll Construction Company got its start by building roller coasters and other amusement park rides. The first two parks that Ingersoll opened were in Cleveland and Pittsburgh in 1905, both of which Moses created scenery for the old mill attraction.

Of Ingersoll’s second park, Moses wrote, “We went to Pittsburg to do an old mill there for the same firm. We also did two small stages in the Pittsburg Park.” At one time, Ingersoll owned and operated over forty amusement parks not only in the United States, but also in Berlin, Germany and Mexico City.

Although Cleveland’s Luna Park shared the same name as the one on Coney Island in New York, there was no official affiliation, yet Ingersoll’s Luna Parks replicated many of the rides from Coney Island. The Old Mill ride was featured alongside other attractions, such as Fire and Flames, Coasting the Gorge, Trip to the Moon, Scenic Railways, the Miniature Railway, the Circle Swing and Infant Incubators. The Old Mill was a six-minute ride for 10 cents (The Scranton Republican, 18 June 1905, page 6 and The Raleigh Times, 7 July 1905, page 11).

Although Moses was on staff at Sosman & Landis in Chicago, he would still accept a variety of independent projects. In 1906, he would briefly partner with Will Hamilton to produce additional scenery for Pittsburgh’s Luna Park. He wrote, “Did some designs for a Park in Pittsburg for my old partner Hamilton. I did them in black and white, rather effective.” There is no other information to identify his second project for Pittsburg’s Luna Park.

To be continued…

Part 492: Ringling Brothers’ Grand Spectacle of 1913 – “Joan of Arc”

In 1913, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “When we were setting the Ringling scenery at the Coliseum, the big elephants stampeded and there was some excitement for awhile, but the trainer went after them and brought them back and made them go through all the tricks again.” At the time, he was working on another Ringling Brothers’ grand spectacle “Joan of Arc.”

Newspapers reported that the Joan of Arc story was told by 1200 characters, 300 beautiful dancing girls, a chorus of 400 voices and 600 horses (The Daily Herald, 12 April 1912, page 4).

The “Santa Ana Register described the spectacle:

“The story of ‘Joan of Arc,’ a simple peasant girl who became the deliverer of France, and at last, betrayed by all, was burned on the public square on the false charge of heresy and witchcraft, is familiar to all. It is presented by Ringling Brothers in a masterful way, retaining to the end its pathos, its sentiment and its thrilling dramatic interest. The play begins with Joan, just sixteen years old, comes from her father’s pasture at Domremy at the command of the Archangel St. Michael to the court of Charles VII at Chinon. In the light of a thousand torches she is brought into the presence of the king in the great palace which throngs with the nobles of France. The reception which the king gives the peasant girl is filled with impressiveness and suspense. The second climax of the great spectacle is reached when Joan, dressed in armor, crosses the river at Orleans and rides at the head of the French army into the beleaguered city. One of her heralds presents himself at the English camp. Respect to the messenger of a reputed sorceress is denied and the herald is threatened with death. Another messenger is sent to defy Talbot, and to declare from the girl that if any harm is done him ot shall be retaliated on the English prisoners.

Joan in shining armor appears on a tower facing the Tournelles, bidding, the soldiers of Suffolk and Talbot to depart. This they refused to do. At the head of the French knights and archers Joan rides between the towers of the besiegers and followed by the villagers who look on in wonder at the sight of a mere girl leading the armies of France.

Joan rides through victory after victory, her mysterious power leading her on. A scene of matchless beauty is disclosed by the changing of scenery to that of the magnificent court of Charles VII at Rheims, where, through the inspired deeds of the Maid of Orleans the king is restored to his throne. Here amid regal splendor, the joyous acclaim of the populace and the pomp of pageantry, is enacted the most beautiful episode in French history. The stage version ends with the introduction of a great ballet of 300 beautiful dancing girls, a grand opera chorus, 600 horses and an ensemble of 1200 people. The closing chapter of Joan’s life is too sad for this drama of gladness, through her capture, her imprisonment and her execution are told in a series of thrilling tableaus by means of tone of scenery and a great battery of electric mechanism” (4 Sept. 1913, page 8).

The Ogden Standard reported, “Nearly one-half of an entire train section is used to transport the scenery and costumes f the spectacle of Joan of Arc. This spectacle includes a cast of 1,250 characters and a ballet of 300 girls under the personal direction of Ottokaa Bartik, ballet master of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, and late of La Scala, Milan. In a series fo striking pantomimic pictures this spectacle tells the dramatic and historical story of the Maid of Orleans, who went forth to battle for her country and her king. The costumes and scenery used in this production are more gorgeous and costly ever secured for a presentation of this kind, either under canvas or in a theatre and the spectacle is produced with all the scenic pomp and splendor and detail of a grand opera. It is presented on a stage larger than that of ten ordinary sized theatres, occupying nearly one entire side of the main circus tent, which measure 498 by 234 feet and seats more than 12,000 persona at a performance” (1 Aug. 1913, page 9).

After “Joan of Arc,” 375 performers took part in the ring entertainment, with approximately 200 who were recruited by Ringlings’ European agent (The Daily Herald, 12 April 1912, page 4). There were 124 acts, 40 elephants, and 108 caged animals in the traveling Ringling Brothers’ zoo.

“Joan of Arc” was reported as costing in excess of $500,000 to devise and produce (The Placer Herald, 23 Aug. 1913, page 3). Keep in mind that the amount twas half the price of “King Solomon,” the grand spectacle that the Ringlings would produce in 1914. For “King Solomon” the Ringlings added a railway car, an elephant, eighty horses, and a much larger main tent. The horses increased from 650 in 1913 to 730 in 1914. The 1913 tent measured 498 feet by 234 feet, seating 12,000. The 1914 tent measured 560 by 320 feet and added an additional 2,000 seats, totaling 14,000.

 

To be continued…