Boonville, day 30

Boonville to Louisville to Brooklyn to Boonville

I am currently in Brooklyn! Just here for a day to visit with Laura, take care of some business and say hi to a few friends. Louisville was great. Quick but great. Got some film, dropped off some film, had dinner with Drew (the man behind the developing/printing) and left.

The drive to Brooklyn was nice...until I hit Jersey. Rush hour! Rush hour in New Jersey and Staten Island have got to be the closest things to hell on earth. Lucky thing is, most people don't know about back roads. It was still bad but I bet I saved a good hour or two.

Off to Boonville, North Carolina on Saturday morning! I'm looking forward to starting it all over.

Thank You, Boonville, MO!

Train Depot, Boonville, Missouri

I'm out. Thanks to everyone in Boonville! There are too many people to personally thank but a big shout out to: Sarah Gallagher, Boonville's Economic Development Director; Brad Wooldridge, the local bartender, entrepreneur and lawyer; And Stephen Perry, musician, writer, and all-around inspiring guy. Also, a special thanks to Frank and Julie Thacher, Jim and Tia Higbie, Jim and Paula Shannon, Daniel and Dick Blanck, and Kari Evans, for hosting me during my thirty-day stint in Boonville, Missouri. You were all fantastic and I will spread the word amongst all my dirty-New York-artist-friends and tell them they can get a comfy bed and warm meal! Also, a big THANK YOU to everyone at the Hotel Frederick. You guys are awesome!

There were many more wonderful people that have fed me, spent hours showing me around and put up with me photographing them. Thank you all. I had a wonderful experience in Boonville, MO. Although some of it was challenging, artistically, I have come away fully inspired and I am looking forward to returning to you all soon...hopefully this November!

Wish me luck. Boonville, North Carolina is right around the corner!

Home-Cooked Meal, #4

Brisket and Potatoes, Jim and Paula Shannon, Boonville, Missouri

Anomalous Boonville, #1

A·nom·a·lous
1.deviating from or inconsistent with the common order, form, or rule. irregular; abnormal.


Brad Wooldridge, adult-tricycle race, WJs, Boonville, Missouri

Brad Wooldridge (don't you love the megaphone!) is an extraordinary and anomalous Boonvillian.

Brad, his sister, his uncle and as of September, his cousin, make up half of the town's local Lawyers; Brad's Grandfather started the tradition in Boonville in the 30s and Paul, Brad's dad, followed in his footsteps, and so on. Brad and his sister are third-generation Boonvillian Lawyers; All-in-all there have been (or will be) six Boonville lawyers named Wooldridge.

It doesn't stop there though. About 15 miles away from Boonville, Missouri there is a town named Wooldridge, population 47. Wooldridge is named for Hercules Wooldridge I, Brad's Great-Great Grandfather. This story not only deserves its own blog-post, it may just be the subject of my next photographic project. One thing at a time, Tim. Settle down!

Brad Wooldridge also co-owns and operates an outstanding bar and restaurant here in town, WJ's (named for another Uncle). Last Saturday night was their monthly backyard-bash, appropriately named BOOZAPALOOZA! Now that is a great name. Especially when it's coming from a twenty-nine year old lawyer, bartender, entrepreneur, heir to an entire town and all around classy guy.



Above photo: Ilene was just drunk enough to forget that there was a photographer in town who is posting stupidly-awesome photos on his blog. See me in the pizza-eating contest HERE. I'm not passing up FREE food! Unfortunately, I left before the frozen-t-shirt contest, too bad.

BOOZAPALOOZA '07!

Thanks for all your help with the project, Brad! I will surely miss you and WJ's fine-dining experience; And of course, I will miss your fantastic staff, especially Katie, Joel (co-owner and fantastic chef), Trista, that other girl and I'll even miss Dan.

Hell Week, Part duo

Me and the Katy Bridge, August 25, 2007, Boonville, Missouri

First off, thank you to all who have left comments, called me, mailed letters and sent emails, in regards to my last post. It was all very helpful, sincere and heartwarming.

