Conversations 2019: September 13-15 – Center for Railroad Photography & Art

Photographs

Jeff Brouws and Eric Williams prepare Eric's photography exhibition for the Friday night reception. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

George Hiotis, Oren Helbok, and Hank Koshollek at the Friday reception in Glen Rowan House. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Den Adler

Marc Hilton and Linda Schafer view the photography exhibition by Eric Williams at the Friday reception. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

The Center's Scott Lothes, middle, shares a photograph with David Lassen and Lance Lassen at the Friday receptoin. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Kevin Keefe, Jim Wrinn, and Cate Kratville-Wrinn at the Friday reception. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

The Center's Natalie Krecek gives directions to attendee Ralcon Wagner at the Friday reception. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Travis and Dewitz and Eric Williams at the Friday reception. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Ben Bachman, Kevin Keefe, and Ralcon Wagner at the Friday dinner. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

J. William Wissel at the Friday dinner. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

John and Wendy Free at the Friday dinner. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Aiden Nies and Wayne Hansen at the Friday dinner. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Jeff Brouws and Bill Edelstein at the Friday dinner. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Jay Eaton, Ron Goldfeder, Tom Kline at the Friday dinner. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Den Alder at the Friday dinner. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

David Mattoon and Bon French at the Friday dinner. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Michael Schmidt and Alan Furler at the Friday dinner. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Jeff Mast, right, won the Friday raffle for a silver gelatin print by Jim Shaughnessy, presented by Scott Lothes and Norm Carlson

Norm Carlson addresses the crowd on Friday evening. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Ron Goldfeder of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society presents Scott Lothes with an award from the R&LHS for the Center's "After Promontory" project at the Friday dinner. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

The National Railroad Hall of Fame's Julie King introduces their play, "Lincoln and the Railroad," at the Friday dinner. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Abraham Lincoln, played by Michael Krebs, contemplates signing the Pacific Railway Act in "Lincoln and the Railroad," a one-act play by the National Railroad Hall of Fame performed at the Friday dinner. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Jennifer Bodine shared photography by her father, A. Aubrey Bodine, on Saturday morning. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Michael Schmidt introduces Gil Bennett on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Artist Gil Bennett shares his work on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Ed Burkhart and George Hamlin chat during a break on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Oren Helbok takes in the Lake Forest College campus on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Oren Helbok shares his and his father's photography on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Barre Fong shares his project about Chinese workers on the Central Pacific. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Attendees enjoy lunch in Calvin Durand Hall on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Adrienne Evans, the Center's archives manager, shares updates from the Center's archives with conference attendees on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Bon French, who chairs the Center's boards, reports on the Center's finances to conference attendees on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Al Louer of the Center's board of directors discusses the importance of legacy gifts on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Founding members of the Center's Legacy Society Bonnie Gruber, Bon French, Victor Hand, and Al Louer pose for a portrait on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Peter Mosse and Dennis Livesey of the Upper East Side of Manhattan Chapter of the Center for Railroad Photography and Art. Current membership: two. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Conference docents Aiden Nies, Jennifer Anderson, Eric Hudson, and Brandon Fiume pose for a portrait on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

John Free, who presented his photographers from Los Angeles in the 1970s, takes in a presentation on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

David Mattoon watches Ben Bachman's presentation on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Ben Bachman shared reflections and photographs about the mythos of the American West on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

John Free presented his photographers from Los Angeles in the 1970s on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Unusual for Conversations conferences, fair weather allowed conference attendees to enjoy the garden at the Glen Rowan House during the reception on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Richard McQuade, who traveled from Canada, looks at the conference program during the reception on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Ron Goldfeder and Dave Saums chat during the reception on Saturday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Brandon Fiume, one four docents at Conversations 2019, shares his photography on Sunday morning. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Brian Schmidt, of Trains and Classic Trains magazines, adds a train joke to the white board during a break on Sunday morning. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Ron Perisho, with help from Jeff Mast and Todd Halamka, prepares for his presentation on Sunday morning. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Edd Fuller and Marc Entrop wait for a presentation to begin on Sunday morning. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Attendees don 3D glasses for Ron Perisho's presentation about A.J. Russell's stereoviews on Sunday morning. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Artist Charlie Hunter presented on his painting project along Amtrak's "Southwest Chief," route, "En Train Air." CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Logo for Charlie Hunter's "En Train Air" project. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Maureen Muldoon chats with Bon French after the presentations on Sunday. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Board member Peter Mosse is all smiles after another good conference. CRP&A Conversations 2019 photograph by Henry A. Koshollek

Information

2019 Conference Wrap-up

The Center’s annual Conversations conference moved to a new date in September this year in light of the many events surrounding the sesquicentennial. Though numbers were slightly fewer this year with an attendance at 137, attendees traveled from a total of twenty-four states and four different countries to enjoy the gathering in Lake Forest.

