The more things change, the more they stay the same.
While looking through decades-old issues of the Valley News, I’m usually struck with how cyclical the news business is. Concerns about traffic on Route 12A, whether the weather is wreaking havoc on farmers and presidential candidates making bold promises ahead of the New Hampshire primary are covered time and again.
The same goes for photos in the newspaper, including this selection from 1976. Communities in the Upper Valley celebrated the country’s bicentennial with parades and special occasions, just as was done in other towns across the country.
But I was struck by Larry McDonald’s photograph of Erminie Nott showing off her prize-winning bicentennial quilt. Not only did the caption throw me off because the Valley News typically identified women by their husband’s name at the time, but the photo could have been taken in 1956 instead of 1976.
McDonald’s photo of a young teamster at the Hanover Center Fair (still an annual occurrence, now known as the Old Timer’s Fair and held over the weekend), has a timeless quality — I know because I produced a similar photo at the same event in the 1990s.
And finally, a photograph of a steeplejack painting the Congregational church in West Lebanon is a summertime activity we see and photograph practically every year. New England’s beautiful structures appear on postcards everywhere due to the care and maintenance they annually receive.
When I approached my one-year anniversary working at the Valley News, I was concerned that I was repeating myself with similar work. As I approach my 30th year at the newspaper, I revel in seeing the nuance of how things change, yet stay the same.
Geoff Hansen can be reached at ghansen@vnews.com.
