And with each season hopes are high that the goals set by Chautauqua to reach out and influence and shape lives through lectures, workshops and entertainment will be reached.

Week One at Chautauqua Institution is “Roger Rosenblatt and more friends. ” The following you tube goes into more detail about the theme and morning lectures.

The rest of the Chautauqua Institutions weekly themes are listed below:

Week 2 – July 4-10, 2010
The Ethics of Leadership

Week 3 – July 11-17, 2010
From Asia to the Middle East: Energy, Capital, and Conflict

Week 4 – July 18-24, 2010
Nuclear Power & Nuclear Weapons: The Right to Have & to Hold

Week 5 – July 25-31, 2010
Picture This: Photography

Week 6 – August 1-7, 2010
Excellence in Public Education

Week 7 – August 8-14, 2010
Sacred Spaces

Week 8 – August 15-21, 2010
Powering the Future

Week 9 – August 22-28, 2010
The Supreme Court

Often after a lecture you will hear people sitting on the porches in the small homes that line the narrow and winding street debating the topics that were discussed that day and previous days.

Vintage postcard of Palestine Park

Towards the Miller Tower in Miller Park you will find a large plaque with information on the park. This will aid you in understanding the park if a tour is not in progress.

Palestine Park is laid out along the southwestern side of Chautauqua Lake, near Miller Tower. Chautauqua Lake portrays the Mediterranean Sea. This park creates a ‘mirror-image’ of the actual land, which is on the east coast of the Mediterranean.

A large mound of stones represents Mount Hermon and an artificial stream represents the Jordan River.

There are small hills that represent biblical landmarks such as Mount Tabor and the Mount of Olives. Markers have been placed that represent sites of biblical significance which include Bethsaida, Jerusalem, Jacob’s Well and Jericho to name a few.

The park was one of Chautauqua’s first landmarks.

In 1874, Chautauqua founder Rev. John Heyl Vincent gave his friend Dr. W. W. Wythe the task of laying out Palestine Park as a visual aid for teaching Biblical history and geography to Sunday school teachers, which were some of Chautauqua’s first visitors.

The present Palestine Park is 350 feet long with a scale of 1.75 feet to the mile. Over Chautauqua’s history the park has been redone numerous times but has stayed true to scale. The park has become a featured area of the lakefront.

Educational guided tours are offered through the park each Sunday and Monday at 7 p.m. during Chautauqua’s nine-week summer season. Tours can be canceled for weather so check ahead.

A postcard is like capturing a moment in time that will never be exactly the same again. An added plus is if the postcard was mailed with a message and postmark. Unfortunately this card was just used as a memento.

This postcard is of the gate entrance and taken by C.S. Thomas from Warren, P.A. For those not familiar with the area Warren is about 40 minutes south of Chautauqua, N.Y.

This postcard is from the 1950’s. The vintage cars help pinpoint the time. There are gardens in the front of the building along with the traditional hanging baskets that are on almost every porch and balcony on the homes located on the Chautauqua grounds.

The stoplight, crossing lights, crosswalks and road signs are also missing.

There is also a postcard drawn by artist Jane Nelson of the gated entrance in the Vintage postcard post from Feb. 12, 2009.

The gated entrance sets a trademark for this gated community or learning, education and religion. Also during the season cars are not permitted on grounds and park across the street. The reason for this is the narrow streets lack of parking.

The last postcards I found were of images drawn by Jane E. Nelson. Nelson is known for her beautiful renditions of building and scenes on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution.

This postcard by Nelson is of the main gate of the Chautauqua Institution. For those of you not familiar with the Chautauqua Institution, it is a gated community for cultural learning located in Chautauqua County NY. The Institution provides a nine week summer schedule of learning and cultural activities for all ages.

Kellogg Hall has a long and interesting history at the Chautauqua Institution. The building originally sat a few blocks from the location it occupies today.

It was used for many years for Special Studies offices and classes. Currently it houses the Chautauquan Daily Newspaper and offices while it waits for renovation for its next use.

Jane E. Nelson has produced  a large selection of postcards of homes and scenery of the Chautauqua  grounds. She  had has  many drawing in books and currently has a 2010 Chautauqua Institution calendar at the Chautauqua Bookstore for sale.

I recently picked up a 1932 newspaper from Sheffield Pa., a small town north of Chautauqua County. I also picked up several issues of the Chautauquan Daily, the summer newspaper for the Chautauqua Institution, located in Chautauqua NY.

According to the smaller heading on the Chautauquan Daily this was the 82nd year of the paper. The newspaper consisted of eight pages and the office staff had seven employees. The price was ten cents. Virgil Freed was the editor and Alfreda Locke Irwin was a member of the newspaper at this time. As a matter of fact, it was her first year at the Chautauquan Daily.

Irwin became assistant editor in 1959, and editor in 1966. She retired after 15years from the position in 1981. As editor of the Daily, she introduced daily new photos, coverage of the total program, articles by guest columnists, the question-and-answer format used for the morning lecture and the intern/apprentice system.

