The singing farm women of rural Indiana (1934-2009): a Depression era program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture 9780773430518, 0773430512, 9780773418813, 0773418814

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i1 H1 SINGING FARM WOMEN OF Ru L INDIANA (1 34-2009) of

A Depression Era Program e U.S. Department of Agriculture

Linda L. Pohly

With a Foreword by

April C. Mason

The Edwin Mellen Press Lewiston.Queenston.Lampeter

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fohly, Linda, 1954The singing farm women of rural Indiana (1934-2009) : a Depression era program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Linda L. Pohly ; with a foreword by April C. Mason. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7734-3051-8 (hardcover) ISBN-10: 0-7734-3051-2 (hardcover) 1. Melody Makers (Choral group). 2. Choirs (Music)--Indiana--History. 3. Choral music—Indiana. 1. Title. MLI511.7.16P65 2012 785.606'0772--dc23 2012029436

hors serie. A C1P catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Copyright

2012 Linda L. Pohly

Front cover: The Madison County (IN) Home Demonstration Club Chorus in the 1950s. Courtesy, Goldie Fletcher family, Muncie, IN. All rights reserved. For information contact The Edwin Mellen Press Box 450 Lewiston, New York USA 14092-0450

The Edwin Mellen Press Box 67 Queenston, Ontario CANADA LOS ILO

The Edwin Mellen Press, Ltd. Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales UNITED KINGDOM SA48 8LT Printed in the United States of America

Dedication

For Morn, my biggest fan and an author in her own right. She would have been so pleased to see this story in print.

Table of Contents List of Photographs

iv

Foreword by April C. Mason

vii

Preface Acknowledgements Chapter 1: The Foundations .

xiv

•

.

.1

Historical Introduction Agricultural Organizations in America and the Birth of "Extension" 8 Farming in Indiana in the Early Twentieth Century and Extension Services for Farm Women . . . 16 Extension, the Arts, and Music 26 Chapter 2: "Better Music for Rural Indiana": A Simple

Idea Blossoms and Evolves .

........ 31

Tippecanoe and Al, too: The Choir Program Begins The Program Blossoms in the 1940s and 50s The Program Evolves as do American Women's Lives The End of the "Stewart" Era and the March Toward the Twenty-First Century Chapter 3: Al Stewart: The Man and His Vision Albert P. Stewart The Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus Workshops

31 37 53 66 79 • 79 95

Stewart's Connections to Related Music Programs . 104 Stewart's Legacy 109 A Reminiscence 111 Chapter 4: Singing On The Road .

..... . . ...... . . 117

Introduction; Tippecanoe County Leads the Way. .. 117 The Nation's Capital, Once and Again 121 Toronto, Twice 126 131 Europe, 1953 Sunny Los Angeles and Sunny Florida 135 Headed West: Portland 140 Major Traveling Comes to an End 148 Chapter 5: Home Demonstration Chorus Activities in

Individual Indiana Counties

Introduction Fulton County Marshall County Parke County Porter County Rush County Tippecanoe County Other County Vignettes Chapter 6: Music of the Extension Choirs Introduction and Song-of-the-Month Program Newly Composed Extension Music Music for the Indiana State Chorus Music of the Indiana County Choruses Assessment and Evaluation The Author's Personal Observations

153 153 154 164 167 172 177 180 187 209 209 220 225 237 242 245

Chapter 7: Extension and Rural Music in other States . . . 249

Introduction •.. ........ Illinois

. .......

Iowa Kansas Kentucky Missouri Ohio Wisconsin

249 253 260 279 290 301 313 319

Chapter 8: Revitalization in Indiana in the New Millennium

and "The Coda" .

...... .331

A New Energy and a New Face The Coda—Summary, Assessment, and Analysis

331 337

Appendices A. Program Name Changes 363 B. A Tribute: The Reason i'Ve Sing by Jon Renard 365 Bibliography Books and Monographs Journals, Magazines, Newspapers, Pamphlets, Newsletters Archives, Memorabilia, Scrapbooks, Miscellaneous Collections Interviews, Emails, Letters Music

378 382 384

Index

389

SONG-OF-THE-MONTH COLLECTIONS NEWLY COMPOSED EXTENSION MUSIC INDIANA STATE REPERTOIRE SONGBOOK COLLECTIONS ASSOCIATED Will-I OTHER STATES

369 373

List of Photographs Photo 1: Map of Indiana with counties identified. The Indiana Home Demonstration Club chorus program was begun in Tippecanoe County in west-central, IN. It also is the location of Purdue University. Courtesy, Bracken Library, Ball State University, Muncie, IN,

Photo 2: Tippecanoe County Chorus with Al Stewart, director, 1937. Courtesy, Purdue Musical Organizations, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

Photo 3: Nationwide coverage for the Indiana chorus program; the cover of Furrow magazine, 1961. Courtesy, John Deere, The Furrow, 1961.

Photo 4: The Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus, state massed group, 1952. Hall of Music, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. Courtesy, Purdue Musical Organizations, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

Photo 5: The Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus, state massed group, 1970. Edward C. Elliott Hall of Music, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. Courtesy, Purdue Musical Organizations, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

V

Photo 6: A young Albert P. Stewart. Courtesy, Purdue Musical Organizations, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

Photo 7: Al Stewart, staged conducting photo, circa 1961. Courtesy, Purdue Musical Organizations, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN; previously published in The Furrow, John Deere, 1961.

Photo 8: The Indiana Home Demonstration Club Chorus sings in Washington, DC, for the Capitol Sesquicentennial, 1950. Courtesy, Purdue Musical Organizations, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

Photo 9: The Indiana Home Demonstration Club Chorus, with the Purdue Men's Glee Club, for a performance at the Hollywood Bowl, 1954. Courtesy, Purdue Musical Organizations, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

Photo 10: Women from Allen County (IN) dig fishing worms to sell as part of their fund raising for the trip to Toronto, Canada, 1952. Courtesy, Stedman Studios, Ft. Wayne, IN. (This reproduction from a newspaper account is the best available at this time.)

Photo 11: Women from the Indiana Home Demonstration Club Chorus meet Ted Williams and Pete Daley of the Boston Red Sox in Payne Park, Sarasota, FL, 1956. From the Indianapolis Nest's, contained in the Parke County Scrapbook Collection in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN. (This reproduction from a newspaper account is the best available at this time.)

vi Photo 12: The Madison County (IN) Home Demonstration Club Chorus in the 1950s. Courtesy, Goldie Fletcher family, Muncie, IN.

Photo 13: Media coverage of the Washington County (KS) Extension Chorus, 1963. Courtesy, Washington County (KS) News. (This reproduction from a newspaper account is the best available at this time.)

Photo 14: Hall: Hour Studies from Famous Operas as published by the Extension Service of Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanics Arts, 1938. Compiled by Fannie R. Buchanan. Courtesy, Iowa State University Extension, Iowa State University, Ames, IA.

Photo 15: Poster advertising a concert by the Clay County (MO) Extension Club Chorus, 1959. Courtesy, The Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection, 1953-1968, in the possession of Harold McGuire, Liberty, MO.

vii Foreword

In 2009 the Indiana Extension Homemaker Chorus celebrated 75 years of music making. An organization that started in 1934 to provide creative musical expression for rural women, it has seen war and peacetime, growth and compression, societal changes and industrial development; each transition and period is reflected in the music it performs. The county-based organization gave educational and social opportunities to rural women. Yearly trips to Purdue University for annual workshops were significant journeys for women in rural Indiana, but were priorities. Al Stewart, the first state director, gave 40 years of leadership to the organization. He retired in 1974 after organizing "song of the month" selections for the county clubs, directing the annual festivals in the Elliott Hall of Music at Purdue University, and leading the state chorus at the Indiana State Fair and to Canada, Europe, several US states, and Washington, DC. This book chronicles the history of the Extension music program in Indiana, highlighting county programs and comparing it to other state programs. Similar programs exist or existed in Illinois, Iowa, my own Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. In each case, the author has studied published records, interviewed many participants of the program at various times, and drawn from newspaper accounts, scrapbook descriptions, and county records to bring this history together. The anecdotes described and insights shown are indicators of the times and the commitment of so many. For example, the author tells about childcare arrangements made for singers, the use of a woman's married name with her husband's given name until around 1963, and the advent of more readily

viii available recorded music leading to changes in participation of women. The character of Al Stewart looms large in this book, as well it should, and his influence and commitment—in Indiana and beyond—are still felt. He thought music was a healthful activity during the stressful time of war, and that music could bring communication among those with differences, leading to peace in times of Sputnik and nuclear proliferation. The uncertainty of wartime and economic conditions described by the author remain relevant today. Perhaps we need more choral music now. Other leaders of Extension and the choral groups are described in the text. Leila Gaddis was the first state program leader for Home Economics in Indiana. Her portrait hangs in Matthews Hall at Purdue University after being restored when found in the attic of the Agricultural Administration building. Eva Goble, still a force in the early twenty-first century, promoted the program and valued the campus concerts. Eloise Hodge of Rush County served her local chorus as director for 50 years. That type of longevity and service is hard to find these days. The author, a musician, gives musical insight in her narrative. She describes the common meters and keys of the musical presentations. She knows and describes the composers and the types of arrangements performed. Her assessment is that most were of medium difficulty. Based on Al Stewart's philosophy, the chorus director had complete control, and the chorus members were to obey and follow all direction—all this while paying dues and buying their own music.

ix Still active today, the Indiana Extension Homemakers choruses—now the Melody Makers of Indiana—perform locally and in statewide concerts. Their history ebbs and flows with changing numbers of participants, chorus members' ages, and active clubs. Their development mirrors the times in which the people lived and live, and reflects the changes in our American communities. This history is the description of creativity, independence, leadership, exploration, empowerment, and transformation of rural women over 75 tumultuous and defining years. This history, captured by the author, is preserved as part of the heritage of music in rural America. From bake sales and homemade outfits, to robes and train rides to Washington, DC, from performing for Dwight D. Eisenhower to concerts given by a choir of more than 1000 members, Indiana Extension Homemaker choruses were pioneers. Their legacy is one of pride. April C. Mason, PhD Provost and Senior Vice President Kansas State University

x

Preface

go home [from rehearsal] with a wonderful inspiration of thought and emotion and the feeling of strength and ability to do a better job as a homemaker." Mrs. Dunwoody, 1952 I have always been interested in "populist" music—what the average or common person chooses to perform, and how and why. Music is such an essential part of my life that I am curious about the role it plays in the lives of others. Additionally, the primary focus of my music history study and research has been American music since the mid-nineteenth century. Thus, during the first year I lived in Indiana, I scoured the state in search of topics that might be of interest for research projects (thanks, in part, to a travel grant from Ball State University). Early in that process I came upon some information housed at the Tippecanoe County Historical Society that seemed almost unbelievable—farmwomen who sang in county choirs in the 1940s and 50s and who then gathered together to form a state choir of 2000+ for the annual farm conference. Having a farm background myself, I was determined to learn more—and I quickly discovered two more surprises: that the program was created in cooperation with the Agricultural Extension Service (in other words, with governmental support), and that remnants of the program still were active in the late twentieth century. I had found my topic! What an adventure this research has provided, and what a story there is to tell. I'm proud to play a role in getting this overlooked information out to the public. I've often said,

xi "Music is the reason for this story, but it is a story about much more than simply music." It is about the role music practice and performance can play in someone's life; it is about the camaraderie and social interaction that come with ensemble participation; it is about the life education that comes through travel and learning about other people and other places; it is about a time when the US government seemed to acknowledge the value of music in helping to raise the standard of living for those isolated by geography or financial status; it is about the positive impact that individuals who are willing and able to accept leadership roles can have on others; it is about the kind and style of repertoire that has had an appeal to amateur musicians, many with only minimal training, over the decades; it is about the diverse role that the historical land-grant universities played in the lives of state residents; and it is a story about how rural life has changed over the decades—even though the desire to participate in music performance did not wane. Why has the story not come to light in any significant way previously? I do not know for sure, but I suspect there is at least some element of prejudice or snobbery involved. A choir made up of farmwomen? How significant could that be? Well, I hope its significance will become very clear. Much of this book focuses on the Extension music program in Indiana, founded and managed for many years by Purdue University. However, although many contemporary participants were convinced that only Indiana had such a program, I quickly discovered that. similar programs were available in many states. In each state (as in Indiana), the overall goal was to use music to raise the standard of living for often isolated rural and farm families. Thus, it seemed important to put the Indiana story in context by looking, at least briefly, at programs in other Midwestern states.

xi i I am grateful that, while scrapbooking is a hobby for many in the early twenty-first century, it also was a common pastime in the mid-twentieth century. My process of gathering information about the choir program involved locating, collecting, and studying extensive historical archives in the form of scrapbooks and other stashes of memorabilia, news clippings, and photographs that participants had accumulated over the years. The Purdue Musical Organizations Notes (PMO Notes) and many newspaper articles revealed additional information. The Indiana program was at its peak during the 1940s through 1960s when agricultural news and local news items appeared frequently in rural newspapers. Another significant discovery was that, in some states, the land-grant university houses an archival collection that contains similar materials. The historical accounts described herein and the assessments and conclusions I have drawn are aimed at several different audiences. Chief among them are the music participants and their families who deserve to have their activities, commitment, and legacy known. However, I am confident the information also is of great value to those interested in women's history, in rural or agricultural history, in the historical development of the Midwest, and in America's musical history with its colorful collage of styles, personages, activities, and repertoire. This information, to my knowledge, is not found under one cover in any other place, and it may turn out to be a single piece of a much larger, important narrative. Chapter 1 establishes historical context by reviewing agricultural and Extension history. Chapter 2 provides the basic historical development, mostly chronologically, of the Indiana Home Demonstration Club chorus phenomenon, while Chapter

3 provides insight into its dynamic leader, Al Stewart, and his beliefs and activities. Chapter 4 is organized primarily by geography as it offers details about the performance tours taken by the Indiana state chorus. Similarly, Chapter 5 presents a look into the activities of several individual county choirs in an effort to show more localized musical activity and meaning. It is impossible to know if these counties truly are representative— they were selected based on the availability of detailed archives. This is a book about choruses and singing, so Chapter 6 contains discussion of the repertoire. As noted above, other states had similar music programs associated with the Extension Service, and information gathered from states surrounding Indiana, or with a similar agricultural background, is presented in Chapter 7. Certainly, further detailed research in these states, and in many others, is warranted. Chapter 8 provides a summary and some conclusions, as well as insight into how the chorus program has evolved and been revitalized in Indiana in the twenty-first century. As evident in the Acknowledgements, this project involved many hands, hearts, and minds. I am grateful to all those who contributed to bringing it to fruition.

xiv Acknowledgements This project has taken many years to bring to fruition, and without the help of many people, it would not have been possible. My research assistant and dear friend, Atcha Nolan, contributed in so many ways—searching for resources, proofreading, manuscript preparation, offering encouragement. Her time was given joyfully, and her work was accurate and helpful beyond measure. The book is better because of her. Several offices and persons at Ball State University contributed to the project. Among those were Keith Cochran, Music Librarian, and Interlibrary Loan staff, Bracken Library; the Office of Academic Research and Sponsored Programs; the College of Fine Arts (Robert Kvam, Dean); and the School of Music. Likewise, the story would not have been told without the cooperation of Purdue University and the Purdue Musical Organizations. I'd like to thank Karen DeZarn, Jae IsraelKellogg, Dean April Mason, Julie Ricciardi, and Jon Ranard for their time and input. Also, thank you to the Purdue Musical Organizations for providing access to the Carrie Witteman Collection (donated by Marcia Sackett) and other resources. Various libraries, historical societies, and museums were essential to the collection of resource materials. Specifically these include Anderson (Indiana) Public Library; Bracken Library, Ball State University; Bartlesville (Oklahoma) Public Library; Center for Archival Collections, Jerome Library, Bowling Green State University; Clay County (Missouri) Archives and Historical Library; Fulton County (Indiana) Historical Society Museum, History From Scrapbooks Collection (donated by Margaret Shafer and Frances Pfeiffer);

xv

Hale Library, Kansas State University; Indiana Historical Society, Memories of Hoosier Homemakers Project; Indiana State Library, Indiana Home Economics Association Depository Collection; Iowa State University Library, Special Collections and Archives; M. I. King Library, Special Collections and Digital Programs, University of Kentucky; Olathe (Kansas) Public Library; St. Joseph County Public Library, South Bend, Indiana; Tippecanoe County (Indiana) Historical Society; University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) Archives, Archives Research Center; Washington County (Kansas) Historical Society and Museum. Many Indiana individuals contributed their time and resources such as scrapbooks, photographs, archives, and the like. Primary in this list is Sonya Stewart Eddy, who availed me of the memorabilia and archives of her father, Albert P. Stewart, and provided helpful reminiscences and encouragement. Other contributors include Eleanor Arnold, Karen Bartling, Judy Benham, Howard Diesslin, Goldie Fletcher, Helena C. Hand, Eloise Hodge, Bonnie Houser, Joyce Jones, Sue Ann Land, Sharon Piper, Doris Rohe, Janalyce Rouls, and Marge Weaver. This list also must include the names of many persons from the other states under investigation. For Iowa: Tanya Zanish-Belcher, Special Collections Dept. and University Archives, Iowa State University. For Illinois: Debora Pfeiffer, University of Illinois Archives, University of Illinois, UrbanaChampaign; Erica Carlson, Funk ACES Library, University of Illinois; Ellen D. Swain, University of Illinois Archives. For Kansas: Viola Diller, Carol Finlayson, Ruth Lofgreen, Mary Alice Pacey, Francis Schnelle, and Ramona Stettnisch. For Kentucky: Jackie Allnutt, Cheryl Bowling, Nancy De Marcus, Maryellen Garrison, Lucille Hamtnons, Kimberly Henken,

xvi

Mabel McKenney, Martha A. Nall, Lenora Kelly Olds, and Rita Stewart. For Missouri: Harold McGuire. For Ohio: Lucille Steel. For Oklahoma: Carol Wood. For Wisconsin: Carol Anderson, Norma Clavadatscher, Lois Clifton, Lorraine Kohn, and Bertha Schliewe. A book manuscript goes through many edits and revisions before it is complete and a publisher is secured. Many family members, friends, and colleagues were willing to read and comment on various incarnations of the manuscript and help with technical support. For me they included Jean Amman, Dr. Jill Burleson, Dr. Anthony Edmonds, Linda Elliott, Balie Gren, Yoko Kandori, Mike Nolan, Dr. Lisa Ossian, Kelly Ott, Joan Partain, Louise Pohly, Jim Rhinehart, Dr. Suzanne Snyder, Deb Stark, Warren Vander Hill, Cal Waters, and Nancy Wesche. This has been a long process over many years—if I have neglected to specifically name individuals who provided information or support, I sincerely thank them now.

Chapter 1

The Foundations The idea of a choir consisting of farmwomen might surprise some Americans of the twenty-first century, but it also was unexpected and, in fact, intriguing to an audience in Baltimore, MD, in 1939. An article in the Christian Science Monitor of 19 May 1939 began: Out of the hills of Indiana, 37 women, comprising the Tippecanoe County Home Economics Chorus, have come to Baltimore to prove that rural America is interested in finer music than the nasal whine of hillbilly ballads. To alter the city dwellers' belief that most farm folk sit around an evening twanging out a dismal ditty on a guitar and little brown jug was one of the principal reasons the chorus was formed.' The article's author goes on to mention that some women in the choir regularly had to travel as far as 60 miles to rehearse, and that other performing groups slated for this event were the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Raleigh (NC) String Quartet, and a choir from Augustana College. A slightly different version of the quotation above also was included in a lengthy article in the Baltimore Sun. There the author continued, "Yesterday afternoon they proved it [their proficiency] to the satisfaction of their critical audience in the

"Music Club Federation Hears Examples of U.S. Tastes," Christian Science Monitor, 19 May 1939, 2.

2 Lord Baltimore Hotel ..."2 One author interviewed participant Mrs. 0. L. McCay as to her interest in the choir. She responded, it's the most wonderful thing that ever happened to us. You know, it isn't just singing that's important. We get a new meaning from every worth-while [sic] radio broadcast that's made now. We understand the difficulties and finer points of rendition and we've passed them on to our families. When a number has been finished, you'd think you were sitting in the critics' row at the Metropolitan Opera House if you could hear us talk.... [My daughter] has as much fun studying the numbers I bring home as I do. And now, with the training we get in our chorus, I'm really able to help her with her breathing and interpretation. That isn't exactly an answer to your question, but it's reason enough for singing—for driving a twenty-mile round trip winter or summer to get to rehearsals.3 This kind of enthusiasm, success, and novelty were the foundations upon which the long and evolving story of the statewide Indiana Home Demonstration chorus was established. While it turns out that the Indiana story is not unique, it certainly deserves recognition for its breadth and longevity, as will be evident in the pages that follow. "No Fun without Music, No Music without Fun" became a motto of the group, but "fun" was not its only goal or achievement. The fact that the "lndianians [sic] Sing Here to Show Rural Talent," Baltimore Sun, 17 May 1939, 24.

2

Francis Chase, Jr. "State of Singing Housewives," Radio Guide 8, no. 41 (28 July 1939): 35.

3

heritage of that original 1939 chorus from Tippecanoe County continued strongly into the twenty-first century indicates the power and value that choral music performance had in the lives of women associated with what came to be called the Extension Service. However, first it is relevant to establish the historical context and background of the Home Demonstration program and the Extension Service and their ties to music and the arts.

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION

The story of Extension music, especially for women, began in earnest in the 1930s, so a review of important aspects of that decade will set the stage. Economically the nation was reeling as a result of the stock market crash and the Dust Bowl, which brought about significant population shifts as people moved to new locations seeking work. The Scottsboro case brought race relations into national news when two white girls charged rape against nine black boys in Alabama. Additionally, Al Capone finally was convicted of income-tax evasion, the Lindberg baby was kidnapped, Franklin Roosevelt was elected to his first term as president, the Hindenburg dirigible exploded, and Hitler was elected to office in Germany. The popular arts of the decade often voiced frustration over the national situation or provided escapism from the reality of the day. Fred Astaire, Clark Gable, Shirley Temple, Benny Goodman, Bessie Smith, and Louis Armstrong were popular entertainers. George Gershwin composed Porgy and Bess, Margaret Bourke-White photographed the plight of farmers during the drought, and Margaret Mitchell became a household name with Gone with the Wind. Aaron Copland was making his mark in the world of classical music; by decade's end he would break with the harsh dissonances and jagged rhythms of "modernism" and make a

4 concerted effort to write music that he considered more accessible to the average listener. The 1930s was also a decade in which the role of women in society changed significantly. Newsworthy items and prominent people that reflected this change include passage of the Social Security Act (which included Aid to Dependent Children) and the appointment of a woman, Frances Perkins, as Secretary of Labor. Of additional importance were the wider availability of contraceptives, the much-discussed efforts of Babe Didrikson Zaharias in sport and Amelia Earhart in flight, and the activities of successful women in music such as Amy Beach, Ruth Crawford Seeger, and Marian Anderson.4 Women's rights and concerns also were given a boost by the actions of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and by the establishment of national organizations such as the Unemployed Councils (which sought to mobilize the unemployed to demand concessions from employers). As might be expected, the financial status of women suffered greatly in the 1930s, The Depression brought renewed antagonism over a woman doing a "man's" work, and by 1932 an estimated 2 million women were unemployed. Perhaps ironically, at the same time, women's colleges "shifted away from a purely academic education by putting home economics and nursing on the curriculum ..."5 The need for a balancing act between a woman's individuality and contributions to the labor

'Sheila Rowbotham, A Century of Women: The History of Women in Britain and the United States (New York: Viking, 1997), chapter 4 passim; S. J. Kleinberg, Women in the United States, 1830-1945 (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1999), 271. 5 Kleinberg,

Women, 260.

force and her role in the family would continue throughout the century. In the midst of all of this social, psychological, and economic upheaval, the reform agenda of the Roosevelt New Deal government brought about the establishment of the Public Works Administration (PWA.), the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). These agencies were designed to provide work for the citizens, although their emphasis was on men. In an effort to find work for women, activists suggested formation of "She, she, she" to counterbalance the CCC. Eventually about 8,000 women were included in Civilian Conservation Corps camps, but they received little training and lower wages than their male counterparts.6 The Works Progress Administration included programs in the arts, creating jobs for musicians, actors, writers, and artists—both male and female. (It later was renamed the Works Projects Administration and survived until December of 1942.) Some of the endeavors of the writers and actors in the organization drew accusations of Communist influence, but musicians mostly were able to avoid such finger pointing.7 Musicians, however, were hit especially hard by the economic downturn of the day because technology was rapidly changing the employment situation for many performers. Films with sound, network radio, and phonograph records were having an impact on American society by providing greater accessibility to music, but at the same time, resulting in fewer live performance opportunities for musicians.

Women, 221. , `Marie Kroeger, "The Federal Music Project in Denver 1935-1941," American Music Research Center Journal 3 (1993): 50.

6 Kleinberg,

0 The organizations and circumstances described above were not isolated in time, of course; many of them continued to be influential beyond the 1930s, and with hindsight we know the devastation of a major war was looming in the not-toodistant future.8 However, the 1930s are relevant because the Indiana Home Demonstration choruses began then, and in many ways, the choirs reflect the spirit of the 30s. Social and cultural situations, and trends in politics and the economy, exercise mutual influence upon each other, and unpredictable partnerships sometimes can result from extraordinary circumstances. Such an alliance, that between the US Cooperative Extension Service and choral music performance, occurred in Indiana when the Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration Club Chorus was formed under the leadership of Albert P. Stewart in 1934. Home Demonstration Clubs (at various times also called Home Economic Clubs or Extension Service Clubs, see App. A) are part of the Indiana Extension Homemakers Association, which in turn is associated with the Cooperative Extension Service, a special unit of the US Department of Agriculture. In Indiana, the Extension Service is administered at Purdue University, the state's land-grant college (a concept that will be discussed shortly) located in Tippecanoe County in northeastern Indiana.9

8 World

War II had a significant impact on women's lives in many ways, but historians disagree as to the details and results, especially concerning women in the work force. See Stephanie A. Carpenter, On the Farm Front: The Women's Land Army in World War 11 (DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2003), 10. 'Indiana has one of the few land-grant colleges not bearing the name of the state because John Purdue, who provided the land, requested the college be named after him.

7 Scholars since the last quarter of the twentieth century have encouraged greater study of rural life in order that we more fully understand the varied textures and layers of American history, and they point out that "the rural Midwest does not easily fit into any existing [to the mid 1990s] narratives of women's or labor history."1° This book provides one more piece of that complex story in recounting the growth of that single Tippecanoe County choir into a statewide musical organization involving thousands of Indiana women over the decades. The program evolved substantially over the years, continuing into the twenty-first century with a celebration of its 75th anniversary in 2009. And it turns out that Indiana was not alone in this effort; several Midwestern, agricultural states had some kind of music program for its rural and farm residents, as will be described in chapter 7."

1° See Barbara J. Steinson, "Rural Life in Indiana, 1800-1950," Indiana

Magazine of History 90, no. 3 (September 1994): 203-250; Mary Neth, Preserving the Family Farm: Women, C0111 117 1117ity, and the Foundations of Agribusiness in the Midwest, 1900-1940 (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1995), 2.

ti Whenever possible, the information and summary provided will pertain to Indiana or the Midwest, an area often defined as Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. Of course, agriculture in these states is as diverse as the population. However, the states have historically had in common the notion of "crossroads" for immigration, transportation, and product shipping. See Lucy Eldersveld Murphy and Wendy Hamand Venet, eds. Midwestern Women; Work, Community, and Leadership at the Crossroads (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997), introduction. Indiana also has been labeled one of the Corn-Soy Belt states along with Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio. At least through the 1950s vegetables, fruit, potatoes, grain, and forage crops were prevalent as were dairy, poultry, and other meat operations. See Ladd Haystead and Gilbert C. Fite, The Agricultural Regions of the United States (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1955), 143.

8 Chapters 2-6, which follow, focus on Indiana. They provide insight into the historical development of the program; the influence of Indiana's prominent Extension music leader, Al Stewart; the performance tours taken by the state chorus; the organization and activities of several individual county choirs; and the repertoire associated with the program. A discussion of Extension and rural music in other Midwestern states is found in chapter 7. Some chapters are arranged chronologically to show historical development, while others are topical, or—in the case of the tour chapter--by geography. The final chapter includes information on the changes that occurred in the early years of the twenty-first century and a summary of the meaning and impact of the Extension music program. AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS IN AMERICA AND THE BIRTH OF "EXTENSION"

Perhaps not surprisingly, even before the United States had ratified its constitution and made George Washington its first president, the Society for Promoting Agriculture was organized in Philadelphia in 1785 to disseminate agricultural information and to encourage formation of localized agricultural organizations.12 The United States Agricultural Society was founded in 1852 and consisted of both public officials and active farmers, making it both practical and relevant for America's agricultural economy. As a general interest in providing more educational and cultural opportunities (such as the Chautauqua movement) for adult American citizens I2Many of these overview points are explained more fully in Edmund deS. Brunner and E. Hsin Pao Yang, Rural America and the Extension Service: A

History and Critique of the Cooperative Agricultural and Home Economics Extension Service (New York: Columbia University, 1949).

9 expanded, Congress passed the Morrill Land-Grant Act in 1862 providing each state with an educational institution that focused on agricultural and "mechanic" arts. The US Department of Agriculture also was established in 1862 with a primary focus on education. 1 3 Shortly after the Civil War, a large-scale national farm organization was begun that provided activities for both men and women. Known as the Grange or the Patrons of Husbandry, it is credited with insisting on coordination between the training offered at agricultural colleges and the needs of working farmers. The Hatch Act of 1887 provided federal assistance for the land-grant colleges to establish experiment stations where scientific testing and product development could be handled in an organized manner. "The wedding of science and industry [commercial agriculture] gave land-grant colleges increased social prestige, because they served broader industrial goals, and improved academic credentials, because they pursued pure research."" By 1900 the curriculum of land-grant colleges standardized into soils, agronomy, plant pathology, horticulture,

'Education was an early responsibility of the US Department of Agriculture. The State of Indiana accepted the land-grant gift based on the Morrill Act in 1865; Purdue University became its land-grant college in 1869, and its School of Agriculture enrolled students beginning in 1879. li Neth, Preserving, 103-104. At the same time, songs emerged that commented not only on the gambles a farmer faced and the often poor financial conditions of farmers' lives, but also on the importance of their contributions in producing food for all Americans. One example is "The Farmer is the Man." The text sarcastically places the farmer at a disadvantage between many "middle men" who take the bulk of the profits. The American Agricultural Movement of Michigan reprinted the song sometime in the mid-twentieth century (Faye Pohly, Songbook and Sheet Music Collection, in the possession of Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN).

10 animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, and agricultural economics.15 While these educational organizations and opportunities were essential to the healthy growth of the American agricultural complex, the task of making new ideas and suggestions for improvement known to rural, and perhaps isolated, farmers was a challenge. Near the turn into the twentieth century, colleges in Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, and Iowa made concerted efforts to communicate with a wider rural audience through presentations at fairs, clubs, and community organizations. In 1905 the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations created a Committee on Extension Work that encouraged "extending" new ideas and approaches into pockets of rural America. By 1914 the Smith-Lever Act authorized federal funding for agricultural extension work through land-grant colleges. While agricultural productivity was its primary aim, the act also focused attention on some concerns related to rural life.'6 The latter had been under scrutiny since the early years of the century through the Country Life Movement--an organization °Willard W. Cochrane, The Development of American Agriculture, A Historical Analysis (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1979), 105-106. By 1921, 15,000 students were enrolled in the 41 agricultural colleges. See Hiram M. Drache, Legacy of the Land: Agriculture's Story to the Present (Danville, IL: Interstate Publishers, 1996), 307. 16 Some states, including Indiana, already were providing the services that

became Extension. Indiana had farmers' institutes beginning in 1882, in 1905 the Indiana General Assembly appropriated funds for Extension work in an experimental station, the first corn club for boys began in 1905, and Leila Gaddis became the first state leader of home demonstration work in 1914. See Wayne D. Rasmussen, Taking the University to the People.' 75 Years of Cooperative Extension (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1989),

55.

11 supported by President Theodore Roosevelt between 1908 and 1910—and through the field of rural sociology, which grew significantly in the late 1930s but was abandoned in the mid1940s." Land-grant colleges "never became the training institutions for future farmers that their founders envisaged," but they did train high-school vocational teachers, extension workers, other professionals in fields related to agriculture, and researchers, allowing them to be helpful and productive in the dissemination of information.18 Very quickly the Extension workers' primary goal evolved: To provide information to every individual farmer and rural family as a means of improving both agricultural techniques and country life. Among the activities provided by or offered through extension work at Purdue University in Indiana circa 1920 were these: Lecturing at fanners' institutes; providing short courses in agriculture; assisting at teachers' institutes; providing courses in corn and stock judging in district centers; holding summer schools for teachers; sending out field specialists to give advice to farmers; providing courses of study for agricultural high schools; preparing and sending out bulletins, reports, and circulars; preparing articles for the public press; conducting and publishing an agricultural journal; "There were several goals, including some that might benefit urban dwellers more than rural families, in the reforms promoted by the Country Life Commission. Those living the rural life did not favor some of these reform suggestions. See Steinson, "Rural Life," 222ff. See also Drache, Legacy, 242, and Neth, Preserving, chapter 4, concerning rural sociology. Drache writes that the government thought that improving the attitude and lifestyle of farm wives would do much to revive and sustain fanning. I s Cochrane, Development,

106.

12 conducting cooperative experiments in agriculture; providing educational exhibits at fairs; organizing excursions to the college by agricultural associations and individuals farmers; conducting experiments and demonstration tests on county poor farms; and organizing farmers' clubs, women's clubs, and boys' and girls' clubs [italics added]." The Extension service also sponsored agricultural exhibit trains that traveled regionally; in Indiana, the first of these ran in 1905 and the last in 1947.20 In other words, with the Cooperative Agricultural and Home Economics Extension Service, America embarked on a journey of developing a nationwide, tax-supported system of rural adult education. Documentation of federal and state public expenditures for Extension indicates that $3.5 million was allotted for it in 1915, $24.3 million in 1930, $74.6 million in 1950, and $290.7 million in 1970.21 Even before the 1914 legislation, however, Extension officials learned that farmers required a bottom-up or grassroots 19 Brunner and Yang, Rural America, 7. Great Britain also had "extension" services, beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, that were intended to "bring the University to the people when the people could not come to the University." The service did not appear to focus on agriculture at that time. See "Extension Lectures" of February 1896 held in Worcester College Library, Oxford University. However, the Royal Agricultural College of Cirencester was started in 1845, in part, to promote systematized agricultural instruction. For further information, see E. John Russell, A History of Agricultural Science in Great Britain, 1620-1954. London: Allen & Unwin, Ltd., 1966.

'uDave 0. Thompson, Sr. and William L, Madigan, One Hundred and Fifty Years of Indiana Agriculture (West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University, 1966), 51. "Cochrane, Development, 247.

approach; they had too much to lose to simply take suggestions from bureaucrats. Moreover, some officials felt that the collegetrained Extension representatives received a more positive reception from local merchants and bankers than from farmers.22 As a result, "demonstration" work was born. It allowed the local people to work with a county agent, who in turn reported to the state and federal offices about what was most needed and most practical in the way of programs and assistance for a specific county. A balance between information garnered on the experiment farms and the practical needs of the local farmers was essential. The demonstration methodology was enhanced greatly during the cotton boll-weevil emergency in the south in 1903. Farmers could see for themselves the advantage of getting knowledgeable help and advice in a timely manner. The success of the demonstration approach led Dr. Seaman A. Knapp of the US Department of Agriculture to push for its application in all aspects of rural life and for all rural Americans, including African Americans (through the Tuskegee and Hampton Institutes). Clubs for boys were begun in 1907 and 1908 (such as 4-H, which began in Indiana in 1912),23 and demonstration events for farmwomen began in 1913. Resulting research confirmed "that the caliber and character of the farm homemaker was one of the most influential factors in determining the success or failure of the farm enterprise."24

22

Steinson, "Rural Life," 244.

23 Apparently one way to introduce a farmer to new ideas was through his son, who learned new techniques from club projects. See Drache, Legacy, 145. 14

Brunner and Yang, Rural America, 15.

14 Putting resources and energy into education for far was a secure investment.

-omen

In 1923, all Extension activities were combined under the federal office of the Cooperative Extension Service. By the 1940s, the hierarchy of the Extension Service was as follows: the service operated a department at the state agricultural college that was managed by an administrator (known as the Extension director) and various staff members. Work related to an individual county was organized around the county agent, whose primary responsibility was to serve as an advisor to local farmers. A county might also have a home demonstration agent to serve a similar function for women. When it became apparent that one county agent could not be an expert in every technical aspect of agriculture, "specialists" were employed and trained to concentrate on more specific, limited topics.25 A county was organized further by clubs or units, which might be established by township for farmers of a specific commodity (such as dairy or fruit or tobacco), for women, or by other sponsoring organizations such as Farm Bureau.26 The 251n

the first half of the twentieth century, specialists were designated in Indiana in the following areas: Farm Crops, Short Courses and Exhibits, Animal Husbandry, Horticulture, Poultry, Soils and Crops, Dairy, Home Economics (1912), 4-H Clubs, Agricultural Economics, Botany, Veterinary Science, Agricultural Editor, Agricultural Information, Agricultural Engineering, Forestry, Soil Conservation, Entomology, Music (1937, see ch. 2), and Rural Health. See Dave 0. Thompson, A History: Fifty Years of Cooperative Extension Service in Indiana (West Lafayette, IN: [Purdue University], 1963), 34. ' -"The Farm Bureau Association was formed in 1913, the Indiana Farm Bureau was formed in 1919, and the American Farm Bureau Federation was formed in 1920, in part, to help farmers express their needs to state legislators. Members also entered into cooperative commercial alliances. As other farm organizations developed, some farmers questioned the close ties between Extension and Farm Bureau; this was the case in Indiana. See

15 clubs sent representatives to a county council as a means of coordination and communication, but agents also melded education with traditional social events such as fairs or community picnics. An approach where the agent, in a white shirt and tie bearing the look of his profession, simply force-fed the farmer, dressed in overalls the uniform of his occupation, would not be successful. The methodologies the agent promoted had to be reasonable to accomplish, and they had to be effective. Of course, the Extension service needed to make provisions in its plan for those farmers who had minimal means of transportation and limited reading ability. But attempting to balance life between the academic world and the culture of rural America continued to be a great challenge and was not successful in every circumstance. Some rural reformers inadvertently distanced themselves from the very people they sought to reform (or "improve"), and by the mid-twentieth century, as manufacturing and service industries overtook agriculture in the US economy, a distinct split occurred between rural and urban areas. To many Americans, the city represented progress and the future, and the farm represented stagnation and the out-of-date past. In some ways, clubs for farm boys and girls, such as 4-H, were thought to help farm youth see the potential quality of farm living. "Under some rural conditions it is not an easy matter to be convincing [of the advantage of farm life], but it can be safely asserted that 4-H and the agricultural training in schools have given many

Dorothy Schwieder, 75 Years of Service: Cooperative Extension in Iowa (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1993), passim; Steinson, "Rural Life," 243; Cochrane, Development, 251.

16 a youth a new vision of farm life...."2' Ironically, technology played an important binary role both in keeping youth interested in farming and in drawing them away. FARMING IN INDIANA IN THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY AND EXTENSION SERVICES FOR FARM WOMEN

During the first half of the twentieth century, among the most significant sources of change to influence farming and rural life in Indiana were new modes of transportation and the availability of electricity, although the effects varied among the geographic regions of the state. The use of gasoline-powered tractors and combines was a boon, but their increasing costs contributed to the separation between small and medium-sized farms from those with greater resources.28 Automobiles made access to town, or other locations and people, easier for those who had them,29 but road and weather conditions still created significant hurdles. In 1932 the US Department of Agriculture spent more than 68% of its budget for road building in

Neth, Preserving, 107. Neth also discusses the gender hierarchies that eventually developed in universities where science and business were thought to be masculine and social issues and home economics to be feminine. See also Madge .1. Reese, "Standards of Living as a Basis for an Agricultural Extension Program," in The Spirit and Philosophy of Extension Work, comp. and ed. by R.K. Bliss (Washington: USDA, 1952), 170. 27

Steinson, "Rural Life," 217-218, 242. In the 1920s about 4.3% of farms in Indiana had a tractor, in the 1940s the number rose to 37.1%, and by the 1950s, 63.6% of the farms in Indiana had at least one tractor. See Haystead and Fite, Agricultural Regions, 154. 28

See Michael L. Berger, "Farmers, Flivvers, and Family Life: The Impact of Motoring on Rural Women and Their Kin" (Proceedings from the Women's Travel Issues 2°`1 National Conference, Baltimore, MD, October 1996). 29

17 recognition of the importance of roads for marketing farm products.3° The availability of electricity and indoor plumbing had changed urban life considerably, but by 1940 "just over half of all farm families in Indiana had electricity compared with 98% of urban homes."31 Home demonstration agents continued to emphasize the benefits of electricity for improved home life. However, some research indicates that electricity caused a longer workday for rural women because it created "more daylight hours." And while some machines eliminated the drudgery of certain tasks in both rural and urban homes, their use did not necessarily result in more free time for women. Children or servants (in more affluent homes) previously had done some of the chores taken over by machines. Among the other forms of technology that was highly valued was the radio, powered either by electricity or by battery.32 Specifically for women, the commercial production of clothing, household articles, and food along with declining birth rates (especially in urban settings) contributed to changes in daily life beginning in the 1920s.33 During the 1950s and 60s, "Drache, Legacy, 288. 3I See

Kleinberg, Women, 237-239. By 1950, 78% of farms had electricity, and by 1960 the number reached 97%. See Drache, Legacy, 291. Another aspect of the New Deal was the Rural Electrification Administration, which helped bring power to remote areas.

32Among the most popular shows was "Aunt Sammy's Daily Housekeepers' Chat for Women." See Drache, Legacy, 289.

"Kleinberg, Women, 150, 235. See also Mary Anne Butters, "Homemakers Urged into Politics," Indianapolis Star, 10 June 1966, 8. The article's author describes the annual conference held at Purdue where women were encouraged to get involved with crime prevention and other social issues at the same time they were warned about relegating too much child rearing to day-care workers.

18 the Midwest farm home underwent significant change toward modernization, and its women exhibited a greater awareness of and interest in social and political issues (although the importance of domesticity in women's lives continued to be emphasized). Ironically, World War II brought contradictory outcomes for farmers in Indiana. It caused a greater need for agricultural products and workers (in the short term), but it also caused the creation of new jobs in war-related industry. The state ranked 8th in receiving war contracts; by 1944, payrolls of war industries accounted for nearly 33% of all its income payments, and more than 33% of the factory workers in Indiana were women.34 These jobs drew many Hoosiers, including women, away from the farm, a trend that continued throughout the rest of the twentieth century.35 This trend was not all bad; in 1940 economist Theodore Schultz suggested that the United States could easily get by with 2 million fewer farms because production was increasing even though farm populations had decreased.36 In the 1940s faint families in the Midwest accounted for between 25 and 50% of a state's population, but by 1990 only 3.39% of Hoosiers lived on farms. Rural women in Indiana in the early- to mid-twentieth century engaged in a wide variety of income-producing activities on the family farm, including selling or trading garden produce, raising chickens for market and for eggs to sell, and Nancy F. Gabin, "Women, Unions, and Debates over Work during World War II in Indiana," in Midwestern Women ed. by Murphy and Venet, p. 227.

34

35

Steinson, "Rural Life," 228-233.

Drache, Legacy, 266. On page 273, Drache also discusses the "myth" of the fanner and nostalgism and agrarian idealism.

36

19

selling butter. This despite the fact that early twentieth-century Census reports listed farm wives as "women with no occupation."37 While some of their work was clearly thought of as "women's work," they also participated, especially on smaller farms, in labor related to dairy farming, and their income added to the family's overall economic well being. The extensive vegetable-canning industry in Indiana, where canneries often were located close to the fields, also provided short-term, well-paid employment for rural women during packing season. During the first half of the century, many farm families slowly evolved from producing most of their own needs to purchasing much of what they consumed.38 In the late nineteenth century, clubs of various kinds were popular for women, especially those with adequate financial means and time for socialization. Some of these clubs promoted activism related to important social and political issues of the day. In the early twentieth century, family, church, and school still provided the primary social groups available to women, but "there was a great need for education in homemaking skills for the state's rural homemakers. These women, mothers of large families and with responsibility for a large array of absolutely essential home and farm chores, were working long hours using techniques learned from their mothers."39

37

Neth, Preserving, 235.

Dorothy Schwieder, "Changing Times," in Midwestern Women ed. by Murphy and Venet, p. 211.

38

Eleanor Arnold, ed. Going to Club, 75 Years with Extension Homemakers, Fifth in the Series, Memories of Hoosier Homemakers and transcripts of tape-recorded interviews from Hoosier Homemakers through the Years, an oral history project of the Indiana Extension Homemakers Association, 39

20 In anticipation of the creation of Extension Service, the US Department of Agriculture sent letters to 55,000 farmwomen inquiring about their needs. While only about 2,200 women replied, they listed heavy workload, social isolation, lack of good schools for their children, and a lack of spending money as their chief concems.40 Subsequently, the classes and clubs offered by the Extension service beginning in 1913 served both the educational and the social needs of the women. Local clubs would select a few members to go to the county seat to learn new techniques and information from a specialist. These members then returned to their own clubs, or units, to "demonstrate" the information, hence the name of the organization beginning in 1951.41 In the 1940s, programs for women (and they were listed as being "for women") included: Food selection and preparation Making and using a fireless cooker Care of poultry Year-round garden Rug and curtain making Clothing Use and care of milk Eradication of household pests 1988, held in the Indiana Extension Homemakers Association Archives, Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, IN, 5. Dorothy Schwieder, "Changing Times," p. 205. High-school education increased significantly for farm children in the 1920s and 30s.

40

4 'ArnoId, ed. Going to Club, 5-7. In 1966 the name was changed to Extension Homemakers clubs. A similar organization for rural children was the 4-H club. The Bureau of Home Economics was established within the US Department of Agriculture in 1923, adding credence to the program and to home economics as a field of study and employment. See Rasmussen, Taking the University, 87.

Soap making42 The units usually were organized under a plan promoted by the land-grant college, and the affairs of the unit were handled in a professional manner. Thus the Extension Service also provided women with leadership opportunities:43 Additionally, women viewed their Extension experience as a way of making themselves more interesting as individuals, helping them to be better neighbors, and showing them how to keep their family members better fed and more healthy.44 Regarding the latter, in the 1 920s and 30s, Extension contributed to changes in improving the quality of homemade butter, improving the standards of measurement for baking and cooking, improving the safety of commercial and home-use milk, and training for local nurses among other activities.45

42 Brunner and Yang, Rural America, 115. Categories of study under the heading of "Health and Sanitation" included: Bed making with and without the patient in bed; making and applying bandages; first aid; making an improvised rubber sheet; medicine cabinet; sanitary drinking cups; and personal hygiene. Information on food preparation and preservation and basic nutrition was relevant for all homes, and this knowledge had an impact on schools as well. The Extension Service was instrumental in formulating school lunch programs, especially in rural schools. Brunner and Yang, Rural America, 96.

"Handbook for the President" 1963, Kansas Extension Homemakers Council Collection, box 16, Special Collections, Hale Library, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS. The handbook describes the purposes of Home Demonstration units, Extension objectives, suggestions for standing rules, procedures for an installation ceremony for officers of the unit, suggested duties of the President, and tips for presenting Home Economics to the public (i.e., publicity). 13

"Hoosier Homemakers: The Early Years, part I," a Project of the Indiana Extension Homemakers Association, 2000, videocassette.

44

Fifty Years, chapter 4 passim. World War I brought a need for many changes with regard to products like wheat and cheese. The Extension

45 Thompson,

Some women also felt that their experiences and resultant learning caused their husbands to exhibit more pride in them. While Extension clubs were not the only social outlet for farmwomen between 1913 and 1970, the clubs played an important role in farm life. In fact, author Mary Neth has written that Homemakers' Clubs retained a strong local identity because the home extension agent often received less funding from the land-grant college than the county extension agent who worked more directly with the fanners.46 However, as non-farm women began to be involved with Homemakers' Clubs, the subject matter of lessons became less specific to farm life. Like their male counterparts, farmwomen adopted and adapted new ideas from the Home Demonstration offerings that complemented their needs and desires. For example, many switched as quickly as possible to washing machines, but many continued to garden and can produce after other resources were available.47 Of course, World War II altered farm life considerably, and in 1943 the government established the Women's Land Army (WLA) as part of the Emergency Farm Labor Program. The WLA, under the auspices of the US Department of service helped focus farmwomen on these needs, such as using potatoes to make flour for bread so that wheat could be used for the war effort. -th Neth, Preserving, 138. The "Proceedings of the 44th Annual Convention of the Association of Land-Grant Colleges and Universities" (held in November of 1930) indicate that about 23% of the federal money allotted to Extension went to support home demonstration work (see page 405). Other federal legislation directed money to the Home Demonstration program to employ additional agents including the Capper-Ketchum Act of 1928, the Jones-Bankhead Act of 1935, and the Bankhead-Flannagan Act of 1945. See Thompson, Fifty Years, 65. 47 Neth,

Preserving, 240.

23 Agriculture and Extension Service, brought both rural and urban women over the age of 18 to farms to work at a variety of tasks.48 It recruited and trained more than 3 million women and placed them on farms; additional "spare timers" were organized among those who could contribute time on weekends or during vacations from other employment. As might be expected, with so much equipment, essential products, and livestock at stake, some farmers were reluctant to accept non-farm women as workers, but Extension agents worked with 4-H and Home Demonstration Clubs to promote the WLA to farmers.49 The WLA remained active until 1945, but its impact on the role of women in agriculture continued. In the following decades other topics were added to the curriculum of Extension and some were discarded. During the 1950s, a time when nearly 70,000 Indiana women were Extension members under the leadership of nearly 80 county home demonstration agents, Extension officials designed programs that encouraged both husbands and wives to plan their long-term goals together, often with the guidance of someone from the Extension office.5° Similarly, by the late 1950s, Extension clubs were increasingly focused on national and international issues,51 but other topics, such as automobile 18

Carpenter, On the Farm Front, 4.

Carpenter, On the Farm Front, 78. For further information on women's roles on farms in Indiana, see Steinson, "Rural Life," 230ff.

49

"Schwieder, "Changing Times," p. 216. 1n some instances, Extension women found ways of combining an international study session with more traditional activities such as baking. In the late 1950s, the club from Delaware County, IN, exchanged recipes for "biscuits" with its Australian counterparts at the same time the women studied other aspects of Australian country life. The Indiana women made every effort to conduct their monthly meeting patterned after a description of 51

24 safety, reflected changes in the daily lives of fan-nwomen. A song written for the organization by Dorothy D. Bullock in the mid-1950s has the following text in the chorus: "Onward, ever onward, with a strength born of unity, to our God, our home, and country, we will pledge our loyalty." The text of the verses makes no direct reference to farm life or rural living, but verse 2 reflects Extension heritage with the text "We'll keep the hearth of home ablaze, striving for better ways to live...." In many ways, the decade of the 1950s witnessed a transition between rural-centered farm life and more business-oriented farming of the 1960s. Fifty years after its beginning, Agricultural Extension was "the largest adult education program in the State of Indiana ... [and there] were 66,911 members in the Home in the state."52 In 1966 the name Demonstration clubs changed again to the National Extension Homemakers' Association, with each state adding its own name in place of "national" for its state organization. By the mid 1980s, the evershrinking world resulted in a publication titled Agricultural Extension, A Reference Manual from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Many of the goals set forth therein are the same for long-time Extension-oriented countries

a typical meeting in Serviceton, Australia. This included a duet of the popular wartime song, "Waltzing Matilda." News clipping, in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan-1959-, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN, Fifty Yew's, 9. The number of women involved in Indiana in the mid-1970s was estimated at 50,000. The decline was attributed to weaker membership in more urban counties and more women working outside the home fulitime. See Bonnie Britton, "Can't Keep Hoosier Women Down on the Farm When Extension's Around," Indianapolis Star Press, 17 August 1977, sec. 6, p. I.

52 Thompson,

25 (such as Britain and the US) as they are for developing nations, although the methodology and cultural considerations might of necessity he different. The manual refers to the importance of living conditions to the well being of agriculture, but it does not reference the arts. As late as the first decade of the twenty-first century, the Extension Service was still providing valuable information of all types to anyone involved in any way with agriculture or its periphery. An article from the year 2000 in a Midwestern newspaper describes the work of the Extension Educator (Agricultural and Natural Resources) for the Allen County Office of Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service.53 In addition to answering questions about weeds in a pasture or proper disposal of manure, he serves as an intermediary between local farmers and non-farming rural neighbors, and he promotes agriculture to urban youth who might be completely unaware of agricultural issues or opportunities (both large and small, career-oriented and hobbyist). However, another article, just five years later, was published with this headline: "Agricultural Department Looking at Closing More Than 700 Local Offices."54 The author explained that many Farm Service Agency offices were underused and that many farmers were using the Internet to do business and find information (however, the US Senate voted to delay the closures until a cost-benefit

53"Extension Educator Promotes Peace Among Local Farmers," Muncie (IN) Star Press, 27 August 2000, 4B. Other organizations related to women and

farming formed as well. WIFE (Women Involved in Farm Economics) began in Nebraska in 1976; a branch formed in Indiana in 1983. See Vickie Foley Mickler, "WIFE: Local Women Join Newly Formed Farm Organization," Muncie (IN) Star, 26 August 1983, T6.

"See Muncie (1119 Star Press, 24 September 2005, 4A.

26 analysis was completed). Farm life and its links to governmental entities continued to evolve.

EXTENSION, THE ARTS, AND MUSIC

Many Americans likely would be surprised to learn of a link between the US Department of Agriculture (by way of the Cooperative Extension Service) and the arts. In fact, the United States has a long history of discouraging official interaction between the government and the arts as many Americans felt that such a link was too European. One of the few contradictory examples was the National Arts Council, formed in 1909 and later renamed the National Fine Arts Commission, which had as its primary assignment oversight of the architectural development of the US Capita1.55 As noted earlier in this chapter, the 1930s and the New Deal brought many governmental programs that sought to provide employment for those suffering from the economic downturn of the time. The arts were a part of at least two such programs: the Public Works-of-Arts Project, which was under the umbrella of the Treasury Department, and the Works Progress Administration, whose Federal One branch had subcategories of visual arts, theatre, literature, and music. (The latter survived until 1938 when financial, judicial, and philosophical support died away.)

55

Jon Allen Rutter, "The Effects of the 1930's Government Art Support Programs on the Legislative and Administrative History of the National Endowment for the Arts," MPA thesis, University of Texas at Austin, 1985, 27. Rutter tackles the difficult task of explaining the origins and evolutions of governmental programs related to the arts. They also are outlined in Roy Rosenzweig, ed. Government and the Arts in Thirties America (Fairfax, VA: George Mason University Press, 1986), chapter 2.

27 The Federal Music Project of the Works Progress Administration was small compared to the other subcategories, employing between 1,500 and 2,300 musicians at its peak.56 It emphasized orchestras and classes about music that reached an estimated audience of 150 million during its first four years. Additionally the Federal Music Project worked with smaller opera companies, produced music for radio, and collaborated with folk musicians.57 At the same time, there was a distinct effort in the United States to bring more widespread knowledge about music, especially concerning what was deemed to be "good music," to all parts of the country. Music educators and others believed that raising the standards of artistic learning was as important as the strides America was making in its commercial and political endeavors. The phonograph played an invaluable role in this effort towards "music appreciation" because it was portable (even to the most remote regions), reasonably affordable, and allowed repetition of musical examples.58 Its use 56

Rutter, "The Effects," 46; Rosenzweig, Government and the Arts, 8.

571n subsequent years, government agencies supported the arts in more discreet ways such as sponsorship of limited musical tours. President Kennedy provided leadership for this change in the early 1960s; President Johnson eventually shepherded passage of the National Endowment for the Arts as part of his Great Society legislation. Rutter, "The Effects," chapter 3 passim. During the economic struggles of the 1970s, the government's Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) also included some artistic endeavors, often to a wave of criticism. See Steven C. Dubin, Bureaucratizing the Muse (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987).

Mark Katz, "Making America More Musical through the Phonograph, 1900-1930," American Music 16, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 450. The need for "play" and diversion for farmwomen was acknowledged in an article on the Farm Bureau from Kansas in 1930. Women were encouraged to create "play" through caring for orphaned lambs or piglets, flower arranging, reading, or other activities that could be done individually. Group play also 58

28 in American homes, in club and community settings, and in schools blossomed during the first two decades of the twentieth century. Similarly, music experts developed resources, such as Layman's Music Book by pianist/critic Olga SamaroffStokowski (wife of the famed conductor Leopold Stokowski), which were designed for use both in music classes and in private music lessons. Among the important goals in this movement was to develop "active listeners."59 The Smith-Lever Act of 1914, which created the nationwide Extension program, had as one of its objectives "to foster the cultural, social, recreational, and community life of rural people." (Hence, the surprising alliance that is at the core of this research.) Music appreciation was related to these objectives, and Fannie R. Buchanan of the Education Department of the Victor Talking Machine Company provided leadership for 4-H club sponsors, home-demonstration agents, and Extension specialists.60 In 1930 a study of the aims of home demonstration Extension revealed that agents and club members were interested in "the broader fields of habits, attitudes, was recommended, and Bureau "lessons," a community sing-a-long, "a negro minstrel" show, and a home talent show were among the suggestions based on successes of the past. See Mrs. Ralph Colman, "Play in a Farm Woman's Life," Kansas Farm Journal (Bureau Farmer), July 1930, 11. "See American Music Teacher, August/September 1996, which contains reprints of articles from back issues. The Samaroff-Stokowski article, titled "Educating the Listener," is transcribed from a paper given at the 1936 Music Teachers National Association convention.

°Buchanan, also a Music Specialist for the Iowa State Extension Service,

composed a number of songs for 4-H clubs including "Ploughing [sic] Song," "Dreaming," "Field Song," and "Friendship Song." The texts (with no music) are provided in The Spirit and Philosophy of Extension Work comp. and ed. by R. K. Bliss (Washington: USDA, 1952), 360-362.

29 appreciation, and a philosophy of living rather than being limited to skills and techniques."61 As a result, many states had begun incorporating the following into their Extension programs: parent education, reading clubs, civics and voting discussions, recreation, nature study, drama, landscaping, and art and music appreciation. Learning about music was one thing—participating in making music was quite another. Between World War I and the Depression, the Rural Arts Program of the Agricultural Extension Service was providing leisure-time activities for farm families. These efforts were related, in part, to the notions of the Country Life Movement noted previously, but they also grew out of Grange and Chautauqua gatherings and other community events such as county fairs. By the mid-1930s rural dwellers and farmers across the nation were participating in a variety of leisure or arts-related endeavors including plays, festivals, opera, choruses, bands, orchestras, folk dancing, puppetry, and art exhibits.62 This music-making trend is related to the Tippecanoe County choir cited previously, which precipitated the birth and development of the statewide Indiana Home Demonstration Choir, the subject of the next chapter.63

6I Charles A. McCue, ed, Proceedings of the Forty-Fourth Annual Convention of the Association of Land-Grant Colleges and Universities, held at Washington, D. C., November 17-19, 1930 (Burlington, VT: Free Press Printing, 1930), 405.

b2;1arjorie Patten, The Arts Workshop of Rural America: .4 Study of the Rural Arts Program of the Agricultural Extension Service (New York: Columbia University Press, 1937), 4, 12, 19. Tangentially related are the National Federated Music Clubs and the phenomenon of "industrial music," which will be discussed briefly in chapter 3. 63

30 Arts-related programs with ties to Extension in other Midwestern states is the topic of chapter 7. However, it is appropriate to note here that the link between Extension and "the cultural arts" continued to be a topic of discussion as late as the National Extension Homemakers Council meeting in Baltimore, MD, in September of 1972. Nancy Hanks, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, reported on a joint venture between the National Gallery of Art, the National Council on the Arts, and the US Department of Agriculture that was successful in Maryland. Charles F. Leidenfrost, an Extension cultural resource development specialist at the University of Maryland, hoped that the program might become the major resource in [the] renaissance of Extension-sponsored art education programs throughout the nation."64 Leidenfrost hoped for a "renaissance," but at least with regards to women's choruses in Indiana, there was no need for a rebirth—the Indiana Home Demonstration Club choir program continued its long tradition of music performance.

""Cultural Outlook," National Alain. (National Extension Homemakers Council), March 1973, 22.

Chapter 2

"Better Music for Rural Indiana": A Simple Idea Blossoms and Evolves TIPPECANOE AND AL, TOO: THE CHOIR PROGRAM BEGINS

The origins of the Home Demonstration choirs in Indiana clearly show how a simple idea can grow into something significant. The story has a sketchy (and almost twopronged) beginning, and not every person's recollection is identical. In 1933 Al Stewart was employed by Purdue University as Director of Music for the Purdue Musical Organizations and, as part of his duties, he "booked music for a radio station [WBAA at Purdue]."1 The next year, one story relates, Stewart was asked "by the agricultural extension department of the university to present a radio program featuring a model home demonstration meeting with group singing." In contrast, Mildred McCay from Tippecanoe County, the location of Purdue University, recalled that WBAA 'Marjorie Pilcher, "82-Year-Old Alto One of 1000 Women" in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81.240.5 (1952), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN. See also Jack C. Hannah, "History of the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus," typed manuscript (circa 1955) from the "Home Demonstration Chorus Archives and Memorabilia of Al Stewart," in the possession of Sonya Stewart Eddy, Anderson, IN. The Tippecanoe County Historical Society Museum holds an updated and edited version of the history titled "History of the Purdue-Extension Chorus" (typewritten with the initials MK). Stewart began his tenure at Purdue in 1932 as director of the Men's Glee Club, see ch. 3. Purdue University never has had a School or Department of Music nor a specific credit-based music curriculum with music majors.

32 had a one-hour program on Friday evening where they had different organizations from Tippecanoe County do different things. Mr. [Sheldon] Pershing, our County Agent, thought it would be nice if a group of Home Ec [sic] women would get together and rehearse a little bit with Al Stewart and sing something on that program.2 An article from the Indianapolis Star verifies the same basic start of the choir, but again, differs slightly in detail: In the spring of 1934 ... the Home Economics Club of Tippecanoe County was scheduled for a broadcast. They wanted music fir part of it, and S. B. Pershing, county agent, telephoned Stewart about it. "We've got a home ec [sic] broadcast on WBAA. What about some group singing? Will you help us?" It was all impromptu. Al met the group before airtime, handed out music, and as he says, "let `er go!" Six weeks later, they called him again, and this time he suggested that they have a 30-minute rehearsal before going on the air. Each one was enthusiastic, and after it was all over, one woman got up and suggested meeting and rehearsing again for the third one, and as many more as they could.3 'Eleanor Arnold, ed. Going to Club, 75 Years with Extension Homemakers, Fifth in the Series, Memories of Hoosier Homemakers and transcripts of tape-recorded interviews from Hoosier Homemakers through the Years, an oral history project of the Indiana Extension Homemakers Association, 1988, held at the Indiana Extension Homemakers Association Archives, Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, IN, page 31. 3 Helen Leslie Walters, "Call of Music Sweeps Rural Indiana," Indianapolis Sunday Star, 29 August 1937, part 5, p. 6. An article from several years later,

following the performance in Washington, DC (see ch. 4), emphasized the

33 Whatever the exact origins and impetus, the purpose of the radio endeavor was to promote the importance of Home Demonstration clubs in the state, which at that time were under the leadership of Leila Gaddis in the Department of Agricultural Extension Services at the university. It was a successful event that had long-lasting and far-reaching influence on Extension, rural music, and the participants' lives. The music and the choir had the added benefit of being popular with the radio audience. The newly formed Tippecanoe County choir continued to sing on the radio and to present concerts at venues in its home area in west-central Indiana. In June 1936, the choir, by then a select group of 32 singers, traveled to Washington, DC, to sing for the Associated Country Women of the World conference (see ch. 4). The prospect of choral singing caught the attention of women in other Indiana counties, and they made inquiries about forming similar groups. As one example, on 16 October 1936, Stewart went to Vincennes and met with "about 21 Home Economics club members and formed a Knox County Home Economics Club Chorus."4 Additionally, the use of music and choral singing as another means of "improving" the lives of rural women in the state appealed to Extension leaders, including Gaddis (see ch. 1). By the time of the annual Agricultural Conference at Purdue in January of 1937, choirs were organized in Rush, Carroll, Montgomery, Randolph, and Blackford counties in addition to Tippecanoe, and they were

importance of radio in the birth and growth of the Indiana Home Demonstration Club choirs. See Francis Chase, Jr., "State of Singing Housewives," Radio Guide 8, no, 41 (28 July 1939): 8, 35, and 40. The article mentions that the Tippecanoe chorus and others from the state continued to be heard on the radio during the winter months. 'Arnold, Going to Club, transcript of comments by Hazel Dolkey, page 33.

34 able to perform at the conference.5 Subsequently, Al Stewart was named music director, or music "specialist," for the Agricultural Extension Service of Indiana in March 1937. Thus the links between Extension music and the Purdue Musical . Organizations were forged, as were the ties between the US government—through the Extension Service—and music performance. One of Stewart's first projects as music specialist was holding a rural-music conference at Purdue on June 29 and 30. The Tippecanoe County choir was scheduled to perform and to demonstrate the possibilities Stewart envisioned. The attendees, who could stay in a dorm room for 75 cents per night, included more than 100 county home-economics chorus and church-choir leaders in addition to several county home-demonstration agents. Blanche Young, supervisor of radio education for the Indianapolis public schools, also spoke.° In the meantime, the second prong of the "rural music" phenomenon in Indiana was well underway. Stewart also had seen the need to provide a musical experience for all the women of home-demonstration clubs (not just the select choir), so a "Song of the Month" plan was instituted. It was optional, but widely adopted because many club members had the desire to sing. As part of the program, Stewart selected 10 songs yearly (one for each month except 2 summer months) to be taught in club meetings; he also provided suggestions for club song leaders. The latter emphasized his notion of teaching leadership as well as music. The program, discussed further in chapter 3, 5 Walters, "Call." DeKalb and Knox counties also had choirs but were unable to have their full groups attend the meeting.

Several articles in "Memorabilia of Al Stewart."

35 offers significant insight into Stewart's thinking and the overall mission of Extension music. As Stewart set out to build the select county choirs, he had plenty of women from which to draw. During the late 1930s, the number of women involved in Home Demonstration clubs in Indiana, by one calculation, was 35,195 women in 1,189 local clubs across 85 counties. His initial challenge, then, was communication, organization, recruitment, and coordination. He found that his task was eased greatly by the Song-of-the-Month program, noted above, already in place. "These women are eager for the chance to sing, to receive some training with a director, and to enjoy music more because they know something about it."' He spent much of the summer of 1937 (during his break from directing Purdue's choral ensembles) traveling the state by car, organizing select choirs in additional counties. Under the master plan, each unit chorus is organized with its own director, accompanist, and officers. Its membership is drawn from members of the Home Demonstration clubs of the county. Each carries on its own program in relation to its particular community, but each is an integral part of the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus under the direction of Mr. Stewart. t 'Walters, "Call." 'Hannah, "History," 2 in "Memorabilia of Al Stewart," The original name was the Home Economics Chorus. It changed to the Home Demonstration Chorus in 1952. Much writing about the organization prepared by Purdue uses the word "demonstration" rather than "economics." I will use both terms. In 1966 the name changed again to Indiana Extension Homemakers Chorus. The group also has been referred to as Purdue Extension Music, and later, The Purdue Women of Song. See chapters 2 and 8.

36 Each county determined its own process for selecting members for the choir with 12 to 40 suggested as ideal. The plan further called for each county choir to select its own repertoire for local use, while Stewart selected what was called the "state" music. (In order to ensure similar interpretations of the state repertoire among counties, Stewart planned to travel the state to conduct county or regional rehearsals.) The choirs were funded through contributions from each club in a county and small fees charged to the participants; a small stipend was given to the director (who was chosen by secret ballot) and the accompanist. Al Stewart's pay was provided from multiple budget lines at Purdue University and the Cooperative Extension Service, which also covered some of Stewart's travel expenses.9 By August of 1937 an article in the Indianapolis Times stated that 60 of the state's 92 counties had choirs with about 30 singers each.") It was projected that the January 1938 Agricultural Conference at Purdue would feature more than 1000 choir members in the First Indiana Rural Music Festival. I I Indeed, a report in the Farm Journal of July 1938 revealed that about 800 women representing 40 counties sang at the event, the sight of which caused a stir throughout the audience.'2 The women had gathered for one joint rehearsal earlier in the day, 9 Howard

Diesslin, West Lafayette, IN, letter to Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN, 26 August 2002. This is one of the ties that bound the US government to at least minimal funding of the arts in Indiana. !°"60

Counties are in Music Organization," Indianapolis Times, 30 July 1937, 28. See the Indiana county map in the photograph section. 'Walters, "Call."

I2 Ralph W. Poulton, "State of Singing Women," Farm Journal, J uly 1938, 32.

37 and then presented "Star Lullaby," Schubert's "Omnipotence," and six other pieces.13 The chorus also traveled to Chicago to sing for the Associated Women of the American Farm Bureau Federation in December of 1938.14 The "working outlines" for the county-chorus program included the following objectives: "the opportunity for musical expression and training for individual members, and the cultivation of a chorus capable of musical assistance in the county clubs, as well as other community enterprises." The impact of the Home Demonstration choirs already was being felt in the music of rural churches and schools as their members, often under the guidance of Stewart, made suggestions for improvements in technique and repertoire or even instigated musical activities. R. G. McCutchan, who recently had retired from the music faculty of DePauw University, reportedly remarked that "this is the greatest move for better music in rural Indiana that has ever occurred."15

THE PROGRAM BLOSSOMS IN THE 1940s AND 50s

In the fall of 1940, Al Stewart wrote an article about the Indiana program for the Christian Science Monitor.' He claimed that, at that time, more than 3,000 rural women were I3 Composition titles and composers' names will be cited just as they are found in sources. Often it is possible to speculate on a fuller title or a composer's first name, but that practice can lead to inaccuracies. 14 Florence Bovett, "The Women's Program," Nation's Agriculture, news clipping in Kansas Extension Homemakers Council Collection, Box 16, Special Collections, Hale Library, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS. 15

Walters, "Call."

Albert P. Stewart, "Rural Women in Indiana Enjoy Choral Singing," Christian Science Monitor, 29 November 1940, 9.

38 involved in the Home Demonstration choruses. Furthermore, Stewart wrote that Indiana had inspired other states to begin similar programs (see ch. 7). Each county chorus was managed by an executive committee, which consisted of the choir president, secretary, treasurer, the county agent, the county home-demonstration agent, and the director of the chorus. It was recommended that the director be paid between $1 and $3 per rehearsal. The financing was made possible through small dues paid by the participants (5 to 15 cents per rehearsal) and monies collected from each Home Economics club in the county (about $2 per year). The county director selected music for the choir with the approval of the executive committee, and each participant paid for her own copy of the music. Rehearsals were held at least every two weeks. Stewart emphasized the importance of the absolute authority of the director and of mandatory attendance at rehearsals. The massed group continued to converge on Purdue in January for the Chorus Festival where they all sang the "state" music selected by Stewart. In part, because of the success of the Home Demonstration choir program, Purdue University began construction of a new music building, The Hall of Music, which was to be the largest such facility in the nation. It later was renamed the Edward C. Elliott Hall of Music after the 1961 death of the past Purdue University president. Elliott Hall was home to the "Purdue Musical Organizations" (P1v10), which included the Men's Glee Club among other ensembles. It published a newsletter for many years called PM0 Notes. The first issue was dated January 1943. A significant association between the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus and the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) and its Indiana branch also began around 1940.

39 Their mutual goal was fostering musical activity in homes, schools, churches, and other community groups. By 1947, Stewart was the national chairman for rural music for the National Federation of Music Clubs, and the Tippecanoe County chorus sang at the NFMC's American Music Festival in Detroit. Officials from that organization attended the annual Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus Festival at Purdue the following year. ]' The uniqueness of the choir (and likely Stewart's skill in publicizing it) brought other nationwide attention. The March 1940 issue of Recreation magazine featured a. story titled "Song Along the Wabash." The author, Karl Detzer, describes the women as follows: their average age was 47 years, they had about 3 children each, 90% were married, one of six was a grandmother, less than 10% had any vocal training, and more than half traveled at least 10 miles to attend rehearsal. He recounted a recent rehearsal during which the ladies learned "The Italian Street Song" and discussed Italy of the 1880s (the link between the two is unclear). Detzer also wrote that the chorus program and music on the radio brought a substantial amount of music education to the women's lives. He cited a survey of one club that revealed that nearly half the members listened to two or more symphony programs per week. ""Official Souvenir Program" Music Clubs Magazine, March/April 1947, 21, 56; "Session to Hear Farm Choruses," News Clipping File, Indiana Files: "Music—Organizations," Local History Room, St. Joseph County Public Library, South Bend, IN. The Tippecanoe County Chorus sang at the Atlanta, Georgia, meeting of the National Federation of Music Clubs in the 1940s. Stewart's links to the Federation continued at least until 1961, when he was a guest conductor at the meeting in Kansas City; but the length of the association between the Home Demonstration choirs and Federation is unclear. The organization still functioned in the early twenty-first century and continued to publish its magazine, Music Clubs Magazine.

