* * * *  SPECIAL EVENT - Bert Call Photo Exhibit - Concord, MA July 2007 * * * *
Please take note that there is a very special exhibit of “Uncle Bert’s” photographs at the Emerson Umbrella Center for the Arts in Concord, MA from July 12th to August 15th, 2007...  This exhibit is in conjunction with the Thoreau Society’s “Annual Gathering 2007”, celebrating Henry David Thoreau’s 190th birthday (July 12, 2007).

Because so many of Uncle Bert’s photographic journeys duplicated Thoreau's expeditions to Maine, the Dexter (ME) Historical Society has contacted the Director of The Thoreau Society of Concord, Massachusetts. The Society has shown great interest in hosting a display of Bert Call's North Woods photos along with a presentation lecture at their Annual Gathering.  Thoreau’s series of essays, “The Maine Woods” (1864) contains his first-hand observations of his travels in the Maine North Woods...
* * * *  SPECIAL EVENT - Bert Call Photo Exhibit - Concord, MA July 2007 * * * *

Directions to the Emerson Umbrella Center

“Uncle Bert” Call (Albert Lincoln Call) lived in Dexter Maine most of his life.  He was a professional photographer and had a studio (Call Studio) from the mid-1880’s to 1944 in Dexter. Uncle Bert was also a founding member of the Dexter Club and a founding member and first president of the “Elkinstown Club”, on Lake Wasookeag in Dexter.

For several years, he served as official photographer for the Bangor and Aroostook (B&A) Railroad and this gave him the opportunity to combine business with the thing he loved best to do, go into the deep woods of Maine, take the Allagash canoe trip, climb Mt. Katahdin, explore many lakes and take the beautiful pictures to be found in the B&A Railroad magazine, "In The Maine Woods".  Uncle Bert was the official photographer for the B&A Railroad from 1915 to 1931.

**NEW** Here is the collection of photos which appeared in the 1930 issue of ‘In The Maine Woods’.

Uncle Bert’s life story was written up for the Dexter Bicentennial in The Eastern Gazette, June 1976

Uncle Bert’s Maine Backwoods Stories...
Here is a collection of stories and jokes from “Uncle Bert” Call.  These recordings of Uncle Bert were made in 1965 by my cousin, Hunter, on a 1950 Wollensak reel-to-reel tape recorder. I have converted the audio tape to .mp3 digital files with the links below.  I have given a name to each of Uncle Bert’s stories which naturally fit the circumstances.

Note, Uncle Bert had two canaries in his kitchen which never stopped chirping - you can here them in the background...

Jokes...
Manure_Lecturer (200Kb) 1:08min.
Son_Called_Onyx (128Kb) :44sec.
Runaway_Horse (298Kb) 1:42min.
Partridge_with_frying_pan (224Kb) 1:16min.

Uncle Bert Audio Stories...
Ben_York’s_famous_Moose_Call (559Kb) 3:10min.
Bear_Surprise_at_Chimney_Pond (1.13Mb) 6:36min.
Katadin_East_Side_Chimney_Pond_Bear_Story (1.79Mb) 10:27min.
Alagash_Lake_Trip_Fire_Accident (1.25Mb) 7:18min.
Roger’s_HS_Graduation_Bear_Hunting_Trip_with_Bert_&_Bob_Call (1.79Mb)7:49min.
The_Dog_Next_Door & Neighbors_Kids (303) 1:43min.
History_of_the_Dexter_Fire_Dept (677Kb) 3:51min.
Dexter’s_Fire_Alarm_System (827Kb) 4:42min.
Dexter’s_Biggest_Fire_22Feb 1907 (491Kb) 2:47min.  Fire picture from Dexter Historical Society
History_of_That_Rock (878Kb) 3:44min.
History_of_the_Bedroom_Highboy(306Kb) 1:44min.
History_of_the_Bedroom_Highboy_Part_2 (257Kb) 1:27min.

Uncle Bert’s Audio History Archived in the University of Maine Folklife Center...
Many hours of Uncle Bert’s stories and reminiscences of Dexter Maine and his early life and work are archived in the Maine Folklife Center. These interviews were conducted by Dexter resident historian, Frank Spizuoco from 1963 to 1965, the year Uncle Bert died..

Uncle Bert’s Photograph Collection...
There is a collection of Uncle Bert’s photographs archived in the Maine Folklife Center.  Here is their description of the photo collection (SpC MS 81):
“3376 photographs (negative, b&w). Note, no restrictions on access Negatives of photographs taken between 1914 and 1939 by Call of outdoor scenes of mountains, lakes, woods and streams in the northern part of Maine. Included are shots from the Mt. Katahdin and Baxter State Park area, the Greenville and Moosehead Lake region, Mt. Desert Island and Bar Harbor, Aroostook and Piscataquis Counties, and the towns of Onawa and Dexter, Maine. Photos of agricultural scenes from northern Maine, coastal scenes, and industrial scenes, especially of the Katahdin Iron Works, are also found in the collection. A small number of the negatives represent homes and people in the Dexter area. Many photographs were used in the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad's annual, "In the Maine Woods," published to promote the railroad's passenger business
Bert Call was a professional photographer in Dexter, Maine from 1887 to 1953, starting as an apprentice to A.G. Fassett and shortly thereafter buying Fassett's studio. He was a portrait photographer but took many photographs in the northern Maine woods. He was also the official photographer from 1915 to 1931for the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad's publication, "In the Maine Woods." No finding aid - see Special Collections librarian for assistance Gift from Dexter Historical Society in 1988. Additional material given in 1991 by John Reed, Orono, Me”