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THE LOST HISTORY OF CAMP MOXIE
THE PHOTOGRAPHS
Robert R. Lewis examines a Leica
camera, after 1930. Self portrait.
The Eloise Wrean Lewis Fiebig Private Collection
Most of the photographs used in this history were taken by Robert Rathbun Lewis and have been annotated ``RRL.´´ Those photographic prints now in the possession of Eloise Wrean (Lewis) Fiebig (Robert Lewis´s grand daughter) have been additionally labeled. When the author discovered (in an exchange of emails early in 2007) that Wrean had three scrapbooks of family photographs, a course was plotted whereby she could make these available. Wrean acquired them as a result of settling her Aunt Margaret´s affairs in 1987 and brought them back on the plane from Arizona. It was a fortuitous moment, as very little of the Lewis memorabilia was made available to the grand children of Robert and Margaret upon Margaret´s death in 1964. Other, similar, collections of Judge Lewis´s photographs and his many reels of motion pictures of Coudersport are believed to have been snapped up by the ``collector´´ market at the Lewis Estate public auction in 1964.
Wrean very graciously let the author personally examine and select those prints that would best illustrate the story of Camp Moxie on her visit to Coudersport in April 2007. She and her daughter, Gretchen, traveled here to consult with various local officials in preparation for Gretchen´s application to the federal government to have the Lewis property classified as a Historic Landmark. When I met with them at their motel room and saw the complete collection of prints I was overwhelmed. It was at that moment I realized the story of Camp Moxie could be more than a brief historical footnote in the local historical archives.
But the problems were manifold. Not a single print was labeled or dated. Most were stoutly glued to the stiff, cardboard-weight pages of the scrapbooks. And Wrean, understandably, could not leave them behind. Fortunately, Wrean, like her grandfather, was not adverse to using the technology at hand. She offered to scan, organize and ``burn´´ the images to computer disks and mail them to me in that form. A few weeks later I had received 75 images, a great many of which had never been seen by the public.
In October, 2007, Wrean made another trip to Coudersport and I was able to take a second look at the photo albums. I located and scanned another 28 photos, some of which related directly to the history of Camp Moxie, bringing the total of original Robert R. Lewis photos retrieved to 103. Without Wrean´s enthusiastic support this presentation would not be nearly as complete.
It is safe to assume that Robert Lewis was probably one of Potter County´s earliest amateur local photographers. Not only did he have the means to acquire the latest darkroom equipment and cameras of the time, but he was a skilled craftsman in his own right (woodworking, metalworking, gardening were among his many avocations). Consequently, some of his photographic work ranks with that of professionals. Many of the prints are one hundred years old. They have withstood the test of time very well, a testament to Lewis´ darkroom techniques. Sadly, some have been used without attribution by amateur historians and other organizations.
With what we know and remember of ``Judge´´ Lewis as a meticulous and orderly person, combined with his historical interests, it is almost a certainty that the he probably compiled an index to the family photo albums his granddaughter luckily retrieved. Alas, there is no mention by any one, anywhere, of such documentation.
MADE BY M. G. SCHNECKENBURGER´´
(Reverse of prints at the Potter County Historical Society. Note that the ``2 col.´´ inscription positively identifies this print as one used in the Boy Scout program printed by the Potter Enterprise in 1929, which document was not catalogued and incorrectly filed for over 10 years at the PCHS before the author discovered it in 2009)
Martin George Schneckenburger II was born May 21, 1884 in Lancaster, Erie Co, NY, and died June 26, 1950 in East Aurora, Erie Co, NY. [DW] Schneckenburger was an East Aurora, NY professional photographer whose clients included the Elbert Hubbard´s Roycroft craft studios [DC]. In 1929 he was head of the photographic department of the Buffalo Museum of Science. At that time he was persuaded by Joseph C. Galloway, owner of Eden Nurseries, in Port Allegany, Pa., to undertake a tour of Potter County with the then editor of The Potter Enterprise, William D. Fish. Camp Moxie was included in the itinerary. It is assumed that all of his photographs of Camp Moxie were taken on that trip. The photographs were subsequently serially published in the Enterprise and were also used in the special 20-page promotional booklet (see caption above) printed by the Enterprise prior to the Seneca ceremony [JG].
