Tag: Sunday School Institute

A Feast of Good Things

Published on by Isabella Alden2 Comments

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be famous?

Black and White photo of a woman almost in profile. Her hair is a light color, parted in the middle of her head, and pulled back to form a large braided bun at the back of her head. She wears a dress with a high ruffled collar trimmed in white lace; a white lace jabot falls from the high collar down the front of her dress.
Isabella Alden circa 1880

Imagine walking into a room filled with people who burst into applause as soon as you enter. Then imagine that you’ve agreed to speak at an assembly that’s filled to overflowing with people, seated and standing in every available space, who hang on your every word.

That’s a little taste of what life was sometimes like for Isabella Alden. Today it might be hard for us to understand just how famous and beloved she was by people across the country. In a time before social media, television, and radio, Isabella had a nation-wide reputation as both an author and as a respected and knowledgeable public speaker on a variety of topics, including the development of Sunday-school lessons.

In 1886 Isabella and her husband, Rev. G. R. Alden, were living in Cleveland, Ohio, where Rev. Alden was pastor of a Presbyterian church. But when he wasn’t preparing sermons, and she wasn’t writing novels and stories for Christian magazines, the Aldens traveled the country to help churches design and implement well-organized, robust Sunday-school curriculums.

In June of that year they were invited to attend a conference in Wellington, Kansas, where the local churches hoped to find a way to better manage their Sunday-school offerings to children and adults. The Aldens accepted.

Newspaper clipping: A Sunday school institute will be held at the Presbyterian church June 13th, 14th, and 15th. The services of Mrs. Alden of Cincinnati, the well-known authoress of the "Pansy" books, has been secured, and it is expected that the interest of the institute will be greatly increased by her presence. She will also take part in the celebration of children's day on Sunday, the 13th. All Sunday school workers of the city and country are invited to attend and participate in the work of the institute.
From The Conway Springs Star (a Kansas newspaper) on June 11, 1886

As soon as the local newspapers announced that Isabella Alden would be among the featured speakers, the churches were guaranteed to have an excellent turnout for their conference.

Newspaper clipping: The committee in charge of the arrangements make this further announcement: “We desire again to call the attention of all parents, Sunday School workers, and especially all young people, to this unlooked for opportunity to meet and greet Mrs. G. R. Allen [sic], “Pansy.” She is known and loved as the author of such helpful and thrillingly interesting books as “Ester Ried,” “Four Girls at Chautauqua,” “The Hall in the Grove,” “One Commonplace Day,” etc. Her engagement with the State Sunday School Assembly at Ottawa, Kansas, brings her west at this time and we trust that a “crowded house” will show our appreciation of the extra effort she is making to come to Wellington. The other speakers from abroad, and those among us who have kindly agreed to assist in these meetings, will give us a feast of good things. Come everybody and enjoy the feast.
from The Monitor-Press (Wellington, Kansas) June 11, 1886

Here’s how the local newspaper described the scene on the first night of the conference when Isabella made her appearance:

Newspaper clipping: The announcement that Mrs. G. R. Alden, the "Pansy" of Sunday-school literature, would take part was sufficient to fill the house for the evening services. In a clear and musical voice she read an original story entitled "Sabbath Fractures," whose purpose was to point out and condemn some of the more common forms of Sabbath desecration. The reading was very much enjoyed by her auditors many of whom for the first time had the pleasure of hearing the distinguished authoress, with whose writings they had long been familiar.
from The Wellington Monitor, June 18, 1886.

The meetings began on a Monday afternoon and Isabella took an active role, according to the agenda:

Newspaper Clipping: "Mention was made last week of the county Sunday school institute which will be held at the Presbyterian church on Monday and Tuesday, June 14th and 15th. The programme as published below shows many features of interest that ought to attract a large attendance of the active Sunday school workers of the county:" Follows an agenda including a "Primary conference" on Monday afternoon and a "Paper" reading Monday evening by Mrs. G. R. Alden, "Pansy."
from The Wellington Monitor, June 11, 1886

In one of the sessions she spoke about how to design Sunday-school lessons for children in the Primary Class age range of four to eight years:

Newspaper clipping: She sketched briefly and clearly a plan of work among the younger classes in the Sunday school that long experience had shown to be attended with the best results. She favored the division of the primary pupils into small classes of not more than seven members each, which should be taught if possible in a room separate from the rest of the school.
from The Wellington Monitor, June 18, 1886

In another session she participated in a discussion on the proper way to prepare teachers for the work of teaching meaningful lessons:

Newspaper clipping: Mrs. Alden conducted a conference on her favorite theme of primary work, of one hour’s duration. The spoke strongly against teaching children misty doctrines of general truth, of which the teacher lacked the skill to make definite application. The children’s quickness of apprehension, even at the earliest age when they enter the primary class should not be underrated. The danger of simply interesting the children with recitations of Bible stories, without bringing out the spiritual lessons they were meant to teach, was one point to be guarded carefully against.
from The Wellington Monitor, June 18, 1886

On Monday evening she read one of her short stories, “People Who Haven’t Time and Can’t Afford It,” which, the newspaper reported, “held the close attentions of the audience in spite of the discomforts of the crowded room.”

The rest of the conference was similarly busy for Isabella. The last night of the conference was “attended by an audience larger than the seating capacity of the church.” Isabella closed the evening session by reading a paper she wrote about “the Penn Avenue Church” and the difficulty the church had raising money for Sunday school purposes and for books to stock a small church library.

Eventually, Isabella revised that “paper” into a short story called “Circulating Decimals,” which was published two years later.

By every measure, the 1886 Sunday School Institute in Wellington, Kansas was a resounding success.

Newspaper clipping: The institute from every point of view was a great success, both as arousing new interest in the cause on the part of the Sunday-school workers of the city and county, and acquainting them with new methods of instruction. It will undoubtedly lead to the formation of a permanent county organization and the frequent and regular holding of similar institutes and conventions in the future.

And with Isabella’s many contributions—from offering practical advice to reading stories with a message—it truly was a “feast of good things.”

One final note:

Isabella may have been a famous celebrity, but when she and Reverend Alden made these trips, they rarely stayed in a hotel. Instead, they were usually invited to stay in the home of one of the local church members. In Wellington, Kansas, they stayed in the home of George and Laura Fultz. Mr. Fultz was a leading businessman in Wellington, and he and his wife were active members of the Presbyterian church.

Black and white photo of a man in profile. He wears wire rimmed glasses and his hair is wavy and dark. He is dressed in a dark suit of clothes that would have been in fashion in the 1890s. He wears a dark bow tie and has a high starched shirt collar.
George Fultz

How lucky were Mr. and Mrs. Fultz! Isabella and her husband stayed with them for five nights. Imagine having your favorite author sit at your dinner table, join you in a morning cup of coffee, or share an evening on your front porch, relaxing and watching the sun set together after a full day of meetings.

If you were fortunate enough to have Isabella as a guest in your home, what kind of questions would you ask her?

All of the short stories mentioned in the post are available for you to read for free. Just click on any of the highlighted titles or cover images to download your copy from Bookfunnel.com.