Finding Joel Pahl Dardis

Month: June 2022

  • Rhizomia Booms, Box 56, 1947

    Rhizomia Booms, Box 56, 1947

    The date on box 56 is Nov 14, 1947. Joel had a busy November that year. Few images in this box are football related. Not sure what the next two image signify, I just assume they were taken at the end of a game. The last image was published in the 1948 Naranjado in the…

  • Friendship Train, Box 55, 1947

    Friendship Train, Box 55, 1947

    Negative box 55 comes with two pencil marks; 4 dogs and 9 Palh baby. Looking at the negatives, I do find 4 dog images and 9 baby images, reportedly from a Pahl cousin. I also find 2 football images and 2 train images. The latter caught my attention as there were a lot of people…

  • Post Office, Box 54, 1947

    Post Office, Box 54, 1947

    The second pencil mark on box 54, in Joel’s handscribble, says “Post Office”. More negatives of a construction site, and we are able to discern some of the details. Eight negatives in total, one is a dud duplicate, so we’ll look at seven. The sign on the fence says “Nomellini Company, General Contractor”. The homes…

  • Honor Apartment, Box 54, 1947

    Honor Apartment, Box 54, 1947

    This box contains 22 press sized negatives, and we’ll split the box in two sections. This box is a surprize bonanza for those who are interested in construction techniques, and Stockton College of the Pacific (or UOP) history in general. It won’t escape anyone that these soft copper pipes are readied to be buried in…

  • More Baby, Box 53, 1948

    More Baby, Box 53, 1948

    Yes, more baby images in the remainder of negative box 53. No names, no further identification whatsoever. But babies are cute, this one is no exception, so here you have them all. One thing is clear, Joel worked hard to get different angles and keep the baby engaged and bubbly. Even an older sister (or…

  • Pacific Weekly, Box 53, 1947

    Pacific Weekly, Box 53, 1947

    When a box is marked “Weekly”, Joel refers to submissions for the Pacific Weekly, a College of Pacific Student Newsletter. It is not clear if any of these negatives were actually published in the Pacific Weekly, but I’ve seen some of them end up in the COP yearbook, The Naranjado. (Most often without giving credit…

  • Car Crash, Box 52, 1947

    Car Crash, Box 52, 1947

    This box of 16 negatives has few subjects. There’s an “Auto Accident” as Joel pencilled it in and “1947”. The expiration date on this box is Jan 1948, so the 1947 pencil mark is in the ballpark. The car crash looks gnarly, lots of damage and one can only wonder what happened to the driver.…

  • Ektachrome, Box 51, 1947

    Ektachrome, Box 51, 1947

    Although Ektachrome implies “color”, there are only black and white negatives in this yellow Kodak box with a Dec 1947 expiration date. Multiple subjects together and the 1947 date is as such in question for the vast majority of negatives. There’s a “Thom Family, about 1947” pencilled with another “Santa Cruz” marking. At least, that’s…

  • Babies, Box 50, 1948

    Babies, Box 50, 1948

    As a photographer, you get to shoot a lot of babies as soon as you’re past mid twenties. Your cousin’s babies, your friend’s babies and your neighbour’s babies. No different for Joel. We’ve seen already a few family baby shots in previous blog posts, today’s series fit the mold. There are no names on the…

  • Watermelon Feed, Box 49, 1947

    Watermelon Feed, Box 49, 1947

    Rho Lambda Phi, also known as Rhizomia, had a yearly “Watermelon Feed” event. This box has a pencil date of Sept 1947, and I confirmed that few of these images made it into the 1948 Naranjado COP yearbook in the “Special Days” section of editor Nancy Rinehart. Few more images of students and staff stuffing…