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Teach PA History
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The Most American Thing in America: The Chautauqua
Extensions

Extensions 1. Using the internet, students can research other Pennsylvania towns that may have sponsored the Chautauqua. These towns could be added to the county map of Pennsylvania. Students could also compare/contrast the Pennsylvania Chautauqua of Mount Gretna with other towns. (For example, Honesdale; Mountain Grove Assembly in Berwick, Pennsylvania.) 2. Students can perform their Populist/Progressive Chautauqua for the school audience and/or community. Students could also invite a keynote speaker who might compare reforms and politics today with those of the Populist/Progressive era. 3. Students could discuss and/or plan what a modern-day Chautauqua might look like: What would be important issues? Music? Art? Literature? Religion? Entertainment? Science? Nature Walks? Which celebrities and/or individuals would be invited and why? Where could the event be held and why?

Field Trips

Mount Gretna Art Show Carnegie Avenue and Route 117 Mount Gretna, PA 17064 (717) 964-3270
This art show brings to life the grounds of this great Pennsylvania Chautauqua. While looking at a variety of art vendors, students can also stroll the area and imagine the old Chautauqua with its residence porches, ice cream shop (Jigger Shop), and tree-shaded lanes.

The Jimmy Stewart Museum 835 Philadelphia St Indiana, PA 15701 (724) 349-6112
Jimmy Stewart is known for his service in World War II and the impact he made on film audiences in his various roles displaying character and virtue. In his early years, however, Stewart took a job with his friend, Bill Neff, as an assistant magician for the Pennsylvania Chautauqua circuit. Learn more about the legacy of this dynamic and talent individual.

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