When I read a book or see a movie/TV series that takes place in the late 1800s, I often wonder what it was REALLY like. What occupied great grandpa Paul's days besides taking care of animals and field work? People are pretty much alike throughout history, you know--food, shelter, love, the families' welfare, learning, entertainment, business, feeling useful--human lives have always been concerned with similar things. But even Pa and Ma Kettle movies didn't include time spent in the outhouse, and that unrecorded event would have taken part of their days too, right? ☺ The newspapers from Little Falls and Pierz announced what was planned to get the farmers into town, like "market days" and sales, the county fair, circuses, plays and, one week a year, the tent Chautauqua. This adult education event had to have been kind of amazing to people in small towns across the US. Take a minute to read thru the speakers, musicians and acts listed in this column from April 1918. Attending had to feel like watching a TED talk today--current, advanced thought and entertainment right here in Little Falls. (1918 was midway thru WWI, and a lot of local men were over in Europe fighting and dying: part of the program was explaining our involvement, but the rest was aimed at enlightenment and entertaining).
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment