Photo by Ruben McIntosh, Courtesy of Northfield Historical Society Ruben McIntosh of Northfield took this stereopticon slide of the building on the Common which is now Mayo Insurance and Northfield Travel. The slide was probably made about 1870. This is one of a number of glass plate negatives that are in the collection of the Northfield Historical Society and will be preserved and printed as part of the glass negative project. IN MEMORY OF JIM WILSON

Dear Friends, AS SOME of you know, Jim Wilson found a "home" at the Northfield Historical Society and, over the years, gave generously and enthusiastically of his time and many talents.

He printed the Dog River Crier during all the years that he and his wife, Ingrid, owned the Northfield Printery. He served on the Board of Directors and was one of the Curators during the important years when the Society was in transition. He, along with other volunteers, put together the Society's WWII exhibit several years ago. He published and republished our book, Northfield at War. Jim returned to serve on the Board of Managers three years ago, and was the Chair for the summer exhibit two years ago called "Collections" which featured the Firefighting exhibit and the Tuskegee Airmen, doing a great deal of research in order to put the show together. He was able to obtain cooperation from local townspeople, who lent their own collections in order to show more of Northfield's history.

It was his idea that this past summer's exhibit continue the practice of soliciting locally owned artifacts and ephemera in order to tell Northfield's participation in the Civil War. He actively planned the exhibit, recruited volunteers, and guided the formation of the displays despite the fact that his illness prevented him from contributing as he had hoped.

Another of Jim's interests was in our collection of McIntosh glass negatives.

According to Green Mountain Heritage, "Such a rapidly growing town deserved a photographer to record all the goings-on and, fortunately for us, just the right person came to Northfield in 1853. Reuben McIntosh was born in 1823 in Bethel and although brought up to be a farmer, he later 'learned the Daguerrear' (Daguerre) business and practiced in and about his native town. McIntosh owned a Photo Gallery on wheels which he kept on ground later occupied by the Stevens Block (the land below the town hall.) Fitted up like a gypsy van with a studio and darkroom and drawn by horses, this van often made trips to neighboring towns. He later had a permanent studio on the Common and took hundreds of pictures in and around Northfield". One of McIntosh's daughters married George Sanborn, owner of Sanborn's Drugstore and father of Max Sanborn. Max was the photographer of the "Pictorial Representation of the Flood of 1927" with John Mazuzan. Between McIntosh and Max Sanborn, 70 years of Northfield photography was represented. Many negatives and photos are in the collection of the Northfield Historical Society. *See above photos.

As a photographer himself, as well as a historian, Jim was very interested in the glass negatives and looked forward to being involved in the preservation of and the eventual printing of photos from these very valuable artifacts. He did reproduce several, which can be found in Julia's and Richard Cleveland's book, Picture Northfield. Up until the time of his death, he had a plan.

We are in contact with a business in Woodstock, Photoark. They have the capability of transferring all of these fragile glass negatives onto CDs which we can preserve for the Society. Photographic prints can then be produced. It is exciting to think that these very early photographs, never seen by the community, will be available for viewing. An early estimate indicates the cost of the project negatives, will be in the vicinity of $2500. We have close to 280 negatives, with 196 attributed to McIntosh. We think the price is attainable and reasonable, considering the value of these historic artifacts.

We, the Board of Managers of the Northfield Historical Society, would like to pursue this dream, with the help of Jim's friends, members of the Northfield historical Society and business colleagues, by setting up a fund in his memory. We will call the project, "The Glass Negative Project in Memory of Jim Wilson. "

We would like to invite you to send a contribution to the NHS Treasurer, PO Box 422, Northfield Vermont 05663. It is very possible that, with enough funding, we will be able to publish a booklet of the photos and make it available to the public. At the very least, we will be able to preserve and print these early Northfield photos. I can visualize Jim's excitement if, some day, we were able to mount a Summer Exhibit of the photos.

Thank you in advance for your support of this project.

SALLY PEDLEY Northfield Historical Society