1. NEW Announcements:

2. NEW Memories Book Bit: Letter from Scotty Cunningham For Presentation to the CNC Memories Group May 4, 2007.

3. NEW article: More Streaking Memories, by Dr. Harold Cones.

4. Patriotic "Living Photographs" in World War One by Mole and Jones.

5. NEW Humor: Wishes Granted

6. NEW Cartoons: Frogs

BI-WEEKLY QUOTE

SILLY DILLY

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. SEPTEMBER ON-CAMPUS LUNCHEON FOR ALL FIRST DECADERS: SUNDAY, SEPT. 22. SAVE THE DATE & BRING A GUEST! More details & invitation available in early JULY.

2. 50th REUNION, CLASS OF 1970: MAY 8 & 9, 2020. SAVE THE DATE & BRING A GUEST! More details & invitation later.

3. CALL FOR YOUR NEWS ITEMS AND WEBSITE TOPIC SUGGESTIONS. Send to Jane (cncmemories61_71@ yahoo.com) or to Dave (cnc6171@ cox.net). YOUR NEWS includes news of travels, anniversaries, awards, publications, and/or any fairly recent milestone or event in your life of interest to classmates and other readers.

A MEMORIES BOOK BIT

Letter from Scotty Cunningham

For Presentation to the CNC Memories Group

May 4, 2007*

Editor's Note: The following letter by CNC's first president, H. Westcott (Scotty) Cunningham, was sent via his wife, Cecil Cary (Cecy) Cunningham, to be read aloud at the first meeting of CNC professors, staff, and administrators gathered to discuss plans for writing the first book about the young College. This luncheon meeting was graciously hosted in Newport News by Psychology Professor Emerita Ruth Mulliken. Scotty was then confined by illness to the Cunningham's Gloucester home and died shortly thereafter, on July 24, 2007. Paragraph two refers to first Business Manager Tom Dunaway's method of indicating which of two staff members named Odell he was summoning--first building supervisor ("He Odell") or first housekeeper ("She Odell").

Hello, Jane, and the rest of you CNC pioneers.

          I hate to miss your party today, and I will be thinking of you and missing mightily a great opportunity to relive a few great memories with you. The medics have found my body so irresistible that I must stay here under their ministrations. I know you all will have a glorious time expounding upon and expanding some stories of the early days of the college on 32^nd Street and later on Shoe Lane uptown.

          Sometimes in the dead of night…I can hear Tom Dunaway’s voice yelling “He Odell” or She Odell.” Those early days were very exciting as we walked into a geographical area which was really hungry to have its own college. We all gave them that!

          How many people do you know, other than yourselves, who participated in the conception and birth of a college? Our “baby” is nearing the end of its first half century. Its accomplishments and occasional failings are big news in Virginia. We brought a new venue that was wanted, and we were welcomed in the area.

          Thank you for all you have done and for your continuing interest in what we accomplished as a team!

With love……..Scotty

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* Published on page 254 of Memories of Christopher Newport College: The First Decade, by A. Jane Chambers, Rita C. Hubbard, & Lawrence B. Wood, Jr. (Hallmark, 2008). To order book: Send check for $20 made out to Jane Chambers to: Dr. Jane Chambers, 15267 Candy Island Lane, Carrollton, VA 23314. The money (minus mailing cost) is donated to the CNC First Decaders' Treasury.

____________________________________

We welcome your FEEDBACK. Send to

cncmemories61_71@yahoo.com

OR cnc6171@cox.net.

Published June 14, 2019

SECOND DECADE HISTORY

THIS-N-THAT

Patriotic "Living Photographs"

in World War One

by Mole and Thomas

by A. Jane Chambers

          The above photo, "Living Emblem of the United States Marines," is actually a picture of about 100 officers and 9,000 enlisted Marines stationed at Paris Island, S.C. in 1919. In the distance at the top, you can see some of the buildings on their base. If you look closely at the picture's bottom, you can see some of the uniformed men on the first rows. 

          The photographer was Arthur Samuel Mole (1889-1983), a British born naturalized American who became famous during WW1 for his "living photographs" made on military bases in America. Mole (photo right) and his partner, John D. Thomas, arranged thousands of members of the military on the grounds of their bases to form huge compositions of patriotic images. Looked at from the ground or from directly above, each such composition looked meaningless, but viewed from the top of the 80-foot tower where Mole stood to take the picture, the thousands of men clearly formed a patriotic image. Mole's mastery of perspective enabled him to photograph each huge group from the exact place where the lines of perspective would resolve themselves into a clear image (Wikipedia). 

HOW THE PHOTOGRAPHS WERE CREATED

          Mole and Thomas used an 11 x 14 inch view camera, positioned on their 80-foot high tower. First they put the outlay (wire frame) of the desired image on a glass plate in the camera. Then, this image from the camera was transferred to the ground beneath the tower. Assistants located there fixed the design to the ground, using thousands of yards of white tape. Using a megaphone and a long stick with a white flag on it (so it could be seen from the distance), Mole showed them precisely where to place the tape. Preparing for each "living photograph" took several weeks, and positioning the thousands of people took many hours (Rare Historical Photos).

