8/22/06- Summer of '06

As the year of the Gillette Centennial begins to wind down, let me bring you up to speed as to what has happened during the course of the last few weeks.

On July 21, there was another performance of the Ilion Little Theater production, "The People vs. Gillette" at the very same Herkimer County Courthouse where nearly 100 years earlier (the trial happened in November), Chester Gillette was on trial for his life for the murder of Grace Brown. There were some differences at the courthouse performance, such as the addition of the jury box, not present at the Herkimer County Community College performances. Herkimer County Sheriff Chris Farber served as the jury foreman and delivered the guilty verdict to the actor playing Chester Gillette.



There was also another performance at HCCC the night after the courthouse performance and again I attended. I ended up getting autographs from both the cast and crew of the reenactments. They did a really wonderful job and I was glad to be a part of this major piece of history.

This Saturday, I will be going on the bus trip that is being sponsored by the Herkimer County Historical Society that will take me to Cortland and South Otselic that relate to the case, including Grace's house and grave site. In addition to photos, I will be taking a rubbing of her grave. I can't wait.

I also have a lot of things on tap here that will be coming up in the coming months, including the "Dreiser Story," as well as various other things that pertain to the case that will eventually lead up to the Ilion Little Theater Club's upcoming production "Chester and Grace." The year of the American Tragedy is not over yet.

6/30/06- The People vs. Gillette (Play Review)

Last week at Herkimer County Community College, I took part in a really historic event. Last week marked the premiere performance of this summer's Gillette Trial Reenactment, entitled "The People vs. Gillette," written by Jack Sherman, a judge from Ithaca. He first originated the idea for the trial reenactment back in 1977 while he was an assistant district attorney in Herkimer and revived it for the centennial of Chester's famous trial for the murder of his pregnant sweetheart, Grace Brown.

Members of the Ilion Little Theater Club played the key characters in the reenactment with Sherman playing Judge Irving Devendorf. The performances were really interesting and it felt like you were immediately taken back to the legendary trial that made headlines back in 1906.

I was there as a volunteer, but I was able to see the show anyway. For me a few characters stood out for me, including the guy who played District Attorney George Ward. He brought depth to the role of Ward and the opening scene where he read Grace's letters in open court brought out the emotional quality of the man he played. Also for me, Art Wilks stole the show as Undersheriff Austin Klock. He brought humor and wit to the show and it was very well done. And the climatic showdown between Chester and Ward, which took place during the second half of the reenactment gave you a sense into what it was really like. The guy who played Chester also did a pretty good job.

In case you missed it at HCCC, the next reenactment will be held on July 15 and 16 in Old Forge before returning to Herkimer on July 21 at the very same courthouse where the trial actually took place. That is definitely not to be missed. And there will be one more performance at HCCC on July 22.

In the meantime the next Gillette-related even is today at Ward's Pond Bed and Breakfast in Dolgeville. It is a dramatic reading of Grace's letters called "My Dear Chester, again written by Jack Sherman. Then on July 11, the memorial for Grace will be held at Big Moose Lake. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend either one, but I will be there at least in spirit.

6/24/06- THE PEOPLE VS. GILLETTE


I FIGURED THAT TODAY I WOULD TAKE A LITTLE BREAK FROM THE STORY EVEN THOUGH I DO NOT HAVE THAT MUCH FURTHER TO GO TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT. LAST NIGHT, I HAD THE PLEASURE OF VOLUNTEERING FOR THE PREMIERE OF THIS SUMMER'S TRIAL REENACTMENT, ENTITLED "THE PEOPLE VS. GILLETTE" AT HERKIMER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE RIGHT HERE IN HERKIMER. IT WAS PART OF THE THREE-DAY LITERARY CONFERENCE "CHESTER, GRACE, AND DREISER: THE BIRTH OF THE AMERICAN TRAGEDY," WHICH HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE THURSDAY AND ENDS TODAY.

THEY ALSO HAD A DISPLAY ROOM WHICH HAD A WHOLE COLLECTION OF RARE ARTIFACTS FROM THE CASE, SOME OF WHICH HAD NOT BEEN SEEN SINCE 1906. MOST OF THE ARTIFACTS INCLUDED NEWSPAPER ARTICLES FROM 1906 AS WELL AS SIGNED STATEMENTS FROM CHESTER GILLETTE'S SPIRITUAL ADVISORS AFTER HIS EXECUTION IN 1908 AND A LIST OF PEOPLE WHO ATTENDED THE EXECUTION. THERE WERE ALSO LETTERS FROM GRACE BROWN, AS WELL AS CHESTER'S FINAL LETTER TO GRACE IN THE THREE-WEEK PERIOD LEADING UP TO HER DEATH, AND A LETTER FROM HARRIET BENEDICT ASKING CHESTER FOR A "POSTER."

BUT THE BIGGEST DRAW OF ALL HAD TO BE THE TENNIS RACKET WHICH CHESTER USED TO KILL GRACE WITH THAT DAY ON THE LAKE. IT WAS RECENTLY AUTHENTICIZED BECAUSE THEY FOUND AN EXHIBITION NUMBER ON IT. THIS ALSO MARKS THE FIRST TIME THAT THE MURDER WEAPON WAS PUT ON DISPLAY SINCE THE 1931 PREMIERE OF THE MOVIE "AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY," THE FIRST MOVIE BASED ON THEODORE DREISER'S NOVEL.

I WILL HAVE TO STOP NOW, BUT I WILL HAVE MORE ON THIS MONDAY.