INDEX to "Fast Forward," the DVD of Foster family archival films from the 1920s to the 1950s.
NOTE: You might want to make a hardcopy printout of this list for easy reference or, alternatively, use the search function on your computer to search for a last name.
Version 1.0 Date: September 16, 2006
Last person to enter information in this draft: Roger Warner
Updates should be available on the website, www.chwfoster.com
The DVD was sent out to all who made donations last year - Please use the "CONTACT US" button above if you need additional copies of the "FastForward" DVD.
This index serves overall viewing and identification purposes for the Foster descendants' film project and is MEANT TO BE UPDATED by many individuals, as no single person has all the information. Please contribute information if you can, by contacting the website.
Notes:
1) The numbering system (001, 002, 003, etc.) is by scenes as well as by individual shots. Some scenes have shots from different angles of the same situations, whereas others may only consist of a single brief shot (such as 001, of the blimp).
2) We put as many scenes on here as would fit on the DVD. A few scenes that are listed here do not appear on the DVD because they were very long and of not much interest, such as a survey of fallen trees and other damage from the hurricane of 1938 at Charles River, and also a few very dark underexposed interior scenes where little is visible.
3) The order of these scenes comes directly from their order on reels of old family film that were recently rediscovered and digitized. This means, unfortunately, that they are not in chronological order, nor are they grouped by useful topics, such as sailing, or Thanksgivings at Ship's Cabin, or grouped by individuals or last names. It would be very helpful if somebody who is good at spreadsheets could create one to help people who want to find their grandparents (or whomever) quickly and easily.
4) The main two locations for these family home movies were "Charles River," which was C.H.W. Foster's large house overlooking the Charles River in what is now Needham, Massachusetts, to the west of Boston; and "Ship's Cabin," a combination vacation house and boarding house built and owned by C.H.W. Foster on the waterfront of Marblehead, Massachusetts, and later sold to the Boston Yacht Club, which makes its headquarters there. There are also a large number of dory-rowing scenes and sailing scenes, most of which are also in Marblehead.
The scenes:
001_blimp
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002_tennis
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003_sailing
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004_CathTappan_LaunchBoat
Who: Cathy Tappan
What: Launching a small boat
When:
Where: Marblehead, but possibly not Ship's Cabin
Comments
005_picnic_Marblehead
Who: Hilda Foster, the grownup, is wearing a black armband on her left arm - possibly just after the death of her mother? The children are probably Cathie Tappan (the tallest), plus Marian, Edith, and Frank Farwell.
What: a picnic
When:
Where: A rocky beach in Marblehead
Comments: Identifications by Hilda Sizer Warner
006_AuntSueFoster_Marbhead
Who: Aunt Sue Foster, CHWF's unmarried sister; Didi Farwell in saddleshoes; woman in white not yet identified
What: An arrival by car
When:
Where: Marblehead
Comments: Aunt Sue Foster lived in Washington D.C. at the Mayflower Hotel, and here apparently is arriving for a summer visit to Ship's Cabin, in Marblehead, Massachusetts. She is being greeted by Didi Farwell, in saddleshoes. Woman in center in white not yet identified.
007_SizerGirls1_CathyTappan2
Who: Alice, Cally, Hilda, and Mary Sizer, plus Cathie Tappan, the tallest
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008_SizerGirls_CathyTappan1
Who: Alice, Cally, Hilda, and Mary Sizer, plus Cathie Tappan, the tallest
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009_AdamFoster1
Who: Rockwood "Adam" Foster
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010_AdamFoster2_parents
Who: Rockwood "Adam" Foster, a grandson of CHWF, and Adam's parents
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011_AdamFoster3
Who: Rockwood "Adam" Foster
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012_AdamFoster4_father_dog
Who: Rockwood "Adam" Foster and his father Reginald
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013_AdamFoster5_KidsParty
Who: Rockwood "Adam" Foster and friends
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Where: Charles River
Comments: At end of the scene, Reginald Foster is shown with a top-and-string game called "Diablo," which was popular at the time.
014_ArrivingCharlesR_c1927
Who: For a guess, the Tappans, Sizers, and Farwells, with the baby in various scenes probably being Fan Farwell
What: Arrival scene
When: Probably 1927 or1928; possibly for a Christmas holiday (wreath seen against window in next scene)
Where: Charles River house
Comments
015_Boxing_CharlesR
Who: Adult is Frank Farwell? Boy is _?
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016_FosterClan_ShipsCabin
Who: CHWF, plus Tappans, Sizers, Farwells, and possibly Carl Foster
What: On the deck at Ship's Cabin
When: possibly 11927 or 1928?
Where: Marblehead
Comments: This scene was shot several times over, sometimes with a procession by age, a typical theme in Hilda Foster's home movies. Sequence of film scenes and similarity of crowd suggests a holiday gathering that started at Charles River and then moved to Marblehead.
017_CHWF_ShipsCabin
Who: C.H.W. Foster
What:
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Where: Ship's Cabin, Marblehead
Comments
018_SizersCathTappan_ball
Who: Cally Sizer, Frank Farwell, Cathie Tappan, Edith Farwell, and Marion Farwell, others
What: catching and throwing a ball by a garage or boathouse at Ship's Cabin
When:
Where: Marblehead
Comments
019_HildaSizer_babyFanFarwell
Who: Hilda Sizer (later Hilda Warner). Guessing the baby is Fan Farwell, rather than Hilda's younger sib lings Alice and Ted, who weren't born yet
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020_DidiAlFarwell_probably
Who: probably Al and Didi Farwell
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021_HildaFoster_ShipsCabin
Who: Hilda Chase Foster, whose 16 mm camera shot most of these home movies
What: on the deck at Ship's Cabin
When:
Where: Marblehead
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022_FosterClan_Playing_Catch
Who: a whole gang of Sizers, Farwells, and Tappans, and probably others. Theodore "Tubby" Sizer with the moustache.
