New Exhibit: The Photographs of Luke Hoffman, University Student

Image of a young man airbrushing geometric patterns on a canvas. Text reads: The Photography of Luke Hoffman (University students being university students in the 1910s)

During the 1910s, Luke Hoffman was an Ottawa University student pursuing a degree in science and a passion for photography. His photographs capture all aspects of university life between about 1913 and 1917. The Franklin County Historical Society’s new exhibit, The Photographs of Luke Hoffman, University Student, features 23 of Hoffman’s photos. Born in Illinois, Hoffman was the youngest child of German immigrant parents. He moved to Ottawa to attend Ottawa University Academy (a high school program) and Ottawa University. Hoffman was a skilled airbrush artist and graphic designer, and…

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November 1: W.H. “Dad” Martin, Photographer, Ottawa, Kansas (online program)

Man and woman sit in an early 1900s automobile. Gigantic eggs fill the back seat and a large potato is strapped to the back. Two children hang from the side.

W.H. “Dad” Martin, Photographer, Ottawa, Kansas presented by Morgan Williams Tuesday, November 1, 2022, 7 p.m. Online via Zoom of Facebook Live The life and times of W. H. “Dad” Martin as a photographer, world’s champion creator and publisher of exaggeration photo postcards, highway sign manufacturer, and philanthropist in Ottawa, Kansas. Martin from 1908-1910 created over 60 exaggerated photographic images showing farming, fishing and hunting in Franklin County, Kansas. He produced, through his Martin Post Card Company, more that 8 million real photo postcards in Ottawa, Kansas. The program will…

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New exhibit highlights teen’s photos of 1950s Franklin County

A black-and-white image shows a teen boy standing with a camera on a tripod, photographing a sun setting over a body of water. The exhibit title Through a Teen's Lens: The Photography of Jack Bremer appears in the upper right-hand corner.

Through a Teen’s Lens: The Photography of Jack Bremer Now through March 2022 at the Old Depot Museum Before Jack Bremer found his calling as a United Methodist minister and social activist, he was a teenager with a camera. The Old Depot Museum’s newest exhibit, “Through a Teen’s Lens: The Photography of Jack Bremer,” showcases 50 photographs Bremer captured during the early 1950s. The exhibit will be on display through March 2022. Bremer’s photographs caught the attention of the Franklin County Historical Society in June of 2020, when his daughter,…

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