CMYK 10 Valley Vision Spring 2010 By Michael Hansberry Famed photographer Margaret Bourke-White came through the South in the late 30s, photographing life dur- ing the Great Depression. On her tour, she took pho- tographs of life in the mills. A collection of five 8 by 4 feet original prints of these photographs are built into the walls of a testing lab building in the Shawmut area. “These are amazing photo- graphs--the capturing of the symmetry and things like that,” says Georgine Clarke, performing arts program manager for the Alabama State Council on the Arts. “Margaret Bourke-White is one of America’s most sub- stantial photographers— women or otherwise. Bourke-White initially was focused on industrial-theme photograpy in New York. She was a very ambitious and took advantage of what- ever opportunities came along,” Clarke says. The photos in th Shawmut building are of mill workers in the factory working on looms, weaving and cutting. The building in which the photographs are housed is the Wellington Sears TexTest lab, first owned by West Point Stevens, then Johnston Industries. It and was acquired by Johnston Textiles in 2003. The building hasn’t been used since December 2009. Martha Cato, Valley city clerk, says the city is putting forth its best effort to save those photographs and the building. Cato says the city doesn’t have enough money to buy the building, so she is trying to find investors, organiza- tion and private individuals to donate money. Her dream is to turn the building into an art museum. “I have contacted our state historic commission, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the state art council,” Cato says. “I’ve tried to think of any where that would be a source to obtain funding for the build- ing.” She is determined to perse- vere. “We feel it it’s a national treasure, and we want to share it with the world. We’re not going to stop trying,” she says. Lee Tucker, treasurer for Johnston Industries, says the company is not in the finan- cial position to donate the building. As far as the value of the photographs, Chris Walker, assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at Auburn, says the pictures probably are worth a lot, but he can’t put an exact price on the pic- tures. In addition to that, the pictures have sustained water damaged over the years, but Walker says that’s something that could possibly be fixed. “These huge pictures that are made by someone like Margaret Bourke-White is a great deal,” Walker notes. Walker says he is not an official authority on Bourke- White but secondary pictures, photos, held in the city Archives, that no one has seen before, are a rarity and are probably worth a great amount because the images aren’t as known. Bourke-White’s accom- plishments are as grand as any photographer of her time. The famous photographer is known for more than break- ing social standards when she traded in her dress for blue jeans. She photographed Ghandi, the iconic Empire State Building, and a smiling Joseph Stalin among many others notables. She was the first female photojournalist for Life mag- azine, where she took the picture of the first cover of Fort Peck Dam on the Missouri River in Montana. Her bravery became appar- ent when she worked in com- bat zones during World War II. Bourke-White was the most successful female pho- tographer of her time. She succeeded in the male- dominated industry when the odds were against her. She even broke social norms by throwing out her dress and wearing blue jeans. Bourke-White had an eye for structure and angles. Her pictures always show- cased an aspect of symmetry and patterns, which became her trademark. She was the first female photographer allowed to pho- tograph the military during World War II, and was the only American photographer in Moscow during the German bombardment. During the later part of the 1930s, Bourke-White and her then fiancé, American author Erskine Caldwell, decided to work on their collaborative book, “Have You Seen Their Faces?” Bourke pho- tographed “regular people” in the South. Unlike Bourke-White, Caldwell wasn’t as revered as she. His stories about life in the South did not sell well with Southerners because they felt his stories made the South seem slow and a bad place to live. Despite that, Erskine’s work is admired to this day. He is one of the more signifi- cant authors of the 20th cen- tury, and his books have sold more than 80 million copies worldwide.Bourke-White was in Georgia with Caldwell, who was from Moreland. Wayne Clarke, news editor with the Valley Times-News, says Bourke-White and Caldwell decided to drive down Highway 29, looking for laborers and ended up in Valley. Clarke said they were tak- ing the pictures as a personal project and they were looking for hard workers to photo- graph. They happened upon the mills, and the rest is his- tory.