Malcolm GauldFunny how simple photographs can serve as memory triggers. Sunday night I took a stroll around my neighborhood and snapped this photograph of an annual Bath tradition: the Christmas Tree high atop the main crane at Bath Iron Works.
The Crane has literally been a part of the Hyde-Bath landscape since the early 70s when students nicknamed it “Clyde the Crane.” Billed as “The Largest Crane in the Western Hemisphere” when it went up over the Midcoast skyline — That main boom in the photo is 400-feet long! — I recall that folks believed that it screwed up their TV reception. (This was pre-cable America.)
In any case, within 24 hours of posting the photo on my Facebook page, it received over 100 “Likes,” some accompanied by stories from alums hailing from different Hyde eras. Reminds me of similar alum reactions I’ve seen to photos like this one:
And this one:
And this one:
And this one:
O.K. all you Woodstock folks, we need some shots from you. Might I suggest:
– The Woodstock Fairgrounds on Labor Day Weekend;
– The Wolf!
– The Victory Bell;
– Susie Racine very much in charge of the Annhurst front desk;
– A car patiently stopped on the Route #169 crosswalk (complete with a student thankfully waving while crossing);
– A pizza from Sweet Evalina’s.
Well, you get the idea. Onward, Malcolm
