Smithsonian Barn Exhibition Tours Wyoming
June 14, 2004
(Torrington, WY) June 26 has been set as the date Eastern Wyoming College celebrates the Grand Opening of Barn Again! The Smithsonian's traveling exhibit Barn Again! opened in Riverton in January and is traveling to six communities in the state during the Wyoming tour. Torrington is the fourth community to host the exhibit that will be on display in the Fine Arts Auditorium lobby. Local committee members have planned an afternoon filled with fun, food and entertainment. Beginning at 4:00 p.m. community members will be treated to hot dogs prepared by the Chamber Ambassadors and music provided by the Torrington Fiddlers. The local FFA chapter and 4-H groups will host a petting zoo for children. The afternoon promises to be filled with something for everyone.
Organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services (SITES) and the National Building Museum and in cooperation with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Barn Again! looks at the origin and fate of the barn in its various roles as warehouse, factory and legend. Barn Again! gives exhibition visitors new ways to consider a familiar icon. The exhibition surveys the agricultural changes that led to architectural adaptations on the farm, following major movements in American history such as the 19th century European immigration and westward migration.
On loan from various residents of the community, committee members have organized a display of antiques, pictures, quilts, art, and other memorabilia. In addition to these items will be a collage of the local barns photographed during the year by project scholars Marty and Dottie Jungck. An additional wall of photographs of barns around southeast Wyoming, photographed by Paul Puebla and others who have submitted photographs of their barns is also included in the exhibit.
Over the past nine months, planning the local Barn Again! Exhibit has involved many individuals and families in Goshen County. In addition to the exhibit, committee chair, Donna Beth Downer, has organized two tours of historic Goshen County. The North Tour, slated for July 14, has been planned by Downer, Kayle Barry, Wilma Baldwin and Angie Babcock. These women will narrate the history of Northern Goshen County on the 144 mile tour. Lunch will be served at historic Jay Em and will be catered by Occasions. The South Tour has been planned by residents of the LaGrange community, Stephanie Haas and John Kessler, who will narrate the July 21st event. Ladies of the Bear Creek Community Center will be preparing and serving lunch for tour participants that day. The cost of each tour is $25(includes lunch).
The exhibit will be open in the EWC Fine Arts Auditorium from June 26th through July 30th. The hours will be as follows: Monday 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday 3:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m., Friday 10:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m., Saturday by appointment only, and Sunday 2:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. To register for the tours or to learn more about Barn Again, call Eastern Wyoming College Community Education at 307.532.8213 or 532.8323.