Two days ago (8-24-07) I received a surprise from Spencer of Cannery Works, the Nonprofit Organization supporting the project. He showed up in Boonville! We had a great day and an even better evening. We caught the Missouri River Festival event at Boonville's Thespian Hall; The hall is believed to be the second oldest active theater in the country and they just celebrated 150 years. David Halen and part of his St. Louis Symphony Orchestra performed "Vivaldi’s well-known set of Baroque concertos into a tango style." It was a blast! We spent the rest of the night and early morning catching up and hanging with new friends at my favorite local hangout. It was a great surprise!


Katy Bridge, Missouri River and two (intoxicated) canoeists

Yesterday, Spencer accompanied me on one of my photo outings here in town. As I was finishing up we ran into two locals who had spent the entire morning canoeing the Missouri River and just stopped off in Boonville for a few beers. Spencer left shortly after and I followed these two fine men down the bluff, over the railroad tracks, down another portion of the horrendously-difficult-to-climb-with-camera-gear bluff and into the river. We talked for awhile, I took their picture, they threw me a beer, and then we went our separate ways. I spent another hour down there shooting, enjoying the isolation and the view.

Things have gotten more defined and somehow less defined since I wrote last week (basically I'm just confused). It was fantastic to see Spencer and discuss my recent feelings with him. He was actually unaware of all of them as he has been on his honeymoon and has taken a vow of technological-silence, hence the just showing up.

Hell Week, part 1

I'm kind of contradicting myself by writing anything on the blog this week--I shouldn't have any time for it.

"Hell Week", at least for right now, has turned into "Crap Week". I've lost my motivation and I'm struggling to find a groove again. This month has been a tough one creatively. It has slowly been getting better and I've had some great moments here and there, but today I am back to the bottom of the barrel. This blog, or blogs in general, give off only a minute part of the whole scene. I guess if you've been following this blog you would have the impression things are going "good." In reality, I've needed much help and support from certain people to get through things at times. Right now I'm struggling with this series; It's not how I imagined it and because I did have a very specific idea of what it would be, I got a bit disoriented and lost track of my purpose. I've come to except (or am in the process of excepting) that things will change and things may not turn out like I thought, which is a good thing, I'm sure. Regardless, it has taken me longer to figure things out and I'm still not totally there. I should be used to this...almost all of my work in the past has manipulated itself into something different every time. And 95% of the time it's after I've created it.

More on "Crap Week" later...I'm gonna go find something inspiring.

Boonville, Day 20

Susan Sontag, Copyright Peter Hujar, 1975

Today is the first day of the rest of my life...Or "Hell Week" as I am calling it.

I am leaving Boonville, Missouri for Boonville, North Carolina on Monday, August, 27th. I have spent the last two days taking it easy and hiding out at my new home in the country. The next week will be filled with early mornings and late nights, with scheduled portraits or meetings in-between. Yesterday, because I simply needed a break before the big push, I tried my hardest not to leave the house...

...I've been running around the last few weeks trying to find my focus and it's been harder then I originally anticipated. Although I have come along way from having my micro-meltdown (thank you to my close friends--here and afar--for helping me through it), I am still trying to figure things out. So rather then forcing it to happen and struggling, I decided to take Sunday off. I was doing some relaxing, thinking and reading--for all of five minutes, then I started to freak out again. I quickly shut down and forced my way into Susan Sontag's, Regarding The Pain Of Others. Susan Sontag is most famous for being a writer and an activist but she was also a great admirer and critic of photography and art. Regarding the Pain of Others is a post-911 monograph about photography and the media in wartime. She's fantastic and she saved my head from exploding for an hour or so, at least. I then put a brainless movie in and after...I couldn't help it...I went out. The clouds were beautiful and I was a bit inspired. So I went out for a half-hour, except it ended up being three hours. I had a nice and relaxing time; I found some great spots I hadn't seen yet and watched the sunset over a soy-bean field (and cell phone tower).

