Photography Club steps back in time

By Rex Dolby

Despite heavy rain, Van Wert Area Photography Club members traveled to Ottoville on Thursday, May 12, to tour a vintage photography studio that had been started in the 1890’s by the great grandfather of local insurance man, Jim Niedecken.  Jim’s grandfather, and later his dad continued to run the studio until it closed its doors in the mid 50s.

President Stuart Jewett arranged for the tour and advised everyone to bring a flashlight or whatever, because there was no electricity available on the second floor of the studio, which was the work area for the business. This turned out to be good advice because only the downstairs was well lit and provided a good starting point for Jim to tell about the history of the studio and some of the equipment he had on display.  There was hardly light enough to see upstairs due to the dim light coming in the windows. It was too dim, however, for some camera viewfinders to pick up anything.  Others with higher end cameras were able to frame their shots through their viewfinders and expose their shots without using a flash.

Items still in place included, chemical bottles, boxes of images on glass plates, wood for frames, a box of glass for frames, a wide variety of black and white prints, cameras, a 45 rpm record player loaded with original records of the era, backdrops, and other items.  Some of the people in a school photograph Jim could name, but the others will slip from memory, just as those will on the glass plates.  It would sure be a great local history project if a group could catalog the images and identify as many as possible before they are lost forever.  Jim revealed that his grandmother started Millie’s.  That business would like to expand into the studio area, which puts pressure on Jim to decide what to do with the contents of the studio.

Following the tour, Jim invited the group to see the contents of one of his three garages. We were surprised to see two antique cars, several scooters, an old Harley Davidson, an ornate stove, and other transportation memorabilia.  We certainly appreciated Jim’s hospitality, his interest in history and efforts to make us feel welcome.  It certainly was an interesting experience.

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