Sometimes it’s about the ones that got away. Finding photos for the monthly “A Look Back” feature involves sleuthing and a bit of luck, especially when I’m looking for photos published 50 years ago, in June 1972.
I started with a visit to Kilton Public Library in West Lebanon, where past issues of the Valley News are kept on microfilm. It’s a nice place to spend an hour and a half, which was about how long I spent using the library’s microfilm reader connected to a computer to scroll through the pages.
When I saw photos that caught my eye or that seemed newsworthy that month, I snapped a photo of the screen with my iPhone. Those images are easy to zoom into later to read the story and captions on the page.
I had high hopes.
“UV Greets Train” was one of the headlines that caught my attention. “Nostalgia mixed with excitement Thursday afternoon as about 400 Upper Valley residents crowded the platform of the White River Junction railroad station.
“The occasion was the arrival of a three-car train bearing officials of the Amtrak Corporation who are in the process of deciding whether Vermont and New Hampshire or New York will get the coveted rail passenger link between Washington, New York and Montreal.”
“8 Years After 1964 Fire, Is Mall Still A Disaster? (Answer: No)” was another story I was interested in. “This month marks the eighth anniversary of the fire which ravaged the core of Lebanon’s shopping district in 1964, and for many of the businesses hit by the fire, much of that eight year history has been tough financially.
“But today most of the stores which were wobbling through the lengthy construction of the futuristic downtown mall are now once again on a sturdy footing, more financially solved than ever, and many are looking to their future on the mall with nothing short of excited optimism.”
“29 Lebanon Protesters Fined $100 Each: ‘Social Law’ Winner In Court” is the third story that I was interested in. “Moral law vs. social law seemed to be the contending forces during the arraignment Friday afternoon in Lebanon District Court of 40 anti-war protesters arrested May 15 and 16 while attempting to block buses picking up draft inductees.
Social law won the first round as 29 of the protesters were found guilty of “refusing to withdraw” by Judge William Lovejoy, and fined $100 apiece.”
A couple of days later in the office, I printed out the photos I had shot with my phone and began to search for the negatives filed in a storage closet. Earlier images from the 1960s into the 1980s are filed in envelopes and boxes. From the 1980s into the early 2000s, they are stored in archival sleeves and file cabinets.
No matter the method of filing, there’s a bit of luck involved in the hunt. Sometimes work is either misfiled or loaned out and never returned. With the above stories, I struck out on all counts. It was a disappointment, but instead I found documentation of Oxbow High School’s first graduating class, Walter Cronkite receiving an honorary degree at Dartmouth College and wonderful documentary portraits of a trapshooting teen and the City of Lebanon’s housing inspector.
After pulling those negatives and others, I scanned them via a flatbed scanner, captioned and made adjustments via Photoshop before uploading them into our system for publishing in print and online.
It’s a process, but rewarding to look back at what life was like in the Upper Valley 50 years ago.
Geoff Hansen can be reached at ghansen@vnews.com or 603-727-3247.
