RIDGEFIELD — Brad Richardson was positively giddy as he lifted a heavy Town of Ridgefield seal on Saturday, a relic predating the days of inkjet printers in every office.
“I love this thing because it reminds me of when we used to make stuff out of real things,” said Richardson, the curator of the Clark County Historical Museum. “It’s so solid. It’s amazing.”
The metal seal, a brick from the original U-Haul offices and a 1913 court ledger were among the items on display at a pop-up museum at Ridgefield’s First Saturday event. The museum joined about a dozen booths in Ridgefield’s Davis Park.
The First Saturday events, now in their second year, complement the weekly Ridgefield farmers market with a themed set of events and activities.
Deputy City Manager Lee Knottnerus said the events have been drawing more visitors to downtown since they began in May 2015.
“We want to have a lot of vitality and energy, and retain the small-town culture,” Knottnerus said. “This is part of how we want to help do that.”
This month’s First Saturday was a quiet but patriotic pregame to the big show on Monday, as the city prepares to pull out all the stops for its popular Fourth of July parade. The theme, “Red, White and Blue Historical Fun” nodded to the beginnings of the fastest-growing city in Washington.
Ridgefield’s oldest residents spoke of days gone by at the Old Liberty Theater, and historical trivia was displayed on buildings across town as part of a scavenger hunt.
Athena Andersen, a photographer and member of the Ridgefield Art Association, manned a booth displaying photos, paintings and textile pieces from local artists. Children were invited to color in pictures of the American flag.
The organization is working to make people “aware of this heritage” of the arts in Ridgefield.
“We’re celebrating the wealth of this particular geographic area, the variety of people and the visuals,” Andersen said.
Richardson, the curator, said all they brought were tables, and invited the community to put their own historical items on display. What resulted was a small display that told the story of Ridgefield through the items residents had in their own homes.
“It’s really just to get people involved in their own history,” Richardson said.
