PHOTO DETECTIVE PRESENTATION ATTRACTS LOCAL HISTORIANS, ARTISTS, WRITERS

By MICHAEL PENNACCHIA

RICHMOND – Local history was the focus last Saturday, when Hope Valley‘s Langworthy Public Library played host to a reception for and slide presentation by Maureen Taylor, the “photo detective.”  Taylor’s recent book, “Picturing Rhode Island” features 250 historical photographs of Rhode Island, which she culled after sorting through thousands of photos from the R.I. Historical Society’s archives.

The event, organized by Michelle Walker, president of the board of the library was part of the ongoing festivities associated with the 250th anniversary of Hopkinton.  About 30 people, many of them involved with local history, writing, drama and art projects attended the lively event.

“I always wanted to write a book like this,” said Taylor, a R.I. native.  A photo curator, genealogist and now, a writer and photo identification/preservation expert, Taylor’s work focuses on family photography, history, and genealogy.  After the presentation, Taylor sat down to sign her books for attendees.

The cozy 1st floor of the library, where the reception was held, was abuzz with conversation and news about the local projects – specifically the Depot Square Park  Project and the Oral History Project.

Linda Wood, a local historian, who is collecting oral histories of Hope Valley residents in connection with the Depot Square Park Project, updated the group on the project’s progress.  She also mentioned that she’s still looking for local residents, who may have early (pre-WWII) scrapbooks to participate in the project.

Wood is working with Wood River Jct. sculptor, Ana Flores, whose artistic focus is the ecological and cultural narratives of place.  Flores is the sculptural designer for the park and is working with stone workers, who will be building and engraving the wall with quotes from the oral histories of locals, who were interviewed for the project.

Hope Valley resident, Yvette Baeu, a former actress in New York City and San Francisco will be writing a script based upon the 12 oral histories that were collected.  The style of the narrative will be borrowed from Edgar Lee Masters’ “Spoon River Anthology,” a collection of unusual, short, free-form poems that collectively describe the life of the fictional small town of Spoon River, named after the real Spoon River that ran near Masters' hometown in Illinois.

Baeu will offer the script of this “Wood River Anthology” to the drama department at Chariho School, with the hope that the school will produce it.  “The stories can be pretty rich,” she said.  “I’m trying to weave them together, while remembering it’s about place.”

“Place” and “people” is what this event was all about and one of the reasons why Michelle Walker chose to feature Maureen Taylor as the guest speaker.  “It’s unusual that this town has people who were born here and still live here,” said Walker.  “They’re walking history books.”

Walker also noted that she is looking for donations for the Depot Square Project, in part to support the project, but also to demonstrate interest among the populace to support an application for a grant from the R. I. Foundation.

When analyzing historical photos for clients or one of her books, Taylor tries to identify the place where the subjects were photographed.  “I see something different in every photograph,” she said. 

“Sometimes it’s the matt, or small details like a sign in the background.”

Her moniker as the “photo detective” is well earned www.photodetective.com.  “I look at historical newspapers, and talk to experts,” said Taylor.  “I will track down whoever I need to track down.”

In order to analyze photos, she generally has three requirements:  1) Is the photo in focus? 2) Does it tell a story? 3) Can I research the background?  She’ll also inquire as to the oral history of the picture.  

There generally has to be some understanding on behalf of the client on the context of the photo.  “I can’t identify photos without context,” she said.  “This is not fortune-telling.”