Filling need for adult education

In Fairbury in the 1870s, there were not many opportunities for adult education or entertainment.

The Dominy Memorial Library was not opened until 1905. Radio broadcasts and motion pictures were not readily available until the 1920s. Television was not widely available until the 1950s. Other than newspapers, Fairbury Hall was the only source of adult education and entertainment. It opened in 1871, and citizens could watch plays and hear guest speakers. Fairbury Hall was located at 226 East Locust, where Steidinger Meats & Food is now located.

Sunday schools of the nineteenth century taught more than religion. For many American children, these “Sabbath schools” provided their only general education in reading, writing, arithmetic, and social manners. A Methodist Minister and Bishop, Dr. John H. Vincent (1832-1920), visited many churches in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. As he traveled from church to church, he paid particular attention to the quality of Sunday School teaching. Rev. Vincent found the quality of religious instruction varied too much in these places.

Minister Vincent had an idea to improve the quality of the education children received in Sunday Schools. He planned to develop improved teaching materials and then train teachers on using those new materials. Although Minister Vincent had a great idea, he needed funding to start this endeavor. In 1872, Minister Vincent sought financial support from Lewis Miller. Lewis Miller was a successful industrialist and inventor of the Buckeye reaper (a grain-harvesting farm machine). Their partnership was the beginning of the Chautauqua community.

The two men found a site on the shores of Lake Chautauqua in the state of New York. They invited Sunday School teachers nationwide to come to New York and camp under the stars at night. During the day, the teachers would attend lectures and seminars.

The first Chautauqua meeting, held in 1874 in New York, was a great success. The attendees at that two-week outdoor event were taught religious precepts and improved teaching methods. Because many of these teachers taught immigrant children, foreign languages and sociology classes were offered.

After just a few years, "Daughter" Chautauquas began to spring up. These meetings quickly spread across the country, and by 1915, there were 10,000 smaller Chautauqua-styled events. Each year, additional adult education materials and speeches by famous people were added. Very quickly, the main focus of the annual two-week events shifted from Sunday School teacher education to adult education and entertainment.

In 1878, the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle was created as a correspondence reading course designed to give those who could not attend college the opportunity to have an equivalent education. Soon, reading clubs sprung up all over the country.

In 1895, the Fairbury Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (C.L.S.C.) group was formed. The charter members were Mrs. L. B. Dominy, Mrs. Edna Anderson, Mrs. Zeke Powell, Mrs. Dan Brewer, Mrs. Wesley Walton, Gertrude Gregg, Mrs. Thayer, Miss Rachael Armstrong, Miss Grace Sharpe, Mrs. A. J. Swap, Miss Grace Patterson, Mrs. J. J. Pence, Mrs. E. D. Powell, Mrs. Presler, Mrs. J. A. Reckard, Mrs. B. F. Shankland, and Gertrude Henderson.

The Fairbury club adopted the Chautauqua reading program. This program specified that four books each year from the fields of history, art, literature, and science had to be read and studied. Members also had to study a monthly magazine on essential topics. After reading the magazine, the members had to answer questions on the content of the articles.

If a member answered these questions on the books and magazines to the satisfaction of C.L.S.C. Headquarters, she received a diploma. It took four years of work to achieve this diploma. Those who passed the test were allowed to pass through the Golden Gate at Chautauqua, N.Y., at commencement time. Some of the Fairbury members who passed and traveled to New York to go through the Golden Gate were Mrs. Lillie McDowell and Mrs. Herbert Powell.

The first Pontiac Chautauqua Assembly was the work of a group of dedicated volunteers led by A.C. Folsom, a bookkeeper at the Allen Candy Company. A parcel of land situated along the Vermilion River known as "Buck's Pasture" was purchased, surveyed, and renamed "Riverside Park." The existing vegetation was cleared, roads were built, and construction began on a large pavilion. Consultations with the New York Chautauqua producers helped to book the speakers and talent for the two-week season, and all preparations for the first Pontiac Chautauqua were complete.  

On July 29, 1898, Pontiac's first Chautauqua Assembly opened. Throughout its 32-year history, the Pontiac Chautauqua Assembly hosted famous religious and political speakers and lectures or demonstrations focused on cutting-edge topics in science, technology, philosophy, literature, and world events. Visitors have also been able to hear noted musicians, watch professional dancers, and enjoy comedians, magicians, jugglers, storytellers, and impersonators. Many Fairbury citizens attended the annual two-week Chautauqua events in Pontiac. In 1905, over 107,000 people attended the 16-day event.

Public interest in the Pontiac Chautauqua Assemblies began to wane in the late 1920s. Radio and motion pictures became available to the general public. The Great Depression started in 1929, and attendance was also depressed. The last Pontiac Chautauqua was in 1929.

Although the Pontiac Chautauqua annual meetings died out, the Fairbury Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle group continued going strong. After 130 years, this Fairbury group is still going strong and has regular meetings.

The national Chautauqua movement started out educating Sunday School teachers but quickly morphed into an adult education and entertainment movement. For over 50 years, the annual two-week meetings fulfilled a vast need for adult education and entertainment. However, with the advent of radio and motion pictures, it became obsolete.

(Dale Maley's local history feature is sponsored by Dr. Charlene Aaron)