The Films of Arthur H. Virtue
Descriptions by Jini Virtue Errichetti
This clip (9150-52) is part of the Arthur H. Virtue collection. Arthur H. Virtue is the primary filmmaker in this collection. His daughter, Virginia Errichetti is the current custodian of the family films. This collection was conserved and digitally transferred through a grant awarded to Virginia Errichetti by the Al Larvick Conservation Fund in partnership with its sponsor Pro8mm. For more information about this collection, visit https://www.allarvickfund.org/films-of-arthur-h-virtue/
The mission of the Al Larvick Conservation Fund is to preserve historical and cultural heritage through conservation, education, and the public accessibility of American home & amateur analog audiovisual materials. For more information, visit allarvickfund.org. Please respect the creative commons licensing assigned to this collection.
The main family members captured in this collection are:
Father/Filmmaker: Arthur H Virtue 4/1/1914 - 12/31/1986
Wife/Mother: Virginia Florence Magowan 3/2/1918 - 7/23/2005
Daughter: Lois Jean Virtue
Son: Arthur Magowan Virtue
Nephew: James Albert Virtue
Son: Vance Charles Virtue
Niece: Wendy Martin Virtue
Daughter: Virginia (Jini) Lyn Virtue Errichetti
Others in this footage include Minnie (Wilimina) Leticia Hagen, Arthur’s mother-in-law, Minnie (Wilimina) Leticia Hagen and Martha Agnes Kennedy 1874-1960, Arthur’s mother. Additional family members include Arthur’s grandchildren, Vicki, David, Lynn, and Diane. Arthur’s hometown was Northfield, New Jersey, a small town not far from Atlantic City where he worked on the boardwalk.
Collection title: The Films of Arthur H. Virtue
Original format: Super 8 & 8mm film, color, black & white, silent.
Digital format: Footage captured at a standard definition format of 720 x 486 resolution.
Collection size: Approx. 8000ft
Circa: mid 1950s - mid 1980s
Credits
Filmmaker:
Arthur enjoyed “playing around with film and photography,” often shooting trick shots and animating objects and titles for his film. He built a darkroom in the cellar and would often experiment with double exposures and overlays. He also inadvertently became a historical filmmaker as he documented his time working in Atlantic City during the 30’s – 70’s and the many trips the family would take to New York City, Philadelphia, and other areas along the eastern seaboard. He built a frame to hold his Super 8 camera and would shoot miles of the highway as he drove.
Shotlist
These reels are undated so we will jumping around time a bit. (0:09) This shot looks like a trip to Lancaster County, PA. Some cows in the field from the car windows. There’s also an active steam train. (0:22) The family walks around the Strasburg Railroad which is still an attraction today (https://www.strasburgrailroad.com/). (0:38) Virginia and some of her children sit in front of a field. Jini looks no older than 4 so she estimates the year is probably 1962 or 1963. (0:49) Quick shot of the parked train. (0:54) The family walks toward the train. (1:03) Virginia waves from the back of the train. (1:11) The whole family poses on a train car. (1:37) Another shot of the parking lot and train. (1:41) Young Jini and her two brothers board the train and play around with the controls. (2:01) Shots of the countryside, horses, and cows from the side of the moving train. (2:32) Train passes a “Cherry Hill” station. Joni remarks that she lives in Cherry Hill (but in New Jersey). (3:00) We get a shot of the inside of the train car. (3:09) More countryside shots from the train including some Amish plowing their fields with horses. (3:57) Back at the station. (4:05) A sign says “Stevens Cog Locomotive 1825” with a description beneath (http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/collection/object_881.html). (4:10) Shot of a barn. (4:16) A sheep walks up to the camera. (4:22) A sign with a long letter (probably from the owners of the exhibit) about the exhibit’s objective. It’s difficult to read. (4:33) A shot of a large building marked “General Store.” (4:37) Grass parking lot. (4:42) Dashboard camera footage of the ride home through a small township.
(5:07) Lois hangs up laundry on a clothesline. We are at her apartment in Bergenfield, NJ, possibly 1964. (5:21) The younger kids play around on a makeshift playground in the yard. (5:45) The family is standing by the water. (5:50) Panning shot of the hillside by the water and the various boats that are on it. (6:43) Parking lot in front of a massive hill. (7:04) Large bridge and a city in the far distance. (7:34) The family appears to be touring a farm. (7:46) Ducks floating about in a pond. (8:01) A guinea pig in a large enclosure. (8:13) A little girl smiles and runs around. (8:22) The family is looking into an owl enclosure. (8:26) A donkey exhibit. (8:31) Another animal exhibit. (8:41) Some lounging llamas. (8:56) Some sort of deer exhibit. (9:00) An emu exhibit. (9:15) The family plays around in a large playground. It is full of families. (9:42) A kiddie train passes by (complete with a train crossing). (9:58) Jini and one of her brothers slide down the slide. (10:09) Shot of some tortoises in an enclosure. (10:18) Another quick shot of the slide. (10:20) Shots from the kiddie train as it goes around the playground and surrounding area.
