Winsome Wisdom * Memory Slides
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Ever tried finding a piece of days-gone-by technology... especially one that actually works? Today, thanks to that digital superhighway known as the Net and Google, you can find most anything, whether it works or not.
In the pre-Net/Google days, I had tried for what seemed like an eternity to find a Kodak carousel slide projector. Garage sales, estate sales, newspaper, thrift shops... you name it, I tried it.
Finally, thanks to the Net/Google, I found one... a Kodak
850H! Following a thorough inspection by Duane and Mark at the electronics-based Service Center in Chattanooga, all that was needed was a new lamp, which I was able to find at Batteries+. Once installed, I was good to go.
So the past several weeks have been spent looking through the product of my late father’s passion for photography: 63 trays of 35mm slides taken with a then state-of-the-art Leica M3 camera dating back to 1954. These were pictures that had been stored in a cabinet untouched and unseen for well over 50 years.
There were lots of pictures of summer vacations at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. An annual ritual which always featured a stay at the Beatty Apartments just a short walk from the Atlantic Ocean. I vividly remember a night when Mr. Beatty invited me to view the heavens through his telescope. First, I saw a close up of the moon, followed by Jupiter, Mars, and then Saturn. You could actually see the rings!
Along with the vacation chronicles, there were pictures of dad’s business trips as he represented the Chattanooga Nylon Plant (a DuPont company) taken in New York City, Hoboken, New Jersey, and Wilmington, Delaware. I can only imagine what a trip to New York City would have been like for my father, who grew up in a small Virginia town along the Rappahannock River.
There were more pictures of family gatherings in Urbana, Virginia, Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Chappell home on Signal Mountain. Pictures of my late brother Jerry, sister Julie, and yours truly as we tore through the gifts from Santa and relatives on Christmas morning. Pictures of us seated around the dining room table at Thanksgiving, with a roast turkey as centerpiece. Birthday parties, weddings, church and school activities. It was all there on film.
I was thinking about having those images transferred onto DVD, but have decided against it. The slides look just as good as they did when we watched them almost 60 years ago in the Chappell family den on a 30 x 40 inch screen. The screen is gone, but that old Kodak projector I found works perfectly, and a flat white painted wall in the living room makes for an acceptable screen.
As I watched each slide, it occurred to me that of everything we are and all that we possess, there are some things that never change. Specifically, our good times and memories.
Now I need to find some more carousel slide trays, so.... back to the Net/Google!
In the pre-Net/Google days, I had tried for what seemed like an eternity to find a Kodak carousel slide projector. Garage sales, estate sales, newspaper, thrift shops... you name it, I tried it.
Finally, thanks to the Net/Google, I found one... a Kodak
850H! Following a thorough inspection by Duane and Mark at the electronics-based Service Center in Chattanooga, all that was needed was a new lamp, which I was able to find at Batteries+. Once installed, I was good to go.So the past several weeks have been spent looking through the product of my late father’s passion for photography: 63 trays of 35mm slides taken with a then state-of-the-art Leica M3 camera dating back to 1954. These were pictures that had been stored in a cabinet untouched and unseen for well over 50 years.
There were lots of pictures of summer vacations at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. An annual ritual which always featured a stay at the Beatty Apartments just a short walk from the Atlantic Ocean. I vividly remember a night when Mr. Beatty invited me to view the heavens through his telescope. First, I saw a close up of the moon, followed by Jupiter, Mars, and then Saturn. You could actually see the rings!
Along with the vacation chronicles, there were pictures of dad’s business trips as he represented the Chattanooga Nylon Plant (a DuPont company) taken in New York City, Hoboken, New Jersey, and Wilmington, Delaware. I can only imagine what a trip to New York City would have been like for my father, who grew up in a small Virginia town along the Rappahannock River.
There were more pictures of family gatherings in Urbana, Virginia, Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Chappell home on Signal Mountain. Pictures of my late brother Jerry, sister Julie, and yours truly as we tore through the gifts from Santa and relatives on Christmas morning. Pictures of us seated around the dining room table at Thanksgiving, with a roast turkey as centerpiece. Birthday parties, weddings, church and school activities. It was all there on film.
I was thinking about having those images transferred onto DVD, but have decided against it. The slides look just as good as they did when we watched them almost 60 years ago in the Chappell family den on a 30 x 40 inch screen. The screen is gone, but that old Kodak projector I found works perfectly, and a flat white painted wall in the living room makes for an acceptable screen.
As I watched each slide, it occurred to me that of everything we are and all that we possess, there are some things that never change. Specifically, our good times and memories.
Now I need to find some more carousel slide trays, so.... back to the Net/Google!
