Joel Dinda's photos with the keyword: dad

My dad, Roger Dinda, looking across the dunes at Lake Michigan. What dunes? Probably Warren Dunes State Park, down by Indiana, but it could be Sleeping Bear. Or somewhere else; there's really no shortage of possibilities. This picture was scanned from a box labelled "bad slides"--several of which turned out to be recoverable, so you may well see those. Taken in the late 1960s with my Brownie Starmite II--I'm absolutely certain of that part, because that was the only camera any of us used for shooting square slides. Severely photoshopped, including an extreme crop because I had everything askew. An extremely dirty slide, for some reason. I've cleaned things up as best I can.

My parents got married 58 years ago today. Seemed like a good excuse to share this mid-1980s photo. Mom always claimed the silly grins resulted from being slightly tipsy. See Preacher Debra's comments, below, for this photo's context....

My father, Roger Dinda, 'round about Christmas 1971. I was just back from 'Nam and playing with my camera. Not so long ago, folks whose political involvement was driven by faith tended to support liberal causes--equal rights, school integration, and ending the Vietnam war. Dad fit that profile. Those issues took over his life for a few years in the late sixties and early seventies and he was heavily involved in a non-partisan local political group called Action Now. Definitely a different time. Camera: Minolta SRT-101. Updated to a better scan 11/28/05

Back to where this sequence began: Martin Sernstinger caught my father (Roger Dinda), Fred Stone, and Sam Garrison waiting for a fare at Yellow's cabstand on Michigan Avenue, next to Michigan News, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It's 1955 and Michigan was still a two-way street. You have to assume the city wasn't paying these fellows a living wage. Last photo in the set, folks, unless I locate some others. Thanks for looking in.

Dad, posed with a feather duster(!) for Martin Sernstinger on KFD Engine 4, inside the old Central Fire Station in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Approximately 1955. Dad was a firefighter for most of the 1950s, then moved to another career. In a real sense, though, he was a firefighter for the rest of his life. His firefighter friends certainly treated him as one of the group, and several showed up for his funeral.

My father, Roger Dinda, newly promoted to Driver, and Kalamazoo Fire Department's truck 16, in 1955 or thereabouts. This was taken in front of Old Station 1, the Central Station at the time. 'Twas called "Ones" or "Central," as we discussed in the comments to one of my brothers' pix. The station's been gone since the sixties. Another Martin Sernstinger photo. I have a bunch of these, and have created a special set for 'em.