St. Joseph's Altar

It has been a long time since I have posted on this blog. I have spent my time writing on Facebook and Twitter and I have not had something organized and longer to say. But now I do.

At SoFAB, we were the beneficiaries of the helping hands of students and faculty from Livingstone College in Salisbury, NC. These wonderful people gave us an entire day. They removed a wall that was standing behind the St. Joseph's Altar, and which opened up a new gallery where we plan to expand our exhibits. The Altar was placed in a niche created by a false wall in an archway. It looked nice there, but was often unseen. It was out-of-the-way. The students moved the altar carefully and reassembled it in an area that has better light and that can be seen on all sides. The altar is now garnering comments from visitors and resulting in lots of questions about the St. Joseph's celebration.

It is amazing how placement makes a difference. We thought that we had placed the altar in a place of prominence. But we hadn't. We had tucked it away. It is being appreciated and explored now. A welcome, but unintended by-product of the volunteers' work.

We're Here!

Well, it has finally happened. We are open. No more vague posts about what might be. We are here. I hope to post a few times about our exhibits, spotlighting important things. And then, you will find me talking about new plans.

But first let me tell you about the wonderful St. Joseph Day altar that forms a part of the Louisiana gallery. The altar was designed and conceived by Sandra Scalise Juneau, an expert on the religious and historical significance of the altar. Although the food on the altar is faux, produced by SoFAB Board member, chef and artist, Nora Wetzel (and friends), it looks real enough to eat. We are fortunate to have these talented women working to ensure accuracy and to support SoFAB. The altar is sponsored by Boscoli Foods and we thank them for their generosity.

Come visit the altar now, instead of waiting for St. Joseph's Day, to see the manifestation of tradition and belief.