Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar. The Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, Jan. 7-15, 2024.

Copyright © 2024 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

The Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana when we left work on January 13, 2024.

On January 7, 2024, I drove from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. My project was to catalogue a portion of the vast scenery collection at the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana. Located in southeastern Iowa, this unique museum is “dedicated to the preservation of memorabilia and artifacts of early repertoire theatre.”

Here is a link to their website http://thetheatremuseum.com/

The Theatre Museum resulted from a memorabilia exhibit displayed at the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion and Iowa Wesleyan College in 1970. Local enthusiasm fueled discussions to build a Theatre Museum on Old Thresher Reunion show grounds. On September 1, 1973, the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana was dedicated, and is currently situated at the north end of the show grounds. I. must mention that most of the credit for this entire endeavor goes to the promotional efforts of Caroline Schaffner (Neil & Caroline Schaffner Players), Jimmy Davis (6-yrs. member and 35-yrs. owner of the Schaffner Players), Helen Virden, and Joe Mauck.

The exterior of the Theatre Musuem is intended to simulate a nineteenth-century opera house.

My photograph of the Theatre Museum Building, March 2017.

Over the years, a variety of theatre artifacts were donated to the museum, necessitating two major renovations. In 2000, the Caroline Schaffner Research Library was added to the building. This archival space is packed full of rare scripts, correspondence, tour schedules, production photos, and a large collection of videotaped interviews with performers describing their touring experiences.

There is much, much more to discuss about the Theatre Museum’s origin, but I am going to pause here.

Displays at the Theatre Museum include a variety of scenery, costumes, machinery, touring trunks, play bills, show cards, advertising sheets, playbills, musical instruments, and more. Here are a few photographs of museum displays from my most recent visit.

Display cases in front of two 1875 shutters painted by Harry Dressel for Steyer’s Opera House in Decorah, Iowa.

Interior book flat delivered by Iowa scenic artist Jesse Cox in front of an Ad Drop painted by Iowa scenic artist Hugh Lanning (for the Blakesburg Opera House) in 1905.

There are many aspects that make this museum that make it internationally significant. However, it is their association with the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion (Old Threshers) that I find the most remarkable.

To clarify this relationship: Old Threshers owns the museum, but it is run by a museum board.

(Click here for more information about the upcoming Reunion)

Now you may wonder, “What is an old threshers reunion?”  Let’s start with a thresher. A thresher, or threshing machine, beats the kernels from grain heads. This is a necessary step in the process of preparing grain for market. In the Midwest, many farmers gathered their resources to hire a threshing machine at harvest time. Threshing was an annual, or bi-annual, affair (depending on region) that gathered communities together for a common purpose. The result of their labors made it possible to ship large amounts of grain to flour mills and other processing plants across the country. For those who want to know about the evolution of the thresher, here is a link: https://www.farmcollector.com/steam-traction/evolution-of-the-thresher/

A Minneapolis Threshing Machine in front of chaff (the covering and other debris separated from the kernal when threshing grain).

Harnessing a steam engine’s power.

Although this is a far cry from current agricultural practices, it marked a culturally significant events for farmers. Threshing reunions celebrate agricultural technology from the nineteenth-century through mid-twentieth century. In addition to tractors and farming equipment these shows feature other aspects of farm life, including innovative technology and cultural artifacts from metropolitan areas too.

Also referred to a “steam shows,” the main feature are rows of tractors, with the earliest examples powered by steam. There is nothing quite like watching a massive steam tractor slowly puff across a field or power a threshing machine. It is a multi-sensory experience that instantaneously transports you back to another time and place. It provides contexts for all those American History classes that examined rural communities. If the show grounds include a steam engine that puffs along on a few miles of track, old-time music, vintage-clothing style show, it is magical.

I have been a member of the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion (WMSTR) since 1972. Here is their link and a few pictures from 2023: https://rollag.com/

My son and mother playing music in the WMSTR mercantile building, 2023.

My dad and husband working as conductors on the 353.

My dad has been the WMSTR Hobo for three decades.

Sadly, both WMSTR and the Midwest Old Threshers hold their reunions at the same time – on Labor Day Weekend.

Threshing shows are extremely affordable, with a four-day pass costing approximately $30.00. Both volunteers and visitors often camp on, or near, the show grounds for the entire event. This creates a tight-knit community over the years, fostering many life-long friendships.

Threshing shows offer something for everyone in the family, but the inclusion of a theatre museum makes the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion unique.  As in days past, the museum offers respite to those weary from spending the day outside. In fact, it is a natural pairing that many fail to realize; the bringing of theatrical entertainment to rural activities.

As America’s network of transportation expanded throughout the second half of the nineteenth century, performance venues rapidly appeared throughout the Midwestern States and Western Territories. Scenery was delivered to stages in buildings titled Opera House, Opera Hall, Academy of Music, Museum, and Atheneum. Town halls, city halls, lodge rooms, saloons, and academic institutions. These spaces included stages, often with complete sets of scenery. The construction of a stage, regardless of the building’s name, signaled the success of a rural community. It signified that there was a social space to not only host a variety of community events, but also serve the needs of touring entertainments. For farming families, it was an opportunity to connect with their neighbors and in-town residents. Overall, it fostered the sense of community and provided a network of support for many individuals otherwise isolated on distant homesteads.

