Category: early b&w

Iowa – Fall 1974: Upper & Lower Magnolia Farms

About midway through high school, the family moved to a different county, acquiring a farm in the hills near the tiny community of Magnolia.  Then a second farm two or three miles away was added to the holdings, this one located near a creek that flowed through a valley.   I drove to Iowa in the fall of 1974 from Los Angeles, slowly meandering along off-interstate, secondary roads the whole way (the Land Rover was capable of almost 55 mph downhill,  sometimes) and I wanted to photograph as I went (haven’t found those negatives yet).  Then I left the Land Rover parked in an Iowa shed after a few days and flew off to other easterly destinations for a time.

Magnolia?  More here and here, but not much.  Be skeptical of statements like that from epodunk.com, describing Magnolia as “a city in Harrison County, in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area.”  Magnolia is a tiny village in a strikingly and absolutely rural area, at least 40 or 50 miles from Omaha or Council Bluffs.  The nearest “city” is Logan, county seat with population of about 1500.

Bonus photograph:  I found this lo-res snapshot from about 1961 or ’62 of my 1939 Ford Deluxe Coupe (then equipped with Oldsmobile V8 and running gear,  tuck & roll upholstery, and oversize BFGoodrichs on the rear), parked in front of the lower Magnolia farm house garage.  Note that the tree on the right side of the photo is the same tree that appears at the left hand of the frame in the “Lower Farm” photo above which shows resting cattle with the Land Rover at right foreground.
39Ford

Iowa – Fall 1974: Gingles Farm Revisited

Perhaps you recall a post a few months ago (The Gingles Farm, 1973).  During this later 1974 visit to my parents (living in another part of Iowa), I made a couple of day treks back to the Castana community and the old Gingles farm.  

On one of these outings, an L.A. friend stopped off on a flyover to the East coast long enough to accompany me. I picked him up at the Omaha airport and we drove up to Castana area.  We spent much of our time hiking the steep, rugged, dense area known to me and my siblings when kids as “The Wilderness”.  (SIDEBAR: My friend Mike, himself a avid photographer and backpacker, had in earlier years introduced me to the Sierra Club and pulled me into a good number of backpacking, mountain climbing, rock climbing, peak-bagging and snow-caving excursions around California in the late 60s and early-mid 70s.)  Herewith:

Iowa – Fall 1974: The Buick

Looks like today I have come upon old negatives from one of my trips to the old Iowa farm homestead.  And let’s start with these long-lost images of my brother’s old Buick.  This may have been his very first car; he must have had it in the late 50s or very early 60s.  So on this 1974 visit home, I find the Buick’s carcass literally out in the pasture.  I see that it has 1965 Iowa plates, but I am sure that it met its demise well before that; I will have to check with Dennis on the details of the car’s provenance and distinguished history.

New York – November 1974: Yet Even More

Like the guest from hell, the guest who won’t leave, old negatives from New York keep appearing.  Maybe this is the last batch …

More from New York City

New York – November 1974: And Some More

During these visits, a typical day might involve joining Dennis in the early morning to walk Gabrielle to school (kindergarten).  We would walk and/or ride bus or subway until school was over, seeking out bookstores and museums and galleries and libraries.  And grabbing a quick deli lunch.  Then it was a return to the apartment, where Dennis would probably write for the next many hours and I would hit the streets again solo for more exploration and photography.  During the week, Gabrielle’s mom would be at work doing lawyer things, but all of us would go exploring on the weekend, often in Central Park and wherever playgrounds could be found.

More from New York City

And for more of Gabrielle, see the special collection (linked in the left side panel).