Phyllis Schrag

Topics: American Old West, Black Hills, Education, History, Literature, Poetry, South Dakota, Women

Community: Ames, IA

Program Types: Pre-recorded Program Video, Speakers Bureau, Virtual Program(s)

phyllis_schrag@mediacombb.net | (515) 337-1713

Letters from the Attic
Participants will gain a perspective on the life and times of people who settled in Dakota Territory. The presentation is based on fifty letters written in German script addressed to Schrag’s great-grandfather, F.J. Meier. These letters have been carefully saved, never translated, and handed down through the generations. They detail faith, firsthand experiences, and the agrarian nature of Dakotans between 1878 and 1889. PowerPoint ™

Alice Roosevelt Longworth – What They Say About Me is True!
Audience members represent reporters at a press conference in Alice’s home. They ask predetermined questions. Via a PowerPoint™ presentation, the answers will give an account of Alice’s colorful life, her relationship with her father, stepmother, and other family members as well as the times in which she lived. This is a lively, witty, clever, acerbic, and delightfully rebellious daughter of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th U.S. President.

Theme Events
Each stand-alone theme event details what life was like growing up in a 1950s small town and examines some of the unique advantages that modern children will never experience. Schrag will present one of the following –
“If You Have to Grow Up Anyway, It Might as Well Be in a Small Town”
“Baseball, Preachers, and Funerals”
“Remember Christmas?”
Using a storytelling format, these presentations transport audiences back in time to the influences of small town and rural life that are fast disappearing. Each topic event is from a child’s perspective when life was simpler, telephones had a special place on a wall or desk, all older people were called grandma and grandpa, and children created their own fun.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, I am My Mother After All
You say or do something, and you wonder, “Where did that come from?” only to remember your mother said and did that, and suddenly you realize you have become your mother. In a PowerPoint™ presentation, audience members will be reminded of common expressions used by our mothers, along with humorous stories that help us understand the powerful gene pool from which we came. The presentation also includes inspiring quotes attributed to notable famous women of all generations.

The King of Little Things
This presentation is a storytelling, creative dramatics, audience participation program ideally suited for children, but adults love it as well. In this program, participants learn about The King of Little Things by Bil Lepp. Phyllis Schrag, with her puppet Monique, greets the students. Puppets are provided. Songs include “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and “There’s a Hole in My Bucket.” Other familiar children’s literature includes, “The Duel” by Eugene Field, and acting out an adaptation of “The Fat Cat,” a Swedish folktale.