June 17, 1923

Play-acting reached an organized level six years later in the spring of 1923 with The Mountaineers' first planned, rehearsed dramatization of Robin of Sherwood.

Long time Player Harriet Walker wrote in 1953 looking back from what she had been told about the first play.

"It was a lovely spring afternoon, that 17th of June 1923, as a group of Mountaineers, under the inspiration and management of Howard Kirk and Edith Knudsen (Connolly), scrambled into costumes and make-up, hummed their melodies and tuned their instruments . . ."

"And now, as 'curtain time' for this 1923 production approached, some hundred Mountaineers who had, as usual, hiked the two miles from Chico dock either that morning or the day before (no highway then from Bremerton), waited among the lofty firs near the Cabin to see the play. Finally a little wood-sprite appeared and beckoned them to follow a steep trail down to the old road beside Chico Creek and on and on downstream into the deep dark woods below. Here in a shadowed dell some of them seated on mossy logs, some standing on the marshy ground, as they watched the pantomime among the firs and cedars on the hillside above them, they were carried back to Merry England to join Robin of Sherwood and his jolly thieves." 

Celia D. Shelton wrote for The Mountaineer in 1923:

"All who remember the deeply secluded fern glades along Chico Creek can imagine the beauty of Robin Hood enacted in such a setting. With costumes and music selected with discrimination and care, and actors imbued with the spirit of the occasion, the good old days of the merry men were all lived over again that Sunday afternoon in the deep woods below Hidden Ranch."

"It was probably the most serious attempt at anything dramatic that The Mountaineers have ever done, and the principal credit is due to Howard Kirk, who took the part of Robin Hood, and at the same time acted as manager, property man, costume designer, and even playwright. With Maid Marian and Shadow-of-a-leaf, Puck and the rainbow fairies, Friar Tuck, King John, and the wicked Queen, we all lived over again those days of Richard the Lion Hearted, and for that afternoon the moss-draped cedars seemed transformed into the shadowy oaks of Sherwood Forest in the heart of Merry England."

Some seven years later, Elizabeth Kirkwood wrote in the 1930 The Mountaineer:

“The next spring a few excerpts from Robin Hood were acted in appropriate spots in the forest below Hidden Ranch. The audience covered a great deal of ground following the actors from tree trunk to open spaces. Joe Hazard was Little John and he and Harold Sexsmith fought a most exciting duel on a tree trunk that had fallen across the creek. This show was amateurish compared with the ambitious production put on June 17, 1923, which was a musical interpretation of "Robin of Sherwood," based on a poem of Alfred Noyes. This time there was a stage manager, costumes rented from Roosevelt high school, at a nominal price, singers of ability, music of violin and cornet and a background of folk and natural dancing. The theatre was an open space in the forest below Hidden Ranch, where a level spot had been cleared for a stage and trails made up the side of the hill for the actors to use. Principal credit was due to Howard Kirk, who took the part of Robin Hood and at the same time acted as manager, property man, costume designer and even playwright. The moss-draped cedars made us think it was Sherwood Forest in the heart of Merrie England and we saw again Maid Marion, Shadow-of-leaf, Puck and the Rainbow fairies, Friar Tuck, King John and the wicked queen.”

“This play was done so beautifully that The Mountaineers took to dramatics in real earnest and started in a businesslike way to get professional training. They formed a drama class under the instruction of Mrs. Robert Sandall, a teacher of marked dramatic ability, and planned to give a winter play each year in addition to the annual outdoor performance. Robin Hood was enjoyed so much that a precedent was started and ever since The Mountaineers have put on a spring play. It is the great annual event.”

Harry Myers' daughter, Ellen Taves, remembers her father's favorite story about Robin of Sherwood: Robin was supposed to demonstrate his great strength by uprooting a small tree. But Robin forgot which tree was set to be uprooted and pulled at the wrong one, which, of course, wouldn't budge.

The enthusiastic reception of this new dramatic venture invited repetition. So the next year, Mabel Furry persuaded the group to place themselves under the professional direction of Mrs. Robert F. (Lois) Sandall, beginning with acting classes. Mabel Furry was an active Mountaineer and an accomplished photographer. Many of her photographs illustrate early Annuals. She was also a talented artist, costumer and actress. But by initiating this professional instruction she made perhaps her most important contribution to the Players. Lois Sandall continued to be the Players' director from 1924 through 1936 and from 1941 through 1950.