Week Eight: "Photographic Memory"
Hello, reader! This week also yields a short update. Midterms are upon us, and I have been trying to balance digital exhibit updates with exams as we enter the halfway point of the Fall 2026 semester. This week, I was able to upload two new images to William Gladden Jr.’s collection space and complete their relevant metadata fields. These included a 1928 Photograph of St. Paul A.M.E. Church and a 1928 Photograph of M. Gladden Staple and Fancy Groceries. These two artifacts were pre-uploaded here on the Gladden Archive, so building their pages on STARS was easy. The photographs last belonged to William Gladden Jr. and were donated by his former caretaker, Mr. Tarence Brown. William Gladden Jr. frequently drew inspiration and information from these artifacts as a community historian and contributor to The Apopka Chief’s “Bits and Tips” column.
This week, I wanted to highlight St. Paul A.M.E. Church; it was the Gladden family church, after all! In fact, Marie Stapler Gladden even received a certificate of recognition from the church to acknowledge her positive influence in the Christian community in Apopka. St. Paul was initially established in the 1880s along the northwestern edge of Apopka by Black settlers. Around 1890, the congregation moved to Mead’s Bottom, where Michael Gladden Jr. and his family established their roots in Apopka around the year 1910. The 1928 photograph depicting the church was taken on September 16th, which was a Sunday. You can see churchgoers around the perimeter of the photograph, likely dressed in the best clothes they owned. This photograph was in connection with another 1928 photograph depicting baptism visitors at St. Paul A.M.E. Church in Apopka, who likely traveled in order to attend this special event. In the early 20th century, baptisms in the Black community served as communal spiritual gatherings for family and friends, often gathered alongside a river, pond, or stream to attend a full-immersion baptism. These unique photographs were a welcome addition to the Gladden Collection, which did not previously have any photographs depicting life and celebration at Black churches in the Apopka area.
Additionally, Dr. French shared existing scans from the Hungerford Yearbook collection. Initially, we thought the 1951 yearbook scan was of Ms. Boykin’s copy, but that did not end up being the case. Most interestingly, the scanned yearbook bears a message and signature from former principal and later community historian, Frank M. Otey. Joseph R. Gladden’s 1951 yearbook instead has a signature belonging to Marie Stapler Gladden. Speaking of Joseph, I was able to spot him in a freshman class photograph! Pictured here, he is in the back row of this photograph, fifth from the right side.
Next week, I hope to continue my work on the digital exhibit after the woes and weariness of midterms dissipate. I have a new batch of scans that were kindly digitized by STARS that I can’t wait to upload to the corresponding collection spaces! More to come next week, reader. See you then!
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