This, I think, is my favorite Harold Hedger image in the Lucas County Historical Society collection. It was taken on May 18, 1922, when surviving members of Daniel Iseminger Post 18, Grand Army of the Republic, and their auxiliary, the Woman's Relief Corps, gathered at the First Methodist Church in Chariton for an annual service of remembrance. Mr. Hedger had arrived in Chariton from Canada just nine months earlier.
A friend, whose mother was photographed by Hedger Studio, asked Friday if I could tell him anything about the photographer --- and I could. But I've not gotten around previously to pulling the information together and writing it down. For reference purposes, if you're trying to date a Hedger Studio photograph you can be sure that it was taken between August of 1921 and March of 1931. And here's some of the rest.
Mr. Hedger's full name was Harold Philip Frushard Hedger, born on Sept. 22, 1879, in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India, and baptized at an Anglican church there on Dec. 6. I'm reasonably sure that during the years he lived in Lucas County, Harold was the only resident who when asked where he was born could reply, "Calcutta."
His parents were Philip Francis Frushard Hedger and Georgina Harriet Eldridge, who had married in Calcutta on Oct. 26, 1878. Both were of English families that had edged above the midpoint of the middle class in that class-conscious society of the day. Philip F.F. Hedger was a solicitor by profession.
Georgiana's father, John Smith Eldridge, was a solicitor, too --- in Southampton. Philip's father, Philip Hedger Sr., after a distinguished maritime career, was serving as superintendent and dock master of the Southampton Docks when his grandson was born. Both had ties to the East India Company.
Sadly, little Harold would never have known his mother. The Hampshire Advertiser, of Southampton, reported in its March 20, 1880, edition under the heading, "Deaths" --- "On the 13th inst., at Calcutta, Georgina Harriet, the dearly loved wife of Philip F.F. Hedger, Esq., solicitor, and the fondly loved child of John S. Eldridge, Esq., 13, Carlton-crescent, Southampton, aged 27. (By telegram.)"
Philip F.F. Hedger buried Georgina in Calcutta, but sent little Harold home to his parents, Philip and Susanna, in Southampton and their home seems to have been his thereafter. Census records show Harold as a resident of the Philip Hedger home through his 21st year.
Harold was 18 when his father died on Oct. 11, 1896, at the age of 44. Although identified in death reports as a resident of Calcutta, Philip F.F. Hedger's death occurred in the market town of Ludlow, Shropshire. Harold's grandfather, Philip Francis Hedger, died 10 years later, on July 29, 1906, at the age of 86.
By that time, however, young Harold had emigrated to the Americas, ending up in Saskatchewan, where during 1913 he married Ellen Mary Cooper. Their son, Philip, was born two years later, on March 30, 1915, in Waseca, Saskatchewan.
Six years later, The Chariton Herald-Patriot of Aug. 11, 1921, reported the family's arrival in Lucas County as follows: "J.A. McCarthy has sold his studio and fixtures to Mr. H. Hedger, of Camrose, Alberta, Canada, who took possession yesterday. Mr. McCarthy has been engaged in business here for several years, and is one of the finest photographers in the state. All will regret that he is to sever his connections with Chariton, as he and his family will leave soon for California to reside, but we wish them well wherever they go. Mr. Hedger comes here very highly recommended and he will be welcomed to our midst."
During his 10 years in Chariton, Harold was a considerable success. Operating at first from a second-floor studio on the east side of the square, he moved after 1927 into one of the small commercial spaces that flanked the lobby of the new southside Ritz Theater. That building was heavily damaged in a 1930 fire, although Harold's studio was mostly spared and he was able to return promptly to work. The repaired and rebuilt Ritz reopened later in 1930.
In addition to portrait work and commissions, like the G.A.R. memorial service image, Harold became widely known for his yearbook photography --- Chariton and other high schools in the area were adding more and more images to yearbooks that had begun to appear early in the 20th century.
But, even though in his early 50s, Harold found a new opportunity as the 1930s launched. The U.S. military, he learned, was looking for talented photographers to help launch and nurture U.S. Army photography programs for intelligence and other purposes.
He applied for the position of senior photographer and took the Civil Service examination during 1930, finishing --- according to reports in the Chariton newspapers --- 15 points head of other applicants. He was hired promptly by the War Department and assigned to the U.S. Army Air Corps at Chanute Field, Rantoul, Illinois, where the family moved during March of 1931. By this time, another son, Frank, born in Chariton during 1926, had joined the family.
At Chanute, Harold divided his time between instructing airmen, working as a photographer and testing photo-related products that various manufacturers submitted to the U.S. government for consideration.
By 1939, Harold has been transferred to the U.S. Army Air Corps Technical School at Lowry Field, Denver, and he worked there until retirement.
In 1949, following retirement, the Hedgers moved from Denver to Loveland, Colorado, where he died at the age of 91 on April 21, 1971. Harold and Ellen are buried in Denver's Fairmount Cemetery.
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