Memories and Photographs

Remember when taking a picture was a special thing in your family.  My parents’ photograph albums are filled with snapshots from birthdays, graduations, first communions, and other special events.  In our house, a camera was a very common accessory on many occasions.

My family’s photograph albums are also filled with many pictures of things that are not tied to a special event.  There are shots from a heavy snowfall, kids playing croquet in the backyard, or family members chowing down at a picnic.

Today with digital photography and web services such as Facebook and Instagram, I feel as though the special aspect of taking pictures has lost something.  I remember having to wait a week from the time we sent a roll of film in by mail for processing to when the pictures were returned by mail.  Today, you can post an image on-line within seconds of taking the picture.

I guess that’s why I got a little nostalgic this week when an envelope containing old photographs arrived at my mail box. 

My sister found the pictures while helping my dad clean out his attic.  I cherish this gift of old photos.  I’m not only grateful to my sister for sending them to me.  I’m also appreciative that someone took the time many years ago to make sure special moments were documented on film.

The package contains some prints that are quite familiar.  There’s a shot of my dad’s family: Dad, his two brothers, his sister, and his mom and dad.   I remember the original hanging on the wall in my grand-parents’ home during the years I was growing up.  It was taken in the family parlor at the home where Dad was raised.

There are a few pictures of my dad from his high school years.  I had not seen any of these. In one shot, he’s smiling broadly.  In another, he had a quite serious look on his face.  

There is a baby picture of me at about one-year old. I believe it was colorized using some kind of 1950’s technology.  I guess I was a happy baby, or at least happy at the time that photograph was shot.  There’s a big smile across the face of this future husband, father, and writer of columns and books.

Also in the batch is a three-shot featuring my sister, brother, and me.  We’re dressed up in our Sunday best for that studio shot.  I was probably four years old.  I have no real memory of the time it was taken.

There’s a shot of my mother with my two daughters taken in the mid-1980s.  I took that picture and sent a copy of it to my family at the time I had the film processed.   My mom passed away thirteen years ago.  Anytime a picture of her shows up, it brings back nice memories as well as an appreciation for her desire to take pictures, maintain photo albums, and capture those special times in all our lives.  

According to my sister, these photos were kept in a box belonging to my grandmother.  When my grandmother passed away nearly twenty years ago, my mom got the box of photographs.  She probably put them away in the attic where they remained until my sister found them.

The pictures were well travelled, yet they didn’t leave my dad’s house for the past two decades.

Now, some of those treasured memories belong to me.  I’ll keep them for as long as I can.  Hopefully, they will pass on to the next generation.  By that time, who knows what Facebook or Instagram will do to our traditions of taking and storing photographs.  All I can hope for is that future generations of my family will have as great an appreciation as I have had for these slices of life, preserved through the magic of photography.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced

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Merced’s Musical Memories

I recommend that before the summer comes to an end, spend about an hour at the Merced County Courthouse Museum and see the exhibit on our community’s musical heritage.

The exhibit, called:  “On the Banks of the Old Merced: A Music History” opened June 27th at an open house that included live musical performances. 

The woman’s singing group Harmony Valley Chorus sang California Here I Come and a song written about our area On the Banks of the Old Merced.  By the way, the song about Merced is pretty good.  To paraphrase a contestant on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand’s Rate-A-Record segment, “I liked the beat, but found it hard to dance to.  I’d still give it a 90.”

Early rock and roll local legend Roddy Jackson apologized to the opening night audience that doctor’s orders were to not sing or play.  He then talked for about a half hour sharing his memories of early rock and roll and his contribution to local history. 

Roddy introduced three musicians who made up the Merced Blue Notes, a blues band that captured a lot of attention in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  The music returned with Crystal Syphon, a psychedelic rock band that recorded one album back in their heyday.  

The performances were well received by the crowd at the Courthouse Park on that opening night of the exhibit.  I hope some of the folks made it inside to see the exhibit.  “On the Banks of the Old Merced: A Music History” is a fascinating look at the City of Merced through music, photographs, and artifacts from the past.

We saw the trumpet that belonged to Warren Lewis, sheet music from Along the Banks of the Old Merced, records (both 45-singles and 33-long playing albums) among dozens of pieces that make up the exhibit. 

The visitor can read the stories behind the people who were making local history in the early days of rock and roll.  There are dozens of photographs depicting some of the musicians.  A lot of familiar landmarks are shown as they were seen decades ago.

Fortunately for us on the opening night of the exhibit, many musicians and their families were on hand to recall their recollections from that era.  One band member told he always thought the name of his band was spelled one way, and learned for the first time after viewing a vintage concert poster, that the band, or possibly the concert promoter, preferred the spelling in a different way.  

Crystal Syphon’s musicians may look familiar.  Many of the band’s members were part of The Beatles Project that covered many of the Fab Four’s hits for several years up until about a couple of years ago when the group began to focus on returning to their roots. 

Interestingly, you won’t find too much about The Beatles Project among the items on display at the museum.  That is because their history is far too recent.  This exhibit is divided into four categories: Early Musical Development, The Swing Era, Rock & Roll, and Music Melting Pot of the 1980s.

“On the Banks of the Old Merced: A Music History” will be on display through early October.  The Museum, at 21st and N Streets in Merced, is open Wednesday through Sunday, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

This exhibit is about Merced’s past.  I encourage you to take a look before it closes.  You’ll learn something about early rock and roll as well as other categories of music.  You’ll get a better understanding of Merced area musicians and their contributions to the evolution of the art form.  

With any luck, you may be entertained by stories about the people who loved their craft and who were willing to share it with all of us.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced

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