Special Collections’ new winter exhibit, “Snow Scenes of Winters Past,” gives this year’s snow-starved region a visual feast of past snows in the history of Appalachian State University. A physical exhibit is now on display on the 4th floor of Belk Library and Information Commons on the Appalachian State campus. A digital component, which maps a selection of the images on display to their locations on campus, is available through this link.
Students sledding on cafeteria trays, 1984
The exhibit draws on images from the University Archives’ photo collections and The Rhododendron yearbooks and presents a multitude of snow scenes on campus from the 1920s to the 2000s. The exhibit explores three themes: “Snow Activities,” which include all of the many amusements that snow provides — sledding, skating, skiing, snowball fights, and even snow juggling; “Winter Beauty: Natural and Man-Made,” which showcases scenic beauty of snow on campus as well as several images of creative snow sculptures that students have fashioned over the years; and “Coping with Snow,” which reveals that snow does have some downsides, as in digging cars out of snow, University Physical Plant workers preparing the campus for foot traffic, and steeling oneself to brave winter snow and wind to get across campus.
The exhibit was curated by Greta Browning and Graham Shelton, graduate student in history at Appalachian State University. The digital exhibit was created by Dan Devine. The exhibit on the 4th floor will be available through the end of March. By then, maybe we’ll be ready for spring!
Contributed by Greta Browning, Reference and Instruction Archivist
Students braving the snow and wind in 1965. The old Administration Building is in the background.
