Citizens of Williamsburg were busy honing their thespian skills in the autumn of 1939. In September and then again in October, a large cast and crew presented the play, “The Old Homestead,” first in the town hall and then at the Academy of Music in Northampton.
The play, by the now forgotten actor and playwright Denman Thompson, debuted in Boston in 1886. It is a city mouse, country mouse tale, in which prodigal sons succumb to drink, then repent and are reunited with their families, set in Swanzey, New Hampshire and New York City. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the play was often produced in small towns across the country. In Swanzey, it was revived each summer, from 1939 until 2016.
Front row, left to right: Hans Nietsche, Russell Clark, Levi Dayton, Clara Rustemeyer, John Breguet, Leo Parent, director, Wellington Clary, Barbara Hathaway, Lester Wells, Richard Watling;
Back row, left to right: Silas Snow, Frank Bisbee, Maurice Jenkins, Mrs. Leon Tiley, Charles Sabo, Mrs. Manley Bourne, Elson Hathaway, Cheney Hathaway, Robert Nash, William Culver, Ethel Graves, Merton Bickford, Hazel H. Culver, Arthur Polmatier, Roy Leonard, Charles M. Damon, Jr., Alice Packard, Frederick Cobb, Clara Tower, George Crafts, Lee Smith, Mrs. Leo Parent, Maude Wells, Harvey Cranston, Roger Wells.
Dr. Charles Wheeler saved this cast photograph in the scrapbooks he put together in the mid 20th century, chronicling all things Williamsburg and Haydenville. Daria D’Arienzo, Meekins Archivist. #throwbackthursday; #tbt
Posted to Facebook 10/14/2021