40 Similarly, the November 1941 issue of Woman's Day contained an article by Hildegarde Dolson that described the dedication towards rehearsals observed in some women from Brown County even during periods of sub-zero temperatures. She went on to note that 3,600 women, ranging in age from 24 to 73, from 86 counties participated in singing repertoire ranging from Bach to folk songs. Dolson also acknowledged the "extra" farm work many of the women were absorbing because many men already were being taken away for military and defense-industry service. Indeed, World War II had a significant negative impact on the chorus program. In 1944 the chorus at the Agriculture Conference held at Purdue in January included only 300 women.18 The theme of the concert was "Music of the Allied Nations," and Stewart compiled songs from Chili [sic], Czecho-Slovakia [sic], Mexico, Russia, China, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Scotland, England, and the United States for the event. The concert also featured a pageant of costumes from each country modeled by the women. Following the war there was a resurgence in choir activity. Stewart and Bill Luhman, one of Stewart's colleagues, alleviated some of the strain they must have felt in trying to keep up with the myriad musical ensembles and state-wide geography by meeting with a group of northern county choirs in October of 1946. The state choir's massed performance was moved from January to August in 1948 to coordinate it with the summer agricultural conference and, in the same year, Marvin D. Myers was appointed as Assistant State Music Director. I9 18 1)1140

Notes, February 1944, 2.

19 50 Years of Learning and Service (West Lafayette, IN: Indiana Home Demonstration Association in Cooperation with Purdue University, 1963), n.p.

41 The 1948 choir consisted of 1,382 women from 49 counties.10 During the choir day of the conference, each individual county choir performed briefly for critique by Stewart. The evening's activity included the massed choir singing several numbers under Stewart's direction and a speech by Allen Kline, President of the National Farm Bureau Federation. Another feature of the 1948 program was the awarding of the "achievement cup" to the county choir that had done the most to meet its goals during the year: Howard County. A county's goals could include perfect rehearsal attendance, fund raising, community service, and the like. In the following year regional rehearsals were conducted in 4 towns during July, and additional choirs were organized from LaGrange, Noble, Newton, Starke, Pulaski, Jasper, Wayne, Henry, Vigo, Posey, Spencer, and Washington counties. The choir's upcoming 1950 trip to Washington, DC, was influential in causing the upsurge of activity (see ch. 4). As new choirs were forming or reforming, the Division of Home Economics of Purdue University made available a recommended constitution for the county choruses in Indiana.2 ' The articles of the document included the following headings: Name, Purpose, Membership, Director, Dues, Organization, Rehearsals, Music, Attendance, and Bylaws. While many of the statements were based on what choirs already were doing as 20"Session to Hear Farm Choruses," News Clipping File, Indiana Files: "Music—Organizations." The clipping contains a hand-written note: S.B. Tribune, 7-30-48.

typewritten document, Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration Chorus Collection, 73:92.26, Tippecanoe County Homemakers Association Archives, Tippecanoe County Historical Society Museum, West Lafayette, IN.

21 Untitled

42 described above, others offer additional insight into the way the program functioned. The membership clause stated that each woman had to be a member of one of the unit clubs in the county and that each one's selection for the chorus was based on "interest and vocal ability." The attendance clause called for the dismissal of any member who missed three consecutive rehearsals. The bylaws stated that a brief business meeting was to be held in conjunction with each rehearsal and that each chorus should try to sing at as many community events as were approved by the executive committee. A special addendum was included requiring anyone planning to go on the Washington, DC, trip to be a full-fledged member of a county chorus no later than December 1, 1949. An extant daytime schedule for the annual Chorus Festival held at Purdue in August of 1950 reveals several features.22 Each county choir was allotted 5 minutes to sing one or two pieces for critique by Stewart; the schedule ran from 9:30 a.m. until noon and then again from 1:45 p.m. until 4:10. The roster lists 57 choirs with 8 additional county names handwritten on the last page. The original owner of the schedule also wrote the size of each choir along the margin. The smallest choirs were from Greene County and Benton County with 8 members each, and the largest choirs were from Vanderburgh County with 43 and Tippecanoe County with 44 singers.23 Most of the choirs seem to have had about 20-24 singers; the numbers add to a total of 1,460. The following choirs apparently were Typewritten, mimeographed copy in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, cream-1950-52, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN.

22

23 Many of the choirs had to travel a significant distance to get to Purdue. Greene County is in the near southwest, but Vanderburgh County is located on the Ohio River in the deep southwest of Indiana (see the Indiana map in the photograph section).

43 directed by men: Johnson County, Clay County, Putnam County, Crawford County, Dubois County, Owen County, and Tippecanoe County (Al Stewart was its director). Otherwise, usually a woman directed a county group. Each choir had an assigned room at the Festival, with a hostess, where they could warm up and temporarily leave their personal items. In the evening, the combined forces of the state chorus sang "Hoosier Heritage" as it had in Washington, DC, (see ch. 6). Festival day was a busy one for Stewart and the staff. They provided critiques for each of the individual choirs heard during the day, and Stewart conducted the evening massed-choir concert. A similar schedule for July 1952 indicates that 65 choirs were on the docket, and lunchtime was reduced to 75 minutes. Providing lunch for this many women was a challenge in a time before omnipresent fast food; in 1954 the Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration clubs provided 1,700 sandwiches, 30 gallons of coffee, and three barrels of iced tea for the choristers.24 Members of the massed choir also performed for many events within the state and nearby states. An estimated 250 members sang at the National Home Economics Conference in East Lansing, Michigan (the site of that state's land-grant college), in August of 1951. For this event, the women repeated their annual Festival music, which was titled "America Sings"—a musical history of America with a script by Margaret Morrow and "music interpolations" by Stewart. The choir sang at a reception for Dwight Eisenhower at the Field House of Butler University in Indianapolis on 9 September 1952, and for 24"World's Largest Women's Chorus in World's Largest Theater," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black-1952-56, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN.

44 his opponent, Adlai Stevenson, on 26 September at the State Fair Coliseurn.25 The repertoire for the former included "The Star Spangled Banner," "Old Folks at Home," and "God Bless America." Reportedly, Eisenhower stood and saluted the women as they finished singing.26 The choir was featured at the Sunday services at the Indiana State Fair beginning in 1953, and about 200 members from the northeast part of the state sang for the Farm and Food show at the Allen County Coliseum in Fort Wayne in 1954. The State Fair performance in 1953 was, according to some, a long time coming. Frank Salzarulo, Farm Editor for the Indianapolis News, wrote, "They've sung almost everywhere except at the Indiana State Fair" in an article encouraging the State Fair Board to accept the request from Al Stewart to schedule the choir. He also encouraged "music lovers throughout Indiana" to send letters to board members.27 The invitation came, giving the women a chance to be heard by a large Hoosier audience that normally expected to see exhibitions of agricultural and industrial progress. The performance provided a means of exposing "a 'culture crop' that displays another facet of rural life ... Hoosier women, like their pioneer mothers, are good helpmates with farm business.

"Hoosier Homemaker Harmony" (pamphlet), West Lafayette, IN: Cooperative Extension Service of Purdue University, circa 1970, page 10. See also PMO Notes, October 1952, 7.

25

26

Varied articles in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black.

27Frank Salzarulo, "Women's Chorus Asks for State Fair Date" and "Chorus Gets Recognition," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.3, (1952-54), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN. Salzarulo was associated with radio station WIRE in Indianapolis, and he occasionally broadcast recordings of the women singing on his farm-news radio program.

45 At the same time, they take advantage of every opportunity to broaden their scope of interests:as The choir sang at the Indiana State Fair's 11 a.m. Hour of Worship on 6 September 1953. A large "Fair Edition, Home Demonstration Chorus Extra" of the Indianapolis News contained several articles about the women and the choir on that day. The choir, accompanied by John Farley and Anne Dyer at the piano, sang Gounod's "Praise Ye the Father," "Psalm III" from the Ainsworth Psalter, "Climbing Up Zion's Hill," Malotte's "The Lord's Prayer," "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord," and "Glorious Is Thy Name." Saizarulo described the choir as the "largest single group ever to perform [at the Fair]." He went on to explain to readers that the full membership of the choir was about 5,000 women drawn from choirs in 90 of Indiana's counties—only LaGrange and Randolph counties did not have a choir.29

113

PM Notes, May 1953, 8; Frank Salzarulo, "3,500-Voice Women's Chorus to Be at Fair," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black. 29 It is extremely difficult to know exactly how many women participated in the state choir in the mid-1950s. A photograph of the choir from the 1953 annual Agricultural Conference was included with the "Fair Edition" stories. The caption alone uses the numbers 3,000 and 2,000 but Salzarulo's article claims a membership of 5,000. Multiple attempts to count the women in the photograph lead to a number of about 1100. A photograph in 50 Years of Learning and Service, which is about the Indiana Home Demonstration Association, includes an undated photograph of the choir from one of the annual conferences (it likely is from the mid-to-late 1950s). The caption reads "Visual proof of the growth from 32 ladies to approximately 2,000 in this picture, and near 4,500 actual members throughout the state." The discrepancy is not explained further although it could refer to women involved in the Song-of-the-Month program of each club. The two counties that did not have choirs were located at the northern and western edges of the state.

46 The participants continued to have strong feelings about the role the chorus played in their lives. Mrs. Ben Dunwoody, of the original Tippecanoe County choir, was quoted in 1952 as saying: Now I am able to do more work in music in our rural church choir and in other organizations where leadership is greatly needed. After a spell of work in music and pure singing enjoyment, I go home with a wonderful inspiration of thought and emotion and the feeling of strength and ability to do a better job as a homemaker.3° Dunwoody also listed 5 reasons for her 20-year participation in the Tippecanoe County chorus: my growing appreciation of better quality performances, greater self confidence about music, realizing the need for better music at rural churches, the enrichment it brings to my farm life, and the friendships I have developed [paraphrased by the author]. Similarly, a 1953 article by Mary Dean Williams, Women's Editor for Farmers Guide, began: Only when a homemaker has a worthwhile outlet for her own individual talent and ability can she be at her best in the home. The very nature of her work makes an outside contact desirable, and it should be one

""American Farm Women," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #8 240.3. In 1953 Dunwoody wrote an article that was published in the 6 September "Fair Edition" of the Indianapolis News.

47 which is recreational and yet which carries enrichment that can be reflected back to the family.3I An editorial from 1954 (which actually sounds as though it could have been written in any number of later decades) began: In an era in which passivity is replacing participation in entertainment because of radio, TV and records, the wholesome American tradition of home and community singing is no longer what it once was.... 'The question now poses itself—what effect does all this have on the church choir, the barbershop chorus, the home talent play, the high school operetta, and all other community music enterprises which provide the adult approach to music participation?' ... In Indiana, happily, there is a countermovement sponsored by Purdue through home economics or home demonstration choruses in 88 counties.... Canned and aired melody is having an antisocial impact on our people; these Hoosier participation groups are the antidotes. More power to them.32 Evidence of the women in action comes from an acknowledgement that in 1955 the Home Demonstration choirs donated money for a piano for the Twin Pines "cooperative house for girls" at Purdue.33 Likewise, in PAM Notes of 31 Mary Dean Williams, "5,000 Rural Women Relax with Music," in Parke

County Scrapbook Collection, tan-1959-, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN.

n"How Long Since You Sang?," Muncie (IN Star Press, 24 February 1954, 4. It was in 1952 that the name officially changed from Home Economics to Home Demonstration, although both terms, or either term, continued to be used.

33 50 Years of Learning and Service, n.p. The Twin Pines project, which began in 1953, provided low-cost college housing to women interested in

48 November/December 1958, Stewart reported that 16 county choruses had held workshops for club song. leaders (note the "Song-of-the-Month" program above) and five others had held training sessions for song leaders. Stewart and his assistant, pianist Bill Luhman, also occasionally attended these workshops. Each county choir was expected to have yearly goals that they would assess at an annual Achievement Day, and efforts such as these workshops earned "points" toward meeting their goals. In June 1954, 66 counties sent choirs to the annual Chorus Festival totaling about 1800 singers in the massed group. (It is unclear whether the festival was simultaneous with the Agricultural Conference.) In preparation, Stewart and his assistants, Bruce ("Mickey") McGuire, John Farley, and Marvin Myers, held 10 district rehearsals across the state.34 By then some county choruses had achieved significant longevity (Huntington and Fountain each celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1958), while others organized, disbanded, and perhaps, reorganized. (Clark County started what was called a "new" choir in 1958 even though Salzarulo wrote in 1953 that all counties but LaGrange and Randolph had choirs.) In 1957 Stewart announced a plan to have someone from the Purdue music staff visit a rehearsal of each county choir sometime between September and March. At the time of the announcement he had 70 choruses scheduled, and he also reported that 19 all-day chorus and club song-leader workshops were on the docket (these workshops will be explored more pursuing a degree at Purdue. The Home Demonstration Association recruited and selected the women. The house was dedicated to honor the contributions of Leila Gaddis to the Indiana Home Demonstration Association. 34

PAIO Notes, February 1954, 6.

49 fully in chapter 3).35 It was not always easy for the choirs to function at a high level. An unidentified chorus sent this report in to the "Graduation Issue" of PMO Notes of 1957: This has been a year! The likes of which we hope never again to experience! We have suffered stark tradegy [sic] among our members. A broken leg, viruses, measles, and chicken pox have hit our families. We have lost our very fine accompanist through no fault of ours and at present we are frantically trying to break in another for the Festival. And last, but by no means least, we lost our centrallylocated [sic] rehearsal room and were compelled to search for other quarters. Through it all, with the indomitable spirit of the true homemaker, we have surmounted our difficulties. We have been bound by love and friendship all the more closely because of our adversities. Our record speaks for itself! Meanwhile, the successful performance at the State Fair in 1953 apparently spawned other opportunities at the Fair for the Home Demonstration county choirs especially with the help of Farmers Guide. In 1954 a "Special Announcement" in the magazine read: With the belief that Indiana's singing homemakers are making a worthwhile contribution to rural community life, The Indiana Farmers Guide is pleased to announce that 10 COUNTY HOME DEMONSTRATION CHORUSES will be selected at the PURDUE SUMMER CONFERENCE for appearances in The

35

PM0 Notes, March 1957, 10.

50 Indiana Farmers Guide headquarters at the 1954 INDIANA STATE FAIR.36 The announcement went on to declare that each chosen choir would receive $25 plus transportation to the event. The ensembles were to be selected by 3 unidentified judges appointed by Al Stewart as the choirs performed on Festival Day at the annual Summer Agricultural Conference at Purdue University. The names of the winners from that year remain elusive, but an article (that in all likelihood dates from 1955) indicates the following 8 county choirs were chosen for individual performances at that time: Tippecanoe, Marion, Johnson, Hancock, Porter, Vermillion, Kosciusko, and Vanderburgh.37 A similar undated article from about a year later indicates that the prize money had been increased to $50 and that the following county choirs had been selected to sing at the State Fair: Brown, Carroll, Decatur, DeKalb, Grant, Hendricks, Jay, and Shelby.38 Performances by the large state group continued to be paramount. In 1955 it was slated to sing on 9 August for the American Institute of Cooperation, on 4 September for the Indiana State Fair, and on 16 September for the National Plowing Contest at Wabash. Of course, it was not practical to gather all the women for each event, but often more than 500 36"Special

240.3.

Announcement," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-

37"Tippecanoe Chorus Will Open Musical Feast, State Fair," in "Memorabilia of Al Stewart." The Indiana State Fair is held in Indianapolis, which is centrally located in the state. 3'-Home

Demonstration Chorus Thrills Audience at Purdue," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.5. (See the Indiana county map in the photograph section.)

women would participate. The August event was particularly important because farm and business leaders, government and Extension officials, and rural educators from across the nation were in attendance. The occasion provided Al Stewart with the opportunity to demonstrate how the chorus program was organized. He asked the choirs from Hendricks, Montgomery, and Tippecanoe counties to sing individually, and then the massed group sang "On the Banks of the Wabash," Lift Thine Eyes," "0, Mary Don't You Weep," and "Whistle, Mary, Whistle."39 This travel cost money, of course, and the monthly periodical Farmer's Guide offered Home Demonstration choirs a chance to raise money through selling subscriptions. Circa 1955, Crawford County earned $250, Whitley County took home $125, Shelby County was awarded $75, and Marshall County earned $50 for its efforts. It also was around this same time that Stewart began the "Grant-in Aid" program. He reported that women of the chorus program often supported the men of the Purdue Glee Club by selling tickets to its concerts, providing reception food for its events, and feeding members meals when possible. The men returned the favor by helping the ladies, for example, with luggage when the two groups traveled (see ch. 4). As a result of their mutual support of each other, county choirs often would contribute small donations to the Grant-in-Aid fund that ""County Chorus Sang in Purdue Music Hall," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black. The plowing contest was a 4-day affair with a variety of activities including exhibitors displays, a parachute jump, "The Wife Saver Laundry" demonstration by L.-P Gas Company, a band contest, aerial seeding demonstrations, a military air demonstration, sheep trials, a fashion show, and the Plowmen's Banquet. See "Daily Program" in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," 481-240.5.

52

provided scholarships for the men.40 In 1954, Tippecanoe, Montgomery, Gibson, Warren, Vanderburgh, Huntington, and Wabash counties contributed. In the following year 10 other counties (Vermillion, Jasper, Henry, Lake, Noble, Clay, Benton, Fulton, Morgan, and Boone) gave money to the program, but in 1969, the program was turned over to the Purdue Alumni Scholarship Foundation.'" In the mid-1950s, D. Richard Smith, a former soloist with the Purdue Glee Club and 1953 graduate, returned to Purdue after completion of his military obligations to assist Stewart. He was assigned to help with Extension music. As a music degree is not offered at Purdue, his "training" came primarily through participation experience both in the Purdue Musical Organizations and military music. Performances large and small continued in the late 1950s. In about 1957, portions of the state choir sang for the International Federation of Agriculture and Producers along with the Purdue Men's Glee Club, and it made its now-annual appearance at the State Fair. In Stewart's absence, assistant Marvin Myers led the group in a 30-minute concert and during the worship service.42 Purdue staff visited nine locations (Rensselaer, Warsaw, Hartford City, Greenfield, North Vernon, Paoli, Princeton, Brazil, and Lafayette) for district rehearsals in February and March of 1958; however, deep snow and extreme "Home Demonstration Chorus News," PMO Notes, Fall 1956, 9.

40

"Grant-in-Aid," PAID Notes, January/February 1969. Stewart apparently had run the program at his own discretion, "firmly believing that there was not necessarily any correlation between grades and need...." (meaning that a specific grade-point average was not a requirement). In 1969 a former Glee Club member was head of the Foundation, and Al hoped the program would "continue to operate with the same values and criteria, but should become more widely known among our Alumni and friends." 4I

42

P;i40 Notes, September 1957, 6.

53 cold kept many singers away.43 The other Extension clubs of the county usually served as hosts for the rehearsal. In 1959 singers from the counties in the central part of the state sang for the District Farm Bureau meeting. A flyer for the event indicates that "the invitation to the choruses is extended with the approval of Albert P. Stewart.',44 THE PROGRAM EVOLVES AS DO AMERICAN WOMEN'S LIVES

The 1950s and 60s were turbulent times in American society. The chorus activities described above were part of a period that often reflected "cultural conservatism," but they also were set in the same historical timeframe as the portrayal of contrasting views of feminism by actresses Marilyn Monroe and Doris Day; the frequent portrayal of "wise" fathers on television; McCarthyism, the Communist scare, Korea, and the Cold War; Rosa Parks and Little Rock; "beat" poets and rock-nroll; and both Dr. Spock's view of childrearing (of the Baby Boomers) and the Kinsey study of sexual behavior.45 President Eisenhower exacerbated the conflict many women in 1950s American society felt by asking them to be "guardians of government morality" and to include in their "homemaking" a well-stocked fallout shelter. Other points of contention, confusion, or even optimism related to women's issues included attacks against liberal female academics and "Agricultural Extension Music," PM0 Notes, March 1958, 7.

43

"District V Farm Bureau Meeting" in Parke County Scrapbook Collection; rose Oregon, 1958, in the possession of Doris Robe, Rockville, IN.

14

Sheila Rowbotham, A Century of Women: The History of Women in Britain and the United States (New York: Viking, 1997), chapter 6 passim.

45

54 lesbians; early attempts to pass an Equal Rights Amendment; greater female enrollments in college (in education or liberal arts fields); time-saving abilities to freeze foods for preservation; and an increase in the number of women seeking Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Similarly, the growth of the suburbs brought expectations for women to join numerous community-service activities, and many felt enveloped by a view that women with jobs simply "helped out" the family income rather than embarking on careers. The Extension educational programs offered between 1955 and 1959 reflect many of these same elements of late-1950s life: "One Dish Meals," "What Teenagers [sic] are Like," "Cutting and Shaping Hair," "Roadside Care—Better Driving," and "How Local Government Operates."46 These diverse and societal-changing trends and situations caused some to observe that "the sixties" actually began in the 1950s or that the 50s simply morphed into the 60s.4 ' In fact, a list of just a few events, phrases, titles, and names reminds one of the complicated and diverse world of the 1960s: the Beatles and the Beach Boys, President Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis, hippies and Women's Liberation, the °Home Demonstration Program Book, Fulton County 1959, pp. 6-7, in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.6 (1956-64), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN. For a discussion of economic and work-related statistics concerning American women of the time, see Irene Hanson Frieze and Josephine E. Olsen, "Understanding the Characteristics and Experience of Women in Male- and Female-Dominated Fields," 151-178, and Myra Marx Ferree, "Negotiating Household Roles and Responsibilities: Resistance, Conflict, and Change," 209-219, in Michael R. Stevenson, ed. Gender Roles Through the Life Span, a Multidisciplinary Perspective (Muncie, IN: Ball State University Press, 1994). While the articles are not specifically about rural or farm women, they are relevant. 47

55

Voting Rights and Civil Rights Acts, Vietnam, Black Power, Ecology Day, the Supremes and Janis Joplin, the Apollo missions, the pill, and Richard Nixon.48 For women, conflicting developments (and role options) related to sexuality, education, the work place, and home life led to many debates about how "equality" would, could, and should manifest itself. In 1961 the Agricultural Extension Service of Indiana published a booklet titled "1961 Indiana Home Demonstration Women and Their Organization's Emphases." The booklet clearly shows emphases on education and skilled-job training, international awareness and cooperation, citizenship and health (polio immunization),... and singing. The "Song of the Month" program continued to be regarded as an important feature of Extension, and the select county choirs were described as a "highlight." Farming and farm life did not dominate the booklet. Similarly, a history of the Indiana Home Demonstration Association written to celebrate its 50th year in 1963 concluded with a "Looking Ahead" section.49 The idea of Home, Family, and Community continued to play an important role in the organization, as did education. The writers acknowledged the multifaceted role of the housewife, now called a "homemaker," to include nutritionist, nurse, secretary, psychologist, hostess, diplomat, and cook. While in many ways this multifaceted role was not new, no specific link to the American family farm was emphasized in the look toward the future. Rather, the writers recognized the need for a larger national and worldview by mentioning nutrition, child development, education, research, legislation, and world peace "Rowbotham, A Century of Women, chapter 7 passim. 519 Years of Learning and Service, n.p.

49

56 as topics of interest. The long-standing "Home Demonstration Creed" continued to read: We believe in the present and its opportunities, in the future and its promises, in everything that makes life large and lovely, in the divine joy of living and helping others; and so we endeavor to pass on to others that which has benefited us, striving to go onward and upward, reaching the pinnacle of economic perfection, in improving, enlarging and endearing the greatest institution in the world, THE HOME.5° On a national level, a study titled "Extension Home Economics Focus on the Family" from 1967 "was an attempt to increase awareness and understanding of the forces influencing family stability."51 The report's authors concluded that the business community had, in many ways, replaced the family as the primary force in supplying food, shelter, recreation, and protection for many individuals. Additionally a 1968 report from the US Department of Agriculture and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges "recognized that Extension's quality of living programs, specifically home economics and 4-H, had assumed a broadened perspective." The committee went on to recommend that Extension increase its attention on disadvantaged youth and adults in rural slums and urban ghettos [italics added]. Extension had begun a new phase. "The club handbooks at that time also usually included the words of the Pledge of Allegiance, the pledge to the Christian flag, and to the "Home Demonstration Club Prayer." 51 Wayne D. Rasmussen, Taking the University to the People: 75 Years of Cooperative Extension (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1989), 156-157.

57

During this time of revolution and evolution, dissolution and emergence, the Indiana Home Demonstration choirs continued to be active. Some aspects of their activities and procedures reflected change and newness—others did not. The P2110 Notes of January/February 1960 contain a description of a "Talent Show" given by the Lake County Chorus the previous October. It was a "Gay-90s" variety show that "provided an outlet for a different type of singing" and allowed the women to earn some money. Al Stewart congratulated the women for encouraging "home talent" and for preserving the "spirit of minstrelsy" in the community. It would not be too many years before that terminology would be considered inappropriate. A sense of "tradition" was further sustained by an estimated 1500 participants in the state chorus at the 1960 annual conference, additional performances at the Indiana State Fair, and celebrations of anniversaries of the founding of individual county choirs. For example, 1961 marked the 23rd year of the Warren County choir. In the same year, district rehearsals to polish the Festival music and to learn more information about the forthcoming Toronto trip (see ch. 4) were scheduled during four days in late March in Lafayette, Martinsville, Princeton, Salem, Anderson, Albion, and LaPorte. The rehearsals were set for either 1:30 p.m. or 7 p.m.; participants could select the rehearsal that was most convenient—but all were encouraged to attend at least one. (A similar plan was still in effect during April of 1968.) In November of 1962, 193 members of Home Demonstration Choruses joined to entertain the ladies attending the annual Women's Meeting of the Indiana Farm Bureau held

58 at the Murat Temple in Indianapolis.52 Some choirs continued their "community-music" outreach. For example, in 1963 the Clinton County Choral Club sponsored a music festival that included vocal and instrumental ensembles from Clinton High School. Similarly, the choral clubs held song-leader workshops so that all clubs could retain vocal music as part of their activities. In the late 1960s, Margaret Shafer, director of the Fulton County Choral Club led a workshop held in Rochester for 11 Extension club song leaders.53 In preparation for the annual Festival held in June of 1963, Stewart planned a recognition of the 30-year history of the rural choral program in Indiana including "a pageant depicting the highlights and important events" over the course of the years. A special feature was a re-enactment of the original 1934 broadcast on WBAA.54 A. subsequent review of the event mentioned that 56 choruses sang individual numbers for critiques during the day. Stewart also instituted special certificates of appreciation for accompanists who had served 10 or more years. This recognition was given to an impressive roster of 17 women, a list all the more interesting because it provides each woman's given name as opposed to identifying her by means of her married title and husband's given name: Helen Scott, Pulaski County; Mary Catherine Carter, Carroll County; Chloe Smallwood, Wabash County; Naomi Hoover, Whitley County; Mary Lou Hendricks, Miami County; Pauline Genda, Madison County; Daisy Cox, Wells County; Mary 52P

MO Notes, December 1962, 5.

i3"E.H. Clubs Hold Annual Song Leaders Meeting," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.9 (1967-68), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN. 5

"Home Demonstration Chorus News," P110 Notes, May 1963, 7.

59 Cook, Allen County; Mary Ellen Bowel!, LaPorte County: Zelma Carbeiner, St. Joseph County; Helen Housel, DeKalb County; Vera List, Johnson County; Helen McCoy, Vigo County; Eve Shannon, Grant County; Lois Stoughton, Rush County; Martha Watkins, Gibson County; and Mary Flispart, Floyd County.55 Among the changes made to the Festival was the inclusion of three county choruses singing individually as part of the state conference concert (beginning in 1959). The three choirs were chosen based on their individual performances during the daylong festival; however, selected choirs had to wait at least three years before being selected again. Parke County, Montgomery County, and Kosciusko County were the winners in 1959; Wells, Vanderburgh, and Madison counties were honored in 1960; and Howard, Fulton, and GrantBlackford were selected in 1961.56 The three groups selected to perform individually on the 1963 anniversary concert were Wells County, DeKalb County, and Vanderburgh County. Stewart and his assistants continued to compile a "book" of "state" music for use during the year, and each county still selected additional music for its own individual use (see ch. 6). In the January 1960 PMO Notes, Stewart reported on a combination of the idea of "the book" with the older "Song-ofthe-Month" program by including two numbers from a past book among the monthly songs. In this way, members of the county choirs could assist their local clubs in learning the music and local club singers could experience the same music the select county choirs were singing. ""Home Demonstration Chorus News," PMO Notes, Summer 1963, 9. s'"`County

tan.

Chorus Sings at Purdue," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection,

60 As all women encountered a variety of options for community involvement, Stewart realized the importance of keeping the choirs active in their own communities and in having the choirs publicize their endeavors. He strongly urged them to establish regular means of communication with members and with communities. An article in the December 1961 issue of Furrow continued some national publicity to a rural audience. The author, Fred Myers (a Glee Club alumnus and son of Purdue staff member Marvin Myers), related some of the historical perfonnances of the state chorus; he also wrote that, "Many members come from the farm, others are wives of business or professional men, [and] industrial workers." Although the idea was not totally new, some clubs began to emphasize the availability of baby sitters during rehearsals to entice young mothers to participate.57 In 1961 the idea of holding workshops to teach leadership skills, musicianship, conducting, and rehearsal techniques to choir members, and to introduce the next year's state music became more prominent (see ch. 3). Also in 1961, the "Choral Club" plan was begun.58 The plan enabled "nonhome Demonstration Club members to belong to the chorus, which, under this plan, constitutes a bona fide club." In other words, women could form a Home Demonstration club solely for the purpose of singing—no other Home Demonstration activities were required and the members were not selected from other clubs in the county. An explanatory article for Porter County described the reorganization of its county chorus into a "choral club," but noted that the chorus club still would send a 57"1-lome

Demonstration News," P.410 Notes, September/October 1970, 8.

"Home Demonstration Chorus News," PA/10 Notes, June-July 1961, 7 and PALO Notes, April 1965, 6-7.

61 representative to the county home demonstration council, that it still would have at least 3 educational lessons (related to music, home living, or culture) throughout the year, and that the club would continue its contact and links with the county extension office. The article also makes clear that the goals of the new club included "the cultivation of a choral club capable of musical assistance in various community enterprises and for the betterment of home and family living."59 The plan was announced at the June conference and was issued "under the joint authority of Director of Home Demonstration in Indiana, Eva L. Goble; Leroy E. Hoffman, Director of Extension in Indiana; and Albert P. Stewart, State Director of Home Demonstration Choruses." The Purdue office developed a suggested constitution by which the choral club could operate. This new plan and anticipation of the upcoming Toronto trip (1962; see ch. 4) were viewed as means of boosting enthusiasm. It apparently worked; PMO Notes of November 1961 reported that Vermillion County added 6 new voices to the chorus bringing its total to 30. The roster for the June 1961 Festival contains 5-minute performance slots for 54 choirs. In the following year, choirs were functioning in 55 Indiana counties and singers from at least 20 other counties joined them in the massed choir at the annual Festival.60 Around this time, the chorus Festival day shifted to an association with the Cooperative Extension Service annual conference rather than the more general Agricultural Conference. 59"Reorganize Chorus Group; Is Open To All County Women," in Porter County Chorus Scrapbook, County Extension Office, Valparaiso, IN. 6°"Home

Demonstration Chorus News." PMO Notes, June 1962, 8. The 1961 roster also mentions that the room hostess would have an envelope into which participants could place contributions to the "State Chorus Treasury," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan.

62 The Indiana Home Demonstration Club choruses received additional national exposure when the National Extension Homemakers Council Meeting was held at Purdue in August of 1965.61 Many Indiana products and aspects of Hoosier life were on display during the 8-day meeting, which included a feast of barbeque chicken and corn-on-the-cob, panels, a tea, discussion groups, speakers, a business meeting, and vespers. The theme was "The Homemaker's Role in Community Development." The entertainment for Thursday night included a performance by the 1800-voice Indiana state chorus. Issues of the PMO Notes during the year are replete with Stewart's exhortations to make this a banner year by rehearsing diligently, by seeking additional members, and by re-activating lapsed choirs. In fact, Stewart scheduled 26 "area rehearsals" around the state between June 21 and July 23—this in contrast to the more usual 8 or 9 district rehearsals held in the spring.62 The program booklet for the meeting indicates that music was included frequently over the course of the affair. Stewart led the National Anthem or group singing each morning, the Miami County Chorus performed on Monday evening, and attendees were invited to the Chorus Festival on Thursday in addition to the massed-chorus concert. An article about the Parke County

61"Invitation to Indiana, 'The Crossroads. of America, — National Notes

(National Extension Homemakers Council), March 1965, 9. The Indiana women also had sung for this group at its annual meeting at Michigan State University (then called Michigan State College) in East Lansing in 1951.

2"Home Demonstration Chorus News," PMO Notes, May-June 1965, 8-9. The same issue of the PM() Notes announces that 3 chorus participants suffered significant loss during the April 11 tornado. The newsletter frequently reflected the closeness and community spirit within the organization.

63 Chorus of 1965 included these statistics concerning the state chorus: among the singers were 1,007 mothers, who had 2,774 children; 601 grandmothers with 3,392 grandchildren; 124 great-grandmothers with 454 great-grandchildren; and 2 greatgreat-grandmothers. To attend the Purdue Festival the women traveled a combined 251,756 miles.63 Shortly thereafter, the Home Demonstration Club members voted to officially change the name of the organization to the "Indiana Extension Homemakers Association." The women reportedly felt that the word "demonstration" no longer played an important role in their activities." The annual massed concert of 1967 surely was unusual because of the absence of Al Stewart, who was on tour in Scandinavia and West Germany with the Purdue Glee Club. Assistant Director Marvin Myers served as Master of Ceremonies, and six of the county directors were selected to conduct the concert's music. They included Sonya Stewart Eddy (Al's daughter who led the Madison County choir), Audrey McElheny, Frieda Shoultz, Fredric Gingrich, Mrs. Walter Moyer, and Rev. Harold Clark.55 In the mid-1960s Stewart produced a document titled "Let's Look at Our Chorus," in which he offered an assessment

"Parke County Choral Club Has Fine Record of Service to Community," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, rose.

63

1"Group Changes Its Name," Indianapolis Star, 9 June 1966, 11. Lelia Gaddis, who was instrumental in starting Home Demonstration in Indiana and greatly supported the choir program, died in 1968.

"Home Demonstration Chorus and Choral Club Festival," MO Notes, May/June 1967, 12.

65

64 of the past and suggestions for the future.°6 The section on why people remained in the organization pointed to the joy participation brought (along with the concomitant pride and fellowship) and the fact that many felt the organization had a worthy purpose. The section on "strengths" was similar but added: the lack of an age limit for participants, it being run by "real leaders," the good programs it offered, and its provision of enjoyable social functions. Stewart's commentary on "weaknesses" included: a need for greater numbers, a lack of regularity in meeting place and time in some counties, feelings of disorganization or clique-centered decision making, a lack of varied programming in individual counties, poor attendance, expression of negative feelings in public, and weak directors and accompanists. His suggestions for improvement and for building membership were lengthy. Among them were to create a regular and varied program, do a few things well and frequently, seek advice from the Purdue office, be financially independent, do something special as a group—perhaps a group outing, make every member a worker, encourage each current member to recruit a new member, keep visible in the community, offer baby sitting so young mothers could participate, have the county director attend the annual workshop (see ch. 3), pay the county's director and accompanist, get families involved, and make music a priority in community life. His enthusiasm and belief in the program did not seem to wane even as the challenges grew.

G6Albert P. Stewart, "Let's Look at Our Chorus," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," Choral Club scrapbook (1966), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN.

65 In the late 1960s, Byron T. Fox was appointed as a Purdue Musical Organizations assistant specifically assigned to help with extension music. Like Richard Smith, Fox was a Glee Club alumnus, and he was in the US Air Force from 1961 until 1966. Marvin Myers also had made a long-term commitment to the state chorus program. After his retirement he remained in touch with the women of the choir and Purdue Musical Organizations, and he acknowledged the changes women had seen in American life. The PM() Notes of September-October 1969 contain a poem by Myers titled The Choir Girls Then and Now; Dedicated to Home Demonstration Chorus Member over Fifty." The poem concludes: Take your mini-skirts and panty hose Your crazy tunes and powdered nose Your blue jeans and your freakish manly cover— But we dears who wore the draperies [robes], Had some very lovely "shaperies" And kept something for our husbands to discover. By 1970, 45 of Indiana's 92 counties did not have choirs, although Stewart continued to try to encourage growth in the extant choirs and the formation of new or the reformation of old choirs. In 1971 records indicate there were 49 county choirs with 800 members, and for the 351h Annual Purdue Extension Chorus Festival in 1972, 41 choirs, with an average of 20 singers each, participated. All were heard and critiqued between 9:30 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. Three additional choirs joined the massed group for the evening performance, bringing a total of 865 singers to the stage. The finale of the concert was Disney's infectious tune "It's a Small World."

66 Singers from the Glee Club and the Purduettes (a women's ensemble) joined the Extension women.° THE END OF THE "STEWART" ERA AND THE MARCH TOWARD THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Marvin Myers retired in 1967 after nearly 20 years of service, and Al Stewart retired in 1974 after 40 years of leadership (see ch. 3). Bill Luhman was assigned the difficult task of following in Stewart's footsteps, and he led the group until his death in 1982. William E. Allen followed Luhman at a time when about 40 counties still had choruses, and Brian Breed succeeded him as state Extension music director in 1989. In 2005 Scott Buchanan was secured as the state director for the newly named Melody Makers of Indiana (see below). Into the twenty-first century, no female has led the state choir (although women commonly have conducted county groups). Few would deny that life for American women had changed significantly between the start of the Extension chorus program in the 1930s and Al Stewart's retirement. And change, based upon foundations laid in earlier decades, continued to be the watchword in the last quarter of the century and beyond. Sheila Rowbotham acknowledged the complexity of this change by stating, "But the discovery of a female culture was to be fraught with disputed definitions and contesting claims to speak for a new vision of vvomanhood."68 She further describes the economic dichotomy that divided women of the 1970s into those who fought for economic security outside the home and those who chose to retain a home-centered life. Additionally, 67"Extension

Chorus Festival," P.410 Noies, July-August 1972, 11.

"Rowbotharn, A Century of Women, 435, 444.

67 the evolution in America away from a manufacturing economic base to one centered on the service industry opened many doors for women—but the prize behind the door did not necessarily lead to self-sufficiency or self-fulfillment. Soon many women began to wonder if it was possible to have both a career and a stable home life—many felt the emotional and physical strain of trying to manage both full-time jobs. Certainly life in American homes, the bastion of interest for Extension Homemakers, was changing. Rowbotham quotes historian Glenda Riley: By 1980, only 15% of American families were composed of a father who worked and a mother who stayed at home to care for the children, a figure that had stood at over 70% in the early 1950s. With the assistance of the birth-control pill, the average family size fell to 1.6 children. At the same time, roughly 50% of marriages ended in divorce, and 23% of adults chose to live in single-person households.69 Also of related importance to this study, farming was affected significantly by technology and by a dependence on international markets. By 1994 only 1.5% of America's population was involved in agricultural production.7° About one quarter of the women involved in agriculture actually were filling "triad roles" by serving as homemaker, farm helper, and employee away from the home and farm. It is appropriate to recall some of the events, trends, terms, and personages of particular importance to women from the mid-1970s through the first decade of the new millennium 1lowbotham, A Century of Women, 454.

69

70 Hiram M. Drache, Legacy of the Land: Agriculture's Story to the Present (Danville, IL: Interstate Publishers, 1996), 450, 456.

68 in order to establish a frame of reference for the concluding portion of the Indiana Home Demonstration Club chorus history. The Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution was passed in 1972, but went on to die a slow death during the state-ratification process. In 1973, the Roe v. Wade case went before the Supreme Court; its ruling continued to foster debate and divisiveness into the twenty-first century. Women's Studies courses began to make their way into college curricula, and legal fights over Title IX (equality in school sports), sex discrimination, and affirmative action were front-page news. Author Toni Morrison, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, astronaut Sally Ride, composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, tennis star Chris Evert, and Senator and presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton each reflected the changing roles women played in society. Television characterized womanhood in shows as diverse as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Charlie's Angels. Bill Cosby had sitcom success with a portrayal of family life in a household headed by two black professionals. The acronym AIDS entered the lexicon (and social debate) as did the terms "glass ceiling," "aerobics," "deadbeat dad," "war on drugs," "gay marriage," "the Internet," "cell phone," "HMO," "Google," "9/11," and "texting." The National Extension Homemaker Council of the Extension Service continued to have a large membership as it celebrated its 40th anniversary in 1976. Nearly 600,000 members belonged to 34,000 clubs in the United States and Puerto Rico.7' A study of Extension in Indiana in the mid-1980s offers insight into how the program had adapted to an America with fewer family farms. Tillage, market crops, livestock, and nutrition continued to be central to Extension's purview, but 71 Untitled

article, Homemaker, Spring 1977, 44.

69 gardening, lawn care, home insulation, energy conservation, and community planning were among a host of other topics the Cooperative Extension Service Office was expected to address.72 The 1994/95 issue of Purdue Agriculture mentions Cooperative Extension with the following subjects: safety in soup kitchens, maternal and child health, nutrition in school lunch programs, mulching and managing yard waste, parenting classes, nutrition information for low-income families, and master-gardening classes. This changing function of Extension in Indiana women's lives is mirrored in the choral program, although much of its tradition remained intact. A lengthy article in the June 1981 Hoosier Homemaker recounts the choral program's history and provides information on an upcoming Festival day at Purdue. The author mentions that about 900 singers representing 50 Indiana county choruses would participate, which reflects an obvious decline in numbers as compared to previous years. State director, Bill Luhman, is quoted as saying, They love to sing and their enthusiasm for their music is contagious. There are few groups that I know of who bring as much devotion to their work and they keep coming back year after year. He also remarked that the 25th edition of the Purdue Choral Collection, and therefore the music for the Festival's massed chorus concert, included a wide variety of repertoire: sacred, popular, and "novelty tunes." As usual, the annual workshop was slated for August in Terre Haute.

72 James B. Waechter, "The Cooperative Extension Service at Your Service" (MA creative project, Ball State University, 1985).

70 In 1983 the Purdue Musical Organizations staff seemed to make a concerted effort to analyze what the program should and could continue to be. A typed document titled "Questions and Answers Relative to the Extension Homemaker Chorus" provides insight.73 It asserts that singing continued to be an important creative outlet and that the Homemaker chorus often was the only choir available to adult women. The author also highlighted the approach started in the early 1960s that did not require women in the Chorus Clubs to participate in other Extension activities. It promoted contributions to the community through providing entertainment locally; this of course required preparation of a variety of repertoire. It recommended that chorus members pay dues to the Extension organization and required the chorus to pay a $50 participation fee to Purdue Musical Organizations (which might have been paid by the county in which the choir resided). The document also revealed consistency from the past by including such policies as the following: women needed to audition to be in a chorus club, the club should have the usual executive committee, the Director should be paid and given significant authority, each participant should pay a small participation fee or assist in fund raising, the chorus should be as active as was practical, chorus music and the state-chorus music book were to be purchased by each individual, choruses should rehearse at least twice per month, a chorus should have at least 12 members and reflect good vocal balance, and rehearsal attendance policies should be clear and strict. The following suggestions were offered for fund raising, and they reflect both change and consistency: raffles, bake sales, garage Indiana Extension Homemakers Chorus Collection, in the possession of Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN.

73

71 sales, musical revues, style shows, card parties, fair booths, Tupperware or similar sales, providing lunch for civic functions, donations collected at performances, and donations from other local entities. Purdue stated that more than 1000 women continued to be involved in the chorus program as it approached its fiftieth year (1984).74 At that. time, Bill Allen was State Director of Extension Music and, in the previous year, Jae Israel Kellogg had begun serving as his assistant. Kellogg conducted "three cluster rehearsals," made visitations to 28 county choirs, and met with the state Extension Homemakers Board during her first few weeks on duty.75 At the 50th Anniversary Celebration (held in October of 1983), 4 women were recognized for 50 years of membership: Lucille Newton, Geneva Pershing, Lela Steely, and Charlotte Stewart, Al's wife, who subsequently died in July of 1984. One blemish on the history of the Purdue Musical Organizations was the unraveling of William E. Allen's tenure in the late-1980s when he pled guilty to four counts of felony theft related to his employment there. He admitted to taking more than $383,000 from alumni donations and fees earned by the choral groups for his own use, activities that were discovered during an audit. He had begun work with the Purdue Musical Organizations as an assistant in 1970, and he was made director in 1982.76

74 "Hoosier 75"State

Homemaker Harmony," PAID NOW, Summer 1984, 4.

Extension Music," PM0 Notes, Winter 1983-84, 13.

76 Kathe Schuckel, "Allen Admits $383,000 in Thefts," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN.

72 The Purdue Musical Organizations Annual Report of 1991 indicates that 46 counties had choirs totaling 1000 members statewide in the "Indiana Extension Music Program," and the 60" anniversary of the program was celebrated in 1994. The June Festival continued to feature individual choirs during the day and a massed concert in the evening. Kellogg wrote about the pleasure she gained from the individual performances by 42 county choirs, "We see everything from imaginative costuming and humorous song renditions to beautiful ballads and exciting new arrangements. It gives us a great idea of what choruses across the state enjoy doing and do best."77 A document titled "Bringing It All Together" by Brian Breed, likely used as a teaching tool at the annual workshop in the mid1990s, offers some insight into his thinking about music preparation and performance.78 Under the heading "The 'Song' is the Thing," he highlights being true to style, singing naturally, and making cuts and intros [to tie the repertoire in a program together more cohesively]. The section titled "The Show 'Business' indicates that he will speak about entertainment vs. education, program variety for audience diversity, and attention to detail/precision in execution. Finally, the "Keys to Success" session touches upon planning, team effort discipline, every song having its own sound, and singing all of the beauty of each piece [i.e., interpretation is as important as technical precision].

77"Purdue Extension Homemakers Chorus Festival Day a Success," Marshall County Extension Homemakers Scrapbooks, 1994-97, in the possession of Helena Hand, Bremen, IN.

'..A copy of the document is found in the Marshall County Extension Homemakers Scrapbooks, 1994-97.

7

73 In 1995, the evening concert became part of the Home and Family Conference at Purdue (which reflects a name change in the whole subject-matter field), and the 1996-97 annual report titles the program the "Purdue Extension Homemakers Chorus Program." It also mentions participation from 44 county choirs "that provide senior women the chance to exercise their love of music" and confirms the continuation of the multi-day choral workshop held in August. Sonya Stewart Eddy, Al's daughter who had traveled with the choir in her youth and became very active as an adult, was awarded the Patty Hunt Memorial Service Award at the 1997 Festival. Only 34 choirs were slated to participate in the individual-choir performances in 1999. However, as the twenty-first century approached, the women and the Purdue staff (which included Julie Ricciardi, a Purdue alumnus replacing Jae Kellogg) held further discussion concerning structure, goals, and activities. Notes from a "breakout session" of 2 August 2000 reveal a concern with or interest in: growth in numbers and quality, more performances (including returning to the State Fair), gaining national exposure, adding younger members, securing the services of a sound-equipment professional, combining the workshop with the festival, diversity in programming, good attendance at regional rehearsals, and maintaining fellowship. They discussed ways of changing the festival concert including the possibility of having the whole group sing only a few numbers with other pieces sung by individual choirs or by auditioning trios or other small groups to sing on the concert.79 They also gave up the "Extension Chonis Notes from the Breakout Session August 2, 2000," Marshall County Extension Homemakers Scrapbooks, 1999-2000, in the possession of Helena Hand, Bremen, IN.

79

74 massive size (and price) of ElliottHall for Purdue's Loeb Theater. Thirty-two choirs, most with fewer than 20 singers, had attended the Festival the previous June. Observations from a district rehearsal in October of 2000 offer insight about the participants: about 110 women attended representing about 20 counties. Only 3 women were under age 25, while 8 were more than 75 years of age. The vast majority were aged 50 to 75 years. Eight women indicated that they worked or had worked as a professional musician, and 21 had had some vocal training beyond high school. Twelve women indicated that they had been Extension chonis members for more than 20 years, while 42 had participated for less than 5 years. A new moniker for the group was premiered in 2001: Purdue Women in Song (or Purdue Extension Women of Song). With declining numbers, funding increasingly became an issue. As late as 2002, the Indiana Extension Homemakers Association continued to give the Purdue Musical Organizations $1000 annually in support of the chorus program and individual choirs paid a yearly participation fee of $100.80 That year about 28 choirs (most of them quite small or combined groups from two counties) sang at the annual festival at Purdue.8I The evening program offered the following mission 'bean April Mason, telephone interview by author, 30 July 2002. There is some dispute about this factor; some chorus members were under the impression that there was a lack of clarity in financing the state chorus program (and communicating about it) between the Purdue Musical Organizations and the Extension Service office, both Purdue University organizations. 8IT

he Festival continued to be part of the Home and Family Conference of the Consumer and Family Sciences Extension. Among the topics on the conference schedule were: planning a wardrobe, character building in the family, choosing seafood wisely, helping children understand world events, dealing with overweight children, cooking for diabetics, the transition to

75 statement for the program: "To promote the art of choral music through excellence in performance in an atmosphere of fun and fellowship." Hamilton, Vigo, and Porter/Jasper County choirs were selected for individual performance on the concert along with the massed choir. Although the numbers were much smaller than past years or decades, most of the women who participated were enthusiastic and committed to the continuation of the program (see also Appendix B). In 2003, however, budget issues influenced some further changes. Purdue no longer produced a "book" of music. Instead, individually published pieces were provided to those who attended the workshop, and then each singer in a choir was required to buy her own single "octavo" copy that could be ordered through the county choir director.82 A more significant change occurred in July 2004 when official ties between the Purdue Women in Song and Purdue Musical Organizations (but not Extension) were severed. This change apparently was being anticipated--a small steering committee previously had been making suggestions to and opening discussions with the Purdue leadership about direction and procedure. It is not possible to identify one isolated reason for the split and, as might be expected, varied reasons were enunciated based on individual perspective. Among the reasons suggested were that the program was a financial drain on Purdue Musical Organizations and Extension (or that financial retirement, and managing a hectic life. The Extension program both retained its heritage and adapted to the needs of twenty-first-century women. 82.0), J ce Jones. Rochester, IN, letter to Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN, 11 September 2003; Sonya Eddy, e-mail message to author, 28 May 2003. Emails to Brian Breed and the Purdue Musical Organizations office in 2006 and 2007 remained unanswered, Breed retired from Purdue University in December 2007.

76 responsibility was not clear), the time involved was significant for an already-busy Purdue staff, some women were not comfortable with the emphasis on memorizing the state music, some women wanted more performance opportunities, there was conflict over some aspects of programming and procedures between the Purdue staff and the state Extension Board, etc.83 The group also changed names again to become Melody Makers of Indiana. This name change was necessitated by a requirement for state organizations to be gender neutral and to remove the direct association to the Purdue Musical Organizations. After the split (shortly before the 2004 Workshop), the steering committee assumed the responsibility of planning the workshop and reviewing music for the following season. It narrowed the field to about 20 pieces, which was further reduced by the participants at the workshop. The 2004 workshop, then, consisted of a reading session to select 13 pieces of music and to receive an initial introduction to them; various county conductors took turns leading.84 A guest conductor, Stanley Kingman (a former Purdue singer and sonin-law of former chorus assistant Marvin Myers), led the massed choir at the Festival the following June. Scott Buchanan, a music faculty member at Indiana State University, 83 Marge Weaver, telephone interview by author, 28 August 2004 and 8 November 2005; Karen Bartling, telephone interview by author 28 November 2005; Karen DeZarn, telephone interview by author, 29 November 2005; Sonya Eddy, telephone interview by author, 28 November 2005,

Sharon Piper, telephone interview by author, 28 November 2005. Piper reported that the county directors chosen to lead the session were all male, continuing a long-standing tradition. The workshop has not had a "music leadership training" component in recent years. Piper indicated that about 30 county choirs still functioned at that time with a total membership of about 400 participants.

84

77 was secured to begin duties as state choir leader beginning with the July 2005 workshop. Buchanan was slated to conduct area rehearsals in Spring 2006 and direct the massed choir at the June Festival as well. The steering committee also initiated a 2004 performance in the Farm Bureau Building at the Indiana State Fair, bringing one historical aspect of the organization full circle. About 300 women participated (see also ch. 8). As the Extension choir program celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2009,85 the organization had seen both continuity and change, and the women involved continued to be enthusiastic both about choral singing (especially with limited opportunities available in many communities) and about the fellowship that comes with it. One wonders if Al Stewart might find the changes of 2004-05 expected and legitimate--he likely would have seen a need for the director to maintain authority, but likely he also would have been proud of the women for accepting the leadership challenge. At the choir's 2005 performance at the Indiana State Fair, Indiana's governor, Mitch Daniels, apparently commented to the women that he had been unfamiliar with the group (but had enjoyed the women's singing). This reaction is not uncommon—but those who are unfamiliar with the story and the program are missing one of the state's unique contributions to community choral music. Beginning in the 1930s and 40s Indiana was among the states leading the way with the idea of choral-music performance for rural women and, later, for any woman who The year 2009 was the 75th year after the founding of the Tippecanoe county choir; an anniversary year also could be marked 75 years after the 1937 statewide chorus effort began.

78 simply wanted a means of musical expression. As noted above, the goals consistently were aimed at personal and community improvement and entertainment. The educational aspect of the program, for the participants themselves and what they contributed to their communities, is significant. They attended workshops for their personal improvement, and they conducted workshops to assist with music in other Home Demonstration clubs and other local entities such as churches and schools. Even as Extension evolved and the chorus program changed to meet new challenges and lifestyles, the ties between the two remained strong and mutually beneficial. The longevity and breadth of the Indiana county and state chorus program (with all its name changes), and the additional light their story sheds on the role music can play in the complex web of women's lives, surely is noteworthy. As always, the leadership of several individuals was paramount to the program's success (see ch. 8), and in this case, their work and the commitment of the participants over the decades truly reflects their motto "No Fun without Music, No Music without Fun." In the ensuing chapters, this statement (first used in 1940) is shown to be much more than just a motto.

Chapter 3 Al Stewart: The Man and His Vision

ALBERT P. STEWART

In spite of the nebulous beginnings of the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus in 1934 (see ch. 2), there is no doubt that the founding and development of the statewide program owes much to the leadership of Al Stewart. While no one acts in isolation in music performance and education, Stewart's vision of what an Extension choral-music program could be, and his seemingly boundless energy for organizing, promoting, and nurturing the amateur performers of Indiana's Home Demonstration clubs, were remarkable. His initial involvement with Purdue's Extension Service appears to be a case of "the right person in the right place at the right time."1 Likewise, his overall promotion of singing as a worthwhile and invigorating endeavor went beyond the Indiana Home Demonstration Club chorus program and even the State of Indiana, adding to the relevance of a study of both his biography and his endeavors. Stewart frequently wrote about his experiences and philosophy,

Much of the interpretation in this chapter is a result of a thoughtful study of the archival materials that I examined and my experience as a music historian. Of course the interpretations also are colored by my own background as an educator, a musician, and a conductor, which provide an additional perspective. My comments are not offered as the only possible interpretation of the materials. Joseph L. Bennett expressed this same sentiment in Boilermaker Music Makers (West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University, 1986), xiv, a book that focuses on Stewart's biography and the Purdue Musical Organizations, especially the Men's Glee Club.

80 which allows much of his career and his contribution to be described and assessed through his own words. According to Stewart's obituary from January 1991, he was born in 1907, the son of a Methodist minister who died when Al was quite young. He spent most of his life in the area around Lafayette, Indiana.2 He graduated from West Lafayette High School and briefly attended Purdue University and DePauw University. He was involved in school music and a private conservatory in Lafayette and West Lafayette, and he attended the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. In 1933 he married Charlotte Friend, who was a charter member of the Tippecanoe County chorus (see ch. 2), a featured soloist with the Purdue Men's Glee Club in the 1930s, and a singer with home demonstration choruses for many years. She preceded him in death in 1984. Al and Charlotte had two daughters, Sonya (Eddy) and Joanna (McNeely). Sonya sang in the Purdue Choraleers before her graduation in 1959 and worked as "song and recreation leader at the state fair girls' school" [sic] circa 1958.3 She continued to be active in the Extension choir program into the twenty-first century as both a singer in the state chorus and the director of the Madison 2"Music Man Remembered," Lafayette (IN) Leader, 31 January 1991, 1, 13. See also Purdue Musical Organizations, 1933-1958 in the Parke County Scrapbook Collection, rose—Oregon, 1958, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN. The personage and accomplishments of Al Stewart loom so large in the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus history that there is a paucity of information about his assistants or subsequent leaders. Extant information about them is included in chapter 2 where appropriate. See also Bennett, Boilermaker Music Makers.

"At the Fair," hand-dated news clipping, "Home Demonstration Chorus Archives and Memorabilia of Al Stewart," in the possession of Sonya Stewart Eddy, Anderson, IN; see also PMO Notes, January-February 1965, 7. Eddy became the director of the Madison County choir in 1965.

3

81 County choir. Music-making was certainly a family affair in the Stewart household. A photograph in the Toronto Daily Star during the state choir's trip to the Canadian National Exhibition (see ch. 4) shows Al in a staged "conducting" pose with his wife, his daughters, and his mother, Mrs. A. M. Macy, surrounding him. All reportedly were members of the choir (although daughter Joanna was quite young at the time). Stewart was hired as the director of the Men's Glee Club of Purdue in 1932, and he was named the first director of the Purdue Musical Organizations the following year.4 Additionally, he was director of music for WBAA. the Purdue University radio station (see ch. 2), and in 1937 Stewart was appointed as the music specialist for the Agricultural Extension Service of Indiana. As might be expected of someone with a long and visible career, he received many awards and honorary memberships across Indiana and the nation, and he participated in many service and music organizations. He was designated an "Ambassador of Good Will from the State of Indiana" by legislative action in 1955, and it also was reported that he served as a Master of Ceremonies for the Republican National Convention in 1956. Stewart retired in 1974. As early as 1936, Stewart provided insight into his vision of leadership and the role of the music director. In a The stories of the founding of the Purdue Musical Organizations and Stewart's relationship with then President Edward Elliott (for whom the Hall of Music eventually was named) are part of Purdue lore. Elliott was not in favor of music as a credit-earning subject at Purdue (a status that remains into the twenty-first century), but he became a strong supporter of Stewart's efforts and the opportunities music provided for the students and the Extension women. Kathy Matter, "Unfunded, Unofficial Choir Became PMO," PMO Notes 41, no.l (Winter 1983-84): 5-8. Purdue University had had musical ensembles earlier than Stewart's tenure; he is credited, however. with promoting the groups beyond the confines of the campus. 4

82 document titled "Some Rules for Community Music Leadership," he states: The director of the choir or glee club is the last word in management and music interpretation. THE MUSIC DIRECTOR'S WORD IS LAW. To be assured of successful rehearsals: the director must be thoroughly in earnest about everything. Must be pleasant, and show a personal interest in each person and each personal problem.... All conversation must cease when the director speaks. Know what you propose to accomplish before each rehearsal starts.... Spend a few moments of silent repose before rehearsals start in order that each person can collect themselves for a worthwhile rehearsal.5 He summarized the role and attributes of the leader in community singing with 4 points (paraphrased): must have ability, must show lots of personality, must use tact, and must be original—in other words, does not have to follow any rules of conducting. In the following year, Stewart was a featured speaker on the topic of rural music at the Indiana Federation of Music Clubs convention in Greenwood, Indiana, indicating that he was abreast of and providing early leadership for contemporaneous trends. In about 1940, Stewart wrote about the motto that eventually would come to define much of his approach: "Recently I read an article which contained this statement, No 5 A1 Stewart, "Song of the Month Program," typed manuscript, 1936, in "Memorabilia of Al Stewart."

83 music without fun and no fun without music. May I pass this thought along as a working rule for all of our organizations?" He went on to urge his readers to view music as a healthful activity during the stress and tribulation of wartime.6 Stewart was national chairman of the Music for State and County Fairs branch of the National Federation of Music Clubs in 1942. In an address to the members of the Association of County and District Fairs he pointed out that fairs were intended to represent or portray the "life, activities and culture of [an] entire State," thus fairs should seek to provide and improve music as well. He argued for the establishment of a music department for each state fair and that fairs provide adequate space for music performance. He suggested that massed choirs of some sort (children, women, youth) be organized and urged the possibility of competition and prizes to generate interest. He promoted the idea of broadcasting some of the fair music on the radio, and he suggested that a balance of musical styles be represented during the fair ("outstanding bands" or "light opera" in addition to the usual "jamborees" and "barn dances").7 In the following year, Stewart reminded readers of the Music Publishers Journal that music was not being rationed like other commodities and that it should be shared more readily. During these war years, music was viewed as a morale booster, and Stewart used that belief to advocate for more organized musical opportunities outside of city limits. Furthermore, in a clear acknowledgement of the political tenor

6A1 Stewart, "Indiana Music for Indiana Women," ca. 1941, in "Memorabilia of Al Stewart." 7"Expert

Goes All-Out for Music 'Common Music' at All Fairs," 3 January 1942, in "Memorabilia of Al Stewart."

84 of the time, he wrote that, "A musical America is an America well fortified to resist any subversive influence."8 By the end of the 1940s, Stewart was describing himself as the Director of Purdue Musical Organizations, as the National Chairman of Rural Music, and the National Chairman of Industrial Music (see section below). In the typed notes from an address for the National Federation of Music Clubs dated 21 April 1947, Stewart solicited lofty action by expounding on his personal beliefs: We have progressed musically in America, but much of that development has been in spite of many of us who hold music as our profession or our dearest avocation. I often wonder what would happen if we all gave unselfishly of our time and talents for the spreading of an alert, a vibrant, a living type of music that could be understood and participated in by almost any and every type of citizen regardless of color, creed, station in life or locality. I'll tell you what would happen. We would solve the problem of direction for the whole world, for we would have a happy, honest, and a Christian citizenry.9 Stewart went on to suggest that music leaders re-evaluate the notion of music for the masses (to be sure all were included), that attention be paid to local needs (such as access to a good piano or phonograph player), and that the National Federation of Music Clubs be more active with rural music. Albert P. Stewart, "Share and Share Alike in Music," May-June 1943, in "Memorabilia of Al Stewart." 9 A1

Stewart, "Action of the Farm Front," 1947, in "Memorabilia of Al Stewart."

85 In December 1949 Stewart was named National Director of the Festival Music for the Freedom Fair and the National Capitol Sesquicentennial. The Sesquicentennial Commission gave him charge of all "non-professional music" including choral, orchestral, and band music and folk dancing. Performing groups from all 48 states and the 4 territories were invited to take part. Stewart stated: I plan to ask for cooperation from every high school band and choral group in the country; I will ask veterans' groups, community organizations, industrial music groups, and all college organizations to make plans to take an active part in this great musical expression of our American culture.1° His success rate with this monumental task is unknown, but the commission gratefully acknowledged his contributions to the Washington festivities. Although his attention was focused on rural and industrial music, Stewart's thinking was not too far afield from the thoughts of other influential musicians of the time. For example, in the 1930s and 40s, preeminent American composer Aaron Copland made a purposeful effort to write music that was simpler in style and technique in an effort to make his music more accessible to a wider audience. He also wrote the book What to Listen for in Music, which offers an explanation of musical terms and concepts for the amateur. The general American trend toward music appreciation for the populace already has been mentioned in chapter 1, and likely Stewart's words above also reflect common American Midwestern attitudes of the time. Stewart's influence in several musical

1° PM0 Notes, December 1949, 2, 14.

86 circles in Indiana during his tenure at Purdue is unquestionable. The extent of his influence on the overall American musical scene is hard to assess, but his appeal with audiences was confirmed by an invitation for him to direct music on television and to have the Purdue Men's Glee Club appear professionally." Stewart also wrote about choral singing for a musical readership. In October of 1955 his article titled "Concerning Women's Choruses" was published in Music Journal.12 He emphasized the importance of singing with vitality and sincerity, and he declared 35 to 45 members as the ideal size for a choir. Stewart also suggested that contrasting levels of volume would help "sell" the music and that listening within the ensemble and to other performers was a valuable tool. He commented on the importance of selecting a variety of musical repertoire within the capabilities of the ensemble and, again, on the need for the director to maintain control. Fewer comments from Stewart on basic vocal tone production and how to get a chorus to produce a good tone are extant. One of Stewart's rare statements on this topic is: The human voice is a wind instrument. It is not a percussion instrument. That's where most people go wrong.... So with the voice, you must use wind, and the wind is like gasoline is to a car.... And you may have

"Purdue Seeks to Give 'Appetite for Music," Indianapolis Times, 1 April 1951, 2: 18. He turned down the television offer to remain at Purdue, and he turned down the invitation for the Glee Club to sing on television because he felt the required union pay might "disrupt discipline and morale." The ensemble did appear on Ed Sullivan's "Toast of the Town" in 1955. 1n "Memorabilia of Al Stewart."

12

87 the best voice in the world, but if you don't learn how to breathe, you aren't going to sing much.13 Most voice teachers and choral directors would agree. In a similar vein, in an I8th anniversary assessment of the Indiana Home Demonstration chorus program, Stewart wrote extensively on the role of the accompanist: As a director, I, Al Stewart, appreciate and respect the talents and help of a good accompanist more than words allow me to state. No director or chorus can succeed without a competent mate at the piano. I salute all good accompanists. A poor one is the fault of an incompetent director who allows a poor selection. Spirit in an accompanist is paramount. The accompanist must feel the comfort of being ONE OF THE GROUP; attend every rehearsal and all programs, even though he or she is not playing for that program, for the experience should be one full and complete for all. The accompanist is 100% effective and sufficient only when cooperative with the director and must feel the responsibility of leadership but remember the necessity of deferment to the director in musical decisions. Directors: again this places a heavy responsibility on each of us in competence." Managing a group as large and as geographically wide spread as the county choirs of the Indiana program would be a daunting task for anyone—and readers of the twenty-first century must remember the slower means of communication I3

Bennett, Boilerinakei. Music Makers, 132.

"Al Stewart, "The Chorus," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black-1952-56, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN.

88 available during the choir's peak years of the 1940s through the 60s. Some reports of the choir's activities during the 1950s offer insight about Stewart's management style. His belief in the ties between music and fun, and his hope that music would be "as ordinary as hot dogs, crackerjack or baseball" in America's did not mean that he was casual about rehearsal or performance. The "Fair Edition" of the Indianapolis News in 1953 (see ch. 2) provides the following description: Ruling the women with an iron hand is Director Albert P. Stewart, director of music, Purdue University. He is one male among a stageful [sic] of females at concerts. But the situation never gets out of hand. The women know him to be a disciplinarian. He tolerates no nonsense at rehearsals or concerts. Often he chides the women about their lack of makeup and sometimes about their general appearance. "You can't sing well if you don't dress or look well," he tells them. He's the boss and the women know it. They follow his directions when he is on the podium as though they have been hypnotized. One error on his part will carry an entire section of the chorus with him, even though the number had been rehearsed in another manner... Poll the gals on what they like about Stewart and they'd probably list his knowledge of music first, his discipline second. In third place would be his charm. His frustration with the myriad details of the large program and dependence on timely communication often is

"3,000-Voice Women's Choir Sings at Coliseum Tonight," Toronto Daily

15

Star, 22 August 1952, 2:21.

89 evident in issues of the PAlO Notes. For example, in May 1958 he wrote, Let's have those applications for reservations for the Oregon Tour—as previously stated in the NOTES and to county directors by personal letter, it is necessary to know how many are going in order to complete the necessary physical arrangements for the tour. We've worked hard to get you all the detailed information and to make plans for this tour with your enjoyment and welfare as first considerations--let's have a little help--send them in now. We need at least three more applications from each county now.16 Similarly, he used the PM() Notes to encourage—and sometimes to admonish—the choirs. In the same issue, he urged the county choirs to learn the Festival music well in order to make the Festival "a banner one in every way." Amidst all of this activity with Purdue Musical Organizations and the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus, for much of his tenure at Purdue, Stewart also served as the director of the Tippecanoe County chorus (see ch. 5) and the choir director at University Presbyterian Church in West Lafayette and Central Presbyterian Church in Lafayette. He rehearsed the 47-voice "Tippy" group twice monthly during the late 1940s, and in the 1950s he was quoted as saying, Home-made music is what the world needs today. I mean by that families singing around the home piano, 16"Agricultural Extension Music," P1110 Notes, May 1958, 8. A similar statement is found in the PM0 Notes, April 1959, 6. Therein Stewart expresses annoyance at the lack of communication to his office when county directors or rehearsal schedules change. This information was essential for him to schedule regional rehearsals or visits from a Purdue staff person.

90 community orchestras, group singing, glee clubs, barbershop groups and quartets, and better church choirs. I7 In the 1950s Stewart also found some time for composing, as is noted further in chapter 6. Perhaps the frequency of photographs of him alone (or with members of various Purdue ensembles) and the number of comments in the Plf0 Notes about his personal successes or the compliments he garnered, offer a glimpse of a person possessing a healthy ego and a strong sense of self confidence. As an example, the PMO Notes of Spring 1956 mention that "scores of letters have poured into this office from members of the Florida tour expressing their appreciation for the wonderful trip and telling us what a grand time they had." In the same issue, readers are alerted to the fact that Stewart had recently received an award from the Indiana Governor for "his service to the people of Indiana in community recreation." A similar sentiment is found in the summary of the annual Festival in the PMO Notes of Summer 1955: NOTE—The direction of this huge chorus in concert is a Herculean task on the part of Al Stewart who has conducted it successfully many times in the Hall of Music and away on many important occasions. Very few choral conductors would attempt such a task and certainly very, very few could do it successfully. Al's 7

Mary Dean Williams, "Tippecanoe County," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," 481-240.3 (1952-54), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN. His "Tuesday" schedule is outlined as morning rehearsal with Loeb's Chorus (on campus) and afternoon rehearsal with the 220-voice Marshall Fields Choral Society in Chicago. Friday nights included a churchchoir rehearsal. See PMO Notes, October 1949, 7.

91 dynamic direction, combined with cooperation of the hundreds of loyal Home Demonstration Chorus members make this concert possible. The point about the complexity of rehearsing and conducting such a large ensemble is legitimate; the paragraph nevertheless is interesting for its inclusion in a publication written mostly for those already associated with music at Purdue and Stewart. A few staged photographs of Stewart in action survive, but otherwise no evidence of his conducting technique is extant.18 One hint might come from a document written by Stewart for general club song leaders (not county chorus directors). He offers the following advice on conducting, although it is unclear if he used this technique himself: 5. DIRECT WORDS—I am a rebel on this particular point. I believe firmly in the practice of making the arms and hands conduct the words of the song instead of the time of the music. Remember, most groups are not musicians, they sing the words. Conduct with common sense, and make common sense out of the words of the song. Emphasize the important words with a more decisive movement than is given to less important words.° Many successful choral conductors would not argue with the importance of helping a choir enunciate and properly phrase

"Stewart credited Dr. Robert McCutcheon, the Dean of Music at DePauw, with influencing his approach to conducting, stage presence, and human relations. See Bennett, Boilermaker Music Makers, 36. 19"Suggestions for Song Leaders," typewritten manuscript, in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.7 (1962), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN,

92 words, but likely many would not agree with conductors abandoning "the time of the music" in exclusive favor of the text. In some styles of choral music, including some repertoire of the Extension choruses, the "words vs. time" approach would be nearly impossible, inefficient, and could lead to ragged ensemble singing. The 1960s began for Al Stewart with another personal recognition. In June, DePauw University conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Music. He regularly used the title afterward. In 1961 Stewart found himself in demand elsewhere in the Midwest. In April he attended the Biennial Convention of the National Federation of Music Clubs of America in Kansas City and, while he was in the region, he spoke at the Mid-America Farm Breakfast and conducted rural choruses from Arkansas, Iowa, and Oklahoma (see ch. 7). In the following year, he received recognition in Indiana from the Purdue Agricultural Alumni Association and from the Indiana 4-H Corn Club Program. As noted previously, many letters and notes of commendation that Stewart and Purdue ensembles received were reprinted in the PMO Notes. Occasionally, however, the contents of a negative letter were included as well. In October of 1963, the assistant accompanist of the St. Joseph County choir wrote a letter to the music office following the annual workshop (which will be discussed more fully below). She praised the opportunity for learning and singing, the tips they received on accompanying from assistant Bill [Luhman], and the chance to meet new people. However, she also wrote: Things I could and will do without in the future: as I'm one who came late and you say I will not be allowed next year.... In other words, the workshop left a bad,

93 bad taste in my mouth, and I'm sorry, because the trip to Canada was such a pleasant affair and you and your Musical Family were so fine to all of us, we began to feel like human beings. But now ... I frankly feel sorry for anyone who has to come in contact with you day after day and take the underhanded digs you hand out so graciously. Do you think women are made for you just to talk down to, so they can be in your 'blue book'? We see how you belittle your co-workers with little barbed digs, how those same co-workers are much bigger than you because they just laugh off your twits. You know all of those 80 women do have eyes and ears, but most of them have good manners, so they also ignore your rudeness.... Another Indiana participant had given a similar caution, regarding Stewart's temperament, to a Missouri guest during the Indiana/Missouri choir exchange in the 1950s (see ch. 7). The changes in American life in the 1960s seemed to both influence and entrench Stewart's approach to Purdue Musical Organizations ensembles. The PMO Notes of Winter 1983-84 featured a 50th anniversary celebration of the organization and includes the following reminiscence: Stewart admits to being a disciplinarian ("You have to be a son-of-a-bitch to be a good director," he says) and the hair of the men in the glee club was never allowed to touch their collars, even in the freewheeling 1960s. "Only three things on campus stuck together (in the turbulent unrest of the '60s)," says Stewart. "The football team, the University Board, and the PMO."

