Rural Perspective
A jokester cameraman captured the strength of Maine's agricultural movement during the 1970s.
By Joshua F. Moore
There is something about the Maine air that makes people here so strong. That's the message that an unknown photographer was trying to convey when he posed three young brothers in a Waldo County field back in September 1978. By arranging the brothers from smallest to largest - four-year-old Christopher Verrill appears at left, with Scott, 6, in the middle, and James Verrill, Jr., 9, at far right - the cameraman has accentuated his perspective of three enormous rolls of hay. Other subtle touches also contribute to the effect: from right to left, each shirtless boy leans progressively harder into the bales, leading the viewer into the image. And while the two lads at right wear dungarees, the boy farthest to the left is dressed in shorts - another tweak that draws attention to him and his oversized bundle.
The bundles, of course, are the one detail that gives away the photographer's secret. Created earlier in the week by rolling the hay directly on the ground like a snowball, the bales appear to be nine or ten feet in diameter - ideal for illustrating perspective, but far too large to move even by tractor (by comparison, the largest bales made today are around eight feet in diameter and can weigh more than two tons). This system wastes a lot of hay, as shown by the stalks wrapped around the legs of the boy at center, and results in a loose, irregular roll (note the rough surface and jumbled spiral of the bale at left). In addition, such massive rolls have a tendency to topple over and break open, increasing the risk that rainwater will soak into and ruin the entire bale. Modern chamber-style balers, in contrast, create a smooth package that can easily be moved by trailer or pickup truck and shrink-wrapped in white plastic.
The joke behind this remarkable photograph, of course, is that these young men weren't the ones who possessed superhuman strength, but rather the farmers who created their props and who continue to work Maine's rural landscape. Who knows - perhaps there really is something invigorating about the air here.
