Transcription by Crowdsourcing

Since my last post, I've joined over 40,000 others as a volunteer for the Library of Congress. No, it didn't involve moving, except within my own home. My involvement started after attending an intro session at the Nashua Public Library last week by someone who's been doing this a while. 

The Library of Congress is the oldest federal cultural institution in the U.S. 

Located in Washington, D.C., the Library of Congress is regarded as America's national library, but it's the largest library in the world with a collection of 160 million items — over 37 million books and other printed materials, 14 million photographs, 5.5 million maps, and 3.5 million recordings. Daily, over 10,000 items are added to the collection.  

My volunteer transcribing is done at home by accessing the Library 's By the People Program. It was created in October 2018 (crowd.loc.gov) and its name is from the last line of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: “...government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." 

Myself and other volunteers are crowdsourcing to transcribe, review, and tag digitized images of manuscripts and typed materials from the Library's collections. At some point, machines will take over and optical character recognition (OCR) will be able to do much of the job of transcription. But that could be years away.

Crowdsourcing describes the process of obtaining information for a task or project by enlisting the services of many people, paid or unpaid, typically via the internet. In the case of By the People, it invites the public,  nonspecialists and specialists alike, to engage with collections and process information.

To volunteer for By the People it's easy for anyone with an internet connection. You can then transcribe, review, and tag digitized images of manuscripts and typed materials from the Library’s collections. No sign-on account is needed to transcribe. I created one as volunteers with registered accounts can review and tag transcriptions. That, in itself, has been a learning process. As of April 2024, there are 40,000 registered users.  An account also them track contributions on a profile page. 

What is Transcribing?

Typing exactly what's seen on a page to convert the material into a readable text document. Volunteer transcribe (type) digitized images of text materials from the Library’s collections, traveling through history first-hand and gaining new skills – like learning how to analyze primary sources or read cursive, which I have found quite challenging.

How is Transcribing Done?

The Library's By the People team works with a range of technical and curatorial staff across the Library to import digitized items from the main library website (loc.gov) into the crowd.lov.gov website. Volunteers type what's seen in an image, then review transcripts created by others, only if registered for an account. 

By the People is a stand-alone website not directly tied to the Library’s main website. In the past 6 years, virtual volunteers have completed over 500,000 transcriptions to improve search, accessibility and discovery for papers of Theodore Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Walt Whitman and Susan B. Anthony and more.

The first set of publicly transcribed materials was released in early 2019. As of April 2024, over 421,300 completed transcriptions have been integrated back into the Library's online catalog, making them word-searchable and readable by anyone.

Why is Transcribing Vital?

Since I wondered as well, here's what I learned. Documents used for historical research tell an invaluable story. Transcribing and digitizing historical records helps ensure wider accessibility of crucial items of history enabling anyone to read them and better understand their history.

It seems that computers can't accurately translate without human intervention, so the volunteer transcriptions improve search, readability and access to handwritten and typed documents . Enhanced access provides better readability and keyword searching of documents for everyone.

For example, transcriptions allow universities, research scholars, historians, analysts and others reviewing historical documents to examine past events, looking for context to better understand the impact on modern society.

I learned that anyone using an internet connection can transcribe, review, and tag digitized images of manuscripts and typed materials from the Library collections. It's easy and you don't even need to create an account to transcribe. I created one since those with registered accounts can review and also tag other people's transcriptions. That in itself has been a learning process. An account also lets me track contributions on a profile page. As of April 2024, there are 40,000 registered users. 

The Library has released over 1,056,000 pages for transcription across 41 campaigns; over 780,000 pages have completed transcriptions. There's 19 cataloged, full-text datasets of completed campaigns now available online with more to be done. 

Transcriptions can be done and/or reviewed for these notables on By the People

Current campaigns on the By the People website include: 

• Clara Barton, Angel of the Battlefield
• Yours truly, Frederick Douglass
• To Be Preserved, Correspondence of James A. Garfield
• Leonard Bernstein, Writings By, From, and To
• Sheet Music of the Musical Theater
• American Federation of Labor (A.F.L.) Letters in the Progressive Era
• My Great Mass of Papers Correspondence of Theodore Roosevelt
• Walt Whitman, projects devoted to his poetry, letters, speeches, and other writings
• Woman of the World: Political Thinker Hannah Arendt
• Herencia: Centuries of Spanish Legal Documents

It takes at least one volunteer to transcribe a page, another to review for completeness and mark it complete. Complex documents can pass through transcription and review several times before being completed, and then published on loc.gov. If you don't complete a transcription, just save it for completion by another volunteer. Save and Save often is important. 