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Where: Marblehead
Comments: Hilda Sizer Warner recalls that her father actually didn't like these gatherings a whole lot, as they were noisy with children, plus his father-in-law was a teetotaler.
023_RowingDory_ShipsCabin
Who: Many of the same people as in 022
What:
When: late 1920s
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Comments: Rowing a dory at Ship's Cabin was a family holiday tradition, and was a regular subject for Hilda Foster's home movies. The Memoirs of Hilda Chase Foster, p. 61 says:
"Years later when Father was living at the Ship's Cabin in Marblehead, we all went down and spent Christmas there. I think there were 323 stockings! We put up a spinnaker pole from one of his boats in front of the fireplace in the living room and huge the stockings on it. The weather was mild that Christmas. Johnny Giles, who looked after Father's boat, was the head of the life-saving organization, a real Marbleheader. He took the children and grandchildren out n the lifesaving boat which was moored at the Ship's Cabin. Carl took one oar and older children tried to manage the other oars, taking the rest for a little ride in Marblehead water Christmas Day. There were enough to fill the life boat!
024_ShipsCabin_onlookers
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025_VariousGirls_CharlesR
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026_baby_possFanFarwell
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027_prob_JaneBarbieWeld
Who: probably Jane (the blonde) and Barbie (the older girl) Weld
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028_MarySizer_tricycle
Who: Sizer and other girls, with Mary Sizer on the trike. The adult woman in the fashionable flapper outfit and high heels was probably Aunt Fran Tappan, a far glamorous dresser than her younger sister, the Sizer girls' mother Caroline Foster Sizer.
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029_CharlesR_panorama_BW (does not appear on the Fast Forward DVD, as 087 thru 089 are better)
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030_girls_leapfrog_CharlesR
Who: The Farwell kids, the four older Sizer sisters (Cally, Hilda, Lib and Mary), and Cathie Tappan playing leapfrog.
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Where: Charles River
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031_AlFarwell_Fanny_prob
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032_prob_BarbieLinzeeWeld
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033_CharlesR_int_meal_dark
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034_Rowing_Quay_ShipsCabin
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035_CHWF_dog_ShipsCabin
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036_CHWF_dog_ShipsCabin2
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037_Sailboat_launch_Mblhed
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038_golf_teeing_off
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039_sailing_sloop
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040_naval_vessel (not included on Fast Forward DVD)
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041_sailing_foggy_mblhead
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042_LinzeeBarbieWeld
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043a_young_old_ShipCab
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043b_youngest-2_oldest_ShipsCabin
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044_Autum_leaves_playing
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045_Rowing_dory_ShipsCab
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046_Welds_ShipsCabin
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047_ShipsCab_procession
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048_ShipsCab_procession_2
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049a_ShipCab_kids
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049b_ShipsCab_boat_misc.
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050a_BuildingTeepee_CharlesR
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050b_BabyCarriage_moreTeepee
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051_SizersLeavingCharRiv_cars
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052_OthersLeaving_CharlesRiv_cars
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053a_CostumePartyChaRiv_snow
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Comments: Dress-up parties were a Charles River tradition. The Sizer girls were part of this one.
053b_IntCharlRiv_andMoreLeaving
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054_sailing_kid_homemade_rig
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055_girl_beach
Who: Jane Weld?
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056_CharRiver_snow_playing
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057_sailboats_moored_gale_Mbhd
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058_more_Mblhead_gale
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059_sailboat_heeling_nice
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060_woman_feeding_bird
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061_rowing_dory_ShipsCabMblhd
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062_Dark_interior_holidaymeal
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063_TedSizer_Alice
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064_Sizer_processional_1930s
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065_AlFarwell_exiting
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066_CHWF_leaving
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067_HildaFoster_PaddleTennis
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068_PaddleTennis2
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069_WomanWaving
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070_ChaRiv_ext_snow_cars_skis
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071_TedSizer_DARK_interior
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072_Sizer_ModelA_car_CharRiv
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073_WinterChaRiver_panorama
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074_Sizers_BethanyCT_gardenparty1930s
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075a_Sizer_Bethany_panorama
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075b_TedSizer_crib
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076_CHWF_AdamHenry_1950s
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077_CharlesR_1940s
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078_CharlesR_1940s_2
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079_CharlesR_girl_1940s
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080_CharlesR_AdamArmy_group
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081_CharlesR_AdamArmy_group2
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082_CharlesR_KidsParty_1940s
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083_HenryFoster_teenager
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084_CharlesR_KidsParty_1940s_2
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085_mother_twogirls
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086_DARK_HildaFoster_unID_city
Who: Hilda Foster, in glamorous evening clothes
What:
When: guessing 1930s
Where: ?
Comments: Only a portion of this appears on the Fast Forward DVD, showing Hilda Foster. The rest of the scene is unfortunately too dark to include but shows long lines of 1930s cars on the streets of what could be either London or New York, difficult to tell.
087_Color_spring_CharlesR_panorama
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088_Color_spring_CharlesR_panorma2
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089_moreCOLORspring_CharlesR
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090_COLOR_CharlesR_HenryCroquet
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091_moreColorSpringCharlesR_HenryF
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092_AboardLuxuryYacht_unID
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093_BeachParty_1930s_unID_adults possibly England
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093_BeachParty_1930s_unID_adults
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096_unID_women_beach_possEngland
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097_HildaFoster_VermontColorsFall not included on Fast Forward DVD for reasons of space.
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Comments: Color shots of trees and distant hills in fall colors by Hilda Foster, who had a great appreciaton of natural landscapes
098_Unknown_Baby
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099_HildaFoster_dog
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