Jim Campbell served in Peace Corps in the Philippines
Dad's photo stands apart
Story by Amy Speer
March 28, 2004
Thousands of photos cover Jim Campbell's classroom walls. From far away, the faces blur into a collage of colors -- a crowd of people the Windsor High School social studies teacher came to know during 33 years of teaching.
But one individual stands out in the crowd.
The photo is of Campbell's father. The portrait reminds Campbell of his love for photography.
"My dad loved to have his picture taken," Campbell said.
But that isn't the only reason his father's picture stands out from the thousands of other faces on Campbell's walls.
That photo captured a rare moment.
It was 1972. His father's health was failing, but it didn't keep him out of the garden. He grew vegetables and dahlias. He gave the dahlias to all the women when he did his banking. That year, he won six blue ribbons in a gardening show for the flowers.
After the show, Campbell staged a photo with his father in his best gold sweater. The backdrop: the award-winning flowers.
When Campbell got the photos back, he discovered that none of the pictures turned out. So they re-shot the photos again.
"I said, 'Dad, we have to do this again,' but he didn't mind," Campbell smiled. "He loved taking pictures."
Campbell rushed the photos into a 24-hour store. They came out. The next day, a frost killed every one of his father's flowers.
That year marked the last time his father gardened. He died at 79 in 1973.
The photo of his father sits high in the corner of one of the 13 boards plastered with pictures in Campbell's classroom. He tells all of his new classes about the photo.
"I believe in self-disclosure," the 56-year-old teacher said. "It's important to be honest with students and talk about where you've been."
JIM CAMPBELL
* OCCUPATION: Windsor High School social studies teacher
* NUMBER OF YEARS TEACHING: 33 (27 at Windsor High School)
* FUN FACTS: Was in the Peace Corps in the Philippines. ... Has 13 boards filled with 20 years worth of pictures. ... Got his first single-lens reflex camera for $121. ... Traveled through 16 countries. ... Married Alexina in 1971. ... Has three children, Edward, 30, Sarina, 27, and Zachary, 23.
* CAMPBELL'S THEME SONGS: Paul Simon's "Kodachrome" -- They give us those nice bright colors / They give us the greens of summers / Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, Oh yeah / I got a Nikon camera / I love to take a photograph / So mama don't take my Kodachrome away. Simon and Garfunkel's "Bookends": ... Time it was / And what a time it was ... A time of innocence / A time of confidences / Long ago ... it must be / I have a photograph / Preserve your memories; / They're all that's left you.
