ALICE LEIGHNER PHOTO ARCHIVE DONATED TO THE CROTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
(CLICK ON THE PHOTOS AND LINKS)
A large collection of 35mm photographic negatives, mostly taken for the Croton-Cortlandt News and the North County News in the 1970s and early 1980s, has been donated to the Croton Historical Society by the estate of Alice Leighner.
Leighner passed away February 16, 2022 in Meriden, Connecticut. She and her husband, Leslie, moved to Croton in 1969 and lived here until 1985. Alice graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1962 with a BA in Journalism and received her MS degree in Journalism from Ohio University in 1967. In the 1970s she started writing for the Croton-Cortlandt News, later becoming the paper’s social editor and photographer.
In
addition to the negatives and related material, the donation included
framed photos she took of Pete Seeger and Aaron Copland, each inscribed
and signed by them to Alice.
Most
of the negatives have notes on the glassine sleeves or index cards,
indicating the subject matter of the photos. Cataloging, scanning and
archiving the collection will be a major undertaking. After an initial
assessment has been completed the Croton Historical Society will start a
campaign to raise funds to scan the negatives and convert them to
positive images so they can be shared with the public.
Tom
Simone, President of the Croton Historical Society, said, “We are
grateful to receive Alice’s treasure-trove of photographic images of
Croton. She was ‘the lady about town’ who captured so many local events
with her camera. This will be an incredible record of Croton-on-Hudson
during the 1970s and early 1980s."
Village
Historian Marc Cheshire said, “This is an important and exciting
donation. We suspect that many of Alice’s photos were never published
due to space limitations. She may have shot an entire roll of film of an
event, but only one photo was used.”
Founded
in 1972, the mission of the Croton Historical Society is to discover,
collect, preserve and share the rich history of the village of
Croton-on-Hudson. The society’s archival collection includes newspapers,
maps, photographs, yearbooks and one of the largest collections of
photographs and other material documenting the construction of the New
Croton Dam.
Photo captions:
Leighner Negatives.--A small portion of Alice Leighner’s 35mm photographic negatives, stored in glassine sleeves. Most sleeves contain multiple strips of negatives.
Leighner Copland Print--Photo of composer Aaron Copland by Alice Leighner. Copeland’s home on Washington Street in Cortlandt is now a National Historic Landmark.
Leighner Copland CCN 1-15-1981--The Copland photo as it appeared in the January 15, 1981 issue of the Croton-Cortlandt News.
Leighner Negatives.--A small portion of Alice Leighner’s 35mm photographic negatives, stored in glassine sleeves. Most sleeves contain multiple strips of negatives.
Leighner Copland Print--Photo of composer Aaron Copland by Alice Leighner. Copeland’s home on Washington Street in Cortlandt is now a National Historic Landmark.
Leighner Copland CCN 1-15-1981--The Copland photo as it appeared in the January 15, 1981 issue of the Croton-Cortlandt News.
FOR MORE ABOUT THE CROTON HSTORICAL SOCIETY:
Croton Historical Society
1 Van Wyck Street
Croton-on-Hudson, NY, 10520
Croton-on-Hudson, NY, 10520
Phone: 914-271-4574
Open Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. or by appointment
Website: www.crotonhistoricalsociety.
Blog: crotonhistory.org
Follow us on Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment