UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #251
GARD, ROBERT E.

GARD, Robert E. (1910-1993)
Professor of Speech and Rural Sociology; Extension
At UW: 1945-1981

Interviewed: 1982	
Interviewer: Donna Hartshorne
Length: 3 hours 21 minutes

Background; Founding of Wisconsin Idea Theater; Promotion of theater and creative writing in state; WHA program; Writing; UW centennial pageant; Federal and foundation grants for arts; Spring Green Theater; Rhinelander School of Arts; Publishing venture; Community theater; Trip to Finland; Theater in Portage; American Players Theater; Institute of Wisconsin Nationalities; High school theater.

Note: Part of the family and personal history background has been inadvertently spliced onto the end of Tape 1.

Tape 1  

00:00:03	Family history and personal background.  Father a self-trained lawyer. 

00:15:12	Father set up practice in Iola, Kansas.  He didn't like living in town so he built a farm outside town.  RG born there.  Attended school in Iola.  Interested in local history, read quite a bit. 

00:23:30	Attended University of Kansas.  Professor Allan Crafton, in dramatic art was his favorite teacher.  Read great plays, etc.  Graduated, and got a scholarship to go to Cornell in fall.  Got a summer job managing a professional theater group in Martha's Vineyard.  After one year of graduate work at Cornell, RG was offered an instructorship at Sweetbriar College.

00:29:55	Professor Drummond advised against it and told him to go to New York and talk to David Stevens from Rockefeller Foundation.  He was very encouraging and told him to go home for a while and see his mother and return and he would arrange for a Rockefeller grant for him. 

00:33:39	RG and Professor Drummond started New York State Plays Project.  When war started, after two or three renewals of Rockefeller fellowship, Stevens asked him to tour around country and see where he would like to set up.  Went to University of Iowa, North Dakota, Canada, Salt Lake City, Minnesota, Colorado etc.  Saved Madison for last.  He went to see agriculture people at Wisconsin as advised by Stevens. 

00:39:31	He got very interested in coming to Wisconsin.  Met with many faculty members for a few days including Gladys Borchers, John Gaus, etc. 

00:41:06	Then they went to Alberta to collect oral histories from many original settlers of that area.  This was done on Rockefeller grant. 

00:43:00	In Spring, 1945 RG got an offer from speech department,   Rural sociology department and Extension, which had combined to create a position for him.  Accepted position and arrived in fall of 1945.  Founded Wisconsin Idea Theatre.  Helped to establish many local theater groups. 

00:48:32	Dairy people had learned that to attract farmers to their meetings, they had to have some kind of entertainment.  So they developed practice of producing humorous sketches on local subjects and farmers problems. 

00:48:41	[Earlier portion of interview spliced in.] 

00:55:51	End of tape. 

Tape 2  

00:00:00	Continuation of earlier discussion. 

00:01:18	Thomas H. Dickinson, professor of English.  He helped get idea of local theater off to a good start.  He wanted to teach course in American Drama, but English department wouldn't let him.  He finally convinced his colleagues and it was a very popular course.  He established Wisconsin Dramatic Society.  Zona Gale wrote their first production--a long, one-act play called "The Neighbors", which is still being produced today.  That began move to establish community theater in Wisconsin.  In 1945, when RG first arrived, he started Association of Community Theatre.  This grew into one of really significant groups in nation of this nature.  Now it is called Wisconsin Theatre Association and it is largest in United States. 

00:05:03	RG also began Wisconsin Regional Writers Association.  It was to encourage people to write any kind of literature, including plays.  How it began.  One thousand members joined within a semester.  He feels that this group filled a need for many creative people in Wisconsin.

00:08:13	Fidelia Van Antwerp--a retired teacher from Wisconsin Dells.  She was very interested in Regional Writers Association and wanted to assume responsibility for it.  She became RG's right hand in this.  She helped to establish forty to fifty local writer groups by traveling around on her own money around state.  RG feels that this project is best thing he ever did in state. It is still going on today at same level.  Some of material got published.  

00:10:43	Had a magazine called Creative Wisconsin which they kept going until they ran out of assets.  Projects like this not feasible for University to pursue any longer.  Small Communities in Arts Program--he started it and got first large grant that National Endowment for the Arts made for this kind of work.  Received $260,000.  Published a book on project which helped start similar programs in other places.  

00:13:25	Started a radio program on WHA.  Wrote a half-hour play per week to broadcast called Wisconsin Yarns.  Discusses his book Grassroots Theatre and his love of writing.  Wrote nearly forty books.  