Some Basic Transcription Rules

Text order - Transcribe in the order it appears on the page

Preserve original spelling, grammar, and punctuation, transcribe as seen

Preserve line breaks - Line breaks make it easier for someone to review a transcription

Page breaks - If a word breaks across two pages, transcribe on the first page. 

Illegible or unclear text - transcribe pair of square brackets around a question mark [?]

Blank pages -  Don't transcribe text anything. Check Nothing to Transcribe box and Save.

Accurate transcription of documents is essential. Careful transcription allows a search for specific words or sections of a text for further research collaborations and creates a narrative to the past. Volunteers can pick and choose a document to transcribe (or not). After checking out the Clara Barton collection, I took a pass as there's countless tables of data to transcribe. Yes, there are How-To's for table transcriptions.

Transcribing Can be Challenging and Fun

It's definitely a learning process to explore an era as seen through the document. To preserve the document's intactness, data must be transcribed as in the original record, including dates, abbreviations, names, punctuations and misspellings. Mistakes can distort comprehension. The transcript must mirror the original text including punctuation and spelling. 

A handwritten document to transcribe (left) and the resulting transcription (right)

To date, I've done some transcribing from the James Garfield campaign. Decoding documents can be challenging and often frustrating due to factors such as handwriting, spellings and abbreviations, obsolete letters and punctuation.

Spencerian Handwriting

Handwriting: Many written documents are in cursive that's very different from today's cursive font. Typical flourishes in the letters of the alphabet can pose a challenge to deciphering the correct letter. Some texts can seem illegible and require a lot of concentration for accurate transcription. If a word or phrase defines understanding, square brackets are used to enclose it.

The Spencerian handwriting example at the right dominated American correspondence until the Palmer method was introduced in the 1920s.

If a word or phrase can't be deciphered, another volunteer may be able to figure it out. And, when you can't read much of a page, save and look for another.

Spellings and Abbreviations: Variations in spelling present an issue, many words were spelled differently years ago. Understanding them in the right context is essential. Spellings are always transcribed as-is. Abbreviations are copied as written and not interpreted.

Obsolete Letters and Punctuation: Historical records often use words that are obsolete today. Punctuation like long dashes and tildes were used differently in the past and can be hard to understand in the right context.

Transcribing historical documents requires adherence to best practices. Before starting, I read and made copies of How-Tos on the By the People website. This took time, but they were very helpful, especially when looking at some completed transcriptions, it appeared that some guidelines were not followed by all volunteers.

Interested in Becoming a By the People Volunteer?

There's still plenty of documents awaiting transcription, review or tagging. Some 138,000+ pages have transcriptions currently awaiting a reviewer to check for completeness. Here's how to start helping to make historical documents more available, follow this link or copy and paste into your browser to get started: http://crowd.loc.gov

Before attending the library information session, I had no idea about this process which , so far, has been a very interesting experience. Other sites also where volunteers can transcribe documents include The Smithsonian and The National Archives.

A Taxing Day

Today is when most U.S. citizens will file their income tax return, an annual requirement.

It's also the 128th running of the of the Boston Marathon today. Managed by the Boston Athletic Association and run every April 15 (Patriots' Day) since April 1897 even during WW I and II. Ham radio operators, including Patrick, are providing communications along the 26.2-mile route. He'll also be cheering a runner on as our chiropractor is running for the first time.

Since 1954, April 15 has been the tax filing deadline with exceptions for when it has fallen on the weekend. During the pandemic, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) delayed the 2020 and 2021 deadlines. According to online estimates, over 54 million returns had been filed in the first few weeks of the filing season which began on January 29. The IRS expects more than 128.7 million returns to be filed by today's deadline.

It's a task never looked forward to, even though it's a well known (but not beloved) date. Last minute filers will be hurrying to file and postmark 2023 income tax returns (or file for a 6-month extension to Oct 15) until midnight today. Earlier today, I was at the local post office and can attest to the lines of folks doing that to ensure a postmark of today.

