By Jim Andrews

We have all seen Andes from the street and many of us are familiar with the way our business and residential buildings looked on the outside over 100 years ago. Have you ever wondered what life was like inside these buildings 100 years ago? The Andes Society for History and Culture has a modest photographic collection of residential interiors and many of these views are currently on display at the Hunting Tavern Museum. The exhibit is entitled “Come Inside: A Look at Andes’ Interiors”.

Although Andes was not a booming metropolis, it was an agricultural community housing people from diverse financial backgrounds—modest farmers who had retired into town, well-off merchants who provided the goods and services to the community, teachers and laborers, as well as transients who generally rented rooms. The ASHC collection shows not only the interiors but also the inhabitants engaged in primarily evening activities and dinner parties—lots of dinner parties! Although not wealthy, the majority of homeowners made the attempt to be stylish and above all, comfortable.

Visit the Hunting Tavern any Saturday from 10 am – 3 pm (all day on Community Day) and take advantage of this rare glimpse into the “interior” lives of our former residents.

Last year’s exhibit, “You Could Buy It Here,” has been moved to the upstairs ballroom so that you can still check out the businesses of Andes over 100 years ago and, yes, there are some interior shots of them as well. ~