© karen e. titus | all rights reserved
Westfield, New York
Those who live in the Chautauqua region of New York point, with justifiable pride, to the area’s charm and beauty, the Finger Lakes wineries, the Chautauqua Institution…. Certainly they’re not lacking in a sense of humor, either.
© jan albers | all rights reserved
Shoshoni, Wyoming
Although Shoshoni looked like a ghost town, a sign in the drug store window announced an upcoming Cowboy Poetry Night.
© karen e. titus | all rights reserved
Idaho Falls, Idaho
“I get up at 2:30 in the morning to be here by 4. At 5 a.m., there’s always a trucker, and a few farmers for coffee and a bite to eat before going out in the fields. The retired guys with wives are still sleeping then, but they’ll come in later and meet for coffee. There’s never a time when we don’t have customers, which is why I like this job. I’m never off the floor more than 10 minutes total in a nine-hour shift.
“It’s the same old crowd, day after day. The same old conversations. I can always tell what time of day it is just by looking down the counter.”
Carnegie Center for Art & History
201 East Spring Street
New Albany, Indiana
Opening reception | Friday, June 3 | 6-8 pm
Gallery Talk with the photographers | Saturday, June 4 | 10:30-11:30 am
© jan albers | all rights reserved
Sharon Springs, New York
Now part of the national historic district in Sharon Springs, New York, the temple was part of the mineral water spa that drew visitors from the early 19th century to the the start of World War II.
© karen e. titus | all rights reserved
Waterloo, New York
Waterloo, N.Y., takes Memorial Day seriously, staking its claim as this holiday’s birthplace. In the summer of 1865, local druggist Henry C. Welles suggested honoring the Civil War’s dead by placing flowers on their graves. The following May, the village held its first official celebration, draping evergreens with black, flying flags to half mast, and parading to the three village cemeteries to decorate the graves of the fallen soldiers.
One resident was moved by a more pragmatic patriotism. Speaking from the diner she owns on Main Street, which was filled with American flags, she watched through the window as other town residents worked in a frenzy to prepare for the parade. “They’re expecting 30,000 people. Where’re they gonna put them? 20,000 people. No room. 10,000 people. Where’re they gonna put 10,000 people? They’re making a big mistake.”
© jan albers | all rights reserved
Johnstown, Nebraska
This small bar offers patrons unparalleled living on the edge: The sign in the window warned “Microwave in Use,” while the sign inside the bar read, “Smoking is NOT Prohibited.”
© jan albers | all rights reserved
Burns, Oregon
Route 20 is closed to traffic during the Country Music Jamboree, allowing the music and dancing to continue late into the night in this high desert community.
© karen e. titus | all rights reserved
Jackson, Nebraska
Despite the fire and ice signs book-ending these two girls, this was a peaceful little town. The world may not end here, but we did wonder how small towns like this would keep from perishing. What would suffice to keep these girls in town as they grew older?
In another, even smaller town further west, an historical marker notes, “The nearby village of Newport, established in 1883, became one of the major hay shipping centers in the nation, with thousands of tons being exported each year.” It’s hard to imagine anything major happening again on main streets like this.
The Accidental Highway 