Finding the Ghost in the Now

Town Hall is on First Hill in Seattle. The folks who run it were interested in finding out about their neighborhood. So, they asked the well known "Now and Then" creators Paul Dorpat and Jean Sherrard to put together a permanent photographic display of First Hill, Now and Then. Scholar in Residence Steve Scher talked with Dorpat and Sherrard at Sherrard's Greenlake home, about their partnership, their motivations and their exploration of First Hill in Seattle. Historian and author Paul Dorpat has been documenting the region for most of the past 4 decades. He has contributed more than 1300 “Now and Then” features to the Seattle Times Pacific Northwest Magazine since 1982. Jean Sherrard came to the partnership when Paul was asked to do a “ Washington Then and Now “ book. Apparently Jean liked driving around the state a lot more than Paul did. Paul Dorpat is co-founder of Historylink.org. He was awarded the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Pacific Nothwest Historians Guild in 2001. His documentaries have been featured on local television. He used to lecture widely. Now he is often in his basement. Jean Sherrard has worked as an actor, writer, director, photographer and teacher. He was Co-founder of the Globe Radio Repertory. He first worked with Paul Dorpat on the “Bumberchronicles” Documentary that was presented on KCTS-9