“To me, what comes over in her work is the artistry of it,” Clarke says. “Her concept of lighting, there being no wasted space in her pictures. It’s extraordi- nary to have someone of her ability and her caliber to take the pictures she did.” Clarke says the photo- graphs are art treasures, and he is deeply concerned about the efforts needed to be taken to save her photography in Shawmut. “It’s an art-deco type building,” he says. “They should remain there. There is no question that the pictures are art treasures. Famous photographer’s work adorns walls Postcard depicts view of West Point Manufacturing Company’s Shawmut Research Laboratory. This photo captures a view of panels of Bourke-White’s photographs built into the walls in the Wellington Sears TexTest lab in Shawmut. Contributed by the City of Valley Photo by Chris Walker The Walking Man: A Man Measured in Miles Timeline: 24,902 miles (Distance around the world)- Oct. 10, 1986 33,000 miles- July 28, 1999 40,000 miles- May 10, 2002 50,000 miles- Aug. 28, 2006 52,526 miles- May 14, 2007 53,417 miles- July 17, 2009 Most mileage: 1992-353 days walked, 3585 miles, average 10 miles/day 1993- 350 days walked, 4626 miles, average 13 miles/day By Vicki Johnson 53,417. That’s how many miles Clinton Kirk, 90, has walked since 1982. What began as a simple habit quickly turned into record-breaking news that has spanned the past three decades. “It was just a habit I got into. You get into a habit, and you don’t want to break it,” Kirk says. Sometime around the 1990s, Kirk decided to give himself the nickname “The Walking Man,” and today it is what most of the citizens of Valley affectionately known him by. “I don’t reckon I’m a leg- end,” he says. “I just started walking.” When you walk into the house, you get a sense of how important it all is to him. Kirk now lives with his daughter Anita, just a few blocks over from his old house. The hallway is covered with plaques and awards received including the “Valley Haven Hike-Bike- Run Oldest Participant” and “The Guinness Book of World Records for the Equivalent of Walking Around the World at the Equator.” The plaques don’t stop there. They continue on into his bedroom. Dozens of awards, photos and newspa- per articles line the peach col- ored wall opposite his bed. Next to his plush, brown recliner is a shelf that con- tains albums full of walking memorabilia and his walking notebook. Kirk, a sharp man with a kind face, records all of his walking mileage in a plain black Five-Star, three-ring school notebook and the miles are recorded on dozens of pages full of lopsided columns. Kirk began recording on Jan. 1, 1986, and his record ends on July 17, 2009, span- ning 23 years. In his book, he notes that from 1982, when he actually began walking, until 1986, when he began recording, he was averaging around five to six miles per day, accounting for the 3,000 miles that are added to his total mileage. “I did it every day that I could walk there for a while. And in one stretch I went 763 days without a miss, and in another stretch I went a little over 600 days,” he says. A native of Oak Hill, W.Va., Kirk’s interest began when he entered the Oak Hill Sports Festival competition and won. “I was running in West Virginia, and then I came down here and started walk- ing. People kept talking about how walking was better for your health than running,” he says. Kirk doesn’t do much walking now. “After 53,417 miles my legs gave out on me,” he says. Although he is unable to continue, his legacy as “The Walking Man” remains. “I’ve had people tell me that I inspired them to go walking,” he says proudly. Kirk says his favorite time to walk was in the morning before breakfast and he talks about his routes. “A lot of times I’d go 10, 15, 20, 25 miles a day. One day I went 35 miles,” he recounts. Many of these long walks took place during Valley- Haven’s Hike-Bike-Run days and on a particular 35 mile trip, Kirk recalls how he made the two day trip by himself in just one day. “I just kept walking. I never did set my goal to make any distance, I just kept walking,” he says. For now, to pass the time, Kirk has become an avid craftsman and has even been featured in a local art show. His specialty is wooden craftwork, particularly minia- ture houses and furniture made out of sticks and other wooden pieces. He also collects almost everything imaginable, including soda bottles, keys, matchbooks, and buttons. “My brother got me into col- lecting coins in 1967 and I just started there,” he recalls. Kirk also has an extensive collection of over 600 pens and pencils, which he stores in a small shed outside of his old house. He met a pen col- lector in Valley and decided to do the same thing himself. Many of his walking records have been celebrated with his family and friends in Valley. “My favorite one was the 40,000 miles,” he says. This particular milestone brings back sweet memories for Kirk because it was the only walk his wife ever par- ticipated in. “[She] Never walked a mile any other time,” he responds. In addition to his many walking awards, Kirk was presented the key to the city of Valley and has received numerous letters from sena- tors, congressmen, and even President Barack Obama. There’s a “Clinton Kirk” Day named for him by former Mayor Bobby Crowder and Mayor Arnold Leak in cele- bration of his achievements. Walking is something that is important to Clinton Kirk. Just look at all of his awards or listen to his stories. His walking record is remarkable and his enthusiasm for living life insatiable. “A lot of times I’d go 10, 15, 20, 25 miles a day. One day I went 35 miles.” Clinton Kirk