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In 1911, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I have not been as active on my picture work this year as I was last – too much hard work.  No vacation this year, and I miss that very much, as a month means a good deal to both Mama and I.” Moses went on an annual sketching trip every year, often accompanied by his wife and their children.  Unfortunately, 1911 was a busy time at Sosman & Landis, with Masonic projects pouring in, as well a variety of other projects beyond their standard opera house and theatre work.

Since the beginning of Sosman & Landis, Moses was on the road for months at a time. Even during the first decade of the twentieth century, much scenery was still painted on site. The practice continued as studio space was limited and any theater could be transformed into a temporary paint studio. Staying in one place for any significant length of time was an anomaly for Moses, even after 1904 when he became the vice-president and a Sosman & Landis stockholder.

When Moses was not finishing projects on site, meeting with clients, supervising installations, or securing new contracts for upcoming work; travel was a necessity. If railways gave out “frequent flyer” miles at the time, Moses would have been set at the platinum level for life. He was constantly crisscrossing the country from one coast to the other, spending many nights sleeping on a train.  In many ways it must have been quite freeing, escaping the monotony of the main studio as one project systematically replaced another, yet it resulted in limited time spent with his family too.  His salary, like many other scenic artists of the time, was substantial enough that he was able to afford a comfortable home, nice things, and a month-long vacation every year. Regardless of the quality of his home life, he was seldom there to enjoy it. He entered the painting profession when profits abounded in the painting industry. A talented scenic artist could quickly rise to the top of his profession, surpassing the annual salaries in most other trades at the time. Scenic artists were highly respected and appropriately compensated for their skills.

Although Moses did not enjoy a vacation during 1911, there were plenty other reasons to rejoice that year.

On February 8, 1911, Moses wrote, “Mamie surprised us both by informing us that she and Wm. Hanover were married in Wheaton, Illinois, on February 8^th, 1911.  We are becoming accustomed to these surprises.” “Mamie,” born Mary Titcomb Moses in 1881, was the second eldest of the couple’s children, with William “Pitt” being the eldest (b. 1879). In 1911, Pitt was still residing in New Jersey, successfully working with his Uncle Frank.

The next month, Lillian Ella Moses Salzmann (b. 1886), had a baby. Of the event, Moses wrote, “Lillian presented her husband with a bouncing son, Thomas George, in New York, March 9^th.  Mama went to New York to be with Lillian for a week or so.”  The couple would go on to have four more children (Marjorie, William, Gertrude and Betty).

Of their youngest child, Rupert Thomas Moses returned from California on March 2, 1911.  The previous year he left Chicago to seek employment there. Of this departure, Moses wrote, “Rupert went to California to work for Shearer, but he was not put on.  He went to work for the irrigating company.  They treated him better.” At the time, Rupert was 22 years old. He would later enter the theatrical trade with his father, traveling across country and completing various Sosman & Landis projects. Rupert was also an artists and the two would even spend time sketching at the Palette & Chisel club’s Fox Lake camp.

By the fall of 1911 the Moses family began to expand again. In November Moses wrote, “Miss Ula McNeill of Ames, Iowa, Rupert’s best girl, paid us a short visit…She appeared to be a very amiable young woman and we enjoyed meeting her.” The two would be married by 1914 and raised three girls (Evelyn, Doris and Marilyn). As an undergraduate, I met Doris at her farm while accompanying Lance Brockman on a research trip during the early 1990s. After our visit to her farm, we corresponded for a time.  Doris described her talented grandfather and her memories of Moses. In 2016, I began corresponding with both of Marilyn’s sons, getting a new sense of Moses’ personality.

Rupert’s family would stay close to Tom and Ella, even living in their Oak Park home, when they went away to Oakland, California. Upon their return, Rupert and his family stayed with other family members in Ames, Iowa.  After the stock market crash, however, Rupert’s family permanently resided in the Oak Park home with Tom and Ella. Of this transition, Marilyn wrote, “We weren’t used to having anyone else in the house and neither were my grandparents.” In a full house, the granddaughters would recall being warned against bothering their grandpa when he was painting. Granddaughter Marilyn recalled, “Grandfather had a studio on the third floor of his house. He spent most of his time up there painting.” She continued, “Grandmother tried to ‘protect’ Grandfather from his grandchildren or maybe it was his working time, which was important. I didn’t realize the reasons behind the rules. I would go up to the studio to watch. It was quite exciting to see the sets develop. Grandfather taught me how to make furniture out of cardboard and put me to work. I made tables, chairs and lounges.”

Marilyn described evening in the Moses home later in lofe, “In home life, dinner was always a party with a lot of conversation about all things going on in everyone’s lives. Conversations would trigger reminiscences and Grandfather would be off on one of his tales of the past.” Moses’ stories even helped the grandchildren out with their homework too. After dinner, the three granddaughters were expected to complete any homework assigned that day. Of her grandfather’s nightly dinner conversation, Marilyn wrote, “He was a good source for material for English compositions. We would take the gist of his stories and develop them in an embellished creation. His life was exciting between his travels and the people he met and associates in connection with his work. Being a stage set designer he met actors and actresses and opera singers. Some we met not through his work but through social contacts and fraternal organizations.”

Each evening ended with Marilyn fetching an apple from the basement cellar for her grandfather to munch on during a game of cards. After he finished his apple, Moses would go to his room and write in his journal.