A special note: On that outing I shot my one-hundredth sheet of film!

Stephen and The Hold Steady

Stephen "working" at Hotel Frederick, 08-17-07

Stephen Perry was one of the first faces I saw after settling into my first town on this trip. Stephen works at the desk at the Hotel Frederick, where I have been staying in random spurts while in Boonville, Missouri. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with him at his place here in Boonville. Although he will likely not admit being a singer/songwriter, he is a very talented lyricist and guitar player. Stephen played me a very personal and haunting song while I was with him yesterday. I spent about an hour looking through his books and listening to him play. I then spent about 20 minutes taking his portrait; It doesn't take much longer then that when you have a willing subject that expels so much passion and emotion.


The Hold Steady - Your Little Hoodrat Friend

Last night I went by the hotel to give Stephen a copy of the first The Hold Steady album: Almost Killed Me. Almost Killed Me and their second album, Separation Sunday, have been in my CD player about 95% of the time on this trip. I've been a fan of these guys since Laura put the above song on a mix for me in 2005, but it wasn't until I hit the road in July that I truly got immersed into their world. Their new album, Boys and Girls in America, is amazing; But if your looking to truly understand this band and if you can deal with Craig Finn's sing-speak lyrics, then the first two are the way to go. These two albums and even the new one are truly amazing, very personal and they hit right at home for a kid who grew up in a semi-small, mid-west town. These lyrically-poetic and almost psychologically-damaging stories are especially potent to me now, as I am currently sitting in another semi-small, mid-west town, except now it's nine years later. The below paragraph is taken from a 2005 review by Pitchfork Magazine:

"In Separation Sunday, a confused Catholic girl named Hallelujah hooks up with a motley assortment of shady characters, does a gang of drugs, gets born again when some guy with a nitrous tank dunks her in a river, wakes up in a confession booth, and maybe dies and maybe comes back from death. But the real story is in Finn's virtuoso evocations of menace ("When they say great white sharks/ They mean the kind in big black cars/ When they say killer whales/ They mean they whaled on him till they killed him up in Penetration Park"), hedonism ("You came into the ER drinking gin from a jam jar/ And the nurse is making jokes about the ER being like an after-bar")"

"...he uses his adenoidal rasp to blurt twisted, dense shards of squalid back-alley imagery and bruised druggy lamentations, broken teeth and broken bottles, and tattered hotel-room Bibles and hidden knives..."

For some reason I thought Stephen would not only appreciate this stuff but maybe it would even be a bit inspiring...It has definitely affected me over the last four weeks...enjoy the video.

Home-Cooked Meal, #3

Friday, August 10, 2007, Jim and Paula Shannon, Boonville, MO

Battle of the Boon(e)villes (2007)

Boonville, Missouri vs. Booneville, Mississippi (2007)

FYI: There are six Boonvilles and seven Boonevilles.

Many people ask me "why Boonville?" And others ask me "why not Booneville?" There are many reasons why I chose the name Boonville and many reasons why I chose not to explore the ones spelled with an E...here are five. #1) Boonville, New York was the initial inspiration for the series and my first introduction to the Boonvilles. #2) Boonville, in my mind anyway, sounds like the quintessential small town. #3) Boonville is reminiscent of the Boonies or the Boondocks (meaning hinterland or backwoods). #4) The geographical locations of the six Boonvilles (MO, NC, NY, IN, TX, CA) is more diverse then the Boonevilles and #5) the population range between the six is almost perfect: Missouri 8,000+, Indiana 6,000+, New York 2,100+, N. Carolina 1,100+, California 600-800, and Texas is extinct.

Although I do have a very specific interest in each of these Boonvilles...this project is not literally about the six Boonvilles. I am using these towns, their common name, geographical locations and different sizes to create a visual representation of "small-town America". My end vision for the project is to juxtapose the final images from all six towns, in turn creating a mythical or fictional "Boonville."

