P a g e s From Our P a st By Kenneth L. Holmes, writer historian TRAVELING “PROFESSORS” IN FRONTIER TOWNS There were many character types on the frontier. One whose fascination draws our interest like a magnet was the traveling “pro­ fessor.” These men were migrant actors and lecturers combined. A noted member of this clan was “Professor” Vanderhoof, who ad­ vertised in Oregon City in 1857, “A Panoramic Entertainment in­ cluding a Scientific Lecture deal­ ing with the Planetary System.” He combined this with “Spiritual Manifestations. . .and Exhibitions of Mesmerism and Ventriloquism.” The story of these brave troop­ ers is told in the book we wrote of recently, Alice Ernst’s “Troup- ing the Oregon Country,” (Ore­ gon Historical Society) and in an older publication (University of Washington Press, 1944), “A His­ tory of Variety-Vaudeville in Se­ attle,” by Eugene C. Elliott. In both of these studies the “profes­ sor” takes stage center during the 1850's and 1860’s. “The professor,” writes Elliott, "was the first entertainer in the Northwest wilderness: He traveled alone, of necessity, for transpor­ tation was uncertain and expen­ sive and the population too small and scattered to support ‘a com­ pany.’ He differed from previous entertainers in two important re­ spects. First, he did not merely pass through the territory but re­ visited it again and again, year after year, making friends, noting Demonia Eagle 8 THURSDAY, NOV. 15, 1962 DERREL ROSE Our concern is to give you con­ siderate care, handle all details with a service of quiet dignity and beauty that will comfort you and your family for years to come. PRICKETT'S MORTUARY OF FOREST GROVE Please Call Collect 1920 Pacific Ave Dial EL 7-3128 changes, marking progress. This was his life, amiable and, in a sense, leisurely. He wandered up and down the waterways, stopping at each landing for a day or two. He would arrive in town, give one of his ’inimitable performances’ in the local hall, arrange for another two weeks later, and until then go down the Sound. ‘We would ad­ vise our readers in the different localities he may visit, not to al­ low the opportunity pass of listen­ ing to his lectures.’ ” The last part of the quote is from the Seattle Weekly Intelligencer, Feb. 8, 1869. A second distinguished charac­ teristic of the professor, says El­ liott, was that for all his “profes- soring’ and ‘lecturing’ he catered to the taste and inclinations of his frontier audiences, “nor was he less the artist for it.” He made use of the homely language of the untutored westerner, indulged in topical comment and rough politi­ cal satire. One of the most popular of these travelers was "Professor” Plum­ mer, or “Yankee Plummer,” as he was called by the Washington Standard of Olympia. He was de­ scribed as the “elocutionist and mirth-provoking delineator of ‘hewman natur ginnerally.’ ” On January 25, 1869, the Standard re­ ported his visit as follows: “He is a thorough Dutchman; a genuine Yankee; and unmistak­ able broth of an Irieshman; a shrewd Attorney; a zealous Preacher, saturated with the air of sanctimony; an accomplished Reader; an exquisite Actor. One man insisted that there must be a troupe of ‘Plummer Brothers, who popped up and down through a trap-door as occasion required. ‘Why,’ he said, ‘they don’t look a bit alike.’ ” The “professor” was an “open, honest charlatan.” He could lec­ ture on science, religion, phrenol­ ogy, mesmerism, the classics, and recite from great poetry and dra­ ma. He built up his image by ex­ aggerated advertising, as is shown in the following quote from the Standard: "Prof. Herrmann, the World-re­ nowned Prestidigitator,. . .has by special command, had the honor of appearing at the palaces of the fol­ lowing heads of Europe: Queen Victoria of England, Emperor of Russia, Emperor of Prussia, Em­ peror of Austria. He has also given special entertainments for the gra­ tification of three Presidents of the United States—Abraham Lin­ coln, Andrew Johnson and U. S. Grant, who all pronounced him to be the Greatest Living Magician! Eclipsing in his marvelous feats of Legerdemain the great Hindoo Jugglers.” The “professor” was known and loved by pioneer folk all over the Pacific Northwest. We who have never heard a “World-renowned Prestidigitator,” who could also discourse on phrenology, or in rolling tones mesmerize his aud­ iences, would like to have shared the experience. 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