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Gordon Putnam's photos

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Gordon Putnam was the project engineer and a polished photographer. We have built this page out of a collection of black and white photos he took, adding our own brief commentary. Millie Morrow sent me the collection. Thanks, Millie. Click on any of the miniature photos to see it enlarged. Then press the "Back" button on your browser to return to this page.

The community center housed the clinic and provided educational and recreational facilities. Medical emergencies don't happen on a 9 to 5 schedule. Here Dr. McCandless interviews an anxious parent at night before beginning treatment.

The sympathetic and firm touch of R.N. Charlotte Brown helps the young man control his fears. Most of the babies brought to the "Well Baby Clinic" were really not that "well".

The "Women's Clinic" served a social and a medical purpose. Friends who wouldn't make the effort to visit each other's homes met here. Natividad Martir, a nurse's aide recruited from the community, provided support to the professional staff and extended her own learning as well.

The construction program gave the Guacio project the tool needed to affect the broader community outside of the immediate neighborhood. Here the first camp buildings are being developed. Construction workers were recruited and trained from the community and supplemented by volunteers.

Team sports were an essential part of the educational program for teenagers. Here, the team poses with Angel Olmo (left) and Jay Ewald, coach (with glasses). Adult literacy was key to providing members of the community with the ability to function in an increasingly formal society.

Recreation and education go hand in hand. During recess, students enjoy a swing around a pole. Kindergarten (not part of the public school program at the time) was the part of formal education that Anita Willig developed. For the most part, students traveled to schools in neighboring Las Marias. Later a school was built but was subsequently abandoned by the Education Department.

"Beisbol" is at least as popular in Puerto Rico as in the states, or so it seemed at the time. Raising hogs for food or for sale was natural for farmers in the community. Building them a modern sty so they can be controlled was an innovation.

The "zafra" or sugar-cane harvest was the main cash source for many farm families. Lasting for two to four months, it had to provide cash for a whole year. The technology employed then was definiitely "lo-tech", mostly wooden cars and oxen to pull them. Today, sugar harvesting is mechanized but the quality of crop is falling due to low investment.

Sugarcane was never very easy to grow or harvest on the hillsides of Guacio. Even the replacement of oxen by trucks didn't make it very profitable. Delicious fruit, like these mangos, grow wild. Although some candy is made from them, most are either eaten by passing children and animals or rot and feed the micro-life in the soil.

One of the small industries which has a long tradition is the making of charcoal. There are many fast growing species that are suitable so this activity doesn't really threaten high quality hardwoods. The Craft Shop featured articles made of bamboo and hardwoods. Angel Olmo was the silled artesan who made it possible during the service of several project engineers.

Women of the Guacio community banded together to create a sewing cooperative. Piece work was obtained from a Mayaguez shop and original designs sold in the craft shop were developed as the coop matured. Today, most homes have running water but it wasn't always so. Several trips to the spring were necessary to satisfy the demands of large families. Balancing a five gallon tin of water on your ead, as this girl did, is a skill that takes a lot of practice.

Using a bamboo pole to carry double the amount of water was the method used by boys and men. Living conditions in the urban slums were perhaps worse than in rural areas like Guacio. Here we see the view from Marina Neighborhood House in Mayagüez around 1950.

The typical "parcela" of land distributed by the government was enough for a small house and garden, but there wasn't enough land to support the family via farming. Cooking with firewood collected from around the house was common. Charcoal was too expensive for every day use.

Sunday afternoons found many people gathered in homes for informal hymn singing and fellowship. The outreach program of El Guacio included traditional Bible study lead by members of the staff. Here Lew Baker is shown with his young adult class.

The home visitation program of the clinic served both medical and outreach goals. Here Charlotte Brown heads up the trail and meets some children coming down. View of the Guacio project area from the opposite side of the Rio Grande de Añasco. At center left, the road which goes up the hill through the camp and conference area can be seen.

This bridge, destroyed in 1987 by Hurrican Georges, was a landmark that all volunteers will remember. Its replacement was built about 500 meters downstream. Away from the urban and rural homes, the public beaches like Luquillo, here seen around 1950, were enchanting locales frequented mostly by tourists and transplanted mainlanders. Private transportation to get to the beach was out of the reach of most Puerto Rican families. In addition, there was no tradition of using water for recreation.

