Camera Girl Exhibit Opens Window to 1913-1915 Marco Island

Someday Saloma Olds may be remembered in Marco history like island pioneers educator Tommie Barfield, entrepreneur Captain William “Bill” Collier or archeologist Frank Cushing, who discovered the Key Marco Cat. If she attains such stature, the stellar exhibitions by the Marco Island Historical Museum - culled from the 2003 donation of a treasure trove of photographs, diaries and letters from a teenaged Saloma Olds - will likely be the reason why.

The new exhibit at MIHM, Camera Girl, curated by museum manager Rebecca Mazeroski, focuses on the photography and diary entries of Saloma Olds, who between the ages of 14 and 15, completed two compelling diaries detailing life on Marco Island between 1913 and 1915. Mazeroski’s Camera Girl exhibition, free to the public, enjoyed a robust opening reception in the Sandlin Gallery on March 24 and continues through June 25.

“The big idea for this one was a teenage girl’s perspective of Marco Island from over 100 years ago,” Mazeroski said during the opening reception. “It wasn’t that difficult to curate because we have a wonderful collection. The Olds family donated hundreds of photos, diaries and manuscripts. We already use some of that in the Pioneer area of the museum. It was a matter of going through it and picking out different images and sourcing them with the diaries Saloma had written. I have to thank collections manager Heather Otis. She knows this collection forwards and backwards. So, when I was trying to figure things out, she was a phenomenal help to me in helping me write this story, or reading through my writing and asking, ‘Did you remember this?’”

Martha Olds Adams, a descendant of the Olds family, donated the diaries, letters, and photographs. The diaries have been described by Otis as the “stars of the collection."

Patricia Rutledge, CEO of the Marco Island Historical Society, is taken with the work of Saloma Olds. She’s also proud of the work being done at the museum.

 “I think what’s special about this is it’s a window into the life of Marco Island at a very different time,” Rutledge said. "But seen through the eyes of a 14-year-old girl. When you look at the images and you read the words that go along with it, you get a perspective that you could only have because of this exhibit at the Marco Island Historical Museum. We have over 300 photographs of Saloma’s in our collection. They’re really such a treasure. They’re special.”

Rutledge turns to a display case in the middle of the gallery. It contains one of her favorite stories from Saloma’s diaries. Saloma describes a beautiful Marco Island evening with the moon shining over the water.

"Let me read this final paragraph,” Rutledge said, "just for the heck of it.” Then Rutledge quotes from one of Saloma’s diaries. “She wrote, ‘Oh, last night in that beauty, I was really happy. Ah, I am rarely happy, only unhappy at times, but seldom, if ever, happy.’ Here is a 14-year-old girl talking about feeling happy or feeling sad,” Rutledge reflects. "We get to read those words today. And they come to life. That’s a voice from over a hundred years ago talking about the happiness or unhappiness of a 14-year-old girl on Marco Island.”

Rutledge is particularly drawn to a self-portrait Saloma took using a mirror. It’s the title portrait for the Camera Girl exhibition.

"I love the title photograph," Rutledge said enthusiastically. "Young people today think they invented selfies,” she said with a laugh. "Here you have Saloma in a selfie in the early 1900s. It’s a very special expression of why you have an Historical Society. Otherwise, this collection wouldn’t be cared for the way it is. It’s a great opportunity for people to see what life was like on Marco Island over 100 years ago.”

Mazeroski is also fond of Saloma’s self-portrait.

"One of my favorites is Saloma’s selfie,” Mazeroski said. "She took a mirror and went outside and took a picture of herself. We talked a lot about what was important to her. And her challenges. Because she developed almost all of this,” Mazeroski said as her arm sweeps across the gallery of photographs. "She had to get the chemicals, and the ice, and the photo paper. You see diary entries of her asking her papa to get ice from the store, or waiting months for chemicals or photo paper to come in.”

Saloma and her sisters were taught at home by their mother Mary. Both Mary and Louis were homeopathic physicians.

"There’s this great diary entry that we have about her mom, Dr. Mary Olds, who would teach the kids,” Mazeroski said. "There wasn’t much of a need for two doctors on an island of 200-300 people at the most. So, the mom, Mary, took care of the kids’ education and the doctoring in the family. Four days a week, for at least four hours a day, they were learning multiple languages: Hebrew, German, French, Latin, Greek. On top of that, they learned arithmetic, grammar, spelling, music, and current events. Saloma writes about the onset of World War I. She was very perceptive. It showed that their mom made sure they understood the world outside of Marco Island."

Mazeroski is thrilled with the early public reaction to the exhibit.

"It's just a wonderful exhibit,” she said. "People seem to really enjoy seeing how much Marco Island has changed in 100 and some years."