Ashwaubenon Historical Society shares stories of vintage wedding dresses

The Ashwaubenon Historical Society Museum opened the doors to a special exhibit of wedding dresses dating from 1901 to 2011 on April 30.

“The dresses were last exhibited in 2019, and before that in 2013 at the museum’s previous location. A few of the dresses are now so fragile that they cannot be put on mannequins or hangers, so are now displayed inside glass table cases,” said Barb Short, the curator at the Ashwaubenon Historical Society Museum. “The dresses are placed throughout the museum in appropriate places when possible - for instance, one of the brides taught in a one-room school, and her daughter was also a teacher, so they are in front of our schoolroom.”

The museum has 22 dresses and suits on display, each carrying its own stories and memories. The museum owns 17 of the dresses in its permanent collection, but has a loan of five others that belong to one of the first immigrant families in Ashwaubenon.

“The Historical Society was founded in 1972, and over the years, has accumulated the collection of dresses donated primarily by current or former Ashwaubenon residents, sometimes by the brides themselves, or by their descendants,” said Short.

“Each of the dresses has a story to tell, and is accompanied by brief notes about the lives of the brides and grooms. Many wedding photos, showing the dress as worn by the bride, as well as a collection of historic wedding photos from Ashwaubenon farm families, will also be displayed,” said an Ashwaubenon Historical Society Museum press release.

“Sometimes we know something about the bride that is not on the sign accompanying each dress, and we try to share that information with visitors if they are interested. Some of our volunteers who grew up in Ashwaubenon have personal knowledge of the families that I don’t,” said Short.

“The five dresses on loan to the museum for this exhibit are from the family of Lucille Vercauteren Mullen, married in 1941,” said Short. “In addition to her wedding dress, which is not at all traditional, but very representative of the time, we have the dresses from two of her daughters, and two of her granddaughters, one of whom is our treasurer.”

The exhibit of vintage wedding dresses will be on display in the museum until June 25, and admission is entirely free. Aside from the museum’s regular hours, every Thursday from 1 to 4 P.M., you can also visit on varying Saturdays through May and June. May 9, 16 and 30, and June 6, 13 and 20, 1 to 4 P.M.

Monday, May 25, the Museum is hosting a Memorial Day Open House, and all exhibits will be open, also from 1 to 4 PM. Admission is, again, entirely free.

“We always look forward to visitors’ response to our museum, and this exhibit in particular, and the information that they may have that we didn’t know about. In addition to the research we have done at the museum, the Genealogical Society has found marriage licenses, newspaper wedding announcements,” said Short.

“Thursday, May 14, the Museum is open from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm for a special presentation by the Bay Area Genealogical Society, ‘Marriage Records – Where to Find Them, and Why They Are Important.’ The history of the three oldest dresses in the exhibit, from 1901, 1914 and 1936, will be highlighted,” said a press release.

The museum is also open by appointment. Contact ashwaubenonmuseum@gmail.com for more information.

“I would like our visitors to know that we are an independent, non-profit organization, with no paid staff, and an incredible group of very dedicated volunteers who operate the museum and maintain the collections,” closed out Short.

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