HERB RINGER and his parents, Sadie and Joseph, traveled across the American West and into the Canadian Rockies on numerous trips, from 1941 to 1973. We are in the process of scanning hundreds of Herb’s Kodachrome transparencies that have never been seen in The Zephyr.
Here is a sampling of images, shot by Herb between 1946 and 1954, from visits to Cameron, Arizona and excerpts from one of Herb’s letters, describing his trips…JS
The first time I stopped at Cameron was when I had my 1946 Ford. It was going to be a long drive, from the South Rim all the way to Kanab. And so my father suggested we stop. We noticed there was a cafe. So, over fried chicken, we had lunch there. We were the only customers on this lovely summer day.
Mr. Richardson, the old man who owned the place, seemed to take a liking to me and invited me to breakfast. He told me stories of his early days there.
The bridge over the little Colorado was something of an innovation. I don’t know what prompted them to build a second bridge there.
And it was the center for the Navajos. They brought their big packs of wool that would be stuffed into huge burlap sacks, some as big as eight feet. Then the wool would be taken to the rail depot in Flagstaff and the Santa Fe Railroad. Of course, the Navajo also used the wool to weave beautiful blankets and rugs. Interestingly, what the Navajos often preferred was a Pendleton blanket.
One year, we stayed at Cameron for a couple of weeks. My dad, who was a professional musician, taught a young girl who lived nearby how to play the piano.
Those were good times.
HERB RINGER came West from his home in New Jersey in 1939. Camera in hand,
Herb captured the American West, from the Canadian Border to the Rio Grande and
from the Big Sur coast to the High Plains.
We believe Herb’s collection of Life in the West is one of the finest. His work has been
published in The Zephyr for 20 years. I am pleased finally, to offer Herb’s photographs
in color. We are also building a new ‘album’ of his work, elsewhere on this site.
My dear friend died on December 11, 1998…JS
For the Most Comprehensive Collection of Herb Ringer Photographs Online, Click Here to see the Herb Ringer Issue of the Zephyr.
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