Essay
LOOKING BACK TO LOOK AHEAD: THE WISCONSIN IDEA IN THE ARTS BY MARYO GARD EWELL
O
n October 3, 1914, over 4,000 people gathered in rural Sauk City to attend
the opening of a play. Written, organized, and directed by Ethel Rockwell, the University of Wisconsin Extension’s director of community drama, A Social Center Pageant promised attendees a day-long exploration of “a new movement in democracy” and a celebration of the city’s decision to adopt the local school as
Sauk Prairie Area Historical Society
its social and cultural center.
A crowd gathers around Sauk City High School as participants in Ethel Rockwell’s A Social Center Pageant move the town ballot box from City Hall to the high school in a gesture that represents the convergence of citizenship and education.
summer
· fall 2020
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