94 Stewart's 40-year leadership of the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus ended with his retirement in 1974, although he and his wife continued to serve on the Purdue Musical Organizations board. As might be expected, there was an elaborate celebration of his accomplishments to mark the occasion. An audience of 6,000 reportedly crowded Elliott Hall of Music for his final concert as director. Stewart's obituary in the PA/10 Notes of Summer 1991 pondered the reasons for his success: Was it courage? Leadership? Dedication to musical excellence? Loyalty? Or was it all of these things enveloped in "an uncompromising spirit—that at the core of great music lies the pleasure and joy of performance as well as hard work and dedication..." Among the remembrances found in the Stewart archives is a poem written in June 1973 by Melba Shilling titled "In Appreciation to Albert P. Stewart." The final verse reads, "No fun without music, no music without fun," Is your motto which is so true. May your future be filled with happiness Is our fondest wish for you.2° Stewart's shoes were formidable to fill, but that task was assigned to Bill Luhman, one of his Purdue assistants (see ch. 2), While insisting that musicians not be intimidated by printed music, Stewart described Luhman as "The only man I've even known who could really read music ... He could look at something he'd never seen or heard before and just give it to

As might be expected, Stewart did not suddenly cease his involvement with music upon retirement. He organized the Festival Singers, a Lafayette group that was to participate in functions related to the US Bicentennial.

20

95 you in key—no pitch thrown at him from the piano or anything."2

THE INDIANA HOME DEMONSTRATION CHORUS WORKSHOPS

As the choral program grew in size, Stewart felt a need to offer unified instruction to the county choir directors about the "state" music he selected (as opposed to the music the county directors selected) and about choral leadership in general. One step toward the accomplishment of his overall vision of what the chorus program could and should be was initiated through the following announcement from the PMO Notes of January/February 1951: STATE HOME ECONOMICS CHORUS WORKSHOP AND CLINIC PLANNED

Representatives of Home Economics Choruses from throughout the State—directors, pianists, and Home Demonstration Agents—will meet with Al here in the Hall of Music ,Ibr a workshop and clinic on March 2. It will be a day of instruction, discussion and planning for the year ahead. A luncheon at the Purdue Memorial Union is planned for the noon hour. This event was one of the most important steps that Stewart took to bring to fruition concrete results based on his musical philosophy and his role as an advocate for musical opportunities for a wider American populace. Such workshops assisted participants in gaining confidence to meet their own local musical needs; moreover, they were rooted in Stewart's beliefs that one could find pleasure and joy in music 21 Bennett,

Boilermaker Music Makers, 47.

96 performance, that music was a worthwhile and invigorating endeavor, and that Americans would benefit from what he called "home-made" music. The minutes for this clinic, attended by 127 chorus representatives, are instructive. Stewart used the Tippecanoe County chorus as the demonstration ensemble (see ch. 5), and it sang all of the music that the massed choir would sing at the August 1 Festival. Stewart still planned to travel the state to hold district rehearsals, but he wanted some interpretive points to be settled early. For example, the following instructions are among the rehearsal directives noted in the minutes: singers should "punch" the sixteenth notes of "Land of the Sky Blue Water," "Go Down Moses" should be sung with "devout fervor," "God" should be emphasized each time in "God Bless Our Land," the accompanist should sound the soprano note at the end of the introduction of "Cindy," and the alto line should receive emphasis in "This Is My Country." The clinic participants then joined Tippecanoe to sing the pieces in further rehearsal. At the workshop the Tippecanoe County ensemble also modeled how it held an auction as a fundraiser, and the Purdue Glee Club entertained the women at lunch. The minutes state that assistant Marvin Myers announced that the average county chorus size was 30. Eva Goble, the head of Home Demonstration in Indiana, was a speaker as well, arid she announced that the Indiana women had been invited to sing in Michigan for a national Home Economics conference (see ch. 2). Stewart discussed other aspects of the forthcoming Festival, including his desire that the state music be memorized. He also noted that in the future, these clinics would be held on Saturdays to allow teachers to attend. In other words, the

97 workshops had both a mission of musical training and organizational communication. The timing of the workshops evolved during the course of the next few years in an effort to find a good schedule, to try various locations, and to accommodate major travel plans; however, the procedures remained quite consistent. In 1952, the clinic was scheduled for July 29, the day before the Festival and 3 weeks before the trip to Canada (see ch. 4), while in 1953 the daylong affair was slated for Saturday, April 11, in advance of the trip to Europe in the summer. The Festival was held later, on July 29. Steward and his assistants held as many as 7 regional workshop meetings during September of 1957; as always, the primary agenda item was the rehearsal of the state music for the forthcoming chorus season in an effort to have Stewart's musical interpretations consistently taught in the county choirs. However, in 1957, Stewart also held a chorus-directors workshop on June 13, the day after the Festival. Presumably, this unusual extra meeting was more technique-related than repertoire-driven, although it may have included an introduction to the next season's music. A similar arrangement, with an extra workshop for directors, was in place in 1959. In both 1959 and 1960 Stewart and his assistants (Marvin Myers, John Farley, and Mickey McGuire) conducted up to 3 rehearsals per day (at 9:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 7 p.m.), each in a different location, over the course of the 3-day workshop stint. Stewart and staff logged considerable mileage in a short time span under this plan. A fairly regular routine of holding a unified workshop in August, to impart .tips to the directors and to initiate the long period of preparation of music for the Festival the following June, soon would be in place.

98 In 1961 the workshop was redesigned as a single gathering for 2 full days and was held at the Colonial Hotel at Lake Manitou, near the city of Rochester in Fulton County in north-central Indiana. The P.A10 Notes report that approximately 35 county directors and 17 accompanists attended; some directors from the northern counties who were not able to attend full time also participated in the Wednesday afternoon (August 30) session where the new music was introduced. Stewart focused the sessions mostly on leadership training and on conducting technique; each director was given a chance to conduct the group followed by a critique from Stewart and other participants. Bill Luhman offered similar sessions for the accompanists. A new feature of the workshop and of Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus was the "Purdue Choral Collection," a book of women's choral pieces compiled by Stewart and published by Harold Flammer, Inc. (see ch. 6). The preface noted that "The fourteen compositions in this book constitute the program of music for the coming season and the 1962 Home Demonstration Choral Festival at Purdue next June."22 At the end of the workshop, the attendees sang as a choir to record the pieces so that directors could have an audio reminder of Stewart's interpretations of the music. Recreation and fun also were on the docket at Lake Manitou. The participants, including the Purdue staff, planned and presented costumed "stunts" and "burlesque" numbers, and Elizabeth Sharpless, a recreation specialist from Lafayette, gave a lesson in basket decoration. Many letters subsequent to the "Home Demonstration Chorus News," Plv10 Notes, October 1961, 5. Some husbands of the directors and accompanists joined their wives at Lake Manitou.

22

99 Lake Manitou workshop received by the music office indicate that the women reacted very favorably to this new approach; they appreciated both the music and the camaraderie. Following the workshop, Stewart and his staff traveled to only 3 other locations (Muncie, Paoli, and Greencastle) to introduce the book of new music. In the summer of 1962, a second two-day workshop drew about 50 participants to Lake Manitou. A highlight for many was a special outing to the Wagon Wheel Playhouse in Warsaw to see the musical "Most Happy Fella." The number of participants increased to about 80 in the following year.23 Again, the ensuing letters reprinted in the PMO Notes indicate that participants found the workshops to be helpful musically and a good way to become acquainted with some of their statechorus colleagues. Others commented that they felt the workshop had helped to raise the musical standards of the whole program considerably. The 1964 workshop received similar praise. Mrs. Modena Studebaker, accompanist for the LaGrange County choir, wrote, "I enjoy your directing immensely. for I too am of the 'interpretive school,' that feels interpretation makes the real difference ... In 1965 Stewart announced a slight and temporary change in the workshop plan. The multi-day affair was again held in Rochester, but it was scheduled to begin immediately after the annual Festival, which was slated for August that year. The annual Festival was moved to August to accommodate the national meeting of the State Home Demonstration Councils, which was to be held at Purdue. The state chorus was the "Home Demonstration Chorus News," PMO Notes, October 1963, 5.

2"3 24

P1140 Notes, October 1964, 9.

100 featured entertainment at the meeting.25 One indication of the mix of fun and serious music-making at the workshops comes from a list of "Fines and Penalties" presumably prepared by Stewart: Without name tag-3 cents; Late for meals-2 cents (to APS [Al P. Stewart]); Not using first names-3 cents; Over dressed-2 cents; Challenge failure-2 cents [the meaning is unclear]; Forgetting book at rehearsal-3 cents; Late for a session-5 cents (to APS); Refusing to participate-2 cents (to APS); Topless bathing suit for women—APS pays 5 cents; Not using deodorant— $100; Complaining about the food-2 cents; Monopolizing bathroom-3 cents; Leave workshop before end—forfeit ALL money; Litterbugging-3 cents; Criticizing director's cigars—$13; Being a partypooper-1 cent.26 In subsequent years, similar workshops again were held in August with the Festival continuing to be held in June allowing for some separation and "down time" between these two major events. In 1968 Gerry Love, director of the Vanderburgh County chorus, wrote to say that she had enjoyed the workshop and hearing from a guest clinician, composer/arranger Noble Cain. She noted that Stewart had not had all the county directors take turns directing the new music at this workshop, and that this approach was less stressful but also less helpful." The accompanist from LaGrange County, 25

PA10 Notes, October 1964, 6.

26"Fines and Penalties," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81240.7, 27

PAN Notes, September-October 1968.

101 "Dena" Studebaker, felt that having all the directors take a turn leading the new music was not profitable because the singers were not yet familiar with the music. (She thought that having a few directors take turns might be a compromise.) She also expressed her preference for a "country" setting over a city location and a bit more advance coordination of "stunt night." In the following year, Stewart apparently suggested the idea of "score card evaluations" [sic] for the individual choruses [presumably at the next festival]. Mrs. Nellie Deiterlen, a member of the Benton County chorus voiced positive support for that idea as it would lead to a better group overa11.28 Lake Manitou continued to he the venue at least until 1971, when the Swan Lake Resort near Plymouth in Marshall County was selected. The workshop returned to Lake Manitou in 1972. Detailed information about the workshops of the late 1970s and 80s remains elusive, but the practice continued throughout the time period and into the 1990s. Freida Shoultz, Director of the Posey County choir, wrote in 1973 that she had attended all but one workshop during her 25 years as director of the group. She labeled the earlier years as "B.W.S." ("before workshop"), and felt that the whole chorus program had improved because of the workshops. A photograph of the participants from 1992 reveals that about 135 persons attended the sessions that were held on the Purdue campus. An innovation of this workshop was a public concert of the music given in the Purdue Memorial Union. A similar procedure was in place for at least 1993, 1995, and 1997.29 PM0 Notes, Septetnber-October 1969, 9, 10, There is no further mention of the score-card idea.

28

29"Purdue Extension Homemakers Chorus Spotlight," PMO Notes 49, no. 3 (Summer 1993).

102 Some of the nearly 135 participants in the 1999 workshop reviewed it in creative ways. Virginia Foster wrote a poem titled "Memoirs of Our '99 Workshop." Excerpts of the lengthy text include: It's Wednesday noon here at Hillenbrand Hall. Welcome We get those new ladies come one and come books we're so anxious to see; Sing, watch the time and rejoice when we're free! The evening goes fast though and we've done all right. Then we go to our rooms and stay up half the night.... Friday we'll work hard to tape all our songs 'cause we have to sort out the rights and the wrongs.... We've packed up and ready to leave after lunch. Then goodbye music family. You're a wonderful bunch.3° Similarly, Donnetta Ratliff of the Madison County choir wrote a series of "reflections" as a first-time attendee. They reveal information concerning her initial hesitancy about staying in a dorm and having to walk around campus, the laughter the women shared at the "talent night," her observations of state choir director Brian Breed's humor and openness with the women, and her satisfaction in the surprise of running into old friends and meeting new ones. In hindsight, she mentioned "Now I can say it was thoroughly enjoyable, and it feels so good to know all that music in advance!" She concluded by stating that she "no doubt" would return for another workshop.31 "Marshall County Extension Homemakers Scrapbooks, 1999-2000, in the possession of Helena Hand, Bremen, IN. "Reflections of a First Time Workshop," Marshall County Extension Homemakers Scrapbooks, 1999-2000.

31

103 Other women, interviewed informally by Jackie Reeves of Vigo County, commented in much the same manner as had their predecessors of past decades. They enjoyed the fellowship, they valued getting to know new people, they appreciated the musical insights given by the Purdue staff, and they cherished the time "away" from their normal busy lives. Marge Bounsall of Fulton County stated, "Workshop makes the rest of the year easy!" while Marsha Smith of Montgomery County observed that she could not afford to miss workshop "because it's the most important thing to do all year ... Besides it's just fun and if we work together there is no limit to our possibilities of success." Sonya Stewart Eddy reported that the 1999 workshop was her 33rd. The 2002 Extension Music Workshop was slated for August 14 to 16 in Syracuse, Indiana, and was held in conjunction with the Glee Club Camp. A flyer announcing the event indicated that the cost would be $190 for a single or double room and that reservations were due in full to the music office by June 11th. Multi-day workshops continued to be held in August even after the split of the Melody Makers of Indiana from the Purdue Musical Organizations in 2004 (see ch. 2). By that time, the workshop had functioned for more than 50 years with goals that were consistent with Al Stewart's original workshop purpose: to coach musicianship and conducting, to introduce the new state music for the year and offer interpretive points, to prepare a rehearsal recording, and to provide a means of building community among the county leaders of the chorus program. Fun and music were, once again, inseparable.

104 STEWART'S CONNECTIONS TO RELATED MUSIC PROGRAMS

The United States also had a program of "Industrial Music" aimed at average blue-collar workers rather than rural residents, and Al Stewart was a leader in this arena as well. Although outside the main focus of this research, it is appropriate to offer some basic information about the Industrial Music program as it could be considered a "distant cousin" of the Extension music activities and because the geography and company names involved are intriguing. As early as 1946, Stewart addressed the Board Meeting of the National Federation of Music Clubs in Atlanta, Georgia. As chair of Rural Music and Music for State and County Fairs, he spoke about the need for common-sense leadership in both rural and industrial music and predicted that industrial leaders would be interested in music programs because of the increased productivity they would garner.32 As noted above, for a time Stewart was National Chairman of Industrial Music, and he conducted music clinics at Purdue University to help train leaders and directors of industry-related ensembles. Such a clinic was held in April 1951 and featured speakers on topics that included "Music While You Work," "Staging," and "Instrumental Conducting." The Fifth Annual Industrial Music Clinic met in February of 1956 and was held in conjunction with the "annual meeting of the American Industrial Music Association."33 Approximately

32 PM0 Notes, May 1946, 2. Music Clinic," PM0 Notes, Spring 1956, 6. At one point, Stewart reportedly commented that he was brought into Industrial Music because "Industry has found that you can `up' production from 2 to 13 percent by having workers sing." He continued, "If singing can be made to produce dollars as the prime interest, why can't we sing for the individual's

33" Industrial

105 400 singers participated in the concert that concluded the clinic, much in the manner that the Festival concert of the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus was part of larger agricultural gatherings. The following choruses were scheduled to perform: Marshall Field and Company Choral Society (Chicago, Illinois; Stewart directed this group for a while in the 1950s), The Ben(fix Aviation Women's Chorus (South Bend, Indiana), The Westinghouse LeTourneau Chorus (Peoria, Illinois), and the Kentucky Farm Bureau Chorus (location not identified). Apparently some thought the Industrial Music program was waning by the early 1960s, and Stewart cancelled the annual workshop. This brought an outcry of disappointment from choir members of the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (location not identified), The Dominion Foundries and Steel (Ontario, Canada), The Besser Company (Alpena, Michigan), and four companies from Chicago: Continental, Hotpoint, Bell Telephone, and Rock Island Railroad. The workshop was, therefore, back in place at Purdue ten years after they first began.34 The PMO Notes of March 1961 reported: Representatives from 30 nationally known industries spent the three days of the meeting discussing problems affecting their various programs and planning a new

own good?" See "How Hoosiers Train Leaders," National 4-1-1 Club News, March 1945, 33. A1 Stewart may have been ill in 1960 or at least advised to slow down a hit by his doctor. A handwritten letter from Laurabelle Moyer to Dorothy McGuire indicates that this was the case but that Stewart would not want others to know. The letter resides in Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection, 1953-68, in the possession of Harold McGuire, Liberty, MO.

34

106 appeal to industrial music to make next year's meeting wider in program content and attendance. One of the speakers at the meeting was Ruth Sickafus, Executive Secretary of the President's [Eisenhower] Music Committee of the People-to-People Program, which was designed to use music as a way of crossing cultural and political boundaries. Many apparently felt that the two programs could be mutually helpful. A subsequent letter dated 29 November 1961 from Sickafus to Stewart thanked him for the box of choral music he sent (which was to be distributed to areas in need) and requested that musical instruments not being utilized be sent as wel1.35 Sickafus mentioned that African nations, in particular, had great needs. She also described a program by which some of the Industrial Music ensembles collected donations of music, phonograph records, and instruments at concerts, all of which were distributed by the People-to-People program. New members for the Board of Directors of the American Industrial Music Association were elected at the meeting as well, and the companies they represented perhaps indicates the breadth of the program: Allen-Bradley Company (Milwaukee), Kellogg (Battle Creek), Commonwealth-Edison (Chicago), The Besser Company (Michigan), and General Electric (Cincinnati). Al Stewart continued as workshop director and Executive Secretary. A change of format was instituted for the 1962 workshop. Some sessions were "round table" discussions, and apparently the topic of "Music in Industry" was on the schedule in addition to music leadership demonstrations. The role that music played in an industry-worker's life also was debated in a 35 Reproduced

in P!40 Notes, December 1961, [5].

107 session titled, "What Musical Outlet Can You Guarantee Our Students'?" One of the main points of the discussion was that students who participated in music in school or college, and who then entered various fields of employment, often found a paucity of opportunities to continue performing.36 The workshop struggle continued to worsen in coining years; The PMO Notes of May-June 1966 reveal that the annual Industrial Music workshop had been held sporadically over the past few years. The reasons for the gradual demise of the program and the workshops likely are varied and complex. They may reflect several changes in the American way of life including greater access to recorded and broadcast music, a wider variety of leisure-time activities within and outside the home, and a general trend away from participation in live musical performance. As mentioned previously, the Agricultural Extension Service also offered 4-H for farm youth and teenagers, and in some cases, music was included as an activity. As noted below, Al Stewart was involved in this endeavor as well. Records indicate that 4-H had 116,262 members in 1914, and that by 1941, boys and girls numbering 1,404,700 were involved.37 One of the methods for encouraging and teaching music in 4-H clubs was through filmstrips of songs, which were provided to Extension Service offices of the land-grant colleges. Additional copies were available for 50 cents each. In 1942, Strip No. 613 contained several patriotic selections: "The Star Spangled 36"Industrial

Music News," Fil0 Notes, February-March 1962, 7.

""Membership Booms in Southern States," National 4- H Club News, June 1942, 5.

108 Banner," "America, The Beautiful," "Home, Sweet Home," and "The Country's Faith." Strip No. 617 offered "A Song of Health," "A Song of the Open Country," and "The 4-H Clover and the Rose," all related to the goals of the program. Some states also held music camps. West Virginia began holding band camps for boys in 1937 as a cooperative effort. between Extension and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The program was expanded to include girls and choral music in 1939. The camp in June of 1942 offered hands-on training and music-appreciation sessions with the goal of equipping youth to be music leaders in their communities. Al Stewart was one of the teachers and choral directors at the camp. An article on the camp offers lengthy commentary on Stewart's thoughts on community-music leadership: It is an excellent policy, I believe, to start with the entire class doing leading, after one has explained the four points necessary to successful directing, namely: (a) Attention at the end of the introduction; (b) The breath given by the uplift of the hand; (c) The push, which is the definite and distinctive downbeat for the first word, and (d) The release—in other words, 'turning it off' at the finish.38 Other comments are similar to those he made and wrote to the women of the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus. The article concluded in the spirit of the times: Coming from so famed an expert as Mr. Stewart, there can be no gain in saying that good song leaders can, and will, play a highly important role in this war—by "Membership Booms," 13, 17.

38

109 bringing out in each and every one of us our determination to help our country achieve Victory. Indiana held a series of workshops for 4-H "adult and junior" leaders at various sites in the state beginning in 1940. Al Stewart participated in the 1945 workshop by leading singing for the participants, speaking about the importance of singing for a community, and offering music-leadership suggestions. Stewart also commented on typical 4-H music: 4-H songs are not popular with young folks. They are too difficult, too formal and too often just parodies.... Don't confine yourself to songs you think your members should sing but use some they like and sing them yourselves.... Let's make music a little bit more glamorous, then maybe we can get something out of it like industry.39 His continuing influence and the links between the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus and 4-H were evident in 1959 when 3 county directors (Fern Boberg of Vanderburgh County, Mrs. Walter Davidson of Ripley County, and Mrs. Charles Pell of Wabash County) held "a series of 4-H Song Leaders Schools" in the state.40

STEWART'S LEGACY

Without a doubt, Al Stewart provided the primary leadership that spurred the formation of the Extension music program in Indiana, and his vision continues to reap rewards in the twenty-first century. He apparently was supremely skilled at "How Hoosiers Train Leaders," 33.

39

40

P.1-10 Notes, April 1959, 6.

110 organizing and promoting musical events, as is evident both in his work with the Extension choirs and with the Purdue University Men's Glee Club. The latter has remained a renowned and respected choral ensemble for decades. In fact, the Purdue Musical Organizations of Purdue University is, in its entirety, part of Stewart's legacy. While the university never has offered a music degree, it has rightfully boasted of considerable music participation by its student body. As part of this endeavor, and because he realized the importance of promotion and communication, Stewart founded the MO Notes, a newsletter that informed the public about the Purdue Musical Organizations and Extension music activities, provided timely information to ensemble participants, offered a platform from which to boast about musical successes, and served as a binding tie for alumni and friends. Additionally Stewart was an influential and untiring advocate for music performance opportunities for all Americans, especially those that might otherwise be overlooked—rural residents and women. He promoted singing as an important and positive aspect of daily life, and he believed that music making could bring joy and camaraderie to the lives of the participants. He envisioned music-making finding its way into every American home and town through the networking of people who received at least a modicum of training through choral organizations. This attitude appears to be a foundational reason for the unparalleled longevity of the Indiana Extension music program (see ch. 8). Similarly, Stewart viewed music as an important educational opportunity for singers—the associated travel enlightened them, the necessary cooperation and organization taught leadership skills, and making and learning about good music contributed to a higher standard of living. Finally, Stewart was influential in selecting and training

111 several of the assistants (both for Purdue and Extension music) who followed him and carried on the traditions he established.

A REMINISCENCE

Al Stewart was the father of two daughters, Sonya and Joanna. As mentioned earlier. Sonya was involved unofficially with the Home Demonstration choirs even as a youth, and she continued to sing with the group and conduct the Madison County chorus into the twenty-first century. She, more than any other participant, had a long and decidedly "insider's" perspective on the chorus program and her father's work with it. She has kindly written responses to the following series of questions regarding her own experiences and memories, her father, and the program in genera1.41 Her responses are reproduced below verbatim. What are your first recollections of the Home Demonstration choirs? How did you begin to participate and in what capacity? Golly, I remember going to chorus rehearsal (Tippecanoe County) with my mother, Charlotte Stewart, and playing in the back of [the] rehearsal room. My grandmother, Ethel Stewart Macy (my father's mother), was also a part of that chorus. I started learning the music as a high school student. I would sing with [the] massed choir on "Festival" day -"Sonya

2008.

Eddy, handwritten letter to Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN, 13 September

112 and on any of the trips I joined. At that time I was not a bona fide chorus member, but my Dad allowed me to join in the singing. I think he knew I would someday be involved officially. I, also, remember as a child being allowed to critique the individual choruses as they sang during the day on "Festival" day. Of course, these were not official--I would just talk with my Dad about peculiar things I saw or heard. What fun I had!!

How do you recall or view your Dad's relationship with the women? What do you view as his greatest strength in his work with the choirs and his greatest contribution?

My Dad's relationship with the women was phenomenal! They revered him. He had the ability to pull music from anyone and many thought of him as a magician. He would travel to the area rehearsals a couple of times a year—encouraging the groups to improve and build. I remember that there would [be] chorus ladies that would bring hundreds of pounds of candy and cookies to Purdue Musical Organizations each year at Christmas Show time for the PM0 students. Would they have done this if they were not involved in the chorus? I don't believe so. His greatest contributions to all of his choral groups were the confidence to stand up and sing—and to do

113 things with music which you did not know you were capable of doing

In how many of the trips did you personally participate? Do you have a favorite memory or best story? What did the trips mean to the other women based on your memories or their comments?

I believe I participated in 4 trips. Three trips as grade & high school student and one as a bona . fide county chorus director. Seeing niy, Dad meet Queen Elizabeth in Wales. Being part of the festivities in Toronto C'ANADA. They loved the trips and would talk about [them] for years after.

How have you seen repertoire change over the years? Do you have a favorite type of song to sing? Which type of music seems to draw the best response from your singers, the state choir, the audience(s)?

The repertoire has not changed much. There are always art songs, worship songs, love songs, and some classical, patriotic, and upbeat, as well.

What role do you think the county choirs play in the health and longevity of the whole program? Are there favorite activities or memories related to your time with your county ensemble?

114

The county choruses are the health and longevity of the program. Without them there would be no Melody Makers of Indiana [the early twenty-first-century name for the state group]. Their friendship, bond, loyally and enjoyment of music have made it a work of love fir me, What impact has the program had on your life (earlier and later), and how do you think it has influenced other women? Can you offer an example or two? Why do you think women sacrificed to participate early on and then over the years?

As a high school student and college student it was thrilling to sing in the Hall of Music [at Purdue] with 1000 to 2500 women. To be part of such a group was amazing. I feel that all [who] participated had that same thrill. Also, to travel with a group so large. It took 3 trains to get them to Califbrnia for the Hollywood Bowl. There were trains to Canada fir the Canadian Exposition and buses to Washington, DC. The women looked ,forward to these trips. As county choruses and individuals they would have money making projects to earn for paying their ways, etc. Besides the trips, women have participated over the years for the therapy that music provides. There is nothing more poweiful than prayer and music to help us through difficult times.

115 Has this choral program had an impact on other musical endeavors, say perhaps, on community music in towns or counties that had an Extension choir? How?

Church choirs and other local choral groups have benefited as ladies find they can sing and enjoy it. You don't have to have a solo voice.

How have you seen the ties to Extension evolve over the years?

The ties with Extension were very strong during the ,first 30 years then waned some over the next 30-35 years, but that bond is becoming stronger with the revitalization.

What is your reaction to the recent "revitalization"? Why do you think women continue to be drawn to the idea?

As my father said, "there is no music w/O .fun and no Jim who music." That last part of these phrases says it I have been directing a county chorus for 45 years (since 1964) and have loved working with all the ladies over the years. How did I become director of this chorus? My husband and I moved to Anderson, IN, in late 1961. Soon, we had 1 son and I was pregnant with a second child when my Dad called and said the Madison Co. chorus needs a director and I think you should do the job. (1 had directed groups through

116

college, as well as directing adult and children's choirs—so I had experience.) Although I had had hands on experience my best lessons were from watching and participating in my father 's groups for many years,

Chapter 4

Singing on the Road

INTRODUCTION; TIPPECANOE COUNTY LEADS THE WAY

Traveling and concert-touring outside of Indiana by the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus, especially in the 1950s, was for the women one of the most compelling features of the Home Demonstration program. As noted in chapter 2, the touring began with the 1936 Tippecanoe County chorus trip to Washington, DC. Information concerning these trips provides historical clarification about the methods by which the women raised money, how they managed to be away from their families and farms, how audiences reacted to a chorus of rural women, and—most importantly—the ways travel opened windows of experiential learning for the women. Additionally, this humaninterest aspect of the story provides an inside view of women's lives at that time, and it supports the notion that these trips were significant to all involved. Al Stewart's motto "No Fun without Music—No Music without Fun" is never more in evidence than when these very real, daily-life stories are recounted. Even the singers' disinclination toward touring reflects the changing role of rural women in American life from the 1950s through the 70s, the impact of economic circumstances and world events on day-today activities, and the diminishing or evolving role of Home Demonstration in many women's lives. Records provide information about the following major trips: Washington, DC, 1950; Toronto, Ontario, 1952; Europe, 1953; Salt Lake City, Utah, and Los Angeles, California, 1954; Sarasota, Florida,

118 1956; Portland, Oregon, 1958; Toronto again in 1962; Washington again in 1966; and Honolulu, Hawaii, 1972. To avoid repetition in the discussion that follows, the trips are not organized by strict chronology, but rather by geography.

The original Tippecanoe County choir, numbering about 32 singers, began its travels with a trip to Washington, DC, in June 1936 to sing for the Associated Country Women of the World conference. It was during this trip that Eleanor Roosevelt heard the choir (she had been a speaker earlier on the program). One chorister wrote, "At this time, Mrs. Roosevelt invited our chorus to come to the Garden Party and sing for the President. Can you imagine our thrill!"I The women had already been invited to the White House party, but they accepted the invitation to sing and included in their performance an arrangement of "Home on the Range," as it was the state song of Kansas and a favorite of the President. A letter from Grace Frysinger of the US Department of Agriculture, who first invited the women to the party, mentioned that because of the large number of women attending the conference only women would be allowed to participate—although it is likely that 'Program for the event (with the name M[ildredi McCay hand written on the cover) held in the Indiana Extension Homemakers Association Archives, 1936, box 3, hand-written note in the bottom corner of page 3, Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, IN. (The program also lists a performance by a Farm Women's Chorus from Muscatine County, Iowa. See chapter 7.) It is unclear if the women sang without a conductor as the invitation suggested that Mr. Stewart would not be allowed to attend. Typewritten letter, 14 May 1936, from Grace Frysinger, USDA, to S. B. Pershing, Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration Chorus Collection, 73:92.26, Tippecanoe County Homemakers Association Archives, Tippecanoe County Historical Society Museum, West Lafayette, IN. An article from one year later implies that Mr. Stewart did, indeed, attend the event. See Helen Leslie Walters, "Call of Music Sweeps Rural Indiana," Indianapolis Sunday Star, 29 August 1937, part 5, p. 6.

119 director, Al Stewart, also attended. The choir also sang at the 3rd annual meeting of the Associated Women of the American Farm Bureau Federation in Chicago in December 1937.2 In May 1939, when the state program was still in its infancy (see ch. 2), the Tippecanoe County choir took another trip, this time a weeklong bus tour to Baltimore. Washington, and New York. The package included a performance at the National Music Conference in Baltimore (noted in chapter 1), sightseeing in Washington, time at the New York World's Fair with another performance there, and sightseeing in New York City.3 The women had to raise money for the trip through whatever means were available to them. The entire trip is reported to have cost $2000,4 and each woman was charged an additional 75 cents for the New York City tour. Reportedly, the most productive fund-raising venture was a "name quilt." Local citizens were charged 10 cents to have their name embroidered on one of the 900 blocks of the quilt. The ladies then sold pencils for an additional ten cents for people to earn a chance to win the quilt (they felt uncomfortable simply selling "chances" so the pencils were added). The real draw for the quilt was the 'No other information is available about this performance. See "The Women's Program" Nation's Agriculture, January 1938, 5. The other music at the conference included a women's quartet from Alabama and a women's chorus from Muscatine County, Iowa (see ch. 7). "Baltimore-Washington-New York Trip" information sheet. Typed manuscript, from the "Home Demonstration Chorus Archives and Memorabilia of Al Stewart," in the possession of Sonya Stewart Eddy, Anderson, IN.

3

Mrs. C. C. Calhoun, "History of the Tippecanoe County Chorus," typewritten manuscript [written during World War II], Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration Chorus Collection, 73:92.26,

4

120 fact that Eleanor Roosevelt had sent her name on a quilt block to be included in the final product.5 The women, and the few extra family members who accompanied them, were reminded to get a good night's sleep before departure, that no seats on the bus could be reserved for specific individuals, and that eating and sleeping at regular times before and during the trip would be helpful. The rooming list provides the names of 63 travelers; all but 4 of the women's names begin with the title "Mrs." It appears that 5 husbands, including Al Stewart (the choir director), and one son also went on the trip. Additionally, S. B. Pershing, the Tippecanoe county agent, and Marguerite Downing, the county home-economics agent, were part of the group. The choir's performance in Baltimore was part of the "21' Biennial Convention of the National Federation of Music Clubs." The Tippecanoe County choir sang as part of a concert that also included piano music performed by Hazel Hallett (who is not identified more specifically), and the Baltimore and Ohio [railway] Women's Music Club Choir of Baltimore. The concert was slated to be broadcast on a "nation-wide [radio] network."6 The Indiana group offered 7 selections in English, one that featured Charlotte Friend Stewart, wife of the director, as soprano soloist.7 The convention featured many other concerts, meetings and discussion groups, and speeches. 'Francis Chase, Jr. "State of Singing Housewives," Radio Guide 8, no. 41 (28 July 1939): 40. The amount of profit garnered by the quilt is unknown. 'Baltimore Sun, 16 May 1939, 24. 'Official Program of the American Music Festival and 21' Biennial Convention of the National Federation of Music Clubs published in Music Clubs Magazine, Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration Chorus Collection, 73:92.26,

121 Little information is available about the May 18th World's Fair performance in New York City. The women wore their choir robes, and they added "The Star Spangled Banner" to their repertoire list. Their sightseeing itinerary featured a subway ride into the city from Jersey City, a tour of a large ship in dock, a "taxi trip through downtown New York," and a boat ride around Manhattan Island. Two years later, in 1941, the Tippecanoe County choir turned down a chance to travel to California because of the $4000 expense. Likely the on-going war effort affected this decision.8 In the next decade, travel by the state chorus began, and it would become an important recruiting feature of the Indiana rural music program. At the same time it offered many women their first significant travel outside Indiana.

THE NATION'S CAPITAL, ONCE AND AGAIN

In 1950 Americans marked the Sesquicentennial of the completion of the US Capitol building in Washington. Each state sent a contingent to Washington to provide various expressions of recognition and history. Included in the summerthrough-fall celebration was a July 12 performance by the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus under the direction of Al Stewart, an event officially endorsed by Indiana Governor Henry F. Schricker. In fact, Stewart was the national coordinator of the music for this event (see ch. 3). An advance notice of the choir's performance also revealed that "indication of the interest that the appearance of this group is causing is evidenced by the fact that the Pan-American Union is planning 'Calhoun, "History," Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration Chorus Collection, 73:92.26.

122 to fly its directors to Washington to hear this group in view of using it as a model in planning their own rural music program."9 Stewart chose Indiana-based repertoire for the approximately 3,000 women he hoped would be able to make the trip. But much advanced preparation was needed. By August of 1949, county choirs were formed in at least 65 of Indiana's 92 counties, and Stewart's goal was that each county would have a functioning choir of at least 40 singers by December.m Travel and choir building went hand in hand. Attached to an announcement of the Washington event, Stewart included recommendations from the active countychorus directors, club presidents, and the Home Demonstration agent as to how to form a chorus and to recruit additional members. The suggestions included making personal contacts, paying the director and accompanist a small stipend, having another county choir perform for club members in counties without choirs, providing baby sitting so younger mothers could participate, and working to get family members of the women involved as support personne1.11 In many ways, farm life was a cooperative venture for a family--choir involvement would be too. "Tips for raising funds" was another part of the announcement packet. The tips 'Indiana Home Economics Chorus to Attend Sesquicentennial," typescript reprint in PMO Notes, September 1949, 2. 'The program for the Capitol event mentions choirs in 84 Indiana counties with a total membership of nearly 4,000 singers. "Hoosier Heritage" program, in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," 1/81-240.3 (1952-54), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN. It is hard to know exactly how many women sang in this concert—the number in various accounts differs greatly and extant photographs do not provide conclusive information. The 3,000 figure seems to be most common. 'Typewritten manuscript, (no title), in "Memorabilia of Al Stewart."

123 included accepting "free will" offerings at performances; holding auctions, cake sales, rummage sales, and cookbook sales; sponsoring a "2 extra cans" campaign (where members would put two jars of their home canning products up for sale); and charging 5- to 25-cent dues or fines for missing rehearsal. The anticipation of the Washington trip seems to have been a great tool for recruiting women into the choirs. In fact, the Noble County choir, which had been inactive for several years, reorganized to send 33 singers to Washington12 (it then remained active at least until 1964). The women, and some husbands, children, and even grandchildren, traveled to Washington on chartered Pennsylvania Railroad and B & 0 Railroad trains that departed from various points in Indiana. Their 3-day tour package cost between $58 and $65 based on the point of departure and accommodations:3 The tour company generally tried to place all the women from a particular county in the same train car. After opening with "The Star Spangled Banner" and "On the Banks of the Wabash," the Indiana choir presented a cantata titled Hoosier Heritage. John A. McGee, a music faculty member at Purdue, and Ronald R. Williams, another Purdue associate, arranged the music for the women (see ch. 6). They incorporated texts from Indiana poet James Whitcomb 'News Clipping File, Indiana Files: Music—Organizations," Local History Room, St. Joseph County Public Library, South Bend, TN. 'Specials" flyer included in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, cream — 1950-1952, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN. According to The Time Almanac (Information Please, 2005 ed.), 1950 regional prices for commercial staples were: bread, 14 cents; pound of coffee, 79 cents; pound of bacon, 64 cents; 1/2 gallon of milk, 41 cents; and 5 pounds of flour, 49 cents. The Muncie (IN) Star of 2 June 1950 has advertisements for the following: 10 pounds of sugar, 83 cents; women's shoes, $3-$4; pants and slacks, $4-$10; and a Buick for $1844.

124 Riley. Laura Lane, an author for the Country Gentleman, l ater reported that the women "had been praised on the floor of the US Senate, had heard musical tributes from the National Symphony Orchestra and the Navy Band, had read about themselves on the front pages of newspapers, and had given the biggest boost yet to the capital's [sic] sesquicentennial birthday party."14 She also wrote that several women reported getting new clothes for the occasion, and she described the travel situation for one representative woman, Mrs. Lester Nance of Arcadia, Indiana. Nance was the mother of 4 children ranging in age from 5 to 13; the children's grandmother was going to stay with them while Mrs. Nance was away. She, like many other participants, had never traveled by train prior to the Washington trip, and she and other women were anxious to "eat somebody else's cooking." An extant dinner card from the Pennsylvania Railroad outlined its menu as cream of tomato soup, pot roast of beef with brown gravy, mashed potatoes, buttered green peas, dinner rolls, and vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and cookies.I5

"'Laura Lane, "They Made a Patriotic Pilgrimage," Country Gentleman, September 1950, 131. The concert was covered on page 8B of the 13 July 1950 edition of the Washington Post in an article by S. L. Fishbein titled "3000 Voices Charm with Indiana Lays (sic)." As fate would have it, the Purdue Men's Glee Club, also directed by Al Stewart, sang briefly on the concert. The group had been on tour to London just days before the Washington performance. Its flight had been delayed so that the men arrived back in Washington on the day the ladies sang. The Sesquicentennial Commission invited them to sing as well. They returned to Indiana by train the next day. See PASO Notes, August 1950, 8. 15"Indiana Home Economics Chorus Enroute (sic) Gary, Indiana to Washington, D. C. and Return" in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," McKinley Club Scrapbook (1950), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN.

125 While in Washington, many members of the group stayed at the Mayflower Hotel, which featured a private bath and air conditioning, likely a rarity in rural Indiana homes. The women (aboard several buses) also toured the city and Mount Vernon.I6 One review of the trip mentioned that the women looked with "much distaste" upon the Russian Embassy (these being Cold War years). It also revealed that the rehearsal on July 11 had not gone well. The microphones were not set up, only 1 piano was available, part of the grandstand crumpled, and the heat was problematic for some women. When asked if the confusion was a Democratic plot, Indiana Senator Homer E. Capehart wondered if it would be a "good way to make Republican votes." Some women also took the opportunity to attend cultural events, such as a concert by the National Symphony Orchestra (at the Watergate outdoor amphitheatre) or exhibitions at the National Gallery. Mrs. Owen Swaim described the Washington trip as "a grand finale to everyone's education. 'It is close to the heart of all things and a part ours'."7 Because the number of women traveling required several trains, some of the county groups were able to return to Indiana by way of Niagara Falls or New York City, where they saw some of the sights.

The Sesquicentennial of the State of Indiana, the I9th state to join the Union, took the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus back to Washington 16 years later in 1966. This time a 'Another article questioned the veracity of the "crumpled" grandstands story. See Parke County Scrapbook Collection, cream (several entries). '7"Local Ladies Join 3,000 Other Hoosier Choristers in Presenting Indiana's Salute to the Nation," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, cream.

126 much smaller group boarded ten chartered buses for the trip. About 270 chorus members representing 33 counties, the Purdue Men's Glee Club, and assorted family and friends made the journey. The hotel for this visit was the "luxurious" and "spacious" Washington Hilton. On June 9 the entire group was greeted by Indiana's senator Birch Bayh and given a city tour that included travel to Mount Vernon. A threat of rain moved the evening concert indoors, where the temperature was reported to be uncomfortable but the audience enthusiastic. I8 Photographs from the annual state concert at Purdue reveal that membership in the county choirs declined during the early 1960s, although a significant number of women still were involved (see ch. 2). In 1966, at least 25 counties in Indiana had Home Demonstration choruses, and again the prospect of a major trip after a 4-year respite (Toronto in 1962 had been the previous trip) might have re-energized interest in the program. Boone County established a choir club in March (in the 1950s the county had maintained a choir of about 30 singers drawn from various clubs in the county), and Jefferson County (which had had only sporadic participation earlier) "reorganized" its choir earlier in the year. I9

TORONTO, TWICE

In February of 1952, Al Stewart and Elwood Hughes, general manager of the Canadian National Exhibition, announced that the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus would perform twice for the August opening of the exhibition in 'The Washington Sesquicentennial Tour and Concert," PMO Notes, May/June 1966,1. "Home Demonstration Chorus News" PMO Notes, Feb/Mar 1966,6.

127 Toronto. The venue in which they were to sing could accommodate an audience of 12,000, and the program was to be broadcast on the radio (CBC and ABC) and by short wave. The women were given the moniker "Ambassadors of Good Will," and the trip was hailed as "the first time that most tour members had ever been outside the United States...," indicating the continuing educational feature of the choruses.2° In 1952 there were choirs in 90 of Indiana's 92 counties, and a few women from the 2 counties without choirs were allowed to participate with neighboring counties. When all were assembled, they numbered about 3,000 with ages ranging from 19 to 85 years; many were grandmothers or even greatgrandmothers. One reporter wrote, "Only 232 members of the chorus have had any formal music training." 21 The Toronto trip was scheduled for 5 days, and again trains departed from at least 4 locations in Indiana. Some 900 women had reserved a place on the trains, and many others reportedly were driving or taking the bus. Stewart hoped to have 2,000 singers on hand for the performance; about 35 husbands went along as well. The Hoosier Travel Service, an affiliate of the Indiana Farm Bureau, charged between $80 and $100 per person for the train and hotel. In addition to the singing, the travelers viewed other '"Famed Indiana Home Ec Chorus to Sing at Canadian Exhibition," News Clipping File, Indiana Files: "Music—Organizations"; see also PMO Notes, March 1952, 6-8. '"Canada Bound," "Hoosier Chorus Wins Canadian Goodwill," and other untitled articles in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black-1952-56, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN. On this trip, Al Stewart's mother, wife, and two daughters (Sonya and Joanna) all sang in the choir. Newspaper writer Maurice Early commented that the Canadian customs officials were surprised at the lack of liquor consumption on his train as it was cleared for entry into Canada. This apparently was not usual on American excursion trains.

128 features of the exhibition (some Hoosiers were disappointed that the agricultural displays were still incomplete at that time), toured sites in the Toronto area (Casa Loma, for example), or took side trips to Niagara Falls or Quebec. The women were resourceful in raising money for the trip, and stories about their fund-raising activities are enlightening. Mrs. Rhoades sold $26 worth of violets she raised; Mrs. Clyde Smith sold a pig. Women from Monroe County earned $120 selling homemade vanilla extract and greeting cards and holding an auction. In Allen County, in the northern lake district of the state, women dug "hundreds of thousands" of fishing worms to sell, and others babysat, hosted ice-cream socials, and "gave minstrel shows." The women were very enthusiastic about the opportunity to travel and about the role of the choir in their lives. Mrs. I. V. Miller of Peru, Indiana, is quoted as saying, "When I'm feeling low, a rehearsal with my chorus makes me feel good deep down inside of me."22 Mrs. Jessie Remington, of Parke County, described the trip as "one of the most educational tours I have ever made." She was awed by Niagara Falls, and found Toronto to be aristocratic and well kept. The women also found the unfavorable exchange rate between the US and Canadian dollars to be frustrating—the severe US inflation became more relevant to them, and some learned the hard way that a US postage stamp is useless in Canada.

'Untitled article and "Here and There," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black. The United States was deeply involved in Korea at this time. An article copied on the same page of the newspaper as some of the items pertaining to the trip indicates that in August of 1952, the dead, wounded, and missing numbered 115,373.

129 The choir opened its 30-minute performance with "God Save the Queen" and "The Star Spangled Banner." It also presented a work titled Unguarded Border, again created by John A. McGee with the vocal parts arranged by Ronald Williams (see ch. 6). Frank Salzarulo, a newspaper farm writer from Indiana mentioned previously, described the choir's reception by the Canadian audience as "tumultuous." Another newspaper headline read "3,000 Singers from Indiana Thrill Audience."23 Congressman William G. Bray, of Indiana's 7th District, contributed an editorial about the experience for the Farmer's Exchange. In it he wrote: It struck me that these were real Americans—the Americans that too seldom have represented us in foreign countries. They represent the working, producing Americans that have built the greatest culture and the greatest standard of living on earth, they are the Americans that believe in Christian principles of brotherly love and goodwill toward men. These are the daughters of the pioneers that have given us our heritage.24 He went on to call for more interaction between "real Americans" and our allies as a means of building goodwill. The Indiana state chorus made a return visit to Toronto in September of 1962 (10 years after its first visit), this time as the closing act of the Canadian National Exhibition. The Purdue 'Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black. 'William G. Bray, "Hoosier Farm Women Distribute Goodwill to Neighbor Nation," from Farmer's Exchange of 19 September 1952, News Clipping File, Indiana Files: "Music—Organizations."

130 Glee Club accompanied the ladies; it later was reported that about 400 women representing 46 Indiana counties made the trip. As before, trains departed from 4 Indiana locations on Friday, August 31, and all participants were reminded to carry proof of citizenship with them for clearance at Canadian Customs. The tour package included sightseeing in Toronto, although all 14 tour buses may not have stopped at every location. The options included the University of Toronto, Casa Lorna, Maple Leaf Gardens, the Royal Ontario museum, the Parliament, old Fort York, and the Dunlap Observatory. They also visited "The Island," a park, and had time to take in the Exhibition displays. The return trip to Indiana on September 5 was to be via steamship to Detroit and then rail and bus the rest of the way.25 (While the ship was passing through the Welland Canal, the tour participants were given the option of a short side trip to Niagara Falls for an additional $2.) The concert program opened with "The Star Spangled Banner" and "God Save the Queen" sung by both groups. The Glee Club also sang "0 Canada." During the lengthy concert, the women sang two sets between which the audience heard piano solo music and the Glee Club. All voices joined together for the finale, "0 Dearest One, Thou Has My Heart" by Schumann and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." The women sang the usual mix of folk arrangements, spirituals, sacred

'Home Demonstration Chorus News" PMO Notes, Summer 1962, 6. The announcement of the trip states that the chorus will "supplement the Glee Club...." See also "General Instructions" (from Lafayette Travel Service, Inc.)" and other articles in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.6 (1956-64), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN.

131 pieces, and tributes to music and singing; most were from their "1962 book" (see ch. 6).26 Stewart's post-trip acknowledgements give insight into the number of organizations involved in taking such a trip. He thanked individuals of the Lafayette Travel Service; the Purdue Alumni Association and its Information Bureau; the Indiana Motor Bus Company; Grand Trunk Railroad; the Chicago, Duluth, Georgian Bay Transit Company; the steamship South American; the Royal York Hotel; and the Canadian National Exhibition.27

EUROPE, 1953

Only about 40 women from the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus joined 30 voices of the Purdue Men's Glee Club on a musical tour of Europe, titled "Operation Friendship," beginning on 12 June 1953.28 In fact, this trip appears to be different in focus than those described previously. The women were an added attraction to a tour that primarily featured the glee club. The United Nations Educational, "Tentative Toronto Program" in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," 81240.6. PM° Notes, October 1962, 8.

At this time, there were about 2,000 singers in the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus. Sources also mention that a few members of the Marshall Field's chorus (from Chicago and a part of the Industrial Music trend, also directed by Stewart) also went on the trip. It appears that those singers joined the other two ensembles where appropriate. See PM0 Notes, Back-to-School issue, 1953; and "Singers Return to Big Welcome" (Lafayette Journal and Courier, 23 July 1953) in "Memorabilia of Al Stewart." Stewart's original idea was to take a maximum of 100 women from the state chorus, those being selected by audition. See "Hoosiers Plan Harmony Trip" in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.3.

132 Scientific, and Cultural Organization sponsored the trip. Members of the home demonstration clubs in Indiana made articles of clothing (mostly aprons in which they wrapped nylon stockings and soap) for the singers to distribute to farm families in the locations they visited; it was hoped that the European recipients of these items would correspond with the Indiana creators to encourage further friendship and understanding.29 The tour, which was priced at $1600 per person, included travel by ship to Europe (by way of Montreal and the St. Lawrence river) and stops in Paris, Rome, Lucerne, several German cities, then Luxembourg, Brussels, London, and Llangollen.3° Three major musical events (in Rome, Brussels, and Llangollen) were the impetus for the trip, but smaller concerts and "impromptu" performances also occurred. The 5week length of the trip apparently was a challenge for some of the participants, although many found it to be educational and a means of renewing their appreciation for home. One post-trip article began: Travel is broadening only when it gives us a better understanding of people in other sections of the country or the world. When that understanding is on a

'Purdue Glee Club to Give Concert in Rome Tuesday," Daily American, 21 June 1953, 5. The same issue of the paper described some European's reaction to the execution in America of the Rosenbergs. See also PM() Notes, Back-to-School issue, 1953, 9. "During a tour of London, the Americans were disappointed that Westminster Abbey was closed to visitors while coronation decorations were being removed. See "Singers Find Europe More Friendly to U.S." (with hand-written labels indicating Indianapolis News, 9 July 1953, 1) in "Memorabilia of Al Stewart." Llangollen (Wales) has been home to a music competition festival for many decades.

133 "person-to-person" basis, the value is even greater and should be extended to as many others as possible.31 The writer goes on to mention the value in "proxy" friendship, a result of the gifts noted above. A group from Wales wrote that they were beginning to make gifts that they could send to their new American friends at Christmas. On June 23 the groups performed for local attendees and delegates from 32 nations at the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization conference held in the United Nations hall in Rome. An article published the next day in The Rome Daily has several compliments for the Men's Glee, but only mentions the women's performance in passing; in fact, it is not clear whether the women sang alone or were included on mixed chorus pieces with the men.32 The author thought the choice of mostly American music was a good one; Stewart included folk songs, spirituals, sacred pieces, and some patriotic songs. The United Nations also sponsored the performance in Brussels through the International Musical Education Congress. In Munich a concert was scheduled at the US Information Service office, the remodeled site of Hitler's meeting with Chamberlain prior to World War II. American soldiers and their families attended the concerts in Germany and elsewhere. Touring and souvenir shopping are always important and educational aspects of travel. Lace was a popular souvenir 'Hoosier Singers Find Friendship Club Grows," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," /181-240.3. The length of the trip and the price likely explain the small number of participants frOm among the state chorus members. "Dino Nardi, "Splendid Musical Event" (hand-written labels indicating

Rome Daily, 24 June 1953) in "Memorabilia of Al Stewart"; see also "Critics

Applaud Purdue Chorus" in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black.

134

item from Brussels, and the Hoosiers visited Stratford-uponAvon and some American military cemeteries. A very rough sea caused the crossing of the English Channel to be more interesting than some might have liked. A post-trip article mentions the women's observation that the Marshall Plan for rebuilding Europe was especially evident in Italy.33 They also observed the general tidiness of the German countryside and the absence of window screens on German homes (they found the lack of flies remarkable). While in Wales, both choirs presented music during the international Eisteddfod, a competition featuring 11,000 musicians and dancers. They also sang on a concert that was part of the coronation festivities for Queen Elizabeth. It included a massed choir of groups from 10 nations that joined together to sing to her in Welsh, which was a learning experience for all. The Indiana contingent apparently was housed in the homes of Welsh volunteers.34 The hosts made a good impression on the Hoosier women. Mrs. W. H. Wimmer of Rockville related that her hosts went 40 miles by bus to witness their departure, staying at the station several hours to be able to wave good-bye. Another unnamed woman remarked that her hostess insisted she stay in bed in the morning until she was served tea. The hostess reportedly remarked, "You know, the

'Mary Dean Williams, "Hoosiers Sing Way Across Europe" in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black. 'AI Stewart had a difference of opinion with the Eisteddfod judges who ranked the men's glee in the competition portion of the event. The judges apparently looked on the folk-like quality of Stephen Foster's "Oh, Susanna" with displeasure and docked some points from the final tally. See "Purdue Conductor Gets Mad at a British Judge" in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.3.

135 first time I had tea in bed I felt like a duchess!"35 It is no wonder the trips were popular among the Indiana choristers.

SUNNY LOS ANGELES AND SUNNY FLORIDA

In March of 1954, the PAIO Notes announced to all Home Demonstration Chorus members in the 88 extant county choirs that a trip to California to appear at the Hollywood Bowl was in the planning stages.36 On August 22 the choir, and its Glee Club traveling companions, would sing a benefit concert for the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. Initial planning called for 3 special trains, from various railway lines, to leave Lafayette on August 18 headed toward Chicago, followed by a 5-hour layover in Salt Lake City for a tour of that city's sites and an organ recital at the Tabernacle. The trip also included a stop at the Grand Canyon on the return, which required 18 tour buses to accommodate everyone. (The Glee Club extended its tour to Texas and Oklahoma from that point.) Indeed, after an announcement in July (in a somewhat worried tone) that 100 slots still were available for participants, the 3 trains carried the Purdue Men's Glee Club, approximately 900 choristers from 73 counties, and nearly 100 friends and family members on the 10-day tour that was priced at about $200 per person for Coach class and $300 for Pullman or First Class: a few participants apparently flew or took the bus to 'Nary Dean Williams, "Hoosiers Sing Way Across Europe" in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black. '"`California Tour-1954," PAID Notes, March 1954, 9; Marjorie Jean Smith, "Three Special Trains Taking Hoosiers West for Charity Concert" and other articles in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.4 (1954), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN. A relative of one woman from Vigo County died of a heart attack while at the Grand Canyon.

136 California as well. The youngest chorus participant was 15year-old Lanean Renville of Williamsport, and the oldest was 80-year-old Ada Bard from Brazil, Indiana.37 Some reports also mention that about 6 women from the Purdue Choraleers also went along to supplement the soprano section.38 The massive effort required to transport the vast array of luggage and personnel from the Purdue departure site to the train station apparently was a sight to behold and required 10 buses from the Greater Lafayette Bus Company running in a shuttle routine. Several travel nights were spent on the trains, but the participants used that time to visit with each other and to make observations about the farm country through which they passed (good corn and cattle in Iowa, dry corn fields but the wise use of shelter belts of trees to break the wind of the plains in Nebraska, impressive irrigation further west and south). Evidently at least some of the women were impressed with the food served on the train, or enjoyed an opportunity to be served, as a menu list for "our first breakfast" on the Chicago and North Western train was preserved in a Parke County scrapbook. The menu included orange, grapefruit, or tomato juice; figs or stewed prunes; cereal and breads; ham or bacon with eggs; French toast; and assorted drinks.39

37"California, Here We Come," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," 1181-240.4. Another article in the collection titled "Precision-Timed Schedule Used to Move to Station" offers other details about the trains and kinds of cars used. Reports vary as to the length of the trains from 9 cars to 14.

"Untitled article, (hand-written source identification: Indianapolis Star, 22 August 1954) News Clipping File, Indiana Files: "Music—Organizations." "A Blended Salad" in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, red—LA, 1954, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN.

137 The home demonstration women of California greeted each person's arrival with a California orange and planned social events and tours (including to fruit farms) for their Indiana counterparts.4° Purdue alumni in the area also served as hosts and helpers. At a meeting before departure, Al Stewart reportedly reminded the choristers to "put the shower curtain in your hotel rooms inside the tub," and to avoid wearing scarves tied under the chin to avoid "carrying a trademark" of grandmothers.4 I After a trip to Los Angeles in July to work out concert arrangements, he also wrote that the women could feel comfortable wearing anything "that you would wear in Indianapolis...." Likewise, hats would not be necessary because he "saw no hats excepting at church" but he also urged, "please, Ladies, no shorts or slacks at any time! (I saw no slacks on the streets of Los Angeles.)"42 Among the trip rules was that individual county choirs or small groups of singers were not to sing without Stewart's knowledge and approval and interview comments were to be limited to personal matters not official remarks regarding the program or tour. The women would wear their choir robes for the Hollywood Bowl performance. Again, the means the women devised for raising the estimated $250,000 needed for the trip were varied and creative, and they reflect the reality of their daily lives.43 Their efforts 'Some participants felt that the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce did little to make them feel welcome even though the Mayor had declared the day of the concert to be "Indiana Day." 'Frank Salzarulo, "Hoosier Housewives Pull Chord for Hollywood Bowl," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.4. 'Important California Announcement" in Parke County Scrapbook Collection. red. "Frank Salzarulo, "Penny Pinching Got Chorus to California" and other articles, News Clipping File, Indiana Files: "Music—Organizations."

138 included traditional activities from past decades mixed with some off-the-farm employment, the trend of the future. According to the Consumer Price Index, this sum of $250,000 in the mid-1950s translates to more than $2 million in the early twenty-first century. Therefore it is relevant to list a number of means the women employed to raise the funds: Mrs. Albert Bezy of Vincennes sold chicken and noodles she canned; Hilda Stapleton of Cromwell sold used feed sacks; Lena Starkey from Kimmell raised broiler chickens to sell and took donations for playing the organ at various local events; Mrs. Harold Paugh of Anderson and Dorothy Timmons of Berne got money from their husbands; Mrs. Ervin Stucky of Monroe delivered (by automobile) day-old chicks to poultry farms for 75 cents an hour; Florence Clawson of Attica saved the "field hand" pay she received from her husband for her contributions to their 428-acre operation; Mary Jean Ball of Hamlet did house cleaning, gardening, and corn detasseling; similarly, Mrs. Cleo Warstler of Ridgeville picked tomatoes, sewed and crocheted for neighbors, and dressed chickens; Mrs. Rae Fleming took donations from 43 talks she gave about the Europe trip of 1953; Mrs. Stanley Shaw of Columbus cashed in an insurance premium that had matured; Mrs. Clyde Peters of West Lafayette trimmed grass, worked in a cafeteria, sold a left-handed golf-club set, and rented out rooms; Mrs. Earl Eggman of Anderson used her chicken and egg money (she commented to the writer about the wit in the Salzarulo was, at this time, Farm Editor for the Indianapolis News, and he went on the trip with the choirs.

139 situation); Mrs. Harry Burrus of Anderson sold a calf her husband had given her for her birthday (she received $216.22); Martha Hubbard of Terre Haute worked part time for the township assessor, and Mrs. Herman Moeller of the same city apparently saved the change from her husband's jeans—and then took him along on the trip. Obviously other family members had to be supportive of the women's endeavors—not only because the women would be away from home, but also because the time and resource allotment would affect the entire family. The youngest of the women cited above was 28 years; most women were 40 to 60 years of age. The oldest woman of the groups interviewed was Rose Andrews of Angola, aged 71; she also was the most political in her comments: "I used the surplus money from the farm before more government crop allotments are forced on our free America." Mrs. Carl Ott of Albion voiced the only other discontent: "My husband grudgingly gave me his hunting trip money." The Hollywood Bowl concert reportedly was attended by some 10,000 people and raised upwards of $20,000 for a new surgical wing of the children's hospital. It was rare to have an "amateur" group perform at the venue, but an Indiana writer described the audience members as "spellbound" as they left with "a song in their hearts and a warm spot for Hoosiers."44 He further described the repertoire as hymns, ballads, spiritual and classical selections, and "pop tunes," but he also remarked that the Glee Club "stole the show." An article titled "Indiana 'Frank Salzarulo, "Hoosier Chorus, Glee Club Bowl Over Californians" in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.4.

140 Women to Sing without Set Program" revealed that Al Stewart rarely decided what specific repertoire the women would sing until shortly before the actual concert. A "typical" repertoire list included Malotte's "The Lord's Prayer," "Forget Me Not"—a Bach chorale in translation, "Verdi Prati" by Handel, "Go Down, Moses," "Whistle a Happy Tune" and "Old Folks at Home."45 A post-trip, hand-written summary of the California trip by one member of the Fulton County Chorus focused on the notion of "co-operation." The unidentified author observed that so many people had to co-operate with one another to make a trip such as this happen; she also commented on the importance of Al Stewart's faith in the abilities of the women and the feeling of "unselfishness" that came with raising money for unknown children in need.46 Mrs. Clyde C. Smith wrote that the Hollywood Bowl concert was "the thrill of thrills when we sang for an audience of 10,000 knowing we had helped the Childrens [sic] hospital. We filled the stage and the lights on the different colors of our robes was a beautiful sight."47 Similarly, the Dean Emeritus of Engineering at Purdue wrote a letter of support to Al Stewart expressing how deeply he was touched by everyone's efforts to "develop their esthetic talents while benefiting others." He wrote, "After all, the United States is made up of people who have idealism and character, "From Los Angeles Times, 20 August 1954, in "Histoly from Scrapbooks Collection," //81-240.4. "The Lord's Prayer" also was sung at Purdue before departure "seeking safety and Divine guidance for the Hoosier emissaries..." "What the Trip to California Meant to Our Chorus," in "History' from Scrapbooks Collection," //81-240.4. "County Women Write Reports about Club Trip to California Last August," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, red.

141 qualities which so many people in other lands, and particularly those on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain do not appreciate." Interestingly, Frank Salzarulo wrote an end-of-trip article that focused on food consumption on the trip. Several women worried about the weight they likely gained, and others added these remarks: Mrs. Glidewell, "It's gonna be hard to go back to cornbread and beans." Mrs. King, "It's nice to someone else to do."49

leave the dirty dishes for

The Indianapolis News sponsored a scrapbook contest at the conclusion of the trip. Only one book per county could be submitted to the judges; the county with the scrapbook that best outlined the highlights of the trip would be given a piano valued at $900 courtesy of Riddick Piano Company of Indianapolis.50 The Huntington County Chorus won the piano, which was presented the following October. The winning scrapbook contained clippings, photographs, post cards, and 200-word letters from the participants. It was displayed at the Riddick store for a 2-week period.5I

and signed letter from A. A. Potter to A. P. Stewart, in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, red.

4 Typewritten

'Indiana Songbirds Don't Go for Seed," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, red. '"Agricultural Extension Activities," PM0 Notes, September-October 1954, 8. 'Huntington Chorus Members Winner of Aerosonic Piano," in "History from Scrapbooks" Collection, #81.240.5 (1952-), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN. Unfortunately the "winning" scrapbook has not come to light to be of use for this project.

142 In 1955, the Indiana Farmers Guide offered monetary bonuses and cash prizes to Home DemonStation Clubs for securing new subscriptions and renewals. This money was designated to help women go on a trip to Sarasota, Florida, planned for April of 1956.52 The 760 women who went on the trip came from 66 Indiana counties, and again members of the Glee Club traveled with them. A tradition was established by now that the county groups were seated together as much as possible in a train car, and 2 or 3 Glee Club members were assigned to each car to help with carry-on luggage and to get to know the ladies. An announcement in March indicated that, at that time, the goal of 1,200 participants had not been reached and there still were openings for last-minute reservations. C. M. Ferguson, head of the National Agricultural Extension Service in Washington, sent a greeting to the group before its departure: "All Federal Extension Service [sic] is very proud of this Indiana chorus and its contribution to spreading good will and understanding both here and abroad through voluntary music efforts...."53 This was the first excursion south for many of the participants and the first train travel for some; newspaper reports indicate that the trip this time was not without problems. The first of 2 trains was so late arriving in Sarasota that several of the welcome throng (which was to include political and extension representatives and a high school band) gave up and '"Home Demonstration Chorus Plans Trip to Florida," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.5. See also several typed documents in the Parke County Scrapbook Collection, brown—Florida, 1956, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN. 'Jack Hannan (sin "Florida Bound Chorus Arrives in Louisville," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.5; see also "Hoosiers Given Big Welcome," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, brown.

143 left; while waiting for the second train Stewart commented that the trains had been late all along the route. The participants were housed in some 15 motels and hotels around the city. "Hoosier Holiday in Florida" was, in part, a result of the growing Indiana migration to Florida during the cold months already evident by the mid-twentieth century. The tour was scheduled for April 2-7 with 2 concerts on April 4 in Payne Park. A report that chartered buses brought other Hoosiers from areas adjacent to Sarasota to Payne Park to fill out the audience elicits a question as to how many non-Indiana Floridians attended the event. The concert was presented on a portable stage "on second base in the Boston Red Sox [spring training] ball park."54 As was usual, the Glee Club sang some numbers independently as did the women's chorus, but they joined together to make a "mixed' chorus for some pieces. Audience members were charged between 50 cents and $1.50 to attend. The following day was devoted to sightseeing including the Sunshine Springs and Gardens and Lido Beach (with a barbecue lunch). The trip's cost was $99.90 for adults and $71.85 for children, the first time this option was offered. Stewart estimated that the total cost of the trip was $105,000.55

5'Mrs. Clyde Smith, "The Chorus in Florida," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, brown, Smith reported that the youngest participant was 17 years of age and that 30% of the travelers were great grandmothers. She also wrote that Al Stewart valued the chorus at $78 million based on recent calculations from the government concerning the worth of farm wives' contributions to agriculture. As the 1960s approached, the "snowbird" migration of Hoosiers to Florida would have an impact on chorus participation and rehearsal attendance during the winter months. See "Home Demonstration Chorus News," 131110 Notes, March 1965, 4. 55— Hoosier Holiday' Scores Triumph," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, brown.

144 The concert repertoire included "Somethin"bout the Air in Indiana" by McGee, who by then was living in Sarasota, "Old Folks at Home," and the staple, "On the Banks of the Wabash." Stewart also programmed a group of pieces that "collectively demonstrate what a melting pot the United States is" including songs from Scotland, Latin America, and Russia.56 Bruce (Mickey) McGuire, Marvin Myers, and Richard Smith of the Purdue Musical Organization assisted Stewart in planning the trip and preparing the music; John Farley and Anne Dyer were the pianists. At the conclusion of the trip, Jack Hannah, of the Purdue Bureau of Information, wrote a letter of appreciation to Al Stewart. He stated: As you know, I believe in music not only as a means for getting and giving pleasure but as a powerful factor in the art of living.... It binds us together in the ties of friendship and friendships formed are one of life's richest rewards. I know the efforts you have put into building this program and I know something of the personal inconveniences these women face in being away from family responsibilities to attend rehearsal and make these tours. But I am sure all of you find pleasure in it--you have to, to sing as you do.57 Mary Dean Williams, the Woman's Editor for Farmers Guide, reported other "human interest" stories. Women raised "Hoosier Holiday Chorus to Sing Finale Tonight," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, brown. Typewritten and signed letter, Jack Hannah to Al Stewart, 10 April 1956, in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, brown.

57

145 money for the trip by babysitting and saving pocket change; the Guide contest, noted above, netted additional money for 50 participants and 4 county groups.58 The women observed much about the different terrain and climate of the southern states including pecan and turpentine trees and, of course, citrus orchards. A clandestine bet between Mrs. Kendal McCammack and George Manning of the Glee Club resulted in a live baby alligator making the trip back to Indiana. To pass the time on the train, the travelers played their version of "I've Got a Secret" (a popular CBS television show), did handiwork, and concocted games like hat making from the contents of their overnight bags. The traveling Hoosiers had fair skies and a temperature of about 80° for their concerts; they had a rude awakening upon their return home, as "a raging blizzard" was underway in the Lafayette area.59 Additionally, in a post-trip recollection, Mrs. Ila Semans of Knox, Indiana, commented, I think it was around midnight when I reached my own home. And I could do the whole trip over again and enjoy every minute of it! It was tough to come home and have to cook breakfast, pack lunches, etc., after living so plush—no dishes, no menus to worry over and no beds to make. Long Live Sarasotal69

Mary Dean Williams, "Final Tour Echoes," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, brown. 'Hoosier Holiday in Sarasota, Florida," PMO Notes, Spring 1956,5. 'Mary Dean Williams, "Final Tour Echoes," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, brown.

146 HEADED WEST: PORTLAND

Two years later, in 1958, the Hoosier singers made another trek to the West Coast, but this time they attended the Portland, Oregon, 50th Anniversary Rose Festival.61 Again the trip was announced in March, and the travelers would be both Glee Club and Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus members. At this point, Earl Butz, who later served as Secretary of Agriculture for Presidents Nixon and Ford, was Dean of the Purdue University School of Agriculture. He and his wife planned to accompany the singers to Oregon. When the group left on June 9, right after the close of the Extension festival at Purdue, 59 Indiana counties were represented by about 400 singers. The smaller number of participants was explained by several factors: it was a slow economic year for farmers (in fact, some flooding occurred in Indiana during the trip), the June dates were a busy time on the farm, and the dates were concurrent with some high school and college graduations.62 A Wabash Railroad train of 22 cars carried the singers westward; it had to switch to Union Pacific tracks in Kansas City. A stop of several hours was scheduled for sightseeing and a cable lift ride up the mountain in Sun Valley, Idaho, and a trail lunch of barbecued buffalo and corn-on-the-cob. Again the travelers partook of devotions on the train and observed the countryside especially as it pertained to farming. One observer noted wire fences to keep rocks off the tracks, many alfalfa 611n the 1950s, Portland was home to a very large rose society and test gardens.

"'Portland, Oregon, Tour, 1958," PAIO Notes, Summer 1958,5. The cost of the tour package was $195 Coach and $298 Pullman. See "Portland Tour — 1958," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, rose—Oregon, 1958, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN.

147 fields growing well, wheat that was ripening, and the use of contour farming.63 On this trip, the women of the group stayed at Lewis and Clark College and the University of Portland, while the directors and the Glee Club men stayed at the Multnomah Hotel. The opening concert on June 12, titled "50 Years of Fun and Music," began with the women singing "Along the Oregon Trail" by John McGee (who apparently produced much of the music for the Rose Festival). Other performers and musicians, including an orchestra conducted by composer David Rose (conductor for the Red Skelton television show), were included on the concert in addition to the Indiana groups." The finale featured the Glee Club and chorus accompanied by the orchestra in a performance of "The Battle Hymn," which also was the finale for concerts on other trips. The following morning was allotted for tours set up by the local Home Demonstration clubs while the Glee Club visited a Shriners' Hospital; a second concert was given in the evening. Improved weather brought out an audience estimated at 12,000. The Rose Parade led by Grand Marshall Guy Williams (famous then for his portrayal of Zorro on television) was the next day; the Indiana visitors had bleacher seats along the route. On Sunday, several tours were arranged to begin after church; the day concluded with a salmon bake and an exhibition of dancing by "local Indians." The return trip to Indiana was by a more northern train line, so the travelers experienced the 'Handwritten diary notes, in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, rose. '50 Golden Years" souvenir booklet, in "Memorabilia of Al Stewart." A separate Jazz Festival was held as part of the Rose Festival activities. Featured performers included Charlie Barnet, Red Nichols, and Buddy de Franco.