For the first conference weekend in recent memory the skies smiled down and offered beautiful weather in the high 70s. The weekend opened on Friday with a brilliantly performed play by the National Railroad Hall of Fame, entitled Lincoln and the Railroad. Presentations began on Saturday morning and run through Sunday afternoon. We enjoyed a diverse array of presenter topics from commercial to social documentary photography, rail advocacy, and much more. We were also fortunate to have a wonderful selection of talented and passionate docents assisting us throughout the weekend.

Thank you to all attendees for traveling such great distances to join us at Conversations 2019. You can download the program here (28 MB PDF file).

Our next conference will be Conversations 2020 at Lake Forest College on April 17-19, 2020. We will post more details here as they become available.

2019 Information

Location: The campus of cosponsor Lake Forest College (campus map), thirty miles north of Chicago. Learn more about the City of Lake Forest online or download the PDF overview.

As in past years, we will begin with a reception and an optional dinner on Friday evening. The reception begins at 5:00 in the Glenn Rowan House, with dinner service commencing at 6:30 in Calvin Durand Hall.
Saturday will feature a full day of presentations, breakfast, lunch, an evening reception with drinks and appetizers, and another optional dinner. The day begins at 8:30 in the Lily Reid Holt Memorial Chapel. Doors open at 8:00.
Sunday will conclude the weekend with additional presentations from 8:30-12:15 in the McCormick Auditorium of the Johnson Science Center. Doors open at 8:00.

Presentations

Ben Bachman, Forever West: Railroads, Mythology & Photography
Gil Bennett, A Brush With History
Jennifer Bodine, A. Aubrey Bodine: He Did the Common Thing Uncommonly
Barre Fong, Chinese Railroad Workers: Roots and Routes
John Free, Photographing in the Southern Pacific Freight Yards in the 1970’s
Oren and John Helbok, Two Viewfinders… One Point of View
Charlie Hunter, En Train Air – Advocacy, Art, and Adventure along the Santa Fe Trail
Ron Perisho, A.J. Russell: The Transcontinental Railroad in 3D
Eric Williams, Encounters With Art
Short presentations by conference docents

Your Photographs: After purchasing your tickets, please send one of your recent photographs, preferably from the past year, for inclusion in a presentation of attendees’ photographs at the conference. Send one JPEG image file, either 1920 pixels wide or 1200 pixels high, to info [at] railphoto-art.org.

Patrons: If you feel strongly about the conference, consider becoming a patron (use the Paypal link above). Patrons help offset travel costs for presenters, and the twenty-five patrons of Conversations West and Conversations Transcontinental also provided funds for scholarships in 2019. Patrons are recognized in the program and receive free tickets for all print raffles.

Scholarships: Up to four scholarships, funded by conference patrons, are available for young, new, and/or emerging photographers and artists to cover ticket prices, two nights of lodging (double occupancy), and partial travel expenses to and from the conference. The deadline is July 19, 2019; applicants will be notified of their status by July 26, 2019. Download application here.

Please let us know in advance if you have any special dietary needs, and we will make every effort to accommodate them.

Hotel rooms are again available at:

- Hilton Garden Inn
  26225 N. Riverwoods Boulevard
  Mettawa, IL 60045, 847-735-8374
- Residence Inn Chicago Lake Forest Mettawa
  26325 N. Riverwoods Boulevard
  Mettawa, IL 60045, 847-615-2701

Use these links or mention the Center when you call to receive our special rate, which will be available until August 14 or whenever the block of rooms has been filled.

Filmmaker Barre Fong will present oral histories of descendants of workers on the original Central Pacific Railroad. Photograph by Eric Baumgartner

Dates and Times

Friday, September 13

Conference reception, (Glen Rowan House), 5pm
Dinner, (Calvin Durand Hall), 6:30pm
Play by National Railroad Hall of Fame, 8pm

Saturday, September 14

Coffee and pastries, (Wood Lounge), 8:00am
Welcome, (Reid Hall), 8:30am
Jennifer Bodine, (Lily Reid Holt Memorial Chapel), 8:45am
Gil Bennett, 9:30am
Break, (Wood Lounge), 10:15am
Oren Helbok, 10:45am
Barre Fong, 11:30am
Lunch, (Calvin Durand Hall), 12:15pm
CRPA updates and Legacy Society, (Lily Reid Holt Memorial Chapel), 1:30pm
Break, (Wood Lounge), 2:30pm
Ben Bachman, 3:00pm
John Free, 3:45pm
Conclusion, 4:45pm
Reception, (Glen Rowan House), 5:00pm
Dinner, (Calvin Durand Hall), 7:00pm

Sunday, September 15

Coffee and pastries, (McCormick Lobby), 8:00am
Eric Williams, (McCormick Auditorium), 8:30am
Conference Docents, 9:15am
Break, 10:00am
Ron Perisho, 10:30am
Charlie Hunter, 11:30am
Conclusion, 12:15pm

Flatcars carrying plupwood stand on a siding at the sprawling West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company at Covington, Virginia, in 1960. Photograph by A. Aubrey Boudine.