It all started in October 2012 with a randomly selected box of slides that contained my grandfather’s photographs of the Oregon Coast. I would be traveling there a week later, so I was excited about the discovery. Most of the images were scenic shots, but one shot, in particular, displayed a building in the small coastal town of Winchester Bay. I wondered, What if I could replicate my grandfather’s photograph 30 years later? I was able to accomplish just that, thus discovering my new life’s mission.
Upon returning home and seeing the genuine interest that built around the single photograph, I wondered how many more I could successfully replicate. With the help of my grandmother’s detailed travel journals from their cross-country trips, I managed to discover the location of dozens of my grandfather’s images. Since I primarily have my grandfather to thank for my love of travel and photography, I wanted to honor his memory by recreating the photographs he took from his trips all across America. A project that began by chance now determines where my next journey will take me.
Unfortunately, he passed away a few years before I began this project. I’m saddened by never having the chance to share our mutual love for travel and photography, but I have been able to share my progress with my 104-year-old grandmother. She is confident he would be proud of the journey that the project has led me on. In a way, I consider this my Past Present to him! It’s also been incredible to see my grandmother recount the memories so accurately to what she wrote in her journals all those years ago. She has not seen them since she gave them to me in 2012, so I know the photographs trigger the clarity of those memories.
I remember my grandfather saying how he always desired to share his travel photographs and stories with his children, but they never seemed very interested. Since starting the project, my family has a renewed interest in his work, and I know, according to my grandmother, that would have made him very happy to see. Though their love of travel skipped their children’s generation, my grandmother recognizes the passion has reignited in me. Between Say Hello to America and the Past Present Project, I know I will be able to honor my grandmother’s wish by keeping the love for travel alive for future generations.
Winchester Bay, Oregon Coast
June 1981 & October 2012
In October 2012, I traveled down the Oregon Coast for five days. I intended to study my grandfather’s photograph again so I knew what building I should be looking for exactly—but I totally forgot. Highway 101 entered the small coastal town of Winchester Bay. With a current population of 382 people, I figured I shouldn’t have too much trouble locating the spot. Immediately, I saw a building that was home to the Sourdough Bakery, and I knew I had found the place in the photograph. I snapped a few photos, hopped back in my rental, and drove away, pleased that I had accomplished my mission. My pleasure vanished that evening when I discovered the Sourdough Bakery building did not match the Seafood Grotto restaurant in my grandfather’s image.
My hope was restored the next day when my northern route to Portland would again take me through Winchester Bay. This time I made sure I memorized the photograph, so I wouldn’t miss out on this second opportunity that so graciously presented itself. Within five minutes, which is all it takes to drive through the entire town, I was confident I had found the same building my grandparent’s had stopped all those years ago.
Crazy Horse Memorial in Rapid City, South Dakota
1973 & 2013
I chose to visit the Rapid City area in September 2013 for one reason—the Crazy Horse Volksmarch, in which they allow visitors to hike up to the arm of the sculpture for up-close viewing. Usually held each year in June, this was the first year they added the Autumn Volksmarch. Many people on the Visitor Center viewing deck asked what I was doing and were fascinated by the photograph that my grandfather had taken. A few people even asked if they could take a photo of it.
Cedar Pass Campground in Badlands National Park, South Dakota
May 1981 & October 2013
I almost didn’t reach the campground to capture this image. The government shutdown of 2013 went into effect the night before, but I decided to try my luck anyway. Fortunately for me, there was a delay in paperwork, which allowed enough time to find the exact campsite where my grandparents had stayed and explore a portion of the Badlands. A campground worker was visiting each site to tell the campers they had to leave but allowed me to stay a little while longer after explaining the project.
Hudson Chadwick in Natchez, Mississippi
September 1974 & April 2014
Hudson Chadwick is the name of a man in a photograph captured by my grandfather in 1974. The photo shows him sketching a steamboat along the banks of the Mississippi River in Natchez, Mississippi.
A roadtrip would be bringing me through Natchez last April, so I thought the slight possibility of being able to locate this man would make an interesting story for the project. With the help of a friend, we learned that Mr. Chadwick had passed away in January, but we were able to contact his daughter. His daughter was only three when the photo was taken, and she mentioned that the image perfectly captured how she remembered her father while growing up.
She put me in contact with her mother, who agreed to meet me in Natchez so I could personally deliver a copy of the photograph to her. To my surprise, the day we met, she brought along the very sketch that her husband was working on in my grandfather’s photograph. I had the great honor to photograph her holding it along the banks of the Mississippi, where her husband and my grandparents had crossed paths 40 years earlier.
Cafe Du Monde Worker in New Orleans, Louisiana
February 1978 & April 2014
Having never been to New Orleans and not having my grandmother’s journal from 1978, I had to use visual clues to locate this photo. It was a typically busy day at Cafe Du Monde, and I was pleased to find the workers at the same window. I tried to get one of their attention so he could pose for me, but he was much too intent on making beignets.
