RoycroftCampusCorporation

The Fra on TV

I must confess, I was channel surfing last week and came upon an early 1960s TV show, “Hazel.” I had never seen it when I was a kid, but for whatever reason, I stayed tuned in for the half hour comedy. Hazel was a maid in an upper middle class household and in this episode, she urgently needed to deliver a message to someone for her boss. As she was getting ready to leave, she blurted out, “I could be a message to Garcia!” 

 

Well, you could’ve knocked me over with a feather. I could hardly believe I heard what I heard. I am guessing, but perhaps the movie, “A Message to Garcia” - a 1936 film with Barbara Stanwyck as a Cuban rebel and Lt. Rowan’s love interest (talk about artistic license!) - must have been shown on TV at the time, so that the "message" would have been more widely known to the viewing audience. But the Hazel episode was from Jan. 30, 1964, so the more likely scenario may simply have been a writer tossing in an obscure literary repference. 

 

There’s more. A Roycroft fan, volunteer, friend and periodic contributor to my blogging material told me of her “tele-Fra” encounter: last year she was watching the contemporary show, “Criminal Minds.” The writers of that show use quotations that suit the plotline, and she - similarly surprised as I was with Hazel - saw an Elbert Hubbard quote appear on the screen for an episode. Unfortunately, shocked as she was, she didn’t catch which quote they had used. 

 

Beware, you just never know where the Fra will pop up next. . .

 

- Sue

 

WHO AM I?

There once was a man who was obsessed with Abraham Lincoln and wrote more books about him, than anybody in the world today.  Yet, he also took the time to write for children.  One of the more popular kiddie books was, "More Rootabaga Stories".  He lived from 1878 - 1967.  His given name was Charles, but he went by a shorter first name also starting with the letter "C".

After leaving college, he wrote and had printed three pamplets, In Reckless Ecstacy (1904), Incidentals (1907), and The Plaint of a Rose (1908).  The booklets contained short essays, aphorisms, and poems after the fashion of his favorite writers of that time:  Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Rudyard Kipling, Robert Browning and Elbert Hubbard. 

He often lectured at The Chautauqua Institute, meeting Hubbard there.  I feel that there are but a few people in any society who can achieve greatness.  If you get a chance, pick up a biography about this poet, writer, journalist, lecturer and socialist.  Enjoy Learning  about all his life, loves, and achievements.   You won't be disappointed.  Who am I?

                                                                         
Claudia

Epigrams heard at Chautauqua

I made a pilgrimage to Chautauqua Institution this summer and found it as stimulating as Elbert Hubbard did in his day. 

At the Unitarian Universalist sermon discussion on Monday morning two epigrams were quoted - unfortunately I don’t know their attributions. Elbert would have liked these:

Change is inevitable. Progress is optional.

It is not remarkable that we shoot ourselves in the foot. What is remarkable is how quickly we reload. 

- Sue

The Perfect Gift

Wondering what to give to the person on your list who has everything?

Looking for something more meaningful this year?

Well, why not give a Membership this Christmas? The Roycroft Campus Corporation offers memberships that last all year round! Your Membership gift would include:

Complimentary subscription to RCC’s periodic publication-
The Fra

Advance invitations to events, class sessions and special opportunities

10% discount one-time only visit at the Copper Shop Gallery

One pass for a tour of the Roycroft Campus

RCC membership card

The gratification of knowing that you support the restoration of this National Historic Landmark Campus

Plus, higher levels of Membership entitle you to discounts, additional tours and events! Go to our website and click "join" for a detailed list of membership levels and benefits.

To join online go to our website or print this form. You can also call 716-655-0261 to give a Membership. Your holiday gift list can be complete and you helped support a great cause!

-Amanda

Want something to Twitter about? The Roycroft Campus Corporation is on Facebook!

I know if you are reading this blog, the computer has become a major part of your day. I follow dozens of blogs and posts on my Google Reader. It's part of my daily inspiration.

 

If you love being connected to inspiration, history and what's happening, join us on Facebook. You can become a fan of the Roycroft Campus Corporation and be in the know. You can even join us on Twitter and stay up to date on everything "Roycroftie" as it happens.

There are always new ways to become involved and stay aware, this is the newest. Come join in the community at the Roycroft Campus Corporation. Connecting like minded individuals- Elbert would have loved it!

-Amanda

Blogs - You can get something for nothing.

We recently found out that our friends at the Darwin Martin House (a Frank Lloyd Wright house open to the public), also have a blog.

Their blog, The Weekly Wright-up, keeps you up-to-date with insights, observations and "Wright thinking" from the Curator's corner of the Martin House Restoration Corporation.  Welcome to the blogsphere.

Know what is great about blogs? They are free to subscribe to. In these tough economic times, FREE is good!

If you are interested in getting the Roycroft blog regularly, check out the top right column. You can enter your e-mail to get blog posts sent to you (powered by Feedblitz) . Easy and Free!