To be continued…

On July 4, 1911, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Mama and I went to Kilbourn, Wisconsin, to get away from the noise and heat. I think we ran right into it.  I have this written up elsewhere.” Moses is referring to his travelogues and their visit to the area now known as the Wisconsin Dells. Many artists and their families escaped the heat of Chicago during the summer, venturing beyond city limits to nearby lake resorts and summer homes.  Without any effective way to cool the air in homes or businesses during the early twentieth century, cooler breezes near a lake or river offered much needed relief to those who could afford venturing north. This is one of the reasons that Chicago’s Palette & Chisel Club members established their summer camp near Fox Lake Camp 1906. 

Kilbourn, Wisconsin, was due north of Baraboo, home to the Ringling Brothers Circus at the time. Moses repeatedly visited Al Ringling in Baraboo from 1904 until 1915 when he was designing elaborate settings for the Ringlings’ grand circus spectacles.  The city of Kilbourn was located in the area, along the Wisconsin River. First identified in public records during 1856, the city named after Byron Kilbourn. Kilbourn was a surveyor, railroad executive, and politician who was also significant in the founding of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The town of Kilbourn was an ideal location, the midway point on the railway between Chicago and Minneapolis. It was also a well-known resort area known for the picturesque landscape. In 1875, landscape photographer H. H. Bennett established a studio in the Kilbourn, where he captured the nearby sandstone formations that helped publicize the resort town. He distributed his photographs and stereoscopic cards across the United States, promoting the area as a destination location for sightseers. He also offered souvenir pictures of visitors, and was an ever-increasing asset to the area’s tourist trade. The old H. H. Bennett Studio is now a historic site operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society.  

The name of Kilbourn City was officially changed to Wisconsin Dells in 1931. Home to boat tours and a variety of popular amusements, the area continues to attract a mass influx of visitors every year. It is also the home to Tommy Bartlett’s Water Ski & Jumping Boat Thrill Show (est. 1952), later known as the Tommy Bartlett Show. Tourism remains a major contributor to the economy, now advertised as the “Waterpark Capital of the World.” 

To be continued…

I return to the life and times of Thomas G. Moses tomorrow, after almost a month on the road.  Travel in August brought me from Whitehorse in the Yukon to a small rural town near Fargo, North Dakota. Unbelievably, cellular service was far better in the Yukon than northern Minnesota – go figure. My final trip was to the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion (WMSTR), a yearly exposition held every Labor Day weekend near Rollag in Northwestern Minnesota.  For 47 years, our family has attended the show.  My annual trip to Rollag continues to fuel my love and appreciation of history. There is nothing like seeing a tractor fueled by steam slowly inch by, puffing all the way.

My mother was the first person to make history come alive for me.  She has always excelled as a storyteller, a skill that greatly helped her communicate information to not only me, but also to her students over the years. The next greatest factor that contributed to my fascination with history was the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion, a unique type of living history museum that features a steam locomotive, a pioneer exhibit, a horse-power farm, two sawmills, and a multitude of engines powered by steam, kerosene and gasoline. People come from across the country to see the power of steam and how it tamed the prairie. The show has become the largest of its kind in North America.

My father was the first of our family to venture to this four-day event with his good friend and co-worker Ray Granstrom during the 1960s. He helped install the Corliss engine, a massive machine with a 17-foot flywheel. 

By 1972, my mother and I attended the show for the first time and instantly became hooked. I have only missed four shows since 1972.  Two of those times were when my children were mere infants, and I refused to let their little lungs get a good dose of airborne particulates wafting from various steam engines.

In the beginning, camping was primitive, with outhouses and limited access to running water. As a small child, this was an added bonus, no shower for almost a week! Our friends and family always knew that each Labor Day weekend we were working on the show grounds in some capacity. Over the years, our work changed as our roles shifted within the organization. My father started out in the Blacksmith shop, making little rings out of nails. He later ran the sound system in the Threshermen’s Memorial Building (TMB) before becoming the official Hobo on the WMSTR railroad.

My mother started out doing a variety of thankless jobs that no one wanted to do, including cleaning toilets. At the time, playing music on the grounds wasn’t considered “work” and each member had to sign up for a specific job. Progress was slow, but eventually the contributions of musicians were recognized, sadly a little too late for many. My mother went from borrowing Arne Gunderson’s accordion in 1972 to play in the Quonset building, to running the entire music program on the grounds. The greatest lesson that I learned from her over the years was how to make everyone feel respected and appreciated, regardless of their skillset.  She still encourages young musicians, cajoles older ones, and makes sure that everyone has a chance to be in the spotlight.

My mother now plays accordion in the Mercantile Building for eight-hours every day of the show. My father is still a drummer, but now only accompanies her on nursing home day. Over the years, my parents have played with a variety of musicians on the show grounds, at parades, across the country and at home in the Twin Cities.  I grew up listening to musical selections that spanned genres and decades.  Whether is was polkas, waltzes, old time, country, or pop, I intimately knew all of the melodies and lyrics for each. There is something to be said about being an only child in a room full of musicians. I spent countless hours sketching in the corner with laughter and music in the background.

