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Porch-traits of Chautauqua: Exploring Chautauqua’s porch culture

by Skylar Seavey on 37 views
SKYLAR SEAVEY / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
From left, Nora, Christie and Josie Crane and their dog Wiley sit on the steps of their family’s Chautauqua home Thursday on Harris Avenue. The Cranes have been coming to Chautauqua for five generations, with Nora and Josie being the youngest.

SKYLAR SEAVEY
Staff Photographer

Practically every home and building on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution has a porch. Whether it be wraparound, double-decker, small or large, one can see some form of porch almost anywhere they look. One of the first things visitors see as they enter Chautauqua and walk the iconic red Brick Walk are the porches that have become more than just extensions of homes. They represent a space for leisure, memories, learning and community. The porches of Chautauqua are where grandparents witness their grandchildren take their first steps; where Chautauquans read the Daily and take their morning coffee; where mah-jongg is played and laughs are shared; and the landing place for sounds from the Amphitheater carried by the wind. Porches are the foundation that hold up the four pillars of Chautauqua, and the threshold Chautauquans pass to start their day of education. A day in Chautauqua is a day full of learning and thrill, but the porches are the first and last places a Chautauquan spends their day.

Geoff and Katie Church play sudoku and read The Chautauquan Daily July 15 on their house’s porch on the corner of Peck and Wythe Avenue. Katie’s family has owned the house since 1952 and she has been spending her summers here since just three years old.
Kwame Alexander gives writing critiques to Jordan Holmes July 31 on the porch of the African American Heritage House. Holmes is a poet and trauma coach, dealing specifically with men’s mental illness, using spoken word and poetry as a tool to teach and spread awareness.
Joan Townsend chats with Patricia Lundquist as they work on their knitting projects July 22 on the porch of the United Methodist House. Starting after the Knitting for Peace group disbanded, a few fiber artists decided to create their own knitting collective.
Frankie Robertson and Roman Robertson sit with their grandfather, Kit Trapasso, July 21 on their porch on Palestine Avenue. Trapasso works at Children’s School, where he has served as director since 1984.
from left, Kristian Allen, Beth Wood Kearns, Kelly Shipley and Betsy Wood play a game of mah-jongg July 20 on the porch of the Wood family home on South Lake Drive. The cottage has been in the Wood family for five generations, with Betsy Wood’s great grandparents beginning to rent the home in 1944 and purchasing it a few years later. Betsy Wood is 75 years old, and has spent every summer of her life in the home on the Chautauqua grounds.
Right, Rabbi Sruly Kivman sits on the porch of Zigdon Chabad Jewish House July 14 while reading the Torah with his daughter Nechama Kivman.
Tags : Chautauqua CultureCommunityPorches
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The author Skylar Seavey

Skylar Seavey is a Kentucky native raised in the Bluegrass region, nestled between a growing urban city scene and rolling horse farms. Currently, Skylar is a rising senior at Ohio University, studying photojournalism with minors in commercial photography and history. At OU, she is the photo director of Backdrop magazine as well as a freelance photographer for the university’s Communications and Marketing. This summer, Skylar will be a staff photographer at The Chautauquan Daily and is ecstatic to explore and capture the culture of Chautauqua Institution. When she’s not covering photo stories and wielding a camera, you can find Skylar playing cards and the daily sudoku, taking long walks or visiting the horse farms in her hometown of Lexington, Kentucky.

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