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 THEN AND NOW – AN EXHIBIT GRAND OPENING
A resident of Wimberley, UT Professor Emeritus Dee Ann Story, explains one of the exhibits available for all to see in the "Then and Now" exhibition at the Winter's-Wimberley House, 14068 Ranch Road 12 in Wimberley. Professor Story has been the primary motivating force behind the exhibition and the cataloging of a vast collection of historic Wimberley photos that are housed by the Wimberley Institute of Cultures.
More than merely fascinating, the changes in Wimberley's Village Square since the 1880s are a stunning revelation! How did we go from a muddy trading post with a blacksmith shop, the owner’s home and one or two stores to a crowded shopping Mecca in the year 2010? The upcoming exhibit “THEN and NOW, an Historic Photo Essay of the Village Square,” illustrates far better than words the Square’s changing appearance and uses. For example, how would you like to have lived right on the square? You’ll see those who did and their homes dating back to the 1920s.
Saturday was THE day to gather on the square…a place for community…to visit, to dance, parade, put on fund drives to raise money for the fire department, etc., hear speeches, shop Market Days (yes, the square was the original Market Days site), practice kid's baseball…all manner of activities where an audience was sure to gather. These are defining photos of what the residents found both just to be fun and then necessary for a quality of life in a growing country village.
The most astonishing photographs are those that reveal the changes for each particular section of the square…the THEN AND NOW approach. The exhibit uses the archeologist’s perspective, showing you the current look, for example, of the Saunders Store, then all its store front changes back to the 1939 fire and on back to its origin in 1890. This approach adds clarity and, of course, a certain amount of drama.
There is a point to this exhibit, in addition to being very entertaining. The Square most certainly reflects the character of our community and the direction it is taking. Clearly, it defines the small- town nature of its people, its values, its idea of fun and style of building choices, its “look.” It does have its emotional appeal. If you love your adult hometown, just wait until you see what it was in its childhood.
The exhibit will feature a grand opening for Wimberley Institute of Cultures members at the Winters-Wimberley House on Friday, March 5, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Beginning on Saturday morning, March 6, the exhibit will be open to the public with docents provided. Through July 3, hours will be from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. every Friday and on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Don’t miss this exciting event, the first major exhibit opening since the Ranching exhibit, back in 2004.
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