Julie

Becoming a Master of Your Environment

     The other night I was leaving the Roycroft Inn and two women on the wait staff were breaking down the seating area after a large party. Several large, wooden folding screens needed to be moved and they were struggling a bit to fold them up while a male supervisor looked on. I could hear him say, “I’ll let you do it so you will learn how to do it yourselves.” 

     That comment sounded a bit like Elbert Hubbard’s philosophy of getting an education by doing. As related by Felix Shay, “Those dear aristocratic girls, North and South, East and West, who boast they have “never done a tap of work in their lives”- who don’t even know “how to boil a potato” - were not aristocratic to him” (to Hubbard). “They were not even civilized. An educated person is one who is Master of his Environment.”

     The wait staff were becoming masters of their environment. But I was thinking as I left the Inn, yes, now those women know how to do it,  they won’t need the supervisor any more!

- Sue

On Horseback Again

Elbert Hubbard loved his horses and rode daily for exercise and enjoyment. For those persons sharing Hubbard’s (and obviously my) equine interest, I would like to remind you that this week and next in neighboring Cattaraugus County there is a 180 mile Wagon Train & Stage Coach Run. It is an educational living history commemoration of the county’s bicentennial and a  celebration of the role horses have played in our history.

The Wagon Train started off in Ellicottville on Saturday, August 9^th, and  has been traveling through the county’s communities along their 2 week tour using normal roads and moving at a speed of about 3 miles an hour. The public is welcome to come see the Wagon Train riders in their overnight campsites where they will be having dinner over the campfire. The train expects to reach their camp grounds each day around 3-4pm.

Tonight, August 12th, they will be in Gowanda. This coming weekend on Friday August 15th they will be in Delevan. On Saturday around noon you can have lunch with them at the grounds of The Pines in Machias or visit them at their Saturday night campground in Franklinville. The final stop will be in Little Valley on Saturday August 22nd. Go to www.enchantedmountains.com for downloadable PDFs of the map and brochure schedule. Click on the map photos here to enlarge them for a quick look at where they are headed.

Happy Trails To You,

- Sue

Women of the Roycroft

Last Thursday evening (May 22), I had a lovely evening absorbed in great stories about Roycroft women past and present. Jill Peters, a doctoral candidate, presented "The Untold Story of the Roycroft Women" at the Roycroft Inn.  The women she highlighted ranged from Alice Hubbard and Eleanor Douglass to Kitty Turgeon and the Roycroft Campus Corporation's Executive Director, Christine Peters.

Here is a photo from that night. It was great to see a huge turn out for this presentation. Stay tuned for information on more upcoming lectures. I'll be sharing some interesting facts I learned in upcoming blog posts also.

If you are interested in learning more about the Roycroft women, men and the Roycroft products they made, come to the Copper Shop, 31 Grove Street, East Aurora, NY.  We have numerous unique handcrafted items created by talented women artistians.  The large display of reading materials has many informative books that include stories about Roycroft women of the past.

Julie

Elbert Hubbard Would Be Riding in Front to Celebrate Our Equine History

      Elbert Hubbard loved his horses and rode daily for both exercise and enjoyment. Horses were important to everyone as a source of transportation and as valuable farm animals for plowing fields, harvesting and bringing food to market. East Aurora also had a well established “horsey” reputation as a center for harness racing.

      For those persons sharing Hubbard’s and East Aurora’s equine interest, this summer in neighboring Cattaraugus County there will be a 180 mile Wagon Train & Stage Coach Run. It is an educational living history commemoration of the county’s bicentennial and a  celebration of the role horses have played in our history.

      Beginning in Ellicottville on August 9^th, the wagon train - consisting of horses, oxen, mules and ponies pulling a variety of wagons including an authentic chuck wagon and sheepherders wagon -  will travel through the county’s communities along their 2 week tour using normal roads and traveling at a speed of about 3 miles an hour. The final stop is in Little Valley on August 22^nd. Overnight stops are scheduled for the towns of Cattauraugus, Randolph, Otto, West Valley, Delevan, Franklinville, Hinsdale, Portville, Allegany, Salamanca and Little Valley.

      The Equine Advisory Committee is encouraging public participation at a cost of $10.00 per day per wagon or rider. Children between the ages of 8 and 18 can enter a drawing that will select five winners to spend and day and night on the Wagon Train with their parent or guardian, helping to feed the horses and dining by the campfire. At the end of each day of travel, when the Wagon Train is settled into their campground there will be educational demonstrations, music, and story-telling for the public to view as well.

      For information to volunteer or travel with the Wagon Train, Call Dolly Little at 716-938-6313 or email jimdolly@webtv.net.

     For more information on the youth contest drawing and to enter to travel with the Wagon Train call Leah Leising at 716-532-3357or email lleising@netsync.net.

Happy Trails To You,

- Sue