Tuesday, April 6, 2010

MARGARET'S PHOTOGRAPH OR LESS IS MORE


The less we know, the more we gain; that is, in perspective. Which, is exactly what happened with my relationship to Margaret. Perhaps, when we know nothing we start out fresh, our eyes are not clouded by the color of relationships from previous lives. A good book may be horrible when you only hear one or two sentences read by a distant voice. Then again, one or two sentences of a boring book may seem to impart a richness to the reader when the reality speaks differently. Movie previews have that same affect. So do photographs. And, family history.

Unlike Edward, I never met his wife, my great aunt Margaret. It really never bothered me, she was not bigger then life to me as a child. She was known in the family only through stories that seemed less then flattering, the outsider, the woman who didn't seem to care for children, who had relatives surfacing after her death to contest the will, her odd behavior with tea bags and her penchant for fur coats and large hats. Frankly, until I inherited the box of photographs I had never even seen a picture of her. She was just there, a distant reminder that Edward had married a person of no interest to me or my family.

Why you should look closely at photographs and always think outside the box, literally applies to every person who picks up an old album filled with pictures. Sometimes the obvious sits right before your eyes, giving the viewer one of those, "ah ha" moments. The less we know, the louder the "ah ha" moment may speak to us. And then we are led down a rich and rewarding path of exploration. We meet people for the very first time and the cloak of initial impressions gently falls from our eyes. This is how I met Margaret, the Lighthouse Keeper's wife.

The many photographs in the box were finely taken. Most of them were of Edward and various scenes from the lighthouses. Since he was in quite a few, it should have occurred to me he did not take them. Well, this was not the case, until I looked closely at one of the photographs of Edward. It is the same photograph used in this blog. Did you notice it? Look closely, do you see what I first saw?

Yes, it is Margaret's shadow across Keeper Edward, the ghost of the photographer forever imprinted upon the image. Then, it was my "ah ha" moment. She took the photographs! She documented the Lighthouse Keepers and her life-the one I knew so little about. Who was this woman? Suddenly, I wanted to know, I needed to know! My quest fed me though I had not realized how hungry I was until the journey began.

When I finished I learned something about Margaret, she had secret. She had waited almost 150 years to share it. I did not need to sit at her feet, although I wished we could have met. I think she and I might have been very good friends. For we are now, in history, at least. And, her secret I discovered speaks to all modern women and their daughters. For unlike the shadow image on her husband's picture, Margaret's life was not a silent silhouette. It was very alive and full, apart from her keeper husband. In fact, she was perhaps, much more interesting then Edward!

Tomorrow, begin the journey, learn about Margaret, the Lighthouse Keeper's wife-a daughter of Michigan. And in doing so, you might just learn about yourself!

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