The Center for History and Culture of Southeast Texas and the Upper Gulf Coast presents “1930’s Beaumont Voices” on Monday, April 23 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Lamar University Theatre. The event in free and open to the public.

1930s Beaumont Voices is a multimedia program with four costumed actors presenting heretofore-unheard Beaumont citizen-written essays from the 1930s, accompanied by historically pertinent commentary and enhanced with radio, movie clips, music, and pictures from the time.

The essays come from Chester A. Easley and Samuel Rosinger from the archives of the Beaumont Rotary Club.

Texas born Chester A. Easley, a Baptist and owner of Seaport Coal Company, and Samuel Rosinger, emigrated from Russia in 1900 and was rabbi of Temple Emanuel. As volunteers, the two wrote weekly essays for the Rotarygrams newsletters for about 7 years. The Easley and Rosinger essays are personal, poignant, sometimes funny and delightful, and echo what was being spoken about in 1930.

The program was researched, directed, and produced by Marilyn Manson-Hayes, independent researcher and Lamar University Fellow.

“The 8 years Easley and Rosinger collaborated on Rotarygrams produced excellent commentary on the 1930s world, the suffering of the Depression, the lawlessness of Prohibition, the activity of the Port of Beaumont, reports on unusual visitors to Beaumont, social justice, women’s rights, education, and the people living in Beaumont at the time,” said Manson-Hayes.

The Center for History and Culture of Southeast Texas and the Upper Gulf Coast supports the creation, preservation, and transmission of knowledge and understanding about the people, history, culture, institutions, and environment of Southeast Texas and the Upper Gulf Coast through an interdisciplinary, multicultural approach to teaching, scholarship, service, and community outreach.