I watched friendships develop between musicians whose political and religious views were diametrically opposed. Fights occasionally erupted over a variety of social issues, but they would eventually subside, each friendship continuing on as before. They all shared the common language of music and this single commonality overrode a multitude of differences. I miss hearing the peacemaking and an overall desire to respect each other despite their differing views. Music bridges the gaps between individuals.

My own work on the grounds shifted over the decades too.  By the age of seven, I was scooping ice cream and selling balloons. As a teenager, I worked alongside Maxine and Edra in the Ladies Boutique, selling handmade trinkets and chatting with visitors. These service jobs taught me how to handle both people and money, an invaluable asset that would greatly assist me later in my career. Other jobs included setting up and running the soundboard in the TMB under the direction of my father, as well emceeing the style show.

It was the latter that shaped my public speaking skills and ability to think quickly on my feet in front of a crowd.  Beginning as a model at the age of four, I was first handed the microphone as a pre-teen to describe my historic outfits. By my late teens, I was co-emceeing of the style show and describing a variety of outfits that randomly appeared on stage. By the age of twenty, I was sole emcee, upping my game and providing historical context for the shifts in fashion.  Instead of having models appear in random outfits, I started to have groups come out, each representing the various fashion trends for every decade, starting in the 1870s.  We spruced up the stage and I donated some backdrops. For years, my mother and Donna Peterson also rushed over to provide background music, appropriate songs for each decade. 

As the style show themes increased in complexity, so did my preparation. Over the years themes included, a Century of Progress, Women’s Rights, Courtship Through the Ages, World Fairs, Military Attire, and much more.  My husband became integral to the style show, prompting other men to join in, always a very rare resource. Both of our children also joined in. Our eldest, Isa, and Andrew performing duets between decades. However, after twenty years of preparation, study, selecting historic outfits for random individuals, pairing groups of models, and emceeing, I passed the baton to another; I was burned out. 

The style show strengthened my ability to discuss a topic and improvise for almost two straight hours without any intermission.  The whistle of the steam engines and noise from the passing machines would compete with every show, training me to pause and make sure the audience could clearly understand me.  I learned not to rush and acknowledge those working on the show, whether they were a dresser, model, musician, or sound technician.   

I never used notes for the show, unless I was reading a specific quote that pertained to the times. Occasionally an outfit was assembled without my knowledge, a surprise that mismatched several eras at once.  This opportunity trained me to think quickly on my feet and not get flustered. In the end, I learned about American history and how to communicate interesting information to others, all the while entertaining them.

Times have changed on the grounds; the old time fiddle jamboree has disappeared, replaced with more contemporary country music. There are very few of the older musicians left.  The farmers who would dutifully show up with their fiddle to jam are a rare sight. Yet, I still hear the echo of every musician that played with my parents. Although many are no longer known or remembered, they are still part every show for me.

To be continued…

Wendy Waszut-Barrett, President of Historic Stage Services, and Jenny Knott, Rosco Project Manager, taught another painting class as part of the annual conference and trade show for CITT/ICTS Rendez-Vous 2019. In the past, we have taught historic and contemporary techniques for drapery painting and foliage. This year, we were inspired by Klondike history, teaching “All That Glitters is Not Gold: Painting the Magic.” We simultaneously explored historic gold-painting techniques and metallic finishes for decorative objects.

Our studio was the old Whitehorse Fire Hall, now a performance space. Located along the fast-flowing Yukon River, for short breaks, we were able to step outside and enjoy the view of old pilings that once supported the piers where riverboats stopped to deliver supplies.

After arriving in town and prepping for the workshop, Jenny and I were able to rejuvenate our batteries. Prior to my arrival in town, Jenny visited a local glass studio and bumped into the owner. An invitation was extended to Jenny; traveling north to kayak at her nearby cabin. I was fortunate to be a lucky recipient of the kindness, and the two of us paddled around a lake during the evening of my first full day in the Yukon.

There is something to be said about a gesture of kindness from a stranger, especially one at this magnitude. It immediately shapes your perception of the area and the people. The friendship and kindness extended by the local residents of Whitehorse is quite astounding, and humbling. The experience of kayaking on a serene lake, exploring the shoreline and hearing the loons was magical. I have not been so relaxed in years, with no solid plan or agenda. The beautiful log cabin had neither running water nor electricity, but there were welcome instructions, a gorgeous view, and the much-needed serenity. If ever I needed validation of being on the right track, doing the right thing at the right time, this was it.

Jenny and I ended up scheduling a “hot date” to create glass at Lumel Studios, our host’s company. We spent an hour, shaping and blowing glass in the shapes of paper weights, balls and bowls. What a transformative experience!

I have never stopped being a student. I love learning and working with my hands. Whether it is tuck-pointing, landscaping, gardening, embroidery, or other crafts, there is an energy that emerges when completing the project. This is intensified when learning with phenomenal instructors. The hour spent at Lumel Studios was a golden moment, that is now stored in my treasure box of memories.

I cannot stress enough how wonderful CITT/ICTS is for my spirit. Kindred spirits and positive personalities that celebrate the moment while planning for the future. It is always an impressive and inspirational event.

To be continued…

I am taking a break from posting photographs of historic scenery until early September, as I am out of the country again. I am teaching a scene painting class with Jenny Knott of Rosco for CITT/ICTS (Canadian Institute of Theatre Technology).

This year, the national conference is in Whitehorse, a small city of 30,000 citizens in the Yukon.

From here, I venture south to Canmore and Banff, and then west to the Fargo-Moorhead area for the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion. To keep me busy on my travels, I am transcribing the last four handwritten diaries of scenic artist Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934). See you in September with a new backdrop theme!

Until then enjoy today’s my post to FB Page Dry Pigment, where I daily post images and painted details of historic scenery. Scenery by Toomey & Volland for the Scottish Rite in St.Louis, Missouri, 1923. These posts will also resume in September.

While looking for additional information pertaining to Thomas G. Moses’ Kansas exhibit at the 1911 Chicago Land Show, I came across an interesting article about a panorama painted for the Omaha Land show that opened in the Omaha Coliseum on October 16, 1911. It was the artist that caught my eye, a new name for me.  As I researched his history and artistic philosophy, it prompted me to include him in the storyline. Arts education for children and its benefits for society are not a new concept, individuals have been fighting for the inclusion of art classes in American public schools for over a century. What my generation once took for granted, daily arts classes, metallurgy, or woodworking, is not necessarily part of out children’s academic experience anymore.

Here is the article published in the “Daily Bee” that initially brought George L. Schreiber to my attention (“Vale depicted in Panorama,” Omaha, Nebraska, 11 October 1911, page 5):

“One of the first big exhibits for the Omaha Land Show which opens in the Coliseum next Monday arrived from Salem, Ore. The displays are representative of eight counties in the Willamette valley.

A novel and interesting feature will be the panoramic painting depicting the characteristics of the fertile land in the valley. The panorama was painted by George L. Schrieber, who is already here to install the big canvas. As a painting it is a work of art and it is bound to attract much attention. Electrical effects to show the variation of the light from the break of day until sundown will make the canvas all the more realistic. W. T. Groves, who will have charge of the soil products display from Willamette valley, has arrived in Omaha and is awaiting the arrival of the exhibit. He will display fruits, grasses, forage and garden products, demonstrating the wide diversity of crops raised in his section of the country. In addition to the exhibit there will be a lecturer here to give illustrated talks on the Willamette valley.”

In additional to this grand painting, the article continued, “The Bolster-Trowbridge Company has announced that it will give away a carload of grape juice to the visitors at the Land Show. The liquor will come from California, where the company has large interests. The wines made in California are regarded highly among connoisseurs and the Trowbridge-Bolster booth at the Land show will no doubt be found every attractive to many visitors.”

Of Schrieber’s work, “The Statesman Journal” reported “a representative of the Kansas City exposition was enthusiastic in his praises of the display and was very anxious to have the same exhibition at Kansas City” (Salem, Oregon, 7 Nov. 1911, page 1). There was a Land Show in Kansas City the following year.

Little is known of Schreiber, beyond a dozen newspaper article that provide a peak into his life in Chicago, and later, Salem, Oregon. Although few, the story is compelling and tells of his passion to teach art. In January 1894, Schreiber taught semi-weekly courses on the history of art at the Chicago Art Institute( Inter ocean, 24, Dec. 1893, page 15), His classes were held at the Newberry Library Center, using Mrs. D. K. Pearson’s collection of Braun photographs.  For the Columbian Exposition, Schreiber was selected to do the painted decor for the Children’s Building, illustrating the decorative movement in education (Chicago Tribune, 11, February 1893, page 9). What is fascinating is that Schreiber’s work was directed by a committee of kindergarteners.

In 1896, Schreiber was on the advisory committee of artists, alongside James William Pattison and Caroline D. Wade for the juries of selection and admission to the Chicago Institute of Art (Chicago Tribune, 26 July 1896, page 42). The following year, he exhibited several pieces at the annual exhibition of the Cosmopolitan Club held in conjunction with the chrysanthemum show at Battery D. He showed a large number of works combining the figures of children in landscapes. The “Chicago Tribune” reported that Schreiber also exhibited “a portrait of himself, a figure of a mother caressing her child, and a fantasy of a Japanese girl surrounded by chrysanthemums” (7 Nov. 1897, 43).

It was his participation in the 1900 national conference for the Mothers’ League in Chicago that caught my eye, however. Schreiber was one of the featured speakers for the event and his topic was “What Shall Art Mean to the Child?” (The Saint Paul Globe, 22 July 1900, page 21). For the remainder of his life, Schreiber was an advocate for art, giving many lectures on the benefits of art, not only on children, but also the life of the community. His passion for arts education brought him to the public schools in Salem, Oregon.

By 1911, Mr. George L. Schreiber was listed as the supervisor of drawing in the Salem public schools (The Capital Journal, Salem Oregon, 22 Sept, 1911, page 5).  His assistant was Miss Virginia May Mann and the two were quite a pair, enriching the lives of the area’s children. “The Capital Journal” reported that Salem is “probably the only city in the state which the pupils are not required to buy textbooks in drawing, the teacher himself being the textbook. The school board furnishes the drawing paper, clay, charcoal, and materials for basketry, and the pupils buy their own watercolors at the bookstores. Drawing is one of the most practical and useful studies in the public schools, and one in which the pupils are becoming more interested.” In addition to drawing, the pupils of the grammar grades were taught sewing and woodwork, the former to the girls of the seventh and eight grades, and the latter to the boys of these grades.

