Riddick’s showing history through pictures
Published 12:00 am Saturday, September 17, 2005
For the next few months, Riddick’s Folly visitors will be able to get a few glimpses of life in Suffolk a century ago. They’ll see that the Suffolk News-Herald building was once about twice as big as it is today. They can check out photos of the legendary four-legged women from Suffolk, born with an underdeveloped Siamese twin. They can see a portrait of a young Amadeo Obici, whose name lives on in the city’s most famous hospital, and members of the Riddick ancestry.
It’s all part of the Age of Photography exhibit, which runs until Nov. 14 at the North Main Street building.
&uot;This is something we’ve never done before,&uot; said Riddick’s executive director Robin Rountree, holding a steroscope, which shows viewers what three-dimensional life was like in the last 1800s and early 1900s. &uot;We always try to do something dealing with Suffolk.
Many of the photographs were obtained from the Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society or from local antique dealer Lucy Newsome.
&uot;I’ve been collecting photos for maybe 15 or 20 years,&uot; Newsome said. &uot;My husband and I used to set up at the big flea market at the Hampton Coliseum, and I just started looking at photographs every time we went somewhere and started collecting them. (Riddick’s) just asked if they could use them and I said yes. I think it’s something special.&uot;
Copies of many of the photos will be for sale on notecards. A display of a 1900 studio camera is there, as is a five-minute home video of the 1941 Peanut Fest Parade, said to be the only one in existence. For more information, call 934-1390.
jason.norman@suffolknewsherald.com