It’s a Sunday morning ritual for many in the Puget Sound: attack The Seattle Times by first hunting for Pacific NW magazine and then going directly to the back where another “Now & Then” photo essay appears courtesy of Paul Dorpat and Jean Sherrard.
Fans will get a chance to hear directly from the duo of Puget Sound’s visual history when they bring their perspectives to the Redmond Historical Society Saturday Speaker Series from 10:30 a.m. to noon Nov. 14 at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center (16600 N.E. 80th St.).
Dorpat has been doing the weekly column since 1982 and in 2004, teamed up with Sherrard, a local photographer, actor, writer and high school teacher.
The team uses the photos for a bigger purpose.
“We like to tell stories,” Dorpat said, promising that for the Saturday Speaker Series, “we will no doubt include some Eastside subjects, but we will also roam the state.”
The program is titled “Now & Then: From Redmond to La Push.”
Expect some of their personal favorites, said Dorpat, whose heritage credentials include being a co-founder of HistoryLink.org, the encyclopedia of Washington state history.
“It will be a balance of entertainment and instruction — in every subject chosen,” Dorpat says.
As much an institution as some of his profiled buildings, Dorpat calls himself “a tourist in (his) own hometown.”
In 2007, Dorpat and Sherrard collaborated on the book “Washington: Then & Now.” In addition, Dorpat has authored or co-authored numerous other books, including “Building Washington, A History of Washington State’s Public Works” that won the Governor’s Book Award in 2000 and a three-volume set titled “Seattle Now and Then.” Some books will be for sale at the program.
The Saturday Speaker Series is a monthly program presented by the Redmond Historical Society on every second Saturday from September through May (no program in December). Topics range from local, state and Pacific Northwest historical interest. There is a suggested $5 donation for nonmembers.
Redmond Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that receives support from the City of Redmond, 4 Culture, Nintendo, the Bellevue Collection and Happy Valley Grange as well as from other donors and members.