In a 1912 article, Professor George L. Schreiber delivered an address to the men of the “Salem Six O’clock Club.” His talk explored the influence of art and the effect it has on the life of the community. The speech is really quite wonderful, especially with Schreiber’s primary point being, “The child or the man who has once opened his eyes to beauty is safe to trust because he thereby becomes a caretaker.” I believe that the sentiment holds true today, especially when you look at the individuals who are attacking the necessity of art in public education or any sort of funding for the arts. In 1912, Schreiber also addressed the beautification of public spaces, public parks and the corresponding result of civic pride in one’s environment; artistic endeavors enrich a community and bring individuals together. Schreiber’s closing remarks in the “Salem Six O’Clock Club” speech stressed, “If we have faith in our community, let us then invest it with our faith and clothe it with beauty, and, in the years to come, when our heirs shall possess it they will say, ‘Our fathers have builded well; they have given us a fair inheritance.”

We live in a time when the arts are a constant target. Will our children and grandchildren feel that we have given them a “fair inheritance.” I hope so.

To be continued…

In 1911, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Lawrence, Kansas, yielded a Masonic job, which meant a lot of work for the Land Show.” Land shows were held for the purpose of exhibiting and explaining the agricultural and other resources of the states with exhibits that included lectures and the distribution of information. 

Scenery for Lawrence Scottish Rite was a little free advertising for Sosman & Landis, leading to the Kansas exhibit for the Land Show in Chicago. On Nov. 8, 1911, the “Evening Telegram” reported that Charles I. Zirkle of Topeka was leaving for Chicago to “install the Kansas Land Show exhibit” (Garden City, Kansas, page 3). Later, Zirkle spoke at the “Kansas Realty Men” convention in Topeka, delivering the same daily lecture from the Chicago land show that promoted settlement and travel to the Kansas (Parson Daily Sun, Parsons, Kansas, 29 Dec. 1911, page 4).

In 1911, Land Shows were held in Minneapolis, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Omaha, Pittsburgh, and Salt Lake City. Of the Land Show in Los Angeles during 1911, the “Los Angeles Times reported, “The big railroad companies interested in the settlement of the West immediately grasped the possibilities of the show and bought space in the Coliseum Building and spent many thousands of dollars in getting together splendid exhibits of fruits, grains and vegetables from districts along their line.” (5 Nov. 1911, page 21). A general sales agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad said, “The big land shows are a wonderful illustration of newspaper initiative and railroad co-operation,” explaining that when the land shows commenced, Chicago was then “the great land distributing center of the country.”

For the Chicago Land Show, the “Chicago Daily Tribune” advertised the event as “the greatest exposition in Chicago since the World’s Fair” in 1893 (Nov. 16, 1911, page 20). The exposition was held in the Chicago Coliseum on Wabash Ave., near 16^th St. and exhibiting space was valued at $47,000 and filled with the finest produce of the land from fifteen states, inviting men and women of Chicago to exchange their steam-heated flats for rural homes.

The Union Pacific Railroad exhibit at the Chicago Coliseum was installed at an expense of $20,000, consisting of three specially prepared rooms and thousands of feet of moving picture films. Of the exhibit, the newspapers described, “Continental moving picture travelogues are to be operated in the rooms, illustrating mining and agricultural industries in the territory through which the railroad furnishes transportation (Nov. 16, 1911, page 20).

Local advertisements urged, “Come down and talk to the men, who like yourself, could not get ahead in the big city and who gave up their jobs, went West and South and are now independent of the landlord.” Each day of the Land Show, one farm  was given away to a lucky visitor. Other daily prizes included potatoes; 40,000 of which were distributed on Idaho day at the expense of the state. The State of California shipped in seven carloads of fruit and one  carload of violets to be presented to female visitors on California day.

The first Land Show was held during 1909.  In 1911, it was estimated that $33,000 were spent by the management and exhibitors in decorating the interior of the coliseum, with the entire collection of exhibits valued at $150,000, the spending equivalent of over $4,000,000 today. Of the $150,000 in 1911, $47,000 worth of products was sold during the show, and increase from $34,000 in 1909.

Of the Salt Lake City Exhibits, the “Los Angeles Times” reported, “According to the Salta Lake Tribune, the Commerical Club and the Utah Development Company of Salt Lake are arranging one of the best exhibits that Utah can produce for tge land show here.‘The results of the exhibit sent to the last land show at the Los Angeles were so successful that it is proposed to make the best of this opportunity.’ Says the Tribune. Elaborate and extensive preparations are in progress in Salt Lake City for a series of excursions from the city during the land show, and it is expected that hundeds of members of the Commercial Club and other organizations will come here especially to attend the exposition. General Manager Wilson is in receipt of a letter from Frederick Thompson, scenic artist, who designed Luna Park, Dreamland and A Trip to the Moon at Coney Island, stating that he will submit plans for decorations and entertainment which he expects to surpass anything heretofore attempted in the West” (“Los Angeles Times” 5 Nov. 1911, page 21).

