The Hill Cumorah Legacy Project

Items

• Speaking Notes from the 1995 Hill Cumorah Pageant by Jerry Argetsinger
  As was a tradition, there would be a speech given to the cast on the opening night once everyone arrived. These are the notes from the speech that Jerry Argetsinger gave to the cast of the 1995 Hill Cumorah Pageant. Argetsinger welcomed the cast and explained how the Pageant will be run in the coming days, as well as show how the pageant has touched the lives of 12 people. He explained the way it changed their lives and their relationship with God.
• Hill Cumorah Devotional Speech by Jerry Argetsinger
  This document includes notes on a speech and the speech itself as written by Jerry Argetsinger on 8.5'' x 11'' college-ruled loose-leaf paper. The total document consists of 8 single-sided pages. The paper is written in pencil, along with black and blue ink. The blue ink largely contains annotations on the material, most likely written at a later date. The speech recounts the spiritual impact of the Hill Cumorah Pageant and encourages those involved on the benefits of the production. When consulted on the document in February 2022, Argetsinger recounted the impact of international converts in the Pageant, in particular, that of the portrayal of the Virgin Mary by a Japanese woman.
• 1988 Hill Cumorah Pageant Press Release
  The 1988 Press release is a white laminated folder filled with information on the Hill Cumorah Pageant of that year. On the front in white embossed letters, it says "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." When you open the folder, there are 3 sets of stapled documents in the left sleeve and several staggered loose-leaf sheets of paper on the right. The 3 sets of documents on the right are brief articles titled: "54th Hill Cumorah Pageant to be best ever!," "Hill Cumorah Pageant Creates High-Tech Theater on a Hillside," and "Technical Directors from the Hill Cumorah Pageant are Pros from Movies and TV." In the right sleeve are 5 pieces of paper of increasing heights; this allows the title of each sheet to show above the sheet on top of it. The 5 sheets are titled: “Organization,” “Direction,” "Script – Staging,” “Music,” and “The Facts.” The first 4 sheets overview and have laminated photos of the people in charge of each part of the Hill Cumorah Pageant. The last sheet, “The Facts,” along with 2 more loose sheets behind it, give more general information on the Hill Cumorah Pageant in 1988. On the outside of the right sleeve, a business card is attached that gives contact information for the Press Office and Visitor’s Center. The back of the folder is blank.
• "A History of the Hill Cumorah Pageant (1937–1964) and an Examination of the Dramatic Development of the text of 'America's Witness for Christ.'"
  A blue book that contains Charles Walker Whitman's PhD dissertation on the history of the Hill Cumorah Pageant. The book was written between 1967 and 1968. Some of the features in his book are 7 chapters of how the Pageant came about, illustrations that show how the Pageant looked, and what items were used in the production. This book shows the Pageant in both a visual and contextual description. This book is important because it gives a description of how the Pageant was created and how it would look at the Pageant.
• Argetsinger Hill Cumorah Pageant Book Collection
  A stack of books and manuscripts addressing the Hill Cumorah Pageant that Gail and Jerry Argetsinger accumulated over the years.During the HIST 326 "History Harvest" event on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, Jerry provided handwritten index cards with the titles and authors of the different books.Collection Contents:Dalmath, Gabe, G. R. DeFranco, and Jan LaMartina Waxman. The Image is Rochester. Urban Tapestry Series. Memphis, TN: Towery Publishing, 1997. Jerry's caption: "An urban tapestry." Notes page 74 in reference to the Pageant.  Jones, Megan Sanborn. Contemporary Mormon Pageantry: Seeking after the Dead. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2018.  Jerry's caption: "A Book of Scholarly Criticism. Examination of 6 Mormon Pageants." Moe, Christian Hollis, Scott J. Parker, and George McCalmon. Creating Historical Drama: A Guide for Communities, Theatre Groups, and Playwrights. 2nd ed. 1965; Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2005. Jerry's caption: "An Examination of many American Outdoor Dramas. Shakespear [sic], Religious, Historic." Naythons, Matthew, with contributions by Acey Harper, Gordon B. Hinckley, and Roger Rosenblatt. The Mission: Inside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. New York: Warner Books, 1995.  Jerry's caption: "A Travelog." Shaw, Marc E., and Holly Welker. Singing and Dancing to The Book of Mormon: Critical Essays on the Broadway Musical. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016. Jerry's caption: "It's [sic] strong connection to the Cumorah Pageant." Suskin, Steven. The Book of Mormon: The Testament of a Broadway Musical. Book and score by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. Photography by Joan Marcus. New York: Newmarket Press, 2012. Jerry's caption: "A Broadway Musical. Text by Steven Suskin." Whitman, Charles W. "A History of the Hill Cumorah Pageant (1937–1964) and an Examination of the Dramatic Development of the Text of 'America's Witness for Christ.'" PhD diss., University of Minnesota, 1967. Bound edition, UMI Dissertation Services, 1968. Jerry's caption: "PhD Dissertation." Note: The full Whitman dissertation is available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, ProQuest document ID302222137, https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/history-hill-cumorah-pageant-1937-1964/docview/302222137/se-2.  Not pictured:Evenden, Michael. "An Analysis of America's Witness for Christ: The Hill Cumorah."   Note by Jerry Argetsinger: "Literary Analysis. Dramaturgy by Michael Evenden. Created to help theatre directors nuance the Outdoor Drama." Evenden wrote this manuscript specifically as a guide for Pageant directors.
• Hill Cumorah Pageant Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Flyer (2012)
  The document is a flyer advertising the seventy-fifth anniversary production of the Hill Cumorah Pageant in July 2012.The flyer is printed on glossy 8.5-inch-by-11-inch paper. Text and images appear only on the recto (front) side. The flyer features an anniversary seal with "Hill Cumorah Pageant" and "1937 [to] 2012" written along the borders and a large "75" in the center. A color photograph of the Pageant's opening tableau—the full cast assembled on the multi-tiered stage, arms outstretched toward the audience, with seven trumpeters at the top of the stage—spans the width of the page. Notes from the flyer:Performance dates: "July 13–14 and 17–21" "Free Admission" and "Free Parking" "Seating for 9,000" Directions to the Hill Cumorah: "Off highway 21 near Palmyra, New York [line break] 2 miles north of Interstate 90, exit 43" "Concessions available" "Handicap accessible" "Spanish and ASL available," followed by small images of hands making the "OK" sign "Anniversary displays and presentations" Phone number for the Hill Cumorah Visitors' Center Website link to www.hillcumorah.org. July 17, 2012, screenshot of the website, courtesy of the Internet Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20120717005945/https://www.hillcumorah.org/. Invitation to visit the Pageant's Facebook page Full name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints