No printed program is extant for the 1905 session, although references in the 1906 program make it clear that a session was
offered. The 1906 session was the twenty-second assembly for the De Funiak Springs gathering. As seen regularly in previous printed
programs, the opening paragraphs of the 1906 program allowed the reader to create a strong, positive text of the Florida Chautauqua. For probably the first time (it is not clear what happened in 1905), the management expanded the Florida Chautauqua to nine full weeks. The 1906 session was the longest running Chautauqua program in the country, even exceeding the ‘Mother Chautauqua’ in New York. This program fully appropriated the shift in the textual nature of the Florida Chautauqua from religion and education to entertainment. The
opening line proclaims “Nine weeks of superb entertainments” and “an unrivaled list of attractions.” “Unrivaled talent” filled the nine-week session as well (The Florida Chautauqua, 1906, 1). To further assist the reader in the development of a text regarding the content of the program, the opening paragraphs heralded the influence of those employed for the program, declaring that their “thought has moulded [sic] the institutions of our country” (The Florida Chautauqua, 1906, 1). All of these declarations sought to build the credibility of the assembly and thus create a sense of worth for the reader to participate and
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exchange his/her goods (time, money, etc.) for the opportunity to increase cultural competence.
The printed program continued this goal of creating credibility with its description of the assembly in a broader context. Apart from the program content, writers presented the assembly as having a “wider clientage” giving the De Funiak institution the reputation “as the great health resort and intellectual center of the South. No place offers so many advantages to the seeker after health and rest” (The Florida
Chautauqua, 19 0 6 ,1 ). The natural surroundings provided for the
health of visitors while “the Chautauqua Assembly contributes sociability and entertainment for the winter visitors.” (The Florida
Chautauqua, 1906, 1). If the reader had any doubts about the
authenticity or cultural advantages of the Florida Chautauqua, the closing paragraph on the opening page attempted to put that to rest: “Her growth has been phenomenal, her influence far-reaching, her teachings elevating.. . ” (The Florida Chautauqua, 1906, 1). The rest of the descriptive portion of the 1906 program stayed essentially
unchanged from previous programs, with the exception of the description of Alpine Park, a serene area where the lover of nature could rest.
The educational offerings followed the pattern established in the 1904 program. The offerings were standard: Music, chorus, pianoforte (including Music Theory), Art, Physical Culture and Expression, Round Table, and Sunday School, Normal and Bible Study. Perhaps the most interesting note of this program is under the last department.
Although classified as an educational department, the Bible
study department was the only major vestige of religious training remaining for the Florida Chautauqua. After a listing of the teachers and leaders for the daily Devotional and Bible Hour, the program described a new facet implemented during the 1905 session. Called ‘Twilight Prayer," the event was apparently a daily happening held at 7:30 p.m., led by Captain M. B. Pilcher. This daily prayer time met a need expressed by those attending the assembly. “It has been the request for many years of patrons that the old time religious meeting full of inspiration and song be embodied in the Chautauqua work, and Captain Pilcher throws into the meeting a genuineness and personality that cannot fail to make itself a force for good among the community” (The Florida Chautauqua, 1906, 13). This statement is interesting because it seems to recognize the shifting emphasis of the Florida Chautauqua and its departure from the earlier years of the assembly, as well as acknowledge some degree of interest among the patrons of the assembly for the earlier emphases. The program did not make it clear whether or not twilight prayer was a daily occurrence, simply stating that it “will be held again at the 7:30 hour this year” (The Florida
Chautauqua, 1906, 13). The event was listed in the program only four
times, February 6-9, as the Twilight Hour.” If it occurred at additional times, the printed program bore no mention.
The front matter of the printed program provides one other entry to help the reader complete the story of the Florida Chautauqua. The promoters included a brief paragraph about the town of De Funiak Springs. As noted earlier, it is almost impossible to separate the development of De Funiak Springs from the development of the Florida
Chautauqua. Although the Florida Chautauqua had its own grounds with distinctive borders, its development and fortunes were closely entwined with the community. In an apparent attempt to assure the would-be attendee that the location of the assembly was not wild territory (as might have been assumed at this time in the development and settlement of West Florida), the promoters focused on the business community of De Funiak Springs. Not only had the Chautauqua grown but “the rapid growth and prosperity of its [De Funiak Springs] business interests have kept steady pace with the advance of the Chautauqua” (The Florida Chautauqua, 1906, 14). The residents had enthusiasm, patriotism, and the “Chautauqua feeling.” Businessmen and prominent citizens made donations to the Chautauqua, enabling the assembly to make needed improvements on the buildings. The attendee need not worry about being without the luxuries a larger city could supply. “De Funiak is the business center of a wide section, and her stores and main street resemble the bustle and activity of a city many times its size” (The Florida Chautauqua, 1906, 14). Emphasizing the cosmopolitan character of the city represents a shift in the cultural text (or at least a shift in emphasis). Previously, an emphasis on contact with local people as well as those who came for the Chautauqua marked the cultural text. The contact was still an element but this presentation has a more practical, business-like aura, promising to meet physical needs as well as cultural needs.
As promised in its opening, the 1906 session was replete with numerous and varied entertainments, listing fifty-three different
entertainers or groups, including an increased number of groups such
as the Vanderbilt University Glee Club with twenty-eight members, the Bach Cello Company, the Louis Bloom Concert Company, and the Ohio Conservatory Concert Company. Seven of the seventeen entertainments listed under Illustrated Lecturers and Entertainers presented lectures complete with pictures of distant lands both ancient and modem, including Herbert L. Bridgeman’s “Peary’s Progress Toward the Pole,” Kenneth Bruce’s “Historic Scotland,” and John Sanborn’s presentation on the customs and manners of the Iroquois Indians. Almost a dozen more musical events rounded out the program as compared to the 1904 session.
By contrast, the program listed only twenty-eight speakers for the Lecture Platform, the lowest percentage of lecturers ever — there were nineteen in 1899, an assembly of just six weeks compared to the nine- week session in 1906. It is important to note that the number of
lecturers included those pastors who gave the daily devotional and Bible study as well as those who preached the Sunday sermons.
With the 1906 session the Florida Chautauqua reached its peak. The assembly would never surpass its nine-week sessions and only
once more would it offer a program this long. The session also completed the transformation from educational/religious institution to entertainment institution. The text had been successfully rewritten. Vestiges of the early foundations of the assembly in education and religion still existed, but without their former importance and
prominence.
The increased length and performer role are also indicators of the economic success of the Florida Chautauqua. The cultural situation
had changed since the beginning of the assembly over twenty years previous. By responding to the desires of its constituency (indicated by the phrase “responds to the taste of a refined and cultured people”) the
Florida Chautauqua was successful in adapting to changing times. Apparently sufficient interest and monetary outlay justified the long, nine-week sessions with the increased number of performers.
Whereas in the beginning the management chose the program features and then attempted to convince (sell) the public on those goods, they had shifted to trying to guess what people wanted. The earlier motives were no less commercial than the later ones.