Vermont's Northland Journal - Salmon Through the Lens of a Camera

Salmon Through the Lens of a Camera

by Scott Wheeler

No other pictures depict the days of the salmon runs in Newport during the early half of the 20th century than the pictures that Harry and Alice Richardson took on and near the railroad bridge that straddles the inlet of the lake. Photo by Harry Richardson

Each year there are fewer people alive to reminisce back to the days when the springtime economy of Newport was built on the backs of salmon, back in the days of the giant salmon runs. While it is sad to lose the people with these first hand memories, thanks to the dynamic photography team of Harry and Alice Richardson, the salmon runs will live on forever, at least in pictures.
“Dad was a real history buff,” Norman Richardson said, remembering his father who died in 1960. Even when he took the pictures, he knew that he was preserving the region’s history. Norman Richardson, who died at his home in Florida early this year, said in a chat with this writer before his death that he was thrilled that his father’s name and memory are so well recorded in the state’s history. Yet, it saddened him that history has all but forgotten his mother, Alice.
They were a team, Norman said, speaking proudly of his parents. Norman Richardson said that, whereas his father was a bit on the antisocial side, his mother, who died in the 1980s, was a social butterfly who loved people and walked up and down Newport’s Main Street chatting with people as she went. It wasn’t a rare sight to catch her playing pinball in one of the stores.

Harry and Alice Richardson operated a photography studio in Newport for many years. Photo courtesy of Trudy Richardson

Probably no other people preserved as much of Newport’s past through pictures, as well as the rest of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, than the Richardsons. Harry and Alice traveled the state taking thousands of pictures, not only of posed people, but of people going about day-to-day activities, and also of buildings. All the pictures, many made into postcards, are slices of history. Many of Harry and Alice Richardson’s pictures, and the history that they hold, are now preserved within the Richardson-Cartee Collection, much of which is housed at the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington.
Some of the most recognized Richardson photos were taken of fishermen on the railroad bridge in Newport in the days of the big salmon runs of the1920s to 1940s. This was in the day when Newport was a bustling railroad community with several large hotels.
Norman Richardson still remembers that although his father loved to take pictures of the fishermen and their catch, his mother loved to catch her own fish.
“She was a hell of a fisherman,” Norman Richardson said. “She could out-fish most of the men in town. She loved to fish.”

A salmon the size of this one that Carl King caught is a rare sight in these parts in this day and age. Photo by Harry Richardson and provided by Reg Alexander

With the family’s photography studio located on Main Street while he was growing up during the 1920s and 1930s, Norman said it was nothing for his mother to dash off during lunch break with her fishing pole in hand and head for her favorite fishing spot. He also chuckled that she often dragged him along, sometimes to the railroad bridge, sometimes out in a boat. When the fishing duo returned, it was her son’s job to clean the fish. Whereas his mother was serious about her fishing, Norman Richardson said his father enjoyed fishing, but he took much more of a leisurely approach to the pastime. His idea of good fishing was fishing in Lake Willoughby in Westmore. If he caught a fish, that was fine, but if he didn’t, that was fine, too. He just enjoyed taking in the beauty of the region.
Norman Richardson joked that he figures the reason he doesn’t eat fish today is because he cleaned so many fish in his earlier days—most of them caught by his mother.
Although he left Newport several decades ago to lead a fascinating life, Norman Richardson said his memories of Newport of the days of his youth are as clear as ever.

Bill Lapierre Sr. (Left) wasn’t one for fishing, but as a railroad man, he enjoyed spending a bit of his free time watching the fishermen land their trophies. He was even known to lend them a hand landing them. Photo by Harry Richardson and provided by Reg Alexander

“Back when I was young, Newport was a positive place,” he said. People believed in the small, lakeside community. Main Street was lined with stores and filled with people. Although the city was busy year-round, he said there was probably no busier time of year than during the spring salmon run. Come May 1, many local people picked up their fishing poles and headed to their favorite fishing holes. The local hotels were filled with fishermen from out of town. Some of the fishermen who came to pursue salmon ended up falling in love with the region and decided to move their families here. Some of these fishermen and their families went on to become prominent citizens of the region.
“When I was young, Newport was a wonderful place to grow up,” Norman Richardson added fondly.