Brent McCown/Tribune
Will Rogers played by Doug Watson introduces the other Chautauqua speakers during the opening events Wednesday night in the Chautauqua Pavilion.

Chautauqua turns back clock to 1930s
John Huthmacher
johnh@hastingstribune.com
A historical site and the event that spawned its very existence were simultaneously celebrated as Chautauqua Hastings, “Bright Dreams, Hard Times: America in the Thirties,” opened Wednesday evening at Chautauqua Park.
The five-day celebration was officially launched at Chautauqua Pavilion, which was built in 1907 as a place to host future Chautauqua events. The first Chautauqua event held in Hastings in 1906 drew 8,000 people.
There were hundreds — not thousands — on hand for Wednesday’s opening, an indication, perhaps, of how times have changed. Ironically, it was the berth of such technology as radio and other forms of entertainment that phased out Chautauqua events in Hastings in the 1920s.
For about an hour, the clock was turned back to 1930 at the pavilion, as the Chautauqua scholars —who will portray key figures from the era in dialogues and workshops — introduced themselves in character. Historic icons chosen to represent the Depression Era are: Will Rogers, portrayed by Doug Watson; Zora Neale Hurston, Wanda Schell; Aimee Semple McPherson, Tonia M. Compton; Huey Long, Fred Krebs; and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Patrick McGinnis.
“It’s just an enormous amount of fun,” said McGinnis, who will give his first-person interpretation of FDR at 7:30 tonight at the pavilion. “We travel around and meet interested and interesting people who come to hear us and ask questions. Our real hope is that we’ll generate some interest in people who want to know more, not only about our characters, but about the theme of ‘Bright Dreams, Hard Times.’ ”

To read more, see Thursday's Hastings Tribune or the Tribune e-edition.