To be continued…

In 1911, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Lawrence, Kansas, yielded a Masonic job.”  The scenery and stage machinery were similar to that installed at Scottish Rite theaters in Wichita, Kansas, Winona and St. Paul, Minnesota, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Grand Forks, North Dakota, Tucson, Arizona, and the list goes on. Although smaller in scope than some of the other scenery collections, the same counterweight system (Brown’s Special system) was installed, with the lines spaced on four-inch centers. Like many other Scottish Rite Valleys in the first two deacdes of the twentieth century, funds were pouring in and men with vision planned massive edifices to accommodate the ever-increasing membership. Unfortunately, this period of unprecedented growth often meant that no plans were in place for extended periods of membership decline or financial challenges.

Ninety-two years later, the building was on the market, citing those two exact issues. It was one of the early Scottish Rite theaters to change hands, signaling the start of a shift within the Southern Jurisdiction. At the turn of the twentieth century, the Kansas Scottish rite was riding the crest of expansion in the Southern Jurisdiction. They were at the forefront of a new movement as Scottish Rite theaters and degree productions spread like rapidfire. In 1911, there were seven Scottish Rite Valleys in Kansas, located in Kansas City, Fort Scott, Salina, Topeka, Lawrence, Wichita, and  Leavenworth. In 1919, the “Lawrence Daily Journal-World” reported, “Largest Class in History” (28 January 1919, page 1). The article noted, “With the addition of more candidates for the Scottish Rite degrees, the mid-winter class now being conducted thorugh the mysteries of higher Masonry, has now become the largest class in the history of the Lawrence Scottish Rite bodies. There are now 119 candidates in the class.” This was a new trend, adding a mid-winter reunion to the standard fall and spring schedule.  The need to add an additional reunion each year to accommodate increased numbers of candidates shows how rapidly the Scottish Rite Rite was expanding in, Kansas.  The “Fort Scott Tribune,”  reported “The four bodies of Scottish Rite Masonry have just adopted plans for a reunion which will be somewhat a deviation from former reunions and an innovation in Masonry. A midwinter reunion is to be held next year, the dates being February 12, 13 and 14^th” (Fort Scott Tribune, 19 Dec. 1911, page 6).

Almost a century later, Kansas was again riding the crest of another Scottish Rite wave – one of declining membership, lost properties and missing artifacts. In May 2003, the Scottish Rite building was placed on the market. So what happened in Kansas?

In 2003, LJWorld.com posted the following article to the Lawrence Journal World website (https://www2.ljworld.com/news/2003/may/14/landmark_sheds_its/):

“A LAWRENCE LANDMARK IS FOR SALE

Faced with aging membership and ever-increasing costs, Lawrence-area Freemasons have decided to sell the majestic Scottish Rite Temple, 1001 Mass.

“This isn’t something that any of us want to do. It hurts,” said Tom Wilkerson, the organization’s executive secretary. “But we’ve projected out the costs of operations, and we know we can’t continue to draw on our resources like we have. It has to be done.”

THE ASKING PRICE: $775,000.

The buyer will have the option of also buying the buildings that house the Scottish Rite office and the Variety Store at 1005 and 1007 Mass., respectively.

‘We’ll entertain any proposal received,’ Wilkerson said. [my thought: bad move to put that in print].

Built in 1911, the Egyptian Revival-style building features several meeting rooms, a 275-seat auditorium and balcony, and, in the basement, a dining room that’s 55 feet wide and a half-block long.

A kitchen, too, is downstairs in an area carved out from underneath the sidewalk alongside the north side of the building. The building does not have an elevator.

Suspended above the auditorium’s stage are 55 backdrops — each painted long ago by art students from Kansas University — that are raised or lowered in accordance with the particular Scottish Rite ceremony being performed.

“We’ll keep those,” Wilkerson said.

GENERATING INTEREST

The building is listed with Coldwell Banker McGrew Real Estate.

“There’s been quite a bit of interest in it,” said Doug Brown, the Realtor assigned to the property. “The fact that the building has historic significance and that it’s on Mass. is quite a draw for investors.”

Brown said the building was “incredibly well-built” and could be converted to a variety of uses.

“The upstairs, maybe, could be turned into apartments; the downstairs to retail,” he said. “It would be a great place for receptions.”

“Or an upscale restaurant,” said Carol vonTersch, president of the Lawrence Preservation Alliance. “There’s been talk of that in the past, but, at the time, the Masons weren’t ready to sell.”

The Alliance, vonTersch said, hoped to work with whoever buys the building.

“It’s a very important building in the downtown area. People remember that building,” she said. “We’re exceedingly concerned about what’s to happen to it, I can assure you of that.”

It’s not yet known where the Masons will go after the building is sold.

“A committee has been appointed that’ll make that decision,” Wilkerson said. “A lot of it’s going to depend on whether the buyer wants the buildings next door. If they don’t, we’ll probably move into where The Variety Store is now; if they do, we’ll either buy a building or build something new.”

OLD

Wilkerson said about 500 men and women belong to the masonic lodges and auxiliaries that use the temple. Most are unable to attend the monthly meetings.

“Our mean age is 66,” he said of the membership. “That’s pretty old.”

Wilkerson attributed the decline in membership to lackluster recruiting and increased demands on members’ time.

“It’s a sad thing to say, but being in a fraternal organization takes away from a person’s family time and, over the years, that’s just gotten harder and harder to do,” he said. “All the service organizations are going through the same thing.” [my thought: not a great advertisement to join].

Wilkerson says the Mason’s reputation for secrecy far exceeds reality.

“Actually, we kind of joke about that,” he said. “Our meetings are closed, that’s true. But if somebody really wanted to know what was going on, they could just go to the library. Books have been written about it.”

Wilkerson said there’s nothing secret about the building. “We rent it out for receptions and things,” he said. “And before we decided to sell, we’d talked about opening it up to public for tours or ham-and-bean lunches.”

On June 24, 2005, the same newspaper reported that the Lawrence-area Scottish Rite Freemasons were saying goodbye to their 94-year old building and holding an open house and formal relocation ceremony at the new Lawrence Masonic Center, at 1601 W 23rd St., citing, “The 5,500-square-foot store-front-style space is more practical and cheaper to lease and operate than the old building at 1001 Mass., which was purchased by Lawrence developer Doug Compton.” The article noted, “Local Freemasons are hoping the new building and new look will help attract younger men to the organization.” Now, I don’t know about you, but meeting in a shopping mall would not necessarily be any incentive for me to join the Fraternity, but then, I am not potential candidate material. Here is the link to the full article: https://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/jun/24/freemasons/

Of the new location, the “Lawrence Journal-World” reported, “Their new building features an entrance that leads into a commons or reception area, complete with a conference table and chairs. Nearby is a large room that can be used for dinners and banquets. There is a library, a storage room and a large meeting room near the back with a skylight over the venerable master’s chair at one end of the room. The building will serve as a meeting place for 362 Scottish Rite members with several Lawrence-area Masonic orders. It was chosen after attempts to find a suitable building that could be purchased failed. ‘We were going to buy, but everything was so expensive,’ said Danny Keller, the assistant personal representative for Lawrence Valley. ‘We had a lot of problems, so we just decided to lease for a few years.’

When I visited Lawrence last summer, we drove by the Masonic Center, now just down the street from the previous shopping mall location.  It remainded me of the many pole barns that store tractors in the Midwest.  For an organization that often links its history to the operative masons and cathedral builders of Europe, it is a little embarrassing to see the Scottish Rite eagle on a small window surrounded metal siding.  I was unable to venture inside, but there was no indication of a theater or fly tower in sight. When Wilkerson explained that the Scottish Rite was going to retain the 55 drops from the old temple, I have to wonder where they are now.

For additional history about the Lawrence Scottish Rite, see my past post, “Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar: Part 621 – Meanwhile in Lawrence, Kansas” (https://drypigment.net2019/01/20/tales-from-a-scenic-artist-and-scholar-part-621-meanwhile-in-lawrence-kansas/).

To be continued…

On July 14, 1911, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I went to Chattanooga, Tenn., to make some sketches from Missionary Ridge, and took a run up Mt. Lookout – believe me it is my last.  I don’t care for the sensation of the incline.  I got some good photos and had Mr. Reif’s car and chauffeur to take me anywhere.  I went the limit and saw everything, and made three pencil sketches.  Closed another contract on the strength of my sketches – $1,800.00.”

Moses was referring to Charles Reif, president of the Chattanooga Brewing Company. Reif was the son of Brewery founder George Reif who established the business in 1890. A George immigrant, Reif came to America in 1861, settling in Cincinnati where he worked at a meat packing plant. George invested in beer, becoming a major shareholder in Jung Brewing Co until it was sold in 1889. By 1890, the Reif family moved to Chattanooga, where George became one of the principle men who bought the brewing business of Conrad Geise & Co. The business was soon incorporated, as the Chattanooga Brewing Co. George remained the president the company until his passing in 1899, when control of the company was passed to his son, Charles, born in 1865.

By 1911, the Chattanooga Brewing Co. was quite large, distributing approximately 150,000 barrels of beer annually. Chicago hosted an International Brewers’ Congress during October 1911 that was devoted to showing visitors various beer exhibits. The Chattanooga Brewing Co. was one of many companies who contracted Sosman & Landis to create their exhibit for the Brewer’s Show, held at the Chicago Coliseum. Of the Chattanooga Brewery Co. project, Moses wrote, “Our Chattanooga picture came out best of all.  It was a perfect representation of the city and the surrounding country.”

In the spring of 1911 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Early in April I started on the designs for the Brewers’ Show, in which they wanted to demonstrate that beer is a food and not a beverage.” Other exhibitors with exhibits by Sosman & Landis included the Schoenhoffen Brewing Company and the Dubuque Brewing and Malting Company.

As the work for Brewer’s exhibits commenced, Moses wrote, “We started Brewer’s work at the 20^th Street studio, with an extra number of men…The Brewer’s Show opened October 12^th with enormous crowds.  Had a lot of trouble getting our work into the building….Sosman was well pleased, as there was a good profit in the work.  Some of the brewers thought I had overcharged them.” In the end, the Brewery Show of 1911 was a success. By October 23, over 94,000 patrons attended the exposition and consumed over 500,000 glasses of beer (Statesman Journal, 24 Oct, 1911, page 9). Sosman & Landis secured $25,350.00 in contracts for the event, today’s equivalent purchasing power of $683,361.28 – a sizable amount of work. For the opening of the show, the “Chicago Tribune” quoted Henry E. O. Heinemann, secretary of the exposition, “Thousands of dollars have been spent for the foundations alone, so tons of brewing machinery must be properly set. An army of painters, decorators, scene builders, and machinists was busy all day and far into the night getting everything ready for the opening” (12 October 1911, page 7).

