Exhibit captures life in Korea during war
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
AN EXHIBIT at the Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library, entitled “My Dad’s Perspective: Preserving Beauty Amid War,” by photographer Galen E. Leavitt, will be on display through May 23. Holding an image of Leavitt and Marilyn Monroe is his daughter, Margo Ann Leavitt Pullen.
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — An exhibit in the Akeley Room at the Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library, entitled “My Dad’s Perspective: Preserving Beauty Amid War,” features the war-time images taken in South Korea by photographer Galen E. Leavitt.
Leavitt, a 1951 graduate of Waterville High School, joined the U.S. Air Force and was trained as a photographer. Though stationed in Tachikawa, Japan, Leavitt was flown into South Korea on many missions to provide photographs of events — both tragic and celebratory.
“As Galen’s youngest of four daughters, I am proud to tell the story of a young Maine man serving his country while his fiancee‚ who later became my mom, Estelle Gamache Leavitt — waited 26 months for his safe return,” said Margo Ann Leavitt Pullen, an English teacher at Lawrence High School in Fairfield.
Pullen said it wasn’t until after her father died that she and her siblings discussed what to do with the many images he’d captured during the war.
“There are about 150 black and white and 150 color slides. From that, I sifted and sorted and discussed which print to frame,” said his daughter.
“When dad passed away, my sisters agreed I’d keep the family photos together. I found 150 slides in a safety deposit box. I never knew about them. An image of a plane hung in our home but I never really knew what it meant until recently,” she said. “I’m the only sister in Maine. I have their full support.”
Pullen said the most striking images, for her, weren’t the war photos.
“When I was growing up I’d get permission to go in my parents’ room. I’d sit and look at the photo albums of black and white pictures for hours. Mixed in were some gems. I didn’t recognize them at the time, but they included amazing landscapes and sceneries. I didn’t have a good perspective of what they meant then,” said Pullen.
Pullen said she was impressed with her father’s work, considering his lack of experience with a camera.
“After giving him a camera and six weeks’ training, he was sent to cover things for the military. He was a true artist and humanitarian,” said Pullen. “It struck me as adult. It’s hard to believe dad was such a young man working in a foreign country, searching for normalcy.”
She said he found it through the images he captured.
“He was looking for some sense of home — hardworking people, families. He captured them doing what needed to be done. He captured the kindness of the South Koreans. I’m very thankful they were our allies,” she said.
Pullen said she is especially impressed with these works, given her father only had “one opportunity to capture subjects.”
“There were no re-dos or delete options with cameras back then,” she said.
After leaving the military, Pullen said her father became a salesman selling food.
“His territory was northern Maine, out of Canton, Mass. He did setups for Shop N Save and Doug’s. Every venue was different,” she said.
Helping her hang the pictures, which include shots of South Koreans at work and relaxing, as well as an image of her father with actress Marilyn Monroe, is her friend, Ben Tucker III.
“Margo’s a native Mainer but this is her first time in Aroostook County. So often these kinds of things stop in Bangor. I suggested she come north because my father, Ben Tucker Jr., lived and worked here right after college. He was a sports writer for The Star-Herald,” said Tucker III.
“This is something everyone should see. Out of the 50 or so photos, every one has been someone’s favorite during each exhibit. They’re all special and touch people in different ways,” she said.
Tucker, a photographer himself, said it’s Leavitt’s perspective that caught his attention.
“He had a unique way of capturing his subject. For one, he got down on the ground to take a photo of a baby,” said Tucker. “There’s another great story here — a daughter connecting in a special way after her father’s passing.”
Pullen agreed.
“I feel so close to my dad. We shared some of the same characteristics and talent. But this makes me feel more like an artist. He used such sensitivity in his work and such a sense of family,” she said.
“I was away from my dad for years. My parents retired to Florida. I missed them terribly,” said Pullen, noting she stayed in Maine to raise her family but was “lonesome without my dad.”
Pullen said she’d love to take her exhibit through the small towns of Maine.
“On April 21, I did the senior college in Augusta. It’s thrilling to present these works to that demographic. They shared their memories, which I found quite interesting,” said Pullen.
She’s looking forward to her next stop, which will take her to York.
“My son is getting married there to a girl from Massachusetts. I’ll be displaying these works in the Kennebunk Room of the York Public Library,” said Pullen.
“The wedding invitations even include a reference to the show,” added Tucker.
Come October, Pullen said the photos will be heading to Freeport.
“This is one of the most fun things I’ve done in my life. I find there’s an artist hiding in every Mainer. Her dad never thought of himself as an artist, but look at these works,” said Tucker.
“Dad had dementia toward the end. I’m just so glad to have had the time with him that I did — and these images and memories to cherish forever,” said Pullen.
The Presque Isle exhibit is her sixth in the state so far.
“I started in Norway, then went to Oakland, Clinton, Waterville, Lawrence High School, and now at the Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library. It will be on display here until May 23, with a closing reception from 6-8 p.m. that day,” Pulllen said.
For more information, visit the Akeley Gallery online: www.pimainelibrary.org/index.php/2nd-st-gallery/akeley-gallery.
