In the last post we were headed up to Grand Rapids, MI after our great week in Hillsdale. In G.R. I spent the weekend photographing a Red Hat Society convention, “Glam on the Grand”. The photograph above is a preview of the work, however I’m still waiting approval to post the remaining photos and write an official report. I think there is some beautiful content to be shown.
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In Grand Rapids we were lucky enough to be hosted by the wonderful Bolt family (sorry no picture of the whole fam). Brian and Joni found a great place for the Airstream to park behind their house. The quiet neighborhood served as a peaceful oasis from the craziness I was surrounded by while photographing the red hatters.
I was intrigued by the creative play world of the Bolt girls, Maria and Grace. They showed me their house creations that led me to believe both would have a great future in interior design or urban planning. Even George, the youngest, manages to put up with his sisters’ hobbies, and serves as a curious admirer.
If you ever meet the youth of today and think our future as a country is doomed, well, have faith. You must meet the Bolt kids. They will give you hope for the future. There are still incredibly bright, polite, fun, and talented kids out there!
Many thanks Brian, Joni, Maria, Grace, and George.
One afternoon when shooting the red hatters in downtown G.R., I stumbled upon some kind of radio station promo event. From a very quick observation, I got the gist of the event. Multiple teams wearing funny costumes face off and try to knock down the opposing team’s ketchup bottles by throwing tomatoes. I took a few pictures, but I was splattered by tomatoes within five minutes and figured a good photo wasn’t worth sacrificing my gear.
Grand Rapids turned out to be a goldmine! Not only did I photograph two events, but I also discovered a very interesting church for some potential freelance work for an unnamed magazine.
The Woodland Drive-In Church has been meeting since 1970, and still keeps a consistent attendance of about seventy-five cars. It was a very interesting experience. As we pulled into the parking lot of the church, a woman greeted us with a bulletin. Then we found our parking spot (in the back) between two vans. After we tuned our radio to the right channel, we heard a gentle organ crackling from our truck speakers. The organist was sitting in the building ahead of us, and a microphone was transmitting her playing to the comfort of our car.
There were several funny things that I noted. At the beginning of the service, the pastor called upon the Woodland Choir to come to the building. Slowly, and with a little coaxing, people started to emerge from their cars and about ten people went up to the pulpit and stood in formation. After the very nice hymns, the parishioners, instead of clapping, flashed their lights in approval of their singing.
As instructed in the bulletin, if someone has a prayers request, they can write it on the card provided, place it on the windshield of their vehicle, and an usher would collect it.
The guy next our truck was reading his car manual during the sermon, but instead of blatantly reading it, he held it under the steering wheel and sneaked peaks in an attempt to hide it from his wife–whom, by the way, was doing her nails throughout the service.
I spoke with a couple who pulled up in their minivan. They had five kids. The mother said it was a lot easier to attend church when they didn’t have to take all their kids out of the van. If there was a problem during the service, they just reach back and fix it. Makes sense.
As I learned from the pastor, the drive-in church actually caters to people with specific needs such as this. Some people have physical handicaps, some people are afraid of an established church in a building, some like bringing their pets, and some don’t like the formality of regular church so they come in their pajamas. I met a few of the parishioners who had been attending Woodland drive-in church for 20+ years. They valued the close-knit congregation, and the fact that the church really serves as an outreach.
One woman told me that sometimes there will be a car parked in their lot on Sunday morning, left by some teenager who was partying and drinking on Saturday night. When they come to collect their car on Sunday morning, they are shocked that they had left their car in church parking lot, and have to retrieve it during the service!
There was only one thing missing from the church: a drive-through Starbucks at the parking lot entrance!
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After Grand Rapids we hit the road for Southern Illinois to visit a friend. Along the way we meandered through the rather unattractive and uneventful landscape of Indian.
Early morning, Indiana. Rest stop for the night. Parked next to a bunch of sleeping carnies. First morning I woke thinking it was cold.
Dawn, from a bridge. The morning sun burns off the fog over a soybean field.
Well, thanks to a fun website that has a broad collection of amusing road-side attractions, I did discover something worthwhile in Indiana. I found what is commonly referred to as ‘the lonliest museum in America.’ This place turned out to be very interesting.
James’ uncle painted these colorful illustrations. His uncle was a traveling preacher.
James, the man behind this unique and utterly hidden gem in Southern Indiana, has for the last ten years been compiling a small museum consisting of antiques, collectibles, and “nostalgia”. The amazing part is that James has not purchased one item for his museum. Everything has been donated. Thousandths and thousandths of items fill up the second story of the garage that also houses James’ woodworking shop. Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture to share with you of this collection of items. What I found more interesting were the small things surrounding the museum–the items that told the story of James.
A bug collection that James’ daughter made in elementary school.
Not only is James compiling this museum on the lonely side of an Indiana state highway, but he is also diligenty raising money to build a National Veterans Memorial and theme park. He estimates it will cost between $60 and $100 million. Currently, veterans can register their name for the memorial for $100, and in return receive an engraved medal, a certificate, and a crystal that will be hung from the ceiling of the new memorial. He’s only just begun the fund raising, and they already have forty registered names.
James in his greenhouse that was destroyed in last year’s winter.
