Guest Column by Kelly Wassenberg

 

How do you cover 150 years of history in just a few pages? You don’t, but I tried my best.

In today’s edition of the Tribune, you will find a special keepsake pull-out commemorating the 150th anniversary of Wells — the town that I call home.

My residency in the community, combined with the knowledge that I worked for its local paper before coming to the Tribune, made me a candidate to work on the project. I’m quite thankful my editor gave me the opportunity.

By all means, this is just a snapshot. There are many more people, places and events that were worthy of inclusion, but there is no way to cover them all.

I faced some unique challenges in working on this project, as well. Holes in information, conflicting reports, even time itself is an enemy of trying to document history. In some cases, memories fade; in others, legend and speculation have become accepted as fact.

For example, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” was playing at The State Theatre when it was devastated by a fire on Jan. 20, 1969. There are photos that exist showing the movie’s title on the marque. It’s a pretty well-known fact in Wells.

If you ask Wells residents who were alive at the time which movie was playing the night of the Aug. 17, 1946, tornado, many would answer, “Gone with the Wind.” Sounds too ironic to be true, doesn’t it? That’s because it is — but the legend lives on.

In “The Princess, The State, The Flame,” by Betsy Hermanson, a copy of which is at The Wells Depot Museum, it is documented that there was no mention of “Gone With the Wind” being played at the theater at the time in any newspaper advertisements immediately before or after the tornado. The scheduled movie that night was “Night Train to Memphis,” and photos exist that reinforce this as fact.

My first reaction to initially hearing this claim was a surprise, mainly because I thought “Gone With the Wind” was released in the 1930s. I was right, but barely. “Gone With the Wind” was released in 1939. My second was inspired by curiosity.

Four hundred people were reportedly saved when Patrolman Gordon Danke instructed everyone to stay in their seats and remain calm as the tornado struck. The Associated Press even wrote a story on it in which he humbly replied that anyone else would have done the same thing. How could such a legend be so well cemented into history when potentially hundreds of people could testify to the contrary? Who knows?

What I do know is that time is not always a friend, which is what makes the documentation of history that much more important. Sometimes the answers we seek lie with those who take them to the grave before sharing them. I consider this a great injustice.

I also know I couldn’t have completed this project without the help of volunteers from local museums and historical societies. These individuals have many things in common — all of them seem to have a love for their community, an interest in history, a willingness to volunteer and the knowledge that behind every person is a story — but none of them are immortal.

I encourage everyone to take the time to visit a local museum, volunteer, buy a membership or donate a family heirloom of historical significance.

A true appreciation for the present is only possible if you’re familiar with the past.

Kelly Wassenberg is the Tribune’s news clerk.