THE 17TH ANNUAL THANKSGIVING PHOTO SHOW - 2010
Looking for America and Life in a Tin Can
Friday, November 26, 2010
17th Annual Thanksgiving Photo Show - 2010
This year I wandered off the hill and toured my adopted state of Vermont. That is not to say that I didn’t take a few up here but this year I took pictures from the Northeast Kingdom, from South Royalton and the 1st branch of the White River Valley stretching past Tunbridge to Chelsea area. There are some from Sharon, and some from Beaver Meadow, and a few from other hills in Norwich. But this year’s show it is far from being just about Vermont. I found a few spots to photograph in our visit to The Florida Keys, and I also had my camera ready on our visit to the Kennedy Space Center to watch the shuttle Atlantis launch. Of course Emily and Andy's wedding is included - at least the few shots that I was able to take.
Then in September we drove the Lincoln Highway across country from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Salt Lake City, Utah. This drive was slow and back road, many times stopping to shoot things that caught my eye. This ride with Susan, and our longtime friend Pearl Wolfson (I drove while Pearl and Susan navigated using all the latest GPS technology). It was a great deal of fun.
Then in Salt Lake, Susan and I met up with the McCampbells, and the Bagnatos to head off in a 30 ft RV (we called it the Tin Can) around Utah visiting The Arches N.P. , Moab and a raft trip on the Colorado, Natural Bridges N.P., Monument Valley, Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Damn, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (across the border in Arizona), and finally both Zion and Bryce N.P. There were many stops along the way and in between destinations. All in all this cross-country tour was, for me, the trip of a lifetime.
So welcome to this year’s photo exhibit in the barn. This annual photo show has become a family tradition each Thanksgiving, and also a chance for friends and neighbors to come by and see what we have been up to. For me it has always served two-fold. The first is it helps me organize a year’s worth of my photographs. This has been helpful. However, more important, it is my attempt to give something to my neighbors and friends on this my very favorite holiday – Thanksgiving. I hope that this year’s show is interesting. I hope that you all find something that you like.
So look around and enjoy this year’s show. Tell others about it who might be in the area and might enjoy it. And have a Happy Thanksgiving holiday.
This year’s show is dedicated to my friend Uwe Bagnato. As he now fights the good fight we all are in his corner, doing whatever it takes to see to it that he gets back on his feet. On this tour of Utah, Uwe’s love of the outdoors shined through. In addition, his sense of humor and his camaraderie made our life in The Tin Can not only tolerable, but enjoyable. I Look forward to being able to laugh with Uwe again about our Life in the Tin Can.
Chad Finer
November 2010
5. Friday Night – Denniston Ave. – Squirrel Hill
Pittsburgh, Pa.
September 17, 2010
In photo: Susan, Pearl Wolfson, Franklin Toker, Chad Finer, Ellen Toker
6. At the Pennsylvania – West Virginia Border – “Wild and Wonderful”
east of Chester, West Virginia
Hancock County
September 18, 2010
At the Pennsylvania - West Virginia border.
7. Frank’s Bakery – Chester, West Virginia
Crystal
she sold us some cookies then told me that Lou Holtz had lived
across the Ohio River in East Liverpool, Ohio…the Upper Ohio Valley
Hall of Fame there was dedicated to him
September 18, 2010
8. Home of Fiestaware© - - Homer Laughlin China Co.
Newell, West Virginia
September 18, 2010
Homer and Shakespeare Laughlin, two brothers from East Liverpool, Ohio, formed a partnership in 1871 to sell pottery ware, which was made in the factories located in their hometown. In 1902, a tract of land on the opposite side of the Ohio River was purchased from the Newell family. A subsidiary company, the North American Manufacturing Company was formed to develop the town, which would become Newell, West Virginia. Building lots were laid out, a water and sewer system was installed, and electric power was secured. A suspension bridge was built across the Ohio River, connecting the new community with East Liverpool and a trolley line was built to transport pottery workers across the river. During 1905 and 1906, the company constructed plant #4, which at that time, was the largest pottery plant ever built in the world. Homer Laughlin now had a combined production capacity of 300,000 pieces of ware per day (10% of the U. S. production capacity). The company’s headquarters were moved to the Newell location at the beginning of 1907. The company had hired Frederick Hurten Rhead as design director in 1927, a post which he would hold until his death in 1942. Rhead’s 15 year reign proved to be the most prolific period of new product introductions in the company’s history. Rhead designed Virginia Rose as well as the several Eggshell shapes. Rhead’s most famous accomplishment, however, was Fiesta. With Fiesta leading the way, The Homer Laughlin China Company continued to flourish until the onset of World War II. During the war years, much of the company’s production was shifted to the production of china for our armed forces. After the war, production returned to normal and the company reached it’s peak production year in 1948. More than 3,000 workers were employed to produce over ten million dozen pieces of ware. In the early eighties, the company began to produce lead-free china, something that would become very important as the country became more environmentally conscious. Using lead-free glazes and a vitrified china body, Fiesta was reintroduced in new and updated colors.