Today, under the bottom layer of flooring, he found an old negative.
It looked as if it had been carefully placed there. I wonder why people do these things? Now I want to know who they are.
Update:
I did some research to see if I could convert the scanned negative to an image using photoshop. Yes. Click invert. Here it is.
I inverted an already reduced jpg. The original file is on H's computer, so I imagine we'll come up with a better quality image tomorrow. If so, I'll post it. I'm guessing it dates back to Flin Flon's early days. I also plan to take a drive. I think I know which street it is.
12 comments:
A large-format neg? How interesting. Any guesses as to its vintage?
No good guesses, but I suspect that pile of logs is a big clue...
What a great find! If I were a fiction writer, I think I'd build a story around it.
The pile of logs looks like firewood to me, waiting to be blocked and split.
Just going by the hair and clothes of the woman, I'd guess the image probably dates from the mid-to-late '50s; I'd be surprised if it were earlier than the late '40s.
When was your house built, Brenda?
Ya, it certainly has caught my imagination, Amy. H printed off an image which I'll tack up on my bulletin board and we'll see where it goes. I'm not sure, but it looks like there's a goat behind the fence. Not that that means anything. We saw a goat in a yard in Flin Flon just a couple years back.
Good points, John. That pile of wood looks just like the ones I see all over town. I wonder if the ground level structure behind them is the sewer box system when it was under construction at some point or just a retaining wall? The city, located on the Precambrian Shield, was built on rock. Quite a challenge for those who constructed the buildings and more so for those who devised the sewer system. According to their website, Flin Flon is the only city in the world to locate their sewer lines above ground. I've always wondered how one would go about verifying such a claim... As for exactly when our house was built...uh, I should know that, but don't. In the 40s is what I've said ever since we bought it over 18 years ago, so I imagine I did know for sure at one time. The Creighton town site was surveyed and lots became available after WWII. I believe our house was built shortly after that although I have no documents on the premises to tell me exactly when. I'll find that out.
We didn't drive over to check out that street today. We were wrapped up in the renovations and I had snow to move. Hopefully tomorrow. I'm excited.
Very cool.
Does this mean the bedroom is going to be black and white?
Har har.
The bedroom is just getting the basics. A few necessary repairs, flooring and a paint job. We've had the flooring sitting here for a couple years now, but haven't been home for long enough stretches to get it done.
This is so COOL! I once found a photo tucked in a book I bought at the Friends of the Library book sale in Sault Ste. Marie, ON. I scanned it and sent it to an online news site for the community. They posted it, and after getting several responses, the mystery was solved. It was a picture of one of region's air company pioneers. I mailed it to him, and got a lovely phone call in return. He was getting on in years, and chatted about early days in the community, pigeon racing, more. Hmm.
In any case, perhaps you can send the pic to your local paper? Someone out there will know exactly who those people are.
That's a great idea, Anita! I still want to see if I can find that location on my own, but I'll certainly need help identifying the people.
Our house was built in 1947.
And I did recognize the street! H and I checked it out. The picture was taken on Hill Street in Flin Flon, very near city centre. The two buildings on the left are as pictured, though one of the bottom windows on the building on the far left has been covered over, but you can clearly see where the window was. The building on the far right has a sizable addition on the back, but the windows are still as pictured. The picture appears to have been taken before they built the road up the street.
Iqaluit has above-ground utilidor sewerage. Tho it fancies itself a city now that it's a territorial capital, it's still a bit of a semantic stretch.
ha! I knew it! So much for that particular distinction.
Post a Comment