Uncle Bill Installment #5

Coming out of the Covid time, I began to delve deeper into the contents of the Ancestry folder that cousin Kate had sent:

Most items were dated June, 30 1958 and on into July and August of the same year. Between the time of the investigation and the presenting of the actual investigator’s documents, there were many pieces of correspondence between various international government agencies.  At one point my grandmother had requested, yet not received, the government’s investigative report on my uncle’s disappearance. Eventually she contacted the Archbold Buckeye, who in turn contacted then Ohio State Representative Cliff Clevenger. Clevenger’s requests for information on behalf of my grandmother and the newspaper are well documented in the file folder.

Their efforts were thwarted by the Department of State who wrongly believed the death occurred in San Salvador, EL Salvador.  There were letters sent back and forth with no one in El Salvador knowing anything about a William Scales. My mom had shared with me that this had happened, and how frustrating it was at the time. Even now, while reviewing the file, it frustrates me to see so much correspondence and so many people overlook such a simple and glaring geographical error. Eventually the “pressing” press persevered.

Once I got past that frustrating part, the report itself contained cool stuff like eyewitness accounts (as noted in the previous installment)  and depositions  … lots of blurred ink.

Still, the scans were mostly readable. Such as…

Holy Tsar Bomba! A camera in the boat? The report had taken me back to cold war era 1958 and I felt as if I’d been hit by the Big Ivan itself. What kind of camera was it? Where did it end up? What had it photographed? Do I have photographs from that camera? Questions to drive a girl mad! (Bob told me I had too much camera stuff in Installment #3. I was, like, “It IS a camera website after all.”)

Found to be negative? “…found to be negative…”? What does that even mean? Was it blank? Were there images, but no clues? Where are these “exhibits” they’re referring to? (Especially Exhibit f’n D?)

I could go into detail about the government report – and I probably eventually will. But I don’t want to hash and rehash the information – though I probably will. Within the report are paradoxes enough to keep your mind smashing potatoes and meat for a week. If you want to read the entire file, I can send it to you. In fact, I invite you to request the folder from me.  junkstorecameras@gmail.com  Fresh perspectives would be a blessing.

I stewed (another food reference) over these findings for quite some time and two things became apparent.

Thing #1.) I needed to get those slides back from my cousin in Minnesota. Those transparencies are the original bits of film that were in the very camera that exposed them. They would help me to determine which images of Bill’s correspond to the cameras I received from my Uncle John way back when.

Thing #2.) The idea for a photographic project began to form. I knew I would take Uncle Bill’s cameras to the place he was last known to have been. My plan is to document, using Uncle Bill’s cameras, whatever remains of the places he might have seen and experienced.

I immediately sent the little Minox IIIs to DAG Camera for repair.

Installment #6.

Back to Installment #4.