‘Capturing Time’ exhibit showcases a lifetime of photography in Linn County

CEDAR RAPIDS — After ascending an unprotected 120-foot ladder on Mount Vernon’s water tower with 25 pounds of camera gear in the fall of 1983 — which was the highest point in the city at the time and slated for demolition — Bob Campagna returned to the ground to someone he was not expecting, the police chief.

Campagna, a lifelong photographer and former associate editor of the Mount Vernon Sun, and his friend Doug Hansen, an art professor at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, were arrested by Police Chief Guy Kuehl for criminal trespass. The event quickly became ingrained in the city’s history as even touring singer Dan Bern, a Mount Vernon native, described the event in his song, “The Young Councilman on the Porch.”

But Bern wasn’t the only one exercising freedom of expression.

“We had to go to magistrate court, and we have 75 people show up wearing these T-shirts as a protest,” Campagna said, while standing in the The History Center exhibit of his works. “Capturing Time: The Photography of Bob Campagna” is on view through Dec. 6 at The History Center in downtown Cedar Rapids.

A judge dropped the charges after determining Campagna had a right to be on the water tower, due to his membership on the city’s sewer and water commission.

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“It’s just one story out of many that’s in this exhibit, and this exhibit is seven stories out of 40-plus years photography,” Campagna said.

Those stories are: “A Ballet of Serendipity,” “Black Sheep Musical Legacy,” “Behind Bars,” “Fall’s Arresting Colors,” “Mount Vernon Bank Calendars,” “Spotlight on Mount Vernon,” and “St. Patrick’s School.”

“Bob has had a very varied career,” Tara Templeman, the center’s curator and collections manager, said. “He’s done a lot of different projects that don't necessarily seem like they have anything to do with each other. Except that that's where Bob’s interest lies. So we tried to pick a wide range of things to cover.”

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These stories showcase the connections Campagna developed over his years of documenting in Linn County, including bringing a ballerina to a pig farm.

The 1999 photo shows Jessica Sands, a then-freshman dance major at Texas Christian University, dancing in mud on her toes in front of Bill Young and his hogs. It’s the largest photo in the exhibit. Campagna had the opportunity to capture the moment because Young approached him and Sands in downtown Lisbon as they were attempting to get an “urban look” at Iowa.

“Then this guy, Bill, pulls up right up behind her, puts his dog on the hood of the truck and said he wanted a picture of his dog, the ballerina and him, and I didn't know who he was at all,” Campagna said. “He just drove up.”

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Young suggested they continue the shoot in front of his hog lot, where Campagna took the photo that is prominently displayed in the exhibit — and was Sands’ favorite.

Young’s favorite photo was similar, but it features his dog, Rascal, in addition to the hogs, Sands and himself. He chose to be buried with that photo when he died in 2020, according to Campagna.

The exhibit also invites visitors to tell their “own Bob story,” by writing about how they met Campagna, Templeman said.

“My history is so deep, because I’ve always stayed in touch with as many people as I can,” Campagna said recalling what his wife tells him about the people he has met.

Campagna also has taught 13,000 students in photography, some of whom have left notes in the exhibit, as well.

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