148 Continental Divide near Butte and the Badlands. In Chicago the group had to transfer to the Burlington rail line for the final leg of the trip. Always thinking ahead to the next project, Al Stewart sent a letter to all the county choirs just one month later suggesting that choruses start a travel fund to avoid some of the financial difficulties (as mentioned above) that participants faced concerning Oregon.85 But sadly, the travel era was on the wane.

MAJOR TRAVELING COMES TO AN END

Overview or summary histories of the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus program frequently mention a trip to Hawaii but offer conflicting dates. (The PA/10 Notes of Summer 1984 specifically mention a plan to sing for the International Boy Scout Leaders Conference.) Adding to the confusion about the dates is a trip to Hawaii by the Purdue Men's Glee Club (without the women) in 1969. However, the Honolulu Star— Bulletin of 19 June 1972 helps to solve at least part of the mystery. An article therein announced a perfoi mance by the Glee Club scheduled for that week; the concert also was to include singing by 122 women from the Purdue Extension Chorus [italics added1.66 The article's author maintains that the women were "part of a group of 3,000 back in Indiana," but by Typewritten and signed letter, Al Stewart to Members of the Portland tour and all County Choruses, in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, rose. 'Purdue has Everything Plus a Fine Glee Club," Honolulu Star—Bulletin, 19 June 1972, A-14. The "Morning Mail" section of PM() Notes, JulyAugust 1972, 14-18, includes excerpts from several letters of thanks sent to Al Stewart. None of them specifically mention the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus performance nor a concert for the Boy Scout Leaders Conference as was reported in the PMO Notes of Summer 1984, A photo of the men singing on the beach appears to include about 50 singers.

149 the early 1970s participation had declined well below that number. In fact, the Purduettes, a girl's ensemble from the university, supplemented women of the state chorus—or vice versa.67 The event, for which tickets were $3, $4, and $5, was to benefit the Shriners' Hospital for Crippled Children. Actually a rather large contingent of Hoosiers went on the trip including numerous alumni, friends, and relatives. Three chartered DC-8s were needed to transport everyone; after departing from Chicago, they made a brief layover in San Francisco. The primary hotel was the famed Royal Hawaiian on Waikiki Beach. Pearl Harbor was among the stops on the tourist portion of the trip, and they experienced a luau with many of the traditional menu items that still are served in the twenty-first century. The tour package for 8 nights was priced at $369; optional tours to other islands were possible by individual arrangement. Unfortunately, information about the repertoire is elusive. From the onset of traveling in the late 1930s by the Tippecanoe County choir to the Hawaii trip, Indiana's rural women and the Extension Service were promoted in positive light in many locations. Likewise, while music was the impetus for the travel, the trips also offered the women another means of collegial interaction, the opportunity to encounter different cultures and life settings, the chance to serve as "good will" ambassadors, and learning from new experiences (riding in the subway, spending time on an excursion ship, attending cultural events, hearing other musicians, carrying a passport and 'Forty-one counties had choirs (each with an average of 20 singers) that attended the Chorus Festival at Purdue in June. Three other counties sent a few singers as well for a total of 865 women. See "Extension Chorus Festival" PM0 Notes, July-August 1972,11.

150 exchanging money, etc.).68 Additionally, they were able to observe at least some aspects of farm or rural life in other parts of the country and the world. Likely the trips also provided a spark that helped perpetuate the excitement about Home Demonstration choirs, and they certainly gave the women opportunities (such as eating someone else's cooking) that were not readily available at home. Elsa Sappenfield, the director of the Floyd County Home Demonstration Chorus, wrote this for publication in the November 1960 PMO Notes: If I may be so bold as to express some opinions, I think what you [Al Stewart] have given the ladies through the years is the culture of being in the musical world—and glamour. You know there is a certain glamour in musical activity. It gives their lives beauty.... I have perhaps gone to many more concerts and participated in more musical activity, but cannot say that I am a person who has traveled—seen the world—so to speak. These ladies are very fortunate to have had the opportunity of many fine trips and you have given them a very great amount of culture and glamour in the past and that is what they want to continue. However, even as travel by individual families became more accessible, the American economy took a down turn. The role of women's lives in American culture and economy evolved, American family life changed, and farming and rural life became less prominent in the state. Because of these and other factors, the use of significant performance tours for "See Mary Dean Williams, "California Trip Demonstrates Value of Rural Music" in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," 1/81-240.3. Al Stewart's savvy and promotional skills are evident in his efforts to encourage writers travel with the choir to ensure media coverage.

151

socialization, education, and music-sharing became a thing of the past.

Chapter 5 Home Demonstration Chorus Activities in Individual Indiana Counties

INTRODUCTION

While traveling together as a state chorus, as described in chapter 4, was valuable, educational, and fun, the activities and role of the individual county choirs also was important to the overall Extension music program. The State of Indiana is comprised of 92 counties (a state map is provided among the photographs); between the years 1934 and 2011 each county had an active Home Demonstration chorus at some point. Some counties had choirs consistently for many years while others had a choir only sporadically or for a brief time. Geography does not seem to have played a significant role in the establishment or duration of a choir—they were located in every quadrant of the state, including the south central region that is home to the Hoosier National Forest. Agricultural activities and productivity are widespread and diverse in Indiana, and although the Home Demonstration chorus program was born as part of the Agricultural Extension Service, choirs also were found in counties that featured large urban centers, such as Marion County (the location of Indianapolis) or that had significant non-farm rural populations. Proximity to Tippecanoe County, the home of Purdue

154 University and Al Stewart's headquarters, also does not seem to have been a particularly influential factor.) During the process of collecting information about the choir program, extensive historical archives, usually in the form of scrapbooks, came to light for 6 counties: Fulton, Marshall, Parke, Porter, Rush, and Tippecanoe.2 (Five of these counties— minus Rush continued to have an active Extension-related choir at the time of the 75th anniversary of the program in 2009.) This chapter contains details concerning the choral activities of these 6 counties. While it is not possible to state that these counties are typical or truly representative, the examples show both variety and repetition (and therefore consistency), from county to county. The discussion then proceeds to a series of paragraphs, alphabetical by county, highlighting interesting, unique, supportive, or comparative points from 20 additional counties.

FULTON COUNTY

Fulton County is located in north central Indiana. Of interest to historians and tourists, it is home to several round : Comparing a chart of the active county choirs with other agricultural, topographical, and population atlases of Indiana allowed these assessments and observations. See for example, "Indiana Agricultural Products map," Facts on File, 1984, and Robert C. Kingsbury, An Atlas of Indiana (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1970). See also the discussion of Indiana's agricultural history in chapter 1. A state map showing each county is provided among the photographs herein.

'These counties are scattered throughout the state, although none could be described as southern. The availability of archival materials was the primary factor for the inclusion of information about each. Personal and written invitations to make historical materials available for this project were extended to all participating counties since the mid-1990s.

155 barns, Lake Manitou (see ch. 3), and sights related to the Trail of Death removal of the Potawatomi Indians to Kansas in the 1830s. Extension clubs were formed in the county in the late 1920s, and the Extension county choir began in 1937. The county agent at the time, N. S. Hadley, and Al Stewart of Purdue University met with more than 60 women from 17 clubs in the county to pitch the chorus idea. The first rehearsal of 59 singers was held 24 May 1937 under the direction of Mrs. Robert [Margaret] Shafer. Miss Trella Wagoner was the pianist. Their inaugural performance was for the annual Home Economics Achievement Day the following November. The next spring the women made reversible capes of black and white satin—a luxury for the day—to wear during performances. Their other early performances included a vespers service in March 1939 at a Methodist Church and at a National Federation of Music Clubs meeting in April. Several women of the choir presented a "black face comedy skit [sic], 'Dark Monday,' at the district Rural Amusement Festival and won second place, in Nov. 1940."3 The war brought some curtailment of activities (such as a reduction of rehearsals to once a month), but the choir continued to function, and in fact, it was able to purchase new black robes with white collars in 1941, showing the women's financial commitment to the ensemble. The Fulton County Chorus was the first group to receive the Home Demonstration Chorus Achievement Cup, 3"County Home Economics Chorus Had Origin in 1937," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN. Mrs. Forrest (Frances) Pfeiffer served as President of the Fulton County chorus for many years, and she kept many of the scrapbooks that now are located in the historical society. Historians are fortunate that local newspapers gave considerable space to chorus activities at a time when "social" columns also were regularly included in local newspapers.

156 which was given initially at the annual festival (see ch. 2) in 1949. Shafer continued to serve as director of the group, and Mrs. Clair Moore was the accompanist for many years. An important part of a choir's obligations was service to its local environment. Among Fulton's service activities in the 1940s were hosting other choirs for a Valentine's Tea in 1947, taking gifts to children in Riley Hospital (100 miles to the south in Indianapolis) at Christmas 1948, and sponsoring a $25 scholarship for a voice student at Manchester College. The 1949 Program of Fulton County Home Economics Association outlines the organization for all the various clubs in the county, revealing the following: in addition to having club officers, there also was a county president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer; the county had several committees (trip, fund raising, hospital, party, and 4-H); 39 clubs were active in the county, most meeting once a month; and among the "Song of the Month" selections (see chs. 2 and 6) were "Auld Land Syne" and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot."4 Further, it contains a suggested order of business for club meetings and a few sample titles of "Project Lessons" including "Saving Steps in the Kitchen," Textile Painting," and "Shortcuts in Sewing," which was taught by the Home Demonstration agent. The inclusion of this material supports the notion that extension clubs provided both leadership experience and educational opportunities for the participants. Throughout the 1950s, the Fulton County choir of more than 40 singers was involved in a number of performances, some individually and some as part of the Indiana Home Demonstration chorus. In 1952 the Fulton women joined in two 4 The program is part of -1-listoiy from Scrapbooks Collection."

157 performances for the presidential candidates General Eisenhower and his challenger, Democrat Adlai Stevenson.5 Seven women joined their colleagues from other counties on the trip to Los Angeles in 1954 (see ch. 4). At that time the Fulton County choir rehearsed twice per month, with about 30 women, or 3/4 of them, in attendance at each rehearsal. They ranged in age from 30 to 71 years, and many of them also sang in church choirs.° Director Margaret Shafer, in fact, also directed the choir at Grace Methodist Church of Rochester. Indiana, another indication of the plurality of the women's musical contributions to their local communities. The choir's individual area performances in the 1950s included appearances for the Rochester Centennial celebration (in nineteenth-century costume), the Legion Auxiliary District meeting, the Northern Indiana Muck Crop Growers Association, the Ground Observers Corp (which was related to Civil Defense) basketball game, the Fulton Home Demonstration clubs' annual achievement-day program, the Evangelical United Brethren church, and the Wabash County plowing contest. Its performance at the 1954 annual chorus festival at Purdue (see ch. 2) brought these comments from Al Stewart: "Nice chorus—well handled one or two second sopranos that 'get away' once in a while—good accompaniment. Tone could be more upright. A particularly nice alto section."' Two years later 5 Director Shafer might have been more enthusiastic at the Eisenhower affair (compared to the Stevenson engagement) her husband, Robert, was the Republican mayor of Rochester, IN. 6 Mary

Dean Williams, "Fulton County," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.3 (1952-54), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN.

'Typewritten manuscript copy in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.3.

158 he \kTote: "A lot of spirit in this group. This chorus is just not a fly-by-night outfit that's good one year and down another .. They have good leadership, excellent direction, very fine accompanist [sic] and an attitude that very few can match...."8 In 1955 chorus members participated in a number of fundraising activities including a rummage sale and the subscription sales contest sponsored by Farmers Guide. It also sponsored a workshop for local club song leaders and a "talent program" at the 4-H grounds in 1955. The chorus sang at the latter event, but solos, ensembles, readings, baton twirling, and a skit also were on the docket. In 1957, the Fulton County Executive Committee made a concerted effort to increase the size of the choir's membership. A letter was sent to each county club president asking her to recruit members for the choir, noting that—with more than 800 women involved in clubs in the county—a choir of 60 should be a reasonable goal.9 The letter stated that the only requirement to be in the chorus was membership in a Home Demonstration club; no formal audition was needed. Each woman was to buy her own music and was to pay 20 cents dues at twice-monthly rehearsals; the chorus retained ownership of the robes. The recruiting effort apparently was not immediately successful. In 1959, the 22' year of the chorus and Shafer's direction, another letter was sent from the county Home-Demonstration agent to all club presidents. It reveals that membership had fallen "too low in number to continue," seemingly in large part due to illness and death of members. A Typewritten manuscript copy in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.6 (1956-64), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN. Typewritten letter dated 2 September 1957 in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.6.

9

159 primary suggestion for enabling the ensemble to continue was moving the rehearsals to the evening.I° A newspaper article from the following October mentioned that the chorus had 18 members. Nevertheless, the women continued to seek camaraderie from the organization. A group of 29, including choir members and their guests, took a bus trip to Wisconsin to visit the Dells and Milwaukee in 1960. Whatever the difficulty in the late 1950s, the Fulton County choir was selected to sing its individual number, "Bye, Bye Blues," on the annual Purdue festival concert in 1961, I and it celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1962. Margaret Shafer had been the director for the entire history of the ensemble. A Silver Anniversary banquet was held at the Colonial Hotel in Rochester in May with Purdue Musical Organizations staff and representatives of county choirs from surrounding areas in attendance. Shafer was gifted with flowers, a sterling silver musical charm, and a live pine "money tree" laden with silver dollars. I2 (Shafer was honored again in 1968, her 31sI year as director, by being invited to direct the assembled state choir at the festival at Purdue.) I3 In 1961, following changes in state procedure (see ch. 2), Fulton County started a "choral club." I°Typewritten and signed letter dated 22 July 1959 in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.6.

'In a letter to Al Stewart following the festival, Shafer relayed that the alto "who fell down the steps as we were hurrying to get on stage in the morning is coming along fine," and that one member who had not been able to attend the daytime activities drove to Purdue "all by herself' to sing with the group in the evening. See PMO Notes, Summer 1961, 6. '2"Mrs. Shafer Acclaimed for Long Chorus Service," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.6. "Newspaper clipping in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.9 (1967-68), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN.

160 Members could be a part of the club without having to be a member of another club in the county. In other words, a woman could have a link to Extension only through her chorus membership, a reflection of the changing farm and rural demographic in America at that time. The bylaws of the choral club indicate that the purpose of the group was "to promote enjoyment and understanding of music. This club shall cooperate in the music program as outlined by State Music Director of Purdue University and the Fulton County Home Demonstration Council."" The yearly dues were increased to $4 (from $2 in the previous decade), the chorus continued to own the choir's robes, and each woman was responsible for paying for her own copy of the music. Among the activities of the chorus during this new chapter of its existence was its presentation of "Musical Vignettes of 50 Years" in 1963. The show was designed to portray the 50-year history of home demonstration clubs through song. The choral club also hosted workshops for the song leaders of other county clubs, sang for the Rochester Women's club, performed at the World Day of Community Prayer, sang for the Christmas program of the Women's Society of Christian Service, and presented a slate of Broadway songs for a meeting of the local Republican women. Additionally, Shafer and other members of the Fulton County group were regular attendees at the annual workshop where the new state music was introduced (see ch. 3) and at district rehearsals conducted by Purdue staff. The women continued their service activities; they were especially active in raising funds for the

Typewritten document in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81240.6. 14

161 Multiple Sclerosis Society. I5 Likewise they maintained efforts to raise money for their club including a Christmas Browse in 1965 at which a guest could purchase hand-made items for gifts. A hand-written list of the choir's members from that year indicates that there were nearly 40 singers in the group; Bonnie Stinson served as pianist. In the following year, the choir's fundraising endeavors were successful enough that it could give $60 to each of the nearly 40 members committed to traveling to Washington, DC, to celebrate Indiana's Sesquicentennial with a performance (see ch. 4). By the end of the decade the names of 25 women constituted the roster of the Fulton County choral club. It was described as the 2"d largest club in its Extension Homemakers district, even though Fulton County had the smallest number of clubs in the district, therefore, fewer women from which to draw.'6 The booklet titled 1 970 Program Extension Homemakers Fulton County offers insight into how the program had changed and how it had remained the same over the life of the Fulton County chorus thus far.17 It contains a breakdown of the Cooperative Extension Service system at Purdue University and a list of texts for use at various meetings including the Pledge to the Flag, Pledge to the Christian Flag, Extension Homemakers Club Prayer, Extension Homemakers Creed, and a Collect (prayer). Topics included at the leader training lessons were "Coping with Tensions," "Sewing Short Cuts," "Identifying Antiques," and "Food Technology." Other lessons I5 Seyeral news clippings in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81240.8 (1965), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN.

`6"County E.H. Officers Attend District Meeting," in "History from Scrapbooks Col lecti on," #81-240.9. "The program is held in "History from Scrapbooks Collection."

162 included landscaping, legal matters and wills, and the dangers of self-medication. The Song-of-the-Month program continued with "Levee Song" slated for May and "Bless Be the Tie that Binds" for June. The chorus continued to be active and reported at the 1973 Achievement Night that it had added 6 new members over the year. The previous December, the choir's director, Margaret Shafer, had celebrated her 80th birthday. The chorus attempted to honor her by requesting that she be invited to play "Rag-time Piano" on television's The Mike Douglas Show, but the request was denied." In 1976, 3 charter members of the ensemble still were actively involved (Irene Thomas, Mildred Burkett, and Frances McLean), and in 1977 a new director for the group was named, Mrs. Alfretta Hartman, who would be assisted by Shafer. In the 1990s the Fulton County choral club continued to function although its membership was considerably smaller. Joyce Jones and Barbara Miller served as co-directors of the ensemble. Miller had public-school music teaching experience, and Jones studied voice for 5 years during her teens and participated in music in high school. Both women were paid $5 per rehearsal, but they generally returned the money to the chorus treasury. The group also paid the expense for its accompanist and one of its leaders to attend the annual Festival.19 Among its typical activities, the chorus presented a Spring Concert at a Baptist church in Rochester and a Christmas concert at a Christian church. They selected "Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera as their individual number for the 1992 festival at Purdue, and they had 7 members attend 18

PM0 Notes., January/February 1973.

19Joyce Jones, interview by author, 27 July 2000, Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN.

163 the August workshop.2° Service and fundraising work remained important, evidenced by participation in a craft bazaar, serving breakfast at a community gathering, assisting with the Mental Health department's Christmas Party, and singing at a nursing home. The chorus also presented a "dinner theater"-type revue every other year to garner income. For many years the women presented the show and prepared and served the food, but a catering service was employed beginning in 2000. The Fulton County Extension Homemakers 1991- 92 Program booklet revealed some changes from the 1970s, but it continued to contain the Pledge to the Flag and a Collect text that could be used at meetings, and among its printed goals was "to work with the Choral Club in promoting the participation and enjoyment of music."21 "America, the Beautiful" was listed as the State Extension Homemakers Club Song, and leader training sessions for the following topics were scheduled: "Eating Out Places and Choices," "Ten Mistakes Women Make with Money," "How to Identify Quality Ready-to-Wear," and "Altering Recipes for a Healthy Life Style." These titles certainly reflect the change that was occurring in women's lives across America as the twentieth century drew to a close. According to Jones, in 2000 the chorus had about 27 members (spanning the age range of 18 to 80), although not all were able to participate regularly and a few came from counties that did not have a chorus.22 The cross-generational feature of Extension choruses clearly was exhibited in the Fulton County group. Vicki Fulton, a member of the chorus in 2000, was the 20"Achievement

Program, 21 April 1992," in "History from Scrapbooks

Collection." 21 The

program is held in "History from Scrapbooks Collection."

22 Joyce

Jones, interview by author.

164 granddaughter of Mrs. Stinson, who was a member of the original ensemble formed in the late 1930s. During these years, the Fulton County Chorus sang at about 15 events over the course of a typical year, with the summer months off for vacation. Some of the performances brought in donations; the chorus also sponsored a craft show in the fall and the dinner theatre mentioned above. Jones noted that an active chorus incurred expenses. Despite the fact that there was music to buy, outfits to acquire, a piano to maintain, and travel costs, she felt that the chorus still held an important meaning in the participants' lives—it brought occasions for fellowship and musical satisfaction especially with the scarcity of choral-music opportunities for adults after high school. A Fulton County Chorus continued to function as part of the Extension music program beyond its 75th anniversary in 2009. Singers from Cass County sometimes joined the Fulton group.

MARSHALL COUNTY

The Marshall County chorus was founded in October of 1939, and its first director was Lloyd Eherman; Marie Kline was the accompanist. Among the charter members was Mabel Davenport, who sang with the choir for 55 years. In 1950, 18 members from the choir traveled with other Indiana chorus members to participate in the Capital Sesquicentennial in Washington. Although fewer than 20 were able to make the trip, the choir's full roster included closer to 30 names. Mrs. Dwight Thompson served as the director in the mid-1950s. She held a music degree from Indiana Central College, directed the choir at a local Evangelical United Brethren church, was the mother of 3 children, and raised chickens on the 175-acre farm she shared

165 with her husband. Later in that decade Maud Ruth Huff Gerard took the reins as director,23 but by 1961 the post went to Mrs. Chauncey Lennon, and in 1963 Marie Summers took over the responsibility. In the 1970s Eileen Wright became the conductor, a position she held into the first decade of the next century. She had had training in both vocal and instrumental music as a youth. During her tenure the chorus rehearsed weekly (except in the summer) rather than the more common twice-monthly routine of other counties. The choir presented familiar programs in their locality but with a creative twist during the 1950s—some of their concerts included a chalk drawing by Mrs. Byron Haag that was coordinated with the music sung by the chorus.24 Like other county choruses, they hosted regional rehearsals, sang at their county Achievement Day festivities, and sponsored workshops for local club song leaders. Photographs from the 1980s indicate that membership at that time hovered around 15-20 singers,25 and in the mid-1990s the numbers remained similar with 6 new members acknowledged in 1995. They sang "Second Hand Rose" in costume as their individual number for the 1994 festival at Purdue with long-time accompanist, Sue Read, at the piano. The following year the Marshall County chorus participated in a sacred-music concert with choruses from Fulton County and Kosciusko County.

23 PM0

Notes,

November 1959, 3.

24 m

ary Dean Williams, "Marshall County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan-1959- , in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN.

25 Photographs

and other memorabilia in Marshall County Extension Homemakers Scrapbooks, 1994-97 and 1999-2000, in the possession of Helena Hand, Bremen, IN.

166 In 1995 the chorus members also realized that owning a portable piano would be advantageous when performing in the community. They began a "keyboard kitty" to solve this problem and eventually sponsored a countywide garage sale for which an 8-foot by 10-foot booth cost $10.26 In the following year Marshall County hosted an area rehearsal in preparation for the annual festival. The announcement of this project reminded the singers that singing caused hunger, so a buffet would be planned as well. Their local performances included singing for the Pine Creek Church of the Brethren Senior Citizens, at the Marshall County 4-H fair, on the local PBS station (WNIT), and for area clubs, nursing homes, and churches. At the 1998 annual festival (at which director Eileen Wright received her 25-year certificate), they sang a medley of "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and "Bye, Bye Baby."27 In 2000, Betty Langman, a second soprano in the chorus, was featured in a story about her life as a farm wife. She had been raised a city girl until she and Ted, a farmer, were married after World War II. She learned how to make bread and noodles from her mother-in-law, raised two children, and assisted with their dairy herd. Throughout her life she continued to exercise her love of music, in part through the opportunity provided by the Marshall County chorus.28 Marshall County continued to be represented by singers' participation in the state chorus into the new century. "Marshall County Chonis," in Marshall County Extension Homemakers Scrapbook, 1994-97. The garage-sale flyer mentions that they "took in over $181." 26

Photographs and other memorabilia in Marshall County Extension Homemakers Scrapbooks, 1999-2000.

27

"City slicker happy as farm wife," in Marshall County Extension Homemakers Scrapbooks, 1999-2000.

28

167 PARKE COUNTY

Parke County's chorus was organized in the mid-1930s, but disbanded in 1939. It was reorganized after World War II, in 1948, and gave its first performance for a local Harvest Home celebration.29 More detailed information about the chorus begins in the 1950s by which time its membership had grown to about 45 singers. At least 30 of the women traveled to Washington, DC, to participate in the Capitol Sesquicentennial choral performance (see ch. 4). The chorus raised money, often with the help of local Home Economics clubs and Farm Bureau offices, by sponsoring variety shows and square dances, food and greeting-card sales, and serving lunch at civic affairs. Additionally, 34 chorus members traveled to Indianapolis to sing with other county choruses at a political rally for Adlai Stevenson, the 1952 Democratic nominee for President. A newspaper article summarizing the event described the chorus as "a non-partisan organization," noting that the state chorus also had sung for candidate Dwight Eisenhower.3° The chorus also logged many local or regional performances including several church and county fair concerts, performances for agricultural-related meetings, and appearances on WTHI television out of Terre Haute in 1952 as well as a farm show on WFBM-TV in Indianapolis in 1953. In 1955 the choir's repertoire for a Farm Bureau vespers service included "Bless This House," "Hold Thou My Hand," "God Painted a Picture," "Beside Still Waters," and "One World."

news clipping, in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black1952-56, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN.

29Untitled

30

Untitled news clipping, in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black.

168 Following the trip with the state chorus to Toronto and Niagara Falls in 1952, Rebecca Wolfe, writing for a local Parke County newspaper, noted that "orchards and vineyards were everywhere [in the western New York country side], but not a pig was in sight after we left Ohio."31 She also remarked on the "confusion" and "fun" as the nearly 500 women got rained out of a boxed-lunch picnic and had to seek shelter in the lobby of a Niagara hotel. Several singers from Parke County also were part of the large group of Extension Homemaker singers who made the trip to Los Angeles in 1954 (see ch. 4). Some of the ladies had relatives in California with whom they visited or who came to hear the chorus concert, a benefit for a children's hospital. Mrs. Clyde C. Smith recalled seeing the homes of Joan Bennett, Bing Crosby, John Wayne, Clark Gable, Mickey Rooney, and Liberace among others.32 By way of contrast, only one woman, Mrs. Walter H. Wimmer, from Parke County joined with other singers from Indiana for the European tour of 1953. No records containing the precise audition and membership rules for the chorus in the 1950s were found, but a call welcoming new members was printed in the newspaper in 1955; it stated that "the chorus is open to new members and any woman belonging to a Home Economics club will be welcome. Baby sitters will be provided at each meeting."33 The latter was important for drawing younger members. In the mid-1950s, Rebecca Wolfe, "Parke County Chorus Members Sing at Canadian Exhibition," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black.

3I

1-lome Demonstration Chorus Members Enjoy Recent Trip to California," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, red—LA, 1954, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN,

32

Chorus Has Meeting," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black. The Parke County chorus also maintained an affiliation with the Federation of Music Clubs commencing in 1951.

33

169 however, the membership was described as being a few young mothers, several middle-aged women, and a number of grandmothers; about half the members were rural residents. They raised money through card sales, serving luncheons, and saving coupons "from flour and waxed paper."34 As was typical, the chorus also provided leadership training and opportunities for its members. In 1956 the following offices and committees were filled: president, vice president, secretary, assistant secretary, treasurer, finance committee, transportation coordinator, publicity chairman, music chairman, reporter, and an office called "coupons." Rehearsals were held on the second and fourth Monday of each month. In the following year membership was numbered at 38, with the women representing 13 different Home Economics clubs in Parke County. Regarding the performance capability of the chorus, an August 1950 newspaper summary of Parke County's performance at the annual festival quoted Al Stewart and offered an explanation about one of his comments: 'Congratulations on a fine, large group. I like your tone quality very much and the balance was beautiful ...You have a beautiful alto section ... The shading is splendid. I have a slight quarrel with the interpretation [text missing] still think the music should fib [missing] spurt and be free and exuberant.' The last sentence refers to a difference of opinion between Mr. Stewart and Mrs. Melvin Newlin on her direction of the number "As Torrents in Summer." Mrs. Mary Dean Williams, "Parke County," in "History from Scrapbooks Collection."

34

170 Newlin follows the clearly indicated directions for volume, which begin the number softly and increase in strength as it goes while Mr. Stewart insists on a sustained volume from first to last.35 The chorus later received an "A" rating for its individual performance at the Purdue festival in June of 1957, which was an honor it could add to its "Achievement Cup" awards in 1952 and 1953 (see ch. 2). The chorus was proud of its success especially because Parke County is one of the smallest counties in the state. In 1959 the chorus received its 10-year participation certificate and sang "0 Divine Redeemer" as a featured single choir on the festival evening concert program. As in other counties, individual Extension clubs also had "song leaders" to assist with the general singing done at club meetings. Tied to the musical-training mission of the program, the Parke County Chorus held a yearly workshop and tea to advise and thank the song leaders and presidents of all the local clubs in the county, a tradition it continued into the next decade. In the late 1950s, the Parke County Chorus became an "Extension club" on its own (meaning that members who wished to sing could be a member of the chorus club only without an affiliation with other Parke County unit clubs and Extension activities). Into the 1960s, the Parke County Chorus continued to be active and successful at the annual Purdue festival. Under the direction of Mrs. Melvin [Sylvia] Newlin, it also performed at the annual Parke County Home Demonstration Achievement 35"Al Stewart Praises Singing of Local Home Economics Chorus," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, cream-1950-52, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN.

171 day in the fall of 1960. Mrs. Fred [Doris] Rohe added variety to that event with solos entitled "Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet" and "The Great Awakening." 36 Additionally, in 1960 Parke County was among the "top ten" individual choirs to perform at the Purdue conference, an acknowledgement that brought with it the opportunity to perform as an individual chorus at the evening concert (see ch. 2). A typewritten manuscript from the early 1960s offers the following comments on why the women participated in the chorus: We have fun singing together. We meet often, usually twice a month. But if, as frequently happens, we need practice for a special program we meet each week, for a necessary period.... Because in Mrs. Melvin Newlin, we have a fine director and also because of a great and common desire to sing well, and have worked hard [sic], we have placed high in the annual meet at the Purdue Festival of Music ... We feel we are making a real contribution to good entertainment and that it [the chorus] is a worthwhile project.37 In 1967 accompanist Betty Huffman was given an award marking her 10 years of service to the chorus. In more recent years, Doris Rohe provided leadership for the Parke County Chorus. She joined the chorus in 1959, became its director in 1978, and retired as director of the '.1osephine Booe, "Excellent Program at Achievement Day Last Thursday," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black. The article also mentions that a small group called the Melody Moms "almost stole the show with their special black face old minstrel number [sic], `Floatin' Down to Cotton Town'." 3

37"Why Do We Sing," typewritten manuscript, in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, cream.

172 ensemble in 2001,38 by which time the membership had dwindled to about 15 singers. Rohe began voice lessons at age 15 and received her musical training in Youngstown and at Heidelberg College in Ohio. She found the establishment of the Parke County Chorus as a "special interest club" (a club that did not have to participate in other Extension activities, see ch. 2) to be very healthy for the chorus. She believed that many of the participants wanted to continue singing after high school, but found few outlets available. Women from Parke County, under the direction of Annette Munoz, continued to participate in the Melody Makers of Indiana (see ch. 8) during the first decade of the twenty-first-century revitalization.

PORTER COUNTY

In June 1949, "the [Home Demonstration] county organization assisted in sponsoring the organization of a county chorus which is described as both educational and recreational in scope."39 Mr. and Mrs. James Nixon of Valparaiso were selected as director and accompanist of the group. Shortly thereafter the group hosted a regional rehearsal of 12 county choirs that were preparing for the upcoming state-chorus trip to Washington, DC (see ch. 4). An information sheet regarding the Washington trip indicates that the 8 women from Porter County who were making the trip were to board the train in Valparaiso at 3:26 a.m. on 10 July 1950 and would arrive in the Capital at 9:30 p.m. The choir's day in Washington began early with a Doris Rohe, interview by author and Atcha Nolan, 28 July 2001, Rockville, IN. Rohe was preceded as director by Sylvia [Newlin?] Porter.

3B

'`County Home Ec Displays Are Planned," in Porter County Chorus Scrapbook, County Extension Office, Valparaiso, IN.

39

173 breakfast call at 6 a.m. before a trip to Arlington and Mount Vernon. A 3 p.m. rehearsal also was on the docket for the first day. In 1953 Mrs. Kenneth Williamson took the reins as director of the county group; she also was the director of the First Presbyterian Church choir of Valparaiso. The chorus met on the 1' and 3rd Monday of each month at various locations, but a reader can infer from contemporaneous newspaper articles that the ensemble was struggling to maintain a strong membership.4° It appeared at several local functions but often was only a part of the occasion's entertainment. Repertoire from 1954 and 1955 included "Praise Ye the Father," "I Would Weave a Song for You," "Mozart's Lullaby," and "This Is My Country." The chorus numbered 16 when it appeared at the annual festival at Purdue in 1955.41 The chorus continued to be active into the 1960s, and a statement in the chorus's scrapbook (from the time when members no longer had to be a Home Demonstration club member) offers insight into the mission of the chorus: The purpose of this organization shall be to afford an opportunity for musical expression and training for individual members and the cultivation of a choral club capable of musical assistance in various community enterprises and for the betterment of home and family living.

""County Chorus Accepts New Members," in Porter County Chorus Scrapbook. "County Chorus Sings at Purdue Music Festival," in Porter County Chorus Scrapbook.

41

174 This statement shows consistency in mission with other counties and the state program. The link to farm life also continued to be evident in the chorus's planning. An announcement for the County Choral club's season of rehearsal in 1963 mentioned that it "usually meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. The hours may change in the summer because of farm vvork."42 In 1963 [or 1964] the Porter County Choral Club received a "superior" rating from Al Stewart at the annual festival. The group was under the direction of Mrs. Philip Maxwell with Mrs. Kenneth Temple at the piano. Maxwell had begun her duties as early as 1960 and was the former Jane Smoker who attended Purdue in 1957-58. Like other counties, the Porter chorus sponsored workshops for the area club song leaders. In 1963 Marvin Myers, of Stewart's Purdue staff, assisted at the event. He suggested the following (paraphrased here): use pictures and demonstrations and movement to set the right tempo, learn common conducting hand motions, learn some of the history of the songs you are teaching, and set the pitch low enough that all can join in.43 These comments naturally are similar to those suggested by Stewart at other workshops and training sessions (see ch.3). During the 1970s, chorus-membership dues were $5.00 per year, and each woman could expect to spend about $3.00 for the state book of music (see ch. 6). A photo dated "late 1960s or early 1970s" pictures only 8 singers, as does another from 1999. By 1982 the dues had increased to $13.50 and the women wore 42"HD Club Song-Leaders Attend Training Meet," in Porter County Chorus Scrapbook. 43"Song Leader Workshop Is Held at YMCA," in Porter County Chorus Scrapbook.

175 navy and white print dresses of different styles and patterns rather than identical outfits:14 During the 1985-86 chorus season and beyond, the members sold candy, held a taco sale, sponsored Tupperware parties, and sold a 4-H calf for beef to support the chorus. Carol Fifield was the director of the Porter County chorus for 10 years beginning in the 1980s. She had started singing in the choir in 1961 and continued to be active until 1997. Fifield did not have formal training in music but learned to read music as a child and learned conducting techniques at the Extension workshops. She recalled Al Stewart making unannounced visits to county rehearsals to gage the women's progress on state music. Shirley Beier of Valparaiso also began singing with the chorus in 1961; she was inactive from 1962 until 1967, but then rejoined the chorus until about 1994.45 Judy Benham was the accompanist for the Porter group in the early 1990s (when they were called the Porterettes). The women found the chorus to be an enjoyable experience noting the variety of music and the pleasure they found in singing 3-part harmony. They continued to marvel at the music made by "ordinary women" (now few with specific farm connections), those who were not trained to a great extent in music but enjoyed singing. However, they expressed concern that leadership in the late 1990s (and the expectation that the women memorize the state music) caused some singers to abandon the chorus (see ch. 2). "This information was collected by Bonnie Houser from a ledger, part of the Porterettes Archives, in the possession of Judy Benham, Kouts, IN. Judy Benham, Shirley Beier, and Carol Fifield, interview by Bonnie Houser, 5 March 2001, Kouts, IN; Judy Benham, Kouts, IN, letter to Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN, 18 August 2000.

45

176 The Porterettes sometimes performed in conjunction with women from Jasper County, at local events and venues. The two groups presented spring concerts in 1996 and 1997 for which each group presented some numbers alone and some in a combined larger ensemble; programs from the events reveal that the Jasper County Chordettes had about 15 singers and the Porterettes had about a dozen. In the year 2000 the Porter County group also performed Christmas music at the South Lake Mall in Merrillville, at nursing homes and retirement centers, and for social and fraternal clubs. Their repertoire included popular songs, spirituals, show tunes, and holiday music, and the women also continued to participate in state activities at Purdue. The financial records of the chorus from June 1999 to May 2000 indicate that it spent $860 to send the director, accompanist, and two singers (for whom they paid half the expense) to the annual workshop and $201 for the state book of music and rehearsal tape. Partial payments to the director (Jennifer Gibson) and accompanist (Judy Benham) also are listed. An undated bylaws or guideline document for the Porter County chorus, likely from the 1990s (the dues are listed as $17), provides details of the group's structure and the philosophy behind it.4 The aim of the organization is "To provide an Extension Homemaker Chorus alternative for women interested in singing in Porter County." Its purpose is "To provide the opportunity for musical expression and training for individual members and the opportunity for development of a chorus able to provide musical programs for a variety of organizations in the community." (These statements remain "Guidelines for Porter County Extension Homemaker Chorus," in Porterettes Archives.

46

177 consistent with those cited above.) The auditions for the group were open to any woman in the county, whether or not they belonged to an Extension Homemaker club. An Executive committee consisting of the chorus officers (elected by the chorus members), the Extension Home Economist, the county Extension Homemaker Board president, and the Extension Homemaker Chorus Director (the state director) managed the group. The county director of the ensemble had primary control over repertoire selection and was re-affirmed by vote each year. All members were expected to participate in fund raising, and 90-minute rehearsals were held weekly during the chorus season (with some time off during the summer). The expectation for high standards and individual discipline is evident in the rule that missing 4 rehearsals in a season without proper notification to the director brought dismissal from the group. The Porter/Jasper County Choraliers sang at the annual Festival in 2009 under the direction of Michael Engle and accompanied by Judy Benham.

RUSH COUNTY

Homemaker Clubs connected to Extension began in Rush County, east of Indianapolis, in 1925. The Rush County Extension Chorus was organized in the spring and summer of 1934, and at first, each club in the county was to send a Soprano Soprano II, and an Alto to the county ensemble. Mrs. Emerson (Alice) Headlee was the first director, and Mrs. Claude (Catherine) Crane served as the accompanist.47 The chorus Rush County Extension Homemakers: Cotninerative [sic] Booklet, /9251985, n.p.: IEHA, ca. 1985.

47

178 made its first appearance at the Extension Achievement Day the following October. At the suggestion of the state chorus leaders at Purdue, in 1936 the Rush County group began holding twicemonthly rehearsals (rather than monthly) and created an advisory board to guide the chorus. With the support of the local Farm Bureau, the women began to participate in the Purdue festival in 1937. They wore pink chiffon dresses in the early years, each decorated by a gold broach provided by Wilma Fike, the Home Demonstration agent for Rush County. The chorus provided the music for a "living pictures' program of Stephen Foster songs at the Achievement Day of 1938.48 Like other county choruses, the Rush County group struggled during World War II. Mrs. Burney (LaVerne) Farthing led the chorus until 1943, and Mrs. Noel (Eloise) Hodge was the director in 1944 and again in 1946. All 33 members of the chorus traveled to Washington, DC, in 1950 for "Indiana Day" (see ch. 4). The ladies joined together to raise funds for the trip so that each singer was given about $100 towards the trip. Additionally, members from the Rush County chorus participated in the other out-of-state tours organized by the Purdue state office, and the director and accompanist regularly joined in the workshop held to learn the year's new state music (see ch. 3). In 1961, Hodge sent Al Stewart a letter that offers insight into the value and meaning (musical and personal) of the workshop: I am very glad that I could attend the Workshop at Lake Manitou. The fact that several of us, who have ten year certificates as chorus directors, attended is definite proof "The chorus also presented a "Minstrel on Stephen Foster music...at the Purdue Conference in January 1939 with all chorus members in black face [sic]."

179 that we feel we are always gaining in knowledge and experience as well as inspiration under your leadership and this chorus work.... I wish to thank you for making it possible for my husband to attend with me. This makes for a family tie to this work.49 Its members also joined other Indiana Extension chorus women for performances at the Indiana State Fair. During the 1940s and 50s, the chorus typically sang at local and regional church and civic events, at nursing homes, and at agricultural and Extension meetings. They also changed to dark-colored choir robes with a white collar or stole. In the 1970s, one change the chorus made reflected the changing times in America for women. The ensemble moved its rehearsal time from Saturday afternoon to Tuesday evening "to help the working woman."5° The ladies also decided to forego the choir robes and return to performing in matching or coordinated dresses. The Rush County ensemble celebrated its 50th anniversary on 22 June 1984, and the following year, Eloise Hodge, a public-school music teacher, was honored for 40 years of directing the group. She retired as director of the chorus a decade later after 50 years of service. She wrote, "I can assure you that this is a learning as well as enjoyable experience for many women."5 They participated in a chorus that performed at the National Extension Homemakers Conference in Indianapolis in 1987. Following Hodge's retirement, Sue Ann °Excerpt of letter from Mrs. Noel Hodge, PMO Notes, October 1961, 12. "Rush County Extension Homemakers: Commerative [sic] Booklet. 'Eloise Hodge, Rushville, IN, letter to Linda Pollly, Muncie, IN, 20 June

1995.

180 Land led the chorus of about a dozen singers as they sang at local church services, alumni banquets, and local fairs. The choir continued to perform at the county Achievement Day, as had been a long tradition.52 After the turn of the century (probably about 2004), it seems to have floundered, and singers from Rush were not listed among participants in state activity after 2007.

TIPPECANOE COUNTY

Of course, the Tippecanoe County chorus rightfully claims the moniker "the one that started it all." The chorus was organized in April 1934, as is noted in the discussion of the early history of Extension music in chapter 2. Its proximity to Purdue University and Al Stewart turned out to be advantageous for all involved. It quickly became involved in activities (musical, financial, and organizational) that would become the norm for other counties and the state program. By July Stewart had rehearsed the ensemble enough that he presented it before the Rural Leadership Conference at Purdue as a model for his idea of organizing choruses in each of Indiana's 92 counties. The early goals of the chorus were better appreciation and interpretation of music, learning to sing and work together, and bringing members of different communities together for a common purpose. An organizational plan for the ensemble developed almost immediately under Stewart's leadership. Mrs. Elmer Wien was the pianist for the chorus, and Mrs. Bailey Beedle served as the secretary/treasurer. The women paid 5-cents dues Eleanor Arnold, et al, ed. Rush County Extension Homemakers: Living and Learning Through the Years, 1925-2000, (n.p.: IEHA, ca 2000), 53.

52

181 for each rehearsal, and members bought their own music and provided their own uniform dress, a navy two-piece suit with a white collar or scarf. (Shortly thereafter they changed to blue choir robes with a white collar.) The ensemble's first performances were for "county federated clubs" (including a meeting in Muncie, Indiana, in April 1938) and the choir was invited to sing in Washington, DC, in June 1936 for the Associated Country 'Women of the World conference. The group also traveled to the Chicagoland Music Festival in August 1938, where it was a "class B" entry in the women's chorus competition.53 In 1939 the Tippecanoe group traveled to Baltimore, Maryland, for the National Federated Music Clubs Convention (an organization with which Stewart had strong ties) and then went on to New York for the World's Fair (see ch. 4). During the early years the women of the chorus participated in several fund-raising activities common of the time but passé later, including rummage sales, food auctions, and selling coat hangers, cards, baked-goods, soap, tissues, and vanilla. The secretary's record book from 1938-46 mentions some of the repertoire the chorus sang during that time: "Night Song" by Clokey, "Year's at the Spring" by Noble Cain, "Oh, Lovely Clouds" by Mozart, and "Lift Thine Eyes" by Mendelssohn. In 1941 the group was slated to present the inaugural broadcast of a series of programs on WFBM out of Indianapolis sponsored by the National Federation of Music Clubs. The series was to showcase rural choruses, and 1 93 6-4 3 Scrapbook in Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration Chorus Collection, 73:92.26, Tippecanoe County Homemakers Association Archives, Tippecanoe County Historical Society Museum, West Lafayette, IN. Choruses from Illinois also attended this contest in later years, see ch. 7.

53

182 ensembles from Maryland, Cincinnati, Louisville, Cedar Rapids, and Portland (Maine) were named as subsequent participants.54 The Tippecanoe County Chorus, under Stewart's leadership, also promptly launched efforts to assist music groups within the county, thus making real its educational and community missions. A recommendation on Co-Operative Extension letterhead from the Executive Committee of the county chorus dated 6 May 1940 was two-pronged. The group wanted to be informed of other choral organizations in each township so it could offer "counseling," and it suggested that Extension chorus members not sing in other township groups as a "protective measure."" Even during the peak of World War Ii more than 2 dozen Home Economic clubs continued to function in Tippecanoe County, and the chorus remained active and won a $150 war bond for a third-place showing in the "Donald Voorhees National Federation of Music Clubs contest for amateur musical programs best serving the war effort." The chorus presented a program entitled "Music of the Allied Nations," which featured music from the 10 war allies, and in fact, was the state music for 1944 (see ch. 6).56 Additionally the women sang at church services of its members and other rural locations once a month, but the president of the chorus during those years expressed hope that they soon would return to "normal living" and would be able to accept other performance 54"On

the Radio," Indianapolis Times, 17 February 1941, 7.

55 Typed

manuscript in "Miscellaneous" file, Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration Chorus Collection, 73:92.26.

5'Mrs.

C.C. Calhoun, "History of the Tippecanoe County Chorus," typewritten manuscript [written during World War II], Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration Chorus Collection, 73:92.26; P.V10 Noles, September 1944, 4.

183 invitations. Nevertheless, in May 1943, 42 women sang a 15minute program on WBAA (Purdue University), in June 1944 the chorus was heard as a demonstration group at the Rural Leadership School,57 and in November the Tippecanoe County women sang for the Industrial Recreation Conference. A report on its 10th anniversary in 1944 claimed the chorus was on sound financial ground with an adequate balance in its checking account and four $100 War Bonds in its treasury.58 Reportedly the average age of the singers was 45 years. The chorus secretary's records of 19 May 1945 offers rare insight into the yearly "achievement goals" of a county ensemble (see ch. 2). Any county chorus could earn the following: 25 points 10 2 2 2 2 3 3 4

57

Attendance of 80% at January festival Attendance of 100% A radio broadcast during the year Appearance at the county Home Economics Achievement Day Appearance in at least one rural church Appearance on at least one communitysponsored function At least 3 chorus social functions during the year At least 1 program sung entirely from memory Active membership in the National Federation of Music Clubs

PAK) Notes, June 1944, 3.

58"Indiana

Is a Singing State," Extension Service Review 15, no. 8 (August 1944): 115. The chorus members paid dues and each county club also made a contribution to the chorus's upkeep.

184 Active membership of more than 25 ladies Active membership of more than 40 15 ladies 75% of all county clubs represented in 5 the chorus Every club in the county represented in 10 the chorus Robes for the entire chorus 5 Answering all state correspondence 5 promptly. The Tippecanoe chorus enticed to its members to attend regularly by means of War Stamps. How the chorus acquired the stamps, which could be collected in a book and redeemed for a War Bond, is unclear, but it awarded them to members through a drawing at each rehearsal. Members won from $1.75 to $2.50 in stamps.59 Additionally the chorus began a Memorial Fund into which members could make contributions in honor of deceased members. These funds were used to support worthwhile music-related projects such as college scholarships. 5

In May 1946 the Tippecanoe County chorus performed at the National Board Meeting of the Federated Music Clubs in Atlanta, Georgia, following a speech by Stewart. In 1947 the Tippecanoe County group of about 40 singers continued its links with the federation and performed at its national meeting in Detroit in April. A letter to all of the Home Economics Clubs in the county dated 25 August 1949 reveals information about auditions for the group. At that time, the chorus had 6 openings Various minutes, "Secretary's Book of the Tippecanoe County Home Economics Chorus, 1938-46," Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration Chorus Collection, 73:92.26.

59

185 that were to be filled through "non-embarrassing tryouts on the basis of vocal ability and interest with special attention being paid to those from Clubs not now represented in the County Chorus."6° The letter also added the enticement of the forthcoming trip to Washington, DC (see ch. 4). A membership list from 1956 indicates that the chorus had 52 members; the vast majority of the women appear to have been married, but only about 40% of the women had "rural route" addresses, perhaps indicating that fewer participants were truly rural residents. With its proximity to Purdue, the Tippecanoe women also assumed additional responsibilities related to the annual festival. Members often prepared sandwiches and drinks to be sold to the host of singers that arrived on campus for the conference and festival (see ch. 2). The Tippecanoe ensemble also served as a demonstration group for the directors' clinic Stewart offered to assist other county directors in preparing the state music with their own county choruses. It perfouned in a similar function at the Industrial Music Clinic in 1951, and it presented the inaugural musical performance at the Eliza Fowler Hall on the Purdue campus in the fall of 1958. In the summer of 1965 Tippecanoe's chorus returned to its WBAA radio roots, in a sense, when it taped a group of numbers to use on air during a series of Homemakers Programs.61 In April 1959 the Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration chorus marked its 25111 anniversary, Al Stewart having been its director since the chorus's founding. The 5°Beatrice E. Robertson and Mrs. B. F. Dunwoody, typewritten letter to

Home Economics Clubs of Tippecanoe County, 25 August 1949, Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration Chorus Collection, 73:92.26.

61 PM0

Notes, May/June 1965, 10.

186 anniversary celebration was held at the Redeemer Lutheran Church in West Lafayette, and the entertainment included "movies taken of the chorus on tours of Washington .., and the New York World's Fair.... 62 Some charter members of the chorus attended the luncheon as well. In addition to its individual performances, the chorus was a regular participant in the state chorus at Purdue, and members traveled with the state chorus on the various performance trips, including 38 Tippecanoe singers who made the trip to Florida in 1956. In an effort to raise money for its various activities, women of the county chorus made and sold "hundreds of pounds" of mincemeat each autumn.63 The year 1959 also marked the retirement of Sheldon B. Pershing, the county agricultural agent for the previous 25 years. He was honored with a meal at the Stewart home in October served by the Tippecanoe chorus 64 few years n,.64 members and was given a tape recorder as a gift. later, in 1963, Stewart gave up his position as director of the Tippecanoe County Chorus; Mrs. Francis Opp Martin was his successor. At the same time Mrs. Clair (Louise) Moore, a piano teacher at Purdue, became the group's accompanist, replacing Bill Luhman, who was one of Stewart's assistants at Purdue. Like other county choruses described in this chapter, the Tippecanoe chorus sang at many local and regional events. It gave a concert for the Indiana Pythian Home in Lafayette on 23 PM0 Notes, June 1959, 3. The whereabouts of the movies is unknown.

62

'3PAIO Notes, October 1957, 11. The 1960 Achievement Day program mentions that the chorus sold 600 quarts of mincemeat the previous year. "Thirty-Third Annual Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration Achievement Day" program. from the "Home Demonstration Chorus Archives and Memorabilia of Al Stewart," in the possession of Sonya Stewart Eddy, Anderson, IN. P,110 Notes, November 1959, 3.

187 May 1960, and the women sang for the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Christmas party in 1965. The group continued to maintain rigorous standards within the ensemble; it collected penalty fines from members who were late to rehearsal in the 1960s. Additionally during that decade, the chorus witnessed the results of an already-long history—some of its older members passed away, including Mrs. Ruth Schulze in 1962; she had been a member for 24 years. Beginning in 1970, Al Stewart returned as director of the Tippecanoe County Chorus, this time with Bruce (Mickey) McGuire as a co-director and Bill Luhman and Bill Allen as accompanists. All 3 men were Stewart's assistants at Purdue. The 34-member choir met on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month at 1 p.m. The group performed at the County Extension Picnic and for the Kounty Kraft Karnival [sic] in that year, and in general continued its performance schedule at nursing homes, local churches, and civic and social organizations. The Tippecanoe County Chorus was the first such ensemble formed in Indiana, and it functioned continuously well into the twentyfirst century. Under the direction of Jane Massey, the ensemble performed under the name the Choral Club of Tippecanoe County at the 75th Anniversary Festival in June 2009.

OTHER COUNTY VIGNETTES

Allen County, located in the northeastern lake region of Indiana (see the state map included among the photographs), had a Home Demonstration choir active in the 1950s when the 30-voiced group rehearsed twice a month under the direction of Mrs. Edgar G. DeForest of Fort Wayne. DeForest also served as choir director and organist at the Westminister [sic]

188 Presbyterian Church and was a member or participant in several other local musical organizations. She was particularly proud of the choir's 95% attendance rate considering the distances that many of the participants had to drive for rehearsals and performances. In preparation for the trip to Canada (see ch. 4), the women dug and sold "hundreds of thousands" of fishing worms. They also held "jam sessions" [making and selling jams and jellies], bake sales, rummage sales, and card parties. The choir sang locally for the Fort Wayne Women's Club, the YMCA, the American Legion, the Farm Bureau, the Northern Indiana Muck Crop Growers Association, and several churches among other venues. At the time Mary Dean Williams wrote her feature article about the Allen County choir, the youngest participant was 31 years of age and the oldest was 67. An unusual feature of the Allen County group was its sponsorship of sightseeing tours to various parts of the country. An article likely from the mid-1960s describes a June trip to New York (for the 1965 New York World's Fair?) and a late summer trip to the Canadian Rockies that were "open to the general public.". The article's author states that the choir had sponsored such trips for 20 years." Two years later, the group sponsored a train and bus coach trip to the Grand Canyon and California. Fredric Gingrich directed the Allen County group in the late 1960s. The Home Demonstration chorus from Benton County, located on the Illinois border, made a concerted effort to contribute to its locality. In 1958 it hosted a workshop for °Mary Dean Williams, "Allen County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan. 66"HDC Chorus Sponsors Trips," #81-240. 8.

"History from Scrapbooks Collection,"

189 Extension club song leaders, the women encouraged local highschool music students to continue musical involvement at college, and in July of 1961 the chorus participated in a program at the 4-H building in Oxford, Indiana, to help dedicate a new public-address system that was financed by the chorus.67 In the 1950s, Mrs. Eldo (Geraldine) Wallace directed the choir; it was only part of her daily responsibilities as churchchoir musician, public-school teacher, farmer's wife, mother, and grandmother. Mrs. Emmett (Anne or Mary?) Black took over for her in 1960. Black apparently also directed the Jasper County choir, and she facilitated some joint performances for those counties and others in the region. For example, in 1960 the choirs from Benton, Newton, Jasper, and Warren counties joined together for an August performance.68 The accompanist for the choir in the 1950s was Mrs. Carl (Rosemary?) Funk, a graduate of Purdue University and a former accompanist for the Purdue Glee Club and University Chorus.° In the late 1950s and into the 1960s, the Benton County choir also regularly contributed to the "Grant-in-Aid" program that Al Stewart instigated to bring in scholarship money for the Purdue Glee Club. The Benton County chorus was organized in 1937, but had to disband during World War II. The women reorganized the choir in 1950 and built its membership to 30 singers. In 1999 Jane Baysinger became the group's director, and records indicate that the choir was active as late as 2009.

67 PAIO

Notes, June/July 1961, 7.

"PA40

Notes, Summer 1960, 5.

°Mary Dean Williams, "Benton County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan.

190 An article in Woman's Day of November 1941 mentions that the women of the Home Economics Chorus from Brown County, south of Indianapolis, really showed their fortitude and dedication the previous winter when they needed to rehearse in a poorly heated courthouse during -20' temperatures. Otherwise most of the choir's activities seem to stem from the 1950s. In 1957 the choir boasted 4 mother-daughter combinations among its singers, who were directed by Mrs. Robert Collins, a local minister's wife. In the following year, Eugene DeWees, who at that time was a junior in the Indiana University School of Music, led the choir.7° His tenure was short; in 1959, Ruth Tilton took over the director's responsibilities. The choir consisted of about 15 members ranging in age from 20 to 70 years of age drawn from 6 home demonstration clubs. A majority of the women were rural dwellers. One woman drove a distance of 20 miles to attend rehearsals, which reflects the enjoyment the women garnered from participation. The chorus members also formed a "kitchen band" that accompanied one member dancing the jig. 71 Members of Carroll County's Home Demonstration chorus, which remained active at the time of the 75th anniversary of the state organization in 2009, have a long association with Extension music. They participated in the state choir's trip to Toronto in 1952. Their fund-raising efforts were successful enough that the travelers only needed to contribute $17 each towards the $80 to $100 per-person cost of the trip.72 As a reflection of Midwestern rural attitudes and of changing 70

PAI0 Notes, April 1958, 10.

71 Mary

Dean Williams, "Brown County" in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan,

72

lnclianapolis News, Fair Edition, 1953.

191 times in America, Carroll County was complimented by the music office at Purdue for being the first choral club to submit its new "Zip Code Number," and its director, Lucille Brown, lamented that television networks should provide more music and inspiration rather than violence.73 In 1961 Brown, the mother of a young son, received her 10-year Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus participation recognition; she also was a regular and enthusiastic participant in the annual workshops (see ch. 3). Catherine Carter, accompanist for the Carroll County choir, received her 10-year recognition in 1963. The group's performances included many local events, some with county choirs from nearby counties, and a trip to Illinois for the Chicagoland music festival in 1957 (see also ch. 7). The 23 members of the choir, less than half of which were described as "rural," raised money for the 1956 California trip by creating a cookbook that contained some recipes from "celebrities" (including one for beef stew from President Eisenhower). The book sold for $1.25. Several of the women were employed outside the home in the following occupations: teacher, cook, photographer, registered nurse, and welder.74 About 40 women comprised the Clay County choir, which was one of only eight choirs directed by a male during the 1950s. For director and businessman Earl Brooks, music was a worthy avocation, and the group's twice-monthly rehearsals at the Brazil, Indiana, public library usually were attended by at least 37 singers.75 In fact, the PAIO Notes 73

PAI0 Notes, January/February 1964, 4 and December 1965, 8.

74 Mary Dean Williams, "Carroll County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan.

"Mary Dean Williams, "Clay County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan.

192 "Graduation Issue" of 1957 reported that one member of the chorus had not missed a rehearsal in more than 4 years. The Clay County choir decided early on that its music and robes would be "choir-owned" rather than individual owned. As a result, they had accumulated a rather large music library from which local organizations could borrow. The group also had a policy requiring each member to serve on a committee to encourage more consistent and widespread service contributions. Mrs. Wilford Dobson of Brazil, who also served as a church musician and was an accomplished violinist, accompanied the choir. The choir hosted an annual Christmas dinner, to which family and friends were invited, and a dinner for the local home demonstration club song leaders. The latter was to reward those leaders, but it additionally served as a recruiting tool for the county choir. Mrs. Glendon Sendmeyer, the Clay County home demonstration agent, also was a member of the chorus. Mrs. James (Charlotte) Pickett became the choir's director in the 1960s following the 1961 death of Mr. Brooks after 14 years of service. Extant records indicate that the choir functioned for about 20 years after the end of World War II. Although details concerning the intervening years are scant, members of the Clay County chorus sang with the state choir as late as 2009. Located along the Ohio River, Crawford County was home to a choir that rehearsed twice monthly and had members from 5 area Home Demonstration clubs. It first organized in 1947. Ray Jones, of Salem, Indiana, directed the group in the 1950s following the death in 1952 of previous director, Walter Yerks.76 The chorus brought together singers associated with 76

P1110 Notes, April 1952, 7.

193 the following occupations (held either by a chorus member or her husband): farmer, doctor, bank bookkeeper, rural mail carrier, grocery store clerk, funeral director, defense plant worker, garage and filling station attendant, superintendent of water works, cement plant worker, salesman, and minister.77 Jones directed music in a church, a lodge, and a community service organization in addition to his work as a Baptist minister in one small-town church and two rural churches. The choir remained active at least until 1962. DeKalb County, in northeast Indiana, boasts one of the earliest Home Demonstration Club choruses with its beginning in 1936. In January 1945 the chorus won the prize at the annual Agricultural Conference at Purdue "for the chorus credited with the most chorus-miles in traveling to the conference."78 This was particularly meaningful during war years. The DeKalb women joined other choruses to form a massed choir of about 200 voices to entertain conference attendees. The county chorus also entertained at various local functions such as the Northern Indiana Muck Crop Growers Association meeting in 1956, its fourth straight appearance at that event, and in the Lions Club Ministrel [sic] show.79 Likewise the 30 chorus members ranging in age from 22 to 72 made an effort to provide enjoyable events for members' families and to build camaraderie. In November 1957 they hosted about 90 guests and chorus members for dinner, games, 77

Mary Dean Williams, "Crawford County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan. Unfortunately the article does not specify which occupations were held by women. Women Sing at Farm Session," Indianapolis News, 12 January 1945, part 2, p. 9.

7g" 200 7g "

DeKalb

County Chorus," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan.

194 and contests;8° they repeated the successful affair the next year. Occasionally the group would meet for rehearsal in a member's home. The choir's director, Mrs. Alice Yarian, received her 10year service certificate in 1960, and in 1963 the DeKalb County accompanist, Mrs. Helen House!, received the same honor. Yarian's tenure continued at least until 1969. Her training was primarily in voice, which she received in Chicago and Detroit. The choir also was 1 of 3 choruses selected at the 1963 festival at Purdue to sing alone on the evening festival concert (see ch. 2). To earn money the ladies served meals at various local functions and sold Christmas cards. Although a gap in records occurs for the 1970s and 80s, the DeKalb County choir was active just before and after the turn of the twenty-first century. In the 1950s, the Delaware County Home Demonstration Club Chorus boasted one of the largest memberships with about 56 singers representing almost 30 different Home Demonstration clubs in the county. The women ranged in age from 23 years to 75 years at that time, and among them they had 122 children and 104 grandchildren.8I Sixteen of the 42 charter members still were active 20 years after the choir's founding. Mrs. Randall Campbell, wife of a local minister, was the director of the group in the 1950s; she received her education at Otterbein College (in Ohio) and at Ball State University, which is located in Delaware County. The choir continued to be active in the 1960s. In the 1990s the Delaware County women sometimes joined with women from Madison County to form the Ma-Del County Chorus, although they also continued to be listed as a separate ensemble. They 80PAI0 81 Mary

Notes, December 1957, 5.

Dean Williams, "Delaware County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan.

195 partnered with Blackford County in subsequent years. Karen Baffling served as the director, and she found the blending of the county groups helpful in providing vocal strength and regional and intergenerational camaraderie. Fountain County is located about midway along the western border of Indiana. Its large Home Demonstration County Chorus of more than 40 singers was founded in 1938 and seems to have been consistently active for at least the next 30 years. Verna Glascock Shelton directed the ensemble for 15 years, retiring in 1961.82 The chorus sang locally and traveled to nearby Danville, Illinois, to sing at a veteran's facility. To vary their program, the director sometimes used a quartet or soloist scattered among the choir's repertoire. Among the moneymaking projects the women tackled was something called a "flower show."83 A letter from Ruth Cotes, President of the chorus, to Al Stewart, in the spring of 1968 and published in the PMO Notes, indicates that the choir struggled in the late 1960s. Cotes wrote, Our chorus almost fell apart last year. Many old members dropped because of ill health. We were without a director and accompanist and the 3 remaining charter members wanted to quit. I couldn't stand to see the chorus die, so I called all I could think of and asked them to come to practice. Our county agent's office helped and I am proud of the chorus as of today."

82

PM0 Notes, June/July 1961, 8.

"Maly Dean Williams, "Fountain County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan. ""Home Demonstration Chorus News," PASO Notes, April 1968, 7, 9. In a later entry in Notes her last name is spelled Cates.

196 Cotes also thanked Stewart for selecting "Born Free" as one of that year's state pieces; she had a grandson serving in Vietnam at the time. It is unclear if the chorus functioned consistently over the next few decades, but it was active in the 1990s. In June of 1955, the Grant County Extension chorus participated in the annual chorus festival at Purdue. It sang an arrangement of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" for its individual performance during the day (see ch. 2). Al Stewart offered the following critique to the women: This is a very good spicy chorus. The accompanist gave the wrong note in the bass in the transition and almost threw the chorus for a loss. A beat was lost going from the chorus to the interlude in another spot—the soft singing was effective, the crescendos were good—the dynamics were fine; this is really an excellent ladies' chorus; and excellent one to open the program this morning.85 The chorus also sponsored a workshop for club song leaders in 1958. As a fund-raising project, the women compiled a "Party Book," which contained ideas for recreation and entertainment. It sold for $1.50. In the 1950s, Arthur Curran, who also taught voice lessons, directed the 28-voiced choir, 18 of whom were described as "rural." Although the chorus was formed in 1938, its primary years of activity were the 1950s and 60s. The Marion Chronicle-Tribune honored the group with a feature article on 15 July 1963 for its quarter-century of service and entertainment for the county. In the following year the choir

85 Typewritten

240.6.

document in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-

197 sponsored a program titled "Make May Music Month" in an effort to offer help to local song leaders. Hamilton County seems to have started its chorus activity after World War II. Like other counties, it sponsored a workshop for county club song leaders in 1958. Mrs. Wayne Miller and Mrs. Norm McKinney both are listed as directors of the group in the late 1950s. The choir sang frequently in local churches and usually received half of the offering-plate funds for its efforts. Additionally the women sold Je11-0 (which experienced a burst of popularity in the 1950s), hammers, and greeting cards to raise money. Another of the choir's service activities was singing at homes for the sick and aged at Christmas time. Although the choir reportedly consisted of 31 singers in 1953, average attendance was about 20 at each rehearsa1.86 Many of the same types of activities continued into the 1960s. They sang for the Annual Indianapolis District Home Demonstration Day in 1961 and sponsored a workshop for club song leaders in 1964. In an effort to accommodate women's changing lives, the Hamilton County group essentially split into 2 parts in 1965. One group held night rehearsals while the other continued to meet in the afternoon; the new "night group" had 9 members in its first year." The choir was active in the 1990s as well, when 15 of its members took a 6-day tour to the Carolinas by way of Kentucky and Tennessee.88 It remained active in 2009.

8Gm ry

a Dean Williams, "Hamilton County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan. 87

13 A10 Notes, January/February 1965, 6.

"P.A10 Notes, Summer 1993.

198 The Hendricks County Home Demonstration Chorus Nvas founded in 1939 and reportedly had more than 100 members drawn from 17 local home economics clubs in 1941.89 Miss Blythe Osborn was the director, and Mrs. Ethel Atkinson was the pianist. Among its repertoire were: "Drink to Me Only," "The Rosary" by Rogers/Nevins," "Can't Stay Away" by Cain, and "Old Fashioned Garden" by C. Porter. In 1949 the choir received a 92% rating at the annual festival at Purdue, and several of its members traveled to Washington for the Capitol Sesquicentennial in 1950. It met every other Saturday for rehearsals in the 1950s whenl2 charter members continued to be active. Approximately 35 women, mostly rural dwellers, were members of the ensemble, which was directed by Mrs. Helen Bargerhuff, who was a public-school music teacher.9° The choir was selected as one of the "top 3" county choirs at the annual Home Demonstration Chorus Festival in 1962 and therefore sang as part of the evening concert (see ch. 2). Located just west of Marion County and Indianapolis, the Hendricks choir often had the occasion to sing before audiences in the city. Although records for the 1970s and 80s are scant, the choir seems to have been active consistently since its founding and its name appears on the 75 th -anniversary roster. Knox County, in southwest Indiana, began a Home Demonstration Club chorus in 1936. The group was inactive during some of the World War II years, but otherwise functioned into the 1960s. During its 20th-anniversary year, 25 homemakers, both rural and urban, sang in the choir; one singer was a charter member. Adapting to changes in women's work 89

Plainfield (IN) Messenger, 20 November 1941, 1.

93 Mary

Dean Williams, "Hendricks County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan.

199 lives, the choir held two rehearsals a month in the evening and another two during the daytime.9I At that time, Mrs. H. J. Halterman directed the group. She had a background in publicschool music, church music, and both vocal and instrumental community music. She had directed the county chorus in the 1940s briefly, and then returned to that post in the mid-1950s. The accompanist for the group was Mrs. J. W. Shoemaker, who previously had served a stint as director. Many of the group's fund-raising efforts were similar to other county choruses, although the Knox County women also made a quilt to raffle and had an apron sale. Its coffers were sufficiently strong to allow the choir to contribute frequently to the Grant-in-Aid program for the Purdue Glee Club; they sent $20 in 1969 rather than having a grab-bag at their Christmas party.92 The chorus sang dressed in black robes, but it hoped to acquire new stoles or collars to celebrate the anniversary. To commemorate the Knox County choir's birthday, about 170 of the state's Home Demonstration Chorus members from several counties traveled to the Vincennes University Auditorium to sing under the direction of Al Stewart. The Knox ensemble had begun with only about a dozen singers under the direction of Professor Paul Sebring.93 The chorus performed frequently in local venues and joined with the Vincennes Community Chorus for a performance of Handel's Messiah in 1955. The Knox County choir celebrated its 30th anniversary in 1966. At that 91 Mary Dean Williams, "Knox County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan.

Letter from Mrs. Carl Miller to Al Stewart, reprinted in IWO Notes, January/February 1969, 10.

92

"Knox County Chorus Celebrates 206 Year," Indiana Farmer's Guide in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan.

93

200 time, several of the members had been active since the end of World War II, and the President of the chorus, Mrs. Norman Stanhope, began the 31 year by recalling the travel highlights and musical inspirations of the past.94 Marion County is home to Indianapolis, the state's

capital. It did not enter the Home Demonstration Chorus program in earnest until the 1950s. This may have been due to the more urban landscape of the county, but upon establishment of the choir, the city offered many performance venues. In the 1950s, the mostly-suburban 25 members of the group (representing 14 clubs in the county) made a concerted effort to promote music among young people and to recruit additional singers for the chorus.95 They entertained college freshmen involved in music, and they hosted a dinner for former members and guests. The Marion County ensemble did not engage in many moneymaking projects. It received financial "support through county extension work," and it participated in the subscription contest run by Farmers Guide (see ch. 2). Mrs. Carlton Fields, wife of a hog farmer and a former schoolteacher, directed the chorus, and Mrs. Bill Rogers was the accompanist. Twenty-eight singers from 12 home demonstration clubs made up the Miami County chorus in the mid-1950s.96 At least two of the members had to travel 40 miles round trip to attend rehearsals in Peru. The director, Mrs. Laurence Miller, was a farmer's wife and college-trained in music. She also was a frequent soloist on local radio. The chorus presented music of 94 PA10 Notes, September/October 1966, 7, 8. "Mary Dean Williams, "Marion County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan. Mary Dean Williams, "Miami County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan. The choir was founded in 1937.

96

201 Cole Porter, who was born in Peru, when it sang at a local 4-H dress review; it also performed at a meeting of the Women's Christian Temperance Union and at various church and civic functions. In 1954 the chorus sang "If With all Your Hearts" at the annual festival at Purdue. Al Stewart's critique of the chorus was as follows: Good Chorus—one `hooty' soprano, but over all tone and interpretation good. Words and tone might be improved with use of pure open vowels held full extent of time allotted.97 The choir also hosted the Purdue Glee Club during a 1956 tour stop, and after the 1958 trip to Oregon (see ch. 4), the women held a commemorative salmon bake. Holding on to a single director for several years apparently was problematic in Miami County. The following director's names were announced in MO Notes: Mr. Larry Foncesa, 1957; Mrs. Nancy McCrillus, 1958; Mrs. John (Audrey) McElheny, 1965. On the other hand, the county choir's accompanist received a 10-year service award in 1963. The Montgomery County chorus had sporadic activity before and during World War II, but by 1949 it won the Achievement Trophy given annually at the festival to the county chorus that had done the most to achieve its goals (see ch. 2). Among the banner accomplishments of the Montgomery choir was its appearance at the national meeting of the Federation of Music Clubs in Dallas.98 By the mid-1950s the choir had 41 members, 27 of whom were considered rural. The women also 97Typewritten manuscript in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81240.3. 9s"Montgomery

Chorus Winner," PMO Notes, September 1949, 3.

