Mae Shumway Enderly (October 30, 1871 – after May 1943[1]) was an American clubwoman, harpist and entertainer on the lyceum platform, the Chautauqua circuit, and the vaudeville stage.
Mae Shumway Enderly | |
|---|---|
 Mae Shumway Enderly, dressed in a Norwegian bridal costume from a 1916 publication. | |
| Born | Minnie Mae Shumway October 30, 1871 Galesburg, Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | harpist, entertainer |
| Known for | lyceum circuit, Chautauquas, vaudeville |
Early life
editMinnie Mae Shumway was born in Galesburg, Illinois, the daughter of Stephen Burroughs Shumway and Lydia Jane Streeter Shumway.[2] She pursued training for the stage at the Frohman School for Expression in New York.[3]
Career
editMae Shumway moved to Nebraska with her family as a young woman, and taught school there.[3]
Mae Shumway Enderly's performances for the lyceum, Chautauqua, and vaudeville audiences involved various costumes, singing, impersonating historical and cultural figures or giving dramatic readings, sometimes while also playing a small Irish harp.[4] "I have spent weeks searching in the public libraries of Los Angeles and other cities," she explained about her material, "I am continually searching the best magazines and periodicals for authentic news so that I may improve my programs."[3]
Enderly was popular with American audiences.[5] In 1909 she toured with soprano Gloria Mayne-Windsor, as the Enderly-Windsor Company.[6] For several years (at least 1909-1914) she gave a costumed dramatic reading called "The Spanish Student".[7][8] During World War I she developed a sketch called "Brides of Our Allies" or "Peasant Brides",[9] in which she wore wedding gowns from various European cultures,[10] and discussed those traditions while she sang and played the harp.[11][12] She presented a "tragic playlet" called "Ballard of Despair" to Los Angeles club audiences in 1917.[13] She sang Irish songs and played harp in costume at the Ebell Club in Los Angeles for St. Patrick's Day in 1919.[14] She recited "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam" while wearing a "Persian costume" at the harp, or poems by Edgar Guest, with harp accompaniment she wrote.[3]
Enderly also played harp and gave her spoken presentations for radio audiences. As a prominent clubwoman, she was the official head hostess to Illinois attendees during the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[15][16] In 1933 she was founder and president of the International Woman's Club of Los Angeles (formerly known as the Illinois-California Women's Breakfast Club).[17][18][19]
Personal life
editMinnie Mae Shumway married lumber executive Frederick W. Enderly in Nebraska in 1892. They lived in southern California.[2] They had two children, Richard Curtis Enderly (born 1895) and Venita Grace Enderly (1899-1901).[20] Her son married dancer Pearl Eaton in 1931.[21][22]
References
edit- ^ "Internationalists Plan Luncheon". The Los Angeles Times. June 13, 1943. p. 63. Retrieved May 10, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Shumway, Grant Lee (1921). History of Western Nebraska and Its People: General History. Cheyenne, Box Butte, Deuel, Garden, Sioux, Kimball, Morrill, Sheridan, Scotts Bluff, Banner, and Dawes Counties. A Group Often Called the Panhandle of Nebraska. Western Publishing & Engraving Company. pp. 418-419.
Mae Shumway Enderly.
- ^ a b c d Parlette, Ralph Albert (May 1923). "Mae Shumway Enderly is from Noted Early Family". Lyceum Magazine. 32: 33.
- ^ "Harpologist Ends Tour". The Los Angeles Times. December 26, 1926. p. 64. Retrieved May 10, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mae Enderly Returns". The Los Angeles Times. May 24, 1925. p. 68. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Enderly-Windsor Company Charms Audience". Albuquerque Journal. October 12, 1909. p. 4. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "'The Spanish Student' for High School This Evening". Oxnard Daily Courier. November 18, 1910. p. 1. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "High Class Concert". Calexico Chronicle. April 28, 1914. p. 1. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ "May Shumway Enderly Wearing Costume of a Norwegian Bride". Neenah Daily Times. July 3, 1916. p. 3. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Women Entertained by Bridal Costumes". The Van Nuys News. May 28, 1926. p. 1. Retrieved May 10, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mae Shumway Enderly :: Traveling Culture - Circuit Chautauqua in the Twentieth Century". digital.lib.uiowa.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
- ^ Parlette, Ralph Albert (January 1923). "Praises Costume Program". Lyceum Magazine. 32: 35.
- ^ "Well Known Reader to Present Tragic Playlet". Riverside Daily Press. April 2, 1917. p. 1. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ "Boy Baritone Feature of St. Patrick's Day Fete". Los Angeles Herald. March 18, 1919. p. 13. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ "Knox College Alumni to be Entertained". The Los Angeles Times. July 31, 1932. p. 38. Retrieved May 10, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Olympic Activity". The Los Angeles Times. July 1, 1932. p. 26. Retrieved May 10, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Presidents Start to Make Plans for Next Club Year". The Los Angeles Times. August 13, 1933. p. 32. Retrieved May 9, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "International Club Plays Host to Indian Group at Colorful Meeting". The Los Angeles Times. August 30, 1933. p. 38. Retrieved May 10, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "International Club Hears What's in Future". The Los Angeles Times. December 20, 1935. p. 26. Retrieved May 10, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Genealogy of the Shumway Family in the United States. T.A. Wright. 1909. pp. 108.
Mae Shumway Enderly.
- ^ "Member of Eaton Sister Trio to Wed". The Los Angeles Times. May 18, 1931. p. 30. Retrieved May 10, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Travis, Doris Eaton (2003). The Days We Danced: The Story of My Theatrical Family from Florenz Ziegfeld to Arthur Murray and Beyond. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 162-163. ISBN 9780806199504.
Dick Enderly grave.