The Theatre Museum’s scenery collection includes scenery dating as early as 1875.  Painted compositions for the stage feature the works of many well-known studios, including Sosman & Landis, Kansas City Scenic Co., Twin City Scenic Company, Joy & Cannon Scenic Company, and Universal Scenic Company. Some pieces are even signed and dated, signifying the only surviving scenic artworks by well-known scenic artist’s Arthur R. Hurtt and Harry Dressel. There is also an extensive collection of the Diamond Dye scenery painted Jesse Cox, founder of Cox Scenic Studios in Estherville, Iowa. The Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana houses the greatest variety of late-nineteenth century and early-twentieth century scenery on display in North America.

Studio label on back of a drop recently documented at the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana.

Jesse Cox’s paint table on display in front of a dye drop.

During my stay, I documented far more than 50 drops, and there are dozens of wings and interior flats to go, with some dating as early as 1875. Despite, two blizzards and sub-zero temperatures, the trip was extremely successful.  Keep in mind, that I was born and raised in Minnesota. I am very familiar with driving in near white-out conditions and have snow tires on my car. However, I am always hesitant to put myself in harm’s way on a winter road.

On Sunday, January 7, 2024, I drove from Minneapolis, MN, to the home of my host in Washington, Iowa, where I stayed at the home of Theatre Museum president, Monie Hayes.

He was my timeline for the week:

Day 1: On Monday, January 8, we both drove the 40-min. trip to Mt. pleasant, Iowa. That day we were able to unroll and document ten drops. Our primary focus was unlabeled scenery stored in the basement, above the stage and on the walls. The basement of the museum is another display area with small stage.

Day 2: On Tuesday, January 9, the first blizzard hit, dumping about 15” of snow where I was staying. It was an intense storm system that paused and spiraled around Washington. We called work off for that day, so I started compiling my report. Sadly, this delay meant extending my stay.

Screen shot of my weather app radar on Jan. 9, 2024.

Day 3: On Wednesday, January 10, I drove down the Mt. Pleasant, where we repeated the process, slowly unrolling, or unfolding, one scene at a time.

Day 4: On Thursday, January 11, I relocated to the home of another board members, Leigh Bradley, in Mt. Pleasant. I needed to be in town and not commute 40 minutes to an from the job site. My decision was based on the forecast of another blizzard. This storm was now combined with sub-zero temperatures. Iowa had again issued a no-tow order, meaning that travel was at your own risk; tow trucks would not be sent out to rescue stranded cars. As I was now staying only a few miles away from the Museum, we continued cataloguing scenery.  The second storm was scheduled to start at 9PM that evening. After work, we all headed out to dinner at a local restaurant. These are the moments that make everything worthwhile; getting to know the people who are passionate about preserving there scenery collection.

Part of the week-long team included Richard Finkelstein. He had driven 14 hours to join me on site and photograph this remarkable collection.  As always, I am amazed with Richard’s talent, knowledge, and generosity.  It was such a delight to work with him again. Our last project was at the Scottish Rite in Richmond, Virginia when I packed up and moved that Masonic scenery collection to Tucson, Arizona, in January 2021.

Richard Finkelstein working at the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana.

Wendy Waszut-Barrett and Richard Finklestein at the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana.

Our workspace in the basement. Platforms and chairs were moved in the auditorium to lay out the backdrops.

Signature on corner of a Front Curtain (shown above), painted at the Twin City Scenic Co. in 1915.

Days 5 and 6: The back-to-back winter storm and second blizzard warnings for January 12 and 13 meant that there were only two volunteers who could show up. In many ways, these were my two favorite days on site.

Day 7: By Sunday morning, I recognized that I was going to be stranded in Mt. Pleasant another day. Again, there was a no-tow order, and I was unwilling to chance the 5-hrs. drive north; some roads were still impassible due to snow and ice.

Day 8: In the end, I left early Monday morning, and made it home by late afternoon. The anticipated 5-hrs. drive lasted much longer due to poor road conditions and slow speeds.

Iowa roads after the storms on January 15, 2024.

Here are a few images from my adventure.

1875 Shutter painted by Chicago scenic artist, Harry Dressel, for Steyer’s Opera House in Decorah, Iowa.

Detail from a drawing on the backside of Dressel’s shutter.

Detail of Grand Drapery Border paint by Sosman & Landis Scenic Studio, delivered to Mineral Point, Wisconsin.

Painted detail from dye drop painted by Jesse Cox of Estherville, Iowa.

Painted detail from dye drop painted by Jesse Cox of Estherville, Iowa.

Painted detail delivered the the Quoque Community Hall in Long Island, New York.

Painted detail by Sosman & Lanids studio artists for the ZCBJ Lodge Hall Front Curtain in Oxford Junction, Iowa.

Painted detail from a “Yankee Doodle” scene used by the Jack & Maude Brooks Stock Co.

Painted detail from a 1918 Ad Drop.

Stage screw and stage jack on display the the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana.

Border lights from the Blakesburg Opera House on display at the Theatre Museum.

The next few posts will explore some of the more significant scenery in the collection, starting with Arthur R. Hurtt’s street scene. I am posting some of my research while I complete condition reports, replacement appraisals, and a Collections Care Management document for the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana. In an effort to generate support for the Theatre Museum, I will share some of the most significant artifacts in the scenery collection.

Please consider becoming a member of the Theatre Museum. The annual fee is only $20 ($15 for students). Your support sends a message to the Midwest Old Thresher’s Reunion and the Mt. Pleasant Community that the Theatre Museum is important and should remain open. Here is the link to contribute: http://thetheatremuseum.com/membership

To be continued…