-)0?

were grandmothers to 85 children. Its local performances often were of a service nature. They sang to raise funds for a 4-H building and for Korean War veterans. The director for many years was Mrs. Walter (Laurabelle) Moyer, and it was through her efforts that the Montgomery County group developed a relationship with the Clay County choir from Liberty, Missouri (see ch.7). She also was a church musician and was affiliated with the Federation of Music Clubs. The choir also sang individually at the State Fair in 1954 and for the National Home Demonstration Council meeting in Columbus, Ohio, in 1957.99 An extant program from the choir's Festival of Songs from April 1959 indicates that it learned a variety of repertoire including sacred, patriotic, classical, folk, and musical theatre pieces. Many of the same types of activities continued into the 1960s, including performances in 1964 to raise funds for the Retarded Children's Association and as entertainment for the Livestock Association in Springfield, Ohio. Montgomery County also was represented at the state festival in Purdue during the 1990s; by then the group had named itself "The Crescendos." It remained active during the early decades of the following century. Posey County, located in far southwest Indiana, organized a Home Demonstration chorus in 1949. During the mid-1950s there were about 22 singers in the group, and they were evenly split between rural and urban households.m The director, Mrs. James (Frieda) Shoultz, was the wife of a farmer and the mother of a teenage son. Shoultz also directed the

99

P1V10 Notes, September 1957, 6.

1°° Mary Dean Williams, "Posey County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan.

203 Episcopal Church choir and was known in the area as a soloist. The accompanist, Mrs. Donald Slone, was a young mother who had earned a degree in music. Like many other counties, the Posey group made Grant-in-Aid contributions, hosted workshops for club song leaders, and sent representatives to the state director/accompanist workshops where the new state music was introduced (see ch. 3). In 1975 Shoultz celebrated her 26th year as director of the ensemble, which continued to have about 25 members.101 Putnam County, just west of Indianapolis, had a choir for most of the years since the late 1930s. In the mid-1950s it had about 20 members, half of whom were rural homemakers. It also boasted 2 mother/daughter pairs among its members; Mrs. Ray Evens had the distinction of participating in every state choir trip except the one to Europe (see ch. 4).102 Carl Strain served as the director; he had been a student of Al Stewart's at Purdue. His "day job" was with IBM. Mrs. Donald White, a part-time music instructor at DePauw University, was the accompanist. In 1989 the Putnam County chorus sang a number titled "Indiana" by James Holland for its individual performance at the Purdue festival. A photograph of the group reveals that it consisted of 16 singers plus the pianist and director. The women wore long, medium blue dresses, each with a bright yellow star reminiscent of Indiana's state flag. St. Joseph County organized a chorus after World War II. In 1950 several of its members went on the trip to Washington, DC, for the Capitol Sesquicentennial, and some 1°I "Purdue Extension Choral Workshop." PMO Notes, July/September 1973. I°2 Mary Dean Williams, "Putnam County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan.

204 members also made the trek to California to sing at the Hollywood Bowl (see ch. 4). At that time, the choir from this northern Indiana county numbered 22 singers; about 1/3 of them lived on farms. Their other occupations (or those of their husbands) included: pipe-organ technician, printer, florist, and school cafeteria worker. t°3 In the mid-1950s Mrs. Frank (Maureen) Sindlinger, Jr., directed the ensemble. She previously had taught music in the Mishawaka public schools; she also composed some pieces and continued church-music work. In 1955 the Home Demonstration clubs of St. Joseph County and the St. Joseph county chorus sponsored their 2nd annual talent show, for which each participant had to be a Home Demonstration club or 4-H member. The entries included accordion players, dancers of various styles, vocal and instrumental solos and ensembles, a baton twirler, a pantomime act, and a band.I°4 Two years later the St. Joseph county choir added a twist to the idea of holding a workshop for club song leaders—they invited every member of every county club (a total nearing 800 women) to attend a Song Fest where Sindlinger and Marvin Myers of the Purdue staff would introduce the year's songs all at once.105 The goal was to help

I°3 Mary Dean Williams, "St. Joseph County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan.

'""Talent Show Draws Long Entry List," South Bend (IN) Tribune, 24 April 1955. Baton twirling was a common activity, sometimes viewed as sport and sometimes as art, for girls in the 1950s and 60s. The National Baton Twirling Association was founded in 1956. 800 in Home Clubs to Hold Song Fest," South Bend (IN) Tribune, 20 January 1957, 26. The repertoire included "The Star Spangled Banner," "Old Folks at Home," "Welcome Sweet Springtime," "Carry Me Back to Ole Virginny," "Tell Me Why," "Now Thank We all Our God," "0 Come all Ye Faithful," and "Indiana, Our Indiana" among others.

1°5

205 make music a more important and accessible part of each county club. "Several hundred" members reportedly attended. In 1957 the chorus also prepared a staged and costumed musical history of the county titled "Homemaker of the Wilderness."I06 Mrs. Joseph Sills and Mrs. Richard Davis prepared the script; Sindlinger wrote most of the music, which was primarily solos and small-group numbers. The story was based on the life of Frances Comparet Coquillard, who arrived in South Bend, Indiana, in 1824. The program's positive reception brought an invitation from Eva Goble, head of Home Demonstration in the state, for the St. Joseph county choir to present it in Elliott Music Hall at Purdue for the June 1959 conference; a free preview was given for local residents in May. At that time there were about 35 women in the choir; only a few of them had farm roots.107 By the early 1960s, the leadership had changed; Mrs. Robert (Carol) Dunn became the ensemble's director, and her tenure lasted at least until 1968.108 Like Posey County, Vanderburgh County is located in Indiana's far southwest along the Ohio River. In fact, the river was the inspiration for an original program titled "Life on the Ohio" prepared by the chorus under the direction of Mrs. Eli (Fern) Boberg. About 140 women (about 50 of them in the chorus) from Home Demonstration clubs in the county participated in the show, which was included on the schedule

1°

PM0 Notes, November 1957, 5.

1°7Typewritten publicity manuscript, in News Clipping File, Indiana Files: "Agricultural—Organizations," Local History Room, St. Joseph County Public Library, South Bend, IN. The entire program also is available at the library. 108

PMO Notes, September/October 1968.

206 for the annual Purdue conference.1°9 Mrs. Boberg was involved in a variety of local music endeavors (including 4-H music) as was Mrs. Gustav Hoos, the accompanist. Among the community service efforts of the Vanderburgh choir was substituting in the summer for church choirs that were on hiatus. Like several other county choirs, the Vanderburgh choir was formed in 1937, disbanded during the war years, and reactivated in 1946. The chorus garnered some income from the ticket sales for the river event, but it also was able to earn money by being allowed to take over one night at a local drivein movie theater. The women also challenged each other's fundraising creativity by giving each woman a silver dollar and then seeing how she could multiply it over a 6-month period. In 1955 the chorus won the Achievement Award at the annual conference for the third time, and it was selected to sing individually on the evening concert numerous times.' I° Boberg died in 1966 after directing the Vanderburgh County chorus for 15 years; her replacement was Mrs. Earl (Gerry) Love." Love was succeeded by Kathy Moore, who earned her 25-year service certificate in 1994.112 In 2009, Jim Moore directed the Vanderburgh County Choral Club assisted by Kathy Moore, Director Emeritus. Prudy Moore served as the accompanist.

w9 Mary Dean Williams, "Vanderburg County," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, tan.

"'PO Notes, Summer 1955, 4. 11 I P11,10

Notes, September/October 1968.

I I2 P1140

Notes, Summer 1994.

207 This review of county chorus activities reveals several consistencies between and among the choruses including similarity in performing venues, repertoire selections (driven in part by the state music, see ch. 6), function within the community, and meaning for the participants. Nevertheless, counties often added individual activities that helped support or promote the basic goals and tenets of the state Extension music program (Clay County established a music library from which other ensembles could borrow; Grant County hosted Make May Music Month to encourage community music). Likewise, individual counties liked to boast of their successes (having multi-generational participants in Putnam County; Knox County singers joining a local performance of Messiah; -20° temperatures not stopping rehearsal in Brown County; Allen County registering 95% rehearsal attendance). However, as will be noted in chapter 8, a main reason for an individual choir's success often was the consistency and commitment of its director.

Chapter 6 Music of the Extension choirs

INTRODUCTION AND SONG-OF-THE-MONTH PROGRAM

Throughout this book the titles are provided for many of the songs performed by Extension choirs in Indiana and in the other states under review.' Additionally, scattered commentary about some of the works, or the collections from which they came, is offered where appropriate. This chapter will focus on the music performed by the Indiana choirs, but it is important to note that similar repertoire (and indeed, sometimes the same repertoire) was found in each state studied. Various types of community singing were common and, in fact, promoted in the United States in the early decades of the twentieth century, and collections of songs in multiple vocal arrangements were produced to accommodate this activity. One example is "I Hear America Singing," 55 Community Songs, published in 1918 in the "Liberty Edition." The Preface of the collection mentions its use as a morale builder during war years and notes that any material of German origin has been omitted. Instead, special emphasis was given to patriotic songs "to stimulate and advance the new, virile American spirit created by our part in the war." The editorial committee for the collection included Peter W. Dykema who was involved with the creation As noted previously, the name of a composer or arranger of pieces is listed just as it appears in the source where the title is mentioned. While it often is possible to speculate about the composer of the works (full name, original composer of arrangements, etc.), that practice can lead to errors.

210 of several such collections, some of which were used later by Extension-related ensembles (see ch. 7). The need and desire for collections continued, as evident in Twice 55 Community Songs for Treble Voices in 1923 (also known as "the Rose Book"). This collection, with its arrangements for women's groups, met the needs of a more specific singing public. The Preface declares, "Here are good songs, most of them tested and approved through long use, but appearing here in new arrangements, which charm by their skillful surprises, while always adhering to the spirit of the original." A subsequent collection titled Twice 55 Plus, Community Songs ("The New Brown Book") appeared several years later. It actually included about 175 songs with piano accompaniments and several sacred, secular, and patriotic responsive readings. Its Preface states: ... the music included in this book for all America embraces much characteristic folk music of various peoples; [sic] patriotic songs, songs of sentiment and home, humorous and college songs, hymns and negro [sic] spirituals, and several standard choruses. More than one-third of the songs are distinctively American, and among other nations represented are France, Italy, Russia and Great Britain, including some of the best examples of Scotch, Irish and Welsh songs. The National Recreation Association sponsored a similar publication in 1940 titled Singing America, Song and Chorus Book, which was compiled and arranged by Augustus D. Zanzig. An essay titled "The Contents" explains that the 120 songs included offer a variety of music for informal singing in homes, schools, recreation centers, clubs and camps, but that "much of it is fully substantial enough for concert programs...."

211 The essay also lists about 15 European countries represented by song (including Germany) and explains that "America" is intended to encompass Canada and Central and South America along with the United States. The Farm Bureau and Extension Service also were involved in creating song collections. The American Farm Bureau Federation published an undated set titled Official Farm Bureau Songs, and the Summy-Birchard Publishing Company published the Homemakers of America Song Book in 1961. The book sold for $1.25. Max Exner (see ch. 7) is credited as one of the consultants for the Homemaker collection, and among the persons thanked for advice and counsel is Albert P. Stewart of Indiana (see ch. 3). An introductory letter to the collection mentions the variety of repertoire included therein and the effort to pitch each piece in a comfortable range. The songs were arranged for unison singing, or for two- or three-part treble groups; each is provided with a simple piano accompaniment. The repertoire is described as suitable for recreational or concert singing, and the "classified contents" lists the following categories: Patriotic, Old Favorites, Christmas, Sacred, Spirituals, and Rounds and Canons. The Extension Service also distributed a pocket-sized collection titled Indiana Sings in the 1950s.2 An extant copy of the booklet reveals that it was compiled courtesy of Shawnee Press (a long-time choral music publisher) and that interested parties could acquire it from the Purdue Musical Organizations office, the Agricultural Experiment Station at Purdue, or the Indiana Farm Bureau main office in Indianapolis. Indiana Sings contains more than 100 songs, most with both text and music provided. However, many 2

PAIO Notes, January/February 1957.

212 are printed with only a notated melody line—no harmony or accompaniment. Although a classified table of contents is not provided, the same categories mentioned above would readily apply with the addition of a category for songs specific to Indiana (such as "On the Banks of the Wabash") or 4-H and Farm Bureau (such as "4-H Trail"). These collections provided vocal repertoire that many Americans could use, but more pertinent to this study, they also are related to the Song-of-the-Month program included in the music activities of Indiana Extension clubs. In a hand-written letter to Al Stewart dated 27 February 1935, Hazel Arbuckle, a Home Demonstration agent in Delaware County, sought information about "inexpensive books, yet practical" that her clubs could use for singing.3 As noted in chapter 2, Stewart thought it important to provide all Home Demonstration members with the opportunity to sing and to learn about singing and music. Thus, in 1936 he released a flyer for the new Song-of-the-Month program and offered suggestions for improving singing, as well as tips for club song leaders. It included sections on "Some Rules for Community Music Leadership," "Exercises in Voice Culture Helpful to the Average Choir, "Taking Up New Music, "Arranging a Program," and "Community Singing."4 Additionally, he exhorted the women to realize that the "Music Director's Word Is Law." He suggested that choir directors should: Aim to increase membership, expect regularity 3 Letter,

in "Home Demonstration Chorus Archives and Memorabilia of Al Stewart," in the possession of Sonya Stewart Eddy, Anderson, IN. By contrast, the repertoire found in these collections does not appear to correlate directly to the pieces sung by the state or individual county choirs of Indiana.

'Typed manuscript, in "Memorabilia of Al Stewart."

213 of attendance, improve the "grade" of the music sung, improve the singers' tone and volume, and seek to "advance" expression and performance. In learning new music, Stewart suggested that the text be read aloud, that all the parts be played together in strict tempo, and that each part be rehearsed separately. A wellplanned program he thought would not be too long, would contain a variety of musical harmonic keys, and would have first and final numbers that made good impressions leading to a climactic close. The following tips were included for "effective community singing": Provide the words to each singer, have the singers stand; sing in a low key so men could participate comfortably, and use some humming. He included two additional statements that are vague in meaning, "the introduction should be heavy and inspiring" and "hold a few unusual notes for the 'bath-tub' effect" (echo or resonance?). Stewart selected 10 songs (the choirs were inactive during two summer months) reflecting a variety of patriotic, folk, sacred, and holiday repertoire and provided brief commentary as to the history, composer, or musical structure of the piece. Because the success of this program depended on the musical acumen of the club leaders, which sometimes was minimal, Stewart eventually began to provide recordings of the songs so that each club could have musical guidance as they sang.5 In the early days, the Tippecanoe County chorus recorded the pieces on phonograph discs.6 The 1936-37 monthly repertoire consisted of the following: 5 Janalyce

Rouls, West Lafayette, IN, letter to Linda Pollly, Muncie, IN, 9 August 2002.

6"American Farm Women Join in Song," "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81.240.6 (1956-64), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN. This article apparently was the text for an "illustrated feature story" that was being prepared by the US Information Agency in

214 January "Home, Sweet Home" February "Old Dog Tray" March "On the Banks of the Wabash"7 April "Dreaming" "Carry Me Back to 01' Virginny" May June "Love's Old Sweet Song" September "Comin' thru the Rye" October "In the Gloaming" November "Sweet and Low" December "Silent Night" "America, the Beautiful" also was included as an extra number. This list reflects most of the categories mentioned in the collections described above, categories that would remain applicable for a number of years. Song-of-the-Month selections for the late 1940s and early 50s included "Auld Lang Syne"; "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"; "Come, When My Love Lies Dreaming"; "Blest Be the Tie that Binds"; "The Birds Return"; "Faith of Our Fathers"; "To Thee, Oh Country"; "I Cannot Sing the Old Songs"; "The Blue Bells of Scotland"; "Now Thank We all Our God"; and "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing." This list includes more sacred numbers than the list from 1936-37, but it otherwise contains the same mix, which in part was seasonal. As noted previously, Stewart was serious about providing guidance for the song leaders of each club. He offered Washington for distribution abroad. The agency's goal was to tell the story' of American people, policies, and way of life. See "Home Demonstration Choruses Story Told," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, brown-Florida, 1956, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN. 'This is one of two songs commonly used as the "state song" of Indiana, the other one being "Back Home Again in Indiana."

215 musical directives and enthusiastic cheerleading, and he encouraged directors from the county choirs to offer lessons based on their greater experience to club song leaders (see ch. 3). For example, the Kankakee (IL) Daily Journal of 16 January 1956 ran an article with the headline, "Newton County Chorus Gives Tips To Song Leaders" (Newton County is on the Indiana-Illinois border). The article begins: Twenty-three members and guests of the Newton County Chorus sang the entire selection of the songs in the Home Ec [sic] 1956 Year Book [where the titles of Song-of-the-Month selections were printed] for the benefit of the Home Demonstration club song leaders present Monday afternoon at a meeting of the chorus. Director Mrs. V. Longwith demonstrated how song leaders should direct each song, suggesting that they use various methods of expression in teaching the songs, which were new to the local clubs.8 Similarly, workshops for club song leaders were held in Steuben County and Washington County (in northeast and south central Indiana, respectively) in March of 1957. The PAW Notes regularly contained announcements of similar workshops and the date by which a new year's songbook (containing text and music of commercially available works) would be ready. Beginning in 1959, two copies of the songbook (one for the song leader and one for the pianist) were sent to each of the nearly 3,000 individual Extension clubs in the state. Stewart reported that the workshops brought greater interest in singing

8

News clipping in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.6.

216 to the individual clubs and brought new members to county choruses. Always a Purdue University supporter, Stewart included "Hail Purdue" as the October 1955 Song-of-the-Month, supposedly at the request of several club members.9 On the other hand, in the fall of 1957 and winter of 1958, he launched a special campaign to promote the song "Let there Be Peace on Earth, and Let It Begin with Me." This song was written by Sy Miller and Jill Jackson [Miller?], and although copyrighted in 1955, it perhaps was reflective of the turbulence of the time marked by talk of Sputnik, Little Rock, and nuclear/atomic power. The PMO Notes of October 1957 declared that seventy thousand Hoosier women in three thousand clubs would be singing it as the Song-of-the-Month for January 1958. As part of this "Peace through Music" effort, Stewart also encouraged chorus members to introduce the song in churches and civic organizations. He apparently received a letter from Miller supporting his campaign. Additionally, in 1960, Mary Jane Miller of Kosciusko County (relation to composer not known) distributed the song, at her expense, to local churches, clubs, and schools. The same procedure for Song-of-the Month selections and workshops continued well into the 1960s. (This was when Extension women in Indiana could form "chorus clubs" not associated with other Extension activities, but this opportunity did not seem to have a negative effect on general club singing. See ch. 2.) While a marked change was underway in American popular music in the mid-1960s (the Beatles, for example), much of the repertoire for the song program remained the same 9

PMO Notes, November 1954.

217 or similar in character to what it had been previously. Stewart's introduction to the Song-of-the-Month booklet for 1965 does not mention new trends in popular music but states: The real music of America is music of home, love, family, and God and nation. This is MUSIC OF THE LAND. The words of such songs come in settings according to "the fad" or "the vogue" of the day. This setting reflects the economic status and is influenced greatly by war or peace in our country. So the songs that we sing are songs that were created under specific circumstances. Part of the joy of group singing is the temporary transformation of the group to another day and another time.... Music is fun when it's good; it also tends to be good when it's fun. Enjoy good music. Albert P. Stewart and Marvin D. Myers, the designated "Extension Music Specialists" of Indiana, prepared the booklet for 1966, which was "Dedicated to Another Year of Happiness with Good Singing."I° Among their duties was to pitch the songs (as printed in the director and accompanist books) in a comfortable range so that all women would feel at ease to join the singing. The selections (now 12) were: "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" January 'Just a-Wearyin' for You" February "The Wearing of the Green" March "Sweet Genevieve" April "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" May "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" June '°The booklets are part of the "History from Scrapbooks Collection," Choral Club scrapbook (1966), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN. The scrapbook also holds booklets for 1962, 1963, 1967, and 1968.

218 "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean" "My Old Kentucky Home" "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" "Auld Lang Syne" "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come" "Joy to the World"

July August September October November December

Obviously there was some repetition from earlier decades, but the general holiday-driven plan remained in place. The 1966 booklet listed the following resources for information about the songs or about directing: Our Hymnody by Robert Guy McCutchan, A History of Popular Music in America by Sigmond Spaeth, and "Suggestions for Song Leaders" by Stewart. It also made clear that the booklet was not for generaldistribution sale. The introduction to the 1967 booklet stated the following: "This program ... is based on the assumption that everyone can and should sing.... May you find the real enjoyment of song through the use of this little booklet, and may the singing be a source of pleasure and harmony in your club." Again, Stewart did not reference the vast change that was a part of late 1960s American music. As noted previously, the booklets prepared for the club song leader and the accompanist contained score notation, information about each song, and suggestions for leading group singing. For example, the 1962 booklet gave background on "The Prayer of Thanksgiving," also known as "We Gather Together." The melody was said to have originated from an ancient folk song of the Netherlands." In the same collection, "The information offered in the booklets is summarized here; I have not verified that current scholarship is in agreement with the historical information. Rather, the goal is to provide the reader with an idea of the type of information that Stewart found useful, interesting, and appropriate to pass on to the club song leaders.

219 "Sweet and Low" is described as being from the pen of English organist Sir Joseph Barnby. Among other works, Barnby composed nearly 250 hymns before his death in 1896. The text is taken from Alfred Lord Tennyson's "Princess." The 1962 booklet also exhorts the club song leader to learn the dates of members' birthdays and anniversaries so that appropriate celebration songs could be sung. The 1965 booklet describes the origin of "Greensleeves" as English Folk Music, of course, and mentions that several texts are associated with the tune, such as "What Child Is This?" by William Dix (1837-1898). "Vive l'Amour" is labeled "an old French student song" about companionship. Stewart encourages the director to perform it with a rapid tempo, but notes that "a pleasing effect can be had by slowing the last chorus then picking up on the last 'vive l'compagnie' with a loud and decisive 'hey' at the end." A list of musical terms and definitions related to tempo, dynamics, and form then follows. As final examples, "Annie Laurie" is described in the 1968 booklet as from the pen of Lady Jane (John) Scott, but in the style of a Scottish folk song, which she had studied. It was quite popular during the time of the Crimean War (1853-56). By contrast, George Evans, a blackface minstrel star, composed "In the Good Old Summertime" in 1902. Blanche Ring, a vaudeville singer, quickly popularized the song in Boston, where Harvard students soon made it their own. The 1968 booklet offers programming suggestions to the song leader, such as: Begin with the familiar, bring everyone in together at the beginning of a song with a clear gesture, encourage all to participate, select a variety of songs, and repeat good songs so that they become familiar.

220 A Song-of-the-Month booklet for 1970 is extant, but the longevity of the program otherwise is unclear. The 1970 song list includes repeats of "Faith of Our Fathers," "Old Dog Tray," "In the Gloaming," and "Blest Be the Tie that Binds." Additionally it includes the following common categories: spiritual ("Go Down, Moses"), patriotic song ("One Nation Under God," sung to the tune of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic"), sacred song ("Now the Day Is Over"), and Christmas song ("Little Town of Bethlehem" [sic]) with additional "American" tunes such as "Dixie." I2 The booklet does not contain suggestions or instructive information for song leaders or accompanists. The decline of the Song-of-the-Month program may have been a result of several factors: Stewart's retirement in 1974, the possibility of having "choral clubs" with women who had little or no other connection to Extension (see ch. 2), and the wider accessibility of music for listening in American culture beginning in the 1960s (transistor radios, for example). In general, the role of individual, active music performance in daily life decreased throughout the second half of the twentieth century, something that ran against the grain of Stewart's beliefs (see ch.3).

NEWLY COMPOSED EXTENSION MUSIC

Most of the material discussed below is related specifically to the Indiana Extension music program. However, in a competition held by the National Extension Homemakers Council, "Onward, Ever Onward," which was composed by l 'Indiana Extension Homemakers Chorus Collection, in the possession of Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN.

221 Dorothy D. Bullock of Athertonville, Kentucky, was selected from among 20 entries to become the official Extension song (see ch. 1). Max Exner (see ch. 7) arranged the song, originally titled "Ever Onward," for unison or two-part performance, and it was premiered by a quartet from Ballinger, Texas, at the 1956 annual Homemakers conference in San Anton:a u The piece is in verse-refrain form with a range of about an octave. Most of the melody is stepwise, and the quadruple-meter rhythm contains several dotted notes. True to its rather hymn-like nature, the harmonies remain close to the F-major tonic. The verses focus on the home (but mention little about agriculture), while the chorus emphasizes loyalty to God, home, and country. Some printings of the song omit the final verse of text, which contains a pledge of faithfulness to Extension; different printings also contain slight variations in the vocal harmonization (see also references to "Homemakers' Creed" in chapter 7). During the 1950s, Al Stewart also found time for some composing. A patriotic piece composed by Stewart and arranged by Barry Drewes entitled "I Am the Nation" was available from Bourne publishers for 25 cents per copy in 1958. His SSA ballad "A Covetous Wish" and the song "An Old School Bell" were based on texts by E. A. Richardson, an Indiana poet laureate, and arranged by John W. Farley of the Purdue Musical Organizations staff The "wish" song is only 24-bars long, and the text is set syllabically in a repetitious melody of modest range. The "bell" piece also is syllabic with '3Charline J. Warren, comp. & ed. An Official History of National Extension Homemakers Council, Inc,. 1930-1990 (Burlington, KY: National Extension Homemakers Council, Inc, 1991), 34.

222 nearly each phrase ending with longer notes representing the peal of bells. Of course, it is difficult to ascertain how much of the published compositions are Stewart's creation and how much was determined by the arranger. The state chorus performed "A Covetous Wish" at the Indiana State Fair in 1955. John A. McGee, at one time a member of the Purdue staff, was the more frequent composer for the Indiana Extension chorus program. For the 1950 trip to Washington, DC (see ch. 4), he created Hoosier Heritage, A Salute by the State of Indiana. Several movements of the 90-minute cantata-like work were based on the poems of Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley including "Old Doc Sifers," "Dream of Autumn," "Lockerbie Street," "Old Swimmin' Hole," "Make Me a Song," "Leonainie," "Frost Is on the Punkin" [sic], and "Little Orphant Annie" [sic]. Fellow Purdue staff member Ronald R. Williams was credited with arranging the choral parts. For the performance in Washington, Henry F. Schricker, the Governor of Indiana, presented the Prologue. The finale of the work, "There's Somethin"bout the Air in Indiana," (text and tune by McGee) is set primarily in a lilting 6/8 meter, although quadruple meter is used at two points, likely to allow a change to a swing-rhythm feel. It is in a two-part form, the first being 24 measures in length and the second 18 measures. The published vocal music indicates unison singing (or a solo) for much of the work with 3-part harmony included on a section of humming that underscores the soprano text near the end. Hand-written notes in one extant copy of the music indicate a repeat with "whistling" in some sections. The ending repeats variations of the title "hook" as the pitches soar for an exclamatory conclusion. The enthusiastic text is set with a number of moderate leaps; the unison first half

223 might be rather low for the sopranos. McGee also created two very short songs praising the Indiana spirit, "He's a Hoosier" and "All Hail to a Gallant Hoosier." The former is almost a sung cheer, starting in unison and ending with 3-part harmony; the latter is fanfare-like with triplet and dotted rhythms. All of the songs using Riley poems are quite short with little repetition of text. "Dream of Autumn" features steady quarter notes, perhaps to add to the dreamy quality, and numerous picturesque words. The B section of its AABA form is chromatic. "Old Swimmin' Hole" features the altos on a wordy text set almost exclusively to running eighth notes. The rhythm of "Make Me a Song" is driven by the natural rhythm of the English language. McGee's setting has the altos and sopranos trade melody, which contains several standard leaps. "Frost Is on the Punkin" features an AA form with a tag ending. 'The title words are found at the beginning and end of the text. Some music from Unguarded Border, the work McGee created for the chorus trip to Toronto in 1952 (see ch. 4), also is extant. McGee wrote some portions himself and interpolated other appropriate songs from both nations; again, Ron Williams is credited with the choral arrangement. The 30-minute program began with the choir's singing of "God Save the Queen" and "The Star Spangled Banner." The opening movement, also titled "Unguarded Border," was original, and McGee was inspired by words from Queen Elizabeth about the unique 3,000-mile border between the US and Canada. Interestingly, the text does not contain the title words; the phrase "three thousand miles" is repeated frequently followed by various rhymed lines that describe the honor of and friendship between the two nations.

224 The work features several harmonized splits from a unison start of a phrase. The 3-part vocal score of the piece (offering no accompaniment part) reveals a modified AABA form, each section 16 measures in length. Its constant movement and rhythmic flow hint that it may have been intended to be sung without accompaniment. The range of each voice part is moderate with no leap wider than the interval of a fourth; there are some "echo" or imitation effects between voices in the B section. A few dotted rhythms interrupt the flow of quarter notes in common time; longer notes are found at the center point and at the end of phrases. The harmonies exhibit passing-tone chromatics and various seventh chords within the key of C major. The vocal score contains no dynamic or articulation markings. McGee also included spirituals ("Go Down Moses"), folk songs ("Home on the Range"), and sacred pieces (Malotte's "Lord's Prayer") in the cantata. Indiana was represented more specifically by "On the Banks of the Wabash" and "There's Somethin"bout the Air in Indiana" among others. (McGee composed the latter for the Hoosier Heritage described above.) The final number of the work was titled "One World." A copy of a short song titled "Along the Oregon Trail" also is found in a 1958 scrapbook associated with the choir's trip to the Portland Rose Festival. The handwritten manuscript, also from the pen of John McGee, exhibits a repetitive text clearly indicating its creation specifically for the Oregon trip. The 3-part arrangement features some imitation between voices, and its continuous vocal activity indicate that it might have been sung without piano accompaniment. The melody spans only about an octave but the echo lines include some leaps as large

225 as a 6th. The combined parts sporadically are reminiscent of barbershop-style harmonies.

MUSIC SELECTED FOR THE INDIANA STATE CHORUS

As described in chapter 2, after the Extension chorus program was promoted statewide in Indiana, Al Stewart began compiling a list of about 10 to 12 songs that every singer in every county chorus would learn, primarily in preparation for the massed choir performance at the annual Extension conference and chorus festival held at Purdue University. He began with songs already available from compilations offered by publishers but soon moved to collections especially drawn together for the Indiana chorus program. Publishers were, of course, very happy to cooperate with this because literally thousands of the collections were sold to county chorus participants within the state each year. This procedure continued until the early years of the twenty-first century, when individual (not bound) copies of each piece were sold to individual choristers. The earliest list of state repertoire is that from 1942 when about 1000 women from 51 county choruses participated in the state chorus. A newspaper article listing the repertoire acknowledged that it exhibits significant "Indiana" links, although no comments from Stewart regarding this aspect have been found: "On the Banks of the Wabash" by [Paul] Dresser (born in Terre Haute, Indiana), "Far Away Song" by Joseph W. Clokey of New Albany [Indiana], "The Siesta" by Noble Cain of Aurora [Indiana], "The Year's at the Spring" by Cain, "Dearest Jesus, Gentle, Mild" by Clarence Dickinson, "0 Saviour Sweet" by Dickinson, "Can't Steal Away" by Cain,

226 "The Night Song" and "Pretense" by Clokey, "Old Fashioned Garden" by Cole Porter (born in Peru, Indiana), "In the Garden Tomorrow" by Jesse L. Deppen, and "The Star-Spangled Banner."14 Among the collections from which Stewart selected songs was Women's Get-Together Songs compiled in 1942 by Ellen Jane Lorenz for Lorenz Publishing Company of Ohio. Most of the repertoire contained therein is for 3-part women's choruses, although some 2-part and unison works also are included. In a bound archive of the song books held by the Purdue Musical Organizations, a handwritten list (likely from Stewart) inside the cover of Women's Get-Together Songs highlights the following numbers: "Song of Home" (which borrows the Dvorak "New World Symphony" tune), "The Olden Songs" (a medley), "Passing By," "Love's Tribute of Flowers," "Oh Dear What Can the Matter Be?," "In the Time of Roses," "On the Lagoon," "Serenade," "Nobody Knows," "The Old Ark's a-Moverin" [sic], "The Heavens Are Telling," "For the Beauty of the Earth," "Now Thank We all Our God," "A Song of Peace" (Finlandia), and "God Be with You." Stewart also borrowed from the Silver Burdett Company (long associated with public-school music) Choral Program Series from which Book 2 (1945) included arrangements for women's voices. Stewart has marked the following items: "For Music" by Robert Franz; "How Merrily We Live" by Michael Este; "At Eventide It Shall Be Light" (from The Holy City) by Alfred Robert Gaul; "Tell Me, Mama" a French Bergerette; "Itiskit, Itaskit" [sic]; "Devotion" by Richard Strauss; i4"1,000-Voice Chorus Sings at Purdue," Indianapolis Star, 15 January 1942,8.

227 "Salangadoe a Creole folk song; "Now the Day Is Over" by Joseph Barnby; and "Love Song" by Johannes Brahms. The group of songs Stewart selected each year was prepared with local or tour audience entertainment and practical performance situations in mind. It included seasonal music (especially patriotic songs for the Fourth of July and Christmas music), music for fun (especially arrangements of folk songs), and sacred music (appropriate for use in church services or at the State Fair's Hour of Worship), I5 A typewritten history of the Extension chorus (prepared before 1984) held in the Tippecanoe County Historical Society Museum contains a summary of Stewart's approach to repertoire: "Dr. Stewart does not belittle the value of classical, or "long-hair" type of music, but he believes that there is just as much value in the semi-classical and better grade of popular music and that it is this latter type which the majority of people like to sing." The key to that statement, in light of his selections for and comments about the "Song-of-the-Month" repertoire, is "better grade of popular music." He never really defined "better grade," but he seemed to want to straddle a middle line between classical and popular music, all the while continuing to draw on music that had been the traditional fodder for choral ensembles in America for several decades. There is little reference to, or inclusion of music that might be called "rock and roll" or any rock- or jazz-influenced music. Stewart used his frequent speaking engagements and the PM() Notes to expound on his beliefs about the importance of choral singing, and he highlighted other sources that were in l5 The titles of many pieces the chorus performed at special events are found in chapters 2 and 4.

228 agreement with his beliefs. For example, an article titled "How to Cope with Teen-agers [sic] Who Like only Pop Music" (the author of which was identified only as "C. M.") was reprinted in the February/March 1968 issue of PMO Notes. The article encourages parents to broaden their own listening and to encourage their children to "distinguish between the worthwhile and the mediocre." It closes with, Sooner or later, however, even the most revolutionary musical renegade will come to recognize the eternal verity of the immortals whose music lives magnificently on, its vitality transcending all musical fads and teenagers' fancies century after century after century. In 1944 Stewart had the women sing a set of songs from a collection he organized entitled Music of the Allied Nations. The J. Fischer & Brothers Company of New York published the compilation. For the January agricultural festival (see ch. 2) the women sang arrangements of music (none by Stewart) from Chili [sic], Czecho-Slovakia [sic], Mexico, Russia, China, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Scotland, England, and the United States. In contrast, Stewart selected some of the songs for 1953 from Ten .4nierican Songs by Gladys Pitcher from the C. C. Birchard & Company of Boston. To add variety, he also included "I Would Weave a Song for You" by Geoffrey O'Hara; "New River Train;" "Praise Ye the Father" by Charles Gounod; "The Lord's Prayer" by Malotte; and "There's Somethin"bout the Air in Indiana" by John McGee (see above). Stewart also drew from the Let There Be Song collection, edited and arranged for 3-part treble voices by Elie Siegmeister and Walter Ehret, and Early Sacred and Early Secular Choral Series, edited and arranged by Norman Greyson; both collections are from Bourne, Inc. The

229 latter included works by Hassler, Arcadelt, Dowland, Byrd, and Arne, composers' names still considered important for Renaissance repertoire. Some works in the "early" collection were for male choirs or mixed choirs, and most seem to have been translated into English, where necessary. In subsequent years Stewart programmed fewer works clearly from the Renaissance. For the 1954 trip to Los Angeles (see ch. 4), Stewart prepared the chorus to sing by retaining some previously performed works: "The Lord's Prayer" by Albert Malone, "Praise Ye the Father" by Gounod, "The Beatitudes" by Malotte, "Forget Me Not" by Bach, "Verdi Prati" from Alcine by Handel,' 6 "Go Down Moses," "Whistle a Happy Tune" and the two Indiana staples, "On the Banks of the Wabash" and "Back Home Again in Indiana." The Purdue Glee Club also appeared on this concert. The list of repertoire for the men is quite similar, although a cappella singing might have been more common for the select men's group: "Creation" by Richter, "Adoramus Te" by Palestrina, "Matona, My Beloved," "0 Susanna," "Dixie," and a George M. Cohan medley. In the mid-1950s, Stewart had a more direct hand in compiling the published collections he used with the state chorus. The cover of Schirmer 's Favorite Choruses for Women's Voices, Volume Two, which was used during the 1956-57 season, names Albert P. Stewart, Music Director, Purdue University, as the compiler. His role as the Extension Music Specialist is not mentioned. The Contents page makes it clear that each number in the collection also is published

'The chorus might have sung this in its English translation, "Verdant Meadows."

230 separately. For this set Stewart selected: "The Moon Behind the Cottonwood" by C.W. Cadman; "When I have Sung My Songs" by Ernest Charles; "Sympathy" (from The Firefly) by Rudolf Friml; "Trust in Him" and "Hear Us, 0 Saviour" by Bernard Hamblen; "Hungarian Gypsy Dance" by Robert Hernfried; "Hear My Prayer" by Will James; "The Big Brown Bear" by Mana-Zucca; "I Will Thank Thee, 0 Lord" by Frank Mior; "Overtones" by Oscar Rasbach; "Will You Remember" (from Maytime) by Sigmund Romberg; "Sylvia" by Oley Speaks; "The Light of Dawning" by Peter I. Tchaikovsky; and "Ashes of Roses" by Huntington R. Woodman. Notably, this list contains two works from musical theatre and several with sacred texts, but none that clearly are patriotic or seasonal. Nevertheless, a notice in the PMO Notes of Fall 1956 mentions that "the new book—Schirmer' s Favorite Choruses for Women's Voices, No. 2—was compiled by Al Stewart and is proving very popular with the chorus membership ... (italics added). He made adjustments in Volume Three to include "Noel, Noel, Bells Are Ringing," "I Wonder As I Wander," and "A Very Merry Christmas" in addition to "God Bless Our Land." A hand-written letter from Laurabelle [Moyer] of Montgomery County, Indiana, to Dorothy McGuire of Clay County, Missouri, (see ch. 7), provides insight into the song list for 1959-60. McGuire apparently had inquired about the repertoire and the availability of it for the upcoming Festival concert. Moyer replied that the pieces were from the collection "Vol. 4 of Schirmer publishing [sic] and selected by Mr. Stewart. The only way you could buy them is thru his office, but if you want some copies, I imagine they are available. They are $1.50 each..." She then lists the repertoire, concluding with

231 the comment, "It is a very fine collection, and we have enjoyed nearly all but 'The Lost Chord' [by A. Sullivan]. We hope somebody will locate that dog-goned chord and let us quit singing about it—ha."1 ' Even with his own input to publishers possible, Stewart continued to borrow repertoire from other published compilations. In the late 1950s he made use of Sugar and Spice, a collection of "3-part songs for girls" by Hawley Ades, of the Fred Waring Music Workshop staff. The set apparently was not too youthful in style for the Extension choruses; an announcement in the March 1958 PMO Notes indicates that 300 additional copies had been ordered by the office for purchase by the singers. However, by the 1961-62 chorus season, the state music was published by Harold Flarruner, Inc, and was titled Purdue Choral Collection for Women's Voices. Albert P. Stewart, Mus.D., is named as the compiler. The first volume contains the usual mix of songs as noted previously. For several years the standard price of the set of about 14 songs was $1.50, which translates to about $10-$12 in the first decade of the twenty-first century. Marks Music Corporation began publishing the book in 1965 and started with another "volume 1." Other publishers and volume numbering systems occurred over the years, but the "Purdue Choral Collection" series ran at least through 46 volumes in the early twenty-first century. '7Laurabelle [Moyer], letter to Dorothy McGuire, undated, in Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection, 1953-1968, in the possession of Harold McGuire, Liberty, MO. The volume numbers of the various collections do not necessarily match consecutively to the Extension chorus season. The links between which volume was used in which year sometimes has to be deduced from other evidence.

232 The most significant repertoire style change occurred in the Purdue Choral Collection, Volume Twelve used for the 1967-68 season. A greater number of contemporary popular songs arranged for women's voices are included therein: "Autumn Leaves," "Born Free," "Dominique," "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," "Michelle," and "Yesterday." Many readers will recognize the last 2 titles from the prolific creative minds of John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the Beatles and quite concurrent with the choral season under consideration. Sacred repertoire included "He" and "One God," and Stewart brought back "Let There Be Peace on Earth" for this Vietnamera collection as well (see above). The Introduction and Foreword to the 1968-69 collection gives further insight into Stewart's thinking and perhaps the collection's evolution: The songs in this collection were selected on the basis of appeal as to variety, type, interest and program material.... In these days when almost everyone watches and enjoys television—bringing good (and sometimes not so good) entertainment into the homes of America, it becomes imperative that those of us who are directors face up to this present day fact. Since the sponsors of television advertisements can afford to pay for anything that will draw attention and sell their product—they have, and rightfully, fairly well researched the American tastes. It follows, therefore, that if we as directors wish to have our programs accepted on the present standard of commercial entertainment we should be mindful of the television example. I am not advocating in this little dissertation that all American music should be influenced by television

233 but I am saying that all choruses need to, at least occasionally, use material that has proven itself on today's market as exemplified through television. This book is a fine example of good contemporary material and represents the better quality of 'today's pop music.'18 Among the pop songs he included were "Cherish," "Somethin' Stupid," "Up, Up and Away," "To Sir, With Love," and "King of the Road." Each of these songs had become a hit but for a wide variety of singers ranging from The Fifth Dimension to Roger Miller. "To Sir" was number 2 on the Top40 chart just the previous year in 1967, while "Somethin' Stupid" recorded by Frank and Nancy Sinatra was number 10. Stewart does not comment on the role the arrangement plays in converting pop songs to choral works—a good arrangement makes all the difference. The cover of the collection is also visually more modem than previous books with cut-out pieces of a puzzle scattered across the page. Stewart's copy of the book contains some notes of interest. At the top of "Somethin' Stupid" he wrote, "conversational, NOT plod, if taken in 2 it will move and flow as a beguine." Despite his commentary in the 1968-69 volume, the collection for 1970-71 reverts, for reasons unknown, to repertoire choices more similar to earlier years with a mixture of spirituals, folk songs, comedy songs, and what he classified as "general" songs.

I

Stewart was writing at a time when variety shows were popular on network television. The Ed Sullivan Show, for example, featured various types of music ranging from opera singers (Marilyn Home) to the current rage in popular music (the Beatles).

234 A perusal of the printed music from the late 1960s and 70s indicates that the arrangements were of "medium" difficulty. Almost all seem to have piano accompaniments that assist the singers with pitches, and few are in languages other than English, although minimal scattered Latin words or nonEnglish words appropriate to a folk-song arrangement might be included. The songs exhibit some imitation or polyphony for textural variety, but the melody is found mostly in the soprano I part. It rarely exceeds the top-line-of-the-staff F, and the alto part generally covers the range G-below-middle-C to the D an octave above middle C. The arrangements are cast in common meters and keys. By the mid-1970s, as Stewart was approaching retirement, William E. Luhman worked with Stewart in creating the Purdue Choral Collection. Volume Nineteen, used during the 1974-75 season, is from Shawnee Press and its Preface begins with a brief history of the Extension chorus. Additionally the press stated, Shawnee Press is honored to cooperate with this marvelously loyal and enthusiastic choral organization by preparing this volume of repertory for their singing pleasure and that of any other treble-voice choral group who concur with Mr. Stevvart's motto: "No fun without music, no music without fun." The next year's book featured works by American composers or arrangements of American folk songs in commemoration of the American Bicentennial. The repertoire for the rest of the 1970s and 80s remained a mixture of sacred works (although the names of composers usually associated with "classical" music are less common),

235 holiday or seasonal songs, arrangements of folk songs, and arrangements of musical theatre songs. Often one of the latter might double as a comedy song. It is obvious that the material continued to be selected with local or regional performance venues and opportunities in mind. In other words, it was enjoyable for both the singers and potential audience members. Volume Twenty-five, from 1979-80, was sold to each singer for $5 and contained 15 numbers. The most frequent arranger of the songs was [Ed] Lojeski, and a number of them have religious-based texts: "Kum Bah Yah," "Just a Closer Walk With Thee," "Shepherds Lullaby [sic]," "Carol of the Shepherd Children," and "Hosanna Alleluia," The latter is unusual in being without piano accompaniment. These are balanced by arrangement of Top-40 hits, such as "You Needed Me" and "Candle on the Water." A list of the arrangers and composers of songs included in the collections over the next several years reveals several names well known to high-school, church choir, and many college choral music directors at the time: Roger Emerson, Don Besig, Linda Spevacek, Julie Knowles, Teena Chinn, Mac Huff, and Joyce Eilers Bacak. It is worth mentioning that this also was the time when public schools were dealing with the ramification of Title IX laws requiring equal opportunities for boys and girls and the proliferation of show choirs in high schools and colleges. There were more female performing groups in school settings and more groups specializing in popular song, so composers, arrangers, and publishers accommodated a need. This meant there were more arrangements from which the Purdue music staff could choose. By the mid-1980s the physical format for the state music book had changed. Rather than having a single publisher

236 produce a bound book of songs, the Purdue staff selected individual octavo publications from a variety of publishers that were spiral bound in-house for the singers (the thought being that the ability to draw from several publishers might allow more variety and flexibility in repertoire selection). The quantity of individual publications purchased by the organization allowed for a discount from the publishers so that each book cost about $13 for a dozen or so pieces. The 1995 book contained: "Sing Joy!" by Mac Huff; "Zion's Walls" by Aaron Copland and arranged by Glenn Koponen; "Starting Here, Starting Now" arranged by Huff; "The More I See You" arranged by Kirby Shaw; "Come Bid Farewell to Sorrow" by Gerald Cockshott (a Swiss folk song intended to be sung with no piano accompaniment); "Catch a Falling Star" arranged by Roger Emerson; "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep" by Irving Berlin and arranged by Mark Brymer; "Snow, Beautiful Snow" arranged by Harry Simeone; "Swing, Swing, Swing," a medley of Big Band songs arranged by Shaw; "Sit Down, Sister!" a spiritual arranged by Catherine Bennett; a setting of "Psalm 100" by Rene Clausen; and "The Exodus Song" arranged by Roy Ringwald. Several of the pieces were arranged with an "Instrumental Pak" or "Show Trax Cassette," a pre-recorded accompaniment, also available from the publisher. The usual assortment of texts was included; a song or two that especially reflected women's lives or relationships (sometimes of a comical nature) were popular with the singers. Occasionally an arrangement contained a brief section for a solo singer, as well. Of these, the most challenging likely is Clausen's Psalm setting. It changes meters frequently, has some close dissonances, and requires 2 pianos for the accompaniment. Printed inside the covers of each book were "On the Banks of the Wabash" and

237 "Back Home Again in Indiana," the perennial staples. As the Extension chorus program evolved during the first decade of the twenty-first century, the approach to repertoire remained quite consistent (see chs. 2 and 8). MUSIC OF INDIVIDUAL INDIANA COUNTY CHORUSES

The titles and programming of many songs performed by individual county choirs are provided in chapter 5. Research has revealed no scores of works written for specific county choirs; the best tool for analysis and commentary on countychorus repertoire are the combined lists of pieces each chorus sang at the annual festival at Purdue.' A comparison of these lists and the "state chorus" music books reveals little connection between the two; likewise there seems to be scant connection between the repertoire county directors selected and the collections of familiar songs described above that were related to the Song-of-the-Month program. The individual county chorus directors sought and found works beyond the required state music or songs common to the wider American populace. At the annual festival, each chorus presented one number for critique by Al Stewart or his assistants (see ch. 2), so it seems safe to assume that the piece was one the group felt best showed its performance capabilities (see also "Assessment" below). Available for review are festival 19 0ccasionally an "original" song is mentioned among other works. For example, in the 1950s the St. Joseph County chorus sang for the Mishawaka Women's Club. Its repertoire included "The Silence" by its director, Mrs. Frank [Maureen] Sindlinger, a public-school music teacher. The ensemble also sang "A Covetous Wish" by Stewart-Farley. See "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.5 (1952), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN.

238 performance lists from the 1950s, 60s, and 90s; unfortunately, however, the lists often contain either the composer's or arranger's name next to the song title, but not both. Without knowing the exact score or arrangement a chorus was using, assessment of the level and quality of many of the selections becomes impractical. Nevertheless, general observations are useful in providing a historical overview. In 1950 about 65 choruses ranging in size from 8 to 49 singers were slated to sing at the annual festival. The first group presented the spiritual "Swing Low." Other pieces on the docket that day included: "It's A Grand Night for Singing" by Rodgers, "I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked," "Dear Land of Home" set to a tune by Sibelius, the long-popular "Mighty Lak' a Rose" by Nevin, "The Year's at the Spring" a part-song by Beach, "The Goblins," and an arrangement of "Glow Worm." The full list contains many titles that seem to indicate sacred music; apparently four groups sang "On the Wings of Memory" by Deppen. Similar comments apply to the 1951 and 1952 lists, and in fact, some of the same titles appear on all three lists, although not performed by the same county choir. One title of interest is "Benton County Chorus Theme Song" by [John?] McGee and [Ron?] Williams, however, no further information is available. The titles of several show tunes appear on the list from the 29 July 1953 conference, some in arrangements by [Fred?] Waring. Included among them were: "Tribute to Romberg," You'll Never Walk Alone (which is listed at least 4 times), "Surrey with the Fringe on Top," and "Three Little Maids." Titles of sacred texts still are common as are arrangements of folk songs (such as "Lollytoobumb") and spirituals (such as "Steal Away"). Crawford County presented "Beautiful Ohio,"

239 which might refer to the river rather than the state—a positive reference to another state likely would have been considered sacrilege at the Indiana festival! Familiar composer names of both sacred and secular songs such as Berlin, Herbert, Stainer, and Cain also appear on this list and those from previous years. Some counties performed works that likely had "classical music" links—names such as Bartholdy, Gounod, Liszt, Offenbach, Massenet, Elgar, Brahms, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky are included on the roster. Likewise, choral directors of the twenty-first century would recognize the titles of several of the works mentioned on various lists including: "If with all Your Hearts," "Thanks Be to God," and "He Watching Over Israel." "My God and I" by Wihtol appears on the Indiana lists and also was sung by Extension choirs in other states (see ch. 7). Further study of the festival performance lists from the 1950s and into the early 1960s reveals that several pieces continued to be performed year after year and that the general style of music changed little from one year to the next. The exception is the inclusion of some pieces that, since then, have become known as "standards" of American popular music such as "Over the Rainbow," "April Showers," "My Blue Heaven," and "Stardust" and "Stormy Weather"—the latter two by Hoosier Hoagy Carmichael. These song titles begin to appear on the repertoire lists in the late 1950s even though the pieces may have been written decades earlier. The Tippecanoe County Chorus, directed by Al Stewart, often occupied the last performance slot of the daylong critique session. Its repertoire included "The Year's at the Spring" by Mrs. H. H. A. Beach (1950), "Lift Thine Eyes" by Logan

240 (1955), "To Music" (1960), "Wells Fargo Wagon" (1961), and "Elijah Rock- (1962). In 1959 a new feature was added to festival day-3 county groups were selected among all those heard individually to sing their competition number on the evening concert (see ch. 2). That first year, the counties of Parke, Kosciusko, and Montgomery were selected; they sang "0 Divine Redeemer," "Open Our Eyes," and "Omnipotence," respectively. An unsigned and undated newspaper article, likely from the early 1950s, offers a bit of insight into the musical preferences of the Parke County chorus—or perhaps of its community audience. The chorus sang "Oh, Susanna" as one of 11 pieces on a performance. The writer described it as so truly American, and the rendition of it by the Chorus was so excellent, that the listener could find it an easy and pleasant fantasy to visualize in imagination and with all the trimmings that colorful era in our history past— the covered wagon days of westward migration.2° The writer goes on to state that some have found America to lack music that is thoroughly "American," but that pieces like "Oh, Susanna" and "Skip to My Lou" reflect "this great, sprawling, robust country of a century ago ..." The chorus also sang "Go Down, Moses," "Were You There?," and "This Is My Country," all of which fit the repertoire categories mentioned previously. There is a significant gap before festival repertoire lists again become available for study. Between 1995 and 2002 2°'`Parke County Home Ec, Chorus Presents Good Musical Program," in "Parke County Scrapbook Collection," cream—l950-52, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN.

241 (when the number of county choirs performing at the festival had fallen to about 40 and then 30 and the singers had fewer links to rural and farm life), the style of repertoire clearly had changed to less emphasis on sacred texts and more emphasis on arrangements of popular songs, a few of them quite contemporaneous. In general, there appears to be more emphasis on American music during this time period, Popular hits such as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," "Puttin' on the Ritz," "Somewhere Out There," "God Bless the USA," and "Lean on Me" were performed along side "Make America Proud of You," "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," "Shenandoah," "Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord," "Just a Closer Walk with Thee," "Gonna Rise Up Singin'," "Dry Bones," "All the Things You Are," and "Some Enchanted Evening." Clearly, the repertoire harkens back to the general categories of repertoire selected decades earlier. Arrangements of songs from the "swing era" of American popular music, which often lent themselves to choreography, also are included on the lists: "Sing, Sing, Sing," "Basin Street Blues," "Chattanooga Choo Choo," and "Mood Indigo." Pieces that likely would fall under the "comic song" heading included "Handful 0' Keys," "Alto's Lament," "Counterpoint of the Animals," "The Cat Came Back," "'Twas the Night Before June 6th," and "Clichés, Idioms, and Other Hackneyed Phrases." Some of the songs or arrangements are historically associated with women's ensembles such as "Sisters," "Lollipop," "Mister Sandman," "Naughty but Nice," "I'm Gonna Wash that Man," "Steam Heat," and "Gershwin for Girls."

242 ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

Some comments about the level and quality of the repertoire sung by the Indiana choirs, and as circumstances reasonably allow, about the actual performance skills of the women in presenting the selections now follow. The musical scores available for perusal lead to the conclusion that the pieces selected for both the individual county choirs and the massed state group would be categorized as "medium" in difficulty. Very few pieces selected were not in English, and the vast majority of the selections seem to have been accompanied by piano, this despite the fact that singing without accompaniment and singing in at least Latin were hallmarks of choral ensembles at the high school and beginning collegiate level during the peak years of Extension choruses. While musical training was an important part of the Extension music program under Al Stewart, he seems not to have emphasized these common expectations of choral music. Similarly, it is interesting to note the style of nonclassical music that did not play a significant role in the accumulated repertoire, namely "country music." Since the 1930s country music has claimed an important sector of the popular music spectrum, yet even after the marked change by the Indiana choirs to inclusion of arrangements of more recent popular music into the choral repertoire in the 1970s, country music generally is absent. Perhaps Stewart thought that outsiders might expect country music, or "hillbilly" music as it had been called, from Midwestern rural women, so that was the style the choirs should avoid presenting. His desire to have the women present themselves as educated has been noted previously (see chs. 3 and 4). Similarly, the PMO Notes issue of

243 March 1965 begins with this paragraph under the "Home Demonstration Chorus News" heading; One of the interesting and commendable features of the Indiana Extension Chorus program has been the quality and stature of the music sung by the choruses in their annual festival. Under the direction and supervision of Dr. Stewart, the program has maintained a high degree of both repertoire and performance. It had been and is his contention that despite the fact that there is a small percentage of untrained voices compared to the total membership, the music which the choruses prepare for the festival should be a challenge. Additionally, in the mid-1950s Stewart wrote that, "much interest in music groups is killed by trying to get them to sing music which they cannot understand and feel. The person must enjoy what he is singing or he does not sing it well no matter how excellent his voice." As a result, hymns, ballads, patriotic songs, spirituals, classical pieces, and popular songs were included in the chorus repertoire.2I On the other hand, when the Extension music program initiated the idea of selecting 3 county choruses to sing individually on the evening massed-choir concert of the annual festival, often the "showmanship" of a group had as much to do with its selection as its musicality. Perhaps this was inevitable in an era when "show choirs" became more prevalent at high schools and colleges, and the visual aspects of performance were more emphasized on television.

"American Farm Women Join in Song," typed manuscript in "History from Scrapbooks Collection," 81-240.6.

2i

244 Occasionally references to a woman's opinion of the music are available. The PMO Notes of July/August 1968 contain an excerpt of a letter from Mrs. Daniel M. Brown, director of the Carroll County Chorus. She wrote, The music this year has been much easier in general than in previous years. I would much prefer doing something easy and doing it well, than struggling with something that is almost impossible, especially when working in our smaller groups. It also is helpful to consider scattered and brief comments available from other sources, especially those without strong ties to the Purdue Musical Organizations. Dorothy McGuire, director of the Clay County (MO) Extension chorus that visited the Indiana festival in 1960, included brief hand-written comments on her schedule list for the day. Her notes include occasional references to the number of women in each Indiana group (from 13 to 27) and comments like "very good" next to a choir's name. Those choirs receiving that accolade include Shelby County ("One God") and Miami County ("Great and Marvelous Are Thy Works").22 A second copy of the schedule (with a different hand writing) tenders additional comments for the 59 ensembles listed. This writer apparently found Parke County to be one of the best groups with its presentation of "Spirit Flower," and the Wells County Chorus was labeled "Wonderful" for its performance of "Let Not Your Song End." Choirs from the counties of Wabash, Shelby, Marshall, Allen, Kosciusko, Vermillion, Jasper, Morgan, Fulton, and either Elkhart or Lake (illegible) each "Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus Festival," typed manuscript, in Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection.

22

245 received the designation "good" from this observer. The Monroe County chorus was rated "fair for a small group," and the note "11 persons" is next to the choir's name. A similar list from the 1954 festival is found in the Parke County scrapbook collection. The author of the handwritten notes is unknown, but the Delaware County chorus is labeled "very good" for its performance of "Oh, Pray for Peace." The Cass County group received the designation "cute, good" for "Paw Paw Patch," and 10 other choirs of the 66 slated to perform are designated "good." The person writing these bare-boned critiques may not have heard every chorus (if they were part of an ensemble, they would have spent some time in their own warm-up room and waiting backstage to perform), but these comments at least indicate that the women were aware of and interested in levels of quality, whether of the music or the performance.

THE AUTHOR'S PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS

In 2002 I attended the annual festival at Purdue University and heard many of the 28 county choruses scheduled to sing. The groups ranged in size from 6 or 7 singers to 25 to 30, and the vast majority of the women were more than 40 years of age. Many of the choirs had about a dozen singers wearing a wide variety of costumes and outfits, and most used piano accompaniment although some utilized pre-recorded accompaniment tapes. Some of the directors had held their post for 10 or more years. Every choir sang harmony, although some of the smaller groups sang 2-part rather than 3, and many groups sang from memory. Some of the choirs were more precise than others in their execution of dynamics; most of them

246 presented clean enough diction that I could understand the words of pieces unfamiliar to me. Several groups featured a member as a soloist within their selection, and a few did minimal choreography. Without knowing the background and training of each director or accompanist, occasionally the skill of the director in selecting appropriate repertoire and in rehearsing the details of the song was apparent. Groups that seemed more musically comfortable and polished often exhibited the most enthusiasm as well. Probably the general weakness of many of the ensembles was an unsupported, breathy tone and inconsistent blend, musical traits that require constant teaching and reminders to establish good habits. My brief notes from the day indicate that I was particularly struck by the performances of choirs from the following counties: Huntington (a Disney medley), Pulaski ("Music, music, music"), Bartholomew ("Accentuate the Positive"), and Tippecanoe ("Old Devil Moon"). On the other hand, the three groups that were selected to sing individually at the evening concert that year were Porter/Jasper County ("Mambo Tonight"), Vigo County ("Friends Forever Medley"), and Hamilton County ("Yesterday Once More"). I also have had the opportunity over the years to witness regional or state chorus rehearsals, which can give insight into the goals of the director and the needs of the ensemble.23 In April 2000 I observed that tricky rhythms were taught through imitation (the group repeating the leader) and that most of the Over the years the women have made very few recordings that were not for rehearsal purposes (those made at the end of the workshop where only directors, accompanists, and 2 or 3 members of each county participated). Most are in the possession of Sonya Stewart Eddy.

23

247 rehearsal time was spent on pitch and rhythm with some attention to dynamics and diction. (This balance is perhaps surprising because the women should have been working out pitch and rhythm details since the fall; however, the situation may reflect the individual skills of the county directors.) Pertinent comments on interpretation and style, and the changes in tone it necessitates, also were common. Among the challenges the state director faces is when some county directors have not taught the same interpretation as others (despite efforts through the summer workshop and recording). My impression was that the women were willing to sing a variety of styles—their greater concern was with the suitability of the arrangement to their vocal abilities and limited rehearsal time. At a similar rehearsal in 2003, about 32 altos, 43 second sopranos, and 24 first sopranos were in attendance (some of the works required further voicing divisions). The director spoke with the women about eliding ending consonants into the following word, not raising one's shoulders when taking a deep breath (a tone production issue), and not chewing gum during rehearsal. He also solidified rhythmic passages by having the women speak rhythms after him. Although the two standard Indiana songs had been sung for many years by this time, a bit of rehearsal time nevertheless was spent polishing details of interpretation. The music reflected variety—a few Latin words in the midst of one piece; some Latin-influenced jazz traits and notated "scat" singing in another; a ballad about nature with added percussion and hemiola rhythms; and an uncommon harmonization of the national anthem. I did not observe a purposeful effort aimed at improving the women's vocal

248 reading skills; often choirs spend time sight-reading works to build their proficiency in reading music and ear training. The limited rehearsal time likely was a factor in this situation, or perhaps improvement of vocal reading skills is emphasized in some individual county choirs. The 2007 State Fair performance of the newly invigorated state chorus of about 175 singers (see ch. 8) clearly showed careful selection of a variety of repertoire and arrangements, attention paid to dynamics and phrasing, and for the most part, polish of diction and consonant endings. A number of women had short solo segments within the various works—their varied levels of experience and training were evident, but each made a positive contribution. Although one might always find something to rehearse a bit more or an interpretive nuance to challenge, the women clearly enjoyed their performance as did the audience. The original goals of the Extension chorus program were still in place and worthwhile.

Chapter 7

Extension and Rural Music in other States

INTRODUCTION

An important facet of this study has been the discovery of rural music and music associated with the Extension Service in several states other than Indiana. While references are scattered and frequently vague, this chapter summarizes brief citations concerning chorus programs in various states and then proceeds to more lengthy descriptions of documented activities (and comparable music observations) in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. These 7 states either have a strong Midwestern agricultural heritage like Indiana or are located in proximity to Indiana. They each also have had long and strong connections to Extension work. Further research on every American state could shed a more complete light on the Extension music story, as music was an important feature of nationwide efforts to improve rural development and because it further supports the idea that Americans have long sought outlets for musical performance (see chs. 1 and 8). One of the discoveries in this process has been the frequent impression by a county or state chorus that it has been alone (or a rarity) in its music endeavors. Consequently one group often is unaware of the activities of another. This may be a result of the long-standing grass-roots feature of Extension.' 'Among the challenges in finding information from other states is nomenclature. The programs of various states can have differing titles (the

250 The specific influence of Indiana's program and Al Stewart on these other states is hard to ascertain, as is the reverse, but certainly both similarities and differences between Indiana and the other states are evident. Nevertheless, the United States Information Service acknowledged that, "the middle-western State of Indiana has set a pattern in rural music that has been adapted in other parts of the United States."2 Stewart's skill in advertising and publicity and his appearances at conferences and meetings nationwide likely played a role in Indiana's widespread acclaim (see chs. 2 and 3) even though significant activities also were occurring in other states. In an article about the Indiana choir program in the March 1940 issue of Recreation magazine, Karl Detzer reported that women in Kentucky, Ohio, Washington, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Iowa had founded club choruses. A picture of an ensemble from Worth County, Iowa, was included with the story (see the Iowa discussion below). Similarly, the Extension Service Review of August 1944 mentioned that there were 13 choruses in other states similar to those in Indiana. In 1947 a chorus from Faulk County, South Indiana program, for example, has had at least 4 names), but even more significantly, materials can be archived or cataloged using a number of "keywords." It was helpful to contact historical societies, libraries, and landgrant colleges inquiring about "rural choruses," "Extension choruses," "farm choruses," "women's choruses," "Home Economics choruses," etc. This research was limited to vocal music—instrumental music associated with Extension Services also deserves some attention. Similarly, the PMO Notes of Summer 1952 (p. 6) reported that an organization of rural music had been started in Israel patterned after the Indiana program. The Minister of Cultural Affairs of Israel made an extended visit to Purdue to study the procedures and activities. "American Farm Women Join in Song," "History from Scrapbooks Collection," 1181-240.6 (1956-64), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN, This statement likely comes from the mid-to-late 1950s.

251 Dakota, sang at the National Federation of Music Clubs convention in Detroit. The group's performance followed an address by Indiana's Al Stewart (titled "Action on the Farm Front") and a performance by the Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration chorus of Indiana.3 The Faulk County ensemble sang "All We Like Sheep" from Handel's Messiah, "0 Joy, 0 Rapture" from [H.M.S.] Pinafore by Gilbert and Sullivan, and "Home on the Range" arranged by Clifford.4 Additional scattered reports stem from the 1950s and 60s. In 1958 the National Home Demonstration Council meeting was held in Wichita, Kansas. More than 30 women of the Washington County Home Demonstration Chorus from Oklahoma were slated to sing during the Wednesday morning session; they were one of two choirs that were invited to perfoi in at the meeting (see Missouri below).5 Music continued to be a part of the Oklahoma Extension Cultural Arts program into the 1970s,6 but activities by specific performing ensembles have not been verified for that time period. A state chorus also functioned in the mid-1990s.7 Leaders would mail music to 'Official Souvenir Program," Music Clubs Magazine, March/April 1947, 21, Stewart gave several speeches around the country promoting rural music, see ch. 3. The titles of compositions and composers' names will be listed as they are found in the resources. Often it is logical to assume a composer or a first name, but those assumptions can lead to errors. Likewise, often the pieces are translations and arrangements of original works, but again, titles and composers are listed just as they are found in sources. 5Nadine

Holder, "Home, 4-H Girl News," Bartlesville (OK) Examiner-

Enterprise, 8 October 1958, 12.

(-Oklahoma,"

National Notes (National Extension Homemakers Council),

September 1973.

7Carol

Wood, interview (telephone) by Atcha Nolan, 14 May 2002. Handwritten notes provided to the author.

252 interested choir members who then would gather for a massed rehearsal. This state group sang for the national Extension meeting in Tulsa in 1995. The National Notes of December 1964 contains information about a state chorus formed to sing at the Arizona Homemakers Council annual meeting in June 1964.8 The article also mentions that "the Pima County Homemakers Chorus has been singing for a number of years, appearing at most of the Homemaker's events and filling an occasional outside engagement." This chorus served as the backbone for the state group, whose primary musical mission was to sing the official NEHC song, "Onward, Ever Onward," at the June meeting (see ch. 6). Additionally the chorus worked on "The Big Sweep Song," which was tied to a litter/beautification project the women had begun. They intended to continue the chorus into the next year; Mrs. Kenneth Massie of Tucson was selected to serve as chairman of the group. In the 1970s, the Florida Extension Homemakers Council decided to expand its Cultural Arts program.9 The council instigated a Fun Night, which included a theatrical variety show with music, a hat-decorating contest, and a fashion show with some historical elements. The group also sponsored a handicraft exhibit and a cultural study of the Seminole Indians. Another feature of the renewed emphasis on cultural arts was 'Arizona Forms State Chorus,- National Notes (National Extension Homemakers Council), December 1%4, 18. A report from the Alaska Homemakers Council appears on the same page, and it contains interesting cultural information about a Homemakers group that included primarily Eskimo and Indian women. 'Florida's Cultural Program," National Notes (National Extension Homemakers Council), September 1973, 19.

253 the formation of the Orange Blossom Chorus that performed at the state meeting and was scheduled to sing at the 1975 national convention. Similarly, in 1976, the 200-voice Mountain Heritage Chorus of West Virginia was featured at the National Extension Homemakers Council conference.1° Some members of the group also entertained the attendees with instrumental music on the banjo and fiddle. Choruses, not otherwise mentioned herein, were reported by An Official History of National Extension Homemakers Council, 1930-1990 in Virginia (1986) and North Carolina (no date)." The Virginia group was called "The Funtones," and consisted of members from New Kent and Henrico counties. Additionally, an Extension chorus from Tennessee performed at the national conference in Oklahoma in 1995.12

ILLINOIS

The State of Illinois formed a mixed choir (men and women) for its State Fair beginning in 1934 with participants representing 5 counties (Adams, Champaign, Iroquois, Macon, and McLean)." In 1935 the group had grown to include singers I luntitled article and photo caption] Homemaker 1, no. 1 (Spring 1977), 43. See also Charline J. Warren, comp. & ed., An Official History of National Extension Homemakers Council, Inc., 1930-1990 (Burlington, KY: National Extension Homemakers Council, Inc., 1991), 76. "A "chorus of rural women" from Montgomery County, Virginia, also was listed as performing on the New York World's Fair Program of 23 May 1939. 'Carol Anderson, Spring Green, WI, letter to Atcha Nolan, El Dorado, KS, 17 July 2006, in the possession of Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN. 'University of Illinois Archives, Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service, Earl H. Regnier Papers 1930-72, Series No. 8/3/27; Subject File, 1922-86, Series No. 8/4/2, Box 17, Archives Research Center, Hort Field Lab, Urbana,

254 from 9 counties, and by 1936, 20 counties had choruses that joined to perform a "Harvest contata" [sic]. I4 An audience reportedly numbering 115,000 heard the chorus in 1938 with someone identified as "Demming" directing the group. The choir performed at the Chicagoland Music Festival in 1938, 1941, and 1947, and at the New York World's Fair in 1939 (where the Tippecanoe County Choir from Indiana also performed, see ch. 5). Additionally, members of the Illinois ensemble made a trip to California in 1941 to perform at the Southern California Music Fiesta. The group underwent several name modifications over the years, which likely reflects societal and agricultural changes similar to those observed in Indiana and nationwide. The group was called the Illinois Rural Chorus in the 1940s and the Illinois Town and Country Chorus after the mid-1950s. Earl H. Regnier served as "superintendent of the State Fair Chorus" in the early years. The choir functioned regularly until 1942 when World War II caused obvious difficulties in maintaining the group. With the reactivation of the chorus program in 1946 (with 17 counties involved), James K. Van Slyke, of the Rural Sociology Extension office and state chorus director, took time to evaluate the Illinois music efforts in the past and to project what the future might hold.I5 The application of music for improvement IL. These collections contain a few photographs as well. The Illinois program began in the same year that the Tippecanoe County chorus began in Indiana (see ch. 5). "Regnier Papers, "Rural Chorus History," typewritten chronology, 9 November 1961, in Series 8/3/27, Box 8. Unfortunately the chronology is rather cryptic and offers no citations for the sources of the information. 'Regnier Papers, several documents and letters, in Series 8/3/27, Box 4. In February of 1947 the active counties were: Bureau, Coles, DeKalb, Edgar, Jo Daviess, Kendall, LaSalle, Madison, Menard, Moultrie, Peoria, Pope-Hardin, Rock Island, St. Clair, Stephenson, and Winnebago. The counties of

255 of rural living standards was a strong incentive for maintenance of the choruses, and the links between it and the rural sociology program of the University of Illinois were clear (see ch. 1). Van Slyke recommended that more attention be paid to music in rural areas to bring it to a level on par with music in the urban areas of Illinois. He commented that the Extension Service previously had provided mostly organizational help, but that "standardization of performance plans and musical interpretations" were needed as well. Likewise he called for expansion of the program to cover instrumental music ensembles,I6 methods and activities for general community singing, short-term music appreciation courses, and "even ... musical dramas!" He urged the employment of two full-time music specialists who could direct events and teach musicianship. Van Slyke also chided the 1946 State Fair for its lack of support for the 500-voice choir in terms of an adequate performance venue and sufficient time allotment." He suggested a full-day festival for the choruses. In April 1947, the College of Agriculture hired Dr. David Lindstrom to be Superintendent of the State Chorus Festival. He was to be reimbursed up to $50 for his expenses. Champaign, Will, Marion, McLean, and Knox may also have had some choral music activity. 'A typewritten document in Regnier Papers, in Series 8/3/27, Box 4, mentions the "highly developed" Illinois School Band Association that already had fostered school and community hands (including some "farm" group hands) in the state. "The choir at the fair may have numbered about 500, but the total number of participants in the county choruses was closer to 900. See Regnier Papers, handwritten "Rural Chorus 1947" document, in Series 8/3/27, Box 4. The Indiana choir also was slow to receive recognition from its State Fair (see ch. 2).

