Program offers look at county's past, present

An in-depth look at Monroe County, past and present, will be featured this Saturday at a program offered by the Monroe County Historical Society. The program will feature slides and photos of Bloomington and the Monroe County area taken from the 1940s to present time and is open to Bloomington and Monroe County residents. \nThe look back at old Bloomington is the third of a planned series of events in which residents come together to share memories of businesses and activities throughout the county. \n"We hold these programs because there is sometimes a lack of information about Bloomington in the past, and it is nice to hear people's personal stories and their connection with the town," said Kari Price, executive director of the Monroe County Historical Society.\nThe Historical Society will tape-record the program to keep an oral record of the stories. Although there is no commentator, the audience is asked to participate by sharing stories of what it remembers about Bloomington and Monroe County in the past. \n"In the previous sessions, the photographs that were shown were older than many of the people who were viewing the slides," said volunteer board member, Allison Lendman. "This session has pictures from the 1940s that resident Ted Plew had brought to the last program."\nPlew did not take the pictures himself, but rather had access to 1940s photo albums. He decided to bring copies to the meetings and attendees were highly interested in this piece of history. \n"I showed some of the pictures at the last historical program and people seemed interested in the pictures I had during the 1940s," Plew said. \nThe photos will be shown at the event, much like a slide show or movie. Plew said he will speak about many of the photos and share his own stories, as well as hear stories from the audience. \n"The program will last about an hour to an hour and a half and is very informal," Lendman said. "We hold these programs for people to come and reminisce about what they know and remember about Bloomington."\nThe photos include scenes of the old Bloomington's downtown square and others taken from the roof of the Grand Hotel. Many of the photos will also feature old businesses and buildings that have changed over the last 60 years and old churches and buildings that used to stand in Bloomington.\n"The pictures are to bring back the memories that people around the ages 60-80 have of what Bloomington was like back then," Plew said.\nPrice said although many in attendance Saturday will be elderly Bloomington residents, learning about the history of Bloomington and Monroe County is beneficial for Bloomington residents of all ages.\n"Even if you do not have any stories to share about your memories of Bloomington, it's fun for everyone to come and listen," Price said. \n-- Contact staff writer Katie Killebrew at kpkilleb@indiana.edu.