Reading the daily news from the Chautauquan Daily reflected change in the amount of activities offered but the daily schedule had the morning lecture and an afternoon lecture. The evening entertainment was at 8:30 pm at the Amphitheater.

One August 21 there were three art shows on the grounds and opera and theater were a strong part of the summer schedule.

The CLSC, Woman’s’ Club and Garden Club had meetings that day and the topics were much like the topics that are currently discussed.

It was interesting to see the changes in shops and restaurants on the grounds. Olga’s Tea shop was located behind the post office. The Eau-Clair Dining Room was located on Terrace. Howell’s gift shop at the corner of Simpson and Miller was proclaimed to be the oldest gift shop location at Chautauqua. These three businesses are no longer operating.

The Athenaeum served dinner at 6:30 and the cost was $3. B.C. Gifford was manager at this time. The Athenaeum is still operating and has a full schedule of activities from meeting to art shows. The hotel still offers the American plan.

The Gadfly111 offered 3 daily trips that left from the bell tower. The Gadfly111 is no longer traveling the Chautauqua Lake but the Simmer wind and Chautauqua Belle offer trips on the lake.

The variety of classes offered in continuing education was smaller but music and the arts appeared to be popular courses.

There’s a saying at the Chautauqua Institution that Chautauqua does not like change but from reading the paper, there are distinct differences in the summer schedule, most due to growth. But the underlying feel and purpose of the Institution appears to be the same.

Newspapers offer a glimpse into the past. And reading the August 21 edition of the Daily was insightful.

The weekend’s weather was perfect for September in Chautauqua County. It made walking around the grounds while enjoying the music a perfect experience in relaxation and entertainment.

I didn’t find any you tubes of the performers that participated at the weekend event but what really struck me this weekend is how timeless jazz is and whether you like piano, trumpet or the sax, there is a style of Jazz that you will enjoy.

As the weekend wrapped up, I gathered my new collection of CD’s and said my goodbyes to my friends, many of which I will not see until next year and the Jazz weekend.

photo credit: tö

The event was planned to meet in Westfield NY, about 10 miles away from Chautauqua. The plans for the hotel fell through and at the last moment there was a wild scramble for rooms for a large gathering of Studebaker enthusiasts. As luck would have it, and being off-season, rooms were available for the group the stay on the Chautauqua grounds. Rooms were booked at the Englewood, Mardell Manor, The Miller, Rose Cottage and Cambridge Inn.

Chautauqua had no idea the quiet winding streets would soon be filled with vintage Studebakers. Plans were also made to visit the more well know Studebaker house, now known as the United Missionary House. The event was a success and the club has returned each year. The group has met and stayed at the Carey Cottage Inn for the last three years. This year’s event will take place this Labor Day weekend, Sept. 4 – 6.

And one of the bigger Chautauqua Studebaker weekends took place the year, founder of the Kinzua Region Studebaker Club, was married on the grounds. The wedding took place at Kennedy Park, near the Spencer Hotel. More than 50 Studebakers surrounded the Park and the bride arrived in a horse drawn carriage.

The bride was quite late and rumors were circulating she may have taken off but the carriage finally arrived. A safe route had to be taken, as the brakes to the carriage were not working. And the bride and groom still had a long downhill trip to the reception, which was taking place at the lakeside pavilion.

United Missionary House

Clement Studebaker, founder of the Studebaker Corporation, built the United Missionary house, located on the lakefront of Chautauqua Lake and on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution. Studebaker was known first for their wagons and later for the automobiles, which were produced until 1965.

Clement Studebaker as a wedding gift for his daughter also built the house located directly behind the United Missionary house.

John Hyle Vincent, Lewis Miller and Clement Studebaker were also responsible for the Atheneum Hotel, working with the design and raising funds for a hotel that would be one of the first hotels in the United States to have electricity.

Lewis Miller’s Daughter married Thomas Edison so many of the experiments in electricity were performed at the hotel and down in Miller Park

Atheneum Hotel

photo credit: Sue Manus

Studebaker brought in his architect that designed the Tally Ho, his home in South bend Indiana, to design the home on the Chautauqua Grounds. This would be their summer home. For those of you who have visited the Tally Ho, the similar design and architecture of both buildings is apparent.

The first mention of the Studebakers at Chautauqua was a small clip in the newspaper announcing the arrival of Anne Studebaker, her children and their small pony. Clement later went on to be interim president after the death of the founder, Lewis Miller. Clement soon took ill and passed away in 1901.

During the time when the Studebakers visited Chautauqua they lived in five to six different homes, with the United Missionary house being the most well known. It is still a mystery as to why the Studebakers stopped visiting Chautauqua and sold the houses that they built. It may have something to do with the closing of the Studebaker Company but the reason is still unknown.