256 Van Slyke (the chorus conductor) and Regnier (now Lindstrom's associate superintendent) also provided county directors and Extension offices with several suggestions and packets of information. These included a list of "Appreciation Materials" with headings for suites, marches, operas, the evolution of modem dance music, and descriptive numbers. An information sheet on "Musical Crafts" suggested the possibility of greater local involvement in music through the formation of a "homemade band" (jugs, willow whistles, cigar-box violins, etc.) or a "kitchen band" (consisting of kitchen utensils) and through offering music notation classes. Regnier also compiled a list of recommended choir music based on comments gathered from directors, and he announced Van Slyke's musical selections to be performed by the massed group at the State Fair, the Chicagoland Music Festival, and the Illinois Farm Sports Festival: "All the Things You Are" by Jerome Kern, "This Is My Country" arranged by Fred Waring, "The Erie Canal," and "The Lord Is My Shepherd" by Noble Cain. The list purposely included a religious number, a popular-music piece, a folk song, and a patriotic selection, and reflects clear similarity to state repertoire choices in Indiana (see ch. 6). In May Regnier offered a suggested organizational plan to the choirs, informed them that the state music could be purchased through the Lois Taylor Music Shop for about $1 per packet, and explained the "rating system" that would be used both for critiquing individual choirs at the festival and for counties to earn "points toward county awards." In August 1947 (after the fair), Van Slyke sought additional information from rural chorus "chairmen and directors," and he complimented them for their musical

257 selections that went beyond "hillbilly" and "bad cowboy" music. Among the pieces performed by the individual choirs at the fair were: "Adoramus Te" by Palestrina; "Hospodi Pomiloi," a Russian liturgical piece; "Listen to the Lambs" by Dett; and "Pilgrim's Chorus" by Wagner. He encouraged the directors to keep in close communication with their county Extension office, and he hoped those offices would continue to support [monetarily?] the choir's activities. (Again, these comments are similar to those made by Al Stewart regarding the Indiana program.) Interestingly, Van Slyke also wrote that "the Illinois Rural Chorus [was] the only one of its kind in the country."18 This claim may have been accurate with regard to details, but it ignored the very active and large program (for women only) concurrent in neighboring Indiana, further evidence of the insularity mentioned earlier. A rural chorus from Illinois likely sang in Washington for the Capitol Sesquicentennial as did the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus--at least rural choir directors from Illinois were encouraged to participate by Al Stewart and Marvin Myers from Purdue.' Records indicate that Jo Daviess County, Kendall County, LaSalle County, Vermillion County, and Will County each had a chorus in Illinois in the 1950s, and because each state was given its own "day" to exhibit its strengths during the lengthy Capital celebration period, an Illinois chorus could have performed. 'One confusing aspect of Van Slyke's letter is that it begins with a University of Illinois, College of Agriculture heading, but he concludes by writing "the welcome mat will always be out at our home in Topeka, Kansas. Our address is Washburn Municipal University," He may have been away from Illinois on a sabbatical-type leave, or more likely, he may have come to Illinois only during the summer to lead the state choir.

I9 PA10 Notes, February 1950,5.

258 The County Chorus Festival in 1953 brought 10 county groups together for a massed choir. Of the 10, the counties of Menard. LaSalle, Douglas, Kendall, Vermillion, Jo Daviess, and Will each accepted a 10-minute slot during which to present one number of its choice plus the required piece ("Thanks Be to God" arranged by Dickson) for competition and critique. The individual county repertoire ranged from "Old McDonald's Farm" arranged by Howorth to "Lord, What a Mornin' [sic]" by Burleigh to "Lo, How a Rose E'er Bloomin' [sic]" by Praetorius. Additionally, the massed choir performed Cain's "The Lord Is My Shepherd," "Czechoslovakian Dance" arranged by Krone, and "America the Beautiful" among other pieces. Its performance was taped for broadcast on radio stations WLS and WILL. The program for the festival indicates that the State Fair Chorus continued to be associated with Extension Service in Agriculture and Home Economics in the University of Illinois College of Agriculture.20 At this time Verrollton C. Shaul conducted the state choir; he was a music teacher in the Champaign Community Schools and apparently served part time during the summer months as the Extension music specialist. In 1954, the Illinois Rural ' Chorus was described as a festival of county choruses meeting annually at State Fair time since 1934. This group of men and women comes from town and farm. Their age range is from 15 to 75. The only requirement to enroll in a county chorus is a mature voice, a desire to sing, and loyalty in attendance.21 'Regnier Papers, "Illinois State Rural Chorus," in Series 8/3/27, Box 5. Regnier Papers, Regnier, "Illinois Rural Chorus," typewritten report, 16 August 1954, in Series 8/3/27, Box 4.

21

259 At the 1954 Fair, Shaul led a group of 8 choruses, totaling about 200 voices. As indicated above, the county choirs could elect to sing in competition for a judge's rating; Vermilion County edged out Douglas County for the Governor's Trophy. Some of the individual county groups met year-round, while others met only in preparation for major events. In Shaul's report to the university for that year, he expressed his concern about the small number of active choirs and suggested that a full-time music specialist be considered,22 which he thought might allow the addition of an instrumental music component to the program. Obviously some of the same concerns had been voiced for nearly a decade at that point. In 1961 the counties of Jo Daviess, Menard, Jasper, Will, Henry, Peoria, Greene, and McDonough continued to have Town and Country Choruses. In 1964, 8 county ensembles competed in the Festival, many of them long-time members of the program.23 The massed choir that year also included some members of the Illinois State 4-H Chorus. Shaul conducted 10 numbers at the afternoon concert including: "Fanfare for a Festival," "All Thru the Night," "The Lord Is My Shepherd," "Sing Gloria," and "Prologue to the Opera `Mefistofole'." At that time, Karl F. Munson was superintendent of the Town and Country Chorus Program; he was considered part of the recreation department of Extension. Some ensembles continued to function at least until 1965, but a letter to rural chorus directors from Munson early in 1965 announced that the future of the choruses and their link to Extension would be discussed Regnier Papers, Verrollton C. Shaul, typewritten letter to W. G. Kamlade, I 1 October 1954, in Series 8/3/27, Box 4.

22

Papers, "Illinois Town and Country Chorus" program, in Series 8/3/27, Box 5.

13 Regnier

260 at a meeting at the university in March. Information about the chorus program seems to disappear after that letter. IOWA

The early history of rural music and agricultural music in Iowa has some similarities to that of Indiana. Rural sociology and rural recreation were part of Iowa Extension in the 1920s, and as early as 1925, farm people in Black Hawk County held a choral competition.24 In 1925 Fannie R. Buchanan became the first Extension music specialist for the Iowa State College Cooperative Extension Service in Agriculture and Home Economies. She supported and facilitated short courses, publications, 4-H choirs (especially for girls, see ch. 3), and, beginning in 1937, county choruses for women.25 Max Exner 'Dorothy Schwieder, 75 Years of Service: Cooperative Extension in Iowa (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1993), 41. There also were some rural orchestras in Iowa in the 1920s. A typewritten and signed letter from Harry K. Smith to Neil Bjurstrom with a postmark of February 1986 describes a competition in which 18 orchestras participated. See Iowa State University, Cooperative Extension Service in Agriculture and Home Economics, Extension Music Program Records, RS 16/3/3, Series 1: Extension Music Program Records, 1910-1993, Box 2/5, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library, Ames, 1A. 'Historical Note," Iowa State University, Extension Music Program Records. Among Buchanan's compilations was a booklet titled "Half Hour Studies from Famous Operas." The Extension Service of Iowa published it in 1938. Charles A. Fullerton also was influential in rural music in Iowa even before the 1920s, especially with music for one-room rural schools. He collected songs and teaching materials to both teach teachers about music and for the teachers to use with students. He was on the music education faculty at. Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls. Materials relating to his career are held in the Iowa State University, Music Program Records, Box 2/10 and 2/12. See also Lewis Sheckler, Charles Alexander Fullerton: His Life and Contribution to Music Education (Ed.D. diss, University of Illinois, 1965).

261 succeeded Buchanan and held the position between 1947 and 1980. Neil Bjurstrom was the last Extension music specialist, serving from 1980 until 1994. A document titled "The Iowa Farm Bureau Chorus Plan and Songs" sets forth aims for 1932-33 and clearly indicated that the project was a joint venture between the Iowa State College Extension Service office and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.26 The aims included familiarizing members with 5 patriotic songs (as the beginning of a proposed longer list of music suitable for community singing); encouraging the use of "Farm Bureau Spirit," the national song of the organization; stimulating the growth of township and county choruses; assembling a state chorus from the county and township groups; and encouraging singing in farm homes. Based on these aims, Iowa's rural music program appears to exhibit a stronger link between Extension and Farm Bureau than is readily evident in Indiana. Among the unique aspects of the Iowa program was the 1935 production of the operetta Bohemian Girl, which followed a statewide 4-H course in opera. Fannie Buchanan's leadership in all aspects of the production appears to have been vast and indispensable. The cast reportedly included 175 singers from 47 Iowa counties; they worked in county groups over the months and then met for 4 full rehearsals. The two performances, one in Ames and one in Des Moines, drew national attention, including an article titled "Farmers as Artists" written by Buchanan and printed in the New York Times of 9 June 1935 and an article titled "Farmers' Opera" in the 1 July 1935 issue 'Typewritten manuscript, Iowa State University, Extension Music Program Records, Box 1/13,

262 of Time. Helen Holley, writing for the Des Moines Tribune, noted that the crowd of 8,000 was enthusiastic about the Ames performance, which was presented in the Iowa State College stadium. In 1936 the choir from Muscatine County was invited to sing in Washington, DC, at the annual conference of the Associated Country Women of the World, the same meeting that brought the Tippecanoe County, Indiana, chorus to the capital. The Iowa women traveled via Burlington bus that was described as having "every modern convenience—even ice water."27 They received an enthusiastic send off that included a luncheon and a farewell from the Muscatine Concert Band. Successful Farming magazine apparently helped to finance the trip. Like the Indiana women, the Iowa chorus was invited to sing at the White House Garden Party (see ch. 4). Iowa's county chorus program functioned in a manner similar to that in Indiana. The participants in each county gathered together for rehearsal under the direction of a local volunteer. They rehearsed from 2 to 4 times per month and performed at various local functions throughout the year. All the choruses joined together for a massed presentation at the annual Iowa Farm Bureau meeting in Des Moines. More than 1,000 women from 45 choruses also sang in "a state chorus tournament sponsored cooperatively by the Extension Service and the State Fair."28 Among the individual county 'Farm Bureau Chorus Starts Eastern Trip," news clipping in Iowa State University, Cooperative Extension Service in Agriculture and Home Economics, Extension Music Program Records, RS 16/3/3, Series 2: County Women's Choruses Records 1934-93, Box 3/13, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library, Ames, IA. 'Schwieder, 75 Years, 96.

263 performances was that of the Muscatine County Chorus when it traveled to Chicago to sing for the 3"d annual meeting of the Association Women of the American Farm Bureau Federation on 10 December 1937.29 As part of the education component of the program, women in a township could join together to compete against other women on a "music recognition test." They were to identify titles and composers of works such as "By the Waters of Minnetonka" by [Thurlow] Lieurance, "Steal Away to Jesus," "Gypsy Love Song" by Herbert, and "To a Wild Rose" by MacDowell (the 1937 emphasis on American music is clear; its longevity as the focus is not clear).30 A historical account of the Linn County Farm Bureau Chorus reveals that it was organized in 1937 with 40 women participating.3I Mrs. F. M. Beck was the first director, and Mrs. George Silha was the accompanist. The ensemble performed on four occasions in 1938 including a radio broadcast. It typically met only 8 or 9 months of the year, and in 1939, the women sang "Bless This House," "Thanks Be to God," and "Dear Land of Mine." In 1940 the group performed at the Hawkeye Music Festival, and as a result, was deemed eligible to compete in the Chicagoland Music Festival at Soldiers Field on August l6°1. They sang "Chipanaecas" [sic], which was broadcast nationally at the "request of Nat'l Federation of Music Clubs to 'The Women's Program," The Nation's Agriculture, January 1938, 4. The women may also have sung at this event in 1935. See "Women's Chorus Invited to Sing at National Farm Bureau Convo [sic!" news clipping in Iowa State University , County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/13. 'Lieurance was on the faculty at Wichita State University in Kansas and studied the music of American Indians, See "Score Card," in Iowa State University, Extension Music Program Records, Box 2/9. "Linn County Farm Bureau Chorus," typewritten manuscript, in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/9.

31

264 demonstrate what [was] being done in rural communities." The Linn County choir disbanded during some of the World War II years. Similarly, Mrs. W. K. Hunter, led the first Worth County chorus in 1937. The women stayed in two tents at the State Fair campgrounds when they competed in their first fair festival. Their group attire was a navy blue silk dress with white trim for which they each paid $2.32 Already by 1938 the Iowa program was receiving acclaim around the country. In that year, Dr. William Van de Wall of the University of Kentucky, heard some of the Iowa county choirs at a district competition and was quite impressed. He reportedly commented that Iowa was "exceptional in the extent of its musical education among rural groups as done by the extension service of Iowa State College."33 A total of 213 singers participated in individual choruses from the counties of Delaware, Benton, Jackson, Buchanan, Clinton, Marshall, and Cedar, with the Tama County chorus of 14 vocalists winning the tournament. Linn and Scott counties also sent singers for the massed choir.34 Iowa women from Sioux County might have seen and heard the women of the Tippecanoe County chorus from Indiana at the 1939 World's Fair in New York (see ch. 5) because the Iowa ensemble was slated to sing there on May 23"I 'History of Worth County Rural Women's Chorus," typed excerpt from Worth County Heritage 1853-1976, in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 4/2. "Alice Davidson, "Ten Rural Choruses Vie in District Meet," news clipping, in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/9. 'The Worth County chorus from Iowa is pictured in Detzer's "Song Along the Wabash" article in Recreation, March 1940, and he mentions that some of the women have to drive many miles to rehearsal. No other information is provided.

265 in recognition of Rural Women's Day.3' Eleanor Roosevelt was scheduled to speak on the same program. Mrs. William Hospers led the Iowa ensemble in "Dear Land of Home" and "The Lord Is My Shepherd." An article titled "Successful Homemaking" and edited by Margaret Sherman revealed some of the cooperation needed from the choir members' families in order to attend the fair. One woman reported that her 10-year-old helped cook cereal, bacon, eggs, and fried potatoes for breakfast; her husband looked after her 1,000 baby chicks; and her son bottled the milk for her each morning. Director Hospers brought experience in both music and teaching to the ensemble, but she found the commitment and enthusiasm of the women to be a highly valuable ingredient in their success.36 (One woman in the Sioux County Chorus remained a faithful participant even though she had 8 children plus a household and farm chores to manage.) Hospers focused on getting the chorus members to breathe properly and to concentrate on tone. The choir tried to sing the music from memory so members could concentrate on the director and on expression. Following World War II, during which fuel shortages and other situations had caused the choirs to be a low priority, several choirs were reactivated. The Webster County chorus had 35"Rural Women's Chorus Invited to New York World's Fair" and "Successful Homemaking," news clippings, in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/17.

'Unidentified news clipping excerpt, in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/17. Perhaps the rural teachers had been trained in music by Charles Fullerton, see above. Apparently some of the chorus participants had taught music in rural schools when they were younger and single; often they left those jobs (and most musical opportunities) upon marriage.

266 had about 25 members before the war and was led by a local junior-high vocal instructor.37 After the war the choir resumed activity with about 40 members who supported the group with dues payments, bake sales, and food sales at auctions and fairs. The director and accompanists received some remuneration; the singers paid for their own music, matching outfits, and travel expenses. The choir reportedly traveled to Washington, DC, in 1950 for the Capitol Sesquicentennial and continued to function into the 1970s. The Linn County choir got back into action after the war as well. It participated in the Chicagoland Music Festival, sang at local events and on the radio, and about 17 of its members joined the Iowa contingent to Washington in 1950. It also was one of 43 counties that sent choirs to the State Fair Festival Choir of more than 900 singers. Linn County received a "red" ribbon for its individual efforts at the festival based on the following marks from Max Exner: "excellent" for Stage Presentation and Diction; "good" for Tone, Ensemble, and Interpretation; and "fair" for Rhythm.3 8 The 1950 trip to Washington was open to husbands and family members of the choruses, many of whom had never been to the Capital. Most of the group traveled by train, and each singer was responsible to take her own robe or outfit—whatever her county ensemble normally wore.39 About 300 women participated in the choir; they were selected by a lottery because

r"Webster County Women's Chorus," in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/19.

'"Evaluation of Festival Performance," Linn County, in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/9. 'Max Exner, signed letter to Rural Women's Chorus Chairman or County Music Chairman, 15 July 1950, in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/10.

267 there was not room at the performance venue for the entire group of singers. (This turned out to be especially important when rain forced the performance indoors.) Each woman raised her own travel money; one lady reported that her husband quit smoking so that she could have his cigarette money.4° While in Washington the women had an opportunity for some sightseeing, and many had the same reaction as women from Indiana (see ch. 4).4 ' In addition to the choruses mentioned above, Muscatine County also sent 17 singers, who traveled by means of another common mode of transport for the day--a Burlington Trailways bus. Women of Marshall County, Iowa, formulated a constitution for a choir in 1948; the stated purpose of the group was "to unite our County ladies into an organized chorus, so that we may appear in State contest in Ames, also sing at Farm Bureau meetings and at other gatherings."42 Membership was open to those over age 21 "or married." Additionally, 60% of the chorus members had to be "rural or from towns of 2500 population or less" and 75% of the chorus had to be "from farm bureau [sic] families with paid up membership." Rehearsals were scheduled for the third Monday evening and the first Saturday afternoon of each month; dues were 50 cents per year per member. The constitution also enumerated rules related to rehearsal and performance attendance, auditions, ownership of 'Speech for Farm Bureau Vespers Chorus Commemoration," 30 November 1993, in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/4. 41"Rural Women's Song Program Forced Inside," news clipping, in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/9. 42"Constitution of Marshall County Farm Bureau Women's Chorus," in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/10.

268 the choir robes, procuring a director and accompanist, and election of officers. In 1951, 42 choirs performed individually at the state festival in September, which was called the Iowa Farm Sports Festival.43 Those who received a blue ribbon recorded their selections for radio broadcast in the afternoon. The massed choir of about 1,000 singers also rehearsed for its evening performance. An important innovation of the post-war years was the District Training School program led by the recreation and music specialists of Iowa Extension. They planned 14 events across the state that were designed to "develop a small group of leaders in each county upon whom you can call to take ,44 responsibility for leading music and recreation programs.... (This approach is similar to the Song-of-the-Month leadership training in Indiana.) Between July 3 and July 20 of 1951 training schools were held in the Iowa counties of Waverly, Jefferson, Ida Grove, Primghar, Coming, Osceola, Clarion, Cedar Rapids, Marshalltown, Mt. Pleasant, and Davenport. The Linn County chorus participated in the school led by Max Exner in 1952 and again in 1955.45 That chorus also sang at a United Nations Day celebration where Eleanor Roosevelt was the featured speaker. By then, three women of the Linn County ""State Festival 1951 ," in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/10. 'Max Exner, typed and signed letter to County Extension Directors, 1 November 1948, in Iowa State University, Extension Music Program Records, Box 1/9. Exner also alerts the directors that the materials for the Music Study program for adults and 4-H girls for 1948-49 were enclosed. 'The Linn County chorus had fewer activities in 1953 because 4 women, including the choir's director, Mrs. Auld, had babies. Mrs. Auld was paid $180 per year in the mid-1950s. "Linn County Farm Bureau Chorus," typewritten manuscript, in the Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/9.

269 chorus had been members of the group since its founding in 1937: Mrs. Frank Schantz, Mrs. Clyde Kearns, and Mrs. Harold Johnson. Their 1955 repertoire included "Praise Ye the Father," "Set Down," "Carolina Moon," "Over the Rainbow," and "Pop, Goes the Weasel." In the following year, Linn County was one of 21 choruses represented at the annual Farm Bureau meeting and one of 24 choruses at the "Workshop Festival" in Ames. It received high honors at both performances. In 1959 the state festival was held on Friday, October 9 in Ames. Ten choruses competed during 8-minute slots in the morning. In the afternoon the guest clinician, Prof. Sorenson, offered comments about the choirs and awarded prizes. (Exner's instructions to the guest clinician are revealing: "be hard-nosed in scoring but kind, helpful, constructive in verbal comments"; make helpful comments to the director or accompanist but do not judge strictly on their efforts; and comments on the quality and suitability of the music are appropriate.)46 Exner led a mass rehearsal at 2 p.m., and the concert began at 4:30 p.m. Nineteen singers represented Linn County; the women sang the required piece, "The Peaceful Western Wind," and elected to sing "0 Leave Your Sheep." They received 1 of the 4 blue ribbons awarded that day. In 1961 and 1962 Professor Laurence Grooters of Central College in Pella, Iowa, served as the guest clinician. The repertoire for 1962 included "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by Bach; "The Snow" by Elgar; "Carol of the Drum" arranged by Davis; "Fum, fum, fum," a Spanish carol; "Evening Prayer"

An undated document titled "Note for the Auditor," in the Iowa Slate University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/5.

270 by Humperdinck; "You'll Never Walk Alone" by Rogers [sic]; and "Wind through the Olive Trees" by Pyle. A 1956 financial report from the Sioux County Farm Bureau Women's Chorus offers some insight into the choir's inner workings. It received $133.50 in dues over the course of the year, took in about $262 from a "folio dinner," received about $46 from township Farm Bureau groups, and earned about $180 from performance appearances.47 It paid its director nearly $300, and music cost the group about $103. Iowa's Extension Service continued general rural music education in the 1950s. Exner prepared the "Supplement to 'Music at Home,' Mu-122" for use by county and township music chairmen and leaders in 1950. It offered information about vocal repertoire including "Who Is Sylvia" by Schubert, recordings for the study of such works as "La Donna e Mobile" by Verdi, and folk dances. Although it was aimed at adults, the supplement also included some songs for group singing and information about the concurrent 4-H music program. Each of the group songs was accompanied by information about its history and performance suggestions. In 1957 the Cooperative Extension Service of Iowa released The Golden Bridge, a similar collection of music and information for use with young people and adults.48 The "singing music" section contained "Song of Peace" by Sibelius, the spiritual "Were You There?" and the Moroccan folk song "A Ram Sam Sam," among others. Each was followed by historical and performance information. The "listening music" section included Finlandia, by Sibelius, and a set of "Great Spirituals." The "dancing music" section 'In Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/17. 'In Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/17.

271 included works from Sweden, Germany, and "Europe" involving "square sets," "circle game," and "couple dance." Evidence of the cooperation needed to make the program available statewide is found in the printed schedule for the listening-music broadcast at 7:45 a.m. on WOI in Ames. Each work was slated to be heard 3 times between November and the following May. Iowa appears to have had a much larger and more diverse program of general rural music than Indiana. A report by the Cooperative Extension Service of Iowa State University in January 1964 offers insight into the evolution of the chorus program. The authors acknowledge its remarkable history but also comment on the need "to unify the services that have been supporting the chorus program by bringing the training and festival activities of all the choruses under the music program of the CES, directed by the Extension music specialist."49 The goal was to combine the separate activities of the Farm Bureau and the Extension Service and even to enfold rural choirs related to the Federation of Music Clubs. Training continued to be available through workshops, and Exner still selected the "state" music. The report's authors encouraged youth choirs to be developed through 4-H5° and acknowledged that most of the adult choirs consisted of women, but that there was "some interest in mixed-voice adult groups," which they encouraged and for which they planned workshop activities and selected music.

'County Women's Choruses of Iowa, Plans for 1964," in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 4/5.

4

s'See

Songs of the 4-H Clover, 4-H Songs for Mixed Choruses, in Iowa State University, Extension Music Program Records, Box 1/4. The collection was edited and arranged by Exner and sold for 40 cents. The Preface contains tips on style, voice range, and phrasing.

272 According to the 1964 report, at least 12 singers still were needed to form an official ensemble, with an average of 16 to 18 recommended as a minimum. A chorus was required to learn the state music and to participate in the 2 yearly training sessions (one that introduced the state music and offered conducting and musicianship lessons, and one that allowed critique of each choir in preparation for the State Festival, which included competition and "constructive evaluation" by "a person of high competence in the choral field" and the Extension music specialist). Each chorus was encouraged to learn other music as well, and to perform locally as often as was feasible.5I The proposed schedule called for workshops in April, training schools in September, and the festival in November. The singers were to memorize the music for the competition. Although specific details differ between the Iowa program and that found in Indiana, the emphasis on both performance and training and the opportunities for the women to sing in both small and massed choirs make them quite similar. Additionally, a cursory perusal of the repertoire list reveals music quite similar to that sung in Indiana. There is a mix of pieces that could be described as sacred works, folk arrangements, and show tunes. Allamakee County had an active choir in the late 1960s. It had about 15 regular members who sang at state events and locally, especially for charitable or service organizations. The county Farm Bureau supported the group, and it also collected annual dues of $3-per-year from each participant. The choir did not meet in January and February because of the weather, and it decided not to participate in the annual festival in 1968 because 5'Iowa

State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 5, contains SSA octavo music that the women sang.

273 of time constraints on many of its members.52 Similarly, the Worth County chorus, which had begun in 1937 with 17 members and reached a peak of 34 members, fell to about 20 members in 1976. In fact, in the 1970s the Iowa chorus program appeared to be in decline. Reportedly only 3 choruses took part in the Farm Bureau convention in 1971, and only 9 participated in 1973.53 On the other hand, those that continued were active and enthusiastic. Allemakee County's choir was busy in 1973 under the direction of Ellen Theile. It met twice per month, and the women paid $3 dues. Webster County's chorus celebrated its 35th anniversary in 1979.54 The county's Farm Bureau group supported the chorus by helping to cover the cost of gowns, music, travel, and remuneration to the director and accompanist. The Winneshiek County Farm Bureau Women's Chorus celebrated its 45th year of activity in 1978. The choir of 26 singers sang in the local Nordic Fest, and it was a member of the Norwegian Women Singers League of America. They sang repertoire in English and Norwegian.55 'Mrs. Nyles Herman, "The Farm Bureau Women's Chorus," in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/6. "Linn County," in the Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/9.

53

>'"Webster Women's Chorus notes 35' anniversary," in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/19. The chorus began in 1941 but was inactive during part of World War II, hence the awkward math in calculating its 35" year. 55The group was formed as a mixed choir in 1933, but most of the men dropped out rather quickly. See Camilla Strom, "Women's chorus in concert Friday at Nordic Fest," news clipping, in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 4/I. Additional study on the prominence of a particular ethnic population in an individual county and its impact on music activities and development could be enlightening as well.

274 Neil Bjurstrom began leading the state ensemble in the 1980s, and he tried to reinvigorate the program. The festival remained similar in construct to the past but with a brainstorming session added in the afternoon.56 The massed choir, with singers ranging in age from 24 to 81 years of age, sang in the evening at the opening of the Farm Bureau convention. Bjurstrom made a special effort to help the choirs select state music that the women would enjoy and that would be versatile. He also compiled a book of about 40 pieces that was sent around to the choirs for their perusal so that they would be more informed when selecting repertoire to sing individually.57 In 1981 only about 10 choruses participated in the festival in December. The First United Methodist Church women of Des Moines provided a $4 dinner for the participants consisting of baked chicken breast, rice pilaf, vegetables, curried fruit, bran muffins, and a frozen dessert. In the following year Bjurstrom selected arrangements of American folk songs for the state music. Among them was a "composed" folk song titled "It's a Good Day" by singer Peggy Lee; its text reportedly was a special tribute to female musicians. Around the same time, ensembles from Muscatine and Ottumwa counties had made plans to renew chorus activity; one mid-1980s estimate suggested that the individual county choirs participated in more than 82 local and community events during the year, singing before approximately 175,000 Iowans. "Convention to open with concert, vesper service, candlelighting 'sic'," news clipping, in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/18.

5

choruses prepare for music festival," Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman, 30 October 1982, in Iowa State University, Extension Music

5'"County

Program Records, Box 2/2.

275 Bjurstrom called on his Iowa State University music colleague Don Simonson to serve as clinician in 1984. Simonson provided each county choir (8 choirs totaling about 300 women) with written and tape-recorded comments. The list of choir repertoire suggests that there no longer was a required piece, however, several of the choirs sang the same numbers including "Let There Be Song" by Gustav Klemm and "Music When Soft Voices Die" by Julie Knowles.58 For the 50`h anniversary of the County Women's Choruses in 1986, the Iowans again presented music from the operetta, The Bohemian Girl. Max Exner returned as guest conductor, leading the festival singers in that music plus "It's a Grand Night for Singing" by Rodgers and Hammerstein, "Shenandoah" arranged by Vance, and "God Is My Song" by Ringwald among others.59 Three of the nine county choirs heard during the day were featured on the evening concert: Winneshiek, Sioux, and Linn. The concert also included a work commissioned from Exner titled "The Country Way," whose text extols the virtues of rural living. They closed with an SSA arrangement of "Iowa" by Meredith Wilson [sic]. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber was the theme for 1990; the repertoire included "Love Changes Everything" from Aspects of Love and songs from Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Phantom of the Opera, and Starlight Express. A newspaper article from the late 1980s or early 1990s reveals some of the meaning the choir program held for the participants. Only a few of the women continued to be farm "County Women's Chorus Festival," typed document, in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/1.

'Concert program, in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/2.

276 dwellers, but singing was their common bond. "We're just people who like to sing," said 13-year member Dorothy Sherman of Albumen. She added, "The group becomes a support group. We share what's happening in our lives. You'll do anything riot to miss."6° Elizabeth Williams commented, "I enjoy it. It's as much the people, the friends you make, that makes it worthwhile." A letter from Bjurstrom to the County Choruses in October 1991 announced substantial change was in the air. A new Vice Provost at Iowa State University was restructuring many programs based on decreased state funding. Among the planned cuts was "specialist" staff in Extension. He indicated that the small number of participating counties had caused the choir program to lack statewide support and recognition. Further. Bjurstrom suggested to the participants that they make their feelings about the program known to Extension leaders with the hope that "the extension administration would have to take into account that a stated national priority of nationwide extension is the revitalization of rural America."61 The efforts of supporters were in vain; funding was scheduled to be phased out completely by 1 July 1994. The final performance of the state choir (consisting of choirs from the counties of Allamakee, Howard, Linn, Page, Tama, Webster, Winneshiek, and Worth) was at the Farm Bureau Convention. Bjurstrom planned to go

'Suzanne Barnes, "Singing keeps the Farm Bureau Chorus in tune," news clipping, in Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/9. 'See Iowa State University, County Women's Choruses Records, Box 3/3.

277 out with a bang; the choir sang music by Meredith 'Willson and was joined by members of the Iowa State Marching Band.62 Iowa also had a program that provided musical experiences for rural youth, although it may not have been tied exclusively to Extension. The Educational Bulletin of the Iowa Department of Public Instruction reported the following in February 1930, the fourth year of the program: Sixty-two counties in the state are now actively at work training pupils for the great rural school chorus which is to sing at the State Fair in August. The child who makes the choir has shown his ability by singing correctly with the victrola [sic] the entire list of songs chosen by the directors, Mr. Fullerton and Mr. Wolfe, so that he has received valuable training in music all through the year.63 Later that same year, Jessie M. Parker made this report concerning a recent trip to visit rural schools: We heard an excellent music lesson in Dodge No. 8, Union County, taught by Hazel Ruckman. Every pupil sings the choir songs except one who has only recently entered the school. The teacher has a junior and a senior choir that sang alternate phrases after singing with the victrola [sic]. This school has been a consistent winner of prizes at the State Fair, so good school work is done in many lines. 'Chuck Offenburger, "Ending a Grand 60 Years by the County Women's Choruses," news clipping, in Iowa State University, Extension Music Program Records, Box 2/2. 'Typed excerpts from the Educational Bulletin, vols. 1-40, in Iowa State University, Extension Music Program Records, Box 2/12. See also ch 3.

278 By September, 79 counties in the state had approximately 6,000 children in grades 4 to 8 involved in the program. More than 3,000 of the children joined together to sing in a choir at the State Fair in August. The concert was later broadcast over WHO and WOC---the size of the group made it unnecessary to amplify the singers. Much of the curriculum was planned and compiled by Charles Fullerton, Head of the Department of Music at Iowa Teachers College between 190934 (see also ch. 6; Fullerton's The New Song Book and Music Reader was published in 1910). In 1931, the state choir was invited to sing at the North Central Music Supervisors National Conference in April. Iowa also apparently had music in its 4-H program, a branch of the Extension Service. The 4-H Club News of 28 June 1934 (published at Iowa State College in Ames) mentions a chorus of 229 girls from 75 counties that sang at the state convention. Miss Rosalind Cook directed the group in numbers ranging from folk songs to Schubert to selections from Bohemian Girl. Helen Swinney and Harriet Cookinham of the Extension Service had organized the group, which remained active the following year. The newsletter goes on to claim that Iowa was the first state to organize a statewide chorus (in 1928), to give music a definite role in 4-H (in 1921), and to start a statewide orchestra (in 1928). Some clubs also had musicappreciation lessons, and the Black Hawk County 4-H girls won first place in the music-appreciation test given at the state meeting. They competed against 89 other counties and won an RCA-Victor portable record player as their prize. Several of the competitors scored 100% in their efforts to name compositions by sound, identify composers, describe forms, and complete an

279 essay on "Why I enjoy this composition and some impressions I have of it."

KANSAS

Extension work began in Kansas even before passage of the Smith-Lever Act in 1914 (see ch. 1).64 The first Director of Home Economics Extension was Mrs. Frances Brown, who was appointed in 1909. She quickly began to form "units," beginning with the Glenwood unit in Leavenworth County, that were similar in structure and objectives to those of Extension programs in other states. Among Brown's challenges was the size of the state (more than twice the size of Indiana) and the large and sparsely populated western counties. As with Iowa, Extension work in Kansas had a strong connection to the Farm Bureau until the middle of the twentieth century. Although it does not make specific reference to Extension, the "Kansas State Farm Bureau Song," with words and music by Stella Bowlin Weddle, was published in Wichita by the AdamsBennett Music Company in 1930. The text refers to rolling plains, oil drilling, alfalfa hay, buffalo, airplanes, and spacious skies. The Kansas Extension Homemakers Council, as it was called in the late twentieth century, evolved to fit the needs of its constituents as was common in the other states under consideration. In 1990 there were nearly 21,000 members of the Extension organization in Kansas; the only states exceeding

'Good Homemakers—Good Neighbors, A History of Kansas Extension Homemakers Units, 1914-1982 (Manhattan: Kansas State University, 1982), passim.

280 Kansas in membership numbers were Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana, each with membership hovering around 32,000.65 Although a few counties from around the state had choruses, in Kansas music and the arts (as organized by the Extension Service) do not seem to have played as important a role statewide as has been documented in Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana. A Farm Bureau orchestra was mentioned in the Kansas Farm Journal, Bureau Farmer of July 1930; the same issue discussed the importance of community singing including some suggestions on how to encourage people to participate. An Extension "Rural-Urban Art Show" program began in 1951, and a reading committee was organized as a "Special Committee" in 1958. It was expanded into a "Committee on Cultural Arts" in 1962.66 In the 1964 Workshop Supplement of the Kansas Home Demonstration Advisory Council, Mrs. J. J. Moxley reported on the following "Cultural Arts" activities: Various counties studied music appreciation, reading, art, travel, and drama; some went to art museums and others studied the lives of musicians; some studied folk-song records; and others studied abstract and contemporary painting.67 She also mentioned the need for a teacher-training session in music appreciation as well as for teaching materials.

"Membership in Each State," 1990 Annual Report (Manhattan, KS: NEHC, Inc., 1990), 12-13. "Highlights from a Century of Kansas Home Economics Education," Souvenir Program, 22" Annual Workshop, April 11-12, 1973, Box 16, in Kansas Extension Homemakers Council Collection (not catalogued), Special Collections, Hale Library, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS. 'See Kansas Extension Homemakers Council Collection, Box 14.

281 Indeed, some of these needs were met according to the 1965 Workshop Supplement. The Cultural Arts goals therein included study of the following music types: Classical, folk songs, jazz, popular, and musicals. "Action" methods for teaching called for making use of television, radio, and recordings; providing historical information about a piece or composer; organizing choral and instrumental groups [italics added]; attending live events; and learning the National Home Demonstration song, "Onward, Ever Onward," which at that time could be purchased from Mrs. Clarence Dible of Menlo, Kansas, for 10 cents (see ch. 6). Additionally the Supplement contained a recommendation that groups consider using Leonard Bernstein's book The Joy of Music and his recording titled "What Is Jazz?" in addition to The Enjoyment of Music by Joseph Machlis (which continued, many editions later, to be used in college music-appreciation classes in the early twentyfirst century). Machlis's Introduction to Contemporary Music, Great Modern Composers by Oscar Thompson, and "AfroAmerican Music," an article from the Music Educators National Conference, rounded out the resource list. More than a decade later, the Committee on Cultural Arts continued to receive attention in the annual Kansas Extension Homemakers Council Handbook. The goals as expressed in the 1977 Supplement are as follows: Stimulate productive thinking by motivating better understanding of the arts with ideas that are invigorating and influential, and to provide learning opportunities that are enriching experiences that will develop awareness and an appreciation of the arts and life in America.

282 In subsequent years, many of the activities noted above continued to be recommended in the Handbook, but changes in American society also were reflected by the inclusion of possibilities such as classes in photography, film, and home furnishings; the creation of "Treasure Trails" or family-tree books for a participant's local area; Bicentennial-related activities; and programs for senior citizens or the handicapped. Additionally, extant information verifies that some choristers were scattered throughout individual counties but joined together in a county ensemble or that scattered units within a county sponsored their own choruses. As an example of the former, beginning in 1929 Leavenworth County in northeastern Kansas had a chorus.68 Mrs. Talbot was the director of that group, which was open to all unit members. The ensemble sang at various county functions, but some of the women found the location of the rehearsals in Leavenworth City beyond their travel capabilities. The group disbanded in 1944. Likewise, the Ford County Choir, from the southwest part of the state, also was active in the 1940s.69 On the other hand, a program from the "Home Talent Night" of Farm and Home Week, 5 February 1952, at Kansas State College lists the following choirs as participants: Homemakers Choral Study Group of Finney County, Decatur County Unit Chorus, Barber County Chorus, Sedgwick County Women's Chorus, Dickinson County Home Demonstration Unit Chorus, McPherson County Home Demonstration Chorus, "Glenwood History" folder, typed manuscript, in Kansas Extension Homemakers Council Collection. 'Thelma Maxwell, "Better Homes and Better Health EHU History," in "Ford County, KS, BH & BH EHU History, 1990," typed manuscript, in Kansas Extension Homemakers Council Collection.

283 Washington County Chorus (see below), and Rainbow Choral Group of Montgomery County." While each of those ensembles sang at that event, little else is known about their organization, longevity, or repertoire. In 1954 the following counties sent choruses to the Home Talent Night: Dickinson, Brown, Wilson, Saline, Washington, and McPherson, while in 1955 choruses from Washington, Geary, Labette, Sheridan, and Riley counties were on the program.71 "County chorus members" and "an a cappella choir" are mentioned in "The [Kansas] Report of National Home Demonstration Week, Eastern District" from 1955,7' and unidentified county choruses also are mentioned in the "Southwest District" report. In the following year, two county choruses provided musical entertainment at the district Home Demonstration Unit meeting in the far southeast corner of the state. They included the Cherokee County ensemble directed by Mrs. Cleo Allen (with Mrs. Galen Bennett as the accompanist), and the Home and Harmony Choral Club of Labette County conducted by Mrs. Lynn Brown (with Mrs. 0. J. Gregory serving as accompanist).73 Similarly, the Finney County chorus from southwest Kansas entertained at its District Home

"Home Talent Night" program in Washington County (KS) Home Extension Chorus Scrapbook, in the possession of Viola Diller, Omaha, NE. The varying names of the ensembles cause some of the difficulty in finding historical information and archives. The repertoire for the talent night was mainly show tunes and sacred numbers. 70

Washington County (KS) Chorus Extension Collection, Brown scrapbook, held in Washington County Historical Society, Washington, KS.

71

Typed document in Kansas Extension Homemakers Council Collection.

72

"HDU Throng of 1,400 in City Today," news clipping, in Kansas Extension Homemakers Council Collection.

73

284 Demonstration Unit meeting in May of 1960.74 Mrs. R. H. Calihan directed the ensemble, which included about 100 members when all were able to attend. In 1961, Norton County also had a chorus that sang at the annual Spring Tea of the Norton County unit. The chorus sang "I Hear the Bee a Hummin'," "My Little Buckaroo," and "We Sing Thy Praise." Mrs. Lester Ankenman directed the group, and Mrs. Doyle Foss accompanied on the piano.75 The chorus was described as "newly organized" with 20 members, most of which were married based on the "Mrs." title associated with their names. At the district meeting the women sang "Tis Spring Again," and "Green Cathedral" in addition to the Buckaroo song.76 Washington County in far north-central Kansas had a county chorus from 1950 until 1979. Viola Diller was the sole volunteer director of the ensemble over its 29 years, beginning on 20 November 1950. The chorus sang familiar Thanksgiving hymns and Christmas carols at its first meeting. According to Diller, Mabel Coverdill, the county Extension agent, instigated the chorus; its purpose being to "provide educational and enjoyable recreation to enrich and revive new energy into living." In Diller's words, "Having had a 'Civic Music' course in Kansas University [sic] Graduate School, I accepted the opportunity to direct the chorus."77 She also taught music and 'Units Celebrate National Home Demonstration Week," Garden City (KS) Telegram, 5 May 1960,10.

7

attend annual HDtJ spring tea here," Norton (KS) Daily Telegram, 11 May 1961.

7'225

'County Chorus sings at event," news clipping, in Kansas Extension Homemakers Council Collection. 'Viola Diller, Omaha, NE, letter to Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN, 29 May 2002. Additional information about Diller can be garnered from news clippings in Washington County (KS) Chorus Extension Collection, Brown scrapbook.

285 English in the local schools. Years later, when Diller retired and moved to Arkansas, no one stepped forward to continue her work. The Washington County choir usually rehearsed twice a month; Diller surmised that the expense and time required for traveling to rehearsals and performances (some women drove 40 miles and inflation was a problem in the 1970s) contributed to the choir's eventual demise. However, at the end, 5 charter members of the group still were participating (Evelyn Wesche, Vi Lobaugh, Letha Lohmeyer, Ida Shaw, and Diller).78 As has been observed in other states, the success and longevity of an ensemble often seem to be tied to the energies and commitment of a single, strong leader. In its early days, the chorus sang mostly unison pieces, but eventually it began to perform to 2- and 3-part arrangements, all selected by Diller and the group with no recommendations from the state office. Diller noted that women did not have to be in another Extension group in order to sing in the chorus (although that may not have been the case in the early years), and they did not have strict attendance rules. Membership usually hovered between 30 and 40 women, ranging in age from 20 to 80, who were identified as "teachers, teachers' wives, ministers' wives, farmers' wives, a nurse and others."79 They began with mostly rural women but quickly the members represented nearly all the towns or regions in the county. Mrs. Edna Norton served as the accompanist for about 15 years. Choir members usually wore robes for performance; they made the robes themselves as indicated by an extant hand"Chorus to say 'farewell' to director of 30 years," new clipping, in Washington County (KS) Home Extension Chorus Scrapbook.

78

"Washington Group Sings," news clipping, in Washington County (KS) Home Extension Chorus Scrapbook.

79

286 written document titled "Sewing Directions for Chorus Robes." The script for the 20th -anniversary celebration reveals that the women did not pay dues and that there were no officers in the organization. In part based on the concert opportunities available to the group, the Washington County Women's Chorus sang a considerable amount of sacred music (see below). It also apparently sang mostly full-length concerts (as opposed to singing a few numbers as part of another event). A newspaper article from 1959 about the group states the following: Should you chance to pass Washington City Hall ... you might hear, with some surprise, strains of harmony coming from the auditorium and, should you be so curious as to follow your ears to the source, you might see, located on the stage ... some twenty-five or 30 [sic] women of varying ages, singing with all the joy and abandon of those who love to sing.... Unique in its intention and its continuing functioning—the Washington County Women's Extension Chorus—[is] a group of women who sing for the sheer love of singing and who seek to share with those who hear them, the joy and fellowship they find in creating music together.8° Later in the same article, Diller is quoted as saying, "We know our singing is far from perfect, but we also know we have a story to tell in song and we shall tell it to the best of our ability." The group's performances included at least 6 local and regional appearances in 1951 and an unusually large roster of "Vida Bronson, "They Sing Because They're Happy," in Washington County (KS) Chorus Extension Collection, Brown scrapbook.

287 other varied performances over the years. The amount of activity in which the women engaged and the quantity of appropriate repertoire they must have prepared makes a list of events relevant: Participation on the Talent Night of the Farm and Home Week in Manhattan, Kansas, in February 1952; a cantata based on a compilation of familiar Easter hymns and texts in 1952; several local performances in 1953 when one of their numbers was "Narcissus" (with a text by Mrs. Fred Hedding of the chorus and 3-part music by Bill Wurtz, who had grown up in Washington County); hosting the Clay County, Missouri, Extension Club Chorus in a joint concert in 1957 and a reciprocal trip in 1959 to William Jewel College in Liberty, Missouri, for another concert with the Clay County choir;81 two performances (on 3 June 1956 and 17 March 1963) on a "devotional program" on KOLN television out of Lincoln, Nebraska; an Easter cantata in 1951 and 1952; singing for several farm businesses, district unit meetings, and Kansas State University Extension programs; a concert of music for a YMCA banquet in 1959; a concert of sacred music at the Covenant United Brethren in Christ Church in 1960; a 75-minute concert for the Morganville Chamber of Commerce in 1959; a "Sacred Concert" (with scripture, prayer, and congregational singing) in Topeka in 1960; a 60-minute program for the Fairbury (Nebraska) Business and Professional Women's Club in 1962; another Easter cantata on Palm Sunday 1965; and a Thanksgiving performance in November of 1968. The exchange was delayed one year because of the illness of Mrs. Diller, the Washington County director. See "Women's Chorus to Missouri Saturday," Washington County (KS) News, 13 November 1959. See also "History of the Washington County Chorus," typewritten manuscript, Washington County (KS) Chorus Extension Collection, Washington County Chorus—Ext. folder in vertical file, Washington County Historical Society, Washington, KS.

288 For the 1963 KOLN performance, the choir members' ages ranged from 16 years (Shareen [sic] Goebel) to 84 years (Grace Dickson), and the women represented nearly every town in the county.82 Several undated references and a list, likely typed by Diller, indicate that singing for local and regional community events was the primary performance outlet for the choir.83 The repertoire performed at these events included Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus," "Let There Be Peace on Earth," and "In Gethsemane" composed for the chorus by Ruth Schwab and Mrs. Carpenter of Morganville. For the joint concerts mentioned above, Washington County and Clay County joined forces to sing "A Prayer" by Bown, "Oh, What A Beautiful Momin'" and "You'll Never Walk Alone" arranged by Stickles, "I Believe" arranged by Wilson, and "My God and I" by Wihto1.84 A newspaper article from the mid-1950s stated that, "Their choices of songs are semiclassic [sic] compositions and songs of religious and sentimental themes."85 '"County Chorus to Sing on Tee Vee [sic)," news clipping, in Washington County (KS) Chorus Extension Collection, Washington County Chorus — Ext. folder. "Several undated news clippings, Washington County (KS) Home Extension Chorus Scrapbook. See also Washington County (KS) Chorus Extension Collection, Blue scrapbook, Washington County Historical Society, Washington, KS. This book also contains a typewritten list titled "Present and Former Member [sic) of County Chorus. The list contains nearly 100 names plus a separate heading titled ""Former Members Now Deceased," with 16 more names. A similar list of participant's names from 1952 is found in the "Brown" scrapbook under the heading "History of the Washington County Chorus." "Choral Concert Program, 16 November 1957, in Washington County (KS) Home Extension Chorus Scrapbook, The piece by Bown might have been an official Extension song. See "Extension Choral Concert to Be Saturday Night at Jewell," Liberty (MO) Tribune, 12 November 1959. '5Frida Schulthess, "The Farm Home," news clipping, in Washington County (KS) Home Extension Chorus Scrapbook.

289 The 25th Anniversary Program for the Washington County group took place on 27 April 1975. The names of 29 women are listed as members of the choir, and 13 additional names are included under the heading "Deceased Members." Mrs. Dale Brown accompanied the group on 13 selections, most with religious texts. The narration for the event indicates that the songs were to represent: "our faith in God," "our daily walk through life," "the rough places in our journey," "what we as women desire to become," and "the joy we feel today."86 The Douglas County choir was organized (at the suggestion of the Extension office at Kansas State University in Manhattan) in the spring of 1974 in the east-central part of the state.87 Mrs. Helen Holloway [later remarried to become Mrs. Jamison?] had received training from the Kansas State University Extension Cultural Arts specialist, Zo Slinkman, and enthusiastically encouraged women in her county to form a singing group. Holloway led the group and, by the following year, it had 24 members." They formed the Extension Homemakers Unit Singers, a separate and independent unit of the county. The unit held informational sessions, such as "Specialty Breads," in addition to rehearsing once a week and singing for local organizations, churches, rest homes, schools, and senior centers. In 1975 the group sang in Wichita at the Kansas Extension Homemakers Workshop where they 25111 Anniversary Program, Washington County Extension Chorus, in Washington County (KS) Home Extension Chorus Scrapbook. '7"E.H.U. Singers" and Mrs. George H. Butell, "History of the Willmyra Extension Homemakers Unit," 1 March 1979, typewritten manuscripts, in Kansas Extension Homemakers Council Collection, Box 4, "Douglas County." 8'1979 KEHC Workshop Program, in Kansas Extension Homemakers Council Collection.

290 presented a Bicentennial pageant titled "Fifty Nifty United States." In the following year, members of the group helped to lead a group sing-along at the Kansas Extension Homemakers Week in April. KENTUCKY

The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture made initial contacts with farmwomen as early as 1912 by means of a "demonstration train" (see ch. 1). Mrs. Helen B. Wolcott was appointed as a state agent to organize homeeconomics work within Extension in 1913, and during the following year Home Demonstration agents began serving in 12 Kentucky counties. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 was the impetus for rapid growth shortly thereafter. The organizational plan began first with localized clubs that were structured under a county hierarchy in 1924. In the 1930s the counties joined to form a state organization, the Kentucky Federation of Homemakers, which in turn chose to become a member of the Associated Country Women of the World. It also became part of the National Home Demonstration Council when that group formed in 1936.89 Chorus activity by Kentucky Homemaker groups apparently began in 1939 when Mrs. H. C. Robinson organized 'For further information see "Brief History of Home Demonstration Work and The Development of the Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association, Inc." in KEHA 1989-92 Handbook held in the KEHA Archives, University Archives and Records Program, Special Collections and Archives, M. I. King Library, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. As in other states, the name of the organization has changed over time. In the early twenty-first century, the organization is known as Extension Family and Consumer Sciences.

291 a group of women from Fayette County into an ensemble.9° Little other information is known about that beginning, but additional chorus singing is documented in the 1940s, an unusual time, perhaps, with the struggles of World War II being felt everywhere. Nevertheless, Mrs. Viola Hatcher organized the Lincoln County Homemakers Chorus in 1942. A woman identified as Mrs. Crawford served as the music chairman for the ensemble.9I The chorus remained active in the 1950s and 60s with Mrs. Shirley Dunn as director and Mrs. R. M. Newland and Mrs. Grace Wilson as accompanists during part of that time. Reportedly 17 clubs from within that county sent singers to participate in the ensemble, which sang at annual Homemakers meetings and district meetings. In January 1956, the program of the 44111 Annual Farm and Home Week listed a "Homemakers Choral Festival" as part of the Thursday evening activities. At that time, Mrs. Lewis Robinson was identified as music chairman, and Miss Jean Marie McConnell [later married to Norman Chrisman?] directed the "Massed State Homemakers Chorus," but the counties participating were not identified. Another county group functioned in the late 1950s in Owen County, led by Elizabeth Littrell, a local music teacher. A former member of the group, Jackie Allnutt of Owenton, recalls that the notion of a choir "seemed like a good idea and I liked to sing."92 'Kentucky Homemakers State Chorus," typewritten ms. (unsigned), "State Homemakers Chorus" file, KEHA Archives, University of Kentucky. 'Rita Stewart of Lincoln County (KY) provided this information in an email to Kimberly Henken of the School of Human Environmental Sciences at the University of Kentucky. Ms. Henkin kindly forwarded the e-mail to author on 22 June 2007. 'Jackie Allnutt, e-mail message to author, 28 June 2007.

292 In fact, the "Music Goals," as set forth in the KEHA Handbook, 1959-1962, included appointing a music chairman for each district to promote music programs; continuing the state chorus; encouraging more counties to participate in the "vesper program" (an evening singing event at the annual meeting that likely featured sacred music);93 bolstering the state choral festival; and continuing "appreciation" programs in all counties. The state chorus sang as part of "Community Night" for the 1959 annual meeting in an effort to have more townspeople hear the group, and its repertoire for that occasion emphasized folk music." During this time, all the members (except the state director and accompanist) were volunteers, and each singer was responsible to buy her own copies of the state music .95 The PM0 Notes from Purdue University (Indiana) of Summer 1959 reveal that, as part of Kentucky's development process, Jane Schaber, State Music Chairman of the Kentucky Federation of Homemakers, and Wilma Vandiver, a District Leader of the home demonstration Extension agents of Kentucky, "were sent to Purdue by Agricultural Extension, State of Kentucky, to attend the festival and get ideas and inspiration which could be used to enlarge and improve the music program in Kentucky." In a subsequent letter to Al Stewart (Indiana's Extension music specialist) reprinted in the 'The distinction between the "vespers concert" and the chorus festival or other performances at the annual meeting is unclear. The term continued to be used in the 1970s, also without clarity. Billy Edd [sic] Wheeler, "City Dwellers Are Invited to Farm-Home Week Events," Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader, 26 January 1959, n. p. '5"Kentucky Homemakers State Chorus," typewritten ms. (unsigned), "State Homemakers Chorus" file, KEHA Archives, University of Kentucky.

293 same PM() Notes, Viola Hansen, Chairman of Home Economics Extension Programs in Kentucky, wrote that Schaber and Vandiver were interested especially in Indiana's Song-of-the-Month program (see ch. 2), and she invited Stewart to visit Kentucky to hear its choruses "even though they are only one tenth the size" of Indiana's. Schaber also wrote to express appreciation to the Purdue Musical Organizations and Stewart. She commented that she would share information and her observations when she presented her report "to our Summer Music Camp." She also commented that she was glad that Vandiver had been another witness to confirm for unbelieving Kentuckians the performance by the massed choir of Hoosiers numbering 1,750 voices. Kentucky's chorus program continued in the 1960s. The Fayette County Homemakers Chorus sang as an individual ensemble at the January 1960 Farm-Home Week, as did the state chorus. The state chorus, continuing under the direction of Mrs. Lewis Robinson, again sang as part of Community Night during the 1961 Farm-Home week.96 Additionally, a photograph from the "Tuesday Evening Session" of the 1962 National Extension Conference found in the September 1962 issue of National Notes (a publication of the National Extension Homemakers Council) verifies that a Kentucky Homemakers Chorus also performed at this significantly larger venue. The exact number of singers is hard to determine, but there appears to be about 175 to 200 women in the ensemble. At that time, Mrs. Norman Chrisman was listed as the director. ''"Homemakers Chorus to Sing at UK," news clipping dated 25 January 1961, in "General Reference File: Agricultural Extension—Farm and Home Week, 1956-63, Administrative Series," University Archives and Records Programs, Special Collections and Archives, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington, KY.

294 In 1964, James Pheane Ross, Extension Specialist in Recreation for Kentucky, announced that the University of Kentucky was planning to hold a "special workshop" for training choral directors of homemaker music programs.97 Similar to the situation in Indiana, Kentucky had both county choruses and general singing for all members of a local unit. The 1962-65 KEHA Handbook reveals that the group's music goals included having a music chairman for each Extension district; continuing to promote and grow the state chorus; working toward the development of an annual festival where county choirs would sing individually and collectively (as was done in Indiana, see ch. 2); and providing training for the county chorus directors (another Indiana innovation). The 1966 Annual Meeting program indicates that some of these goals came to fruition. The State Homemakers Chorus offered a program entitled "Operation Music Camp," which was a demonstration/concert reflecting some of the training activities in which the women had participated the previous summer. These included a warm-up session, several rehearsals, stunt time, folk dancing, a time for remembrance, and a morning sunrise service—each with some of the state repertoire interwoven within. Women from 23 Kentucky counties participated in the chorus and demonstration.98 'Regnicr Papers, James Pheane Ross, typewritten and signed letter to Martha Dunlap, in Series 8/3/27, Box 5. See also, Martha A. Nall, State Advisor to KEHA, e-mail message (forwarded by Kimberly Henken) to author, 15 March 2007. As early as 1939, "Everybody Sings" opportunities were a part of the "Women's Sessions" of the annual Farm and Home Conventions at the College of Agriculture of the University of Kentucky. 'The lists of participating counties associated with the state chorus remained fairly consistent from year to year in the 1960s. Sometimes county choruses

295 The "Minutes of the Mid-Year Board Meeting of the Kentucky Federation of Homemakers," held 13-14 June 1967 include a report on the music program (from the previous year). The Music Evaluation Committee reported that 112 women from 20 counties participated in the state chorus. Additionally 57 counties were offering some kind of music-appreciation lessons for Extension clubs. The spring and fall workshops (which are not explained further) had reached approximately 357 people, and the committee was recommending that the summer camp be changed to include some art appreciation as well. This change was part of a larger endeavor to broaden the Cultural Development of Extension. Miss Sarah [Sara?] Holroyd was appointed to direct the state camp later in the summer. A report from the following year stated that, "at least 30,000 families participated in the reading, art, and music programs."99 The 1969-72 KEHA Handbook supports this apparent shift away from an emphasis only on music to a broader view of the arts. The "Cultural Arts" objectives include this statement: Rural and urban people [need] to become aware of opportunities to participate in available cultural programs of: music, art appreciation and applied arts,

were grouped in "area" choruses. This occurred in 1967 when the Bluegrass and Fort Harrod Area Homemakers Chorus sang at the annual meeting (in addition to the state chorus). 9'1965-68

Minutes" file, KEHA Archives, University of Kentucky. The report further noted that 27 counties had Homemakers choruses and that the Fayette County chorus had been invited to perform at the national meeting in Puerto Rico.

296 conservation, heritage, drama, literature, and selfexpression. This list was expanded in the 1975-78 Handbook to include Performing Arts (ballet, opera, drama, symphony), Music and music appreciation, Art and art appreciation, Study and preservation of our heritage, Literature, Creative writing, Communication, and "other related subjects." It was further refined for the 1978-81 Handbook, in which "suggested action" under the Music heading included: Observe National Music week (the first week in May), Study the lives of composers, Promote music therapy, Promote participation in the Homemakers choruses, Provide transportation to concerts and plays for senior citizens and the "Physically Limited," Encourage all members to learn the NEHC song ("Onward, Ever Onward"), and Sponsor musical activities for the community. The state chorus also continued to sing at the annual meeting through the 1970s. Interim directors included Mrs. Hecht Lackey in 1972, Mrs. Dorm Hollingsworth in 1973, and Mrs. Rhoda Higginbotham in 1978. Reports on the Summer Choral Camp of the 1970s give insight into the group's goals and activities. In 1973, 35 women representing seven counties (Fayette, Henderson, Madison, Daviess, McCracken, Clark, and Scott) attended the camp for two days in July. They rehearsed music for the coming year in several 2-hour blocks under the direction of Higginbotham. Recreation in the form of

297 swimming, skits, time at the lake, and a social hour rounded out the days. Saturday morning began with a brief devotional.m The following year the camp was held in August and brought together 30 women from five counties. The Extension Newsletter of December 1974 indicates that the music they rehearsed was intended for the vespers concert given at the annual meeting the following spring. Rhoda Higginbotham is identified as both the state chorus director and as Assistant Professor of Choral Music at Eastern Kentucky University Model Laboratory School in Richmond. In 1975 the camp grew to include 47 persons from 10 counties. Mrs. William (Mabel) McKenny, long-time State Chairman of the Homemakers Chorus, also reported that 3 additional choruses had ordered the year's music, which was selected to highlight the American Bicentennial the following year. When the state chorus was invited to sing at the national meeting held in Biloxi, Mississippi, in September 1980, the Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association pledged to pay the expenses of the state chorus director and accompanist and to collect a freewill offering to help defray the expenses of choristers. In fact, a Kentucky "state chorus," directed in l 980 by Higginbotham, is pictured in An Official History of National Extension Homemakers Council, 1930-1990. 1°1 Continuing under the direction of Higginbotham, this ensemble also sang at the Kentucky state meetings annually from 1981 through 1991; the 1984 concert featured music composed by Kentuckians. The chorus usually held a rehearsal early during the meeting days

""1973 State Homemakers Choral Camp," Newsletter Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association 1, no. I (October 1973): 1.

"Jean C. Wake also is listed as a director in 1980, but her name does not appear in any other references.

298 and then presented a short concert, with organ music as a prelude, on Thursday evening of the session. The ensemble also sang for the National Extension Homemakers Council meeting held in the members' home state in Louisville in August 1984. Mabel McKenney's report on the 1986 summer chorus camp, which convened in Leitchfield, indicates that 45 registrants represented 10 countiesi02 and that several participants taped the rehearsals so that they could accurately pass along tempos and interpretations to their individual county groups. The state director selected the music for the annual meeting performance, which the various county choirs would then rehearse in advance. Cheryl Bowling, a participant for 3 years in the 1980s, recalls that there were no dues for membership in the choir and that anyone interested could participate (i.e., there were no auditions). She does not recall the state choir traveling for performances but was aware that individual county choirs sang at local or regional nursing homes and Extension meetings. Bowling also was instrumental in starting a chorus in Spencer County, which joined the state chorus for three years, after which the county group disbanded. She reflected, "Women were busy doing other things and the interest was not there."I°3 Perhaps substantiating this attitude, the 1983-86 KEH.A Handbook has a heading for "Cultural Arts" under its Programs list, but the visual arts and more general "performance" opportunities seem to be emphasized more than group included the directors of six counties: Wayne, McCracken, Shelby, Madison, Ballard, and Fayette. The EKU Symphony Orchestra honored Mabel McKenney and her husband, William, in the early 21' century for their contributions to music in the Richmond area. 'Cheryl Bowling, e-mail message to author, 26 June 2007.

299 "music" specifically. Item 7 on the list, "Encourage appreciation of music," does not offer any indication of the type of music suggested for study or familiarity. A similar list of "Cultural Arts" objectives is found in the 1986-89 edition of the Handbook. The financial reports of the association in the 1980s and into the 1990s indicate that the state organization allotted between $600 and $800 for the chorus budget (mostly for minor remuneration to the state director and accompanist and to cover any costs associated with securing a performance site at the annual meeting). The 1986-87 Cultural Arts Annual Report reveals that only 9 counties had choruses for a total of 131 participants. In contrast, 156 members were certified reading tutors, and more than four thousand members statewide were involved in selling craft items they had made.1°4 A concert by the state chorus is highlighted in the 1993 Annual Meeting program, but by the mid-1990s "entertainment" is mentioned in the program (in 1997, a Sweet Adelines group), but an Extension chorus no longer is listed.105 Among the pieces known to have been sung by the chorus from Henry County (although exact dates remain elusive) are: "Adoramus Te Christe" by Palestrina and arranged by Wilson and Ehret; "Brother James's Air" arranged by Jacobs; "The Green Leaves of Summer" by Tiomkin; "Rio, Rio" a Chilean folksong arranged by Malin; "Let Our Gladness Know No End" arranged by Barnard; "Incline Thine Ear, Oh

'State Chorus Reports" file, KEHA Archives, University of Kentucky. ' 5See several "Annual Meeting Programs," KEHA Archives, University of Kentucky.

300 Lord"; and "The Ash Grove," a Welsh folksong.1°6 These pieces are similar in style (some sacred, several folk-song arrangements, a few popular songs) to those found in a collection titled Sing! The All-Purpose Song Book for Home, School, Community Choruses, Social Meetings, and Festivals compiled by David Stevens and Peter W. Dykema (see ch. 6), which remains part of the Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association archives held at the University of Kentucky. In the 1960s, the office of the Kentucky Extension Recreation Specialist compiled its own collection titled Sing Kentucky that included the following topical categories: patriotic, old favorites, fun songs, folk songs (USA), new adventures, songs of other countries, spirituals, Christmas, graces, and hymns. James Pheane Ross, mentioned above, is listed as the editor of the collection.1°7 The concert program for the Kentucky Federation of Homemakers Annual Meeting of March 1964 lists the following works: "Dona Nobis Pacem" sung as a canon, "Strong Is Thy Strength" by J. S. Bach, "A Thought Like Music" by Brahms, "Barefoot" by Naylor, "Thank Heavens for Little Girls" by Loewe, and the spiritual "My Lord, What a Mornin'." The program also indicates that women from 27 Kentucky counties participated in the chorus and that Mrs. Chrisman continued as director with Mrs. Nathaniel Patch as accompanist. The evening concert also included several "audience participation" selections such as "The Ash Grove," and "Goodnight," a German folk Maryellen Garrison, Henry County Extension Agent, e-mail message to author, 26 June 2007. ''The Sing Kentucky songbook is housed in the "Sing Kentucky" file, KEHA Archives, University of Kentucky. Dorothy D. Bullock of Larue County, KY, wrote the official National Extension Service song, "Onward, Ever Onward." See ch. 6.

301 song.108 The following year's program is quite similar. The persistence of a mixture of repertoire that included arrangements and translations of classical music, sacred pieces, folksong arrangements, and popular or show-tune songs is clear and similar to repertoire lists found in other states (see ch. 6). Just as Indiana's repertoire changed in the late 1960s and 70s, in 1977 the Kentucky state chorus purposely placed more attention on "entertainment" music because of the positive audience response to such repertoire the year before. The featured number of 1977 was That 's Entertainment, a medley that included "Singin' in the Rain," "Be My Love," "You Are My Lucky Star," "It's a Most Unusual Day," and "Honeysuckle Rose."I°9 The state chorus repertoire for 1980 included arrangements of "My Old Kentucky Home" and "For the Beauty of the Earth" in addition to "Hello, Young Lovers" from The King and I and "The Shadow of Your Smile" by Johnny Mandel. Nearly a decade later, in 1989, the mixture of repertoire noted previously clearly was back in evidence: "Alleluia, Praise" by Cherubini, "Come Again, Sweet Love" by Dowland, "Plenty Good Room" arranged by Horman, and an medley of Irving Berlin songs entitled A Century of Song.

MISSOURI

Extension chorus activity in Missouri centers around the Clay County chorus. Clay County is on the northeast edge of Kansas City. The chorus was formed in September of 1953 for the purpose of singing for the Extension 50th Anniversary "—State Meeting, 1960-69" file, KEHA Archives, University of Kentucky. 'Report of the 1976 Homemakers Chorus Workshop," Newsletter Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association 3, no. 4 (September 1976): 1.

302 Program. It very quickly began providing entertainment at local and regional events. In July of 1954 the women traveled to Cloverpoint camp on the Lake of the Ozarks to sing for a livestock-marketing clinic. At that time, the chorus of 26 singers was described as "the only one of its kind in the state" and "composed entirely of farm women."110 Their director was Mrs. J. F. (Dorothy) McGuire, who had no formal music training but had taken piano lessons and directed a church choir. The Home Economics Extension clubs of the county and the County Farm Bureau sponsored the trip. (A subsequent report on the event mentioned that the Clinton County Farm Bureau band also performed.) The chorus consisted of members from many Extension clubs in the county and, beginning in 1954, it had officers to assist the director in planning and organization. Olivia Roorbach was the accompanist for many years. In July 1955, the Montgomery County chorus from Crawfordsville, Indiana, visited Liberty, Missouri, for an exchange performance with the Clay County ensemble. The 42 guests stayed in homes of their hosts, had a joint rehearsal, and spent time discussing various aspects of their choral programs. The Missouri women hoped "to benefit greatly from the years of choral experience enjoyed by the Indiana group." The two choirs presented a free concert in the evening at William Jewell College in Liberty during which each choir sang alone and then together. To publicize the event, the Clay County choir sang on

"'Extension Chorus to Sing for State Marketing Clinic," Liberty (MO)

Tribune, 29 July 1954, 1. See also "Extension Club Chorus Makes Hit." Liberty (MO) Tribune, 5 August 1954, 1.

"'Indiana Chorus to Be Guests of Clay Group," Liberty (MO) Tribune, 7 July 1955,1.

303 KCMO-TV and Mrs. McGuire answered questions about the event. In June 1956, the Clay County group made the reciprocal trek to Indiana. Upon arrival in Crawfordsville, 2 hours late because of a bus breakdown, the guests were treated to a potluck meal and then taken to homes of the Indiana singers. The next day the two choruses traveled together the 30 miles to Purdue University for the annual Extension Chorus Festival (see ch. 2). Motorcycle police met the bus at the outskirts of town to provide the women with an honorary escort to campus.112 Al Stewart, director of the Indiana state choir, invited the 28-voice Clay County chorus to sing in the afternoon at the end of the individual Indiana county performances, which apparently was the first time a guest group had been asked to sing. They performed "Music" by Barton-Klemm, "A Spirit Flower" by Campbell-Titon, and "Can't Stay Away" by Noble Cain. In honor of the occasion, the Clay County group gifted its director with a "white faille robe." The Missourians were guests of the Montgomery County Hoosiers the following day at the Turkey Run State Park Inn, and they expressed their appreciation to their hosts by singing a complimentary parody of the Indiana state song.'" The Clay County choir also presented an extensive Christmas program that year. Solos were scattered throughout, but the 23-voiced choir sang at least 15 numbers with both "'Margaret Pulliam and Frances O'Neill, "Our Day at Purdue University," Liberty (MO) Tribune, 28 June 1956, section 2, p. 2. 113 Margaret

Pulliam and Frances O'Neill, "Clay County Extension Club Enjoy Trip to Indiana," Liberty (MO) Tribune, 21 June 1956,5.

304 secular and sacred texts. The sacred pieces appear to have been formed into a kind of cantata titled "Prepare Him Room."114 The choir participated in another exchange in 1957, this time with its neighbors to the west. In November, 21 singers from Missouri traveled to Washington County, Kansas (see Kansas section above), for an information session and joint concert. Two years later the Washington County ensemble traveled to Liberty, Missouri, for another joint concert, this time held at William Jewell College. An article about that event offers some insight as to the importance of the choir to the women. The hours necessary for rehearsal and memorization were considered time well-spent because of the participants' "sheer joy and love of singing and the hope that [the] concerts will afford an evening of enjoyable and free entertainment for the audiences."5 In recalling the previous concert exchange with Montgomery County, Indiana, the author continued by writing that choral music "is not, however, a formal part of the program [Extension] in either Kansas or Missouri." The Washington group was slated to sing the Kansas State Song, "Home on the Range," in addition to "Just a-Wearyin' [sic] for You" by Carrie Jacobs Bond, "There Is a Balm in Gilead," and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," among others. The Clay County choir offered "Let There Be Music," "Autumn Leaves," and "It Is No Secret." In 1958, the Clay County Extension Chorus was one of two ensembles invited to sing at

"'Christmas Program," in the Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection, 1953-1968, in the possession of Harold McGuire, Liberty, MO. '"Extension Choral Concert to Be Saturday Night at Jewell," Liberty (MO) Tribune, 12 November 1959.

305 the Extension national conference in Wichita, the other being the Washington County chorus of Oklahoma. Indeed, the women of the choir had a very busy year in 1959. By year's end, the amateur singers had logged more than 80 presentations in addition to a twice-monthly rehearsal schedule that was common during the choir's 6-year tenure."' Each member was responsible for paying her own expenses related to the choir and its travel, and most of the women had significant daily responsibilities at home as well. In 1959, the women sang at the county Extension Spring Event featuring the theme "Ye Olde Country Store," which earned them about $185.117 At this event, families were invited to partake of a taffy pull, hot dogs and lemonade, and buying handiwork and produce. The choir also was sponsored by the Allis-Chalmers Implement Company at a vesper program of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents in Kansas City in September. The repertoire they performed was mostly sacred and included some of the same pieces associated with choirs from other states. Additionally they sang for a vesper program of the Reorganized Church of the Latter Day Saints in August, for the Dedication of the Site for the Agricultural Hall of Fame

'County Extension Club Chorus Planning Busy Fall Schedule," Liberty (MO) Tribune, 3 September 1959. The McGuire scrapbook also contains

several thank-you notes from various organizations. While they are invariably complimentary, they do not offer specific critiques of the choir's singing. Occasionally the repertoire is cited as being of good quality. "'Grace M. Wright, typed and signed letter to Dorothy McGuire, I I May 1959, in the Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection.

