The Farmland Opera House: Culture, Identity, and the Corn Contest.”
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THE FARMLAND OPERA HOUSE: CULTURE, IDENTITY, AND THE CORN CONTEST Rose Wernicke Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in the Department of History, Indiana University December 2013 Accepted by the Faculty of Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. __________________________________ Elizabeth Brand Monroe, Ph.D., J.D., Chair __________________________________ Anita Morgan, Ph.D. Master’s Thesis Committee __________________________________ Nancy Marie Robertson, Ph.D. ii Dedication To the makers of history in rural America; yours matters. iii Acknowledgements Circumstances leading to the opportunity for me to write this history of Farmland have been made possible by many people. My colleagues at Architecture Trio introduced me to the Farmland Opera House and encouraged my quest for further study. Thank you Pat and Julie. Several people in Randolph County have inspired me to search further. Special thanks to Greg Hinshaw and Monisa Wisner. Your assistance has helped tremendously. Much of my study was fueled by milkshakes from the Chocolate Moose, conveniently located across the street from the opera house. While writing the thesis, I received constant encouragement for which I am truly grateful. Thanks to my thesis advisor, Elizabeth Brand Monroe for your enthusiasm for my topic and your patient reads and rereads of my drafts. Committee members, Nancy Robertson and Anita Morgan, thank you for your inspiring suggestions, comments and friendly smiles to a stressed- out writer. I want to thank my Supreme Court family for your encouragement and thanks to my supervisor, Elizabeth Osborn for allowing me a flexible schedule so I could finish my thesis. I have received tremendous support from family and friends. My parents have encouraged me to continue to learn, and I came upon an appreciation of history through them. Thank you to all those who have endured my constant chatter about the opera house and offered encouragement, especially my extended Widolff and Manley families. Thanks to Shirley Roberts for the insightful edit of my draft. Thanks to Heidi, Sabrina, Laura and Megan for reading the draft, listening to my “eureka” moments of finding new information and your patience. Finally, and most importantly, thank you Joe. You have offered me the opportunity to take on this endeavor, and I could not have done this without you. You are a gem. iv Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... vi List of Illustrations ........................................................................................................................... vii Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: Farmland and the Opera House .............................................................................. 15 Chapter Two: An Entertainment Venue ........................................................................................ 32 Chapter Three: A Community Center ............................................................................................ 60 Epilogue and Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 93 Appendices Appendix A: Watson’s Hall Day Book ........................................................................................ 99 Appendix B: Farmland Opera House Day Book ....................................................................... 102 Appendix C: Chaos Flat Program ............................................................................................. 116 Appendix D: Advertising Broadside for Hallie Q. Brown ......................................................... 118 Appendix E: Republican Rally Speakers ................................................................................... 119 Appendix F: Farmers’ Institute Speeches ................................................................................ 121 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 123 Curriculum Vitae v List of Tables Table 1: Analysis of Randolph County Population, 1880-1900 ...................................................... 17 Table 2: Changes in Population of Gas Boom Towns ..................................................................... 21 Table 3: Summary of Activities at the Farmland Opera House ...................................................... 27 Table 4: Entertainment Events at the Farmland Opera House ...................................................... 36 Table 5: Community Center Activities at the Farmland Opera House ........................................... 67 Table 6: Randolph County Election Results, 1888-1904 ................................................................ 71 vi List of Illustrations Illustration 1: Map of Indiana .......................................................................................................... 1 Illustration 2: Cornice Cartouche ..................................................................................................... 1 Illustration 3: Farmland Opera House .............................................................................................. 2 Illustration 4: English’s Opera House ............................................................................................... 2 Illustration 5: Trenton Natural Gas Field and Randolph County .................................................... 21 Illustration 6: Sanborn Drawing of the Farmland Opera House .................................................... 25 Illustration 7: Ada Deaves, “Chaos Flat” ........................................................................................ 39 Illustration 8: Rillie Deaves, “Chaos Flat” ....................................................................................... 39 Illustration 9: Paris Gaiety Girls Advertisement ............................................................................. 41 Illustration 10: Alba Heywood Pamphlet ....................................................................................... 43 Illustration 11: Farmland Listing in Julius Cahn's Official Theatrical Guide. Vol.5 (1900-1901) .... 47 Illustration 12: Hallie Q. Brown as Zangrella .................................................................................. 52 Illustration 13: Hallie Q. Brown Performance Program, circa 1898............................................... 55 vii Introduction In Farmland, a small town in east-central Indiana, a limestone cartouche at the cornice of the Pizza King restaurant bears the words “Opera House.” This marker, typical of small towns throughout the Midwest, hints at a culture of days long ago. It inspires romantic notions of ornate furniture and fixtures, elegantly dressed patrons, and culturally-enriching productions. It seems inconsistent to have such a grand sounding building in a small town named Farmland. However, opera houses held a ubiquitous presence on Main Streets of small towns throughout the nation. They provided the primary, nonsectarian, municipal assembly space for the town; operatic performances rarely, if ever, graced their stages. Instead, these buildings served the public as a venue for local and imported theater productions, political gatherings, church fundraisers, and civic meetings. Farmland Indianapolis Illustration 1: Map of Indiana. Illustration 2: Cornice Cartouche. Rand McNally and Company. Farmland, Indiana. Photo by author. Small-town and urban opera houses differ functionally and architecturally. For example, the architect for the Indianapolis English Opera House, operating from 1880 to 1948, 1 Illustration 3: Farmland Opera House. Illustration 4: English’s Opera House, ca. 1892, Photo by Darryl Miller. Indianapolis. Bass Photo Co. Collection. Indiana Historical Society. based his design on the Grand Opera House in New York City, including a ground-level theater with more than 1,200 permanent seats arrayed on sloping floors.1 From its opening night, on September 27, 1880, until its final curtain, on May 1, 1948, English’s hosted theatrical events: plays, variety shows, concerts, and dance productions.2 For small towns, including Farmland, the arrangement of opera house buildings comprised first-floor commercial spaces and a wide-open second floor to allow for entertainment, community activities, and even high school basketball games. While English’s Opera House remained in business until the middle of the twentieth century, by the 1920s, most small-town opera house spaces became vacant shadows of their former days. 1 Richard K. Knaub, “The History of English’s Opera House and the English Theater” (Ph.D. diss., Indiana University, 1962), 51-52. 2 Appendix A of Knaub’s dissertation compiles a complete listing of the programs held at English’s Opera House and subsequent theater. Ibid., 269-399. 2 The short-lived heyday for Farmland’s Opera House, 1890 to 1905, coincided with dramatic social and economic changes throughout the area and the nation. The discovery of natural gas and the subsequent influx of industry in east-central Indiana brought new capital, commercial opportunities, and businessmen to the area. Political