A GLIMPSE OF THE METHODIST MISSIONS CENTENARY, 1919

In 2012, a group of glass, magic lantern slides appeared on eBay. The slides feature never-before-seen images from the 1919 Methodist Missions Centenary, a colossal Methodist world's fair held at the Ohio State Fairgrounds in Columbus, Ohio. The good folks at the Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky acquired them and with their kind permission, I'm displaying them here.

The magic lantern was an early form of mass entertainment that involved projecting scenes from glass slides onto a screen. Depictions of faraway places or noteworthy events—like the Centenary—were a staple of magic lantern shows.

Who took created these images and why is unknown. Obviously, someone wanted to document the event but it's unclear whether they were acting in an official capacity or for their own interest. The quality of the photography is a bit rough which points to an amateur. The photographs were probably taken all the same day, June 27, 1919, when the Army's A-4 dirigible visited the centenary. You can notice the shadows lengthening in the photos as the day progresses.

The slides were exhibited to church groups and Sunday School classes in the weeks and months after the storied exhibition and then packed away and forgotten in some church basement for the next nearly 100 years.

BRIGHT LIGHTS

Electric sign near the E. 11th Ave. entrance to the fairgrounds.

More Broadway than Bible Belt but that was the point.

Centenary organizer S.E. Taylor wanted to bring the church’s outreach into the 20th Century to that end, the Centenary feature all sorts of uses of modern technology and media to deliver the church’s teaching to audiences unlikely to be attracted by sermons, songfests, and ice cream socials.

MOVIES

View from the grandstand of the gargantuan motion picture screen constructed in the infield of the racetrack for the Centenary.

At 135 feet wide by 146 feet tall, it was one of the largest screens ever built and about twice the size of the largest drive-in screens of the 1950s.

With the aid of a specially constructed projector, slide shows and motion pictures were exhibited on the vast screen to audiences of up to 75,000 nightly.

In 1919, religious audiences still looked on motion pictures with suspicion and some clergy denounced them as immoral time-wasters for idle youth. The Centenary aimed to change that and suggest that film could be a tool of education and evangelization.

 

 

AIRCRAFT

The US Army’s new A-4 dirigible visits the Centenary.

Powered flight was just 14 years old in 1919 and airplanes and airships were still a big deal. The public was fascinated by aircraft and the men who flew them. Airshows were guaranteed to draw a crowd and this was not lost on the organizers of the Centenary.

By special arrangement with the U.S. Army, the newly built A-4 dirigible flew to the centenary grounds, appearing on June 27. Later in the day, Dr. Edmund Soper, an evangelist, used a bullhorn to preach a sermon from the airborne A-4 to 10,000 people on the ground below.

On July 4, military aircraft staged a mock dogfight in the skies over the fairgrounds. Aces were the popular heroes of the just-end world war and every boy had a favorite pilot whose stats he could recite from memory.

Stunt fliers entertained the Centenary crowds several other times.

THE WAYFARER

A religious pageant, The Wayfarer, was the hit of the Centenary. It sold out nightly. Ticket-seekers lined up before dawn. On weekends, hundreds would have to be turned away.

The Wayfarer was a spectacle in every sense of the word. Presented in the new 8,000 seat Coliseum building, on a stage 110' x 75', The Wayfarer featured a cast of over 1,000 performers, including leads from the New York theaters, a 76-piece orchestra, a choir of 1,200 singers, and sundry live animals. Elaborate costumes, detailed sets, and the largest sky cyclorama in the world helped present scenes spanning 2,500 years and traveling from ancient Babylon to the battlefields of the Great War to New Jerusalem. Lighting and sound technicians used the very latest theater technology to tell the epic story.

The Wayfarer was an allegorical tale in which a doubt-ridden Christian has his faith restored by an angel who reveals the hand of God in human history.

SPECTACLE

The Wayfarer sold out nightly. On weekends, hundreds would have to be turned away.

The Wayfarer was a spectacle in every sense of the word. Presented in the new 8,000 seat Coliseum building, on a stage 110' x 75', The Wayfarer featured a cast of over 1,000 performers, a 76-piece orchestra, a choir of 1,200 singers, and sundry animals. Elaborate costumes, detailed sets, and the largest sky cyclorama in the world helped present scenes spanning 2,500 years and traveling from ancient Babylon to the battlefields of the Great War. Lighting and sound technicians used the very latest theater technology to tell the epic story.

The Wayfarer opened gloomily. Under smoke-darkened skies, as "Armageddon" plays and artillery fire rumbles in the distance, Allied forces retake a ruined Belgian town. Death and devastation are all around. Looking on the scene, The Wayfarer is confronted by Despair who tempts his soul:O faith is but for fools and hypocrites. Should any cherish fond

EXOTIC LANDS/MISSION FIELDS

The Wayfarer sold out nightly. On weekends, hundreds would have to be turned away.

The Wayfarer was a spectacle in every sense of the word. Presented in the new 8,000 seat Coliseum building, on a stage 110' x 75', The Wayfarer featured a cast of over 1,000 performers, a 76-piece orchestra, a choir of 1,200 singers, and sundry animals. Elaborate costumes, detailed sets, and the largest sky cyclorama in the world helped present scenes spanning 2,500 years and traveling from ancient Babylon to the battlefields of the Great War. Lighting and sound technicians used the very latest theater technology to tell the epic story.

The Wayfarer opened gloomily. Under smoke-darkened skies, as "Armageddon" plays and artillery fire rumbles in the distance, Allied forces retake a ruined Belgian town. Death and devastation are all around. Looking on the scene, The Wayfarer is confronted by Despair who tempts his soul:O faith is but for fools and hypocrites. Should any cherish fond

AMERICA

The Wayfarer sold out nightly. On weekends, hundreds would have to be turned away.

The Wayfarer was a spectacle in every sense of the word. Presented in the new 8,000 seat Coliseum building, on a stage 110' x 75', The Wayfarer featured a cast of over 1,000 performers, a 76-piece orchestra, a choir of 1,200 singers, and sundry animals. Elaborate costumes, detailed sets, and the largest sky cyclorama in the world helped present scenes spanning 2,500 years and traveling from ancient Babylon to the battlefields of the Great War. Lighting and sound technicians used the very latest theater technology to tell the epic story.

The Wayfarer opened gloomily. Under smoke-darkened skies, as "Armageddon" plays and artillery fire rumbles in the distance, Allied forces retake a ruined Belgian town. Death and devastation are all around. Looking on the scene, The Wayfarer is confronted by Despair who tempts his soul:O faith is but for fools and hypocrites. Should any cherish fond

THE MILITARY

The Wayfarer sold out nightly. On weekends, hundreds would have to be turned away.

The Wayfarer was a spectacle in every sense of the word. Presented in the new 8,000 seat Coliseum building, on a stage 110' x 75', The Wayfarer featured a cast of over 1,000 performers, a 76-piece orchestra, a choir of 1,200 singers, and sundry animals. Elaborate costumes, detailed sets, and the largest sky cyclorama in the world helped present scenes spanning 2,500 years and traveling from ancient Babylon to the battlefields of the Great War. Lighting and sound technicians used the very latest theater technology to tell the epic story.

The Wayfarer opened gloomily. Under smoke-darkened skies, as "Armageddon" plays and artillery fire rumbles in the distance, Allied forces retake a ruined Belgian town. Death and devastation are all around. Looking on the scene, The Wayfarer is confronted by Despair who tempts his soul:O faith is but for fools and hypocrites. Should any cherish fond