Photographer captured life in Stillwater

Renowned Stillwater photographer John Runk once wrote: "My only wish is to leave something in Stillwater when I pass away which will 'live,' and will perpetuate for all time the history of this region."

It took 46 years, but Runk, who died in 1964, succeeded.

From 1947 to 1954, Runk took his movie camera most everywhere he went in the St. Croix River Valley. He captured events at the Stillwater Country Club, celebrations in Lowell and Pioneer parks, and the Marine Ferry shuttling passengers back and forth. He filmed rituals such as ice cutting on the St. Croix River, Loggers' baseball games and day-to-day activities such as young people jumping off diving boards and others strolling through Stillwater's downtown business district.

The Washington County Historical Society recently finished transferring 48 reels of Runk's 8-millimeter films into digital form, then took the "best of the best" clips to create a video called "An Ode to Stillwater: The John Runk Films." The premiere screening will take place at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Water Street Inn, 101 S. Water St.

"He loved Stillwater, and this is a scrapbook in film of his hometown," said Brent Peterson, executive director of the Washington County Historical Society. "It gives you the pictures of the past and insight into everyday life before Stillwater became a tourist mecca."

Sunday's screening will include a short documentary about the photographer, along with a montage of color and black-and-white footage set to narration and the soundtrack of treVeld.

Bonus tracks showcase some of Runk's most captivating work and important historical images. He captured the Minnesota State Fair, including the plane crash that killed teenage wing walker Kitty Middleton and her pilot. And he was in downtown Minneapolis the day trolleys stopped rolling down Hennepin Avenue in June 1954.

There also is footage of a Stillwater Loggers baseball game against St. Paul Park with home runs and a fight between players.

"There is so much good stuff," Peterson said.

In 2008, Runk's grandnephew found the film collection gathering dust in a basement and donated it to the Washington County Historical Society. The society then spent $2,700 to transfer it all to DVDs. This year it received a Legacy Fund grant from Minnesota Historical Society to produce "An Ode to Stillwater."

With the rediscovery of Runk's films, Peterson has dreams of forming a historic film library.

"We know there are other 8mm films out there," Peterson said. "People might have shots of the 1965 flood or 1920s Stillwater. We are hoping others might bring them forward."

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768