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A treasure trove of historical negatives
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that reveal what life was like
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in the Four Corners 100 years ago
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are now seeing the light of day
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in calendars published
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by two longtime Montezuma County friends.
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You’re watching the “Local News Network”
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brought to you by Keesee Motors in Cortez,
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and Serious Texas Bar-B-Q
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I’m Wendy Graham Settle.
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When Montezuma County native
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Vern Ince purchased a box
of old large format film
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and glass plate negatives
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from a Farmington pawn shop in 2010,
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he knew he had something special.
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Fascinated with Native American cultures
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ever since he found an arrowhead
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on his elementary school ball field
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in Redmond, Colorado.
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Ince discovered that the box
contained a treasure trove
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of priceless images depicting Navajo
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and western pioneer
life in the Four Corners
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from 100 years ago.
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Ince held on to the collection
for nearly eight years.
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When he finally showed the negatives
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to his longtime friend David Reineke,
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a photographer, former art teacher,
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and history buff.
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That’s when they decided
to publish a calendar
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to share the images with the world.
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Ince and Reineke estimate
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the photos span about 15 to 20 years,
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from about 1920 to the mid 1930s.
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They include shots of
Navajos outside their hogans.
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A trader with a burrow loaded with hides.
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A bare-fisted boxing match in a dirt yard.
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A cowboy riding a bull during a rodeo.
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An image of a rare Bisti
style Navajo weaving,
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and an oil rig from 1922
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that may be the same rig on display
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outside the Farmington Museum
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and conference center.
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In fact the oil rig
provided the inspiration
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for the calendar’s title,
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because they believe it
was used to drill oil
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near the Hogback Ridge next to Shiprock.
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And Dave and I were trying to figure out
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a name for our company, right.
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And we’d come up with everything.
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This rig drilled behind The Hogback
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right outside of Shiprock there.
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And we got to talking
about The Hogbackback.
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Back in time.
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And you said-
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Well now you said,
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“Let’s call ourselves Back in Time.”
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That’s what you said.
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Yeah I kept saying, “Back in Time”
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and then Dave says,
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“How about ‘Hogback in Time?'”
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So, we’re nuts.
We looked at each other
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and said, “There we we are.”
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No one seems to know
who took all the photos.
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Was he a tourist
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or a local resident who
loved taking photos?
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Perhaps he was a trading post owner
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or a journalist out to capture life
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in and around the reservation.
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All they know is that the
Farmington pawn shop owner
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who sold the collection to Ince
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had purchased the negatives
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from an elderly Navajo man in 1990.
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Reineke and Ince do know the photographer
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was skilled at using
the large format camera
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to capture the images.
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The bull rider photo
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is amazingly sharp and crisp
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as are the details in the Navajo weavings
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that the photographer captured.
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This photographer,
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unknown photographer,
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has the hold this big box
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that must weigh 50 to I
don’t know how many pounds,
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with glass plates.
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And he’s moving with this bull
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and clicking the pictures.
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Reineke and Ince hold out hope
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that they’ll eventually discover
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the photographer’s identity.
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Several longtime residents have recognized
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some of the people in photos
published in the 2020 calendar,
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and they hope to conduct
further interviews
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with their leads.
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The 2020 calendar was so popular
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that Reineke and Ince
decided to publish a second.
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To be truthful,
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not all the photos in the 2021 calendar
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are from the collection.
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It also contains a couple of
never before published photos
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from the date that the Navajo Nation
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signed the Indian Reorganization
Act treaty in 1934,
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when Indian tribes were awarded
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the right to self-governance.
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Now there was supposed to be no photos
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taken at this signing.
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See right here.
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Mr. Ashcroft wore a great big coat,
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and when no one was
looking he opened it up
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and he took a photo of that.
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That’s amazing.
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The first time these two
have ever been published
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and he gave Vern four or five photographs
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that Vern brought to me.
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I did the history on all this.
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This came right out of the family photo.
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And I’ve never found anything
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like this online that even comes close
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to this photograph.
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That may be the only photo.
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Reineke and Ince say they’re not sure
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what they plan to do next
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with a little box of negatives
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that holds a big chunk
of Four Corners history.
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They’re both 77 years old
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and have families they want to enjoy.
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In the meantime
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you can purchase a
“Hogback in Time” calendar
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at various New Mexico trading posts,
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in select stores in Cortez,
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Mancos, Dolores,
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Dove Creek and Durango.
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And if you have more information,
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recognize any of the people
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or places in the calendars,
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or may know the photographer,
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contact [email protected].
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Thanks for watching this edition
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of the “Local News Network.”
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I’m Wendy Graham Settle.
