Vol. 17, No. 11	Nov. 13, 1997

Go back to the future in Alison Annex exhibit

It's like taking a trip back to the future when you look inside the display case in the second floor vestibule in Alison Annex. Even the best fashion expert would be hard pressed to tell which items of apparel are from the Historic Costume Collection's 1960s assemblage and which ones were purchased at Christiana Mall this past summer.

It's a little easier to identify the era of the portable phone and the era of the aqua Princess model and pretty easy to guess when the Impala Convertible Coupe was the car of choice, instead of the Lumina APV mini-van. But it's hard to say which short A-line dress, which pair of Spandex pants and which pair of platform shoes are from then and which ones are from now.

Photos of Main Street in 1967 and ones from today complete the retro exhibit as do little pieces of trivia, comparing the '60s with the '90s.

For example, in 1967, the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I. Thirty years later, the Green Bay Packers beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. Progress?

In 1967, five unmanned lunar orbits helped the progress of the space program. In 1997, Earth went to Mars on the Mars Pathfinder.

In 1967, college students listened to the Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love," the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" and "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and the Doors' infamous "Light My Fire."

Today's big hits include "Don't Speak" by No Doubt, "Secret Garden" by Bruce Springsteen, "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls and "You Were Meant For Me" by Jewel.

In 1967, hit movies included The Graduate, A Guide for the Married Man, The Taming of the Shrew and The Dirty Dozen, compared with this summer's hits, Men In Black, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Batman and Robin and Air Force One.

Coordinated by Hye-Shin Kim, assistant professor, and Fran Mayhew, associate professor, both consumer studies, with help from Paul Sestak, hotel, restaurant and institutional management, the display was funded by Department of Consumer Studies and the College of Human Resources, Education and Public Policy. The free, public exhibit will remain in place through December.

-Beth Thomas