Block Island Southeast Light
I took a long bike ride around the island this morning with the intention of stopping at the Southeast lighthouse.
It is now owned by a private foundation, and they offer brief tours for $10.00.
A very nice young woman by the name of Winter showed me around.
The building was built in the 1870s and shows signs of wear, but it is still a functioning lighthouse.
The lens is amazing and beautiful.
There are two bulbs; Winter thought the one on the left was a backup. It cycles on and off every 3.7 seconds. It is interesting how such a small bulb can produce so much illumination.
The hexagonal shapes in the floor are small glass skylights.
I usually photograph Nineteenth Century buildings that are not in use and are abandoned. It is lovely to be in one that is still used for its original purpose.
Block Island
We took the ferry to Block Island today. This evening we walked down to Mansion Beach. Cris has a knack for finding the most amazing things on beaches. She found an iPhone once in South Carolina.
Tonight she found this.
And then she found the box it came in.
It appears to be some kine of weather device that was attached to a balloon.
Here’s the code number.
It’s in the back of the car now.
Here’s a sand castle about to disappear.
Willard Tour
I wasn’t sure I would go to the Willard tour this past weekend until I was recently contacted by Ken Paddock. When Ken told me the story of his aunt Helen who died at a very young age as a patient at Willard, I really wanted to meet him. His family had kept an amazing collection of documents and artifacts related to her death in 1928 at the age of 17. She had contracted a disease (possibly scarlet fever) at a young age which caused blindness and other problems, and she was sent by the family to The Syracuse State School for Mental Defectives. She was transferred to Willard when the State School could no longer control her. The collection contains letters written to the family about her situation, including a letter from the head of the State School advising the family why she would be moved. Ken’s mother rarely talked about her older sister, and it wasn’t until just before her death in 2001 that details about Helen’s institutionalization started to come out. It is amazing to me that these artifacts were saved by the family, especially since it seemed that no one spoke much about her for such a long time. I met Ken, his wife Kathy, and their cousin Carol at the Taughannock Falls overlook on Saturday morning and was shown a binder full of artifacts. They encouraged me to talk about her life, and are graciously allowing me to photograph the collection, which I hope to do later this summer. It is great to be able to use her full name as this collection is in private hands and does not come under the state’s control. So, here’s a kind thought for Helen W. Howden, and thanks to Ken’s family for sharing her story.
We got up to Willard at around 12.45 and were organized into groups for the tour. The first stop was Brookside, which is where the medical director and his family lived. It is a lovely early 20th Century house and situated right on the shore of Seneca Lake. As usual I was drawn to one of the three kitchens and took a few shots before I headed downstairs.
This device was used when the family wanted to request something from the staff. When Craig Williams and I were looking at it, the buzzer sounded when another member of the tour pushed a button in one of the upstairs rooms.
Next stop was the game room in the basement. I am not sure which director’s family would have used this foosball table, but it was most likely Dr. Anthony Mustille’s children.
Since I had already been in several of the buildings on the tour, Peggy Ellsworth suggested I come over to the morgue when it was between groups. She is one of the main boosters of Willard’s past, and spends a great deal of her energy keeping the spirit of the place alive. She told me an amazing story of her first day on the job after she had graduated from the nursing school. It involved her first autopsy when she was standing right where she is in this photograph.
It constantly astounds me that evidence of how these rooms were used is still in place decades after Willard’s closing.
The morgue building is a tiny little brick edifice that I had never been able to get into on my earlier visits.
So many interesting aspects to this room.
This is the faucet at the head of the autopsy table.
And who knows why this retractor was left behind?
It is really quite a space, and reminds me a bit of the autopsy room at Ellis Island that I photographed a few years ago. After I left the morgue I headed over to Elliot Hall which was built in 1931.
It reminds me of several of the other state hospitals I have visited; long corridors with day rooms at the end of hallways.
And the stairwells are very similar to ones I have photographed at other institutions.
Before leaving to head home, I stopped by the cemetery where the Willard Cemetery Memorial Project folks arranged this nice remembrance of Lawrence Marek (unfortunately not his real surname) who while a patient at Willard dug over 900 graves for those who died while living at the institution.
The next tour of Willard should take place again next May. It is a great opportunity to meet former staff and see first hand what an amazing place it was, and in many respects, still is.
Willard Suitcases / Anna H / Talk in Albany
After a bit of a break, we were back to shooting more of the suitcases yesterday. It was a productive day, and after the intensity of the Kickstarter appeal, it was nice to be back to doing what is the most important part of the project.
