Monteagle

It's so nice to be back in Monteagle, Tennessee! I visited the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly last year for the Chautauqua Network meeting, and am now reconnecting with some amazing people. Both the people and the architecture are very Southern ... the only real chautauqua south of the Mason-Dixon line. People came to Monteagle to get away from the heat further south, but it's still quite warm, leading to very ingenious forms of early "air conditioning" -- most have some sort of cupola to help the heat move up and out.


Monteagle also has some very good programming. The kids programming is active in the morning, but also some evenings and weekends. Most days, there are one or two lectures, plus something in the evening: movies, lectures, concerts. Each night (Monday through Saturday), folks gather for Evening Prayers. Below is their beautiful chapel, also used for most lectures.


Monteagle is at the top of a mountain, sharing the top with Sewanee (The University of the South). The terrain within the assembly is full of ravines, with expansive bridges going across for walkers and bike riders.


Tomorrow is the annual bazaar and Cottage Tour, sponsored by the Women's Club. I was reading bulletins from the 1910s and '20s today, and the bazaar was a highlight of the summer even then.