WESTFIELD-For decades, more than 2,000 photographs and negatives have been sitting idle in a box in the City Hall vault, but with perseverance, Bruce W. Cortis has brought the collection into the 21st century.
Westfield native Bruce W. Cortis is putting the finishing touches on a Historical Commission project. He holds a copy of a photograph taken from a glass plate negative. In the background is the home his uncle lived in for many years.
Cortis, a Westfield native who resides in Feeding Hills, shared the extent of the six-month project on Tuesday morning in his home before he packs it up and delivers it to Kate Deviny, archives and museum coordinator at the Westfield Athenaeum.
A special public event surrounding the collection is planned June 14 from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the Edwin Smith Historical Museum at the Athenaeum. The museum, named in honor of Edwin Smith, co-founder of the H.B. Smith Company, features artifacts dating back to Westfield’s colonial settlement in the 1600’s.
“This will be the only time all the photo albums and individual photos will be on display as they take up a lot of room,” said Deviny. “People are encouraged to come to help identify places.”
Cortis, an avid writer who relishes projects focusing on history and genealogy, was approached by the city’s Engineering Department last fall while he was working on a research project.
“Lantern slides” of images across Westfield will be on display June 14 as part of a special Historical Commission project, organized by Bruce W. Cortis.
“Once the city’s Historical Commission sponsored the project, I thought I would be done in a month or two,” said Cortis. “What I found in the box were many pictures deteriorating or curling since they were not in a good storage area.”
Six months later, the collection that Cortis will deliver is now categorized. Also, he has created a digital scan of the photographs and negatives and a flash drive will be available in the Athenaeum’s reference department so the public can view and print photos that interest them.
“Bruce’s work expands our knowledge of the building of the Granville Dam as well as other dam and public works projects including the creation of local streets,” said Deviny, adding Cortis has done a “fabulous job” of digitizing the Engineering Department’s old photographs. “The Athenaeum is thrilled that these photographs will be available for all to see how Granville Dam was made, the laying out of the Winchell Dam pipeline, as well as photos of other reservoirs, Westfield streets and forestry projects. Photos include an ice house in the Little River District that we didn’t know existed.”
Cortis noted he has been impressed with the “perfectly sequenced” photographs taken over the years of projects including the Granville Reservoir. The majority of the photographs and negatives are from the 1920’s to 1940’s with some earlier photos and negatives also depicting life in the city.
“Photos of the 1930’s also include the annual summer outing of city officials at their steak roasts at Winchell Reservoir,” said Cortis.
Two small wooden boxes holding “lantern slides” were also part of the collection and because of the overall quality of the slides, Cortis was able to create pictures on quality “bright 96” white paper.
While old photograph books meticulously documented the building of the Granville Reservoir, other photographs had been strewn about in the collection box and Cortis soon categorized them into three areas – reservoir and forestry projects, construction of bridges and culverts, and street and location-oriented sites.
“The project was quite a challenge,” said Cortis. “I consulted my father and older residents in the city for input as well as doing my own research. My intent has been to save the originals.”
Cortis will be available to answer questions during the special showing and will showcase 25 to 30 of his “favorite photos” from the collection.
Having grown up on Pontoosic Road and seeing old photographs of that immediate area, Cortis was transported in time and hopes others can benefit from the experience too.
“For anyone who is interested in old landscapes, activities, old machines and construction techniques, these photos will show you what the city was like,” said Cortis. “I’ve maximized the work I can do and now the Athenaeum staff will take the next step in filing the archival materials.”
