Thursday, September 08, 2016

An Innocent Time

The little girl sitting on the weathered plank fence in the late 1940s is visiting her grandmother on Ocracoke Island. A cousin's "story-and-a-jump" cottage is in the background. Beyond, and out of view, is Cockle Creek (now called Silver Lake). Between the girl and the house is just sand and a few sea oats. A small toy boat lies near her feet.



















Today, the area between the girl and the house is covered with cedars, myrtles, oleanders, pines and live oaks, as well as a house, a garage, and a business. I am sure the girl (now, of course a grown woman) yearns for the days when Ocracoke was simpler and more innocent. I know she reads this blog. Maybe she would like to identify herself.

Our Ocracoke Newsletter for this month is an article by Philip Howard, My Ocracoke, Living amidst 250 years of Howard family history. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news082116.htm.  

12 comments:

  1. Very picturesque... Time never stands still, but Ocracoke always warms our hearts.

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  2. Anonymous9:27 AM

    If many photos survive, what became of the photographic negatives? I could not "see" what you detailed in the image. If modern day printing technology has advanced, perhaps another print would bring out all the details in this charming composition.

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  3. Anonymous2:12 PM

    Unfortunately, the vast majority of negatives were not saved. Look back through the family's box of old photos, and I would bet there are few to no negatives left behind...at least that has been my experience. One exception to that is the brief era when everyone was shooting slides...they are the negatives, and it is great to be able to go back and scan them in at a good resolution...assuming they have not faded too much, which unfortunately some have.

    What always amazes me with most of these old B&W photos is the great detail in them. The cameras may not have been great, but with such a large negative, great detail is preserved. Better than many current smartphone photos!

    In the case of this photo, looks to me like the original is blurred a bit, which would reduce visible detail. Probably not surprising with slow film in an old camera...

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  4. Anonymous4:47 PM

    this is sad...I read where most people nowdays do not save most of their photos. they just delete them is they are not perfect....I have thousands of 35mm negatives photos...my digital files are here and there, a jumbles mess...if a flashdrive goes bad you lost a lot of information. I make copies but it's still a mess. storing in the cloud or with a online service, sorry..that is out of the question. I feel my closet is safer even with a messy filing system. yes, I know old school. thanks Philip, good stuff as usual.

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  5. Philip,
    Will you please tell us who this girl is?

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  6. Philip,
    Is this me, if it is, where did you get the picture.

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    1. Juanita, I am sure that is you. I found the picture in a small stack of Ocracoke photos that my brother gave me.

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  7. My goodness, that sure was a long time ago. Yes, I do wish that Ocracoke was like it was back in the 1940's but it is still a very special place. Thanks so much for posting the picture. It was such a surprise to see it. Maybe when I come down there the end of October you can show me the pictures.

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  8. Anonymous10:44 AM

    Philip - Before our attention gets too far away from the photo of Juanita, we (I) need a resolution of the location. I'm taking a wild guess so as to get at least a hint or two from you. Assume you are the cousin, assume the "story and a jump" is your grandparent's house, now yours, assume the expanse of sand is between the harbor and the Island Inn, dredged there by the navy in world war II. But this has to be wrong, since I'm totally blank about another house, a garage, and a business. How about a hint?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, the young girl, Juanita, is my cousin, but the story and a jump cottage is not my house. Juanita is sitting on a fence post on the corner of my lot (our grandparents' property). She is facing my house which is behind the photographer. In the background, behind Juanita, is Cousin Elsie's house (she was actually our parents' first cousin). That house is now a year-round rental, and it sits behind the Island Ragpicker. The house and garage I mentioned belong to Larry Simpson (he lives just to the right of the Ragpicker), and the business I referred to is the Island Ragpicker.

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  9. Anonymous9:21 AM

    Wow, things really have changed hugely. Very interesting.

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  10. Philip,
    Thanks so much for sharing interesting things about Ocracoke that I don't know about. It is always so nice to read your blog and newsletters, always look forward to them.

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