Anna’s case was in nice condition and the wicker pattern was lovely.
For those of you in the Albany area, I would love to see you at a presentation I will be giving at The University at Albany next Thursday the 10th. I will be talking about the suitcases and some of my other work to Katherine Van Acker’s class on documentary studies. Here are the details: Uptown Campus, Science Library Room SL G02, 5.45 pm. On our way back from Rotterdam yesterday, Peg drove me around the campus so I could get my bearings, and the first thing I noticed is that parking could be very difficult. There is a very small visitors lot (link to campus map), so if you plan on attending I would encourage you to get there early.
Found Earring
Cristine really likes earrings and when I travel, I will often pick up a pair for her if they are unique and not too expensive. On one of my trips somewhere in the vicinity of Lake Erie, I saw a pair made from glass that had been worn smooth by the action of the sand and waves. / About a month ago we went for a long snowshoe walk in the woods above our house. Later that day she realized that one of the earrings was missing. It always bums her out to lose one. I am usually optimistic about finding lost jewelry; it seems to be a Krieghoff family thing that has come down through the generations. My mom definitely had it and I got it from her. Late this morning I was outside just off the deck taking a leak and I looked down and saw this.
With all the freezing and thawing, it was stuck pretty well in ice, but I ran inside and grabbed a butter knife and dug it out. The non-silver metal loop is a bit rusty, but it will clean up nicely.
Travels
It has been a while since I’ve posted. I think it was a combination of having the Kickstarter campaign wrap up and feeling a bit of “Kharma Congestion” as my friend Alex would call it.
Last week Cris and I drove to Toronto. She was presenting at the annual CIES Conference and I was tagging along for fun.
We went out to an amazing South Indian restaurant called Udupi Palace and it was the best. Cristine’s favorite food in the world is a paper masala dosa, and Udupi has the best ones she has ever found outside of India. After we ate, we were waiting for a streetcar to take us back downtown and I saw this window display. Love the hands.
I was very excited to get back to Toronto to be able to see the Thompson Collection of Cornelius Krieghoff paintings at The Art Gallery of Ontario. Here is a previous post about my relation to him. The museum has a ton of his work. I was really jazzed to see so many in one place.
This is a detail from one of his paintings that is a sort of self-portrait of his family (in the sleigh).
I especially liked reading the bottom paragraph here. It helps to explain where I might get my own disregard for authority.
After Toronto, we drove to Pittsburgh for another of Cris’ conferences. On the way we had to stop at Niagara Falls. I hadn’t been on the Canadian side for years, and it was a beautiful day. (Unlike many, I also really like the American side.)
In Toronto we scored some of these great Roots mittens. And I bought this hat in the Soviet Union in 1982, a very long time ago.
Next stop was Eddie’s Footlong Hot Dogs on the Lake Road just outside of Meadville. I grew up eating these and was thrilled to see that they had opened for the season just a few days earlier. I rarely post pictures of food, but oh man are these good. Too cold to eat at the picnic tables, but two with the works hit the spot.
We got to Pittsburgh in time for a nice walk along the River. It is a fantastic city that somehow remains largely intact. The downtown is full of beautiful buildings that are mostly in good shape, and it seems, just waiting for a revival of sorts. It is hard to imagine why young artists aren’t flocking here and making it home. It is such a cheap place to live, with amazing loft spaces right in town, and tons of culture. And the rivers!
So many beautiful steel bridges. This one leads to PNC Park, just across the river from downtown.
Here’s a view looking back across the water.
Our hotel was very near to Penn Station and on Sunday morning I took a walk over to check it out. As a kid I had traveled through it on the train, and the upper floors are now converted to “luxury” apartments. This is a section of the dome which used to be the main entryway from the street.
It was sad to see the “modern” waiting room like this.
With only two trains a day, and nothing running North/South there isn’t much activity. And the times aren’t particularly convenient.
Thanks for checking in. I’ll try to get on a more regular schedule of posting. Tomorrow Peggy Ross is coming over and we are meeting with my friends at Small Batch Books to start work on the Suitcases book reward. I’ll keep updating progress on the project, and plan to be back shooting next week.
