Album of 91 original studio and amateur gelatin silver photographs showing Scotland Bay Recreation Area, part of Naval Base Trinidad, and the city of Port of Spain

Stuk

Album of 91 original studio and amateur gelatin silver photographs showing Scotland Bay Recreation Area, part of Naval Base Trinidad, and the city of Port of Spain

• circa 1944-1945 (Vervaardig)

"A collection of studio and amateur photographs of the Scotland Bay Recreation Area, part of Naval Base Trinidad, and the nearby city of Port of Spain, compiled by LTJG Alex Wolf while he was stationed there from 1944 to Jun 1945. Wolf was a physical education teacher who lived in Chicago. After his promotion from ensign to lieutenant (junior grade), Wolf was the officer in charge (O-in-C) of Scotland Bay Recreation Area and had been for eighteen months when he left. Naval Base Trinidad, commissioned in 1941, was a U.S. Naval base constructed to support ships in the Atlantic theatre of WWII and defend shipping lanes to and from the Panama Canal from German U-boats. It was decommissioned in 1977.

Sixty photographs are of Scotland Bay Recreation Area, including the volleyball/badminton, basketball, tennis, and handball courts, the softball and baseball fields, and the swimming area with its cabanas, diving tower, and pier. There are also views of the Frank Knox Zoo, part of the recreation area, with snapshots of officers with snakes and a macaw. Other photographs include the picnic area, beer garden and canteen, boat dock, administrative building, Chief Petty Officers Clubhouse, and scenes at the Rainbow Canteen. Several photos show the crew members of USS Brooklyn and USS Guam during their shore leave participating in sports and picnics. Four photos are of Eleanor Roosevelt's tour of Scotland Bay Recreation Area while she was visiting Naval Base Trinidad in 1944. The newspaper clippings are likely from papers circulated locally or within the U.S. forces, with stories or photos of the recreation area. Several clippings mention or feature Wolf.

The latter half of the album contains views and snapshots from the city of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. They include Maracas Falls, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Queen's Park Hotel (demolished in 1996), Jama Masjid POS, Memorial Park, street markets, a school, a 'typical native hut,' and photographs of the locals. Ephemera includes three envelopes...addressed to Wolf; two records of extension of certificate for 'E.P.G. + Inter + Upper;' two Assignment to Teacher forms from 1936 and 1939, issued by the Chicago Board of Education; two Notice of Teacher Transfer forms from 1960 and 1962, issued by Chicago Public Schools; a card noting that Wolf 'successfully passed the Teachers of Elementary Schools Academic Examination' dated 1932; a report of exam marks for Teachers in High Schools certificates; a letter addressed to Coaching School students at the University of Illinois from the Delta Theta Epsilon fraternity; and two report cards from the first and second semesters of 1933-34 from the University of Illinois." --Description from The Wayfarer's Bookshop