The white tents around
the enclosure were very beautiful in that evening
light.

At this formal opening on August 4, 1874, brief addresses were given by
Dr. Vincent and by a Baptist, a Presbyterian, a Methodist, and a
Congregational pastor. This opening showed the broad brotherhood which
was to mark the history of Chautauqua.

On the next day, Wednesday, began what might be called the school
sessions of the Assembly. The fourteen days were divided into three
terms. Every morning at 8 o'clock a brief service of prayer and Bible
reading began the day in the auditorium, now Miller Park. At 8:15 during
the first term, August 4th-9th, a conference was held of Normal Class
and Institute conductors, at which reports were rendered of work done,
courses of study, and methods of work, and results obtained. In those
days when training classes for Sunday School teachers were almost
unknown, this series of conferences, attended by hundreds of workers,
proved of infinite value, and set in motion classes in many places. At 9
o'clock, section meetings were held for superintendents and pastors, and
teachers of the different grades, from the primary class to the adult
Bible class.

The Normal Class held its sessions during the second term, from August
10th-13th, and the third term, August 14th-18th. Four classes were held
simultaneously in different tents, with teachers changed each day. At
these classes most of the lessons were on the Bible--its Evidences,
Books and Authors, Geography, History, and Interpretation. The topics
pertaining to the teacher and the class were taken up in the different
conferences. The Normal Class was held to be the core and life of the
Assembly, and everybody was urged to attend its sessions. All whose
names began with letters from A to G were to attend regularly Tent A.
Those with initials from H to M were to go to Tent B, and so on through
the alphabet, to the four Normal Tents. But the students soon found
their favorite teachers, would watch for them, and follow them into
their different tents. There was another infraction of the program. The
blackboard was a new feature in Sunday School work, and not enough
blackboards of good quality had been secured. Some were too small, some
were not black enough, and one was painted with the lines for music. It
is reported that some of the teachers bribed the janitor to provide for
their use the good boards. There is even the tale that a Sunday