Photo of the Week, 47: Seasons Greetings . . . from South of the Border!

Sixty years ago this month, during the 1953 Christmas season, former Bloomington residents Stanley A. and Antoinette McVey were back in town to visit Antoinette's mother Rose Capodice, who lived at 1315 East Grove Street. The McVeys had moved to Odessa, Texas two years earlier to work as agents for State Farm Insurance. Living not all that far from the Mexican border, the couple decided to do their 1953 holiday season shopping in Mexico. Among the gifts they brought back included this serape. Seen here are the McVeys, with sons Martin (far left) and Stanley, Jr. (kneeling), displaying the serape in Rose Capodice's home. A Pantagraph reporter was on the scene to snap this picture and write a brief story. Americans have always headed south of the border to purchase Mexican popular arts. The story of McLean County residents doing this very same thing in the 1920s and 1930s is told in the Museum's current exhibit Fiesta! A Celebration of Mexican Popular Arts. This colorful exhibit—truly a feast for the eyes!—includes more than 150 pieces art from every region of Mexico. For more information on this exhibit visit this page: http://mchistory.org/exhibits/current/fiesta.php