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Show ttm : time Ml n'feeimiiiils LettBne Tantg her continuing accomplishments accomplish-ments and has served on tie Stake Aging Council. Calvin Rampton presented her with an . award f for v the most . outstanding senior citizen in ! Wasatch County in 1975., ; Lethe's busy schedule - precludes a lengthy visit but v we are invited to return, especially when the lawri is green. "Names fly from me, would you sign my guest book?'' she asks and we are , honored to do so. - f fly"?-1 - y f t J? ; I 4 k'. t i i j; y I : By Nan Chalat "Hello Lethe!" ring out the greetings at the Midway Post Office for one of Wasatch County's , favorite: celebrities, Lethe tatge. That unusual first ; name means "always remember, never forget," and that is invariably the impression Lethe imparts. , : Lethe Tatge lives in the ; home her father Henry Threlkeld Coleman purchased pur-chased in 1903. His initials are engraved in the cement walkway to the West en- . trance of the home whose age is betrayed only by the stately size of the surrounding surroun-ding pines. The interior, is immaculate and unchanged not unlike the lady of the: house who wears a lace collar and cuffs befitting the grace of a previous era. One senses immediately that her values are as steadfast as the 100 year old family home; " " Though the Coleman roots are firm in Midway, Lethe has traveled around the world. She is a noted, lecturer, an accomplished actress and a vital parfbf her community. "It all started in this way," she says as we settle into an easy chair in the parlor surrounded by oil paintings and antiques;- - : Lethe's mother ; Emily Springer Coleman; -was a poet and both parents displayed some acting ability so activities in the:Coleman home centered around read-' ing, reciting and acting. Midway was more remote then. Lethe considered herself her-self a "country bumpkin" and one of the most exciting events that Lethe recalls was the arrival of the Chautaugua in Heber City. The Chautau-. gua was a program of lecturers and international musicians who traveled to small towns in the United States and .Canada during ,x the early 1 900s bringing" ' culture and, education to rural areas. The Chautaugua stayed in each town for one week often travelirigln their own , train, Henry Coleman purchased tickets for the family to attend arid no one was more excited than the. young Lethe. It so happened that Julius Caesar Naphye, a . Greek nobleman who was to . give .a lecture at the Heber City (Chautaugua, needed . several local , high school students, to assist with a pantomime, during his lec- , ture. Lethe was chosen and herexcellent performance tvas noted by Nola Crite the mfe; of the head of the jjSational Chautaugua So- nety. Crite called Bishop Toleman's household that ' Evening to invite the promis-; promis-; ' rig young actress 'to dinrief " it the Turner Hotel. Lethe's 'yes 'widen and so do her ' isterier's. Though she ' has old the story many times efore, the excitement is still ivid. She slaps the arm of jer chair to illustrate her ; ather's skepticism. " tethe' had dinner with Nola that evening, her first dinner in a" hotel and little i did she suspect that it would . be. the first of many. -The . Chautaugua continued on its travels while Lethe finished high school and began to teach at the old Midway School House. : . In 1916, however, she was contacted again by the Chautaugua and asked to accompany them to Canada as platform manager. After some checking of credentials and conferring with church I authorities, Bishop Coleman - agreed and Lethe set out on her career as first a platform manager, then a lecturer and finally a film 'actress with fourteen films to her credit, v J The transition from manager man-ager to' lecturer came about when the star; lecturer of the day Captain Wood Briggs ; was suddenly stricken with appendicitis. With only a few moments notice Lethe filled - in with an, impromptu speech about how, young women were contributing to the war effort. The lecture was a success and Lethe became a regular part of the program. s She was soon sent around the- world to broaden her lecturing topics and she. returned to. tell audiences . across the continent how A, Young Girl ? Looks at Her World; It is easy to imagine the firey young woman who inspired those "audiences because the spark is still there. Ask Lethe where she feels a woman's place is today.; She is firm in her conviction that a woman's first obligation is to her husband and family. She " stopped acting during her marriage to Francis Tatge whom she met back home at Schneiters Hot Pots. The couple, moved to Chicago where Tatge was employed by ' the Hart Schafner and Marx Clothing'Organization. , When it became evident to Lethe's 'parents that they . would - not jbef able to maintain the family home - any longer, "Francis and Lethe moved back to Midway and so the home remained in the family?! Francis Tatge died -in 1954 after which Lethe returned to her acting career in films for the most part, produced by the LDS Church. She recently appeared ap-peared in The Adventure of The Great Brain with Jimmy Osmond and just completed a film for BYU entitled "Joseph, the Man". Lethe is 86. One doesn't need to ask, she is proud of . .JTre..Yn 1f '"MWWi i m , 1 in . iiiiiil Lethe Tatge is a member of the Thespian Society. f . t y ... ' " i " - - MiiiLymiwwuiiaijiiiiMiiwwiwiiwiM ( It y. .c 0 S tmmrwl WMSSsowassit J It jf W, Jfi 1 i&T' jit-,-- r. -'p : - nm l .4 ijH.. Mrs. Tatge h included in the volume Who's Who Among American Women. The Coleman family home was built by John Watkins in 1868. |
