Photography of World War I vet Ray Weaver captured everyday life
Kalispell Police officers stand by a patrol car on First Avenue East and Third Street (adjacent to police station and water department) in this photo by Raymond "Ray" Weaver. Weaver's photos, which depicted everyday life in a midcentury American town, will be on display at the Northwest Montana History Museum in Kalispell through the winter months. (Photo by Ray Weaver)
Raymond “Ray” Weaver returned to Kalispell from World War I in 1919 with permanent lung damage from a mustard gas attack in the trenches of France.
On returning home, he picked up a camera and seemingly never put it down. Capturing photos of everyday life in a midcentury American town — swimmers at Woodland Park, shoppers bustling along Main Street, a downtown auto accident — Weaver’s sharp eye and strong sense of composition come through each image.
Weaver was born in 1892 and died in 1964.
A dozen of Weaver’s images will be on display through the winter months at the Northwest Montana History Museum, 124 Second Ave. E., Kalispell, thanks to Rand and Linda Robbin and museum volunteer Jane Renfrow.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
For more information visit nwmthistory.org or call 756-8381.