Thankfully, I wasn't there to mail our return which was already completed and e-filed and will be getting a smallish refund. While, we could have used tax software to prepare it, our preference has been to use a local certified public accountant (CPA); per online estimates, 34 percent use a CPA or accountant, 41 percent self-file and 25 percent use an assisted service company. 

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Tax-Aide program annually provides free tax services to anyone focusing on taxpayers over 50 or who have low to moderate income. Our friends have been volunteering for the past several years. They take part in annual training to become IRS-certified to understand tax code updates. We see little of them at tax season.

While today is the deadline to file returns, there's exceptions, like here in New England, where residents of Massachusetts and Maine who observe Patriots Day today have until April 17. Residents of Washington, D.C., celebrating Emancipation Day on April 16, have until April 18 to file tax returns. 

Others who don't file today include Americans who live or do business in a federally-declared disaster zone. Those living abroad (expats) have until June 15, but must pay the IRS what's owed for tax year 2023 by April 15. Members of the U.S. military stationed abroad get a 2-month extension, and other extensions including to pay, if they are in a combat zone.

Not only federal taxes have to be filed, but state taxes too. Yes, there's exceptions for those living in a state with no state tax, which (happily for us) includes New Hampshire, also Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming. While the remaining 41 states mostly adhere to the April 15 federal deadline, exceptions are Delaware, Iowa, Louisiana and Virginia which have varied filing deadlines. 

No grace period  for lateness. 

It's a legal requirement to file annual tax returns. The IRS penalizes those who fail to file on time. A failure-to-file penalty amounts to 5 percent of unpaid taxes for each month or partial month a return is overdue, with a maximum of 25 percent of the total balance due. The U.S. government can impose civil and criminal penalties for tax return skips.

Ironically, those who don't file, don't owe money, and are due a refund can't get it until a return is filed. There's a 3-year window before the refund is no longer available. If you're in this group, the IRS reported that taxpayers for tax year 2020 have until May 17 to claim nearly $1 billion in tax refunds.

Do Other Countries File Annual Taxes? Income tax is a source of government revenue globally, although some countries don't impose an income tax on residents or citizens. Instead, these countries rely on other types of taxation, such as Value-Added Tax (VAT) and property tax.

Countries with No Income Tax? Most countries have a form of personal income tax, but some countries do not have any income tax on individuals for personal income earnings. It's not all tax-free. There's other types of taxable income, like wealth taxes applied to for U.S. folks who are permanent residents and are taxed on worldwide income even if living and earning income in a no-tax location.

Thinking of relocating? Just in case, here's a list of tax-free countries or territories — Anguilla, Antiqua and Barbados, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Brunel, Cayman islands, Kuwait, Maldives, Monaco, Oman, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Turks and Caicos, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu, Western Sahara.

Filed and waiting for tax refund. Online sites let can track a federal and state return status. If it's been a while coming, reasons for the delay include common ones like the wrong Social Security number or incorrect direct deposit information. The IRS could also hold up a refund if it requires additional review or it's incomplete. 

We're glad this task is done this year, but there's always next year, unfortunately.

Friday Funnies

Since I started noticing and taking photos of vanity plates, there's been no shortage of them in Nashua, NH. Recent outings have resulted in from 5 to 8 in a parking lot. Many show a name, career or interest. Here's a few more recent ones.

These car owners like the water and show it on their plates.

It seems a certainty that these vehicles are owned by female drivers.

The owners of these vanity plate owners had a message to share with all.

Before I started looking for vanity plates, I didn't know there were so many to be seen. These plate sightings will be a continuing FF post. 

Thanks to everyone who left a comment on the previous post about my first cameras (owned or used). The Eastman Kodak Brownie camera (1900-1986) was overwhelming the first camera of many folks. I enjoyed reading about your early camera owning memories.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

Date night: country singer Josh Turner at Nashua Performing Arts Center

My Camera Life (the Start)

Most of us have cell phones with cameras that take exceptionally good photos and it's been said countless times that the best camera is the one with you, usually your phone. Certainly, that's true for myself too, but I still enjoy using and owning cameras, a lifelong addiction. 

Some fellow bloggers seem to share a similar passion from images shared in their posts. In this and a few posts, I'll share details on cameras used or owned over the years. Originally, I was going to just list them, but then researched further, as usual. Perhaps some of these cameras, or similar ones, have been in your photo life too? This was a trip down memory lane for me.