	The community center housed the clinic and provided educational and recreational facilities.		Medical emergencies don't happen on a 9 to 5 schedule. Here Dr. McCandless interviews an anxious parent at night before beginning treatment.
	The sympathetic and firm touch of R.N. Charlotte Brown helps the young man control his fears.		Most of the babies brought to the "Well Baby Clinic" were really not that "well".
	The "Women's Clinic" served a social and a medical purpose. Friends who wouldn't make the effort to visit each other's homes met here.		Natividad Martir, a nurse's aide recruited from the community, provided support to the professional staff and extended her own learning as well.
	The construction program gave the Guacio project the tool needed to affect the broader community outside of the immediate neighborhood. Here the first camp buildings are being developed.		Construction workers were recruited and trained from the community and supplemented by volunteers.
	Team sports were an essential part of the educational program for teenagers. Here, the team poses with Angel Olmo (left) and Jay Ewald, coach (with glasses).		Adult literacy was key to providing members of the community with the ability to function in an increasingly formal society.
	Recreation and education go hand in hand. During recess, students enjoy a swing around a pole.		Kindergarten (not part of the public school program at the time) was the part of formal education that Anita Willig developed. For the most part, students traveled to schools in neighboring Las Marias. Later a school was built but was subsequently abandoned by the Education Department.
	"Beisbol" is at least as popular in Puerto Rico as in the states, or so it seemed at the time.		Raising hogs for food or for sale was natural for farmers in the community. Building them a modern sty so they can be controlled was an innovation.
	The "zafra" or sugar-cane harvest was the main cash source for many farm families. Lasting for two to four months, it had to provide cash for a whole year.		The technology employed then was definiitely "lo-tech", mostly wooden cars and oxen to pull them. Today, sugar harvesting is mechanized but the quality of crop is falling due to low investment.
	Sugarcane was never very easy to grow or harvest on the hillsides of Guacio. Even the replacement of oxen by trucks didn't make it very profitable.		Delicious fruit, like these mangos, grow wild. Although some candy is made from them, most are either eaten by passing children and animals or rot and feed the micro-life in the soil.
	One of the small industries which has a long tradition is the making of charcoal. There are many fast growing species that are suitable so this activity doesn't really threaten high quality hardwoods.		The Craft Shop featured articles made of bamboo and hardwoods. Angel Olmo was the silled artesan who made it possible during the service of several project engineers.
	Women of the Guacio community banded together to create a sewing cooperative. Piece work was obtained from a Mayaguez shop and original designs sold in the craft shop were developed as the coop matured.		Today, most homes have running water but it wasn't always so. Several trips to the spring were necessary to satisfy the demands of large families. Balancing a five gallon tin of water on your ead, as this girl did, is a skill that takes a lot of practice.
	Using a bamboo pole to carry double the amount of water was the method used by boys and men.		Living conditions in the urban slums were perhaps worse than in rural areas like Guacio. Here we see the view from Marina Neighborhood House in Mayagüez around 1950.
	The typical "parcela" of land distributed by the government was enough for a small house and garden, but there wasn't enough land to support the family via farming.		Cooking with firewood collected from around the house was common. Charcoal was too expensive for every day use.
	Sunday afternoons found many people gathered in homes for informal hymn singing and fellowship.		The outreach program of El Guacio included traditional Bible study lead by members of the staff. Here Lew Baker is shown with his young adult class.
	The home visitation program of the clinic served both medical and outreach goals. Here Charlotte Brown heads up the trail and meets some children coming down.		View of the Guacio project area from the opposite side of the Rio Grande de Añasco. At center left, the road which goes up the hill through the camp and conference area can be seen.
	This bridge, destroyed in 1987 by Hurrican Georges, was a landmark that all volunteers will remember. Its replacement was built about 500 meters downstream.		Away from the urban and rural homes, the public beaches like Luquillo, here seen around 1950, were enchanting locales frequented mostly by tourists and transplanted mainlanders. Private transportation to get to the beach was out of the reach of most Puerto Rican families. In addition, there was no tradition of using water for recreation.