00:17:20	Feels that Wisconsin is leading state in grassroots arts. Robert E. Gard Wisconsin Idea Foundation in Spring Green.  

00:18:30	State centennial celebration.  People in Committees.  Role of President Fred.  

00:22:40	RG s chief assignment was to write a centennial pageant to be performed at Camp Randall.  He worked very hard on all these things.  Camp Randall was filled.  Carl Smith from WHA narrated.  A great success which received letters of praise.   

00:26:50	Started musical shows at Camp Randall.  Every week there was either a profession or a commercial performance.  Awfully good acoustics.  Also brought ethnic dance groups.  Went on for a number of years.  RG was based at Ag college.   
   
00:31:13	National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities' formation. Problem of federal funding of arts associated with communism.  People often got blacklisted as communists unjustifiably. 

00:36:18	Later, support for federal arts funding grew.  In 1965, Congress passed first legislation to establish an arts and humanities foundation.  More on first chairman of organization.  

00:40:03	Got into picture early.  RG figured that there were many people living in towns of less than 10,000 people.  He felt that he should represent their interests in trying to get funding from National Endowment for the Arts so that big city orchestras wouldn't get all money.  So he applied for a grant and got a warm reception and a large grant.  

00:43:32	Immediately made plans to test how this money could best be used.  Spring Green experiment.  

00:47:42	Other communities in experiment.  

00:49:18	They didn't get much more money from National Endowment.  How they raised matching funds required to get grant.  

00:52:19	RG discusses politics involved in their not getting another grant.  Anecdote about Lady Bird Johnson's visit to Spring Green to see a theater production.   
 
00:58:55	More on Spring Green Theatre.   

01:02:19	End of tape. 

Tape 3 

00:00:02	Rhinelander School of the Arts begun in 1964.  L. G. Sorden was instrumental in locating school there.  RG feels that it hasn't worked as well as it might have in a different location.  There is no inexpensive place for students to live while they are attending school.  The town is too much oriented towards summer tourism.  Tuition started at $35, now it is up to $90.  School itself is going strong, but has probably reached the limit of its growth.  It has a national reputation.  School's future. 

00:9:25	Met Sorden when RG first came to University, their friendship.

00:12:19	RG started publishing house called Wisconsin House to publish books about Wisconsin.  First book they published was RG's book, This Is Wisconsin, which is still one of their best sellers.  Publisher usually lost money because they published risky things that didn't sell.  They were eventually bought out. 

00:15:40	House has passed through several hands since then. 

00:18:02	Question regarding a Rockefeller grant for a nationwide study of community theater.  RG did three studies altogether.  His book is called Theatre In America.  Discusses how theater has changed since 1967. 

00:21:11	British theatre survey.  Origins of his interest in Finland.  Offered a Fulbright research grant.  RG feels that it was one of most rewarding experiences.  More on Finland experience.  Setting up exchange program of professors between Helsinki and Madison. 

00:27:05	Portage Theatre Historique.  Importance of location of Portage--one of great highways of world.  Set up an outdoor theatre to dramatize history of area.  Design and building of theatre. 

00:31:39	More on Portage Theatre.  Why it didn't work.  American Players Theatre--how it started, etc. 

00:38:57	Drama workshop for high school students done under Wisconsin Forensic Association.  Would go out each weekend to a high school. 

00:43:00	Why name of Wisconsin Idea Theatre was changed. 

00:48:27	Institute of Wisconsin Nationalities.  Happened mostly because he was director of Holiday Folk Fair in Milwaukee.  Warren Knowles.  Trail of nations. 

00:58:13	Portage Canal Committee--formed to try and decide what to do with old Portage canal.  Didn't find any permanent solution to problem. 

01:02:00	Relations with Stevens of Rockefeller Foundation.  Stevens was born in Berlin, Wisconsin and grew up in Fort Atkinson.  Then moved to Appleton to attend Lawrence College.  

01:03:44	End of tape. 

Tape 4
(The end of tape 4, side 1 cuts off abruptly in the digital audio due to reel-to-reel tape audio problems.)

00:00:04	More on Stevens' early life in Wisconsin.  How he got job with Foundation.  His help of southern colleges.  RG's association with Stevens.  Died in 1978.  He spent his retirement in Ephraim, Wisconsin. 

00:12:53	A memorial to him was published by Ephraim Foundation.

00:14:22	RG's work since retirement--development of Aldebron.  His love of Spring Green, Upland's Arts Council formation.  Robert E. Gard Wisconsin Idea Theatre Fund. 

00:31:25	End of interview

End of Oral History #251