THIS IS AMERICA - Glen Echo Park

THIS IS AMERICA - Glen Echo¹ Park
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Monday, June 14, 2004

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VOICE ONE:

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

VOICE TWO:

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

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VOICE ONE:

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

People also came to paint and make crafts², to sing and dance, and to hear music. Some came just to sit and think in the beauty of the land 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 were thousands of people at a folk festival at the park.

There are classes in hundreds of subjects. There are shows for children at the Adventure Theatre and the Puppet³ Company. Glen Echo Park is also home to the only merry-go-round owned by the United States government.

 
Glen Echo Home of Clara Barton
One of the most historic⁴ places to visit is the home of Clara Barton. She established the American Red Cross in eighteen-eighty-one. Clara Barton lived the last fifteen years of her life in a big house at Glen Echo.

VOICE ONE:

Glen Echo was an education center when it opened in eighteen-ninety-one. It was part of the Chautauqua movement started by two men. Lewis Miller⁵ was a businessman in Ohio. John Vincent was a Protestant clergyman.

They set out to help common people become more educated. They also wanted to give them a chance to enjoy nature the way that wealthier Americans could. Their work was part of a larger movement at that time toward⁶ religious faith among Americans.

The Chautauqua movement began as a summer education program. It started in New York State in eighteen-seventy-four at a camp along Chautauqua Lake. Religious Sunday school teachers were the first to attend. But the idea spread.

VOICE TWO:

Two brothers in Maryland helped bring the movement to their state. They gave thirty-two hectares of land to an organization called the National Chautauqua of Glen Echo. Edwin and Edward Baltzley wanted to help people learn what they needed to know to act as members of society.

A local history published at glenecho.org notes that the Baltzleys had other ideas for their land at first. The brothers hoped that people would build stone castles. They imagined it like Europe. But there was talk of a malaria⁷ danger. So buyers lost interest.

VOICE ONE:

Many people attended the first season of the Glen Echo Chautauqua. They studied different subjects, from rocks to foreign languages to something called "The Care and Development of Physical Powers."

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

But then a teacher at the park developed a lung infection. He died of pneumonia⁸. Somehow a story spread around Washington that he died of malaria. Malaria is spread by mosquito bites. People became afraid to go to the park.

The official Chautauqua closed in the summer of eighteen-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 on part of the land.

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen-eleven the Washington Railway and Electric Company bought the land. The new owners continued to offer shows and rides at the park. The company had started an electric railway system in Washington. Many local citizens liked riding the trolley⁹, especially in the summer. Traveling in the open air at sixteen kilometers an hour cooled people in the Washington heat. And Glen Echo served as an interesting stop.

By nineteen-thirty-one, the park had a place where people could pay to dance. Two years later, there was a room with a huge dance floor: the Spanish Ballroom¹⁰. People still dance there.

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VOICE ONE:

Before long, Glen Echo Park added other activities. There was a roller coaster ride. And the Crystal¹¹ Pool could hold up to three-thousand swimmers.

In nineteen-fifty-five, the park was sold to a new owner. People kept 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. Blacks and whites protested¹² outside the park. The demonstrators won. The next year, the park accepted black people.

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

There was even a riot¹³. It began on a day when the Glen Echo Amusement Park closed early. Young people from Washington could not get buses home. They became violent. This happened in nineteen-sixty-six.

Two years later, the park closed permanently¹⁴. Many rides were sold or destroyed. The much-loved heart of the park was a merry-go-round. This carousel¹⁵ too was sold.

 
Glen Echo Park Carousel
VOICE TWO:

In nineteen-seventy the federal¹⁶ government bought the Glen Echo land. The government wanted to limit development near the Potomac River. People who lived nearby wanted to keep the carousel on the property. In just four weeks they raised enough money to buy it back from its new owner. They also raised money for the Wurlitzer organ that gave the carousel its music.

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

VOICE ONE:

The animals are beautifully carved. There are forty horses, along with four rabbits and four ostriches¹⁷. Riders also have the choice of a giraffe, a deer, a lion and a tiger. And there two circus chariots that people can ride in. One-thousand lights shine from the carousel. It looks very inviting¹⁸, and not just to children.

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

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Another popular part of Glen Echo is the Adventure Theatre. In July and August, the theater will perform "The Adventures of Paddington Bear." There are also acting¹⁹ classes. The teachers say that here, "stories become plays and people become actors."

