Mrs. Ruth Mougey Worrell

Left New Hampshire on Friday, and had a fun quick trip through Sewickley. I loved catching up with my dear friend Rebecca and her family. Mac and Callie (2) literally saw eye to eye, and Callie loved it when Mac kissed her face. And spending time with my goddaughter Hannah is always a gift.

Then visited the Ohio Historical Society, to look over the papers of Ruth Mougey Worrell, a woman who wrote and directed historical pageants at chautauquas and for other organizations like the Red Cross. Worrell wrote and directed pageants for Bay View in 1925 and 1950, and for Lakeside in 1923 (and did some other sort of pageant/sketch, I found yesterday, for the United Methodist conference at Lakeside - not yet sure of the year).

My greatest finds at the archives were two scripts - the undated sketch at Lakeside and the 1925 Bay View pageant. I hadn't seen either of these before, and hope to share them with the archivists at Lakeside and Bay View.

I also got a better sense of this woman, Ruth Mougey Worrell. She never graduated from college, but was already recognized as a dramatist by the time she married (and her husband encouraged her to keep her maiden name as part of her professional name). But at times, he was also frustrated with her that she was not able to be home as regularly as he'd hoped (she had three daughters). Her work was most popular in the '20s and '30s, but she was still directing pageants of sorts until the '60s. Much of her writing was published under the auspices of the Woman's Home Missionary Society and she was, at one time, the pageant master for the United Methodist Church. In '64, she was Ohio's Mother of the Year (must have spent some time at home!) and in '65, was given an honorary doctorate by Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio. Her letter of acceptance was quite poignant, pointing out that she had not received a college degree, but had accomplished so much.

Worrell's work extends far beyond chautauqua, all quite fascinating. The archives had some good information, but I wish I could learn more about her.

Now in Bay View for a few days before heading out again, next to Colorado!

The adventure begins!

This summer, I am spending three months visiting fourteen different sites to research permanent chautauquas. On this blog, you'll be able to track my movements, learn about where I'm visiting, and get my thoughts as I go. (It will also force me to write as I'm traveling -- so it's as much for me as it is for anyone else reading it). I'm scheduled to visit the following chautauquas: Colorado Chautauqua (Boulder, CO), Bay View Association (MI), Epworth Assembly (Ludington, MI), Ocean Park (ME), Ocean Grove (NJ), Mount Gretna (PA), Monteagle Sunday School Assembly (TN), Fountain Park Chautauqua (Remington, IN), Winona Lake (formerly a chautauqua, in IN), New Piasa Chautauqua (IL), Lakeside (OH), and Chautauqua (NY). To end it, I'll visit Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association (MA). A whirlwind summer, but significantly easier than circuit chautauqua performers' schedules. I don't have to go by train (sometimes freight trains!) to a different place every night. Very excited for the research, to see these amazing communities in person, and to reconnect with friends I have met throughout the Chautauqua Network.