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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm SteveEmber.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Today we take you to Glen Echo Park nearWashington, D.C.

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VOICE ONE:

Glen Echo Park has less than four hectares of land but muchhistory. In fact, more than one-hundred years ago, some people camehere to learn about history. Others came to learn about the stars inthe sky.

People also came to paint and make crafts, to sing and dance, andto hear music. Some came just to sit and think in the beauty of theland by the Potomac River.

Over the years, a lot changed. But a lot also changed back.

VOICE TWO:

Visitors keep Glen Echo a busy place. Just this month, there werethousands of people at a folk festival at the park.

There are classes in hundreds of subjects. There are shows forchildren at the Adventure Theatre and the Puppet Company. Glen EchoPark is also home to the only merry-go-round owned by the UnitedStates government.

Glen EchoHome of Clara Barton

One of the most historic places tovisit is the home of Clara Barton. She established the American RedCross in eighteen-eighty-one. Clara Barton lived the last fifteenyears of her life in a big house at Glen Echo.

VOICE ONE:

Glen Echo was an education center when it opened ineighteen-ninety-one. It was part of the Chautauqua movement startedby two men. Lewis Miller was a businessman in Ohio. John Vincent wasa Protestant clergyman.

They set out to help common people become more educated. Theyalso wanted to give them a chance to enjoy nature the way thatwealthier Americans could. Their work was part of a larger movementat that time toward religious faith among Americans.

The Chautauqua movement began as a summer education program. Itstarted in New York State in eighteen-seventy-four at a camp alongChautauqua Lake. Religious Sunday school teachers were the first toattend. But the idea spread.

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Two brothers in Maryland helped bring the movement to theirstate. They gave thirty-two hectares of land to an organizationcalled the National Chautauqua of Glen Echo. Edwin and EdwardBaltzley wanted to help people learn what they needed to know to actas members of society.

A local history published at glenecho.org notes that theBaltzleys had other ideas for their land at first. The brothershoped that people would build stone castles. They imagined it likeEurope. But there was talk of a malaria danger. So buyers lostinterest.

VOICE ONE:

Many people attended the first season of the Glen EchoChautauqua. They studied different subjects, from rocks to foreignlanguages to something called "The Care and Development of PhysicalPowers."

One of the directors of the program was John Wesley Powell. Hehad explored the Colorado River and the American West.

But then a teacher at the park developed a lung infection. Hedied of pneumonia. Somehow a story spread around Washington that hedied of malaria. Malaria is spread by mosquito bites. People becameafraid to go to the park.

The official Chautauqua closed in the summer ofeighteen-ninety-two, a year after it opened.

For the next five years, traveling shows entertained at the park.Then the Baltzley brothers let a small amusement park operate onpart of the land.

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In nineteen-eleven the Washington Railway and Electric Companybought the land. The new owners continued to offer shows and ridesat the park. The company had started an electric railway system inWashington. Many local citizens liked riding the trolley, especiallyin the summer. Traveling in the open air at sixteen kilometers anhour cooled people in the Washington heat. And Glen Echo served asan interesting stop.

By nineteen-thirty-one, the park had a place where people couldpay to dance. Two years later, there was a room with a huge dancefloor: the Spanish Ballroom. People still dance there.

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VOICE ONE:

Before long, Glen Echo Park added other activities. There was aroller coaster ride. And the Crystal Pool could hold up tothree-thousand swimmers.

In nineteen-fifty-five, the park was sold to a new owner. Peoplekept coming.

But not everyone could enjoy the Glen Echo Amusement Park.African Americans were not welcome. In the summer of nineteen-sixty,the civil rights movement in America was gaining strength. Blacksand whites protested outside the park. The demonstrators won. Thenext year, the park accepted black people.

Bigger changes were also taking place, though. Theme parks wereopening around the United States. Families could now go to placeslike Disneyland in California. The little park near the PotomacRiver in Maryland no longer seemed so exciting.

There was even a riot. It began on a day when the Glen EchoAmusement Park closed early. Young people from Washington could notget buses home. They became violent. This happened innineteen-sixty-six.

Two years later, the park closed permanently. Many rides weresold or destroyed. The much-loved heart of the park was amerry-go-round. This carousel too was sold.

Glen EchoPark Carousel

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen-seventy the federal government bought the Glen Echoland. The government wanted to limit development near the PotomacRiver. People who lived nearby wanted to keep the carousel on theproperty. In just four weeks they raised enough money to buy it backfrom its new owner. They also raised money for the Wurlitzer organthat gave the carousel its music.

Then they gave the carousel and the organ to the National ParkService, under an agreement to keep them in the park for public use.In the nineteen-eighties, an artist began work to return themerry-go-round to its former condition. Carousel riders and otherpeople gave money for the repairs. Full restoration of the DentzelCarousel was completed about a year ago.

VOICE ONE:

The animals are beautifully carved. There are forty horses, alongwith four rabbits and four ostriches. Riders also have the choice ofa giraffe, a deer, a lion and a tiger. And there two circus chariotsthat people can ride in. One-thousand lights shine from thecarousel. It looks very inviting, and not just to children.

Now, suppose we take a ride. As we go around, we hear the musicof the Wurlitzer. Only ten carousel organs like this one are knownto exist in the world. Some of the instruments we hear are unusual,like the glockenspiel and flageolet.

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VOICE TWO:

Another popular part of Glen Echo is the Adventure Theatre. InJuly and August, the theater will perform "The Adventures ofPaddington Bear." There are also acting classes. The teachers saythat here, "stories become plays and people become actors."

But not all the actors at Glen Echo are people. Over at thePuppet Company Playhouse, through July eighteenth, is "The Wizard ofOz." Recently the Puppet Company began performing its plays in a newtheater. Puppeteers Christopher Piper, MayField Piper and AllanStevens present fairy tales and other children's stories. Thepuppets are operated by hand or by strings. There is even alife-size lion.

The puppeteers create the puppets, write the words of thestories, and make costumes. They do almost everything themselves.Their non-profit company has been entertaining children at Glen EchoPark for more than twenty years.

Children sit on the floor and watch. Parents can sit on benches.Some people who came as children now bring their own children.

VOICE ONE:

Anne Finnegan McGrath of Pennsylvania grew up in Washington. As achild, she rode the carousel and swam in the Crystal Pool. As ayoung mother, she took her kids to the Adventure Theatre. Now, as asenior citizen, she has performed Irish dancing at folk festivals atGlen Echo. She says the park fills her with happy memories.

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Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by LawanDavis. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for THIS ISAMERICA in VOA Special English.