Entertainment 1860-1920

If the day's labors didn't exhaust members of a farm family, there were many forms of entertainment both at home and in town to appeal to young and old alike. At home, a parent might read aloud from the latest dime novel; someone might entertain with music, a puppet show; or a new set of stereo cards might prompt families to get a 3D view of exotic places or humorous tableaus--scenes of a grown up sliding down a stairway handrail, for instance, or of a maid balancing an apple on her upturned nose behind elegant diners. But families often traveled to neighboring farms for barn dances, sometimes with a full band of musicians in attendance, often with a single fiddler, even in some communities with only vocal accompaniment provided by singing onlookers, and no instruments at all. Many other forms of entertainment drew farm families to town. Circuses were wildly popular, as were musical performances in church socials. Visiting lecturers' topics varied widely from travel logs with magic lantern slides to serious issues of the day or comedy and dramatic readings, all attracting large audiences from miles around. Equally popular was live theater with performances ranging from Shakespeare, to opera, to vaudeville. Some examples of those are abolitionist and advocate for Native Americans Wendell Phillips, or noted newspaper editor, reformer and politician Horace Greeley and activist and suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Some stage performances include Merchant of Venice and a vaudeville show, "The Ladies' Battle."