“Here at the museum we have thousands upon thousands of historic photographs in our archival collections, each one easily worth a thousand words, providing windows into our past. Every year we try to develop an exhibition featuring a selection of these photographs. And every year I am presented with the same conundrum. How to choose?” says Beth Boyce, Curator at the Museum at Campbell River.
It was decided this year that the museum would feature local photographer Godfrey Baldwin. Baldwin and his wife May were fondly remembered figures who set up a photographic studio in their Campbellton home in 1948, and inserted themselves into every local event of the 1950s and early ‘60s.
Baldwin was prolific. He took portraits and formal studio shots for families, weddings, birthday parties, etc. He was the official photographer for the Elk Falls Mill expansion project. In his role at the the local newspaper he documented all major and some minor community events: parades, sports, municipal meetings, fundraisers, ribbon cuttings, openings, and catastrophes such as fires, accidents, police incidents, and more. He worked closely with his wife May, and the couple were well known in the community. Although there are thousands of Baldwin photos in the museum collection, this exhibit focuses on Campbellton. To date, the museum had not previously looked at the history of Campbellton, the community that Baldwin called home.
The museum is hoping local residents who see the exhibit can help to identify some of the people in the photographs. They know the names of some of the people, but many other are unidentified.
From Jan. 12 to Feb. 17, Godfrey Baldwin’s Campbellton, will be on display in the Museum at Campbell River’s Changing Gallery. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 12-4 p.m. Locals get free admission on Wednesdays. For more information call 250-287-3103 or go to www.crmuseum.ca.