At Stratton Chapel, the big building on State Street between Pearl and Commerce streets behind First Presbyterian Church, the welcome mat will be out from 3 to 5 this afternoon.

My husband, Tom, and I will be there along with other members of the church to host an open house – an opportunity for anyone who has not seen the special exhibit at the church to do so and for those of you who have seen the exhibit to visit it again – and to view an additional selected number of 20th-century photographs prepared just for this occasion.

When we opened the exhibit, which we call &uot;Natchez in Historic Photographs,&uot; we started with about 250 large-format, framed photographs, each with a caption to give a little background or to enhance the image. Today, the photographs number about 550, ranging in date from the Civil War era into the early 1900s.

For those who aren’t familiar with the photographic collection, there are panels included in the exhibit to give you the background. In a nutshell, the photos are from glass and celluloid negatives left by three Natchez photographers who worked in succession during the years from about 1855 to 1951.

The idea of displaying historic Natchez photographs in Stratton Chapel began in the 1990s and by late 1994, under the leadership of church elder John Williams, we were busy preparing the exhibit and mounting it in the bright, spacious rooms. In early 1995, we held previews and then opened formally for Pilgrimage season that year.

The upstairs area of Stratton Chapel once had been a vital part of the church, housing the fellowship hall and Sunday school rooms. That changed in the 1960s, when the education building was constructed across the street. Upstairs space at the chapel had become a storage area, well kept and intact, but nonetheless sadly vacant of meaningful use.

Today the upstairs area, consisting of seven primary areas of exhibition, is filled with the people, places, scenes and events that played interesting and important roles in the history of our town. There is a display case, lovingly crafted by church member Ray Colter, where the history of photography is illustrated.

For those who want to socialize downstairs, there will be the new group of photos to see, displayed around the room and not too far from the refreshments.

Generous volunteers give time to keep the exhibit – and therefore the church, too – open the year around and all through the week. The &uot;gallery,&uot; as it is affectionately called by those who work there in half-day shifts, has fulfilled a dream to have a place where not only out-of-town visitors could view this unusual collection of photographs but, more important, Natchez people could see their history unfold before their eyes.

Many people have made the exhibit a success. In the beginning and through the nearly seven years that it has been open, there is one whose contributions stand out. Miriam Loe has organized the docents and kept the calendar and has made many more contributions than can be listed. Her dedication has been inspirational throughout the years the exhibition has been open. I hope she will be there today to take a bow.

Come if you can. You are welcome. You’ll like the photographs. I just know that you will. And we’ll look forward to seeing you.

Joan Gandy is special projects director of The Democrat. She can be reached at (601) 445-3549 or by e-mail to joan.gandy@natchezdemocrat.com.