Deck Lane
Deck Lane was one of the best-known photographers in Pennsylvania in the early years of the 20th century. He was born in Roulette, Pa. on July 21, 1878. His studio in Ebensburg, Pa. was founded in 1908. His pioneering work in the nascent field of photography covered all aspects of the craft. His panoramic photographs of scenic sites in the state were in great demand. One, the Overlook on State Route 44 near Cherry Springs State Park, was named after him, as was the trail that leads downhill into the West Branch from that spot. The photograph of this overlook was later reproduced as a large panoramic landscape painting by the artist William Wild and now hangs in the Cathedral at the Coudersport Consistory. Active in outdoors affairs, he was a charter member and on the Executive Committee of The United Sportsmen of Pennsylvania, Ebensburg, Camp No. 114, a sportsmen´s club [CC]. He was also a member of the Coudersport Consistory, where, undoubtedly, he was acquainted with Robert R. Lewis, also an accomplished photographer [DL]. He took several documented photographs at Camp Moxie and it is assumed he was present for the Seneca ceremony, perhaps in charge of photographing the event. He died suddenly of a heart attack while attending a meeting of the Consistory on October 16, 1930.
Photographic color print, ``The Summer Road,´´ by Deck Lane hangs in the Reception area of the Coudersport Consistory William Wild´s ``Coudersport Pike´´ based on a photograph by Deck Lane
The Potter County Historical Society (PCHS) Collection
The Society, over the years, had accumulated approximately 53 photographic prints relating to Camp Moxie. These include The Seneca Ceremony, some Lewis family snapshots from the 1920s, a series on completing the Mess Hall, a few Deck Lane and some of the Schneckenburger photos. None had been labeled, nor was there any information at the Society on where they had come from or who the photographer was. By comparing these with the original prints from the Fiebig collection, and by examining the image format and the back of these prints, I was able to organize them and supply some tentative identification. These images are labeled ``PCHS´´ in this publication.
Culbertson
Melissa Menschel Culbertson of Colorado, who is a niece of Ruth Barrie (wife of Ken Barrie, asst. Scout Executive of Scouts at the time of the Boy Scout Camp at Camp Moxie) offered to let me examine several Barrie artifacts and family photographs in the early stages of research. These images, annotated in this publication, have never been seen by the public.
The Author´s
These are prints, slides or digital images from my own Moxie scrapbook, starting with my first camera - a simple fixed-focus Argus Pioneer box camera when I was a pre-teen. Other slides and prints in the late 20th century were shot with a 35mm Fujica ST307. Today I carry a Fuji FinePix 2650. How lucky young people are today to have the wonderful inexpensive digital cameras to record their lives. How much better this collection would be if I had had such technology in my youth!
_______SOURCES_____________
DW - West, Dale R., Simon Family Genealogy Forum, Re: Mary Ann Simmons [Simon] Mickel 1820, posted January 02, 2003
http://www.genealogyboard.com/simon/messages/694.html
www.genealogy.com
DC - Cathers, David, ``The Museum in the `Bungle House´.´´ American Bungalow Magazine © 2002
http://www.americanbungalowmagazine.com/AmBungalow/bunglehouse.htm
JG - Galloway, Joseph, ``Port Allegany Naturalist and Buffalo Photographer Take Trip in County. `` The Potter Enterprise, August 22, 1929
CC - Creery, Clark, ``Miscellaneous: Sportsman Club, 1900: Ebensburg, Cambria Co, PA: Ebensburg, Camp No. 114´´ USGenWeb Archives, clark312@metrolink.net,
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/pa/cambria/xmisc/sport0001.txt
DL - ``DECK LANE EXPIRES SUDDENLY WHILE AT COUDERSPORT EVENT.´´ Tribune Bureau, Oct. 16, 1930, courtesy of Cambria County Historical Society, Ebensburg, Pa., Kathy Jones, Curator
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