306 in September, and for the Business and Professional Women's tea in October."8 The selection "My God and I" by Wihtol, performed frequently, brought particular praise from one audience member. The Clay County women had sung at the Olive Street Methodist Church of St. Joseph, Missouri, on 12 March, where adults were charged 50 cents and children 25 cents. A subsequent letter from Maxine Wilson to Dorothy McGuire included the following: "Please Dorothy, get that hymn recorded MY GOD AND I, by you and the chorus, and send me the first one hundred records COD, there would be more Christians today if they could only hear that song the first thing each morning as one gets up." Wilson also enclosed $20 for the choir's music fund. Extant materials related to that performance indicate the substantial publicity the choir was able to muster. A flyer announcing the concert and no less than 4 separate newspaper articles announcing the event are included in McGuire's scrapbook. Additionally, McGuire; Olivia Roorbach, the accompanist; and Mrs. A. D. Clutter, the chorus president, were scheduled to be interviewed in advance of the concert on KFEQ-TV during the program "You and Your Home," a short, local news program."9 At that time, the Clay County ensemble consisted of 31 members (9 altos, 5 second sopranos, 15 first sopranos plus the director and accompanist), and they represented 13 of the 30 Extension clubs in the county. The chorus officers that year were Mrs. Art Clutter, president; Mrs. Edmonds, vice-president; 'Various news clippings, flyers, and programs, in the Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection. "'Clay County Chorus to Give Concert March 12," news clipping, in the Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection.

307 Mrs. Marguerite Hughes, secretary; Mrs. Henry Swearingin, treasurer; Mrs. Karlstrom, assistant treasurer, and Mrs. Foley, librarian. As a means of showing appreciation to their director, Dorothy McGuire, member of the chorus gave her Christmas gifts that included 4 king-sized TV trays and a check for $50 from the entire group, as well as a jar of cucumber pickles, a jar of black walnut meats, garden gloves, a fork and spoon for serving salad, note paper, earrings, embroidered towels, an address book, a frozen chuck roast, an apron, bubble-bath powder, and a perfume stick from individual choristers.12° In April 1959 members of the choir adopted a revised set of governance rules for their club.12I The Executive Committee was comprised of the officers, the director and accompanist, and committee chairs. It served as the guiding body of the chorus, with each officer standing for election in November. The president, in particular, was to serve as a liaison between the singers and the director, and she appointed people to serve on the following committees: membership, rules, ways and means, and telephone. Other appointed offices included auditor, reporter, and historian. Rehearsals were to take place at 7:30 p.m. on the 2"' and 4th Mondays of the month, and additional rehearsals could be called at the director's discretion. New members were required to audition, but membership was limited to 30 total singers. Missing 2 consecutive rehearsals was cause for dismissal, and dues were 10 cents per rehearsal. The rules pertaining to attire stated that choir robes and outfits could 120Typels,ritten list, in the Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection. '''"Rules Governing the Clay County Home Economics Extension Club Chorus," Revised April 1959, in the Dorothy 0. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection.

308 not be worn for non-choir occasions, black or navy shoes were required, one chorus member kept all the earrings (for distribution at performances), and each member was required to "wear hose above the knee for all public performances." The director was the final decision maker concerning repertoire; the chorus purchased and retained ownership of all the music. The singers were required to memorize the music, and they could not sing at an event if they had not been able to attend the 2 rehearsals immediately preceding the performance. A manuscript history of the group indicates that they also had a "grooming chairman" who checked each member "for such things as peeping slips, crooked seams, hair, proper shoes and costume, as well as approved jewelry. /,122 Within the repertoire of the Clay County group was a piece of music titled "Missouri" by Ruth Brown of the Kansas City area. It was written around 1948 and was available from Shattinger (a venerable music publisher in Saint Louis) in solo and unison or 2-part choral versions. The piece exhibits a versechorus structure; the chorus is in AABA form with each section receiving 8 bars of music. The 2-part version has moderate voice ranges for both the sopranos and the altos. The cut-time rhythm is mostly quarter and eighth notes with little syncopation. A few chromatic notes are included for harmonic color. The text, of course, praises the state's beauty. The ensemble continued functioning in the 1960s with nearly 30 members ranging in age from about 20 to 60 years. It performed with local church choirs at a benefit for the Young 'Untitled typed manuscript, in the Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection. Based on some of the performances mentioned therein, it likely was written about 1959.

309 American Youth Center in May 1960, at the July meeting of osteopathic physicians in Kansas City, as part of the Home Economic Achievement Day in September, for the Fall Meeting of the Home Economics Association in October, and at meetings of several of the Home Economics clubs in the area. Additionally, in June 1960 the Clay County choir members made a return trip to Indiana as guests of the Montgomery County choir. This time the Missouri group was invited by Stewart to sing a piece on the evening concert of the state festival at Purdue. One article announcing the surprise invitation commented on the difficulty inherent in having the women travel—it claimed that 25 children from "tiny tots to 13 or 14 years of age, as well as several elderly parents" needed to be tended while the singers were away from home.'23 Four regular members, in fact, would be unable to go to Indiana because two were scheduled to be away on family vacations and two were "expectant mothers." Reportedly 13 of the women were employed outside the home; among their occupations were a realtor, rural mail carriers, a postmistress, clerks, bank employees, office workers, a practical nurse, and a factory worker. Farming was not mentioned. The women represented several church denominations including Methodist, Baptist, Christian, Assembly of God, Reorganized Latter Day Saints, Roman Catholic, Seventh Day Adventist, and Presbyterian. To finance its activities the chorus accepted donations for performances, and members raised money by serving luncheons and refreshments at meetings and local fairs, holding rummage sales, and selling greeting cards and candy. Over the w"Indiana Date Highlight in Extension Chorus Schedule," news clipping, in the Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection.

310 years they had purchased about 75 pieces of music (one copy for each member), three costumes, and aluminum risers. They also gave the director and the accompanist a small monetary gift twice a year and had to pay for charter buses for trave1.124 The pre-trip planning for Indiana was extensive. A detailed letter from McGuire to each singer dated 7 June reminds them to pack their chorus dress and belt, a light wrap for the bus, enough money for meals, and dark shoes with heels—but no wedges. A letter from McGuire to her liaison in Crawfordsville, Laurabelle Moyer, indicates that illness was going to keep two additional singers from making the trip and that McGuire had "film of the movies that we took when we were in Indiana before." If Moyer was able to locate an 8mm projector, McGuire thought all the ladies might enjoy seeing the film.'25 The bus was scheduled to depart at 5 a.m. on Sunday, June 12. A 30-minute stop for breakfast was slated for 7:30 a.m., which was followed by a stop for a brief devotional. (McGuire opted for the devotional rather than a church service to save time and to avoid selecting one denomination over another.) They were to arrive in Decatur, Illinois, about 1:30 for lunch; dinner was planned for 6 p.m. in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where their host families would meet them. Monday was a rest day, giving the travelers time to visit sites in the area; they left early on Tuesday for Purdue University. They listened to 'The Liberty (MO) Tribune in the early 1960s listed the following prices for

common goods: 22 oz. cherry pie 19 cents, ladies dress shoes $2 (on sale), blankets about $4, 24 oz. frozen garden peas 29 cents. The choir women served lunch at the Annual Winter Livestock meeting in Clay County. The menu included "porklet" sandwiches, coffee and milk, and homemade pie. 125TheNvhereabouts

of this film are unknown.

311 Indiana choirs during the day, were able to buy a lunch at Purdue for $1.50, and had some rehearsal time of their own in the afternoon. The choir performed on the evening concert and then boarded the bus for the overnight return to Liberty, Missouri, by noon on Wednesday. Not everything went as planned in Indiana. A letter from Clay County director McGuire to Al Stewart apologizes for the choir not being at its best.'26 Apparently a woman named Bessie Karlstrom became ill on the trip; she was sick enough that she was not able to sing and arrangements had to be made for her to return to Missouri at a later time. This, and the absence of some of their strongest singers, put the women in a "dither." McGuire also thanked Stewart for taking time to visit Bessie during her convalescence in Indiana. Similarly, a letter from the Montgomery County choir director, Laurabelle Moyer, to McGuire dated 21 June included the following, "I was so shocked and humiliated at the way Mr. Stewart took us over the coals, I was as one in a daze."I27 The comments were not explained further, but possibly refer to comments by Stewart at the massed rehearsal of the Indiana groups (see also ch. 3) or to the Montgomery County choir specifically, which sang selections from Oklahoma! at the festival. In an earlier letter, dated 1 June, Moyer suggested to McGuire that she did not believe it would be a good idea to ask Mr. Stewart to arrange for a recording for your chorus. All the folk in '2'Dorothy McGuire, typed and signed letter to Al Stewart, 28 June 1960, in the Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection. 1 27 Laurabelle Mloyerl to "Dorothy, Fran, and Pat," hand written and signed letter, in the Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection.

312 his department have all they can do to keep things moving on the day of the Festival, and knowing him as I do, he just might blow off steam. He does frequently when he is over taxed. So I find the best way to get along with him is to not ask many favors.' 28 The Home Economics Clubs of Clay County sponsored another "Spring Event" in May 1961. The event included a talk on "Safety Through Education," a "May Time Hat Parade," a guest lecture titled "Why—Civil Defense?," and music from the Clay County Chorus.I29 The next spring the choir sang at a program titled "Getting to Know You" for the Kansas City North Community Center and at the "Methodist Sunday Evening Fellowship" on 8 April 1962. The former included some "group singing" in addition to the chorus, and for the latter, the choir's repertoire included "Beautiful Saviour" [sic] arranged by Peery, "In the Garden" arranged by Jones, "Life Is a Lovely Thing" by Youse, and "Let There Be Peace on Earth," in addition to arrangements of spirituals and musical-theatre songs. This repertoire is similar in style to that noted with other states above. Little other information has been located about the Clay County group. It celebrated its 15th anniversary with a program and a dinner in 1968, but when Dorothy McGuire left the scene, the choir dissolved. This type of scenario has been observed in other counties and states as well.

I 'Latirabelle [Moyer], hand written and signed letter to Dorothy McGuire, 2 June [19601, in the Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection. 'Various programs, in the Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection.

313 OHIO

In the late-1920s Ohioans began organizing county and township "Home Committees" that evolved into the County Home Demonstration Councils or Home Extension Councils. As in other states, this organization was affiliated with the National Home Demonstration Council, the Country Women's Council, and the Associated Country Women of the World. The Ohio Extension Service was involved in chorus activity as early as the 1930s. Dorothea E. Kurtz, the Home Demonstration agent of Fulton County, Ohio, stated in her 1938-39 report that the women of the original Fulton County Home Council had requested formation of a "farm women's chorus" in 1937.13° One of their initial hurdles was securing a director for the group. This was accomplished when Mrs. C. I. Lau agreed to work with the women in preparation for the April 1939 "achievement-day meeting." The group's performance at the meeting went well, and the women decided to form an organization and to meet regularly. They elected officers and planned to meet in various communities within the county to avoid causing some singers consistently having to travel great distances. During that year, 67 women were considered members of the choir, but they reported that average attendance was about 30 singers. Mrs. Lau reportedly offered comments about the music and its composers that the women enjoyed very

'Fulton County is west of Toledo. Dorothea E. Kurtz, "Report of the Home Demonstration Agent, Fulton County, Ohio, from December 1, 1938 to November 30, 1939," typewritten manuscript, in Fulton County Home Agent Records, MS 208, Center for Archival Collections, William T. Jerome Library, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH.

314 much. Mrs. Christine Tappan was the pianist for the ensemble, which sang 3-part choral arrangements:31 Kurtz had proposed the possibility of a statewide chorus for inclusion on the October 19th commemoration of 25 years of Extension work in Ohio. Joseph Leeder, from the Ohio State University music department, agreed to lead the state chorus. He selected songs from "the Rose Book" and sent rehearsal suggestions to participating counties. I32 In the end, 20 women from Fulton County traveled to Columbus (each at their own expense) to join 167 other Ohio women in the ensemble. I33 Kurtz reported on the enthusiasm with which the women participated in the chorus and noted that the Fulton group also sang at Farm Bureau meetings and other community affairs. Additionally, she revealed that the chorus program had "reached individuals that had not attended other Extension meetings heretofore." The goals of the chorus included bringing together those that like to sing, giving opportunity for expression through music, giving women "a feeling of being able to do something other than being a homemaker," and offering a chance for the women "to appreciate some of the finer things of life." Women from the communities of Wauseon, Delta, Morenci, Swanton, Metamora, Fayette, and Lyons participated. 13I "Fulton County Chorus Elects," news clipping, in MS 208, Center for Archival Collections, Bowling Green State University.

"'-The "Rose Book" likely is Twice 55 Community Songs for Treble Voices, The Rose Book published by C.C. Birchard & Co., Boston, in 1927. Peter

Dykema (1873-1951) was the editor, and he was Chairman of the Department of Music and Music Education at Teachers' College, Columbia University, beginning in 1924. See ch. 6 for additional information.

133 Which other counties participated is not known at this time. Kurtz, "Report," in MS 208, Center for Archival Collections, Bowling Green State University.

315 The Fulton County group also sang at the Ohio State Fair, in the "women's building," in August 1940. The repertoire included "Come Thou Almighty King, " I Ain't Gwine [sic] Study War No More," "The Jolly Switzer," "The Dancers," "There Came a Riding," and "the Anvil Chorus." At that time they were reported to be 1 of 19 Extension choruses active in the state.134 The state chorus also was slated to sing for the state Farmers Week of January 29 through February 2 of 1940, although details about the event remain elusive. The agent's 1941/42 annual report indicates that, while interest in the chorus remained high, attendance was dwindling. As a stopgap measure, the group formed a quartet that could sing for area events, and some of the county singers from a particular community sometimes joined together to sing at local gatherings. They officially decided to disband during the summer months, but as gasoline became harder to acquire, they regrettably realized it was impractical to resume activities. In 1950, a chorus of about 55 singers was again formed among Extension women in Fulton County, Ohio. The women sang at local and regional events and at the Extension achievement day as they had previously, and 2 from the group participated in a state Extension chorus in June. Mrs. Helen Zimmerman was the director, and Mrs. Harold Bokennan served as the accompanist.135 In 1951 the Fulton County group joined with the Henry County Chorus to present joint concerts, 'County Chorus to Give Concert at State Fair," news clipping in 1939/40 report, and typed letter dated January 4, 1940, from Dorothea E. Kurtz to "friends" [chorus participants], in MS 208, Center for Archival Collections, Bowling Green State University. The group was invited back to the Ohio State Fair the following year as well. 35"Homemakers' Chorus," typewritten annual report dated 1950/51, in MS 208, Center for Archival Collections, Bowling Green State University.

316 but no one from Fulton County participated in the state chorus. The Program of Work for the Ohio Home Demonstration Council of 1949-50 does not specifically mention music or musical performance among its goals, which are paraphrased here: Continue to give emphasis to a Family Life Program; Develop further or enter upon a health program; Continue to emphasize safety education; Work toward interesting young women [sic] in training or professions closely related to rural welfare; Develop a yearround information program to tell the Extension story; study and interpret the objectives of the United Nations; Continue support of international activities, and Work toward closer cooperation and better understanding between Rural and Urban people.' 36 Many years later an Extension chorus was active in Tuscarawas County in east-central Ohio. The group's 1990 startup was enabled by an Extension Educational grant, and its efforts were promoted to the state organization at the May 1991 state conference held in Columbus.' 37 The Tuscarawas group did not perform alone at the annual state conference, but it hosted a workshop there to assist other women from around the state who might wish to form a chorus. The women also invited conference attendees to join with them in making music;138 a 'Ohio Home Demonstration Council, "Program of Work, 1949-1950" typewritten document, Tuscarawas County Chorus and Ohio Extension Homemakers Collection, in the possession of Lucille Steel, Dover, OH, w"Treasures of Knowledge," typewritten conference program, Tuscarawas County Chorus and Ohio Extension Homemakers Collection.

'These dates and other details concerning the Tuscarawas County chorus are confirmed by a collection of programs held in the Tuscarawas County Chorus and Ohio Extension Homemakers Collection.

317 chorus consisting of about 15-20 workshop singers sang at state conferences (usually at the banquet) every year between 1991 and 2003 under the leadership of Tuscarawas County. The participants who pre-registered were sent the music in advance, and a rehearsal was held at the conference before the banquet. Lucille Steel recalled that the rehearsal time was spent mostly on working out the details of the music, but that "we shared with [the other participants] the joys and rewards of singing together ... It was a very supportive group for each of us."139 Among the challenges of this arrangement was the lack of a good piano at the conference venue. In 1993 the choir's repertoire was "Selections from Camelot," "Bless This House," and "It's a Small World." In 1999 singers from the counties of Scioto, Tuscarawas, Auglaize, Clinton, Muskingum, Franklin, Clark, and Logan participated; those counties in addition to Columbiana and Van Wert were represented in 2001.140 The Tuscarawas County chorus rehearsed about every other week (except in January and February) and sang at many local events. An annual performance at the county spring luncheon, beginning in 1990, afforded the women a chance to be seen and heard by approximately 17 other county Extension groups. In 1991 the chorus was reported to have sung a dozen times reaching more than 1,000 listeners. Geneva Roll was the director, and Kathryn Gardener and Thelma Deetz accompanied 'Lucille Steel, e-mail message to author, 1 September 2006. 'Lucille Steel, hand-written chorus notebook, Tuscarawas County Chorus and Ohio Extension Homemakers Collection. Her last entry is for the Spring Luncheon 2005 for which the chorus sang 4 selections about spring. During these years the name of the Ohio Extension organization changed to the Ohio Association for Family and Community Education (1994) and later to Ohio Homemakers and Community Education.

318 the ensemble. The theme of the spring luncheon in 1994 was "Homemakers Are Still in Style," which is perhaps a reflection of the times. Projects and lessons within the county that year included "accessorizing with scarves," "preventing osteoporosis," "using herbs and spices," "comparison shopping," and "promoting childhood reading." The chorus used the theme "A Trip Across the Country" in selecting its 1994 repertoire: "This Land Is Your Land," "Beautiful Ohio" (the state song), "Missouri Waltz," and "Blue Hawaii." Other favorite pieces among the repertoire were "Love in any Language," "You're a Grand Old Flag," "Dear Hearts and Gentle People," "Edelweiss," "Let There Be Peace on Earth," "My God and I," and "White Christmas." Most songs were performed with piano accompaniment, but the "Star Spangled Banner" was sung a cappella. They ordered the music from a catalog after getting suggestions from group members and the national conference. In 1998 the choir performed "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd Have Baked a Cake," "Gospel Jubilee," and "Sing to the Nations" at the spring luncheon. The songs for "group singing" included "Tip-toe Thru the Tulips with Me," "My Wild Irish Rose," and "In the Garden." Other local performances were for senior citizens, care centers and nursing homes, churches, mother-daughter banquets, and the "Pioneer Days" at nearby historic Gnadenhutten. The women wore royal blue gowns with white stoles, or black pants or skirt with a white blouse, which were coordinated by a variety of matching scarves. The choir's 1991 report indicates 21 performances

319 during the year reaching approximately 750 people for which the choir received $502 in contributions."' The chorus members came from 10 of the 17 county clubs and ranged in age from mid-20s to late 70s. Some members reportedly had significant musical background while others did not read musical notation. The camaraderie of the group was equal in importance to its shared musical experiences. I42 The choir's long-time director, Geneva Roll, died in the year 2000 at the age of 86. Nevertheless the choir logged 15 performances in that year. The chorus continued to fulfill its local entertainment mission in 2002 and 2003 singing at the Twin City Health Care Center, the Walnut Hills Retirement Community, the Tuscarawas County Senior Citizens meeting, the Dover First United Methodist Church, and for district Homemakers meetings. Although records are not definitive, the final performance of the Tuscarawas County chorus may have been for the county Homemakers Spring Luncheon in 2004.143 The advancing age and declining health of the small membership seems to have led to the choir's demise, not a decline in the desire to sing.

WISCONSIN

In May 1950, the PA/10 Notes reported that Purdue University staff member David Simpson had accepted a new 1'1999 Report," hand-written document, Tuscarawas County Chorus and Ohio Extension Homemakers Collection. 'Janet Specht, "EH Chorus," Tuscarawas County Extension Homemaker's Newsletter (September 1991), Tuscarawas County Chorus and Ohio Extension Homemakers Collection. 'Lucille Steel, e-mail message to author, 3 September 2007.

320 position as "Area Music Agent" for the Agricultural Extension office of Wisconsin. His responsibilities were to include supervision of 4-H and Homemakers groups in 6 counties in the La Crosse area. Information about Simpson's tenure remains elusive, but the first "state" Homemakers chorus in Wisconsin was organized in 1953 and sang on 13 May for the State Home Demonstration Council meeting at Green Lake.144 Twenty-two counties sent a total of 339 singers to the event; the chorus reportedly functioned until the mid 1960s. Additionally, in 1955 a group from Sauk County (about 100 miles southeast of La Crosse) was pictured as part of the Old Settler's Day of Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Mrs. Donald Luehrsen of Loganville is named as director, and Mrs. Reuben Stoeckman of Rock Springs was the accompanist. The other 25-plus singers were from scattered towns in the area.145 The Sauk County ensemble still was active in 1981 at which time it was featured as the entertainment at the National Extension Homemakers Council 45`11 Annual Conference held at the University of New Hampshire.146 The announcement mentions that the chorus had been seen on "nationwide TV when Charles Kuralt and his 'On the Road' crew filmed their 'Living Flag' segment." The Iowa County Chorus of Wisconsin began in 1953 and continued to function, with just a few members, several years into the twenty-first century, singing at nursing homes and

"'Moments to Remember," typewritten script, in Wisconsin Friendship Chorus Scrapbook, in the possession of Norma Clavadatscher, Sauk City, WI. "'Photograph with caption, Sauk County, in Wisconsin Friendship Chorus Scrapbook.

'Homemaker Update 2, no. 3 (August 1981): 21.

321 other local venues.147 It presented a 1920s song-and-dance show for the World Dairy Expo in October of 1978, and 21 members performed for a local "Home for the Holidays" food-and-craft demonstration and luncheon in 1981. By 1984 the county group was described as "one of two remaining" active in the state. The chorus was directed at various times by Carolyn McNeill, Mary Dunn (with Marilyn Dunn as accompanist), and Wayne Cooke. A similar holiday fair was the site for another performance in 1990 (for which 11 names are listed on the roster of singers), and the ensemble participated in a presentation by the Shake Rag Players of A Christmas Carol in 1992. It changed its name to the Iowa County Friendship Chorus in 1995, and in the year 2006 Lois Clifton was its director. A chorus of about 15 singers from Dodge County was active in the late 1970s under the direction of Bertha Schliewe. Its start-up costs (including purchase of a piano) were earned from a cookbook sale held by the clubs in the county, and its earliest performances were for the Extension Spring Council meeting (the Council contributed $250 to purchase music) and for the Dodge County Fair. The director recalled that the fair performance left much to be desired, but it was a start, and she recalls singing "something from The Sound of Music. "148 The chorus also sang at the 30 June 1978 Dodge County Arts and Crafts Workshop, and it continued to present music at several county Extension events and civic affairs (especially in the city of Juneau) over the next 3 years, but it disbanded when the 'Information found in the Iowa County (WI) Extension Homemakers scrapbook, in the possession of Lois Clifton, Montfort, WI. 'Bertha Schliewe, interview' (telephone) by Atcha Nolan, 27 June 2006; and Bertha Schliewe, Watertown, WI, letter to Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN, 5 July 2006.

322 director began a full-time job. The chorus frequently sang selections from the Fred Waring Song Book of 1962, and Schliewe also composed some numbers including a nonmetrical, monophonic setting of the Homemakers Creed. Other individual county choruses may have functioned sporadically over the next several years, but little information is extant. A group called the Clark County Choraliers was active in the early 2000s. It had originally started as an Extension chorus (likely in the 1950s) but continued to perform into the twenty-first century without ties to Extension. Early in the 1950s, Al Stewart had announced plans for a "nationwide Extension Music Training School" to be held over 5 days at Purdue University.149 The idea was to offer the Indiana program as a model for other states and to have the Indiana massed choir perform for the out-of-state guests. No evidence as to the success of this specific endeavor has come to light; however, a program from the May 1963 Western District Homemaker Chorus Festival held in Baraboo, Wisconsin, reveals that, with some adaptations, this festival's events were quite similar to those usually found at Indiana festival days.150 The participants were choruses from the Wisconsin counties of Columbia, Iowa, Juneau, Marquette, Sauk, and Waushara. After an introduction by Edward 0. Hugdahl, one of five persons listed as faculty in the University Extension Music Department, each chorus sang 3 selections. 'Minutes of the State Home Economics Chorus Director's Clinic," 2 March 1951, Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration Chorus Collection, 73:92.26, Tippecanoe County Homemakers Association Archives, Tippecanoe County Historical Society Museum, West Lafayette, IN. Is'A copy of this program was kindly provided to Linda Pohly by Lois Jean Clifton of Montfort, WI, in October 2006.

323 Hand-written notes in the program indicate that most of the choirs wore robes; that membership in the choruses numbered 13, 32, 12, 13, 19, and 18 respectively; and that the choruses from Columbia, Juneau, Marquette, and Sauk "used music." The repertoire included both sacred and secular works, all in English, and some folk-song arrangements. Waring, Berlin, and Herbert are among the names of the composers or arrangers for the secular works, reflecting similarity between Wisconsin and other states under consideration. The afternoon's activities included a "discussion of individual performances" and "massed singing for everyone in attendance." The program also lists the following as the "purposes of the festival:" to provide an opportunity for county choruses to sing for other county choruses, to discuss how individual performances might be improved, and to give all Homemaker Club members an opportunity to sing in a large chorus. However, the state chorus disbanded shortly thereafter. A songbook titled Homemakers of America compiled by Emmett Sarig, University of Wisconsin Extension, and Max Exner, Iowa State Cooperative Extension Service (see above) became available in the 1960s for use by the choruses and by Extension clubs in general, similar to the type of hooks used in Indiana (see ch. 6). As noted in Indiana and other states, occasionally local composers provided music for the choruses. Mrs. Elizabeth K. Kadonsky and Mrs. J. Hutton wrote a piece titled "Homemakers Creed" in the early 1970s, which they dedicated to "Homemakers Everywhere." The work appears to allow for 2-part women's harmony; its rhythms are, in part, dictated by the rhythm of the text, which gives thanks for blessings and asks for strength to build homes that are a refuge full of laughter and cheer. The range for the soprano line is little

324

more than an octave, and the accompaniment features arpeggios. The Wisconsin Extension Homemakers Council renewed its efforts to sponsor a state choir in the 1980s. An ensemble of about 18 singers from Sauk County performed at the State Homemakers Convention held at Eagle River on 4 September 1980. Its repertoire consisted of 12 numbers with the usual mix of sacred pieces, show and popular song arrangements, and patriotic selections. The Council and its president, Carol Anderson, also recruited heavily to form a chorus to sing at the 1988 Wisconsin Extension Homemakers Council state conference and for the 1990 National Conference to be held 19-23 August 1990 in Milwaukee. Those wishing to participate were to commit to rehearsals on Friday evening and Saturday morning of the state conference and to two additional rehearsals before the national meeting. Each singer would be responsible for the cost of her transportation, lodging, meals, music and "costume." Reportedly about 120 members were involved with the chorus, which sang "Let Me Entertain You," "Dear Hearts," "Beautiful Wisconsin," "Let There Be Music," "It's a Grand Night for Singing," "On Wisconsin," and "Where in the World, but in America" among other selections.I51 Apparently a third performance was added, and the ensemble sang at the 50th anniversary conference in October

'5'"Greetings From Wisconsin," Reports of States and Chairmen, National Extension Homemakers Council program, 1987, in Kansas Extension Homemakers Council Collection. Also, memo dated 10 March 1989 to Barb Hesselink, in Wisconsin Friendship Chorus Scrapbook. The memo also reveals that the dresses worn at the 1988 event were not uniform in appearance and needed a bit more decoration, problems they had plans to solve.

325 1989 in La Crosse.I52 Barbara Hesselink was the chorus committee chairman, and Eleanor Luehrsen of Reedsburg is listed as director of the group (she is the "Mrs. Donald" mentioned above and had received her training in music at Wartburg College). For this performance, a script entitled "Moments to Remember" was prepared to tie the music together and to tell vignettes about the organization's history. The script acknowledges that women's lives had changed in America over the decades, but that the objective to "strengthen and maintain quality of life for our families" remained. It further reiterated the dual opportunities Extension offered: educational projects and social togetherness. The state chorus, which became known as the Friendship Chorus in 1992, logged many performances into the twenty-first century, including events in Wisconsin, national Extension and agricultural or family science events (the names of sponsoring organizations changed over the years),153 and 3 European tours. A program for a luncheon of the Wisconsin Association for Home and Community Education included several show-tune and film-soundtrack arrangements along with patriotic pieces and spirituals. The women, of course, made a significant commitment of both time and money to participate in the group. A July 2003 performance for the National Association for Family and Consumer Education in Albuquerque, New Mexico, cost each woman $379 registration, $99 per night at the Sheraton (the conference hotel), plus "Memo dated June 1989 to WEHC Chorus Members, in Wisconsin Friendship Chorus Scrapbook. 'The Wisconsin Friendship Chorus (WFC) was associated with the National Association for Family Community Education (NAFCE) and its Wisconsin branch (WAFCE), and with the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW).

326 transportation. I54 Peggy Smith Jelinski, who previously had been an accompanist, was the director. Two years later, 24 women made the trip to Anchorage, Alaska, to sing for the national meeting. In 2006 the chorus marked its 18th anniversary and continued to have between 35 and 80 singers for its various performances. The European tours, coordinated by Anderson, took place in 1992 (Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, Austria), 1993 (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia), and 1997 (Spain, France, Italy, Austria). The 20 June to 7 July 1992 trip repertoire featured spirituals, Broadway tunes, and patriotic songs under the direction of Leuhrsen (then in her 42 1(1 year of Extension work), and the 45 singers and some 20 other family members and friends stayed in private homes in the countries they visited. At least one member from Sauk County, Norma Clavadatcher, had not previously traveled outside of the United States. A performance in Vienna was to be a joint venture with "a European equivalent of the [Wisconsin] state homemakers." The tour budget reached $10,000, which the women paid and raised themselves; the youngest participant was aged 30 and the oldest was aged 75. On the 1997 trip, the Wisconsin Friendship Chorus sang 6 concerts in 3 countries and visited a monastery, a perfume factory, a bullfight, Monaco, the "Leaning Tower" of Pisa, and a performance of the opera Aida in Italy. They also experienced old hotels with no elevators, an Austrian emergency room when one woman became ill, and the

'Letter from Carol Anderson to Wisconsin Friendship Chorus members, December 2002, in Wisconsin Friendship Chorus Scrapbook. 55.1im McGrath, "Homemakers chorus taking act to Europe," news clipping, in Wisconsin Friendship Chorus Scrapbook.

327 annoyance of having their bus driver, Renae, and "one of our ladies" robbed by "gypsy women and children."I56 The 1993 European tour program lists the following among the repertoire for the choir (in addition to some vocal and piano solos, duets, and trios): "I've Got Joy" arranged by J. Wilson, "Getting to Know You" by 0. Hammerstein, "It's a Small World" by R. Sherman, Twentiana—Music of the 1920s arranged by H. Ades, "Let There Be Peace on Earth" arranged by H. Ades, "Sing a Song of Peace" arranged by J. Gallina, "Ride the Chariot" arranged by D. Schwartz, "You Made Me Love You" arranged by C. Strommer, and "Let There Be Music" by F. Williams. I57 The group's accompanist was Peggy Smith, who is described in the program as an elementary music educator, private piano teacher, and church organist. The 1997 tour included some of the same repertoire; the accompanist at that time was Lisa Rademacher of Chicago. This review of Extension music activities in states beyond Indiana has revealed a number of consistencies and similarities between states. The overall goals of each state's program initially were similar—to raise the standard of living among rural residents and to provide citizens with organized music performance opportunities. Several aspects of each state's organization also are similar from one state to the next— for example, the idea of providing training for song leaders that could be taken back to individual towns, churches, and social 'Wisconsin Friendship Chorus travels the Mediterranean," news clipping, in Wisconsin Friendship Chorus Scrapbook. '57The Wisconsin Friendship Chorus tour programs, in the possession of Carol Anderson, Spring Green, WI, were kindly provided to author.

328

organizations. The historical evolution of programs also is quite comparable, and it generally reflects consistent societal trends of each decade. For example, at the same time women had more mobility they also had more obligations outside the home, which for some forced a decision as to whether choral singing still was a priority among a wider variety of time-consuming choices. Nevertheless, comments from participants as to the meaning and importance of choral activities in their lives are equivalent. As noted in several places above, the choirs generally performed similar repertoire from ensemble to ensemble. This would have been influenced, in part, by the availability of choral arrangements that met the needs and capability of the amateur choirs. It is important to reiterate the frequent lack of awareness by one state chorus program of the existence and activities of another. The original push for rural music had a much larger and long-lived impact than may have been recognized previously, and the bottom-up nature of Extension caused some isolation but also allowed individuality and localization (see ch. 1). Certainly the importance of strong leaders (Max Exner, Viola Diller, Dorothy McGuire, and Mabel McKenney as examples) played a major role in the health and endurance of individual ensembles. Finally, while other states had rural and Extension music programs that were similar to Indiana's and important in their own right, none can claim the breadth and longevity of Indiana's efforts. Indiana is a much smaller state, geographically, than some of the others under investigation, but the claim of a chorus in almost all of its 92 counties (at least at one time) still is unparalleled. And while some other states (or counties) sponsored performance tours for ensembles, the trips

329 taken by the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus and the number of participants involved, especially in the 1950s, were unprecedented.

Chapter 8 Revitalization in Indiana in the New Millennium and "The Coda" A NEW ENERGY AND A NEW FACE

The year 2009 marked the 75111 anniversary of the founding of the Tippecanoe County Home Economics chorus and the association of music with the Extension Service in Indiana. Happily the motto "No Fun without Music, No Music without Fun" continued to apply. As noted at the end of chapter 2, significant changes took place in the program's organization in July 2004. The name change to "Melody Makers of Indiana" was only a small visible alteration within an apparent sea change of attitude and style, energy and productivity. The organization remained "part of the Indiana Extension Homemakers Association, an affiliate of the Purdue Extension Service," but it was no longer a part of the Purdue Musical Organizations (see Appendix A).1

The larger state Extension organization evolved as well. A flyer titled "A Tradition of Helping People" (dated 2006) prepared by the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, Consumer and Family Sciences Office includes the following mission statement: "to provide informal educational programs and educational materials that improve the quality of life for individuals, families, and communities. These programs influence attitudes, teach skills, increase knowledge and inspire aspirations." The programs mentioned include parenting, food safety, leadership training, managing finances, teaching children about war and terrorism, and improving nutrition. This list reflects the twenty-first century at the same time it reflects the long heritage and origins of Extension; however, there is no specific mention of the arts or agriculture.

332 The new, twenty-first-century bylaws for the Melody Makers of Indiana reflect both the group's heritage and another stage in its evolution (see ch. 2). Women who choose to participate do not have to have other associations with Extension (in fact, men are allowed to join as singers as well), and each chorus can decide whether it holds auditions. Each chorus pays dues to the state chorus program, and the participants remain responsible to pay for their own music and to cover their expenses for attending the Festival and workshop (which is primarily for directors and accompanists). The Objectives article reads: "To provide the tools to enrich our communities and create a bond throughout the state, while providing the opportunity to foster healthy relationships through the medium of music."2 Sharon Piper, Chairperson of the Steering Committee (which was changed to a 7-member Board of Directors in 2005),3 found the changes to be "a good thing." She reported that the participants were enthusiastic and that they were receiving encouragement from many sources. The Board established two standing committees: Workshop Location and Promotion/Marketing, both reflecting the primary needs of the 2"By-Laws

of the Indiana Extension Homemakers Choral Club—Melody Makers of Indiana," Indiana Extension Homemakers Chorus Collection, in the possession of Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN. A county-choir flyer alters the wording slightly to be more specific for women—phraseology that is not permitted by a state organization. It also adds the following sentence in its Mission Statement: "And, to promote the art of choral music through excellence in performance, in an atmosphere of fun and fellowship." Blackford-Jay Extension Chorus flyer, 2004, Homemakers Chorus Collection, Pokily. 'Any active chorus participant may run for the Board, but at least one Board member must "have a musical background." Each chorus receives one vote (to make the voting equal among choirs) at the annual workshop. Board members serve a staggered 3-year term.

333 organization. Karen DeZarn, the assistant program leader for Consumer and Family Science at Purdue and Extension Homemaker Campus Advisor, concurred. She felt the changes challenged the women in a positive way and that they brought about a closer connection between the Extension state board and the chorus leadership. Indeed, a list of "Performances Made During the 2005-06 Season" likely reflects a resurgence in chorus activity in providing the names of 21 active county choruses within the state, some with significant numbers of individual performances: Benton-3; Blackford-9, Carroll-5; Clinton-10; DeKalb--5; Elkhart-5; Fulton-8; Hamilton--27; Hendricks-32; Howard-15; Kosciusko-8; Madison-24; Marshall-20; Monroe-15; Montgomery-25; Pulaski-5; Starke-8; Tippecanoe 12; Vanderburgh-12; Vigo-23, and Wells-10. The Blackford County choir usually includes a few women from nearby Jay County, and occasionally singers from the Wells County choir join them for special local or regional performances. Whether each county offers remuneration to its director is unclear, but the Blackford director, Karen Bartling, received mileage reimbursements for traveling to rehearsals and performances in 2005. In August of that same year, members of the Melody Makers of Indiana performed at the State Fair presenting an hour-long program twice in one afternoon in the Farm Bureau Building on the fairgrounds. Thus the traditional links between Extension, the Farm Bureau, and the State Fair remained intact.

334 On 15 June 2006, the Melody Makers of Indiana 2006 Festival was held in Loeb Theatre on the Purdue University campus, a continuation of the choir's long heritage as part of the Indiana Extension Homemakers' Conference. Under the direction of Dr. Scott Buchanan, in his first full season as state director (see below), the chorus sang 12 numbers, many with soloists from various counties. The repertoire reflected the common mix of sacred, popular, gospel, and holiday songs. The accompanist, Ted Arthur, was featured on a piano solo. A year later 27 counties were listed on the "chorus participation" list; those that were added include: Putnam, Marion, Parke, Jasper/Porter, and Lake. The combined singers performed at the State Fair on August 18, and the annual festival was held 15 May 2007 with approximately 430 women singing in the state choir. The yearly workshop was slated for July 25-28, with 133 attendees. These numbers reflect growth over the preceding few years. A 2007 brochure promoting Extension choruses in EastCentral Indiana mentions ensembles in Blackford County (Karen Bartling, Director), Madison County (Sonya Eddy, Director), and Wells County, and highlights the collective performances "in spring for the Extension Homemakers Conference and State Fair in August." According to the brochure, each chorus establishes its own rehearsal schedule (usually weekly or twice monthly), no audition is required (and no memorization is expected), the attire is a black polo shirt (with the Melody Maker logo) and khaki pants or skirt, and monthly dues run $2. Additionally, a year's supply of music costs each woman about $25. The individual county choruses still sang at the annual conference with a massed choir taking the stage in the evening.

335 In July the yearly workshop to teach the season's new music was held, and in August the combined county choruses sang again in the Farm Bureau Building during the State Fair. At that performance, approximately 150 singers were able to participate, and they represented 32 Indiana counties. The announcements between musical selections revealed that 2007 was the 4th year the state chorus had sung at the Fair (after a gap of many years, see ch. 2) and that many of the women had been participating in Extension music for 30 or more years. Buchanan remained at the helm and seemingly exuded just the kind of enthusiasm and encouragement, musicianship and leadership that the chorus needed. He received his PhD in music education from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, and his "real job" was Director of Choral Activities at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. Nevertheless, he remarked on the special musical joy that came with directing the Melody Makers--he found the opportunity to work with singers who just wanted to experience the pleasure of organized choral singing to be rewarding and fulfilling. It was apparent that the feeling was mutual. In July 2007, Buchanan ventured into new territory with a select group (called the Ambassadors) drawn from the ranks of the state chorus. He scheduled the women to perform at the Indiana Choral Directors Association Summer Conference held at the University of Indianapolis. At this event, the audience would consist primarily of choral directors and graduate students from colleges around the state—a knowledgeable, and potentially critical, assemblage. Buchanan scheduled two special rehearsal sessions (June 22-23 and July 13-14) for the ensemble, and he selected a variety of repertoire from among the pieces they had worked on during his tenure. Among them

336 were "Canticle of Mary" by Ames/Leaman, "Gershwin for Girls" arranged by Chinn, "A Mother's Prayer" by Sager and Foster, and the spiritual "I Wanna Be Ready" arranged by Powell. The chorus was deservedly well received, and the warm reception and appreciative applause from the audience clearly were evidence of the potential the group had for continued musical improvement and longevity. In 2009 the choir members continued to be enthusiastic about singing and their association with the Indiana Extension Homemakers Association. They acknowledged their 75th year with a large cake and ice cream on June 10th at the annual festival at Purdue. More than 500 choristers from about 30 counties participated; the Board President was Jane Massey, who directed both the Tippecanoe and Clinton county choirs. A roster of other directors' names reveals that several women continued their long association with the group and contributed to its leadership. Occasionally a man's name was listed as director of a county chorus. The organizational plan of having each county director or accompanist (or some other representative) .attend a late summer workshop to learn the "state" music for the following season remained in place, as did the variety of repertoire styles they enjoyed. During the year, two area rehearsals provided the opportunity for the women to see their friends from other counties and to get further instruction on the state music. But, as in the past, individual county choirs also maintained their own performance schedules, appearing at local venues such as churches, nursing homes, and club meetings. These performances continued to provide means of musical expression and a way to contribute to a local community through music. While many aspects of their heritage remained evident, as

337 always, transition and evolution also played a role. Information about the Melody Makers of the second decade of the twentyfirst century was available on their website, www.melodymakersofindiana.com.

THE CODA—SUMMARY, ASSESSMENT, AND ANALYSIS

The preceding chapters have brought to light information about Extension-related music for choruses (and scattered instrumental groups, youth ensembles, and industrialbased musical organizations).4 These opportunities initially were created as a result of the desire to raise the standard of living for rural Americans. This desire could only be made manifest through cooperation of the US government (through the Department of Agriculture), the land-grant colleges in several states (the home of Extension activities), and rural and small-town Americans. While this alliance, which included de facto governmental support of the arts, might be surprising to a twenty-first-century American reader, the act of music-making within western societies has long held various meanings and been "used" for various purposes. In the early years of the nineteenth century, European cities were replete with performance opportunities for the growing middle class, and some music performance of that day has been described as a conduit for releasing "social pressures" by offering ways to "express aspirations for equality" and "an 4 Music

for 4-H farm and rural youth continues in some states, Kansas for example, and the Future Farmers of America includes music activities for its members. The FFA national conference in Indianapolis in Fall 2007 included a National FFA Band and Chorus Concert. Industrial music no longer seems to be a part of America's fabric—at least in the sense of the efforts described in chapter 3.

338 escape from wars, depressed economies, and political repression."5 In fact, at that time music occasionally was employed as a "means of social control." As one example, some factories organized wind bands for their workers with the goal of providing them with entertainment and a means to elevate their cultural taste. There also were similar trends, with both musical and cultural goals, in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. One related example is that of the Third Street Music School Settlement located on New York City's Lower East Side. The Settlement's goal was to use music as a means of helping immigrants assimilate to their new cultural surroundings.6 There also was an effort to encourage community singing by amateur musicians. In 1915, a period following significant and varied immigration to the United States, Arthur Farwell felt that large-scale participation in music by citizens would do much to "overcome barriers of region, culture, and language" within the US.7 He supported this notion through the preparation of "ethnic" songs for publication with the intent of widespread performance.

Donald Jay Grout, Claude V. Palisca, and J. Peter Burkholder, A History of Western Music 7th ed. (New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 2006), 597.

5

Varied choral traditions were found in several nineteenth-century European countries: the German Mannerchor, the Welsh Eisteddfod, the French Orpheon, and the English Choral Festival, to name a few.

See Victoria Von Arx, "The Third Street Music School Settlement: The Grand Tradition as Social Practice on New York's Lower East Side," Journal of the Society for American Music 5, no. 1 (February 2011): 61-93.

6

'Richard Crawford, America's Musical Life (New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2001), 439. Farwell was a composer, critic, teacher, concert promoter, and publisher of music.

339 Additionally, following the push in the 1930s for exposure to the arts as an avenue toward improved lifestyles (see ch. 1), residents of Dane County, Wisconsin, took the effort to heart by forming the Dane County Rural Federation consisting of representatives from several social and educational clubs.8 The aim of the 55 cooperating clubs was to accomplish things through partnership that individual groups would struggle to complete alone. Among its achievements was the Dane County Civic Chorus of 400 (mostly rural) voices in performance with the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Reportedly hundreds of listeners enjoyed repertoire that included "The Heavens Resound" by Beethoven [sic], "Gloria" from Mozart's Twelfth Mass, and "The Lost Chord" by Sullivan. This repertoire is quite standard for community choruses of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and corresponds with widespread interest in frequently performed oratorios by Handel, Haydn, and Mendelssohn. A similar venture occurred in the Hopkins School District of Minneapolis in the 1950s (a date determined by clothing and hair styles observed in an extant photograph). There the Symphoknolls, part of the "Mothersingers" program affiliated with the Parent Teacher Association, gathered each Thursday to rehearse choral music. The ensemble presented free concerts for local civic groups, churches, and penal institutions.9 (The singers also were mothers of more than 30 pre-school-age children who sometimes attended rehearsal with their mothers if 8Carroll

P. Streeter, "Getting What They Want," Farmer's Wife, February 1935, 30, 33.

9 Little

else is known about this program. The undated article was included in the Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection, 1953-1968, in the possession of Harold McGuire, Liberty, MO.

340 babysitters were not available at rehearsal time. This likely was a challenge for the conductor, but a clear reflection of the reality of the singers' lives.) The importance of the chorus to a sense of community, as varied as the notion of "community" might be, also is acknowledged in a collection of essays from 2006 titled Chorus and Community. The Introduction, by the collection's editor Karen Ahlquist, notes the "dual nature" of a chorus (both a musical genre and a group of people) that allows it to be used to explore the voice as an instrument, a song as a vehicle for verbal text, and an ensemble as a social, economic, religious, and/or political organization. Thus choruses are able to communicate "a variety of messages to serve a variety of human needs."1° The interaction between rural and small-town America, Extension (with its governmental connections), and choral music is, perhaps, not unique, but it certainly reflects a "tried and true" means of cultural betterment, social interaction, and music education. The story of the choruses from Midwestern states described in chapter 7 and of the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus is a continuation of a long history of choral singing, a history that is marked by numerous dichotomies: male vs. female ensembles, single-gender vs. mixed choruses, amateur vs. professional groups, trained vs. untrained singers within an ensemble (a situation much less amenable in an instrumental music ensemble), and so forth. This particular study adds an additional layer of complexity in that the choruses were sponsored, supported, and/or organized by land-grant colleges '°Karen Ahlquist, ed., Chorus and Community (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2006), 1.

341 through the Extension and Home Demonstration organizations whose primary mission was not artistic. The entire story of each chorus's founding, activities, and social and musical meaning are part of a relatively unknown, but widespread, aspect of American musical activity—a phenomenon that might well be related to the theory of Citizen and Pioneer set forth by musicologist William Brooks. He suggests that the Pioneer, self-made and indebted to no-one, and the Citizen, anonymous but given strength and equality in the voting booth, provide the "profound tension between two fundamental ideologies which drive America's politics and culture: individualism and egalitarianism." He goes on to state that individual Americans are simultaneously granted the right to rise above the crowd at the same time each is declared equal to every other. This belief can be troublesome and contradictory in the arts, where the "artist" might be viewed as "genius" and above the rest, but it also can be mediated by music in particular. Brooks writes: Music is at once personal and collective; it depends equally on invention and tradition; its performers range from acclaimed virtuosos to nameless choristers. It both levels and uplifts;. Music, then, entails both individualist and egalitarian perspectives,..." Likewise, the Extension music programs reveal other "grassroots," "connoisseur," "amateur," or "hobbyist" musicmaking that supports much of the music industry in America

"William Brooks, "Music in America: an overview (part 1)," in The Cambridge History of American Music ed. by David Nicholls (Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 1998), 30.

342 and is a purported audience constituency of many school and university music departments. Without a doubt, an examination (and excavation?) of information on Extension-related music in each American state would be fruitful and provide insight into the larger picture and, potentially, its impact on American musical culture. Eleanor Roosevelt expressed her thoughts on the importance and success of the program in a letter to Al Stewart in 1944, part of which was reprinted in "Indiana Is a Singing State," published in the Extension Service Review of August 1944: I have been greatly interested in the Home-Economics Chorus project which you have been directing in Indiana, and I have personally witnessed on various occasions the splendid results that have been achieved. It is my opinion that, in times like these, music plays an important role in the building of morale; and I wish it were possible for similar projects to be initiated in all our 48 States. The existence of Extension music in all 48 (or 50) states is unknown, but more specifically, the breadth and remarkable longevity of the Indiana Extension chorus and its association with Purdue University make it worthy of study as a "starting place" and as an important piece in the as yet incomplete puzzle of chorus history in America. Its uniqueness is enhanced by its 8-decade evolution and its revitalization in the twenty-first century. Several factors played a role in the significance of the Extension chorus program in Indiana and elsewhere. One primary influence has been the leadership of strong and enthusiastic individuals at both the county and state levels.

343 Certainly the seemingly boundless energy, grand-scale vision, national influence, and "man-on-a-mission" attitude of Al Stewart were essential to the initial blossoming of Indiana's program. Without his cheerleading, cajoling, and insistence on musical proficiency and improvement, the program might have remained a good idea, but one with limited appeal and participation. In the mid-1950s, Jack Hannah, from the Purdue University Information Office, wrote the following about Stewart's beliefs: He believes that music is the language of human emotions, whether that emotion be one of joy or sorrow, and that since music is the language of human emotions, it is the one universal language which people of all lands can understand. He believes fully in the power of music as a messenger of good will and as a surcease for the tensions which build up so fast in this current busy and uneasy world. He sees music as the escape valve for this tension—tension within ourselves, tension between individuals and tension between nations. He believes that a singing community is a happy community and this has undoubtedly been an important factor in building up this huge rural music program.'2 From another perspective, the Fall 1968 PM0 Notes reprint of a letter from Mrs. Gene (Marie) Summers, director of the Marshall County Chorus, includes this comment: hope you [Stewart] never feel the chorus program is unworthy of your time and great effort. I'm sure you'll never know the '2Jack C. Hannah, "History of the Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus," typed manuscript (circa 1955) from the "Home Demonstration Chorus Archives and Memorabilia of Al Stewart" in the possession of Sonya Stewart Eddy, Anderson, IN.

344 [your?] tremendous influence on music over the state. Thank you again for your kindnesses." Stewart's shoes were tough to fill upon his retirement in 1974, and over the next 30 years, divergent goals and a lack of continued commitment from the Purdue Musical Organizations leadership sent the chorus women in another direction. However, the new state chorus director's outwardly visible support, appreciative attitude, wise selection of literature, and gentle demand for polished performance (see above) bolstered Indiana's Extension chorus revitalization as the 75th anniversary approached in 2009. Similarly, Carol Anderson of Wisconsin, although not the choir's director, was instrumental in the late twentieth-century rebirth and success of the Extension state chorus in Wisconsin. Much the same scenario, but with a very different ending, was true in Kentucky (see ch. 7). The state chorus chairwoman, Mabel McKenney, for many years served as chief cheerleader, promoter, and coordinator for the Kentucky Extension chorus program. However, "the State Chorus disbanded when we no longer had a director and [McKenney] could not longer [sic] be the coordinator of the group. She was the real power behind the Chorus."I3 A similar observation is evident in individual county choruses in Indiana. When a strong leader left or retired, the chorus often floundered until another strong leader was in place. LaGrange County began a chorus in the early years of the program and remained quite active until 1957. The chorus was disbanded when the director left; the county then reorganized a group in 1963." Many of the directors served for decades (see "Cheryl Bowling, email to author, 26 June 2007. 14

P1110 Notes, April 1963, 4.

345 ch. 5). Freida Shoultz was in her 25th year as director of the Posey County chorus in 1973, and she feared what would happen after Stewart's pending retirement. While no conclusive assessment of the situation is practical, it is worth noting that, for the duration of the Indiana Extension music program, no woman has been the state director.15 Likewise, a man, Max Exner, was prominent in Iowa Extension music from the late 1940s until 1980. However, this was not true of all state music organizations described in other Midwestern states (see ch. 7). On the other hand, women have been involved at the Purdue Musical Organizations office as assistant to the director, accompanist, or liaison between the Extension choruses and Purdue, especially beginning in the later twentieth century. And as has been noted throughout, women directed many of the county choruses in Indiana and elsewhere. Dorothy McGuire and Viola Diller exhibited significant leadership skills and influence in county choruses from Missouri and Kansas, respectively. Over the years, participants often commented on the meaning and significance of the music programs and the pleasure that participation brought (see also Appendix B). During the years of World War II, many choirs struggled to continue "as usual" while others felt that a functioning ''During the transition year before Scott Buchanan was hired, several county directors, including some women, conducted numbers at the annual Festival and at the workshop. But these women were not official "state chorus directors." Linda Pohly made this observation on more than one occasion to participants in the 1990s and after the turn of the century. Most respondents seemed unaware of or unconcerned about the fact. They were interested in making good music, not in the gender of the state conductor. It also is worth noting that the state director is not hired through a national search—the person is a qualified musician who is interested and available in the region.

346 community chorus was a good way to support the home-front war effort. In an early history of the Tippecanoe County Chorus, Mrs. C. C. Calhoun wrote: For the year 1945 our aim is to keep up the standards and culture of music throughout this war we have in our country. Also to remain as the ideal and standard for the rest of the state and nation [sic]. Our hope [is] to continue to be of service to Tippecanoe County and it is always our primary intention that we might be a [sic] dignified and worthy representative of the Home Economics Clubs of this county.I6 Just the year before, Al Stewart is quoted as having said the following of the Tippecanoe County Chorus: [we have] proved that city limits and cultural boundaries are not synonymous. We have demonstrated that music is not a possession exclusively for the technically trained; that it is a universal possession, to be understood, used and loved. Indiana is a "singing state."17 In the following decade, by which time some choruses had been functioning for 20 years, Mrs. Ben Dunwoody of Dayton, Indiana, authored an article for the local newspaper on the meaning the Tippecanoe Home Demonstration Chorus held for her. Among the opportunities the chorus brought were '6Typewritten undated history, Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration Chorus Collection, 73:92.26, Tippecanoe County Homemakers Association Archives, Tippecanoe County Historical Society Museum, West Lafayette, IN. "Home Ec [sic] Chorus Celebration Set," Indianapolis Star, 28 May 1944, part 2, p. 38.

17

347 learning good music and good performance standards, gaining more confidence to help with music in the community and church, providing a release from household chores, and developing cherished friendships.18 This was at the same time that some writers acknowledged the double-edged sword that came with the increased availability of recorded music (see below). In a brief article in the 24 February 1954 Muncie (IN) Press, an author noted that programs like the Home Demonstration chorus might serve to balance the situation: Will it come to pass that 100 musicians will one day provide all the music necessary to entertain the entire population of America while 160 million people remain silent? If it does, something good will have passed out of our way of life.... Canned and aired melody is having an antisocial impact on our people; these Hoosier participation groups are the antidotes. More power to them. During this same time period, the trips that the chorus was able to take (see ch. 4), were enlightening, musically rewarding, uplifting, and fun for the women. Anecdotes and information about the train travel also provide insight into a method of transport common for that day but rare as the Indiana chorus program evolved in later decades. During the heyday of the chorus's touring years, few of the singers had had much opportunity to travel prior to their ventures to California, Washington (DC), Florida, Portland (OR), and Toronto. In particular, the fact that the Hollywood Bowl concert also raised $20,000 for a California children's hospital was rewarding to 18 Mrs. Ben Dunwoody, "Music Soothes the Harried Homemaker," "History from Scrapbooks Collection," 481-240,3 (1952-54), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN.

348 the women, and although fewer women were able to make the trip to Europe, Mrs. Herschel Moore stated, I wouldn't take a million dollars for the experience of the wonderful trip. We had lovely treatment throughout Europe. In Germany we toured in three buses, with signs on the sides, and people along the way waved and waved at us, with the children waving both hands. I9 Similarly, travel was an important aspect of Extension music in Iowa in the 1930s and Wisconsin in the 1990s (see ch. 7). This combination of music performance, new experiences, and friendship building is similar in nature and purpose to the ubiquitous tours taken by ensembles associated with college and university music programs throughout the second half of the twentieth century and beyond. An April 1963 reprint of a letter from Carrie Witteman (a member of the Tippecanoe County ensemble) to Stewart is enlightening for its support of comments above and its reflection on past joys: ... We have had many experiences in the last 29 years of our chorus but the one that has brought me greatest happiness was watching you climb higher each year in your musical career. You have gone a long way, Al, and accomplished much. You have worked hard but you have reached the pinnacle of success. Along with it, you have made it possible for our chorus members to have wonderful trips and fine fellowship. We have had many humorous incidents, too. In Baltimore when we made a human curtain while you changed your trousers. 19"Singers Find Europe More Friendly to U.S.," in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black-1952-56, in the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, 1N.

349 At the New York World's Fair when we had to boost Velma Hurt and Gracie Kirchner over the shrubs before singing in front of the George Washington monument, and at Atlanta, Georgia, when we entered the church smelling like a flock of sheep after walking in the rain wearing our spring coats of wool. There have been more in the 29 years than I can write....20 Additionally, when Diane Marancik, a member of the Vigo County Chorus, proposed an "Extension Chorus Notes" newsletter in 1999, she wrote: I left Indiana soon after that [1970], but when I returned and learned in 1992 that there was something called the Vigo County Extension Homemakers Chorus, all those memories came flooding back. And I plunged into the fun with enthusiasm! It was exciting to belong to this "sisterhood" of singers and I was proud of the Purdue connection which gave us the opportunity to learn challenging music and excel in performing it. So here we are on the brink of the millennium, and a lot has changed since the inceptions of the extension music program. Women's roles have evolved, and we have seen our extension music program evolve, too. Numbers in all extension programs have declined, so we now have a new opportunity to participate in the growth of the extension music program.21

1°P,A40 Notes, April 1963, 5.

'"Something new—a newsletter," in Marshall County Extension Homemakers Scrapbooks, 1999-2000, in the possession of Helena Hand, Bremen, IN.

2

350 Comments about the meaning and significance of Extension music from women in the other states under investigation are noted in chapter 7. The joy felt in music performance and the camaraderie that developed within the ensemble were important in Ohio, and the opportunity to sing with a large group and to be critiqued for improvement were cited as important in Wisconsin. At the same time, women who participated in the choral program still could be associated with the general Extension Homemakers Club in their area—and some were. A letter from Helena Hand, the director of the Marshall County (IN) Chorus, to her "chorus girls" in August 1998 mentions that she has copies of the 1998-99 Extension Yearbook for each person. The yearbook contained information on lessons, programs, and other events sponsored by or associated with the Marshall County Extension office. It also is pertinent to consider the constituency of the musical ensembles. In 1951 a report by Marvin Myers to the singers revealed that the average age of the women in the massed state chorus was 48, the youngest singer being 16 while several participants were great-grandmothers. At a Parke County chorus rehearsal in 1952, Myers reminded the women of the differences between their lives and the lives of their rural counterparts 50 years earlier. He pointed out new approaches to the common task of boiling water—the slow heating of a wood stove earlier compared to simply turning a knob on the electric stove in the 1950s. Myers also noted both the positive and negative aspects of newly available "canned" music heard on radio, television, and record players. In some cases it replaced families inventing and providing their own musical

351 entertainment (hands-on participation), but it also allowed the "finest music in the world" to be heard by "pushing a button."22 In the same year, Mary Dean Williams wrote the following, which contains several insights concerning both the participants and their links to the varied educational features of the choirs, in the October 1 issue of The Indiana Farmers Guide: Women of all ages make up the chorus. For instance, one county musical director with two children of school age continues her own vocal training in a nearby city while giving lessons in a studio near her farm home. Just the same, she finds time to help her husband on the farm when she is needed—and admitted that her last birthday present had been a new tractor! Grandmothers and even great-grandmothers also help make up this group whose music is good because its members like to sing. This brings out another value of the program of rural music, for as children in the family grow up, women need broadened interests. And if women have a yen for knowledge, such a trip [Toronto] can be a most worthwhile experience,... The average age would rise considerably over the next decades; at a regional rehearsal in 2000, the vast majority of the women declared their age to be between 50 and 75 years. However, this cross-generational aspect of the membership remained consistent throughout the history of the organization.23 'News clipping, in Parke County Scrapbook Collection, black. 231n

2007 a private voice teacher associated with Ball State University reported that a 16-year-old student told her about singing in an Extension chorus of which her grandmother also was a member. The student and the

352 Certainly the rural and farm links to the Indiana Extension chorus program were diluted after the 1960s, but membership still was drawn from smaller town and city centers and suburban and rural (even if non-farm) locales. The major metropolitan center of Indiana, Indianapolis, was not a primary factor in the program, and this same situation was observed in Missouri in the 1960s (see ch. 7). As women's work opportunities and requirements away from home changed over the decades, some women found they only had time to participate in an Extension chorus after retirement. That was the case for Helena Hand from Marshall County. She taught kindergarten during many of her 54 years of marriage, and it was after retirement that she felt she had time to sing with the ensemble. In a letter to Julie Ricciardi of the Purdue Musical Organizations office, Hand wrote, "I was thrilled beyond measure to become a second soprano in the Marshall Co. Chorus ... The unique relationship between my fellow chorus members has been an experience in love and respect and appreciation."24 It also is relevant to reiterate that, while the vast majority of the singers in the choirs had little to no formal musical or vocal training, those singers might be standing next to a singer who had received training beyond high-school chorus, or the director or accompanist of the county ensemble might have held an undergraduate degree in music. This mixture has been common in many Protestant church choirs over many decades, and it is a blend that can bring musical pleasure to both types of singers. grandmother found this "sharing" opportunity to be productive and memorable. 24 Hand-written letter (copy) from Helena Hand to Julie [Ricciardi], 10 July 2001, in Marshall County Extension Homemakers Scrapbooks, 1999-2000.

353 One consistency among the Extension-related music programs in each state under review is the educational element woven into the organization. As noted in chapter 6, the Song-ofthe-Month program was designed to provide musical opportunities for all women in Indiana Extension clubs. The program involved both physical singing and learning about the act of singing and the repertoire. More specific to the select county choruses is the following mission statement found in the 1961 section of the Porter County Extension Club Chorus scrapbook: The purpose of this organization shall be to afford an opportunity for musical expression and training for individual members and the cultivation of a choral club capable of music assistance in various community enterprises and for the betterment of home and family living. Clearly the goal of teaching about music performance techniques and quality repertoire (at a level that met their needs and mission) was paramount. Likewise in Indiana, the development of the annual summer workshop was key, for it was there that conducting and musicianship development for the county directors and accompanists were as important as introducing the next season's music (see ch. 3). The PMO Notes of October 1963 contain excerpts from letters sent by participants after the event. Among them are comments from Thelma Robinett, the director of the Madison County Chorus: Thanks again for the fine help you [Al Stewart and staff] gave us and this fine book [of music]. I know I can really "sell" our chorus this coming year. So for me it's

354 "Madison County 40" or get a new director. Please insist that all choruses send their directors to the workshop. It's the best way of "upgrading" the chorus program. Similar comments were reprinted in the October 1964 PMO Notes. Annie Dyer, the director of the Gibson County Chorus wrote: Thanks to you and to Bill and to Mickey for all the good, helpful meetings of minds [sic], suggestions and inspirations that came my way during our encampment—I enjoyed every minute. I loved being with the girls. For once, I felt like I belonged. The music is great ... As noted in previous chapters, this educational component affected other musical and non-musical outlets in a community as well. Women took the experience and training they received in Extension choruses into church choirs, school music, and their homes. Likewise in the early years of the program the women requested Stewart's help in "organizing music in all sorts of organizations even the township schools."25 The leadership and social skills they acquired through membership in the choruses also were used to good advantage in those arenas. The early twenty-first-century mission statement, "To promote the art of choral music through excellence in performance in an atmosphere of fun and fellowship," indicated that the mission had not changed significantly over 7 decades. A different approach, but with a similar goal, was evident in the Iowa music contests where 25

Helen Leslie Walters, "Call of Music Sweeps Rural Indiana," Indianapolis

Sunday Star, 29 August 1937, 5: 6.

355 performing groups participated in a singing tournament and contestants battled each other in a music-recognition test (see ch. 7). Likewise, the Iowa District Training School developed musical leaders to assist with musical activities in several counties. Related to the educational aspect of the Extension music programs is the issue of their adaptability as changing times warranted evolution. The preceding chapters recount many instances where the organization, bylaws, and procedures, both official and practical, were altered to accommodate women's changing role in rural life and in American society. Perhaps the most significant changes are outlined earlier in this final chapter. The chorus members themselves have assumed much of the management and decision making for the group through a Board of Directors consisting of singers from within the group. While learning leadership skills and contributing to the community always was a feature of Extension music, this new approach has taken that aspect of the program to new heights-and it is a reflection of growing leadership roles and opportunities for women in many sectors of society. The Extension music programs in all states under review draw attention to many aspects of the wider Midwestern lifestyle and its evolution over the decades. The music-related activities, issues of concern and organization, and even music selection bear a direct similarity to the wider historical and social context of the time. Much of the information and many of the stories contained herein reflect the same concerns one might discuss in a more general history of non-metropolitan women in America during the course of the twentieth century. Music is the

356 reason for this narrative, but it is much more than simply a story about music. Even the issue of names (both of participants and the state and national organizations) reflects changes in American society. Among the challenges faced when researching the lives of women before the late-twentieth century is how each individual name is presented. The resources gathered for this study frequently contained a list of women's names that simply were presented beginning with the term "Mesdames" and then proceeded to list husbands' full names. It is customary to find a woman identified only by her title (Mrs.) and husband's name with no mention of her own given name. The name changes from Home Economics to Home Demonstration to Family and Consumer Science also create stumbling blocks in the research process but reflect how the organization changed over time (see ch. 2 and Appendix). The original efforts of Extension music were aimed specifically at farm residents, but as that population decreased in the United States, the demographic of choir membership changed as well, although as noted above it never has focused on participants from large urban areas or, in fact, on engaging racial or ethnic diversity. A certain amount of the "work ethic" of the World War II generation, and the baby boomers that followed, might be linked to the commitment the music participants had to their ensembles and the requisite efforts in time, travel, money, and rehearsal that are paramount to a group's success. As noted throughout the previous chapters, a palpable sense of religiosity also is evident in the activities of the various state and county groups (frequent performances at churches, considerable sacred repertoire, devotions during travel, etc.). This, too, reflects a common twentieth-century

357 feature of Midwestern life. Other secular styles of performance and repertoire are indicative of the influence of popular culture on America as a whole after mid-century and on changing norms of socially acceptable language and inclusiveness. As noted in chapter 6, many more arrangements of popular songs found their way into the repertoire beginning in the 1960s, and there are scattered references to choruses producing and participating in "minstrel shows." These shows are an important topic in American music history; in this case some of the county choruses simply borrowed the term to mean "variety show" and others clearly were attuned to the historical blackface genre (see ch. 5 footnotes for both Rush and Parke counties). The references cease in more recent decades as was true throughout America. While politics has played an important role in American life during the twentieth century, it seems to be one arena in which the Extension chorus program did not take a clear and unchanging side. The repertoire for the Indiana choruses reflects variety, but it clearly is aimed at the ensembles' capabilities and musical and community mission. The music selected for the state chorus consistently included a mix of patriotic, sacred, folk, musical theatre, and holiday repertoire, and since the 1970s a greater number of arrangements of American popular song were included. These same trends are noticeable in the other states discussed in chapter 7. Indiana's Song-of-the-Month program, so important in the early years to Al Stewart's mission of choral singing for everyone, dropped by the wayside over time indicating a shift in attitude and focus as Extension programs (and later Consumer and Family Science) evolved to address changing American life. The directors of county choruses were resourceful in selecting repertoire for their individual choruses.

358 While the individual ensembles certainly sang some of the music from the state book in local or regional performances, they also performed considerable other repertoire as is evident in the lists of individual choir pieces performed at the annual festival day at Purdue. In the later part of the twentieth century their quest for additional music was aided by the increased availability of a wider variety of music for women's voices. The influence of Indiana and Al Stewart on music programs outside the state is difficult to prove, but certainly there is evidence of interest in Indiana's Extension chorus program expressed by other states and nations. Both Missouri and Kentucky sent representatives to observe the Festival at Purdue to learn about the structure and success of the Indiana county and state choruses (see ch. 2). While verification is elusive, scattered reports of observers from other nations also are extant. A group from the Pan-American Union was to attend the 1950 Washington Capitol Sesquicentennial to hear the choruses and study the organization (see ch. 4), and another fact-finding effort by representatives from Israel, the Netherlands, and France was reported in 1951.26 An assessment of the musical aptitude and performance level of the individual ensembles in Indiana or other states is hard to state with certainty. Many anecdotal critiques are extant, although the qualifications of the reviewer may not meet professional standards nor are they necessarily objective. Similarly, it is worth noting that this ensemble of amateur singers with mixed musical, social, and economic backgrounds often performed before audiences that were equally mixed. One "Music Director Addresses Local Economics Chorus," news clipping, in Porter County Chorus Scrapbook, County Extension Office, Valparaiso, IN.

26

359 month the chorus might sing before a President or a presidential candidate or other famous persons, but in the next month it might perform for a local audience, perhaps one with little exposure to other musical events or repertoire that might be viewed as sophisticated. The performers and audiences alike seem to have reveled in the blend. One example that touches on both points above is a telegram Dwight Eisenhower sent to Al Stewart after the Indiana chorus performed at one of his 1952 campaign appearances. He wrote, "Please accept my heartfelt thanks for the great pleasure afforded me by the magnificence of your choir of 1500 voices. It was one of the most impressive moments that I have ever experienced."27 His statements, at least on the surface, acknowledge the impressive musical swath cut by such a large ensemble whether or not they provide any real critique of the performance. Another review of the choir's performance, this time at the Hollywood Bowl, brought this statement from the 28 August 1954 Herald Express of Los Angeles as reprinted in The Indiana Farmers Guide and preserved in a Parke County scrapbook: Thousands of Angelenos [sic] missed one of the finest entertainment treats of the season in Hollywood Bowl Sunday night—the concert by the Indiana Women's Chorus and the Purdue Men's Glee Club. This was a real, heart warming [sic] neighborly visit by Indianans to Southern California under the direction of Albert P. Stewart Western Union Telegram copy, "History from Scrapbooks Collection," #81-240.3.

27

360 The author goes on to suggest a return visit the following season. The Extension chorus programs in Indiana and the other states under investigation have played a significant and littleknown role in the formation and development of the musical fabric of "everyday" American society. The Citizen and Pioneer, individualist and egalitarian, both made an important contribution. The experiences gave the women a way to earn accolades, a break from their everyday routine, a chance to fulfill the inner need to help others, an artistic outlet, a venue for recreation and socialization, and a opportunity that brought both joy and increased learning. Finally, it was a challenge to be conquered—a challenge musically and in finding time and support from family and community amidst a life that often was filled with other obligations. As Karen Ahlquist has noted, although choral music making, in general, was foundational to musical life in the nineteenth century, it lost prominence to instrumental and massmediated repertoire in contemporary life. However, as might be applicable to the Extension chorus phenomenon, she wrote: Yet despite the chorus's seemingly subcultural position, its musical appeal and symbolic value remain: Depending on the music and the setting, choral performance can assert artistic and educational achievement, aesthetic merit, and social, national, religious, or ethnic identity. Moreover (and not to be neglected), it often entertains performers and audience alike.28

28Ahlquist,

Chorus, 2.

361 Most of these points clearly are in evidence in the preceding chapters. Certainly there were artistic and educational goals and objectives inherent in the Extension music programs, and the camaraderie noted above lent itself to the formation of a "chorus-member" identity for the participants that was based on common social strata and backgrounds, varying degrees of patriotism and nationalism, and especially for the mid-century decades, an unabashed tie to sacred (Christian) repertoire and thinking. It is, in part, this long-standing sense of "community" among the participants that has kept the Indiana chorus program going through lean times, the draw and distraction of many other opportunities and responsibilities, and drastic changes in women's lives within the American society and economy. Perhaps at the heart of it all is this: many people, from all stations of life, desire and seek artistic and emotional expression and the social and collaborative interaction that participation in music performance can bring.

Appendix A

Program Name Changes As the national program developed and evolved, name changes occurred that reflected changing times (see chs. 1 and 2). These lists provide a skeletal outline of the chronological name changes for the national program and the Indiana chorus program. However, it must be noted that not everyone adopted the new "official" names quickly and completely.