Boonville, Day 10

Photo by cmccartney

I'm a third of the way through my time here in Boonville, Missouri. So much has happened over the last 10 days. I'm a bit overwhelmed. I'm kinda taking it easy now, going through all my notes, figuring out what to focus on, etc.

There are a number of things that have sparked my interest since being here. Some of them are a bit weird. Spider webs and bugs are among them. Spider webs are probably not thought of as an important part of life in Boonville. I would have to disagree, they are everywhere. Three days after I got here one appeared on my bike rack. Today I ran into one while on the sidewalk; It was connected from the street sign to the lamp post. Since getting here I've seen more webs then I have people. Seriously.

So what did I do today? I photographed bugs for 4 hours. A new one for me and my 4x5. Not the most fun in 100 degree weather though.

Boonville, Missouri Via Boonville, Indiana

Boonville, Indiana, Timothy Briner, 2007

A little less then two weeks ago I traveled from Brooklyn, New York to Lousiville, Kentucky to Boonville, Missouri. Boonville, Indiana happened to be directly on my way from Louisville to Boonville, Missouri and it was lunch time, so I stopped.

Boonville, Indiana is hauntingly beautiful. It has an amazing town square but there is almost nothing there--it was practically dead. After some hesitation, I decided to walk into a bar on the square (its windows were blacked out). Other then a 20' x 50' mahogany back-bar with huge pillars and a ginormous mirror, it was kinda crappy on the inside. I saw two guys playing pool and Kenny, the owner, was standing behind the bar. Kenny is sixty-nine years old and has lived in Boonville his entire life. His father was a saloon keeper before him and his daughter is following in their footsteps. As I entered I asked him if he served any food. "what?" He said. "He can't here you, ya need to scream." says one of the guys playing pool. "food?" I ask. "wha?" I then move my hand to my mouth (probably looking like an idiot). "I make a burger...but you can go to McDonald's and get it quicker," he says. (Screaming & pointing) "HOW ABOUT THE PLACE OVER THERE," I say. "They don't make 'em like I do," he says. "I'LL TAKE A BURGER THEN."

Twenty-Five minutes later the burger comes out. There is no ketchup, mustard, etc. in site. Just a plain burger, bun, chips and a soggy pickle. "Can I get some ketchup?" I ask. "Hugh?" "CAN I GET SOME KETCHUP!?" Kenny snickers at me and says, "That burger is perfect the way it is." Needless to say, I didn't get any ketchup. And yes, it was a pretty damn good burger. Especially for three bucks.

Connie Stevens vs. Paul Shambroom

Grant Williams and Connie Stevens, Susan Slade, 1961

Last night I was invited to the Boonville, Missouri City Council Meeting. Shortly after I walked in I was introduced to the council and asked to say something. I had been having a rough day and I almost didn't make it to the meeting. Out of breath and a bit disoriented, I went through the shpeel that is Boonville USA. It wasn't a disaster but it was far from awesome.

Then, immediately after I got done, Connie Stevens walked to the podium and gave a wonderful 15 minute talk about her connection to Boonville during the 1951 flood, her affinity for the Katrina victims in New Orleans and how she wants to make a movie in Boonville. I felt it was my duty to get some reactions while the council was eagerly watching this former(?) movie star talk about good ol' Boonville.

Meanwhile, all I could think of was this...


Copyright Paul Shambroom, Dassel, Minnesota (population 1134) City Council, March 15, 1999 (L to R): Nancy Nicholson, Ava FlachmeyerSherlyn Bjork (Deputy Clerk) (Mayor), Jan Casey,

From the moment I walked into the court house and saw the council members behind their desks with their name plates and official gear, all I could think of was Paul Shambroom. Mr. Shambroom is an artist/photographer living in Minnesota and between 1999-2003 he photographed City Council meetings in a number of states across the country. When I first saw this series, complete with each meeting's minutes in the back of the book, I was mesmerized. It completely shys away from the typical tale of small-town America, yet it is full of insight, honesty and corruption. Many photographers today rely on irony to tell their story; Although cynicism is possibly the backbone of his "long-term investigation of power", Mr. Shambroom hits on it perfectly, creating an honest view-point of Government relations in small-town America .

