Photos from the Lewiston-Clarkston Improvement Company, some by Asahel Curtis, are part of the WSU exhibit.
PULLMAN, Wash. Those of us who extend the golf season or get a jump on spring blossoms and bulbs by visiting the Lewiston-Clarkston “banana belt” are building on a long tradition. For example, at the turn of the 20th century, “Vineland” was marketed as an irrigated paradise for health, settlement and prosperity.
A historical exhibit, “Vineland: Shaping Paradise. The Lewiston-Clarkston Improvement Company Records, 1890-1920,” will open Wednesday, April 4, with a 4 p.m. reception in the Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections in the Holland-Terrell Library. Five student curators will talk briefly about their projects, after which visitors may view the exhibit.Some of the photos were taken as glass plate negatives by Asahel Curtis, a famous Pacific Northwest photographer.
“These photos are absolutely beautiful,” said Rob McCoy, WSU associate professor in history who is overseeing the exhibit.
It is part of the Greater Columbia Plateau Initiative Seminar (GCPIS), a two-semester standard credit course open to undergraduate and graduate students that focuses on in-depth readings and projects about the Greater Columbia Plateau.
The exhibit will include posters, a continuous slideshow of photos on a big-screen TV, maps of irrigation and waterworks, a breakdown of census data and ethnic makeup, and old promotional pamphlets to convince people to move to the area, said McCoy.
The student-led exhibit will showcase work begun in August 2011, said McCoy. The show is expected to be open until early August.