The success of the Brewer’s Show did not last long, however, as change was in the air. The Chattanooga Brewing Co. only operated until 1915, when Prohibition forced them to close their doors. The brand lay dormant for decades until recently. In 2010 the company was resurrected at 1804 Chestnut St. In Chattanooga, Tennessee. Here is the new website if you are thirsty and in the area: https://www.chattabrew.com/

To be continued…

When Western Scenery Co. made an appearance in Lincoln, Nebraska, during 1911, the “Lincoln Herald” reported,  “In the past 10 years the subject of scenery painting has attracted the attention of the most skillful painters in the world. The demand is for a much higher grade of artistic painting especially in localities where artwork is appreciated. Lincoln is fortunate in having Western Scenery Co., formerly of Chicago, located here, at 2042 O Street under the management of Mr. C. L. Dodson” (March 3, 1911).

A year earlier, the business directory section of the “New York Dramatic Mirror” listed ten scenic studios: H. P. Knight Scenic Studios (New York), Sosman & Landis Great Scene Painting Studio (Chicago), M. Armbruster & Sons (Columbus), Ormston Scenic Construction Co. (New York), the O. H. Story Scenic Co. (Boston), Inc., P. Dodd Ackerman Scenic Studio (New York), Schell’s Scenic Studio (Columbus, Ohio), the Myer’s Company, Inc., Scenic Studio (Steubenville, Ohio), Howard Tuttle (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), H. Fredericks (New York), and the C. Wash. Valentine Scenic Studios (Brooklyn, NY). Individual advertisements included Edward Fourneir (Minneapolis, MN), W. H. McConnell (Minneapolis), and H. Maurice Tuttle (Milwaukee).

There were many other scenic studios at the time not listed in the “New York Dramatic Mirror,” such as Toomey & Volland, Lee Lash, and New York Studios.  Keep in mind that by 1910, Sosman & Landis studio was celebrating three decades of business, having installed stock scenery collections in thousands of theaters nationwide. During the period from 1880 to 1894 alone, they had delivered stock scenery collections to 4000 theaters nationwide.

Although scenic art production was nearing its peak in the United States, change was in the air. The same year that the Sosman & Landis shops were manufacturing hundreds of painted scenes in Chicago, a new type of drop curtain arrived at the Blackstone Theatre. One January 13, 1911, the “Fremont Tribune” of Fremont, Kansas, reported, “The new Blackstone theater in Chicago possesses the finest stage curtain in the United States, if not the world. It is a solid piece of imported tapestry and cost $15,ooo without including the duty” (page 5). $15,000 in 1911 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $404, 436.32 in 2019. The article continued, “There are only two other theaters in the world that have curtains of the same kind, and neither of these, it is said, is a fine a piece of work as Blackstone’s. One of these curtains is at Milan [Italy] and the other in [Moscow] Russia. No Paris playhouse has such a curtain, and there is none in England. The curtain was woven especially at Aubusson, near Paris. It is the largest single piece of tapestry ever imported into this country, measuring 30 ½ by 42 feet.”

The work began in the studio of M. Lemaille in Montmartre, Paris, two years prior to delivery. From a small cartoon, a full sign-painting was created for the tapestry artisans. The actual weaving did not commence until June 1910 at Aubusson. The tapestry was a partial reproduction of a famous tapestry owned by Napoleon that depicted a group of young people dancing on the green in the time of Louis XII.

The April 1911 publication of “Fine Arts Journal” included the article “A $15,000 Tapestry Drop Curtain” (Vol. 24, No. 4, pp.280-281). The Blackstone Theatre was credited as being “the most modern and the handsomest playhouse in America,” erected by Chicago businessmen at a cost of $500,000 in Hubbard Place between Michigan Boulevard and Wabash Avenue and adjoining the Blackstone Hotel. Charles Frohman, Klaw and Erlanger were the lessees with Harry J. Power as manager and Augustus Pitou, Jr. as business manager.

It was William J. Sinclair, director of the Hasselgren Studios, who conceived the idea of having a drop curtain of tapestry. Hasselgren Studios was a furniture company and celebrated interior-decorating firm that operated between 1911 and 1937 in Chicago. The firm was famous for their fine art work in mansions, hired for decorating. The artistic staff included scenic artists who painted ceiling murals on canvas that were shipped and hung in distant locales. They were also well known for their Oriental rugs, too, many of which were woven in Persia and would take years to complete.  (Quad City Times, 24 May 1953, page 4). The company went bankrupt in the 1920s, with much of the stock being sold to John A. Colby and Sons. The order for the Tapestry drop curtain was placed over two years before delivery and necessitated a full-sized “cartoon” for the design.  The piece was completed only a month before its arrival in the United States and the duty was noted as “a small fortune.”

What should be contemplated after thinking of this substantial purchase is the significance of the proscenium opening. Although the auditorium was ornately decorated with Ivory, dull gold and green, the “Fine Arts Journal” explained that the color scheme was “specifically designed to harmonize with and display the beautiful tapestry drop curtain.” As in many cases with previously painted drops curtains, the entire auditorium functioned as a frame for the artwork hanging in the proscenium.  The architectural elements were simply supportive to whatever was suspended in the focal point of the auditorium – the proscenium.

To be continued…