May 22, 2008
Redding
Twain’s ‘second arrival’ is as grand as the first
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by Rachel Kirkpatrick
rkirkpatrick@thereddingpilot.com
After the last horn is sounded and the last scout has marched on, the crowd observing the Memorial Day parade will disperse. However, the day’s festivities will not be over because “he” will be arriving soon.
“The Arrival,” an Allen and Helen Hermes Art Series-sponsored event, is Saturday from 4 to 6 at the Mark Twain Library, and if there is one piece of advice to give those attending it is to be on time — that is, at John Read Middle School to await a shuttle to the library.
Because at 4 p.m. sharp “he,” Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain (portrayed by local historian Dan Cruson), will be rolling into the library parking lot in a 1908 — the year he arrived in Redding — Thomas Flyer Model F Tourabout, secured through a local owner.
His “arrival” will kick off this event, which will honor Mr. Twain’s legacy in Redding through the arts in various forms. It is one of many planned as part of the library’s Centennial Celebration.
“People are going to want to be there for the arrival,” said Marc Mellon, a sculptor and Hermes Art Series advisory board member. “The whole event is sort of like an opera: If you’re not there before four, you’ll miss the first act.”
His first arrival
One hundred years ago the Berkshire Express out of New York made an unscheduled stop in Redding for Mr. Twain, a passenger, who had built a new home here named Stormfield.
Though he lived here for only two years, he left a lasting legacy in town, in part through the Mark Twain Library, which he established that year by charging cohorts a $1 luggage fee when they visited his estate, and by stocking the shelves with his and others’ personal collection of books.
He was taking time off from speaking engagements and had a friend in Redding who “lured him up here,” said Jill Barberie, Hermes Art Series chair.
At the time Mr. Clemens arrived in Redding, he was world renowned, said James Grashow, a local artist and advisory board member. “He could have lived anywhere, but he came here,” he said.
“He was a rock star,” Mr. Mellon added.
A parade was held in 1908 in Redding for Mr. Twain’s arrival, which inspired “The Arrival” event this Saturday, when Mr. Twain makes his “second arrival” at the library.
The Twains meet
Mr. Grashow, Mr. Mellon, Ms. Barberie, and television and Broadway actress Colleen Zenk Pinter, also a member of the Hermes Art Series advisory board, met last week at Mr. Grashow’s studio in the shadow of his latest creation: a 10-foot-tall cardboard figure of Mark Twain, who will greet and interact with guests on Saturday.
Mr. Grashow’s acclaimed work varies from large environmental installations to tiny, intricate sculptures. He has always used a variety of materials to create his pieces, he said, but cardboard “just speaks to him.”
At a recent awards event for which he was the keynote speaker, he built a large cardboard man for the ceremony, realizing soon after that it could be converted into a Mark Twain.
“It was a moment of inspiration,” Mr. Mellon said.
“It was an epiphany,” Mr. Grashow added. “That was his cardboard shell and this was his manifest destiny.”
This will be the place where all of the Twains will meet, Mr. Grashow said, because just inside the library, guests will have the opportunity to watch Mr. Mellon put the final touches on a bust of Mr. Twain. Mr. Mellon is renowned for his portrait busts, commemorative statues, and other works in bronze.
“I love the fact that people will be able to witness this,” Ms. Pinter said.
Having sculpted portraits of Albert Einstein and Albert Schweitzer, Mr. Mellon said, he saw Twain as part of a trio, specifically because of his dramatic eyebrows.
Guests will nosh on fare of the time period, courtesy of local food writer Jane Stern, who even researched, among other dishes, the recipe for Twain’s favorite dish: gingerbread. There will be music and performances featuring Ms. Pinter and actress Victoria Wyndham, Mr. Cruson, screenwriter and writing teacher Jeff Fligelman, and editor-writer Bob Morton.
Mr. Cruson has chosen a brief talk in which Mr. Clemens, newly arrived in Redding, pokes some fun at his neighbors. Ms. Wyndham will deliver a tongue-in-cheek lecture in which Twain pays homage to the remarkable character of “New England Weather.” A short story called “The Canvasser’s Tale” will be narrated by Mr. Fligelman, and Ms. Pinter and Mr. Morton will turn two pieces of Twain’s humorous sketches on the Bible into a playlet entitled “The Diaries of Adam and Eve.”
These are just a few of the details of the event, because there will be plenty more surprises in store for guests, according to organizers.
It all ties together
The Hermes Art Series came to be when Allen and Helen Hermes donated their 19-acre property on Route 107, once known as “Jean’s Farm,” to the Mark Twain Library Association. Mr. Twain, 100 years earlier, had given that land to his daughter, Jean. When she died, Mr. Twain sold the farm and donated the proceeds to the newly formed library association.
The Hermes would eventually buy this property, then donate it to the Mark Twain Library Association. In 2003, the association decided to sell “Jean’s Farm” and use the proceeds as the cornerstone of a capital campaign to create an endowment to ensure the library’s future. In honor of the Hermes gift, the library’s board of trustees set aside a portion of the proceeds to fund the Hermes Art Series; Mr. Hermes was a well-known artist.
“It all ties in with Samuel Clemens, interestingly,” said Ms. Pinter.
“The concept is that it’s a gift back to the community,” said Ms. Barberie. “When asked to put together a centennial celebration, this group, along with other fellow artists, put their heads together and came up with this phenomenal event.” It is one in a series of events that are put on throughout the year.
A lasting legacy
Mr. Cruson, who is portraying Mark Twain, is a former Joel Barlow High School teacher and former longtime Redding resident. He is now Newtown’s town historian. While Mr. Twain did not own an automobile at the time, Mr. Cruson said he was fascinated with technology and would probably have relished a ride in one like the Tourabout.
“He’s our Twain, he has an essential wisdom about him,” Mr. Mellon said. “He knows the last generation more than anybody.”
And what would the real Mark Twain think of the pomp and circumstance surrounding this anniversary?
“I think he would have loved it, maybe he would have been a little embarrassed, but he would have seen all of its permutations and its richness; he loved this community,” said Mr. Grashow.
“He loved people,” Ms. Pinter said. “He was so ahead of his time,” she added.
Part of the experience on Saturday, Mr. Grashow said, is the sense of community. “It is about bringing everyone together for this incredible blending of history and the continuing legacy of Twain,” he said. The whole event, Mr. Grashow said, in keeping with the mission of the Hermes Art Series, is an “incredible” layering of ideas.
“All of the arts almost always exist singularly, but in this particular series, we’ve all gotten a chance to get to know each other, and layer it,” Mr. Grashow said. “This event is a tribute to that layering.”
“The town is a great place to be an artistic person. It’s quiet, it’s beautiful, you can be on the fast track your whole life and come back here, which is probably what Twain did,” Mr. Mellon said.
One of the most appealing aspects of Redding, Ms. Barberie said, is that artists are respected and cherished by the larger community.
“And the crown and jewel of Redding is the library,” she said. “In the absence of a town center, we find each other and make a life that is so rich.”
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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