Billy the Kid Gift Shop in Mesilla, New Mexico
April 1979 & October 2014
I had won a trip to San Antonio that year and decided to extend my travels for a few extra days to visit New Mexico. I intended to replicate two photographs my grandfather had taken in Las Cruces and to also meet up with a long-time Instagram follower and fan of Past Present Project. She organized a small Instameet in the little town of Mesilla, just a block from where my grandfather snapped this photo.
Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
1987 & 2014
Although my grandfather was not the one to capture this photo of us at Longwood Gardens in 1987, I imagine these moments of seeing his camera draped around his neck helped to inspire my love of photography and travel.
Post Office in Chinese Camp, California
April 1979 & May 2015
Chinese Camp, California is a now mostly abandoned town. A new post office is located a few blocks from this old one. After replicating the photograph, I stopped into the new location and showed the image to the worker at the window. He loved the photo and said it would now hang in the post office for visitors to see.
Fishermen’s Grotto in San Francisco, California
April 1979 & May 2015
During my very first night in San Francisco, I happened to show my grandfather’s photo of a scene at Fishermen’s Grotto in 1979 to a waiter who worked there. He immediately told me that he knew the man in the photo and, in fact, he had just finished working and was sitting at the bar. We met, pointed out things that had changed since 1979, and then had him stand in the same spot for this photo. The man’s name is Anthony and, I found out later, that he is one of six family members who are partners in the restaurant.
Groveland, California
April 1979 & May 2015
Groveland is a small town in California, most often passed through because of the proximity to Yosemite National Park. I had visited Yosemite earlier in the day and was racing to reach Groveland before it got too dark. After replicating my grandfather’s photo, I thought the current bar owner might like to see how his bar used to look. When I entered the Iron Door Saloon, which happens to be the oldest saloon in California, I came across a man sitting at the bar who told me he was in 11th grade the year my grandfather’s photo was taken. He went on to tell me that he and a few seniors used to park behind the bar and enjoy a few beers inside the bar after school. I believed him. I had the chance to show the current young owner what his bar looked like in 1979, which he loved. When I offered him a copy of the photograph, his face lit up, and he declared, “That’s badass!”
Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park, California
April 1979 & May 2015
I only had one full day in Yosemite National Park, and I managed to replicate this photo not long before two feet of snow fell in the park. The parking area for the Tunnel View was extremely crowded and took me several tries to capture my photo. Fortunately, I made it to the lower elevation road before the snow began to heavily fall.
Valhalla Pier in South Lake Tahoe, California
June 1981 & May 2015
This pier stands behind the Beacon Bar & Grill in South Lake Tahoe. I had dinner and a few drinks at the restaurant before making my way out to the beach to experience the same serene scene that my grandmother had described in her journal.
Yosemite National Park in California
April 1979 & May 2015
The ‘End 41’ sign has since been moved just around the corner behind me, where cars come speeding along the road. Standing partially in the road for this photo proved difficult, as I had no warning of approaching vehicles. I imagined my grandmother standing watch on the other side of the road all those years ago, shouting to my grandfather as cars came speeding toward the bend.
Golden Spike Historic Site in Promontory Summit, Utah
September 1974 & September 2015
I took a roadtrip in September 2015 that started in Salt Lake City, looped through Wyoming, and ended in Salt Lake. During my drive north toward Idaho, I stopped at the Golden Spike National Historic Site—commemorating the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad where the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad met on May 10, 1869.
After viewing my grandfather’s photograph, the ranger inside the Visitor Center went on to tell me how his parents are now retired in Colorado. While golfing one day, they met a man who was a key component in getting Golden Spike authorized as a National Historic Site in 1957. The ranger and I imagined the possibility of the man in the photograph and the man in Colorado being one and the same.
Mammoth Campground in Yellowstone National Park
May 1981 & September 2015
I had been exploring and driving through Yellowstone all day, finally arriving in Mammoth late in the day. I made my way down to Mammoth Campground and quickly located the site where my grandparents had spent the night. While replicating this photo, I had the pleasure of meeting a retired couple from Seattle at the site just across the way. Three hours later, after some great conversation and dinner served in their RV, I left the campground with two new friends.
Medora, North Dakota
September 1974 & June 2016
Having never been to North Dakota, I included Medora in my two-month road trip just to capture two of my grandfather’s photos. There is a tree similar to this one called “The Hanging Tree” in front of the post office. I quickly realized the features of that street did not match key aspects of the photo my grandfather had captured. It was in the post office that I learned the fate of the tree in my grandfather’s photograph. According to a bookstore owner on the opposite corner, a camper had struck the tree several years ago. The town tried to save it, but it had become so rotten that it was beyond saving.
Stevens Canyon Road Entrance to Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
June 1981 & June 2016
I had a rainy and overcast day at Mount Rainier National Park, much like my grandparents did. I was traveling the route they had taken from Idaho, through Mount Rainier, and to the Seattle area backwards, as I was headed to Idaho.
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