Remember the Polaroid Instant Photo

Remember the Polaroid? Take a picture, and almost instantly, usually about a minute, you could see the result of your photograph. Seems kind of lame now that we have digital and all photos are truly instantaneous. But before the Polaroid, we had expose a whole roll of film (typically 24 or 36 exposures) before we brought it to a store specializing in developing film. Within a few days you could see the results of your photo taking, good or bad. The Polaroid allowed quick results, but there was still a steep cost to take each picture, so perfect was still not the goal, but just a good picture of the moment.

My dad started putting family photos into albums after they moved to Florida. In 1980, he started to keep what I call a photo Journal, the pictures intermixed with ticket stubs, newspaper clippings and other non-photo items. This is a special period for me because after I graduated UVM in the spring of 1979, I moved to Florida to live in the trailer with my parents. My niece Lori, about 8 at the time, was already living with them for reasons I am not sure of, but we now had a family of four. I worked odd jobs before dad found me the job with Ensco in March of 1980, I worked there for the next 34 years.

When I pulled apart one of the last Photo Journals last week, I did not realize how many photos were Polaroids, like this one of me with my cousin Jon and I am assuming a date, at the wedding of his twin sister Joan.

I don't even remember my parents owning a Polaroid camera. I know my Uncle Bob always had one, maybe he gave one to my parents. In the previous photo, I still had a film camera hanging around my neck.

So I wanted to share some of the Polaroids that were in the album. I am still in the process of trying to figure out dates and places, and I thought that including them in the Blog might help. The next photo is me surrounded by my mom Stella, and my cousin Pam and her husband in 1980, Brian Akers. I am asuming the coffee belongs to mom...

Dad must have taken the last photo, and here he is with Pam and Akers. Pam is reading the paper and the coffee is now in front of Akers, but dad has at least four beers in front of him...

The next photo was not taken by my parents, but is a Polaroid with the fatter bottom. Written is "Keeping warm in N.E. Love Ken." That is my Uncle Ken who was living in Massachusetts in early 1980s. Looks like he let the fire go out...

Another fat Polaroid, this one of my Uncle Leonard Cyr wearing a Middlebury College tee shirt, standing in front of the outside door in the kitchen of his home in Middlebury.

This is a photo of my Godparents Bobby & Gerry D'Avignon with their new grand-daughter Sara.

My parents Harold & Stella with my cousins Ruth Hogbin and her husband Si Willis. I am not sure what the occasion but the date was written on the border. Another nice thing about Polaroids is they had a nice big white for marking the photo. I do not include the white area in the scans because I found it changes the look of the photo. Due to white-balancing, the photo will appear darker if you include the white and lighten up if you don't.

My parents in front of their trailer with Vermont visitors. The guy is Joe Doria, a high school classmate of my dad. At one time, he was the boss of my dad, me and both my borthers Tom and John. He worked for Middlebury College and hired me for the dish washing job I had for three summers. He was dad's boss when he cooked weekends at the Snow Bowl during ski season. I know the lady next to mom is Pete, Joe's wife but not sure who the other one is...

Here is another one of me, you can see mom's cooking creep into my belly. The guy is my cousin Billy D'Avignon with his wife Deb on a visit to the Florida trailer.

My mom's parents, John & Helen Shackett, had also bought a trailer in the same park as my parents. It was great to have Grandpa knocking on my window at 4:30 AM to go fishing. More visitors from Vermont, this is grandpa surrounded by Pauline & Willie Williams from Middlebury...

My dad clowning around, unusual for him (that is sarcasm for those who did not know my dad), on the beach with Willie Williams and his brother. It is May 2, 1980!

In August 1980, my dad went back to Vermont to serve in the Honor Guard at the funeral of "Bing". I am assuming it was a Bingham, not sure which one. This photo was at the Cyr's home in Middlebury.

In August 1981, my nephew Israel Provoncha was born. Here he is visiting my Aunt Dolly Cyr; she was the sister of Grandpa John Shackett. Photo taken in the Cyr's kitchen...

In 1981, my cousin came to Florida for a visit. Mary was the daughter of Uncle Moose and Aunt Peggy and graduated MUHS in 1975 with me. Here she is at Daytona Beach with my dad Harold...

Mary with my mom Stella at Daytona Beach...

The last Polaroid I am sharing is another of my Aunt Dolly, holding what looks like a very large trout.

My conclusion after writing this post is that Dad & Mom did not own a Polaroid camera. I now realize all these photos were taken by others with their cameras. I am pretty sure now that Uncle Leonard and Aunt Dolly had one. It says a lot about my parents though, that people would take a precious photo and then send it away to my folks. They were that important to people.

Here are a few other photos from that 1980-82 Photo Journal Album.

Grandpa Shackett when he was young, in the album with the obituary of his death in 1981...

Grandma Shackett weeks before she passed away in Melbourne Florida...

John & Pepe with their new son Israel, visiting my grandparents Albia & Lois Provoncha in their trailer in Bristol Vermont. Grandma with that damn scarf...

A picture of me riding the chairlift at the Snow Bowl. At this time, my Uncle Leonard was working the top of the chair and I think he took this before I disembarked...