Imperial Mark XII. This was my first camera at age 8 or 9, a simple box camera. it had a flash attachment and took 12 exposures (6x6) on a roll of 620 film. It was available in many colors; mine was a mint green with darker green accents and looked like the one below. 

My first personal camera came with a  flash

This Imperial Mark XII flash camera was introduced in 1956 and was offered in several colors including red, light blue, gray, black, tan and green. Typical of so many box camera of the time, it was hard plastic with a fixed focus, fixed aperture, single shutter speed, eye-level viewfinder. A wrist strap was permanently attached to the side of the camera. It was sold as a kit with a flash gun (detachable) that synched to the shutter for flash photos. 

This was a true point and shoot camera and fully automatic too. There were no worries about setting shutter speeds, aperture settings or focus control; no batteries were needed except for the flash unit. Photo taking was simple, just advance the film until the next number showed in the red window, then press the shutter release. Most of the photos I took were of outdoor family events using black & white film exclusively.  Some of which still exist in a family album.

As to why this plastic box camera had such a fancy moniker, I have no idea as an online search didn't produce any information online. There were no previous Mark X models.

Perhaps, the company founders just liked the fancy name? Imperial was the main camera brand of Herbert George Co., a Chicago, ILL, company founded by Herbert Weil and George Israel in 1945. It was one of several Chicago-based companies making cheap, simple cameras. But, this one pioneered the introduction of the all-in-one camera with flash and view finder. Kodak didn't introduce its first camera with a built-in flash, the Brownie Starfish, until 1957. After a change of ownership in 1961 the Herbert George Co. was renamed to Imperial Camera Corp. 

The Imperial Mark XII was one of about 40 small, simple cameras that the Herbert George Co. and later Imperial Camera Co. produced from 1945 to the mid-1960s. The cameras used various film sizes — 127, 126, 210 and 620.

Online image: Mike Eckman

The Imperial Mark XII camera was advertised in retail stores for a cost of between $4 and $5. That's equivalent to $45.64 in 2024. It wasn't advertised in mainstream photographic magazines, such as Popular Photograhy or Modern Photography as the target customer wasn't an advanced photographer. This was strictly a snapshot camera for those who favored simple use. 

Online image: Mike Eckman

At times, it was offered as giveaway like in this 1957 ad, when a subscription to the Chicago Daily Calumet newspaper would result in a free camera. (Note the wording that it's not a toy). 

The Imperial name proved popular for the company according to information available online; however, there was no details available about the camera’s production, and sales.

Many of these plastic box cameras are still around. They can be bought online with prices ranging from $10 and up. Unfortunately, I have no idea what happened to mine, but it would have made a great shelf decoration today.

Kodak Tourist II Camera. This camera was owned by my late father and I remember being allowed to use it on special occasions to take photos in grade school. It made me feel grown up as it was very different from the Imperial Mark XII camera. For one thing it was much heavier and better made as well. 

Kodak Tourist II, my late father's only film camera

The Kodak Tourist, as its name suggests, was made by the Eastman Kodak Corporation. It had a die cast aluminum body  covered in a black synthetic leather called Kodadur, made by Kodak . The camera's top plate was made of Tenite, a molded gray plastic, developed by Eastman's chemical division (of course). It had an eye-level viewfinder, a shutter release mounted on the lens door and a tripod socket. The camera shutter had to be cocked/set manually by depressing a short lever mounted on the lens. Film was manually advanced by turning a top knob.

Advertisement announcing the original Kodak Tourist camera

Historically, Kodak was known more for its film manufacturing, not camera production. It's been reported that the only reason Kodak made cameras was that it generated more film buying customers. During what's been termed Kodak's Golden Age (1900s - 1960s) the company name was synonymous with photography. It had an unrivaled dominance in the film and camera market. While, Kodak made many different cameras, the company wasn't necessarily seen as a maker of good cameras, but brought amateur photography to many with its plastic cameras.

Another Kodak Tourist ad

That perception changed with the 1948 intro of the upscale Kodak Tourist which soon garnered the lower to middle end of the camera market. This new 6x9 folding camera used 620 film. It became a popular alternative to more costly German folding cameras of the time, such as Voightlander and Zeiss Ikon.