But not all the actors at Glen Echo are people. Over at the Puppet Company Playhouse, through July eighteenth, is "The Wizard of Oz." Recently the Puppet Company began performing its plays in a new theater. Puppeteers²⁰ Christopher Piper, MayField Piper and Allan Stevens present fairy tales and other children's stories. The puppets²¹ are operated by hand or by strings²². There is even a life-size lion.

The puppeteers create the puppets, write the words of the stories, and make costumes. They do almost everything themselves. Their non-profit company has been entertaining children at Glen Echo Park 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 a child, she rode the carousel and swam in the Crystal Pool. As a young mother, she took her kids to the Adventure Theatre. Now, as a senior citizen, she has performed Irish dancing at folk festivals at Glen Echo. She says the park fills her with happy memories.

(MUSIC)

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

VOICE TWO:

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

1 echo   

n.回音，共鸣；vi.发出回声；vt.模仿，附和

参考例句：

• She shouted on the mountaintop and listened for the echo.她在山顶上大声喊着，然后聆听着回声。
• I should like to echo the words of the previous speaker.我想重复前面一位发言者的话。

2 crafts   

n.工艺( craft的名词复数 )；行业；飞机；飞行器

参考例句：

• traditional crafts like basket-weaving 像编篮子之类的传统工艺
• an arts and crafts emporium 工艺品商店

3 puppet   

n.木偶，玩偶；傀儡

参考例句：

• That indicates you're merely a puppet.这说明你只不过是一个傀儡。
• Yes,only a rat puppet beat them out.没错，只有一个老鼠木偶打败过他们。

4 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

5 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

6 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

7 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

8 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

9 trolley   

n.手推车，台车；无轨电车；有轨电车

参考例句：

• The waiter had brought the sweet trolley.侍者已经推来了甜食推车。
• In a library,books are moved on a trolley.在图书馆，书籍是放在台车上搬动的。

10 ballroom   

n.舞厅

参考例句：

• The boss of the ballroom excused them the fee.舞厅老板给他们免费。
• I go ballroom dancing twice a week.我一个星期跳两次交际舞。

11 crystal   

n.水晶，水晶饰品，结晶体；最好的玻璃器皿

参考例句：

• It used to be a crystal stream.那曾是条清澈见底的小溪。
• Those fine wine glasses are made of crystal.那些漂亮的酒杯是用水晶做的。

12 protested   

v.声明( protest的过去式和过去分词 )；坚决地表示；申辩

参考例句：

• He protested he was being cheated of his rightful share. 他提出抗议说他被人骗取了他依法应得的份额。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Amy protested she was being cheated of her rightful share. 艾米提出抗议，说有人骗取了她依法应得的份额。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 riot   

n.暴（骚）乱，（色彩等）极度丰富；vi.聚众闹事

参考例句：

• They had to call the police in order to put down the riot.他们只得叫来警察以平定骚乱。
• Flowers of all sorts are blooming in a riot of colour.百花盛开，万紫千红。

14 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

15 carousel   

n.旋转式行李输送带

参考例句：

• Riding on a carousel makes you feel dizzy.乘旋转木马使你头晕。
• We looked like a bunch of awkward kids riding a slow-moving carousel.我们看起来就像一群骑在旋转木马上的笨拙的孩子。

16 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

17 ostriches   

n.鸵鸟( ostrich的名词复数 )；逃避现实的人，不愿正视现实者

参考例句：

• They are the silliest lot of old ostriches I ever heard of. 他们真是我闻所未闻的一群最傻的老鸵鸟。 来自辞典例句
• How ostriches could bear to run so hard in this heat I never succeed in understanding. 驼鸟在这样干燥炎热的地带为什么能疾速长跑，我永远也理解不了。 来自辞典例句

18 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

19 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

20 puppeteers   

n.操纵木偶的人，操纵傀儡( puppeteer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

21 puppets   

n.木偶( puppet的名词复数 )；玩偶；受他人操纵的人或集团；傀儡

参考例句：

• They were mere puppets manipulated by other men. 他们只不过是受人操纵的傀儡而已。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The children I was looking after were interested in puppets. 我那时照看的孩子们对木偶感兴趣。 来自辞典例句

22 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。