          Because of perspective distortion, there are always many more people at the top of each Mole and Thomas photo than there are at the bottom. In the above "Human Statue of Liberty" photo, for example, there are about 16,000 people forming the flame of the torch but only about 2,000 people forming the rest of the picture. This photo was taken on the parade grounds at Camp Dodge, in Des Moines, Iowa in July of 1918, during excessively hot and humid weather. According to a July 3, 1986 article in the Fort Dodge Messenger, many men fainted (they were wearing wool uniforms) as the temperature neared 105 degrees. The photo was made to promote the sale of war bonds, but was never used for that purpose (Rare Historic Photos).

          One person whose great grandfather took part in the "Statue of Liberty" photo recorded that the extreme heat during the photo shoot "was intensified by the mass formation of men" and added these details: "The dimensions of the platting for the picture seem astonishing. The camera was placed on a high tower. From the position nearest the camera, occupied by Colonel Newman and his staff, to the last man at the top of the torch as platted on the ground was 1,235 feet, or approximately a quarter of a mile" ("Mole & Thomas Patriotic Photographs"). 

          The "Human American Eagle" was created at Camp Gordan, in Atlanta, GA in 1918. There are approximately 12,500 officers, nurses, and men in this picture. The nurses (all female then) are the ones dressed in all white. Look closely at the bottom rows. As usual in these photographs, at the top you can see military buildings in the distance. 

          "Uncle Sam" was made at Camp Lee, VA in 1919 and required the use of roughly 19,000 men. If you look closely at the lower half of the beard, you'll see that some of the men forming that part of the picture, especially at the beard's end, are dressed in all white and lying down. 

          There are about 25,000 officers and men in the "Human Liberty Bell, made at Camp Dix, N. J. in 1918. Most of them were used to make the upper part of the photograph, of course. Can you see the word "LIBERTY" in the upper part of the bell? Notice that the bell's crack was made with a combination of men in white shirts and the actual ground.

          This photograph, "Human U. S. Shield," required about 30,000 officers and men to stand still for hours. It was made in 1918 at Camp Custer, MI. Notice that there are 13 stripes as well as 13 stars, both symbolizing the original 13 states.

MOTIVATION AND PURPOSE

          The person whose great grandfather took part in the "Statue of Liberty" photo discussed earlier, also recalled the patriotic love motivating the naturalized Americans soldiers who fought in what was then called "The European War." He (or she) described the "hundreds of men of foreign birth, born of parents whose first impression of the Land of Freedom and Promise was of the world's greatest colossus standing with beacon light at the portal of a nation of free people, holding aloft a torch symbolic of the light of liberty which the statue represents. Side by side with native sons these men, with unstinted patriotism," offered to sacrifice "not only their liberty but even life itself for our beloved country ("Mole & Thomas Patriotic Photographs").

          Arthur S. Mole no doubt felt this same patriotism. When he was 14 years old, in 1903, he and his family sailed to America from their native England. They too were no doubt moved by the sight of the Statue of Liberty. When America joined the allied forces in "The European War" (called World War 1 only after World War 2 began), Mole and Jones left their profitable photography business in Chicago to travel all over America, apparently at their own expense, to create and photograph these massive military formations--not to profit from them but to distribute them for the purpose of supporting America's involvement in the war. I read somewhere (I can't recall where) that Mole and Jones donated most of the proceeds from sales of these pictures (printed in various publications and on postcards) to veterans who returned to America after "the Great War."

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Sources

"Arthur S. Mole and John D. Thomas Patriotic Photographs," in U.S. Militaria Forum. Link: www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/48414-arthur-s-mole-and-john-d-thomas...

Rare Historical Photos. Link: https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/living-photographs-photographs-created-assembling...

Wikipedia: "Arthur Mole." Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Mole

_______________________________________________________________

We welcome your FEEDBACK. Send to

cncmemories61_71@yahoo.com

or cnc6171@cox.net.

Published June 1, 2019

HUMOR

Wishes Granted

by A. Non

A married couple, both 65 years old, were celebrating their 40th anniversary. During their party, a fairy appeared to congratulate them and grant them each one wish.

The wife wanted to travel around the world. The fairy waved her wand and "poof " -- the wife had tickets in her hand for a world cruise.

Next, the fairy asked the husband what he wanted. He said, "I wish my wife was 30 years younger than me."

So the fairy again waved her wand and " poof " -- the husband was 95.

CARTOONS

SILLY DILLY ANSWER

Your DECADER committee ALWAYS enjoys feedback on items that appear on this website. The feedback can be positive or negative...doesn't matter. It is just super for us to know that you are actually visiting YOUR website and have something to share.