Many amateurs photographers, who wanted more from photography than using a box Kodak model, turned to medium-format folding cameras, like this one. It was available with a variety of lens and shutter combinations. The top of the line model had a 4-element Kodak Anastar lens and Synchro-Rapid 800 speed shutter, very fast for its time.

The Tourist II camera, introduced in May 1951, replaced the original Tourist. This newer model came with a new viewfinder that Kodak called, Scopesight. It had a projected frame line in the viewfinder to help with composition. Early versions of the Tourist II had the name plate on the top, like my father's. In later versions, it faced forward in red lettering. Other specifications of the two cameras were nearly identical. 

Tourist camera back had multi openings

The camera's most unusual feature was its back door which could be opened on the left side, right side or removed completely. Separately sold adapter kits allowed the use of 828 film which was. Kodak’s unperforated 35mm paper-backed roll film. Introduced in 1935, it was intended to avoid some problems of earlier perforated 35mm films.

Despite the popularity of the Kodak Tourist line, it was discontinued in July 1958, after 10 years and signaled the last in a 60-year span of American-made film bellows cameras from Eastman Kodak. Its demise marked the end of an era for Kodak's folding roll film cameras; 35mm photography was introduced in the 1950s and the company shifted gears.

Back in 1948, when the Tourist was first introduced, it was advertised at around $95. In 2024 dollars that's the equivalent of $1,223.28. No information was found online on how many were sold and while it was a popular camera, it doesn't hold value in the collector’s market. Most models, except the Tourist II with an upscale lens and faster shutter, sell online for as low as $20. There's no shortage as a recent eBay check showed over 200 listings. It's clear, I won't be making my fortune from this family treasure.

Yashica Electro 36. This was my first serious camera purchased in my late teen years. This 35mm was bought at a Two Guys from Harrison store in Watchung, NJ. (This popular store chain was founded in Harrison, NJ, in 1946 by two brothers and folded in the 1970s.) 

Yashica Electro 35, my first 35mm camera

The Yashica Electro 35 was a solid metal rangefinder camera with a big, clear viewfinder which featured a space-age atomic symbol on the front, possibly since when it debuted in 1966, it was the first full frame electronically controlled camera. The electronic exposure control combined the ease of a point and shoot camera with the features of a high-end camera. 

Testimonial advertisement for the Yashica Electro 35

That's because, while it was geared toward amateur photographers, the Electro 35 had many advanced features for serious photographers and it was easy to use. Its retro look is still prized by photographers today. Film speeds ranged from 12 to 400 ASA with a Yashinon 45mm, f1.7 lens, faster than some modern lenses I've owned since. The lens stayed the same when the wording, Color-Yashinon, was added in 1968. This was a marketing move as color film was starting to be affordable for amateur photographers. 

The Yashica Electro 35 is an aperture-priority camera. This means that the photographer sets the f-stop  (aperture) and the camera selects the appropriate shutter speed, from 1/500 up to 30 seconds or more. The metering system was the first of its kind. It was not TTL (through the lens) like 35mm SLR (single lens reflex) cameras, but controlled by cadmium sulphide (CdS) cells located above the lens. It used a 5.6V mercury battery, whose manufacturing was discontinued. There's an alkaline equivalent available; however, it's expensive and only available online. 

This camera became one of the most popular consumer 35mm cameras of the 1960s to 1970s. in the U.S. The Electro 35 GSN and GTN models were produced until 1977 and estimates are that 8 million overall were sold. In October 1983, Yashica Company Ltd. was acquired by Kyocera, which in 2005, halted production on all Contax, Yashica, and other Kyocera branded film and digital cameras.

An Electro 35 camera wasn't very costly considering its features. It sold new for around $100, which is the equivalent to $957.80 in 2024. Just like the Imperial Mark XII and Kodak Tourist cameras, it can still be bought online. However, unlike those cameras, a vintage Yashica Electro 35 sells for upwards of a few hundred dollars. 

Unfortunately, I don't know what happened to the Imperial Mark XII or Yashica Electro 35 cameras that I owned and used years ago and rather regret that today.

However, I have my father's Kodak Tourist II seen here in its original leather case, even though I will never use it again. For one thing, film would be harder to obtain and process. But mostly, I have no interest in it now other than sentiment and memories. Over the years, I've used and owned many other cameras, which will also remain firmly in the past.            To be continued . . .

