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The Final Art Tour Odd # Thursday

12/28/2016

Hello readers and welcome back to the Hometown Heritage Blog!

I am excited to tell you that this week is our last event! Tomorrow night, starting at 4:30 P.M. in the Hotel Pattee lobby in Perry, Iowa, is the last Art Tour Odd # Thursday. As this is the last Art Tour, this is also your last chance to see the art on display in the Hotel Pattee, Town Craft Building, and Security Savings Bank. Soon the art in these places will be returning to their original locations and owners. Although you will still be able to see the art that is from the Hotel Pattee, many pieces will be returning to California and Minneapolis. Come and see these works before they are gone! In addition, the pieces in Ames will all also be returning to their original locations as well. If you have not gone to see the landscapes of Gary Ernest Smith, make sure you do soon! Finally, this Art Tour Odd # Thursday will be special, as a Perry Area themed gift basket will be given out to one lucky winner.

Again, this event is tomorrow, Thursday December 29, at 4:30 P.M. in the Hotel Pattee in Perry, Iowa. We hope to see you there, and have a happy New Year readers!

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A Sad Tree

12/21/2016

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Happy Holidays readers and welcome back to the Hometown Heritage blog!

Christmas is right around the corner, so I hope that you have your gifts wrapped and trees decorated! Speaking of trees, we have many pictures of Christmas trees in our collection. Most are the standard kind of family picture with everyone grouped around the tree, smiling for the camera. Some of the pictures, however, are quite a bit different.

One of my favorite different Christmas tree pictures is titled “Bullock Child” and is a photo from 1926. As you can see, this photo is a simple one with a child sitting in front of a Christmas tree. What makes it stand out to me, however, is that the tree is unbelievably sparse! It bears a striking resemblance to the tree in A Charlie Brown Christmas, with the thin branches and almost non-existent needles. It makes you wonder why this family has such a sad looking tree. Did the area where they lived not have enough trees to go around? Did the family not have enough money to buy a tree? They seem to have been able to decorate it and provide gifts for everyone, as the boy is playing with something underneath the tree. Perhaps they spent too much money on decorations and presents. It might even be possible that they had an unfortunate accident with the tree, where all the needles fell off on the way home. We may never know the real reason, but it is fun to speculate.

Do you have any memories of a sad Christmas tree? Let us know in the comments, and have a good holiday season readers!

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Art Tour Odd # Thursday with Robert Spellman!

12/14/2016

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Tomorrow is our next event, Art Tour Odd # Thursday with host Robert Spellman! Robert Spellman is an abstract painter from Des Moines, Iowa. He is represented by Modern Arts Midtown Omaha, Nebraska and by Moberg Chicago. Some of you may remember him as the host of one of our previous events, the Adult Painting Intensive. This time, he will be at the Hotel Pattee in Perry, Iowa on December 15 from 4:30 P.M. to 6:30 P.M, where he will be talking about his art and the art of Gary Ernest Smith. As with other Art Tour Odd # Thursdays, we will be near the fireplace in the Hotel Pattee. It is going to be cold out, so why not come and relax by said fireplace in the cozy Hotel Pattee on Thursday night and enjoy the art of Robert Spellman and Gary Ernest Smith? The event is free and open to the public, and you can come at any point during the evening. Betsy Peterson will also be there with her Art Cart. If you have not had used Betsy's Art Cart, this is your last chance! The cart holds various painting supplies, which allow you to try your hand at painting in a similar style to Gary Ernest Smith. We highly encourage you to come!

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Café of the Arcade

12/7/2016

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Hello readers and welcome back to the Hometown Heritage blog!

Today we got a new donation of some old photos showing an interesting little café that used to exist here in Perry. The café was called the “Arcade Café”, and it appears to have been owned (or at least primarily operated by) George and Merle Watson. The photos, as you can see, show a nice little café that appears to have been very popular. The booths are full, the tables are full, even the counter in one photo is surrounded by people. In one photo you can see a sign that reads telephone, which must lead to a small area where the telephone booth was located (this place reminds me of the café scene in the movie Back to the Future). Overall, it looks like the café used to be quite the place to eat in Perry!

Now, some of you may be asking yourself “These are just ordinary photos of a café, why are they interesting at all?” Perhaps some of you may have already deduced the answer, which is that these photos may be of the same café, but they are not taken in the same building. One photo, which shows the telephone sign, is actually taken at the old location of the café. This location is 1109 2nd Avenue, in what people used to call the Wimmer Building. The other two photos were taken at the café’s new location on Willis Avenue, where Vivi Nails is now located. Today, many people call this the “Arcade Building.” Perhaps it is called this because it used to be the location of the Arcade Café? If you have any more information about the Arcade Café, or why the building is now called the Arcade, please let us know in the comments!

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The Final Art Tour Odd # Thursday

A Sad Tree

Art Tour Odd # Thursday with Robert Spellman!

Café of the Arcade

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