Being the youngest of three brothers, I almost never had anything other than hand-me-downs, which may be why my all-time favorite possession was a Kodak Brownie Holiday camera, which first caught my eye in the window of Barney’s Photo Shop in Price, Utah. The entire outfit, including a flash gun and half a dozen flash bulbs, was priced at ten dollars. Also in the window was a sign advertising EASY TERMS. The following day, I parked my hand-me-down Schwinn, strode into Barney’s Photo Shop and asked the proprietor if he give me easy terms on that ten-dollar Brownie in the window.
With a straight face, Barney DeVietti asked what sort of easy terms I had in mind.
“I could pay you two dollars down and two dollars a month,” I said.
“Sold,” said Barney, and handed me my first camera. No need to put it on layaway; Barney knew who I was and where I lived and–in the unlikely chance I were to welsh on the deal–well, he didn’t worry about it. I mean, he was an Italian from Helper, where a man’s word is his bond. In the years that followed, I would buy more expensive cameras from Barney, all on monthly installments. As for interest, Barney never charged me interest. Instead, he sparked it.
Today I have dozens of cameras, but I don’t have that Brownie. Methinks it may have found its was into Helper’s Railroad & Mining Museum, but I’m not sure if the one in their collection is, or was, mine. What I do have is a Christmas tree ornament to remind me of those long ago days, and of a wonderful man who for some reason didn’t break into laughter when a young kid walked into his store and offered to buy a ten-dollar camera on time.
Happy Holidays, Barney, wherever you are!