(11:28) Shot of a commercial airline landing. (11:36) Panning shot of a still body of water full of sailboats. (11:56) Shots taken from a boat including a large cargo boat dragging a smaller boat behind it. (12:35) Shot of the glass bottom of the boat. Mostly likely Miami for Arthur and Virginia’s 25th anniversary trip in 1962. We can see some fish swimming beneath. (13:26) A city street. Someone stands in the middle of the road with an umbrella guiding traffic. (14:07) Another street with a large palm tree. (14:16) Virginia walking towards a large staircase. (14:40) Panoramic view of a tropical seaside town from a high vantage point. (16:12) Camera looks up at a large white tower. (16:26) View from the top of a large staircase. (16:34) Another plane parked in an airport ready for boarding. (16:39) View from the wing of the plane taking off.
(17:24) View from a hotel window of a swimming pool right by the ocean. Camera zooms on a group of people playing in the waves. (17:39) Shot of a street covered in palm trees. There’s a large Woolworth Co. store. (17:58) View of what looks like the outside of a shopping center. (18:03) A small tour tram drives by. (18:11) Virginia splashes in a fountain. (18:23) A clock and thermometer on the top of the Miami Beach Federal building (http://miamiheraldstore.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1503553&CategoryID=58648). (18:32) Shot of a busy Miami roadway. (18:43) Shot of a Miami shopping center. (18:53) View of the bay from a bus or car. (19:23) A tour group touring some sort of ruins full of stone structures (including a spinning stone door). (20:47) Virginia walking down a stone staircase towards the camera. (20:59) Virginia lodges on a stone shaped like a lounge chair.
(21:11) A sign for the Everglades National Park (https://www.nps.gov/ever/index.htm). (21:20) View from a bus. (21:26) Shot of egrets flying over the Everglades. (21:40) Back on the bus, we see more of the Everglades. (22:02) We are inside a large restaurant for a second. (22:14) Panning shot of the sea. (22:29) Camera zooms in on something but the footage is dark. (22:38) Fish swimming in the water. (22:44) Some sort of outpost or viewing area with elevated walkways. (23:03) Back on the bus, more landscape. (23:24) The bus is stopped on the side of the road and all the passengers are outside taking pictures. (23:29) More moving landscapes from the bus. (24:09) Ripples in a pond. (24:14) Tall blades of grass obscure an informational sign. (24:33) A bridge over a small pond. (24:59) Virginia stands on this bridge, looking at a sort of informational tablet. (25:05) A bird perched by a pond. (25:11) Virginia walks toward a rest area or station. (25:20) Shots of treetops.
(25:41) View from the bus on a busy road. (25:52) A large white house on the edge of a canal and other views from a boat. (26:12) A bridge over the water that says “41st St. Business District.” Somewhere in Miami, most likely. the boat passes under the low bridge. We can see the high rises and beach-side condos. (26:59) View from the bus as it departs.
Reviews
Subject: Strasburg Railroad; Hudson River along The Bronx and Upper Manhattan.
Two sequences in these home movies caught my attention. First, the opening 4:10 show the Strasburg Railroad of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Former PRR 4-4-0 No. 1223 is present. Research reveals this locomotive operated on the tourist line 1965-1989, but here it appears to be a static display. This latter condition would perhaps fit with the film's conservator (the filmmaker's daughter) estimate of 1962 or 1963 for the year. The coaches are done in a light-to-medium green with bright yellow for the lettering boards above the windows and on the trim work. Automobiles pictured certainly speek to this as being the 1960s. Perhaps someone who knows the history of and the various paint schemes used by the Strasburg Railroad over the years can confirm the timeframe. A trip along the line out to Paradise and back is included in the footage.
Second, from time stamp 5:45 to 7:33, the Hudson River is photographed from about what is known today as the Englewood Picnic Area in New Jersey. The camera pans across the river from the Upper Bronx through Spuyten Duyvil and Inwood Hill Park all the way down to the George Washington Bridge, with midtown Manhattan and its Empire State Building visible in the distance. Marine traffic is seen moving both north and south on the Hudson.
There are several other major sequences on this reel, but they are locations I can't identify beyond Miami, Florida. Included are a children's zoo and playground (complete with miniature train ride), what appears to be a major tourist destination somewhere in the Caribbean, and the aforementioned Southern Florida vacation hotspot.
