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“Walpole-Then and Now” reception at WPL

By Audrey Anderson
Hometown Weekly Reporter

“Walpole-Then and Now” is a handsome and thought-provoking exhibit of 25 historical photographs paired with current photographs of the same locations. The exhibit will be in the Community Room and hallways of Walpole Public Library until January 31 and open during library hours. At the opening reception excited townspeople came to the library to discuss photographs, tell old stories, and enter a contest to identify the location of a mystery historical photograph.

The attractive exhibit was supported by a generous contribution by Alice Lorusso, sponsored by the Walpole Historical Society and the Walpole Library Friends, and created as a joint project of John Anderson and Susan Anderson of the Walpole Historical Society and Phillip Czachorowski and Mary O’Brien of the Walpole Library Friends. According to Czachorowski, Walpole Library Friends President, original photographs of all sizes were gathered from the Walpole Historical Society’s collection. These photographs were scanned by Czachorowski at sufficient resolution to be printed as stunning 16 x 20 black and white prints. Then Czachorowski and Mary O’Brien, Walpole Library Friends Secretary, captured the current images of the corresponding locations of the historical photographs. They chose to have the current images printed at the same size as the historical ones, and in black and white, so that all the prints were of the same size and format. Each image was completed with the same simple black frame to focus attention on the images.

This consistent approach to the project resulted in a stunning, cohesive array of photographs spanning the walls of the Community Room in neat rows. A card between each pair of photographs gave the location and other information that was known about the original image.

Some current photos showed the same building that was originally on the site, perhaps being used for a different purpose or business. Other current photos showed a completely different scene from the original image. An image of Calvin Coolidge dedicating the Town Park was paired with a current image showing a marker at the same location that commemorated the original event.

You will enjoy an hour or more spent at the “Walpole-Then and Now” exhibit, comparing an old way of life to ours, and wondering about the people who lived their lives in Walpole over 100 years ago.

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