Remembering Yesterday's Tomorrows

This will probably come as no surprise to you, but when Americans of the past visualized the future they were often far off base. Most often, the visionaries' problem was that they got carried away. They may have been on the right track, but often their guesses turned into wild futuristic fantasies. To see proof of what we're talking about, take time to visit the "Yesterday's Tomorrows" exhibit now on display at the Museum of the High Plains in McCook. The traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution opened in McCook Wednesday, and will be here through Sunday, Oct. 5. Hours of viewing will be 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m.

To make it as convenient as possible for guests, the McCook Yesterday's Tomorrows Committee has scheduled grand opening ceremonies for this Saturday morning. Among the drawing cards will be a "Century of Cars," featuring vehicles from every decade of the past 100 years. "We have a 1907 International in the museum which we will roll out for the grand opening," said Merrill Ream, the McCook project director, "and Tom Beattie will be bringing the 1916 Ford Model T touring car which he recently acquired." The lineup of cars will continue through the years, going all the way from the first decade of the 1900s to the first decade of the 2000s. Also Saturday, Mayor Jerda Garey will present a special proclamation at 11 a.m. and a poster award will be given to Crystal Sutton, a freshman at McCook High School. The U.S. Postal Service will be on hand for the ceremonies to offer a special pictoral cancellation. The cancellations will be offered from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., or may be obtained for 30 days thereafter by special request.

Already, visitors are discovering that the exhibit is bringing back memories. Among them is Roland "Ron" Jensen of Santa Anna, Calif. While traveling to Fremont, Neb., Jensen stopped to view the exhibit and was surprised to see the EV1 portrayed on one of the exhibition panels. Jensen had leased one of the EV1 cars -- which stands for Electrical Vehicle One -- when they came out in 1997, but he said the cars were a little too early for the times. The EV1 ran on conventional batteries, and eventually were recalled because of power source malfunctions. Still, the electrical car is a part of history as proclaimed in the "Yesterday's Tomorrows" display. As you view the exhibits, including posters, photos and newspaper clippings from this area, you will see pictures, ads and gadgets that are far out, but familiar. Among the many inventions, there are a number of surprises. For example, back in 1946, who would have guessed that the 30-ton Electronic Numerical Integrator would eventually be transformed into the lightweight, laptop computers of today. Yesterday has become today ... and dreams for tomorrow are still developing. It's eye-opening to see how visions of the past compare with the reality of the present and hopes for the future.