"A common impulse in these projects is my quest as one individual to understand and illuminate seemingly overwhelming and abstract power systems. Although town council and community meetings are open to the public, the process of governance can still seem somewhat invisible and separate from the lives of ordinary people (as evidenced by the fact that many of the meetings I photographed were sparsely attended.)"

"... After driving several hundred back-road miles I pulled up to the town meeting hall and there had the privilege of seeing democracy in its purest form as farmers, teachers and insurance agents conducted the business of their community. In a time in which there is talk of “exporting democracy” it seems especially pertinent to look at the often imperfect and sometimes beautiful way in which we practice this form of government at home in America."

The Boone's Lick (diorama)

The Boone's Lick (diorama), Timothy Briner, 2007

Yesterday I visited a small village about 30 minutes outside of Boonville named Arrow Rock (population 79). They have a museum there which has an interesting diorama of The Boone's Lick (or Boonslick) along with artifacts found at The Boone's Lick site, which is just across the river from Boonville; This is also the spot where the Santa Fe Trail supposedly originated.

The Boone's Lick is often spoke of in Boonville (they call it Boonslick). It is thought to be why Daniel Boone came to the area (although it is often disputed that he was ever here). In 1805 Daniel Boone's sons, Nathan and Daniel Morgan Boone set up camp across the Missouri river and started the areas Salt business; There is a claim that Daniel Boone came to visit his sons and passed through the area that is now Boonville. Boonville, Missouri is the only Boonville directly named for Daniel Boon(e).

"In 1804, Lewis and Clark reported the presence of many saltwater springs in the area that now comprises Howard, Cooper and Saline counties. The largest of these salt springs was the Boone's Lick....Brine water was poured into iron kettles and heated to boiling on a stone furnace. As the water evaporated, salt crystallized in the bottom of the kettle. The salt was shipped by keelboat on the Missouri River to St. Louis. Salt, which was indispensable at the time for preserving meat and tanning hides, was produced at the site until approximately 1833."

Home-Cooked Meal, #2

Sunday, August 5, 2007, Jim and Tia Higbie, Boonville, Missouri

Home-Cooked Meal, #1

Friday, August 3, 2007, Frank and Julie Thacher, Boonville, Missouri

The Boonville Daily News

Photo courtesy of the Boonville Daily News/Emily Getzloff

Yesterday I made it onto the front cover of the local paper; The Boonville Daily News (3 photos!). I've gotten a number of responses from people who have read the article or heard me on the local radio program. Many people have emailed me and even more have said hi to me at the local bar or on the street. One guy, wanting to help support my travels, handed me a twenty dollar bill at my new favorite bar, WJs. I said "no, thank you" but I was secretly hoping he would offer it to me again (I have a two "thank you but I can't" rule, after two it's all mine). He did offer again and I said no, again. An hour later, after walking out of the bathroom, I found my new friend was gone but a $20 bill laid waiting for me in his stead. Go Pirates!

Read the article here. They say I'm from Buffalo instead of Brooklyn but whatever...

The Old Boonville Brewery

Boonville Brewery, circa 1895 - Courtesy of HABS, Library of Congress

Thanks to the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the dedicated local residents, Boonville, Missouri's historic and breathtaking architecture lives on. Boonville, Missouri is filled with so much more history then I was ready for; This place has so much going on that 1 out of every 4 people seem like local historians and many of them literally are.

*"Mr. Fred", who I met at the daily "10 O'clock coffee group", took me up to the Old Brewery this morning. "Fred" deals a little in antiques and also has a great interest in Boonville and Cooper County history.

*As it is illegal to trespass on the land where the brewery sits, names have been changed.


Boonville Brewery, circa 1895 - Courtesy of HABS, Library of Congress


Boonville Brewery today - Thursday, August 2, 2007, TB