NATIONAL EXTENSION NAME CHANGES

1914 Extension Service established as a Division of Home Economics within the US Department of Agriculture 1934 American Home Economics Association discusses organizing a National Council 1936 National Home Demonstration Council formed 1964 Name change to National Extension Homemakers Council 1992 Name change to National Association for Family and Community Education

INDIANA CHORUS NAMES

1934 Tippecanoe County Home Economics Chorus 1938 "Home Economics Chorus" (combined chorus) sings at First Indiana Rural Music Festival

364 1954 Name change to "Home Demonstration Chorus" 1983 Name change to "Extension Homemaker Chorus" 1996 Name change to Purdue Extension Homemakers Chorus 2001 Name change to Purdue Extension Women of Song 2004 Severs ties to Purdue Music Organizations; name change to "Melody Makers of Indiana"

Appendix B A Tribute: The Reason We Sing As a newly hired staff member in 1991, I was aware of the Indiana Homemakers Extension Chorus program even before I arrived on the Purdue campus from my home state of Nebraska. However, it wasn't until I was afforded the opportunity to work with these fine women year after year that I was able to develop a full appreciation for this program, what it meant to the participants and their communities, and what an integral role it played in the history of Purdue University and Purdue Musical Organizations (PMO). Music provides a natural connection for people, and from its inception, this program provided an opportunity for women of all socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds to participate in a welcoming, organized, and ultimately highly revered choral music experience within their own communities, throughout the state of Indiana, and beyond. The life-long friendships established by people within their own county ensembles and through their experiences within the combined ensemble of 1,000+ voices remains unequaled. I have such fond memories of accompanying and directing these women in different capacities. Whether at an area rehearsal (a central location that drew upon several different county choruses at once to maximize efficiency), during their combined adventures on the Purdue University campus twice a year, or while traveling with members of different county choruses for international trips with PMO

366 ensembles, the sheer joy of music and all that it can provide was always in the forefront. Challenging choral works, popular standards of specific eras, inspirational and patriotic tunes, and fun novelty numbers became standard repertoire for these women songsters. Directors of individual county choruses converged upon the Purdue campus each summer to discover and sing through the new musical selections to be presented throughout the course of that season. This 4-day workshop provided some of the most meaningful, beautiful, heartfelt, and hysterically funny musical experiences for all of us that were privileged to be involved in even the smallest of ways. In a time when many women did not work outside the home, the Indiana Homemakers Extension Chorus program became a huge attraction, not only for the musical outlet it provided to its rural and urban-based membership, but also for the lifeline it provided to the outside world for so many. Fostering a great camaraderie, fellowship, potential travel, and the ability to learn and experience new things both musically and socially, this one-of-a-kind program continued to grow and solidify with each passing year. As decades passed and lifestyles changed, so did the number of participants. Work and family commitments continued to escalate for women of all ages and backgrounds, as did the number of additional opportunities women had for organized socialization and enjoyment. Even so, the legacy left by those who dedicated themselves to the betterment of women and families through their involvement with the Extension Chorus program is one that should continue to be explored, experienced, and—by all means celebrated.

367 When people come together because of a shared love or passion for music and the arts, in the right hands and with a common mission and goal firmly in sight, wonderful things happen. As we move into the second decade of the 21st century, there are individuals who have been involved in this organization for more than sixty years that share the stage with others that have been enjoying the experience for as little as six months. Across the ages and generations, I will always feel that the Indiana Homemakers Extension Chorus program personifies the power of music and people. It is one of the reasons we sing. Jon Renard, PMO Staff 1991-98, 2001-02

List of Photographs Photo 1: Map of Indiana with counties identified. The Indiana Home Demonstration Club chorus program was begun in Tippecanoe County in west-central, IN. It also is the location of Purdue University. Courtesy, Bracken Library, Ball State University, Muncie, IN,

Photo 2: Tippecanoe County Chorus with Al Stewart, director, 1937. Courtesy, Purdue Musical Organizations, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

Photo 3: Nationwide coverage for the Indiana chorus program; the cover of Furrow magazine, 1961. Courtesy, John Deere, The FlilTow, 1961.

Photo 4: The Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus, state massed group, 1952. Hall of Music, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. Courtesy, Purdue Musical Organizations, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

Photo 5: The Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus, state massed group, 1970. Edward C. Elliott Hall of Music, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. Courtesy, Purdue Musical Organizations, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

Photo 6: A young Albert P. Stewart.

Courtesy, Purdue Musical

Organizations, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

Photo 7: Al Stewart, staged conducting photo, circa 1961. Courtesy, Purdue Musical Organizations, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN; previously published in The Furrow, John Deere, 1961.

Photo 8: The Indiana Home Demonstration Club Chorus sings in Washington, DC, for the Capitol Sesquicentennial, 1950. Courtesy, Purdue Musical Organizations, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

Photo 9: The Indiana Home Demonstration Club Chorus, with the Purdue Men's Glee Club, for a performance at the Hollywood Bowl, 1954. Courtesy, Purdue Musical Organizations, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

Photo 10: Women from Allen County (IN) dig fishing worms to sell as part of their fund raising for the trip to Toronto, Canada, 1952. Courtesy, Stedman Studios, Ft. Wayne, IN. (This reproduction from a newspaper account is the best available at this time.)

Photo 11: Women from the Indiana Home Demonstration Club Chorus meet Ted Williams and Pete Daley of the Boston Red Sox in Payne Park, Sarasota, FL, 1956. From the Indianapolis News, contained in the Parke County Scrapbook Collection in the possession of

Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN. (This reproduction from a newspaper account is the best available at this time.)

Photo 12: The Madison County (IN) Home Demonstration Club Chorus in the 1950s. Courtesy, Goldie Fletcher family, Muncie, IN.

Photo 13: Media coverage of the Washington County (KS) Extension Chorus, 1963. Courtesy, Washington County (KS) News. (This reproduction from a newspaper account is the best available at this time.)

Photo 14: Half Hour Studies from Famous Operas as published by the Extension Service of Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanics Arts, 1938. Compiled by Fannie R. Buchanan. Courtesy, Iowa State University Extension, Iowa State University, Ames, IA.

Photo 15: Poster advertising a concert by the Clay County (MO) Extension Club Chorus, 1959. Courtesy, The Dorothy D. McGuire, Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection, 1953-1968, in the possession of Harold McGuire, Liberty, MO.

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Urbana:

Arnold, Eleanor, Louise Spurling, and Virginia Wright, ed. Rush County Extension Homemakers: Living and Learning Through the Years, 1925-2000. n.p.: IEHA, ca. 2000. Bennett, Joseph L. Boilermaker Music Makers. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University, 1986. Berger, Michael L. "Farmers, Flivvers, and Family Life: The Impact of Motoring on Rural Women and Their Kin." Proceedings from the Women's Travel - Issues 2nd National Conference, Baltimore, MD, October 1996. Brooks, William. "Music in America: An Overview (part 1)." In The Cambridge History of American Music, ed. David Nicholls, 30-48. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Brunner, Edmund deS., and E. Hsin Pao Yang. Rural America and the Extension Service: A History and Critique of the Cooperative Agricultural and Home Economics Extension Service. New York: Columbia University, 1949. Carpenter, Stephanie A. On the Farm Front: The Women 's Land Army in World War II. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2003. Cochrane, Willard W. The Development of American Agriculture: A Historical Analysis. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1979. Crawford, Richard. America's Musical Life. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 2001.

370 Drache, Hiram M. Legacy of the Land: Agriculture's Story to the Present. Danville, IL: Interstate Publishers, Inc., 1996. Dubin, Steven C. Bureaucratizing the Muse. University of Chicago Press, 1987.

Chicago:

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Good Homemakers—Good Neighbors: A History of Kansas Extension Homemakers Units, 1914-1982. Manhattan: Kansas State University, 1982. Grout, Donald Jay, Claude V. Palisca, and J. Peter Burkholder, A History of Western Music 7" ed. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 2006. Haystead, Ladd, and Gilbert C. Fite. The Agricultural Regions of the United States. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1955.

371 Kingsbury, Robert C. An Atlas of Indiana. Bloomington: Indiana University, 1970. Kleinberg, S. J. Women in the United States, 1830-1945. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1999. McCue, Charles A, ed. Proceedings of the Forty-Fourth Annual Convention of the Association of Land-Grant Colleges and Universities. Held at Washington, D. C., November 17-19, 1930. Burlington, VT: Free Press Printing Co., 1930. "Membership in Each State." 1990 Annual Report. Manhattan, KS: NEHC, Inc., 1990. Murphy, Lucy Eldersveld, and Wendy Hamand Venet, eds. Midwestern Women: Work, Community, and Leadership at the Crossroads. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997. Neth, Mary. Preserving the Family Farm: Women, Community, and the Foundations of Agribusiness in the Midwest, 1900-1940. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press, 1995. Patten, Marjorie. The Arts Workshop of Rural America: A Study of the Rural Arts Program of the Agricultural Extension Service. New York: Columbia University Press, 1937. Rasmussen, Wayne D. Taking the University to the People: 75 Years of Cooperative Extension. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1989. Reese, Madge J. "Standards of Living as a Basis for an Agricultural Extension Program." In The Spirit and Philosophy of Extension Work, comp. and ed. by R. K. Bliss, 167-171. Washington: USDA, 1952. Rosenzweig, Roy, ed. Government and the Arts in Thirties America. Fairfax, VA: George Mason University Press, 1986.

372 Rowbotham, Sheila. A Century of Women: The History of Women in Britain and the United States. New York: Viking, 1997.

Rush County Extension Homemakers: Commerative (sic] Booklet, 1925-1985. n.p.: IEHA, ca. 1985. Russell, E. John. A History of Agricultural Science in Great Britain, 1620-1954. London: Allen & Unwin, Ltd., 1966. Rutter, Jon Allen. "The Effects of the 1930's Government Art Support Programs on the Legislative and Administrative History of the National Endowment for the Arts." MPA thesis, University of Texas at Austin, 1985. Schwieder, Dorothy. 75 Years of Service: Cooperative Extension in Iowa. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1993. Schwieder, Dorothy. "Changing Times: Iowa Farm Women and Home Economics Cooperative Extension in the 1920s and 1950s." In Midwestern Women: Work, Community, and Leadership at the Crossroads, ed. Lucy Eldersveld Murphy and Wendy Hamand Venet, 204-222. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997. Sheckler, Lewis. Charles Alexander Fullerton.. His Life and Contribution to Music Education. EdD diss., University of Illinois, 1965. Sinele, Beverly. A History of the National Association for Family and Community Education. Florence, KY: National Association for Family and Community Education, n.d. Swanson, Burton E., ed. Agricultural Extension: A Reference Manual, 2nd ed. Rome: Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, 1984.

373 Thompson, Dave 0. A History: Fifty Years of Cooperative Extension Service in Indiana. West Lafayette, IN: [Purdue University], 1963. Thompson, Dave 0., Sr., and William L. Madigan, One Hundred and Fifty Years of Indiana Agriculture. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University, 1966. Waechter, James B. "The Cooperative Extension Service at Your Service." MA creative project, Ball State University, 1985. Warren, Charline J., comp, & ed. An Official History of National Extension Homemakers Council, Inc., 19301990. Burlington, KY: National Extension Homemakers Council, Inc., 1991.

50 Years of Learning and Service. West Lafayette, IN: Indiana Home Demonstration Association in Cooperation with Purdue University, 1963. Journals, Magazines, Newspapers, Pamphlets, Newsletters "Agricultural Department Looking at Closing More Than 700 Local Offices." Muncie (IN) Star Press, 24 September 2005. "Arizona Forms State Chorus." National Notes (National Extension Homemakers Council), December 1964, 18.

Baltimore Sun, 16 May 1939. Britton, Bonnie. "Can't Keep Hoosier Women Down on the Farm When Extension's Around." Indianapolis Star Press, 17 August 1977, sec. 6. Butters, Mary Anne. "Homemakers Urged into Politics." Indianapolis Star, 10 June 1966. Chase, Francis, Jr. "State of Singing Housewives." Radio Guide 8, no. 41 (28 July 1939): 8, 35, and 40.

374 Colman, Mrs. Ralph. "Play in a Farm Woman's Life." Kansas Farm Journal (Bureau Farmer), July 1930, 11. "County Extension Club Chorus Planning Busy Fall Schedule." Liberty (MO) Tribune, 3 September 1959. "Cultural Outlook." National Notes (National Extension Homemakers Council), March 1973, 22. Detzer, Karl. "Song Along the Wabash." Recreation 33, no. 12 (March 1940): 663-664. Dolson, Hildegarde. "Hoosier Housewives Sing." Woman 's Day, November 1941, 12-13. "Extension Choral Concert to Be Saturday Night at Jewell." Liberty (MO) Tribune, 12 November 1959. "Extension Chorus to Sing for State Marketing Clinic." Liberty (MO) Tribune, 29 July 1954. "Extension Club Chorus Makes Hit." Liberty (MO) Tribune, 5 August 1954. "Extension Educator Promotes Peace Among Local Farmers." Muncie (IN) Star Press, 27 August 2000. Fishbein, S. L. "3000 Voices Charm with Indiana Lays [sic]." Washington Post, 13 July 1950. "Florida's Cultural Program." National Notes (National Extension Homemakers Council), September 1973, 19. "Group Changes Its Name." Indianapolis Star, 9 June 1966. Holder, Nadie. "Home, 4-H Girl News." Bartlesville (OK) Examiner-Enterprise, 8 October 1958; 22 October 1958. "Home Ec [sic] Chorus Celebration Set." Indianapolis Star, 28 May 1944, part 2. Homemaker Update 2, no. 3 (August 1981): 21.

375 "Hoosier Homemaker Harmony" (Pamphlet). West Lafayette, IN: Cooperative Extension Service of Purdue University,ca. 1970. "How Hoosiers Train Leaders." National 4-H Club News, March 1945, 33. "How Long Since You Sang?" Muncie (IN) Star Press, 24 February 1954. "Indiana Agricultural Products map." Facts on File, 1984. "Indiana Chorus to Be Guests of Clay Group." Liberty (MO) Tribune, 7 July 1955. "Indiana Is a Singing State." Extension Service Review 15, no. 8 (August 1944): 115.

Indianapolis News, Fair Edition, 1953. "Indianians [sic] Sing Here to Show Rural Talent." Baltimore Sun, 17 May 1939. "Invitation to Indiana, 'The Crossroads of America'." National Notes (National Extension Homemakers Council), March 1965, 9. Katz, Mark. "Making America More Musical through the Phonograph, 1900-1930." American Music 16, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 448-475. Kroeger, Marie. "The Federal Music Project in Denver 19351941." American Music Research Center Journal 3 (1993): 50-64. Lane, Laura. "They Made a Patriotic Pilgrimage." Country Gentleman, September 1950, 131. "Membership Booms in Southern States." National 4-H Club News, June 1942, 5, 13, 17. Mickler, Vickie Foley. "WIFE: Local Women Join Newly Formed Farm Organization." Muncie (IN) Star, 26 August 1983.

376 Muncie (IN) Star, 2 June 1950. "Music Club Federation Hears Examples of U.S. Tastes." Christian Science Monitor, 19 May1939, 2. "Music Man Remembered." Lafayette (IN) Leader, 31 January 1991. "Official Souvenir Program." March/April 1947, 21, 56.

Music Clubs Magazine,

"Oklahoma." National Notes (National Extension Homemakers Council), September 1973, n.p. "On the Radio:" Indianapolis Times, 17 February 1941. Plainfield (IN) Messenger, 20 November 1941. PMO Notes bound volumes 1943-1947, 1948-1952, 1953-1957, 1958-1962, 1963-June 1967, July 1967-1973. From the Home Demonstration Chorus Archives and Memorabilia of Al Stewart. In the possession of Sonya Stewart Eddy, Anderson, IN. PMO Notes volumes 41, no. 1 (Winter 1983-84); 41, no. 2 (Summer 1984); 46, no.1 (Spring 1989); 46, no. 3 (Winter 1990); 47, no. 1 & 2 (Winter 1990-91); 47, no. 3 (Summer 1991); 49, no. 3 (Summer 1993); 50, no. 2 (Summer 1994); 53, no. 2 (Summer/Fall 1997). PMO Archives, Elliott Hall of Music, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. Poulton, Ralph W. "State of Singing Women." Farm Journal, July 1938, 32. Pulliam, Margaret and Frances O'Neill. "Clay County Extension Club Enjoy Trip to Indiana." Liberty (MO) Tribune, 21 June 1956. "Our Day at Purdue University." Liberty (MO) Tribune, 28 June 1956, section 2. "Purdue Glee Club to Give Concert in Rome Tuesday." Daily American, 21 June 1953.

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378 Wheeler, Billy Edd [sic]. "City Dwellers Are Invited to FarmHome Week Events." Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader, 26 January 1959. Williams, Mary Dean. "Our Hoosier Songbirds Win Acclaim at Canadian Exposition." Indiana Farmers Guide, 1 October 1952. "Women's Chorus to Missouri Saturday." Washington County (KS) News, 13 November 1959. "The Women's Program." Nation's Agriculture, January 1938, 4,5. "60 Counties Are in Music Organization." Indianapolis Times, 30 July 1937. "200 Women Sing at Farm Session." Indianapolis News, 12 January 1945, part 2. "225 Attend Annual HDU Spring Tea Here." Norton (KS) Daily Telegram, 11 May 1961. "800 in Home Clubs to Hold Song Fest." South Bend (IN Tribune, 20 January 1957. "1000-Voice Chorus Sings at Purdue." Indianapolis Star, 15 January 1942. "1973 State Homemakers Choral Camp." Newsletter Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association 1, no.1 (October 1973): 1. "3000-Voice Women's Choir Sings at Coliseum Tonight." Toronto Daily Star, 22 August 1952, section 2. Archives, Memorabilia, Scrapbooks, Miscellaneous Collections Arnold, Eleanor, ed. Going to Club, 75 Years with Extension Homemakers. Fifth in the series, Memories of Hoosier Homemakers and transcripts of tape-recorded

379 interviews from Hoosier Homemakers through the Years, an oral history project of the Indiana Extension Homemakers Association, 1988. Held in the Indiana Extension Homemakers Association Archives, Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, IN. "Extension Lectures" (February 1896). Worcester College Library, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom. Fulton County Home Agent Records, MS 208. Center for Archival Collections, William T. Jerome Library, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH. General Reference File, in Series. University Archives and Records Programs, Special Collections and Archives, University of Kentucky Libraries, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. "History from Scrapbooks Collection"(donated by Margaret Shafer and Frances Pfeiffer). #81-240.3 (1952-54); #81240.4 (1954); #81-240.5 (1952); #81-240.6 (1956-64); #81-240.7 (1962); #81-240.8 (1965); #81-240.9 (196768); #94-472.8 (Fulton Co.); Choral Club scrapbook (1966); Mt. Olive scrapbook (1960); Mt. Olive scrapbook (1961-1963); McKinley Club Scrapbook (1950); 94-472.28 (photographs); 94-780.9 (after 1967 folder), Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN. "Home Demonstration Chorus Archives and Memorabilia of Al Stewart." In the possession of Sonya Stewart Eddy, Anderson, IN. "Hoosier Homemakers: The Early Years." A Project of Indiana Extension Homemakers Association. 31 min., 2000. Videocassette. Indiana Extension Homemakers Association Archives. Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, FN. Indiana Extension Homemakers Chorus Collection. In the possession of Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN.

380 "Indiana Home Economics Association Depository Collection." Box 5, newsletters, 45-98; Box 7, miscellaneous items and special programs and projects; Box 11, scrapbooks, District 5. Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. Iowa County (WI) Extension Homemakers scrapbook and miscellaneous items. In the possession of Lois Clifton, Montfort, WI. Iowa State University, Cooperative Extension Service in Agriculture and Home Economics. Extension Music Program Records, RS 16/3/3, Series 1: Extension Music Program Records, 1910-1993, Box 1-2. Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library, Ames, IA. Iowa State University, Cooperative Extension Service in Agriculture and Home Economics. Extension Music Program Records, RS 16/3/3, Series 2: County Women's Choruses Records, 1934-1993, Box 3-5. Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library, Ames, IA. Kansas Extension Homemakers Council Collection (not catalogued), Boxes 1-16 containing various volumes "National Notes," and miscellaneous items. Special Collections, Hale Library, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS. KEHA Archives. University Archives and Records Program, Special Collections and Archives, M. I. King Library, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. Marshall County Extension Homemakers Scrapbooks, 1994-97, 1999-2000. In the possession of Helena Hand, Bremen, IN. McGuire, Dorothy D. Clay County (MO) Chorus Scrapbook Collection, 1953-1968. In the possession of Harold McGuire, Liberty, MO.

381 News Clipping File. Indiana Files: "Agricultural-and "Music—Organizations," Organizations," "Music—Programs." Local History Room, St. Joseph County Public Library, South Bend, IN. Parke County Scrapbook Collection, cream-1950-52; black1952-56; red—LA, 1954; brown—Florida, 1956; rose— Oregon, 1958; tan-1959-. In the possession of Doris Rohe, Rockville, IN. Pohly, Faye. Songbook and Sheet Music Collection. In the possession of Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN. Porter County Chorus Scrapbook. County Extension Office, Valparaiso, IN. Porterettes Archives. In the possession of Judy Benham, Kouts, IN. Purdue Musical Organizations Archives, including the Carrie Witteman Collection (donated by Marcia Sackett) and uncataloged scrapbooks and pictures. Elliott Hall of Music, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. Tippecanoe County Home Demonstration Chorus Collection, 73:92.26. Tippecanoe County Homemakers Association Archives, Tippecanoe County Historical Society Museum, West Lafayette, IN. Tuscarawas County Chorus and Ohio Extension Homemakers Collection. In the possession of Lucille Steel, Dover, OH. University of Illinois Archives, Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service. Earl H. Regnier Papers 1930-72, Series No. 8/3/27; Subject File, 1922-86, Series No. 8/4/2. Archives Research Center, Hort Field Lab, Urbana, IL. Washington County (KS) Chorus Extension Collection (scrapbooks and miscellaneous items not catalogued); and Washington County Chorus—Ext. folder in vertical

382 file. Washington County Historical Society, Washington, KS. Washington County (KS) Home Extension Chorus Scrapbook. In the possession of Viola Diller, Omaha, NE. Wisconsin Friendship Chorus Scrapbook. In the possession of Norma Clavadatscher, Sauk City, WI. Wisconsin Friendship Chorus tour programs. In the possession of Carol Anderson, Spring Green, WI.

Interviews, E-mails, Letters Allnutt, Jackie. E-mail message to author, 28 June 2007. Anderson, Carol, Spring Green, WI, letter to Atcha Nolan, El Dorado, KS, 17 July 2006. In the possession of Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN. Bartling, Karen. Interview (telephone) by author, 28 November 2005 and 4 June 2011. Benham, Judy, Kouts, IN, letter to Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN, 18 August 2000. Benham, Judy, Shirley Beier, and Carol Fifield. Interview by Bonnie Houser, 5 March 2001, Kouts, IN. Bowling, Cheryl. E-mail message to author, 26 June 2007. DeZarn, Karen. Interview (telephone) by author, 29 November 2005. Diesslin, Howard, West Lafayette, IN, letter to Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN, 26 August 2002. Diller, Viola, Omaha, NE, letter to Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN, 29 May 2002. Eddy, Sonya. E-mail message to author, 28 May 2003; interview (telephone) by author, 28 November 2005;

383 and handwritten letter to Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN, 13 September 2008. Garrison, Maryellen. E-mail message to author, 26 June 2007. Hammons, Lucille. E-mail message (forwarded by Kimberly Henken) to author, 22 June 2007. Hodge, Eloise, Rushville, IN, letter to Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN, 20 June 1995. Jones, Joyce. Interview by author, 27 July 2000, Fulton County Historical Society, Rochester, IN. Jones, Joyce, Rochester, IN, letter to Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN, 11 September 2003. Mason, April. Associate Dean, CFS Extension, Purdue University. Interview (telephone) by author, 30 July 2002. Nall, Martha A. E-mail message (forwarded by Kimberly Henken) to author, 15 March 2007. Piper, Sharon. Interview (telephone) by author, 28 November 2005. Rohe, Doris. Interview by author and Atcha Nolan, 28 July 2001, Rockville, IN. Rouls, Janalyce, West Lafayette, IN, letter to Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN, 9 August 2002. Schliewe, Bertha. Interview (telephone) by Atcha Nolan, 27 June 2006. Schliewe, Bertha, Watertown, WI, letter to Linda Pohly, Muncie, IN, 5 July 2006. Steel, Lucille. E-mail message to author, 3 September 2007. Stewart, Rita. E-mail message (forwarded by Kimberly Henkin) to author, 22 June 2007.

384 Weaver, Marge. Interviews (telephone) by author, 28 August 2004 and 8 November 2005. Wood, Carol. Interview (telephone) by Atcha Nolan, 14 May 2002. Hand-written notes provided to the author. Music SONG-OF-THE-MONTH COLLECTIONS

Dykema, Peter, et al, eds. "I Hear America Singing," 55 Community Songs, Liberty Edition. Boston: C. C. Birchard, 1918. Dykema, Peter, ed. Twice 55 Community Songs for Treble Voices, The Rose Book Boston: C. C. Birchard & Co., 1927. Dykema, Peter W. et al, eds. Twice 55 Plus Community Songs, The New Brown Book. Boston: C. C. Birchard, 1947. Heller, Ruth, ed. Homemakers of America Song Book. Evanston, IL: Summy-Birchard Publishing Co., c1961. Indiana Sings. Indianapolis: State of Indiana, 1954. Official Farm Bureau Songs. Chicago: American Farm Bureau Federation, n.d. Zanzig, Augustus D., comp. Singing America Song and Chorus Book. Boston: C. C. Birchard & Co., 1940. NEWLY COMPOSED EXTENSION MUSIC

Buchanan, Fannie R. "Ploughing Song—Dreaming--Field Song—Friendship Song." In The Spirit and Philosophy of Extension Work, comp. & ed. by R. K. Bliss, 360362. Washington: USDA, 1952.

385 Bullock, Dorothy D. "Onward, Ever Onward." Arranged by Max Exner. N.p.: National Extension Homemakers Council, c1956. Exner, Max V. "The Country Way." Commissioned by the County Women's Choruses of Iowa, the Iowa Farm Bureau Women's Committee and the Iowa State University Extension Service for the 50th Anniversary Festival Concert of the County Women's Choruses, December 1986. Kadonsky, Mrs. Eliz. K. "Homemakers' Creed." Lyrics by Mrs. J. Meise. Abbotsford, WI: n.p., c1970. McGee, John A. Hoosier Heritage. Lyrics by James Whitcomb Riley; arranged by R. Williams. Punta Gorda, FL: n.p., c1949. McGee, John A. "Unguarded Border." Arranged by R. Williams. Sarasota, FL: n.p., c1952. Stewart, Albert P. "A Covetous Wish" and "The Old School Bell." Lyrics by E. A. Richardson; arranged by John W. Farley. Chicago: Hall & McCreary Co., c1954. Weddle, Mrs. Stella Bowlin. "Kansas State Farm Bureau Song." Wichita: The Adams-Bennett Music Co., c1930. Wurtz, William. "Narcissus." Lyrics by Mrs. Fred Hedding. N.p., c1953. INDIANA STATE REPERTOIRE (Publication information is not available for the state song book for each year although a Purdue Choral Collection volume was prepared each year. Information is provided as possible.)

Ades, Hawley. Sugar and Spice. Delaware Water Gap, PA: Shawnee Press, Inc., c1957.

386 Allen, William E. et al, comps. Purdue Choral Collection for S.S.A. Voices, vol. 24. Melville, NY: Belwin Mills Publishing Corp., ca. 1979. Allen, William E. et al, comps. Purdue Choral Collection for S.S.A. Voices, vol. 26, 27. Ft. Lauderdale, FL: Plymouth Music Co., Inc., various years. Greyson, Norman, ed. Early Sacred and Early Secular Choral Series. New York: Bourne, Inc., n.d.

Harold Flammer Choral Collection for 3-Part Treble Voices, vols. 1-4. N.p.: Harold Flammer, Inc., c1945. Lorenz, Ellen Jane, comp. Women's Get-Together Songs. New York: Lorenz Publishing Co., cl 942. Pitcher, Gladys, arr. Ten American Songs. Boston: C. C. Birchard & Co., 1951. Purdue Musical Organizations, comp. Purdue Choral Collection for S.S.A. Voices, vol. 39. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University, ca. 1995. Purdue Musical Organizations, comp. Purdue Women in Song. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University, ca.2001. Siegmeister, Elie and Walter Ehret, eds. Let There Be Song! New York: Bourne, Inc., c1954. Stewart, Albert P., comp. Purdue Choral Collection for Women's Voices, vols. 1-2, 4, N.p.: Harold Flammer Incorporated, various years. Stewart, Albert P., comp. Purdue Choral Collection for Women's Voices, vols. 3, 4, 5. New York: Frank Music Corp., various years. Stewart, Albert P., comp. Purdue Choral Collection for Women's Voices, vols. 12, 13, 17, 18. Denver and New York: Charles Hansen, various years.

387 Stewart, Albert P., comp. Purdue Choral Collection for Women's Voices, vol. 15, 16. N.p.: Hal Leonard/Pointer Publications, Inc., various years. Stewart, Albert P., comp. Purdue Choral Collection for Women's Voices, vols. 1, 14. New York: Marks Music Corporation, various years. Stewart, Albert P., comp. Schirmer 's Favorite Choruses for Women's Voices, vols. 1-5. New York: Schirmer, Inc., various years. Stewart, Albert P., comp. Selected Choruses of the Allied Nations. New York: J. Fischer & Brothers, 1944. Stewart, Albert P. and William E. Luhman, comps. Purdue Choral Collection for S.S.A. Voices, vols. 19, 20. Delaware Water Gap, PA: Shawnee Press, Inc., 1974 and 1975. Stewart, Albert P. and William E. Luhman, comps. Purdue Choral Collection for S.S.A. Voices, vols. 21, 22. New York: Plymouth Music Co., Inc., 1976 and 1977. Stewart, Albert P. and William E. Luhman, comps. Purdue Choral Collection for S.S.A. Voices, vol. 23. N.p.: Hansen, n.d. Wilson, Harry Robert. Choral Program Series, Book Two. New York: Silver Burdett Company, c1945. SONGBOOK COLLECTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH OTHER STATES •

Exner, Max V., comp. The Golden Bridge. Ames: Cooperative Extension Service, Iowa State College, c1957.

Music for Family Festivals. Philadelphia: Theodore Presser Co., c1935. Ross, James Pheane, ed. Sing Kentucky Delaware, OH: Cooperative Recreation Service, Inc., c1961.

388 Stevens, David and Peter W. Dykema, comps. Sing! The AllPurpose Song Book for Home, School, Community Choruses, Social Meetings, and Festivities. Boston: C. C. Birchard & Company, n.d.

INDEX accompanists role of, Stewart's view, 87 serving 10 or more years, 58 Adams County (IL), 253 Adams-Bennett Music Company (KS), 279 Ades, Hawley (composer), 231 Agricultural Extension Service 4-H musical programs, 107-109 Agricultural Extension Service of Indiana. 55 Al Stewart named music director, 34 appointment of Al Stewart as music specialist, 81 Allamakee County chorus (IA), 272-273, 276 Allen County chorus (IN), 187, 244 fundraising, 128 rehearsal attendance, 207 tours, 188 Allen, Mrs. Cleo, 283 Allen, William E. (Bill), 66, 71, 187 Allen-Bradley Company, 106

Allis-Chalmers Implement Company, 305 Allnutt, Jackie, 291 American Conservatory of Music, 80 American Farm Bureau Federation, 211 American Home Economics Association, 363 American Industrial Music Association, 104, 106, See also Industrial Music Anderson, Carol, 324, 326, 344 Andrews, Rose, 139 Ankenman, Mrs. Lester, 284 Annual Indianapolis District Home Demonstration Day (1961), 197 Arbuckle, Hazel, 212 Arizona Homemakers Council annual meeting (1964), 252 Arthur, Ted, 334 Associated Country Women of the World, 262, 290, 313 Washington, D.C. conference (1936), 33, 118 Associated Women of the American Farm Bureau Federation, 37

390

Associated Women of the American Farm Bureau Federation convention (Chicago, IL, 1937), 119, 263 Association of County and District Fairs, 83 Atkinson, Mrs. Ethel, 198 Bacak, Joyce Eilers (composer), 235 Ball, Mary Jean, 138 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 108, 123 Baltimore and Ohio Women's Music Club Choir, 120 band camps, 108 Barber County Chorus (KS), 282 Bard, Ada, 136 Bargerhuff, Helen, 198 Barnby, Sir Joseph (composer), 219, 227 Bartling, Karen, 195, 333334 Bayh, Birch (US senator, IN), 126 Beach, Mrs. H. H. A. (composer), 239 Beck, Mrs. F. M., 263 Beedle, Mrs. Bailey, 180 Beier, Shirley, 175 Bell Telephone Co., 105 Bendix Aviation Women's Chorus, 105 Benham, Judy, 175-177

Bennett, Catherine (composer), 236 Bennett, Mrs. Galen, 283 Benton County chorus (IA), 264 Benton County chorus (IN), 42, 52, 101, 188-189, 333 Berlin, Irving (composer 236, 301 Bernstein, Leonard (composer), 281 Besig, Don (composer), 235 Besser Company, 105-106 Bezy, Mrs. Albert, 138 Bjurstrom, Neil, 261, 274276 Black Hawk County (IA) choral competition (1925), 260 4-H girls musicappreciation competition, 278 Black, Mrs. Emmett, 189 Blackford County chorus (IN), 33, 195, 333-334 Boberg, Mrs. Eli (Fern), 109, 205-206 Bohemian Girl, The (operetta), 261-262, 275 Bond, Carrie Jacobs (composer), 304 Boone County chorus (IN), 52 Boston Red Sox (spring training) ball park, 143 Bounsall, Marge, 103

391

Bowel!, Mary Ellen, 59 Bowling, Cheryl, 298 Brahms, Johannes (composer), 227 Bray, William G. (U.S. congressman, IN), 129 Breed, Brian, 66, 72, 102 Brooks, Earl, 191-192 Brown County chorus (IN), 50, 190 rehearsal faithfulness despite temperatures, 207 Brown County chorus (KS), 283 Brown, Lucille, 191 Brown, Mrs. Dale, 289 Brown, Mrs. Daniel M., 244 Brown, Mrs. Frances, 279 Brown, Mrs. Lynn, 283 Brown, Ruth, 308 Brymer, Mark (composer), 236 Buchanan County chorus (IA), 264 Buchanan, Dr. Scott, 66, 76, 334-335 Buchanan, Fannie R., 260, 261 Bullock, Dorothy D. (composer), 221 Burkett, Mildred, 162 Burrus, Mrs. Harry, 139 Butler University Field House, 43

Butz, Earl (Dean of Purdue University, School of Agriculture), 146 C. C. Birchard & Company, 228 Cadman, C. W. [Charles Wakefield], (composer), 230 Cain, Noble (composer/arranger), 100, 225, 256, 303 Calhoun, Mrs. C. C., 346 California Home Demonstration clubs, 137 Calihan, Mrs. R. H., 284 Campbell, Mrs. Randall, 194 Canadian National Exhibition (Toronto, Canada, 1952), 81, 126129 "canned" music, 350 Capehart, Homer E. (U.S. senator, IN), 125 Carbeiner, Zelma, 59 Carmichael, Hoagy (composer), 239 Carpenter, Mrs., 288 Carroll County chorus (IN) , 33, 50, 190-191, 244, 333 Carter, Catherine, 191 Carter, Mary Catherine, 58 Cass County chorus (IN), 164, 245

392

Cedar County chorus (IA), 264 Central College (Pella, IA), 269 Central Presbyterian Church (Lafayette, IN), Stewart as choir director, 89 Champaign Community Schools (IL), 258 Champaign County (IL), 253 Charles, Ernest (composer), 230 Cherokee County chorus (KS), 283 Chicago, Duluth, Georgian Bay Transit Company, 131 Chicagoland Music Festival, 254, 256, 263 Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, 135, 140 Chinn, Teena (composer), 235 chorus clubs, 216 Chrisman, Mrs. Norman, 293, 300 Chrisman, Norman, 291 Citizen and Pioneer theory, 341, 360 Clark County chorus (IN), 48 Clark County Choraliers (WI), 322 Clark, Harold, Rev., 63 Clausen, Rene (composer), 236

Clavadatcher, Norma, 326 Clawson, Florence, 138 Clay County chorus (IN), 43, 52, 191-192, 207 Clay County Extension Chorus (MO), 202, 244, 287, 301, 305-306 governance rules (1959), 307-308 Home Economics clubs, 312 Indiana State Chorus festivals, 303, 309-310 joint concert with Washington County chorus (KS), 1957, 304 performance with Montgomery County chorus (IN), 302 Clifton, Lois, 321 Clinton County chorus (IA), 264 Clinton County chorus (IN), 58, 333, 336 Clinton County Farm Bureau band (MO), 302 Clokey, Joseph W. (composer), 225 Clutter, Mrs. A. [Art] D., 306 Cockshott, Gerald (composer), 236 Cohan, George M. (composer), 229 Collins, Mrs. Robert, 190 Columbia County chorus (WI), 322

393

Committee on Cultural Arts, Kansas Extension Homemakers Council, 280-281 Commonwealth-Edison, 106 community singing, 338 Cook, Mary, 59 Cook, Rosalind, 278 Cooke, Wayne, 321 Cookinham, Harriet, 278 Cooperative Extension Service of Iowa, 270-271 Copland, Aaron (composer), 85, 236 Coquillard, Frances Comparet (settler), 205 Cotes, Ruth, 195 Country Women's Council, 313 Coverdill, Mabel, 284 Cox, Daisy, 58 Crane, Mrs. Claude (Catherine), 177 Crawford County chorus (IN), 43, 51, 192-193, 238 Crawford, Mrs., 291 Curran, Arthur, 196 Dane County Civic Chorus (WI), 339 Dane County Rural Federation (WI), 339 Daniels, Mitch (IN governor), 77 Davenport, Mabel, 164

Davidson, Mrs. Walter, 109 Davis, Mrs. Richard, 205 Decatur County chorus (IN), 50 Decatur County Unit Chorus (KS), 282 Deetz, Thelma, 317 DeForest, Mrs. Edgar G., 187 Deiterlen, Mrs. Nellie, 101 DeKalb County chorus (IN), 50, 193-194, 333 Delaware County chorus (IA), 264 Delaware County Home Demonstration Club Chorus (IN), 194, 245 DePauw University, 37, 92, 203 Deppen, Jesse L. (composer), 226 Detzer, Karl (composer), 39, 250 DeWees, Eugene, 190 DeZarn, Karen, 333 Dible, Mrs. Clarence, 281 Dickinson County Home Demonstration Unit Chorus (KS), 282-283 Dickinson, Clarence (composer), 225 Dickson, Grace, 288 Diller, Viola, 284, 286-289, 328, 345 Dobson, Mrs. Wilford, 192

394

Dodge County (WI) Arts and Crafts Workshop (1978), 321 Dodge County chorus (WI), 321 Dolson, Hildegarde, 40 Dominion Foundries and Steel, 105 Donald Voorhees National Federation of Music Clubs contest, 182 Douglas County chorus (IL), 258-259 Douglas County chorus (IN), 289-290 Downing, Marguerite, 120 Dresser, Paul (composer), 225 Dubois County chorus (IN), 43 Dunn, Marilyn, 321 Dunn, Mary, 321 Dunn, Mrs. Robert (Carol), 205 Dunn, Mrs. Shirley, 291 Dunwoody, Mrs. Ben, 46, 346 Dyer, Anne [accompanist, Hoosier FL trip], 144 Dyer, Annie [Gibson County chorus director], 354 Dykema, Peter W., 209, 300 Eddy, Joanna [née Stewart], 81

Eddy, Sonya [née Stewart] 63, 73, 80, 103, 111-114, 334 Edmonds, Mrs., 306 Edward C. Elliott Hall of Music (Purdue University), 38, 74 Eggman, Mrs. Earl, 138 Eherman, Lloyd, 164 Ehret, Walter (composer), 228 Eisenhower, Dwight David (U.S. president), 43, 53, 157, 167, 191 telegram to Al Stewart, 359 Elkhart County chorus (IN), 244, 333 Emerson, Roger, 235-236 Engle, Michael, 177 Este, Michael (composer), 226 Evans, George (minstrel star), 219 Evens, Mrs. Ray, 203 Exner, Max, 211, 221, 260, 266, 268-271, 275, 323, 328, 345 "Extension Home Economics Focus on the Family" (1957 study), 56 Extension Homemakers Unit Singers (KS), 289 Extension music programs adaptability of, 355

395

as example of grassroots/amateur music-making, 341 demographic changes, 356 educational component, 353-355 rural membership of, 352 states other than Indiana, summation, 327-328 Farley, John, 48, 97, 144 Farm Bureau Extension orchestra (KS), 280 Farmer's Guide, 49, 51, 144, 351 fundraising for Sarasota trip (1956), 142 Farthing, Mrs. Burney (LaVerne), 178 Farwell, Arthur (composer), 338 Faulk County chorus (SD), 251 Fayette County Homemakers Chorus (KY), 291, 293 Ferguson, C. M., 142 Fields, Mrs. Carlton, 200 Fifield, Carol, 175 Fike, Wilma, 178 Finney County chorus (KS), 282-283 Fleming, Mrs. Rae, 138 Flispart, Mary, 59

Florida Extension Homemakers Council, 252 Floyd County Home Demonstration Chorus (IN), 150 Foley, Mrs., 306 Foncesa, Mr. Larry, 201 Ford County Choir (KS), 282 Foss, Mrs. Doyle, 284 Foster, Virginia, 102 Fountain County Home Demonstration Chorus (IN), 48, 195-196 4-H musical programs, 107-109 4-H girl's chorus (IA), 278279 Fox, Byron T., 65 Franz, Robert (composer), 226 Friend, Charlotte (wife of Al Stewart), 80 Friendship Chorus (WI), 325 European tours in 1990s, 326-327 Friml, Rudolf (composer), 230 Fry singer, Grace, 118 Fullerton, Charles, 278 Fulton County chorus (IN), 52, 154-165, 244, 333 choral club, 58 comments on California trip (1954), 140

396

founding, 155 Fulton County chorus (OH), 314 founding, 313 Ohio State Fair (1940), 314 revival of (1950), 315 Fulton County Home Council (OH), 313 Fulton, Vicki, 163 fundraising (IN choruses) California trip (1954), 137-138 name quilt (for Tippecanoe County chorus trip, 1939), 119-120 Sarasota trip (1956), 142, 144 U.S. Capitol Sesquicentennial trip (1950), 122 Funk, Mrs. Carl, 189 Funtones, The (VA), 253 Gaddis, Lella, 33 Gardener, Kathryn, 317 Gaul, Alfred Robert (composer), 226 Geary County chorus (KS), 283 Genda, Pauline, 58 General Electric, 106 Gerard, Maud Ruth Huff, 165 Gibson County chorus (IN), 52, 354

Gibson, Jennifer, 176 Gingrich, Fredric, 63, 188 Glidewell, Mrs., 141 Goble, Eva L., 61, 96, 205 Goebel, Shareen, 288 Gounod, Charles (composer), 228 Grand Trunk Railroad, 131 Grant County Extension chorus (IN), 50, 196-197 Make May Music Month, 207 grassroots music-making, 341 Greene County chorus (IL), 259 Greene County chorus (IN), 42 Gregory, Mrs. 0.J., 283 Greyson, Norman (arranger), 228 Grooters, Laurence, 269 Haag, Mrs. Byron, 165 Hadley, N. S., 155 Hallett, Hazel, 120 Halterman, Mrs. H. J., 199 Hamblen, Bernard (composer), 230 Hamilton County chorus (IN), 75, 197, 333 Hancock County chorus (IN), 50 Hand, Helena, 350, 352 Hannah, Jack, 144, 343 Hansen, Viola, 292

397

Harold Flammer, Inc., music publisher, 98, 231 Hartman, Mrs. Alfretta, 162 Hatcher, Mrs. Viola, 291 Hawkeye Music Festival (1940), 263 Headlee, Mrs. Emerson (Alice), 177 Hedding, Mrs. Fred, 287 Hendricks County Home Demonstration Chorus (IN), 50-51, 198, 333 Hendricks, Mary Lou, 58 Henry County chorus (IL), 259 Henry County chorus (rN), 41, 52 Henry County chorus (KY), 299 Henry County chorus (OH), 315 Hernfried, Robert (composer), 230 Hesselink, Barbara, 324 Higginbotham, Mrs. Rhoda, 296-297 Hodge, Mrs. Noel (Eloise), 178-179 Hoffman, Leroy E., 61 Holland, James (composer), 203 Holley, Helen, 262 Hollingsworth, Mrs. Donn, 296 Holloway, Mrs. Helen, 289 Hollywood Bowl, 135, 137, 139-140

Holroyd, Miss Sarah [Sara?], 295 Home Demonstration Chorus (IN), See Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus Home Demonstration Creed, 56 Home Economics Achievement Day, 155 Hoos, Mrs. Gustav, 206 Hoover, Naomi, 58 Hopkins School District of Minneapolis, 339 Hospers, Mrs. William, 265 Housel, Mrs. Helen, 59, 194 Howard County chorus (IA), 276 Howard County chorus (IN), 41, 333 Hubbard, Martha, 139 Huff, Mac (composer), 235-236 Huffman, Betty, 171 Hugdahl, Edward 0., 322 Hughes, Elwood, 126 Hughes, Mrs. Marguerite, 306 Hunter, Mrs. W. K., 264 Huntington County Chorus (IN) , 48, 52, 141 Hurt, Velma, 349 Hutton, Mrs. J., 323 Illinois Farm Sports Festival, 256

398

Illinois Rural Chorus, 254, 257-258 Illinois State 4-H Chorus, 259 Illinois State Chorus Festival, 255, 258 Illinois State Fair mixed choir, 253-256, 258-259. See also Illinois Rural Chorus Illinois Town and Country Chorus, 254 Indiana 4-H Corn Club Program, 92 Indiana Choral Directors Association Summer Conference (2007), 335 Indiana Extension chorus longevity and significance of, 342 Indiana Extension Homemakers Association, 63, 74, 331, 334, 336 Indiana Extension Service music program. See Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus Indiana Farm Bureau, 127 Indiana Farmers Guide, The. See Farmer 's Guide. Indiana Federation of Music Clubs, 82 Indiana Home Demonstration Association, 50th anniversary, 55

Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus, 57, 62, 68-69, 79, 127, 340, 347, 364 benefits of out-of-state tours, 149 California trip (1954), 135-137, 139-141 European trip (1953), 117, 131-134 festivals, 65, 98-100, 303 gender of state directors, 345 Honolulu, HA, trip (1972), 118, 148-149 influences outside the state, 358 links to Indiana 4-H program, 109 Los Angeles, CA, trip (1954), 117, 229, 359360 membership decline in early 1960s, 126 mission statement, 354 motto, 78, 94, 114, 117, 234, 331 musical aptitude of individual choruses, 358-359 New York City, 125 Portland, OR, trip (1958), 89, 118, 146-147 repertoire, 357, 358 Salt Lake City, UT, trip (1954), 117

399

Sarasota, FL, trip (1956), 117, 142--144 75th anniversary music program, 377, 31, 336 Toronto, Ontario, trips (1952), 117, 126-129 (1962), 118, 129-130 travel, benefits of, 348 Washington, D.C., trips, 117-118, 125-126, 224, 257. See also U.S. Capitol Sesquicentennial (1950) State of Indiana Sesquicentennial (1966), 125 Stewart's retirement, 94 trips, 328, 347 U.S. Capitol Sesquicentennial (1950), 121-125 workshops, 95-103, 353, 354 Indiana State Chorus, 247 average age/composition of participants in 1951, 350-351 festivals, 36, 245-247, 303 repertoire, 225-236 Indiana State Fair, 44, 50, 77, 248 Indiana State University, 76, 335 Indiana/Missouri choir exchange (1950s), 93

Indianapolis News scrapbook contest (1954), 141 Industrial Music [U.S. program of] Stewart's involvement, 104-107 International Boy Scout Leaders Conference, 148 International Eisteddfod, Wales (1953), 134 International Musical Education Congress, 133 Iowa County Friendship Chorus (WI), 320-322 Iowa District Training School, 268, 355 "The Iowa Farm Bureau Chorus Plan and Songs," 261 Iowa Farm Sports Festival, 1951, 268 Iowa music contests, 354 Iowa State College, 260261, 278 Iowa State Fair Festival Choir, 266 Iowa State Festival (1959), 269 Iowa State University, 275278 Iowa's county chorus program, 262, 348 chorus's trip (1950), 266267 Iroquois County (IL), 253

400

Jackson County chorus (IA), 264 Jackson, Jill, 216 James, Will (composer), 230 Jasper County chorus (IN), 41, 52, 176, 189, 244 Jasper County chorus (IL), 259 Jasper/Porter County chorus (IN), 334 Jay County chorus (IN), 50, 333 Jefferson County chorus (IN), 126 Jelinski, Peggy Smith, 325 Jo Daviess County chorus (IL), 257-259 Johnson County chorus (IN), 43, 50 Johnson, Mrs. Harold, 269 Jones, Joyce, 162-164 Jones, Ray, 192-193 Juneau County chorus (WI), 322 Kadonsky, Mrs. Elizabeth K., 323 Kansas county choruses, 345 Kansas Extension Homemakers Council, 279 Kansas Extension Homemakers Week, 290

Kansas Extension Homemakers Workshop (1975), 289 Kansas Home Demonstration Advisory Council, 280 Kansas State College Home Talent Night, 282-283, 287 Kansas State University Extension Cultural Arts, 289 Karlstrom, Mrs. Bessie, 306, 311 KCMO-TV station, 302 Kearns, Mrs. Clyde, 268 Kellogg, Jae Israel, 71-73 Kendall County chorus (IL), 258 Kentucky Extension chorus program, 344 Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association, 297, 300 Kentucky Farm Bureau Chorus, 105 Kentucky Federation of Homemakers, 290, 292, 300 Kentucky Federation of Homemakers, Music Evaluation Committee; 295 Kentucky State Homemakers Chorus, 293-301

401

Kern, Jerome (compose 256 King, Mrs., 141 Kingman, Stanley, 76 Kirchner, Gracie, 349 Klemm, Gustav, 275 Kline, Allen, 41 Kline, Marie, 164 Knowles, Julie (composer), 235, 275 Knox County chorus (IN), 207 Knox County Home Demonstration Club Chorus (IN), 200 founding, 33, 198 KOLN television station (Lincoln, NE), 287-288 Koponen, Glenn (composer), 236 Kosciusko County chorus (IN) , 50, 59, 165, 240, 244, 333 Kuralt, Charles, On the Road TV series, 320 Kurtz, Dorothea E., 313314 Labette County chorus (KS), 283 Lackey, Mrs. Hecht, 296 Lafayette Travel Service, 131 LaGrange County chorus (IN), 41, 99-100, 344 Lake County chorus (IN) , 52, 57, 244, 334

Land, Sue Ann, 180 land-grant colleges, 337, 340 Lane, Laura, 124 Langman, Betty, 166 Langman, Ted, 166 LaSalle County chorus (IL), 257-258 Lau, Mrs. C. I., 313 Leavenworth County chorus (KS), 279, 282 Leeder, Joseph, 314 Lennon and McCartney (composers), 232 Lennon, Mrs. Chauncey, 165 Lewis and Clark College, 147 Lincoln County Homemakers Chorus (KY), 291 Lindstrom, Dr. David, 255 Linn County (IA), 264 Linn County Farm Bureau Chorus (IA), 263-264, 266, 268-269, 275-276 List, Vera, 59 Littrell, Elizabeth, 291 Lobaugh, Vi, 285 Loeb Theater, Purdue University, 74 Lohmeyer, Letha, 285 Lois Taylor Music Shop (IL), 256 Lojeski, Ed (composer), 235 Longwith, Mrs. V., 215

402

Lorenz, Ellen Jane, 226 Love, Mrs. Earl (Gerry), 100, 206 Luehrsen, Mrs. Donald (Eleanor), 320, 324, 326 Luhman, William E. (Bill), 40, 48, 66, 69, 92, 98, 186-187, 234 successor to Stewart, 94 Macon County (IL), 253 Macy, Mrs. A. M. (Ethel) [mother of Al Stewart], 81, 111 Ma-Del County Chorus (IN), 194 Madison County chorus (IN), 81, 102, 111, 115, 194, 333-334, 353 Madison Symphony Orchestra (WI), 339 Malotte, Albert (composer), 229 Manchester College, 156 Mandel, Johnny (composer), 301 Manning, George, 145 Marancik, Diane, 349 Marion County chorus (IN), 50, 200, 334 Marks Music Corporation, 231 Marquette County chorus (WI), 322 Marshall County chorus (IA), 264, 267

Marshall County Chorus (IN), 51, 154, 165-166, 244, 333, 343, 350, 352 founding, 164 Marshall Field and Company Choral Society, 105 Martin, Mrs. Francis Opp, 186 Massey, Jane, 187, 336 Massie, Mrs. Kenneth, 252 Maxwell, Mrs. Philip, 174 McCammack, Mrs. Kendal, 145 McCay, Mildred, 31 McConnell, Miss Jean Marie, 291 McCoy, Helen, 59 McCrillus, Mrs. Nancy, 201 McCutchan, Robert Guy (R.G.), 37, 218 McDonough County chorus (IL), 259 McElheny, Mrs. John (Audrey), 63, 201 McGee, John A., 123, 129, 144, 147 compositions, 222-225, 228 McGuire, Bruce (Mickey) , 48, 97, 144, 187 McGuire, Mrs. J. F. (Dorothy) , 230, 244, 302, 306, 310, 312, 328, 345 McKenny, Mrs. William (Mabel), 297, 328, 344 McKinney, Mrs. Noliii, 197

403

McLean County (IL), 253 McLean, Frances, 162 McNeely, Joanna [née Stewart], 80, 111 McNeill, Carolyn, 321 McPherson County Home Demonstration Chorus (KS), 282-283 Melody Makers of Indiana, 66, 76, 103, 172, 331, 334, 364 21st-century bylaws, 332 75th anniversary of Extension music program, 336 active Indiana choruses (2005-06), 333 governing structure changes, 332-333 Indiana Choral Directors Association Summer Conference, 335 Indiana State Fair, 333335 organizational plan and repertoire styles, 336 Menard County chorus (IL), 258-259 Miami County chorus (IN), 62, 200-201, 244 Midwestern lifestyle, evolution of, 355, 357 Miller, Barbara, 162 Miller, Mary Jane, 216 Miller, Mrs. I.V., 128 Miller, Mrs. Laurence, 200 Miller, Mrs. Wayne, 197

Miller, Sy (composer), 216 Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, 105 minstrel shows, 357 Mior, Frank (composer), 230 Missouri county choruses, 345 Moeller, Mrs. Herman, 139 Monroe County chorus (IN), 245, 333 fundraising, 128 Montgomery County chorus (IN), 33, 51-52, 59, 201202, 240, 311, 333 performance with Clay County (MO) chorus (1955), 302 Moore, Jim, 206 Moore, Kathy, 206 Moore, Mrs. Clair (Louise), 156, 186 Moore, Mrs. Herschel, 348 Moore, Prudy, 206 Morgan County chorus (IN), 52, 244 Morrow, Margaret, 43 "Mothersingers" program (MN), 339 motto, Indiana Home Demonstration Choruses, 78, 94, 114, 117, 234, 331 Al Stewart on, 1940, 82 Mountain Heritage Chorus (WV), 253

404

Moxley, Mrs. J. 3., 280 Moyer, Mrs. Walter (Laurabelle),63, 202, 230, 310-312 Munoz, Annette, 172 Munson, Karl F., 259 Muscatine (IA) Concert Band, 262 Muscatine County chorus (IA), 262-263, 267, 274 music in ninteenth-century society, 338 Music of the Allied Nations, 228 music-recognition tests, 355 Myers, Fred, 60 Myers, Marvin D., 40, 48, 52, 60, 63, 65-66, 76, 96-97, 144, 174, 204, 217, 257, 350 name changes, o e 's, 355-356 name quilt fundraiser, 119120 Nance, Mrs. Lester, 124 National Agricultural Extension Service, 142 National Association for Family and Community Education, 363 National Association for Family and Consumer Education, 325 National Association of County Agricultural Agents, 305

National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, 56 National Extension Homemakers Council, 62, 68, 293, 297, 320, 363 National Extension Music Training School, 322 National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC), 38, 120, 155, 251 Al Stewart as national chairman, 39 Stewart address (1947), 84 Stewart as chair of Music for State and County Fairs, 83, 104 Stewart as chair of Rural Music, 104 National Home Demonstration Council, 290, 313, 363. See also National Extension Homemakers Council. meeting (1958), 251 National Home Economics Conference, East Lansing, MI (Aug. 1951), 43 National Music Conference (Baltimore, MD, 1939), 119 New York World's Fair (1939), 119, 254 Newland, Mrs. R. M., 291 Newlin, Mrs. Melvin [Sylvia], 169-171

405

Newton County chorus (IN), 41. 189, 215 Newton, Lucille, 71 NFMC. See National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) Nixon, Mr. and Mrs. James, 172 Noble County chorus (IN), 41, 52, 123 North Carolina chorus, 253 North Central Music Supervisors National Conference children's state choir performance, 1931, 278 Northern Indiana Muck Crop Growers Association, 157, 188, 193 Norton County chorus (KS), 284 Norton, Mrs. Edna, 285 Norwegian Women Singers League of America, 273 O'Hara, Geoffrey (composer), 228 Ohio State Extension Chorus, 315 formation of, 314 Oklahoma Extension Cultural Arts program, 251 Orange Blossom Chorus (FL), 252

Osborn, Miss Blythe, 198 Ott, Mrs. Carl, 139 Ottumwa County chorus (IA), 274 Owen County chorus (IN), 43 Owen County chorus (KY), 291 Page County chorus (IA), 276 Pan-American Union, 121, 358 Parke County chorus (IN) , 59, 62, 136, 154, 167171, 240, 244, 334, 350, 357 founding and reorganization, 167 fundraising, 128 trip to Toronto and Niagara Falls (1952), 168 Parker, Jessie M., 277 Patch, Mrs. Nathaniel, 300 Patty Hunt Memorial Service Award, 73 Paugh, Mrs. Harold, 138 Pell, Mrs. Charles, 109 Pennsylvania Railroad, 123-124 Peoria County chorus (I ), 259 Pershing, Geneva, 71 Pershing, S.B., 120 Pershing, Sheldon, 32 Peters, Mrs. Clyde, 138

406

Pickett, Mrs. James (Charlotte), 192 Pima County Homemakers Chorus (AZ), 252 Piper, Sharon, 332 Pitcher, Gladys, 228 PMO. See Purdue Musical Organizations (PMO) 13M0 Notes, 38, 47, 49, 6162, 65, 90, 93, 110, 135, 343, 353 for encouragement and admonishment, 89 Stewart's Industrial Music program involvement, 105 Stewart's obituary (1991), 94 workshop comments, 99 Porter County Extension Club Chorus (IN) , 50, 154, 173, 175-177 founding, 172 membership dues, 174 mission statement, 353 trip to Washington D.C., 172 Porter, Cole (composer), 201, 226 Porter/Jasper County Choraliers, 75, 177 Porterettes, 175-176 Portland, OR, 50th Anniversary Rose Festival (1958), 146 Posey County Home Demonstration chorus

(IN), 41, 101, 202-203, 345 Program of Work for the Ohio Home Demonstration Council of 1949-50, 315 Pulaski County chorus (IN), 41, 333 Purdue Alumni Scholarship Foundation, 52 Purdue Choraleers, 136 Purdue Men's Glee Club, 38, 51-52, 63, 80-81, 86, 110, 359 California trip (1954), 135, 139 closing of Canadian National Exhibition (1962), 130 European tour, 1953, 131, 133 Grant-in Aid program, 51-52 Hawaii trip, 1969, 148 Portland, OR, trip (1958), 146-147 Sarasota, FL, trip, 142143, 145 State of Indiana Sesquicentennial (1966), 126 Purdue Musical Organizations (PMO), 38, 52, 65, 70-71, 74-76, 93 Al Stewart as Director of Music, 31, 81

407

Extension program no longer part of, 331 split of Melody Makers of Indiana from, 103 Stewart's legacy, 110 women in, 345 Purdue University, 31, 69, 322, 334, 342 Alumni Association, 92, 131 Department of Agricultural Extension Services, 33 Extension Homemakers Chorus, 73-75, 364. See also Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus Extension Service, 331 Purdue University School of Agriculture, 146 Purduettes, 66, 149 Putnam County chorus (IN), 43, 203, 205, 207, 334 Queen Elizabeth II, 134 Rademacher, Lisa, 327 Rainbow Choral Group of Montgomery County (KS), 283 Randolph County chorus (IN), 33 Rasbach, Oscar (composer), 230 Ratliff; Donnetta, 102 Read, Sue, 165 Reeves, Jackie, 103

Regnier, Earl H., 254, 256 Remington, Mrs. Jessie, 128 Renville, Laean, 136 repertoire Indiana State Chorus Festival, 225-236 individual Indiana county choruses, 237-241 level and quality of, 242245 Rhoades, Mrs., 128 Ricciardi, Julie, 73, 352 Riddick Piano Company, 141 Riley County chorus (KS), 283 Riley, James Whitcomb (Hoosier poet), 124, 222223 Ring, Blanche (vaudeville singer), 219 Ringwald, Roy (composer), 236 Robinett, Thelma, 353 Robinson, Mrs. H. C., 290 Robinson, Mrs. Lewis, 291, 293 Rock Island Railroad, 105 Rogers, Mrs. Bill, 200 Rohe, Mrs. Fred (Doris), 171 Roll, Geneva, 317, 319 Romberg, Sigmund (composer), 230 Roorbach, Olivia, 302, 306 Roosevelt, Eleanor, 118, 120, 265, 268, 342

408

Rose, David (conductor), 147 Ross, James Pheane (composer), 294, 300 Ruckman, Hazel, 277 rural school chorus (IA), 277-278 Rural Sociology Extension, U. of Illinois, 254 Rural Women's Day, 265 Rush County Extension Chorus (IN), 33, 154, 178, 180, 357 founding, 177 Saline County chorus (KS), 283 Salzarulo, Frank, 44-45, 48, 129, 141 Sappenfield, Elsa, 150 Sarig, Emmett, 323 Sauk County chorus (WI), 320, 322, 324 Schaber, Jane, 292-293 Schantz, Mrs. Frank, 268 Schliewe, Bertha, 321 Schricker, Henry F. (IN governor), 121, 222 Schulze, Mrs. Ruth, 187 Schwab, Ruth, 288 Scott County (IA), 264 Scott, Helen, 58 Sebring, Professor Paul, 199 Sedgwick County Women's Chorus (KS), 282 Semans, Mrs. Ila, 145

Sendmeyer, Mrs. Glendon, 192 Shafer, Mrs. Robert (Margaret), 58, 155-160, 162 Shake Rag Players, 321 Shannon, Eve, 59 Sharpless, Elizabeth, 98 Shattinger (music publisher, St. Louis, MO), 308 Shaul, Verrollton C., 258259 Shaw, Ida, 285 Shaw, Kirby (composer), 236 Shaw, Mrs. Stanley, 138 Shelby County chorus (IN), 50-51, 244 Shelton, Verna Glascock, 195 Sheridan County chorus (KS), 283 Sherman, Dorothy, 276 Sherman, Margaret, 265 Shilling, Melba, 94 Shoemaker, Mrs. J. W., 199 Shoultz, Mrs. James (Frieda) , 63, 101, 202203, 345 Sickafus, Ruth, 106 Siegmeister, Elie (composer), 228 Silha, Mrs. George, 263 Sills, Mrs. Joseph, 205 Simeone, Harry (composer), 236 Simonson, Don, 275

409

Simpson, David, 319 Sindlinger, Jr., Mrs. Frank (Maureen), 204 singing tournaments, 355 Sioux County Farm Bureau Women's Chorus (IA) , 264-265, 270, 275 Slinlcman, Zo, 289 Slone, Mrs. Donald, 203 Smallwood, Chloe, 58 Smith, D. Richard, 52 Smith, Marsha, 103 Smith, Mrs. Clyde C., 128, 140, 168 Smith, Peggy, 327 Smith, Richard, 65, 144 Smith-Lever Act (1914), 279, 290 Smoker, Jane, 174 Song-of-the-Month program (IN), 34-35, 55, 59, 212-220, 237, 268, 353, 357 selection of repertoire, 227 Southern California Music Fiesta (1941), 254 Spaeth, Sigmond, 218 Speaks, Oley (composer), 230 Spencer County chorus (IN), 41 Spencer County chorus (KY), 298 Spevacek, Linda (composer), 235

St. Joseph County chorus (IN), 92, 203 Stanhope, Mrs. Norman, 200 Stapleton, Hilda, 138 Starke County chorus (IN), 41, 333 Starkey, Lena, 138 state fairs, importance of music, 83 State of Indiana Sesquicentennial (1966), 125 Steel, Lucille, 317 Steely, Lela, 71 Steuben County (IN) workshop for club song leaders, 215 Stevens, David, 300 Stevenson, Adlai (presidential candidate), 44, 157, 167 Stewart, Al, 79, 119, 169, 174, 178, 180, 195, 251, 257, 309-310, 345-346, 348, 353, 357 accompanist's role, 87 awards and memberships, 81, 90 band camps, 108 beliefs, 343 Canadian National Exhibition (1952), 126-127 closing of Canadian National Exhibition (1962), 131

410

community-music leadership, 108 compiler of music, 229234 compositions, 221-222 conducting techniques, Stewart's views, 91-92 consultant for Homemakers of America Song Book, 211 contribution to Home Extension music program, 343-344 correspondence with KY Extension, 292-293 criticism of, 92-93,311— 312 director of Purdue Musical Organizations, 31,84 director of Tippecanoe County chorus, 89-90 disciplinarian, 94 early life, 80 European tour (1953), 133 final concert as Purdue Musical Organizations director, 94 4-H musical programs, 107-109 honorary degrees, 92 importance of music at fairs, 83 importance of music during wartime, 83

Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus workshops, 95-97 Industrial Music program involvement, 104 107 influence on music programs in other states, 250 influence outside Indiana, 358 instructions during California trip (1954), 137 legacy, 109-110 letter from Eleanor Roosevelt to (1944), 342 management style, 88 National Chairman of Industrial Music, 84 National Chairman of National Federation of Music Clubs, 39 National Chairman of Rural Music, 84 National Coordinator of Music and Director for Festival Music for the Freedom Fair and the U.S. Capitol Sesquicentennial, 85, 121 National Extension Music Training School, 322 National Federation of Music Clubs, 83,84

411

on motto (1940), 82 photographs of, 90-91 published articles on choral singing, 86 Purdue Men's Glee Club, 81 repertoire, 140, 144, 227 Republican National Convention (1956), 81 retirement of, 66 "Some Rules for Community Music Leadership," 82 Song-of-the-Month booklets (1965, 1966), 217 telegram from Dwight Eisenhower, 359 tone production, vocal (Stewart's views), 86 unannounced visits, 175 vision of leadership, 8182 Stewart, Albert P., See Stewart, Al. Stewart, Charlotte (née Friend), 71, 120 Stinson, Mrs., 164 Stoeckman, Mrs. Reuben, 320 Stoughton, Lois, 59 Strain, Carl, 203 Strauss, Richard (composer), 226 Stucky, Mrs. Ervin, 138 Studebaker, Mrs. Modena ("Dena"), 99, 101

Summer Choral Camp (KY), 296, 298 Summers, Mrs. Gene (Marie), 165, 343 Swaim, Mrs. Owen, 125 Swearingin, Mrs. Henry, 306 Sweet Adelines, 299 Swinney, Helen, 278 Symphoknolls (MN), 339 Talbot, Mrs., 282 Tama County chorus (IA), 264, 276 Tappan, Mrs. Christine, 313 Tchaikovsky, Peter I. (composer), 230 Temple, Mrs. Kenneth, 174 Theile, Ellen, 273 Third Street Music School Settlement (NYC), 338 Thomas, Irene, 162 Thompson, Mrs. Dwight, 164 Thompson, Oscar, 281 Tilton, Ruth, 190 Timmons, Dorothy, 138 trip to Washington, D.C. (1936), 33 Tippecanoe County Home Economics chorus (IN) , 32-33, 42-43, 46, 50-52, 80, 154, 180-187, 239, 254, 262, 264, 331, 333, 336, 346, 348, 363 Associated Women of the American Farm

412

Bureau Federation (Chicago, IL, 1937), 119 Baltimore/Washington, D.C./New York trip (1939), 119-121 founding, 180 Purdue University proximity, 180 recordings of Song of the Month, 213 Stewart as director, 8990 Washington, D.C., trip (1936), 117-118 workshop demonstration ensemble, 96 World War II, 346 Tippecanoe County Historical Society Museum, 227 Title IX, 68, 235 Town and Country Chorus Program (IL), 259 Tuscarawas County chorus (OH), 316-319 U.S. Department of Agriculture, 337 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 132 United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization conference, Rome (1953), 133

University of Illinois College of Agriculture, Extension Service in Agriculture and Home Economics, 258 University of Indianapolis, 335 University of Kentucky, 264, 300 choral directors workshop (1964), 294 University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, 290 U.S. Capitol Sesquicentennial (1950), 85, 121-125, 257, 358 Van de Wall, Dr. William, 264 Van Slyke, James K., 254256 Vanderburgh County chorus (IN), 42, 50, 52, 100, 205-206, 333 Vandiver, Wilma, 292-293 Vermillion County chorus (IN), 50, 52, 61, 244 Vermillion County chorus (IL), 257-259 Vigo County chorus (IN) , 41, 75, 333, 349 Vincennes Community Chorus, 199 Virginia chorus, 253

413

Wabash County chorus (IN) , 52, 244 Wagoner, Trella, 155 Wallace, Mrs. Eldo (Geraldine), 189 Waring, Fred (composer), 256 Warren County chorus (IN), 52, 57, 189 Warstler, Mrs. Cleo, 138 Wartburg College, 325 wartime, importance of music in, 83 Washington County chorus (IN), 41,215 Washington County chorus (KS), 283-289 joint concert with Clay County chorus (MO), 1959, 304 Washington County Home Demonstration Chorus (OK), 251, 304 Watkins, Martha, 59 Waushara County chorus (WI), 322 Wayne County (IN) chorus, 41 WBAA radio station (Purdue U.), 31-32, 58, 81, 183 Webber, Andrew Lloyd (composer), 275 Webster County chorus (IA), 265, 273, 276 Weddle, Stella Bowlin, 279

Wells County chorus (IN), 244, 333-334 Wesche, Evelyn, 285 West Lafayette High School (IN), 80 West Virginia, band camps, 108 Western District Homemaker Chorus Festival (WI), 1963, 322323 Westinghouse LeTourneau Chorus, 105 WFBM radio station (Indianapolis), 181 WFBM-TV station (Indianapolis), 167 White, Mrs. Donald, 203 Whitley County chorus (IN), 51 WHO radio station (IA), 278 Wien, Mrs. Elmer, 180 Will County chorus (IL), 257-259 WILL radio station (IL), 258 William Jewel College (Liberty, MO), 287, 302, 304 Williams, Elizabeth, 276 Williams, Mary Dean, 46, 144, 188, 351 Williams, Ronald R., 123, 129, 222, 223 Williamson, Mrs. Kenneth, 173

414

Willson, Meredith (composer/playwright), 275, 277 Wilson County chorus (KS), 283 Wilson, Maxine, 306 Wilson, Mrs. Grace, 291 Wimmer, Mrs. Walter H., 134, 168 Winneshiek County Farm Bureau Women's Chorus (IA), 273, 275, 176 Wisconsin Extension, 350 music, 348 Wisconsin Extension Homemakers Council, 323 state conference (1988), 324 state chorus, 320, 323325, 344 State Home Demonstration Council meeting, Green Lake, WI (1953), 320 Wisconsin Friendship Chorus. See Friendship Chorus (WI) Witteman, Carrie, 348 WLS radio station (IL), 258 WOC radio station (IA), 278 WOI radio station (Ames, IA), 271 Wolcott, Mrs. Helen B., 290 Wolfe, Rebecca, 168

Women's Meeting of the Indiana Farm Bureau, 57 women's name changes, 355-356 Woodman, Huntington R. (composer), 230 workshops, Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus. See Indiana Home Demonstration Chorus workshops World's Fair (1939), 264 Worth County chorus (IA), 250, 264, 273, 276 Wright, Eileen, 165 WTHI television station (Terre Haute, IN), 167 Wurtz, Bill, 287 Yarian, Mrs. Alice, 194 Young, Blanche, 34 Zanzig, Augustus D., 210

Linda Pohly Dr. Linda Pohly received her Ph.D. from the Ohio State University.

Dr. Pohly is professor of Music History and

Coordinator of the Graduate Programs in Music at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.