Stepping back in time
Harold Wadden’s home movies provide a snapshot of Port Morien
A number of years ago, I was contacted by Chrissy Wadden, a good friend who grew up in my old neighbourhood, to ask if I would like a copy of her father’s home movies.
She was one of six daughters raised by Harold and Anna Wadden. Her Mom and Dad had passed away and none of her family lived in Port Morien. She converted the movies to digital format and wanted to have a copy of them left in the village. I accepted her generous offer without hesitation.
Harold Wadden was a wellknown and popular businessman and an active volunteer in the community. He operated the Modern Clothing store, a barber shop and he also sold insurance. He later opened a store that offered takeout food. With pinball machines and a jukebox, it was a popular hangout for teenagers and Harold got to know most of us.
A war veteran and former president of the Port Morien Legion, Wadden was also active in St. Mary’s Church.
Harold Wadden was one of the first people in Port Morien to own a movie camera. His clothing store was located on Breakwater Street and it offered him a vantage point to record everyday life in our village from the late 1950s until 1970.
Some movie clips are grainy, but most people are recognizable. There are clips of workers heading back and forth to the fish plant and the wharf. He has shots of Gowrie students walking home from school. There are fair parades and church processions, and the only known video of the inside of the old St. Mary’s Church, torn down in 1966.
Most interesting though, are the random and candid shots Wadden took of individuals in the community — people going about their daily routine.
Wadden left us with a unique snapshot of village life in the mid-20th century. In so many ways, it is a stark contrast to village life in Port Morien and in many similar communities today. It tells us how much society has changed in such a relatively short period of time.
What is most obvious to the viewer is that people of all ages were out and about almost all the time. Options were limited at that time for transportation, socialization and communication. Not every family had a car and only some had access to a telephone. Most socialization was done at home, school, church and business establishments, or at community events and activities.
Family configurations were different. Many families had three generations living under the same roof. When the weather was fine, older folks were often sitting outside or standing at the gatepost chatting with neighbours. Sometimes their grandchildren would be next to them playing with friends.
Social interaction was common across the generations and people got to know each other very well. Local men would gather at one of the business establishments each evening to exchange gossip and news of the day. Their wives, most of whom didn’t work outside the home, chatted with neighbours over back fences or at one of the many stores in the village.
The joke among friends today is that we even knew the names of all the dogs in the commun- ity as they often roamed freely. Sometimes the dogs were given a surname which would be the same as the owner.
Harold Wadden died in 1984. If he were with us today, he would be amazed that people can take a clear video with a portable phone and watch it immediately, without waiting weeks for costly processing. He would also probably be surprised at how village life has changed.
With easier transportation, smaller families, no school and stores, and many options for socialization, there are few people milling about the village on a daily basis.
Most importantly, Wadden would be rightfully proud of the extraordinary legacy he left us by offering us a glimpse of everyday life in our village a half century ago.
As part of our Port Morien Digital Archives project, we uploaded a few of Harold’s movies. You can find them at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/portmorienarchive/albums/72157650195444897.