I thought I was done posting photos of past Memorial Day parades. Yesterday’s images (click here and here) covered 50 years, and provided tons of memories.
But this one — particularly the back story — is too good to pass up.
Three years ago Gordon Joseloff saw a box of 35mm slides for sale on eBay. They were labeled “1962 parade in Westport.”
The WestportNow founder — and former 1st selectman — calls himself “a sucker for Westport nostalgia.” He bid $9.99, and won. The prize: Nice shots of the Memorial Day parade.
Imagine his amazement when one of the slides was of Joseloff himself. There he was — 17 years old, smack in the center of the frame.
Still in high school, Joseloff was taking pictures for the Westport Town Crier. He worked that summer — and the next — as a reporter/photographer. (And went on to a storied 2-decade career as a journalist in London, Moscow, Tokyo and other world capitals for UPI and CBS News.)
Perhaps the only thing more remarkable than that story of discovering himself in a photo, is the line of veterans (or perhaps active duty National Guardsmen) behind Joseloff. In 1962, they seemed to go on forever.