Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – Steve Berry, who spent two decades as a salesman for an aerial photo company, has come out of retirement to once again go door to door.
Now 67, Berry, who logged roughly 1.2 million miles for Champion Air Views of Port Orange, Fla., is canvassing New England – presently Aroostook County – trying to get information about farm photos that were taken in the 1960s.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
STEVE BERRY is currently in Aroostook County researching Maine farms using old aerial photos and interviewing residents. Recognizing that he is “sitting on a goldmine of historical value with only a shovel,” Berry is going door to door trying to get 50 rolls of film that were taken in the 1960s – 1,800 photos – identified. He also hopes to recruit community volunteers who can help do the in-depth work on the project, which will eventually lead to a hardcover book.
“Champion Air Views was the competition for State Aerial Farm Statistics, Inc. of Toledo, Ohio,” said Berry. “During the course of 55 years, each company would go up and down every road in over 45 states on a six- to eight-year cycle and take photos of literally every structure with the purpose of marketing.
“They had their own pilots, their own planes and what they would do is send a pilot into a given area and he would create a flight path, and after that was done, they would issue the film to a sales rep in whatever area and the sales rep would market it,” he said. “After it was finished, the sales rep would discard the map. Unfortunately they did not have the foresight to make two. However, they stockpiled the film in an atmosphere-controlled warehouse. It was my job to sell the aerial photos of fields and farmhouses.”
A few years ago, Berry learned that State Aerial Farm Statistics, Inc. had at least 25 million aerial photos archived in Toledo and convinced company officials that the photos, along with the histories of the farms and the recollections of those who lived there, would make a great read.
“My idea is to form picture books of each county based on the 1960s, which were a major, pivotal time in American history as it was the beginning of the end of the small family farm, work ethic and family values,” said Berry, who was taken on as an agent for State Aerial Farm Statistics, Inc. in 2007. “I’m going to do a 500-page hardcover book that will be sold nationwide. We already have the publisher, editor and bookbinder lined up. Each county will get its own book, including Aroostook County.”
Berry is currently in The County going door to door trying to get the 50 rolls of film that were taken – 1,800 photos – identified.
“I’m basically going from town to town, door to door, to see if someone can identify the photos,” he said. “It’s about a year’s work for me alone. I’m sitting on a goldmine of historical value, but all I have is a shovel, and I need help.
“After I identify who owned the land in a given picture, I hope to be able to turn the photos over to someone in the local community who can invest their time by doing the in-depth work … sitting in the town clerk’s office going through records to find more detailed information,” said Berry. “A lot of retired folks don’t have enough to do to and they could work on this a couple hours a day, a couple hours a week, whatever. The goal is to try to get it as thorough as possible, and who better to do it than the people that have been in a community forever.”
Berry said he is providing a unique service to communities.
“What I’m doing is researching legacies of their own neighborhoods,” he said. “There are a good percentage of these farms that are gone forever. By bringing these photos back, it’s like reaching into the past and bringing it forward. It’s an incredible avenue that has been made available only because of the old school way of thinking … don’t throw anything away, which has paid off.”
Berry arrived in Presque Isle May 5 and will stay in The County until the job is finished.
“I’m staying here on a two-week cycle,” he said. “I’ll go home in two weeks for two days, and then I’ll be back for two weeks. I’ll do that until I’m done.
“I want to challenge each village to come up with a human interest story to compete with other villages,” said Berry. “I want to do it the same way as ‘American Idol,’ but ‘American Farm Stories.’ Every picture has a story behind it. Every door I go through has a story behind that door. The only way to get those stories is to go door to door and talk to the farmers. I can’t tell you how exciting it is.”
Berry has already had some success while in Aroostook County identifying some 100 photos in the greater Houlton area.
“I’ve had a great response,” he said. “People are more than willing to give me information. They’ve been very helpful.”
Any volunteer who would be interested in working with Berry can write to him at 143 Patterson Park, Waterbury, VT 05676, call (802) 279-0519 or e-mail stevenevintageaerial photos@yahoo.com.
“Volunteers will be rewarded by all the information that they’re gathering … they’re touching base with their neighbors, which we don’t do anymore,” said Berry. “We should reconnect with our fellow neighbor, and this could even lead to having regular meetings with neighbors and sharing information to go with this book. This truly is a goldmine, and I see great things for this project.”
Photos courtesy of Steve Berry
ANYONE WITH KNOWLEDGE about this unidentified Aroostook County property is asked to contact Steve Berry, who is presently in the county researching Maine farms using old aerial photos and interviewing residents. Berry has 1,800 photos of Aroostook County structures that were taken in the 1960s. He is trying to accumulate as much information as possible about the photos, and will eventually create a picture book that will be sold nationwide.