HERB RINGER & his Love for the Rural West’s Small Towns (1940s-50s) Volume 1 (ZX#54) w/Jim Stiles

On May 30, 1939, Herb Ringer’s life changed forever. As he drove away from his family home in Ringoes, New Jersey, he could not have guessed that as he backed out of the driveway and turned west, that his life would never be the same again. And yet the departure was hardly a happy moment for Herb. In fact, he dreaded it. I’m sure it felt more like the most painful of deaths than the beginning of a new and indescribably beautiful future.

Herb had been married for less than two years, but it had been a disaster. Neither of them was happy. But Herb made a decision that in 1939 was almost unthinkable. He decided to file for divorce. Though his wife was just as unhappy as he was, the stigma of divorce was more than bare. She pleaded with Herb to change his mind. He was barely less humiliated than she was. He didn’t want to be known as “that man” who divorced his wife in the little hamlet of Ringoes. And so Herb made a decision that he thought might make the process less painful for both of them. He would travel all the way across America, to Reno, Nevada. Even then it was known as the “Divorce Capital of the World.”

On Memorial Day Weekend, he left Ringoes and began a 2500 mile journey across North America to Nevada. As he traveled he kept meticulous notes–you can see the first page here —-not only are his descriptions of the land beautifully composed, almost poetic, but his penmanship, written with an old ink fountain pen, is so beautiful, I would see little point in transcribing it to type. Someday I may post the entire journey, as Herb wrote it. It is a beautiful description of a week in the United States, in the late Spring of 1939. 

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When Herb first started giving me his photos, I realized that he took the time to do what few of us even consider. I remember that in the early 70s, I traveled all the way to Alaska. I took hundreds of photographs on Ektachrome film. When they were developed I showed them to my family. My mother said, “But what does Fairbanks look like? Or White Horse in the Yukon Territory? Or Anchorage?” I realized that I had hundreds of photos of mountains and forests and glaciers, but I never took photos of the towns, or even more importantly, the many little outposts along the Alcan Hwy. Or people!

But that was the difference with Herb. He turned the camera around and took pictures of the people who were taking pictures. And he stopped to photograph the little towns that most people just wanted to get through. Eventually he would give me all his photographs. Thousands of them. And among them dozens…scores…hundreds of little communities in the West that everyone else ignored.

And he gave me something else. During the Great Depression, The Roosevelt Administration was trying to find ways of keeping  Americans employed. But what could be done for the artists and writers? The result can be seen in the magnificent murals in post offices and public buildings across the country. And someone in FDR’s administration came up with the idea of a series of guide books for each of the United States. It was called the American Guide Series sponsored by  by the Federal Writers’ Project. Herb, of course, purchased a copy of every western state. Eventually he passed them on to me as well. 

In this series of photos of small towns of the West. I have included excerpts from the original manuscripts. Now, thanks to the internet, and the Hathi Trust Digital Library, many of these state guides are available for free to the public, If you’re interested, here is the link. (or click on the Hathi Trust image). There are a few missing states, but most of them are here.

In any case, Herb loved small towns and this is my chance to share a bit of small town history with you. And don’t thank me. Thank Herb—He was the visionary; I was simply the beneficiary, along with all of you wonderful Zephyr readers. Enjoy a taste of yesterday, Herb Ringer-style…JS

CHAMA, NEW MEXICO

TUBA CITY, ARIZONA

CAMERON, ARIZONA

JEROME, ARIZONA

WENDOVER, UTAH

GREEN RIVER, UTAH

ST. GEORGE, UTAH

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

HELPER, UTAH

SEDONA, ARIZONA

MOAB, UTAH

JIM STILES is the founding publisher and still editor of The Zephyr. Still “clinging to the past since 1989. He can be reached at: cczephyr@gmail.com, or via Messenger

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