Author: Sharon

My passions include photography, music, people, teaching, learning, taking risks and asking "I wonder what would happen if I..."

Portuguese Crowning of the Imperitor, circa 1950

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Crowning of the Imperitor, Gloucester, circa 1950 Anonymous/©Fredrik D. Bodin

Since 1902, Gloucester’s Catholic community gives thanks to God by celebrating the Crowning of the Imperitor. Proceeding down Prospect Street, Our Lady of Good Voyage Church is just out of the frame on the left. The girls I’ve been able to identify are, from left to right: Sandy Saville; Judy Sears Cote (whose mother made the dresses); Sandra Lawler Olsen; and Loraine Mitchell. Mary Dahlmer Mesquite is on the porch. If you recognize any of the other girls, please let me know.
Printed from the original 4×5 inch glass negative in my darkroom. Negative # JC-007
Fred Bodin
Bodin Historic Photo
82 Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930

A Great Deal from LaRosa’s

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Get $25 a Gift Certificate for only $10!

I was talking to  LaRosa’s owner Terry LoJacono yesterday and he told me about this great deal at restaurant.com.

Joey, he wanted me to let you know the lobster stew you love will be on the menu all summer!! Come on down!!

Yankee Ingenuity

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My sister, Pat, was gardening last week and ended up with poison ivy all over her arms. She told her friend, Pam, that she was done with pulling weeds unless she could find gloves that covered her arms. We threw a surprise birthday party for my sister last night, and Pam made these for her. Clever!!

 

 

Cleaning the Catch, circa 1930

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Cleaning the Catch, circa 1930 Anonymous/@Fredrik D. Bodin

Sailing home in rolling seas after a fishing trip, these men clean and sort the catch. Covered with fish guts and scales, there’s no showering or shaving on a working schooner. This was on-the-job reality in the 1930’s. One way I estimate the date of an old photo is by clothing style. In this shot, the man in the middle is wearing a 1930’s Trilby hat, and the men on either side are wearing 1920’s flat Newsboy hats. If anyone can identify any of these fishermen, please let us know.

Printed from the original 4×5 inch glass negative in my darkroom. Negative # A9145-246

Fred Bodin
Bodin Historic Photo
82 Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930

Front Beach, Rockport, circa 1900

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Front Beach, Rockport, circa 1900 Charles H. Cleaves/©Fredrik D. Bodin
These folks are enjoying Front Beach in the latest beach attire. Observatory Point sits in the distance on the right. The Rockport fire house is on the left, with its hose drying tower. It wasn’t until after 1819 that water buckets were replaced by a great improvement in fire-fighting equipment – the cotton hose. After use, the hoses needed to dry, and this took place in a 50 to 60 foot tower. Often, a fire bell was hung in the top of the tower.

 

Printed from the original 4×5 inch glass negative in my darkroom. Negative # A9445-046
Fred Bodin
Bodin Historic Photo
82 Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930

Local Producer Reels in Top Cannes’ Prizes

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From the Gloucester Daily Times-

Joann Mackenzie  Staff Writer

IMDb image

Gloucester’s Sarah Green is talking on the phone from her Los Angeles office about the film that all of L.A. seems to be talking about, Terrence Malick’s new cosmic epic, “The Tree of Life.”

“You have to see this film with your heart, not your head,” says Green, who co-produced the 2011 Cannes Film Festival Palme D’Or winner. “If you see it with your heart, you will see so much more. You will see yourself, for one thing.”

Growing up in Rockport in the 1970s, Green says she had no clue how she saw herself.

“I was drawn to the arts, but didn’t see myself as having the talent to be an artist,” says the veteran producer, whose artistic sympatico with iconoclastic directors became the hallmark of her career. “I was good at math, so oddly enough, I went to school for engineering in Boston (Northeastern University) because math and engineering seemed to make sense.”

Once in Boston, Green found herself more drawn to its film culture than to engineering.

“I was seeing everything and going back to films I loved again and again and again,” she says.

It was, she says, an awakening to realize that filmmaking was her passion.

Read more here.

The Paint Factory, Gloucester

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 The Paint Factory, Gloucester ©Fredrik D. Bodin
The Tarr and Wonson Paint Manufactory, or Paint Factory, was built in 1874. It’s purpose was to make copper based paint to prevent barnacles from growing on the bottoms of boats. Bottom growth slows a vessel down, which costs money, especially if the cargo is perishable fish. In addition, the fishing schooner reaching port first got best price. This was Tarr and Wonson’s new technology.
Looking at this photograph you may think it’s old, until you look closer. In October of 1984 I looked out my window and saw a large schooner entering the harbor with her sails up. I ran outside and fired off half a dozen shots.. The size of the Bluenose II behind the Paint Factory gives the photo its impact. She’s  161 feet long and the mainmast is 125 feet tall. I learned later that this was the Bluenose II of Nova Scotia making a quick sail  in and out of Gloucester Harbor. It was a courtesy visit by the captain to a good friend, Gloucester shipwright Verne Smith and his wife Ruth.
Printed in my darkroom from the original 35mm Tri-X negative. Negative #FDB841016-05#08A
Fred Bodin
Bodin Historic Photo
82 Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930

The Homecoming

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 The Homecoming, circa 1950 Anonymous/©Fredrik D. Bodin
It’s rare that a photograph can make me well up a bit every time I look at it. This one does. Although we can’t see see the soldier’s face, we know where he’s been: to war. Now he’s returned after a long hot trip, being welcomed by his family in an airport or train station. The three women, probably his wife, mother, and daughter, are all crying with happiness to have him home. It’s hard to not do the same.
About two years ago a woman came into my gallery with a few photographs she wanted to sell. I was struck when I saw this one, and bought it. It’s an 8×10 black and white glossy, with no information on the front or back. An unknown press photographer probably took the picture, and I don’t know if it was ever published. I wonder if he or she realized the emotional weight of this image. An unexpected gift for us on Memorial Day.

Scanned from the original 8×10 inch print. Negative #AD110530-001
Fred Bodin
Bodin Historic Photo
82 Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930

Memorial Day, Gloucester, 1904

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This flag raising ceremony was held at 6:30AM near Addison Gilbert Hospital. In attendance were Gloucester’s Civil War veterans of Company G, Eighth Infantry. Company G, of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, was organized in 1788, and was called the “Gloucester Artillery.” After being reorganized in 1852, it was named the “American Guard.” They fought in President Lincoln’s Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) from 1861 to 1865.
Photographer Alice Curtis mentions “Uncle John” was the guest of honor at the Memorial Day flag raisings she photographed in 1904, 1913, and 1915. He is the bearded gentleman on the left. I believe Uncle John was Captain John Lowe.
Alice M. Curtis/©Fredrik D. Bodin
Thank you to all of our veterans for your service.
Printed from the original 5×7 inch glass negative in my darkroom. Negative # A8357-058
Fred Bodin
Bodin Historic Photo
82 Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930