prior art colonies. However, the
six-week sessions that included
the important field trips quickly
became a thing of the past.
Soon the story of the art colony
faded away as well.
It is amazing that a fledgling
department in a newly created
normal school advanced as rapidly
as it did, in a span of just 30
years. Equally outstanding is the
creation of the summer art
colony, which proved to be a successful
18-year program at Sul
Ross. And what made these two
so successful were the incredible
men and women artists who
chose to come to such a remote
region to teach and the students
who wished to learn from them.
The impact of these first 30 years
is reflected today in the dynamic
and vibrant art department at
Sul Ross State University.
To learn more about the art department
and the art colony, visit The
Lost Colony: Texas Regionalist
Paintings at the Museum of the Big
Bend for an exhibit that opens on Sept.
10 and runs through Jan. 29, 2012.
Museum hours are Tuesdays through
Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays
1 to 5 p.m. Closed on Mondays.
Admission is free, but donations are
always gladly accepted. Free parking.
Ayn FoundAtion
(dAs MAxiMuM)
aNdy warhoL
The LasT sUPPer
maria zerres
sePTemBer eLeVeN
Brite Building, 107-109 N highland, marfa
open weekends noon to 5pm or by appointment.
Please call 432.729.3315 for more information.
City, cont’d from page 23
campus.” Room and board
was $30 a month.
When more modern dorm
facilities became available for
the young women, the building
was used for a time as an athletic
dorm for the college.
The sub-district headquarters
of the U.S Immigration
and Naturalization Service
(Border Patrol) had moved
from Marfa to Alpine in 1935.
The agency moved into the
main front portion of the former
Berkeley Hall.
In 1949, after the Border
Patrol offices had moved back
to Marfa, the U.S. Boundary
Commission and the U.S. Soil
Conservation Service moved
into the building, which had
been modernized to the tune of
$20,000 by the city, which
owned the structure. The
Avalanche reported, “Ceilings
are being lowered, walls replastered,
partitions being re -
moved, new windows installed
and a new entrance being built.
New oak floors will be laid
where needed and the building
generally modernized and renovated.”
A new roof was also
installed on the building. The
Boundary Commission occupied
the front part of the building
and the Soil Conservation
Service the rear portion.
In January of 1977, the
building became the Sunshine
House, a non-profit organization
that provides nutritional and
social activities to Alpine’s senior
citizen. The Sunshine House is
dedicated to “promoting opportunities
for senior citizens....”
The Sunshine House provides
nutritional meals to some
60 Alpine seniors at the center
and prepares and delivers
Meals on Wheels to 110 homebound
seniors, according to
Rocio Aguado, the executive
director. It also offers educational
programs, a gift shop,
quilting, socials, transportation,
daily telephone checks for individuals
who need monitoring, a
library, table games, a Senior
Citizens Club, a meeting place,
a place for socializing and a
computer room. It serves about
150 seniors daily.
In the three years Ms.
Aguado has been executive
director, she has gotten several
grants to help make repairs and
improvements on the Sunshine
House but hopes a new building
can be obtained due to the
age of the old school building.
The old warehouse structure,
which is part of the Sunshine
House complex, can no longer
be used due to the presence of
asbestos. With all the repairs,
additions and renovations, it is
difficult to tell what the interior
of the original structure looked
like, but the side that faces Sul
Ross Avenue is still recognizable
from early photographs.
The old building, known as
the City Building on the historical
landmark plaque, seems to
have come full circle, serving
the children of Alpine in the
beginning – and the community’s
senior citizens today.
Cenizo
Fourth Quarter 2011
27