This is a silent film of Clayton (N.C.), circa 1936-1937 (Reel 1) The H. Lee Waters collection housed at Duke University.
This is a silent film of Clayton (N.C.), circa 1936-1937 (Reel 1)
The H. Lee Waters collection housed at Duke University.
ABOUT: H. Lee Waters from the Duke web site:
Born on August 23, 1902 in Caroleen, North Carolina, Herbert Lee Waters spent the majority of his life in Lexington, North Carolina.
As a teenager Waters worked alongside his family at the Erlanger textile mill, and developed a passion for photography, helping to run the projector at the local theatre and eventually apprenticing in the Hitchcock Studio at 118 ½ Main Street in downtown Lexington.
In 1926, Waters bought the studio, and soon after married Mabel Elizabeth Gerald, who would become his partner in running all aspects of the H. Lee Waters Studio.
In addition to commercial studio photography Waters also sought freelance work, and was hired to photograph the construction of High Rock Dam in 1927.
During the Depression, when many couldn’t spare hard-won wages for a portrait but did allow themselves the luxury of going to the movies, Waters supplemented the family’s income by traveling across North Carolina and parts of Virginia, Tennessee, and South Carolina, to film the people of the region’s communities.
Between 1936 and 1942, Waters collaborated with local movie theaters to screen his films, which he called Movies of Local People and billed with the phrase "See yourself in the movies!" As a filmmaker, Waters produced 252 films across 118 communities.
In addition to selling tickets to the many people who appeared in his films, he also sold advertising space in his movies to local businesses.
With the birth of the Waters’ third child and the entrance of the United States into World War II, Waters returned to Lexington and continued operating his photographic studio until his death in 1997. The Library of Congress listed Waters' Kannapolis film on the National Film Registry in 2004.
This collection contains a mixture of items that are in the public domain and items that may be in copyright, which makes determining the publication status for some items difficult.
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Title:
Clayton (N.C.), circa 1936-1937 (Reel 1)
Date:
1936 to 1937
Creator:
Waters, H. Lee
Description:
00:00:00 --Children walking in groups in school yard, boys posing for camera
00:00:15--Service station attendant wiping the rear windshield of a car, young African American men posing by service station
00:00:25--High school students walking toward the camera from school steps, in groups or alone, group of boys posing in front of school steps, children standing and walking on sidewalk in front of school, boys shooting marbles, close up shots of students, group shot of children, boys sharing water fountain, boys shooting marbles
00:02:24--Young African American man sitting on steps, group shot of white children posing in front of school, close up shot of boy missing front teeth and wearing Lindbergh cap, girls playing hopscotch, boy riding bicycle, girls walking in small groups down residential sidewalk, girl on roller skates
00:03:04--African American man sweeping sidewalk taken from moving vehicle, service station attendant attaching spare tire to car, white girl walking on sidewalk
00:03:15--Group of African American boys and girls standing on sidewalk, two African American men in suits talking, shots of African American children outdoors in school yard, probably William Mason Cooper School.
00:03:41--Man holding child in air, child hugging man, child being held by another man in a vest and tie
00:03:51--Car arriving at service station, “Essolube” sign, attendants checking car's fluids and under hood, “Acto” sign, man polishing car's chrome, car raised on lift, man posing under car with tool, “Drain Refill your Crankcase Now For Continued Protection” sign, “Atlas Certified Water Battery Service” sign, close up of “Essolube” display with cans of motor oil, “Standard Esso Dealer” hanging sign, “Champion Spark Plugs” sign, “Ladies Rest Room” sign, “Atlas Tires 1 Year Guarantee Backed by Complete tire service” sign, panning shot of service station grounds
00:05:15--Two young women looking out school bus window, two boys with Lindbergh hats standing on sidewalk, close up shots of children on downtown sidewalk, young African American men laughing on downtown sidewalk
00:05:39--Shot from front of moving vehicle of Clayton's Neuse River Covered Bridge and single-lane road, children exiting school bus, group shot of students and teachers posing in front of school bus, men and boys posing in front of building
00:06:16--Exterior shot of car dealership, “Chevrolet” sign, “Ever-Green 'The Best for Less'” sign, man cleaning sign from rooftop, “Coca-Cola” sign, men standing on downtown sidewalk
00:06:34--Man pointing at “Wall's Shoe Shop” sign, African American man in taxi driver's hat, “Ex-Lax” sign, close up shots of children on downtown sidewalk, “John T. Talton Insurance and COAI Notary Public” sign with family posing in front of it, boy in Lindbergh aviator helmet cap standing on sidewalk, police officer standing on sidewalk, African American man standing outside barbershop, children standing on downtown sidewalk
00:07:15--“Poole's Drug Store” sign, man posing by “Barber Shop J.E. Jones Prop. Baths” sign, African American men shoveling coal into truck bed, group of girls posing, young people standing on downtown sidewalk, boy on bicycle
00:07:57--Two African American girls talking, African American boys playing basketball outside, white children walking down sidewalk, girls on roller skates, group of white children standing on school steps
00:08:22--Workers leaving factory building, African American men moving bales of cotton, parents showing babies off in car, pedestrians walking on downtown sidewalk in rain, “Clayton Supply Co.” sign on car, African American man stepping out of car, man holding baby, group of children sitting on low wall
00:09:28--Mother holding baby, men exiting barbershop, men standing on sidewalk, African American man walking bicycle, African American women walking arm-in-arm, dog on downtown sidewalk, pedestrians standing on sidewalk, dog performing tricks for camera
00:10:40--“Catherine's Beauty Salon” sign, “Chick's Luncheonette” neon sign, “Bank of Clayton” sign, pedestrians walking on sidewalk, boy holding puppy, “N. Clyde Wall Grocery & Market Fish & Oysters” sign on window, men standing in front of car on lift
00:11:36--“W.J. Akins Dry Cleaning” sign, wide shot of exterior of gas station, “Sinclair” oil sign, “Piggly Wiggly” sign, “White's” cafe sign, girl walking toward camera
00:12:15--“The Clayton News” sign, quick shots of children outside school, “Clayton Furniture Co.” sign, exterior of movie theater, “Clayton Supply Co.” sign, “Poole's Drug Store” sign
