Betsy Landherr Howell checks the fit of a suit jacket on Gary Gosney, one of the stars of Inherit the Wind. The production continues its run this Thursday through Sunday at Temple Civic Theatre. Visit templecivictheatre.com for tickets and show times. David Stone photo

By DAVID STONE, Our Town Temple

When Betsy Howell agreed to run the wardrobe department for Inherit the Wind, she thought it would be a nice way to return to community theater. She hadn’t been a part of a Temple Civic Theatre show since she and daughter Madeleine had roles in Secret Garden way back in 2000.

So when Wayne Bachus, director of the latest TCT production, approached her about doing wardrobe, Betsy jumped at the chance.

“I’ve never done wardrobe,” she said this week. “I have been involved in community theater since I was a child. My parents were involved, and I had my first role when I was a sophomore in high school. I hadn’t done anything since Secret Garden, so I agreed to help.”

“To be honest, I didn’t expect this many clothes,” she said with a huge grin. “Twenty-seven dress shirts, 10 suits, 10 pairs of slacks, four blazers, 13 dresses and three skirts with blouses — Wow.”

Wayne said that since Inherit the Wind is set in the 1920s, he wanted the characters to look like they were in an old photograph.

“You know how old photos have that sepia tone to them? They usually have a brown or tan tint,” Betsy said. “That’s what Wayne wanted. I looked in the Temple Civic Theatre costume closet, but there wasn’t anything like he had described. So, I made a spreadsheet of everyone’s measurements, then went shopping.”

Betsy found shirts, pants and suits at Goodwill, and dyed them to create the sepia-tone look Wayne was wanting.

“My mom used to dye clothing, and I learned a little bit about that from her,” Betsy explained.

While Goodwill was the answer for a large part of the new wardrobe, she found the dresses on eBay.

“They weren’t the right color or the right style, but I bought dresses and modified them so they had a 1920s feel,” she said. “Then I dyed them so they had that brown and tan tint.”

The pants looked the part after the dye jobs, but they required alterations to fit the actors.

“I have some sewing skills,” Betsy said. “And they started at a young age. I got the costuming bug in sixth grade after reading Gone with the Wind. I designed and constructed every Scarlett O’Hara outfit that was described in the book — but I made them for my Barbie. I even made an iconic gown from green velvet drapes.”

“Later — as a mom — I made dresses for my three daughters,” she said. “But, I had never let-out pants before working in wardrobe. I learned how by watching YouTube videos.”

Another wardrobe volunteer, Tracilynn Jones Poss, also got in on the sewing fun.

“Tracilynn and I had to make the costumes period appropriate,” Betsy said. “So we sewed six buttons onto every man’s waistband to accommodate old-school suspenders.”

So when you’re kicked back in your theater seat during the final weekend of Inherit the Wind, be sure and take a gander at those costumes — a lot of work and love went into making them.

Inherit the Wind opened last week and will conclude with performances this Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For tickets and showtimes, visit templecivictheatre.com.

Inherit the Wind is a fictionalized account of the Scopes Monkey Trial — the 1925 trial of John T. Scopes, a Tennessee educator convicted for teaching evolution in his high school science classes.

THURSDAY | APRIL 7, 2022

GRAND OPENING FRIDAY AT CHA

A new business located at 7 N Main Street in Downtown Temple will hold its Grand Opening on Friday.

Cha Community opened its doors just over a month ago, and now makes it official. The boba tea shop will open at noon Friday and a ribbon-cutting will be held at noon.

“We will have giveaways, and customers can get a free boba topping per order all day,” said co-owner Jaja Chen.

The first 25 guests will receive a free 16-ounce boba tea drink coupon, and the first 50 guests will be entered to win free boba tea for a year (one per week for 52 weeks), Chen said.

“We will also be serving our new spring drink line and introducing our new Taiwanese cold noodles for lunch this Friday,” she said.

Submit your events

Is your business, church, school, organization or club having a bake sale? Or a battle of the bands? Or maybe a fishing tournament? Whatever the event, run it FREE in Our Town Temple, where it will be available to the public 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Photos are encouraged.

Send event information to OurTownTemple@gmail.com

NATIVE TEXAS PLANT SALE IN SALADO

The Native Plant Society of Texas Tonkawa Chapter will hold an Earth Day Celebration & Plant Sale on April 16 at Barrow Brewing in Salado.

The celebration begins at 10 a.m. and there will be activities for adults and children.

Information on planting and caring for native Texas plants, trees, and shrubs will be available. A wide range of Texas native plants, trees, and shrubs will be for sale, including some hard-to-find varieties.

Visit the NPSOT website at www.npsotcentx.org for a list of sale items.

WEIRDNESS UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Amber Hinkson, above, and Amanda Hill, co-owners of Weird Doughs Bakery & Cafe, are planning to open in June. Amber said the parking lot has been resurfaced, plumbing is in progress, and new windows and doors are being installed this week. Weird Doughs will be at 11 N 16th Street. Courtesy photo

Gun Show this weekend at The Expo

The Lone Star Gun Show will be at the Bell County Exposition Center this Saturday and Sunday, April 9 and 10.

The event will include new and used guns, knives, swords, hunting gear, books, coins, medals, ammo, reloading equipment and gun supplies.

The event is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $7 for adults — kids 12 and under are free.

Line-up change for Festival of Praise

There’s been a late line-up change for this weekend’s Festival of Praise concert at the Bell County Expo Center.

Two of the previously announced gospel stars — Hezekiah Walker and Israel Houghton — will not be appearing at Saturday night’s show. Instead, Donnie McClurkin and Marvin Sapp will be joining Fred Hammond on stage.

Festival of Praise will begin at 7:30 p.m. and tickets range from $22 to $52. Tickets are available at bellcountyexpo.com.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

To include your events in What’s Happening and Today’s Best Bets, email information to OurTownTemple@gmail.com. Photos are welcome to for use in the publication as space permits!

OurTownTemple@gmail.com | (254) 231-1574