_By_ LOUIS F. BUCHER _of the Newark Camera Club, Inc._
In New Jersey, as well as in other States, pictorial photography was at
its lowest ebb during the period of the war. The official ban on the use
of the camera in places that presented just the sort of material which
stirs the enthusiasm of the amateur photographer tended so to dampen his
ardor that his trusty “box” was left at home to accumulate dust.
But not for long, for a New Jersey cameraist, with the vision of a seer,
saw an opportunity to use his beloved instrument in a far-reaching
service. His enthusiasm was soon imparted to fellow members of the Newark
Camera Club, and there quickly followed the birth of the Red Triangle
Camera Club, affiliated with the local Y. M. C. A. Its object was pithily
expressed in its slogan, “A picture of home to every soldier overseas”—at
least to every Newark soldier in service.
While the members of the Camera Club were prompted solely by a desire to
serve, it was not long before there came responses in the form of letters
of gratitude from the soldier boys that heartened them to renewed
activity. The written messages frequently attested that the pictures of
the home folks sent by the Camera Club members were the only ones that had
reached foreign shores.
As a stepping stone to something even greater, we have organized the
Associated Camera Clubs of America, with a view to linking the activities
of camera clubs and societies, the end to be sought being the creating of
greater interest in exhibitions, and interchanges of lantern slides and
prints. The prime object, of course, is to promote and cultivate the
art-sense through the science of photography.
If a camera club does not exist in the community in which the reader
resides, lend your services to the formation of one. The members of the
Associated Camera Clubs of America stand ready to do their utmost to
assist an infant organization on its way to success.
*