Act of Valor #9 Anaconda, Montana 2012

The flag disposal drop-off at the American Legion post. I imagine it was designed with honor and dignity in mind, but seems to take on a whole different ironic meaning sited next to a dumpster.]]>

Act of Valor #8 Anaconda, Montana 2012

Not surprisingly (it was dinner time after all), the streets were a little more active at the taco fast food joint. This is another one that also fits the Patriot’s Dream theme, I love the sunburst behind the flag. I have to assume the placement of the flag there was no accident.]]>

Act of Valor #7 Anaconda, Montana 2012

A rare pedestrian on the streets. The lack of people in these photos of downtown Anaconda was not because I was trying to avoid having them in the shots, it was because there were very few people out and around while I was there. Few cars on the streets either. I found all that just a little odd since these shots were taken between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. I kept thinking Anaconda was like that western cliche: the town that forgot to die. But maybe it didn’t forget, it’s just spending a long time in it’s death throes.

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Act of Valor #6 Anaconda, Montana 2012

The little used parking lot of the Eagles Lodge.

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POTD: Act of Valor #5 Anaconda, Montana 2012

A tree grows in Brooklyn and a dandelion in Anaconda. I’ve never actually read the novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn but from reading summaries, it seems that the City of Brooklyn and the metaphorical Tree of Life (now considered and invasive species which inhabits vacant lots in New York City) that is central to the novel, might just have well been replaced by the town of Anaconda and it’s dandelion–although it makes for a less romantic literary vision. The book’s theme regarding the importance of tenacity and the balancing of idealism and pragmatism in dealing with tough economic times would seem applicable to Anaconda as well.

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Act of Valor #4 Anaconda, Montana 2012

A defunct casino with a busted toilet outside the back door and a long load of junk in the back of a pick-up bed trailer with a Santa Claus cap as it’s red flag–I can’t tell if this scene is poignant or just plain funny in an ironic sort of way.]]>

Act of Valor #3 Anaconda, Montana 2012

These blog photos really are too small to see the fine print very well (if at all) but the red sign next to the real estate sign says “bank owned.” I saw quite a number of these signs around town, an indication that trying to exist financially as a small business in Anaconda does indeed take an act of valor–or desperation I suppose. Is there any other choice when you have all your resources vested in a dying business? And what do you do when those resources are finally exhausted and you do have to turn it over to the bank.]]>

Act of Valor #2 Anaconda, Montana 2012

This one could have been included in my Patriot’s Dream series. There are other flag images in this Anaconda series as well, and there was no shortage of them in town to photograph. In times of stress, economic or otherwise, do people rely on their patriotism for comfort much the same way they do their religion?

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Act of Valor Anaconda, Montana 2012

There are still more images to go in the Measures of Anonymity collection from Denver but I’ve decided to pause that series for a while in favor of this one that I somehow ended up working on instead. This series is from the town of Anaconda, Montana. Anaconda was a mining town developed in 1883 around a smelter built to process the ore from the copper mines down the road in Butte. Originally it was to be named Copperopolis but perhaps strangely enough that name had already been taken, so it became Anaconda at the suggestion of the postmaster. The town thrived until the smelter was closed in 1980. Since then it has struggled economically to survive. The locals may object to the description, but it has a bit the proverbial “town that forgot to die” look about it. Besides being in color instead of black and white, this series is an interesting contrast to Measures of Anonymity. With a totally different look to the buildings and surroundings it presents another view of anonymity, solitude, and loneliness in an urban industrialized environment. Why the name Act of Valor? Because it perhaps takes an act of valor for a town and it’s people to try and stay viable when the economic rug is pulled out from under them–and also because Act of Valor was the name of the movie playing at the Washoe Theater the day I was there. (The title is on the marquee in the photo but it’s too small to read when published at this blog size.)]]>