*** Welcome to piglix ***

Puppet Guild of Greater Saint Louis


The Puppet Guild of Greater Saint Louis consists of people interested in puppetry. Typically the guild has included professional puppeteers, teachers, librarians, scout leaders, and other walks of life. Some members are performers who perform for small groups, others are professionals, and others are just people who like the art. Some members like to collect puppets, and have extensive collections of puppets from all over the world. The only common element is an appreciation of the art of puppetry.

The Puppet Guild of Greater Saint Louis, Inc. was founded largely through the efforts of Iona Hedges. She had attended the first Puppeteers of America Festival in 1936 and signed herself and Susan Barnes as charter members of that organization. In 1939 the Puppet Guild of St. Louis was formed, and dues were 10 cents. At that time, the main thrust of guild activity was to bring the Puppeteers of America National Festival to Saint Louis in 1940. However it did not actually happen until 1941.

Those persons at the first meeting on June 12, 1939, at the home of Iona Hedges, 5445 Maple Avenue, in the City of St. Louis were as follows:

(No listing of the charter members has been found. A transcript of a 1959 speech of Leona Thompson references 12 founding members instead of the listed 16 attendees.)

The first two meeting were held at the Hedge’s home. The third meeting was held on June 26, 1939, at the Cabanne Branch of the Saint Louis Public Library. It was at that meeting that Carolyn Meyer joined the guild and new officers were elected: Wendell Chilton, President; Ruth Rubin, office not specified; Doritha Lanctot, corresponding secretary; Robert Rowlson, office not specified.

According to 1993 interviews with Carolyn Meyer and Susan Barnes, and the 1959 transcript, charter members of the Puppet Guild of Greater St. Louis were as follows: (Again the listing has 16 names not the 12 referred to in the 1959 transcript.)

The guild grew and at the October 23, 1939, meeting, the guild had 27 paid members and a treasury of $24.25. At the March 25, 1940, meeting dues were raised to 50 cents. In the years since, the guild has been responsible for bringing many puppeteers from throughout the country to perform in Saint Louis.

Among the eighteen charter members of the Puppeteers of America in 1938, Susan Barnes, Iona Hedges, and Ellen and Romaine Proctor were also members of the Puppet Guild of Greater Saint Louis.

The presidents of the guild were

Edith Finney and Louise Ewing were established performers using the name “EdLo Puppets.” Ellen and Romaine “Proctor Puppets” were also well known performers touring throughout the country. They were particularly well-known in Saint Louis for their Christmas performances in the fashionable Scruggs Department Store. Romaine Proctor is credited with designing the puppet Saint Louis on a rearing horse for the guild logo. The Rowlsons traveled and painted wagons. They had a beautiful, “gypsy” wagon that they had designed, and with which they would travel during the summers, painting and performing. Carolyn Meyer was a school teacher and known for her fabulous cardboard shadow puppets with levering mechanisms for more movement. Art Pfaff and his first wife [need name] and upon her death, his second wife, Gladys, were very popular performers with glove and rod puppets. The “Ruth Quinn Marionettes” performed variety acts and she and also created marionettes for other puppeteers across the country. Elmer Kramer and family were also popular puppeteers. Nelly Mendham and Genevieve Albers were renowned for her colorful shadow puppetry. Claude Sontag and his wife were also popular performers of that era. Mildred (Billie) Blackwell was also a popular puppeteer.


...
Wikipedia

...