Your turn — Do you remember names of your first cameras?

If so, do you know what happened to them (unlike myself)?

Friday Funnies

Just wondering — is this how the Easter 🐰 bunny got around quickly to deliver all those sweet treats last weekend?

This auto certainly had a rabbit-favored color and matching vanity plate too.

It was seen on Main Street in downtown Nashua, NH, right before the holiday.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone 

Still waiting for Spring after yesterday's nor'easter

There's hope, next week temps are forecast in the mid-60s

Straddling Two Countries

The Haskell Library and Opera House

At first glance, It looks like any other Victorian-style building from the early 20th century, complete with stained-glass windows, a grandiose facade and a slate roof. But, appearances aside, this isn't just a grand old building. Here, the border between two countries bisects the building, leaving library users and theatre-goers in one country or the other.

Amazingly, the Haskell Free Library and Opera House (Bibliothèque et salle d’opéra Haskell) is a historic building that's located equally in the small cities of Derby Line, Vermont, U.S. and Stanstead, Quebec, Canada. At the time it was built, people in this rural region moved freely, between these borders, not so anymore.

Derby Line is the still rural Vermont town on the U.S. side of the border. Stanstead, Quebec, the small town on the Canadian side also has American roots and, according to its website, it was founded by pioneers from New England in the 1790s and once a haven for smugglers and bootleggers. As the town grew,  it became the first Canadian stop for the stagecoach that ran from Boston to Quebec City.

At the U.S. border in Derby Line, VT

How did we come across this place?

We were on a road trip to Derby Line, VT, last week to complete our application for Global Entry at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office. This program allows expedited clearance upon arrival in the U.S. from travel abroad. We're (hopefully) planning to travel abroad at least once before year-end.  

The trip from Nashua, NH, to VT was 3 hours each way. We stayed overnight in the area. We had read about the Haskell library and knew that we wanted to visit it.

While the ornate stone two-story Queen Anne Revival-style building that houses the library and an opera house has two addresses, Canadian and American, there's only one entrance and it's on the U.S. side of the border, which is where we were too..

Americans can freely enter by the front door in the U.S. Canadians cross the border in front of the library, stay on the sidewalk and enter via the front door too. They return to Canada via the same route and cannot walk anywhere else in town. And, Americans cannot cross over the sidewalk into Canada. I admit to having crossed the line.

Passports aren’t required since this isn't a formal border crossing, but the library tells visitors to expect their movements to be monitored and carry an ID, just in case.The photo at the left shows how close the border is. This crosswalk is adjacent to the Haskell library. 

Canadians can freely access the library and must return back by the same route when they leave. Family reunions or cross-border visits are not allowed inside, banned after relatives, who were allowed to be in the U.S. or Canada, not both, began arriving for get togethers. The day we visited, a Canadian police vehicle was parked on the Canadian side monitoring the border line. A library volunteer we spoke to told us the border was monitored daily; however the patrol car wasn't there when we left. We had our passports with us, but they were not needed.

Martha Haskells & son Horace Stewart

The building's construction combines elements of the Queen Anne, Georgian and classical revival styles, typical of public libraries of that time. It was conceived and financed by Martha Stewart Haskell, a wealthy Canadian citizen, and her son Horace Stewart Haskell in memory of Stewart's parents, Catherine and Horace Stewart, and late husband Carlos Haskell, an American sawmill owner. 

According to available information, the Haskells purposely chose to build on the border so that Canadians and Americans would have equal access to the library and opera house when border restrictions were more fluid. 

Two large portraits of the Haskells are displayed in the entrance hall. As accounts go, Martha Haskell’s goal was to cheat the border. Accordingly, for years, Canadians and Americans would cross into each others’ countries to attend school, church and marry. Times have changed since then.

Construction began in 1901 and the opera house opened in 1904 as a profit-producing venture that would support the free public library which opened in 1905. 

It's easy to know which country you're in by the very unusual international border, this  black tape line that divides it down the middle. This dividing line was not accidental. It was added to designate the exact border line after a fire decades ago set off a fight between insurance companies over which had to pay for damages.

Patrick has one foot in two countries

We stepped across the tape on the floor and crossed from the U.S. into Canada. This atrium was the center but the circulation desk wasn't here years ago. It was originally positioned to block access to the stacks where the books were located. Small flags of both countries are provided so visitors have a photo opp with a foot in each country as Patrick did above. 