If you are in the area of the Chautauqua Institution on Labor Day weekend, stop by and enjoy the vintage cars.

photo credit: Sue Manus

It seems only fitting that in today’s society and the economy being in turmoil that the topic “History of Liberty” will be the focus of this weeks lectures. With changes in US government and the Internet and the speed of information, there is a change in how people see liberty and democracy.

This weeks lectures will examine the vision of nations founders and the progress in reaching that vision. Speakers will discuss new understandings of liberty and democracy.

As of Saturday August 22 the line up of speakers were:

Monday, Hunter Rawlings
Tuesday, Gordon wood
Wednesday, Jim Lehrer
Thursday, Anthony Kennedy
Friday, Ambassador William H. Luers

I must admit Jim Lehrer (executive editor and anchor of “The News Hour With Jim Lehrer”) has a rich past in programs that I have seen over the years. He has been a moderator for several nationally televised presidential elections. I also remember him from the 1973 live coverage of the Senate Watergate hearings broadcast (aired on PBS) and later in the coverage of Richard Nixon. These broadcasts stayed with me and had an impression on my opinion of news and coverage of stories.

As the season ends at the Chautauqua Institution the information shared through lectures, entertainment and classes will enrich those people that attended.

photo credit: jerochan1

Its small diners,  bread and breakfast accomodations and being located close to Lake Erie and Chautauqua lake help form a recreational area that will appeal to all.

And of course there is the Chautauqua Institution, which offers a rich history and classes in many artistic areas. The lectures they offer daily also fill out a schedule that will appeal to all ages.

About Chautauqua, a book written about Chautauqua show an insight into the area of Chautauqua, its history through the ice age, American Indian and later when it was developed into a town and as a” Chautauqua Assembly.”

The following link should take you to a PDF form of the About Chautauqua Book written in the late 1800′s.

photo credit: rick020200

Tucked below trees, it’s easy to miss at first. But the importance of a labyrinth, both at Chautauqua and in history cannot be overlooked or missed.
photo credit: svanes

What is a labyrinth?

A labyrinth is an ancient symbol dating back over 3000 years. The symbol relates to wholeness and combines the image of a circle and a spiral into what looks like a wandering path. This path represents a journey to our center, who we are, and will return us back into the world in which we live.

It is important to realize that everyone has a path in life. We will take twists and turns along our journey often not knowing what lies around the next bend but once we start there is only one way to go, forward.

Labyrinths are used worldwide. They can be found in medical centers, parks, backyards, retreat centers, prisons, sacred sites and churches. One of the more well labyrinths is the Chartres labyrinth, which is inlaid at the cathedral in Chartres, France. It is made out of paving stones and dates back to around 1200.
photo credit: bunnygoth

The Chautauqua Institution Labyrinth was designed by Lisa Moriarty and is the Circle of Peace design. Located under trees at the north end of Turner Community Center makes it accessible and available to the community and public. The labyrinth can be used year long, unless hidden with snow in the winter. And with the winters that Chautauqua sometimes has, the labyrinth can be deeply buried.

The current labyrinth was constructed in 2005 through the combined efforts of several Chautauqua labyrinth supporters. Special Studies classes, Chautauquans and the general public use it. Labyrinths are used as a way to relax, to renew one’s spirit, as a walking path or a place to pray.

Debra Dinnocenzo, the Labyrinth Coordinator, offers an orientation to the labyrinth at 7 p.m. every Tuesday during the season. She feels that it is important that people realize a labyrinth is not a maze. There are no dead ends or tricks to it. It is one path that leads to a center. You use the same path to return, making it unicursal; the path in is also the path out. It is a “walking meditation” that affects each person differently.

Dinnocenzo presents a history of labyrinths at the orientation. She explains the three stages to the walk: “releasing” on the way in, “receiving” in the center and “returning” or taking back out what you received from the experience. “There is no wrong way to use the labyrinth, Dinnocenzo said.

After the talk, questions can be asked and people will then walk the labyrinth. Depending on the day there may be four people in attendance or 20.

Dinnocenzo said participating in the labyrinth in a group is a very different experience. You know what you are feeling but you also see other people in various stages of the walk. You are all walking towards one point but because of the way the path is laid out you often look like you are headed in opposite directions. This is much like life, we walk the same paths but each person’s experiences are totally unique.

Dinnocenzo helped chose the location for the labyrinth by Turner Community Center when it was moved from Miller Park, which is located on the Chautauqua Institution grounds. They wanted it under the trees for shade but the location of the trees didn’t seem to quite work.

They started working on finding the center of the labyrinth and as they worked out from the center, a tree fell exactly where they felt the alter should be. The alter is a term used for the open area just inside the entrance.

The entrance and alter were emphasized by the tree. It became a unique part of the Chautauqua labyrinth.
photo credit: ~C4Chaos

Dinnocenzo became interested in labyrinths when she took a special studies class 6 years ago from Harriette Royer called Sacred Circles. She has since walked Labyrinths all over the United States.