Again
In the late afternoon of 28 October, 2011 I picked up Peter at Union and he and I were heading home for the weekend. Cristine was working in the Middle East, and the weather forecast was calling for a major storm. I was partway through the first suitcases Kickstarter campaign, and feeling unsure as to how it would all work out. We stopped at the first rest area on the MASS PIKE to get gas (and I think a packet of Hostess Cup Cakes). I looked at my phone and something like 80 emails that had just come in. I really thought there was a problem with my account and that the server was just resending old mail that I had already viewed. When I looked closely I realized that all the email had come from Kickstarter. They had just featured me as a “project we love”, and I immediately met my goal. That early winter storm rolled in big time and we were without electricity for the next 2 days. Wild./ Yesterday, I was shooting the suitcases in Rotterdam and was aware that the current Kickstarter appeal was ending in the evening. As I was driving east on the pike towards home, I stopped for gas at that same rest area, looked at my phone and saw this ($20,879 pledged with 341 backers, funding successful). It seemed just right that I discovered that both projects had gone over the top at the same location.
This is one of yesterday’s cases. It belonged to Joseph K.
Thank you all for your support and interest in the project. And a huge thanks to the folks at Kickstarter for running a great organization, and providing a venue that enables independent projects like this one to be successful.
Fog and Palm
Heading back North tomorrow. We had time for one last walk on the beach today, but had to bail. Very odd conditions. Foggy, misty, windy, and loud from the roar of the surf. It was very disorientating and made walking difficult. It was hard to stay balanced and the conditions made us both a bit dizzy. Went for a long walk away from the beach and it was nice. Had a bit of a thunderstorm late this afternoon to cap it all off.
Happy 2014 to you all.
Recently
Sometimes I get a bit frustrated when I don’t post here as soon as I have some interesting (to me) photographs. / We were up in Maine for Thanksgiving at my brother and sister-in-law’s house. They live near to Higgins Beach in Scarborough, ME and on Thursday the ocean was really kickin’. I went for three separate walks to the beach the next day and each one was interesting in its own way. The surf was up (especially by East Coast standards) and at one point there were at least 40 surfers out.
On the morning walk I noticed that tons of sea creatures were washed way up on the beach, including this guy. Very alive and, I hope, happy to be put back into the ocean. Would have made a nice little lunch though.
On our way home on Saturday, I finally stopped to take a shot of this structure on Route 1 in Scarborough. I liked the light, and it is nice to see how helpful the owners are in identifying just what this thing is.
Further (farther?) down Route 1 is Bob’s Clam Hut in Kittery and since Peter was with us it seemed a nice time to stop in for a bite. As usual, amazing fried clams.
Next stop was in Boston for our annual walk around the outside of Fenway Park. So sweet to have the 2013 World Series banner hanging.
And I have always liked this statue, especially Dom DiMaggio’s specs. / We ended the Boston leg of the trip with a stop at the Blue Ribbon. For Peter, this day was a triple play; clams, Fenway, and Blue Ribbon. He was a very happy boy.
And finally, there is this. Image-wise it is kind of an orphan here, but I love the floating cone in the middle. I spotted this on a walk with Pete yesterday afternoon. / I take him to the train in New Haven tomorrow, and as usual, it will be difficult to say goodbye. Cris and I have had so much fun being with him for the past few weeks.
Willard Suitcases / Leo R. / Peg Ross
The New York State Museum did an amazing job conserving and cataloguing the suitcase collection. Three staffers did most of the work. Sarah Jastremsky, Christine Allen, and Kara Chambers worked for months on the project, and they each had their own style of wrapping. I have never been able to tell who did which case, but they all did an amazing job. This particular case represents one of those distinctive styles. / Peg and I always try very hard to return the suitcases to their original condition once we are done shooting.
And it is she who does most the work in this regard. Here is the result of rewrapping Leo R’s case; very close to the original and equally effective. She looks very proud and happy in this picture, as well she should. / From time to time I mention Peg in these posts and it bears saying again that I would have a very hard time doing this work without her help. She deserves a lot of the credit for what you see here and on willardsuitcases.com and I am so grateful that she is a partner on the project.
Leo’s case was one of many leather grips that we have photographed. There wasn’t much in it, but what was there was great. You can see by the label that he was admitted on 25 June, 1954.
I have never seen a Vaseline tube in this color. I wish they would have kept using it, as it is a shade of green that knocks me out.
I have been adding more cases to the suitcases site. Eleanor G’s just went up, which one of the larger collections of photographs. I’ll have more posted by the end of the week, just click on “The Cases” at the top of the page. Thanks for checking it out.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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