A wooden book used years ago

Years ago, library visitors didn't have free access to books because at the time (1904), books were more valuable and harder to come by. Library users would tell the librarian what they wanted or would give a wooden block of wood with the title — as shown in the above photo — then the book would be brought out. The circulation desk (shown in a photo below) was originally positioned to block access to the stacks where the books were located.

The Haskell library stacks are mostly the original shelves

Today, the library stacks can be freely accessed by library patrons and visitors alike. The library's collection numbers over 20,000 books, mostly in English and French with some Spanish titles as well. Most of this collection is located in Canada. 

The Opera House seating

Unfortunately, the opera house was closed to visitors on the day of our visit, so we didn't see the opera house interiors, this time.

Available photos showed a magnificent venue with a domed ceiling, original mahogany wooden seats and a balcony. The seats closer to the stage are pricier, wider, and have an armrest. We learned that cushions can be rented for the hard wooden seats, regular attendees bring their own.

The stage screens were done by an artist from southern Vermont hired by Horace Haskell. The one that's used most often is a Venice scene which includes a steamboat,  in the back of the scene as Haskell liked steamboats.

As in the library, the theatre is crossed by an international border. Most of the 400-seats are in the U.S. and the show is performed on a stage in Canada. 

Haskell Opera House balcony, Internet source

The opera house includes an arch that provides a clear view of the performance, decorative cherubs and wall murals are typical of early 20th century theatre decor. Performers here have included vaudeville, jazz, blues, rock, music and dance performers, many have left their signatures on dressing room walls.

"Benny"

This is the only moose we saw on our road trip despite the numerous Moose Crossing road signs. It's nicknamed Benny and is displayed in the library near the main desk. As with the flags near the entry way, it's a popular photo "opp."

The story goes that the huge moose was shot in new Brunswick, Canada, by a man named Hunt and that it didn't fit into the front door into his house. Many suspect that his wife refused entry and so it was donated to the library.

The clock in the photo below is original to the 1904 library opening. According to the library volunteer, who provided much information during our visit, it wasn't working for years until a patron repaired it and now it runs perfectly, she added, as long as a staff member remembers to wind it..

The original clock and main library desk

Over the years, some of the library rooms have changed uses. The children's room was the once the men's reading room, where men would recline with their newspapers, books, pipes, and cigars near the room's fireplace. Each room features a different locally-sourced wood, perhaps in tribute to Martha Haskell's sawmill owner husband. There are also several fireplaces, no longer in use except for decorative purposes.

The building has been classified a historic site in both countries. In the U.S., it was registered in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1976 and has been included in Ripley's Believe It or Not. In 1985, the building was designated a National Historic Site in Canada and has been a provincial heritage site since 1977. Being on the international border, gives the Haskell library a unique distinction of being the only NRHP registered landmark above the 45th parallel.

If you're entering from the U.S., there's limited parking at the library in a small adjacent lot. You can see American and Canadian border crossings shown on granite markers. 

An illegal border crossing can be quite costly

If you plan to visit The Haskell Free Library and Opera House, its address is 93 Caswell Ave., Derby Line, VT or 1 Church St. Stanstead, Quebec depending on where you're traveling from. 

FYI in reply to comment: Yes, as with many places, the Haskell Library was closed for a couple years when the pandemic cancelled everything. Initially, it closed for a week, then a month and then 2 years. During the shutdown, money was raised to install insulated windows in the opera house. Before this was done, winter performances couldn't be scheduled as the facility was too cold, the season now includes winter performances. As to a query as to which country owns the building, I couldn't find a definitive answer, perhaps it's owned by both countries

Did anyone say that Spring was here? It certainly was not Mother Nature who has sprung a late April Fools' Day weather event here in New England with a nor'easter. This was the 7 a.m. view outside from our apartment windows today. 

Finally, here's a shout-out to my brother on his birthday today. He's celebrating in our home state of NJ, where the weather is just as miserable but only rainy.

He's officially a senior citizen, just like ourselves. This posted before photo shows him celebrating a much earlier birthday. I hope he enjoys a 🎂 cake today as well !

We're thankful to be celebrating after all these years.

🎉 Happy Birthday 🎈