19/100 Larry
My wife met Larry at a Sons of the Confederacy memorial service and found herself invited to an open house at the Victorian home he is restoring with his partner Terry. She called me excitedly, and when I got off work I grabbed my camera and drove over.
Larry and Terry recently found a hidden chamber beneath their home with an underground passageway leading towards the river. They speculate that the influential builder of the home used the passageway to spirit in his black wife and the children she bore him during the years immediately after the American Civil War.
Like many of the Sons of the Confederacy, Larry finds the term "American Civil War" to be a phrase of propaganda written by the victor of a bloody struggle between brothers. Larry prefers to call that struggle the War for Southern Independence. He is quick to point out that secession and rebellion of the Southern states in 1861 was as legitimate as the secession of the American colonies from the British crown in 1776.
The excavation of the hidden chamber and tunnel on the property was off limits to the general public, as workers are still unearthing its secrets beneath the ground. Larry and Terry's historical home was decorated with the floral arrangements from the morning's memorial service. Terry works as a florist and did not want the arrangements to wither away in a cemetery.
Terry was still a bit shy about being photographed, but Larry was proud to remove his hat and pose beside the red white and blue arrangement on their front lawn. It was interesting to see people, both black and white, file past the battle flag of the Confederacy to view their common history.
Some might consider Larry to be a bigot based on his interest in an indelible period of history in the United States. Larry points out that history which is twisted or forgotten leaves lessons unlearned. History is simply history. It can illuminate our humanity, or we can run from it as ignorant as we were before, and never benefit from it's harsh lessons. Larry is no bigot. He is a historian; a historian who wants to preserve history for the lessons it can provide, not erase or hide it because of the shame and self doubt it brings to the surface.
I talked with Larry and Terry at length between the tours of their home, and I found them to be an interesting couple with wildly eclectic persuasions. They agreed to model for prints in the future, and I am looking forward to the prospect.
Larry is number nineteen in my 100 Strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the flickr group page.
The 100 Strangers website can be found at 100strangers.com/
19/100 Larry
My wife met Larry at a Sons of the Confederacy memorial service and found herself invited to an open house at the Victorian home he is restoring with his partner Terry. She called me excitedly, and when I got off work I grabbed my camera and drove over.
Larry and Terry recently found a hidden chamber beneath their home with an underground passageway leading towards the river. They speculate that the influential builder of the home used the passageway to spirit in his black wife and the children she bore him during the years immediately after the American Civil War.
Like many of the Sons of the Confederacy, Larry finds the term "American Civil War" to be a phrase of propaganda written by the victor of a bloody struggle between brothers. Larry prefers to call that struggle the War for Southern Independence. He is quick to point out that secession and rebellion of the Southern states in 1861 was as legitimate as the secession of the American colonies from the British crown in 1776.
The excavation of the hidden chamber and tunnel on the property was off limits to the general public, as workers are still unearthing its secrets beneath the ground. Larry and Terry's historical home was decorated with the floral arrangements from the morning's memorial service. Terry works as a florist and did not want the arrangements to wither away in a cemetery.
Terry was still a bit shy about being photographed, but Larry was proud to remove his hat and pose beside the red white and blue arrangement on their front lawn. It was interesting to see people, both black and white, file past the battle flag of the Confederacy to view their common history.
Some might consider Larry to be a bigot based on his interest in an indelible period of history in the United States. Larry points out that history which is twisted or forgotten leaves lessons unlearned. History is simply history. It can illuminate our humanity, or we can run from it as ignorant as we were before, and never benefit from it's harsh lessons. Larry is no bigot. He is a historian; a historian who wants to preserve history for the lessons it can provide, not erase or hide it because of the shame and self doubt it brings to the surface.
I talked with Larry and Terry at length between the tours of their home, and I found them to be an interesting couple with wildly eclectic persuasions. They agreed to model for prints in the future, and I am looking forward to the prospect.
Larry is number nineteen in my 100 Strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the flickr group page.
The 100 Strangers website can be found at 100strangers.com/