In the corner, there is a glass case filled with a few pieces of history that may help you understand the journey the CAC has taken over the last 50 years.

The archive exhibit is the work of the CAC archive committee formed by Raye Virginia Allen, co-founder of the CAC.

“It’s been quite a project,” said Carole McCall, committee member. “We’ve gone through more than 50 boxes of items that dealt with classes and activities all held at the CAC over the years.”

The case changes twice a year and now it features various photographs and mementos commemorating the 50th birthday of the CAC.

In the background are pictures of “the four homes of the CAC,” said Cherrisue Presnall, committee member. “They always stay in the case to show the different periods of growth.”

Another artifact featured is a scrapbook that’s more than 40 years old. It was chosen because of the pen-and-ink drawings on its pages.

The scrapbook contains a newspaper article from Nov. 13, 1963, about a “fund-raising chicken tetrazzini supper for the Cultural Activities Center.”

The price of the dinner was only “$1.50 for adults and 75 cents for children.” The event featured “a special table for children.”

Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Pearcy provided the entertainment for the evening with a film of their travels in Alaska.

A copy of the original charter and a picture of the Magic Blue Bus are also in the case.

“The Magic Blue Bus was a bus the Contemporaries provided for the CAC before the schools had libraries,” Ms. Presnall said. “They would take the bus around and children could check out books.”

A number of the photographs feature “many of the movers and shakers” that helped the CAC out in the early days, Ms. McCall said.

“The people in those pictures were instrumental in the beginning of the CAC,” Ms. Presnall added.

--rrenfrow@temple-telegram.com