PORT TOWNSEND — Some attendees at the 12th Port Townsend Family Portrait on Sunday remember the first event in 1985, celebrating the national trend that began one block away from the current locale.
“I know we were the first, there is no doubt,” said David Kayley, under whose watch as the first director of the Port Townsend Main Street Program that event took place at Taylor and Washington streets in front of the Silverwater Cafe.
“Once we did it, we alerted the National Trust for Historic Places and the idea caught on. Now they pop up all over the place.”
Neither Kayley nor current Main Street Executive Director Mari Mullen can estimate how many towns sponsor community portraits, while maintaining that such an event is part of small-town life throughout the country.
“It’s a great way to celebrate the small-town concept,” Mullen said.
“Everyone can wrap their mind around it because it celebrates your heritage, which in Port Townsend is our downtown buildings.”
Kayley said the first picture was meant to bring the town together.
“At the time, a lot of residents were feeling overwhelmed by all the new people moving to town, so we saw the family portrait as a way to get people involved with the downtown,” he said.
Residents are still overwhelmed by new arrivals, Kayley said, “but now they’re used to it.”
“It’s hard enough to take a family portrait with just four people, let alone 750,” said Printery Communications owner Mike Kenna, who has worked on every shot.
“But everyone is showing up. It’s a rewarding thing to do and it shows the wonderful fabric of Port Townsend.”
Despite a weekend of wind, rain and power outages, Sunday’s portrait drew a number equivalent to 8 percent of the town’s population.
Printery Communications employee Jayde Lawson counted 752 people, seven dogs and a sea gull in this year’s picture, which was not the largest crowd but more than what Mullen expected.
The city of Port Townsend reports 9,355 residents, although there was no guarantee that everyone in the picture lives in town, as anyone who happened to be in the neighborhood could drop in.
Participating out-of-towners included a resident of Switzerland as well as Kayley, who traveled to Port Townsend from Pennsylvania specifically to appear in the picture.
Participants were instructed to arrive at 4:45 p.m. with the picture scheduled for 5 p.m., but it was taken a few minutes early.
This shut out Port Townsend resident Ray Grier, who said he was in almost every past portrait.
“Somebody messed up the time. The posters said 5 p.m. and they did it early,” he said, adding that he wasn’t that disappointed.
“That’s just life in Port Townsend.”
Also shut out was City Manager David Timmons, who has held his job since 1999 but has yet to appear in the portrait.
“We do this very quickly,” Kenna said.
“You do not want to use Port Townsend time because we shoot it right on the button.” The shot was expected to take place at 5 p.m.
The first family portrait was taken in 1985, with others in 1986, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2013.
They usually correspond with a project or event. This year was to commemorate Main Street’s 30th anniversary while in past years, the new ferry, the Adventuress’ centennial and the construction of the new city hall were celebrated.
All but two have taken place downtown aside from the Jefferson County Courthouse in 2000 and the Uptown Historic District in 2003.
After a test shot last month, photographer David Conklin took four exposures from atop a fire crane and immediately shipped the best one to Kenna, who printed the posters that were on sale at 2 p.m. Monday.
Improving technology has streamlined the process, Conklin said, as digital photography quality today matches that of film when that wasn’t always the case.
Digital also allows color balancing and compensating for lighting, which was necessary on Sunday due to the unpredictable weather.
About 300 posters were printed and are now available for $10 at the Printery, 631 Tyler St.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
