Family Records
About the Photographs
These photographs have been drawn from an ongoing series called Family Records which was begun in 1998 to document members of immediate and extended families of the photographer and his wife. The majority of the portrait subjects live in or near Akron, Ohio, former home to the country’s major rubber and tire producers including Goodyear, Goodrich, and Firestone. Doylestown, Barberton, and other more rural communities neighboring Akron serve as locations for many of these images along with Akron proper. The photographs generate dialogues between one another at a number of levels, some directly, as in lineage and interpersonal relation of mother to daughter, father to son, or brother to sister, and some at less specific and more universal places as well. Comment is made on time and aging, on moving from childhood to adulthood, on relations sustained or lost through the years, on masculinity and femininity, on sensuality and beauty seen not only in youth but in age, and on our valuing of ourselves and others not only because of our strengths but, perhaps even more so, by reason of our vulnerabilities.
Marjorie Angel in her back yard with hollyhocks, Akron OH, 1998
(l. to r.) Tina, Ashley, Lerrynn, and Stevie Hummel, mother + children, Norton OH, 1998
Karmal Dye with Tigger, dog of recently deceased son, Cuyahoga Falls OH, 1998
Rebecca Scarpitti with daughter Katy in their front yard, Akron OH, 1998
(l. to r.) Marc and Salvatore Vitone, father and son at Howard Street, Akron OH, 1999
Arathea and Gabriel Booth, mother and son in sunlight beneath a tree, Norton OH, 1999
Salvatore Vitone and Grace Falitico, brother and sister, Stow OH 1999
Lerrynn and Stevie Hummel, mother and son at pool, Norton OH, 2000
Beverly Lemmon with great granddaughter, Elizabeth Dunn, Norton OH, 2001
(l. to r.) Leroy and Keith Morlan, father and son clasping hands, Norton OH, 2002
(l. to r.) Marjorie Angel and Rebecca Barile, mother and daughter at Rebecca’s Akron OH, 2003
(l. to r.) Ashley Hummel and Laura Paradis at apartment pool, Barberton OH, 2003
Lerrynn Hummel and son, Paul Massey at grandmother’s apartment, where she’s temporarily staying, Barberton OH, 2004
Arathea Booth with children Elizabeth Dunn and Gabriel Booth, Ford Ave., Barberton OH, 2004
(l. to r.) Charlie Morlan and Gabe Booth with toy guns, Orrville OH, 2006
Dorothy Morrison and Bailey Hutchinson, grandmother and granddaughter playing in the Cuyahoga River, Akron OH, 2006
Domestic partners Vergil Bowman and Amber Sweazy with sunflowers, Doylestown OH, 2006
Lower family: Scott with daughter Samantha, and Heather with Brooke, in their side yard, Doylestown OH, 2006
Sisters Toni Wright, Karla Hummel, Sandra Vitone, and mother, Beverly Lemmon, Westview Mobile Home Park, Doylestown OH, 2007
Jessica Morlan and Tommy Fischer, girl and boyfriend, Doylestown OH, 2007
(l. to r.) Half-brothers Paul Massey and Stevie Hummel in parking lot behind aunt’s apartment, Doylestown OH, 2007
Dave Vitone sitting on mowers he has repaired for sale, corner of 3rd and Bailey Road, Cuyahoga Falls OH, 2007
Grace Falitico in her back yard with wheelbarrow and Rose o’ Sharon, Englewood Drive, Stow OH, 2007
Jessica Morlan and Tommy Fischer with their infant, Jordynn Fischer, Marshallville OH, 2008
Brooke Lower standing at edge of soybean field after bobbing for apples, Fulton Road, Marshallville OH, 2008
Arathea Booth seated on a cooler in yard smoking a cigarette, Marshallville OH, 2008
Grandmother, Sandra Vitone; mother, Arathea Booth; and granddaughter, Elizabeth Dunn, with pool and palm tree backdrop, Marshallville OH, 2009
Jessica Morlan and daughter, Jordynn Fischer, with sunflowers, Doylestown OH, 2009
Dave Vitone with farm equipment on land of his wife's family, Laubert Road, Atwater OH, 2009
Marjorie Angel in pink sweater with pink rose bush, Akron OH, 2009
Michelle Winterbotham with father, Duke Dye, in driveway, Cuyahoga Falls OH, 2010
Domestic partners Marc Vitone and Dorothy Morrison on road leading to their log cabin, Buckhannon WV, 2010
Lerrynn Hummel in purple top at side of Beverly and Jack Lemmon’s mobile home, Westview Trailer Park, Doylestown OH, 2011
Amy Scarpitti with infant daughter Ruby Blackledge on their back porch, Akron OH, 2012
Beverly and Jack Lemmon at their mobile home, Westview Trailer Park, Doylestown OH, 2013
David Vitone at his garage filled with possessions of wife, Lisa Bishop, who has recently moved out to live with her parents in north Texas, Akron OH, 2013
Steven Hummel with his children Noah and Maci, Mansfield OH, 2013
At her daughter’s wedding altar, Sandra Vitone stands exhausted from work catering the Dia de los Muertos themed ceremony and reception, Marshallville Ohio, 2014
Daughter, Arathea Booth, on her wedding day with father, Bill Booth, visiting from Norway, Marshallville Ohio, 2014
(l. to r.) Cierra Dusenberry, Elizabeth Dunn, Markail Pay, Kaitlin Tackett, and Zach Borton in swimwear, Marshallville OH, 2015
Father Leroy Morlan and son Keith, Goodrich Avenue, Barberton OH, 2016
Lerrynn Hummel happy in sunshine on a weekend in July, Canton OH, 2016
Shane Shankland with 1963 Chevy Nova SS, Marshallville OH, 2016
Jordynn Fischer with half-brother Jacob Slider at untended garden plot, Doylestown OH, 2016
Elaine Vitone holding son August, daughter Lena standing, and Dylan Vitone holding son Walker, Pittsburgh PA, 2017
Elizabeth Dunn with mock orange bush in flower, Marshallville OH, 2017
Gabe Booth with fallen beech tree, Johnson Woods, Marshallville OH, 2017
Sarah Cashner and Chuck Morlan at Chuck’s mobile home, Westview Mobile Home Park, Doylestown OH, 2017
Tim Urbach and Rebecca Angel with Tim’s 2013 FLHP Harley-Davidson, Lakemore OH, 2017
Brooke Lower with Remington 870 Express 12 gauge, Easton OH, 2017
Keith Morlan with son Chuck Morlan, Kenmore OH, 2017
Chuck and Sarah in swim attire in Shane's back yard, Marshallville OH, 2018
Sister and brother Michelle Dye and Greg Dye with their dogs, Cuyahoga Falls OH, 2018
Steven Hummel with his children Noah and Maci in back yard with large tree, Mansfield OH, 2018
Chuck and Sarah Morlan with son Jack in Coleen's yard, Doylestown OH, 2018
Son Chuck, grandson Jack, and grandfather Keith Morlan, Akron OH, 2019
Jessica Morlan and Andy Smith, domestic partners, Barberton OH, 2019
(l. to r.) Cousins Camirynn Wright and Jordynn Fischer at barbecue at Camirynn’s home, Barberton OH, 2019
Jordynn Fischer with half-brother Jacob Slider in Aunt Ashley's back yard, Barberton OH, 2019
(l. to r.) Twin brothers August and Walker Vitone in yard with stick pile, Pittsburgh PA, 2019
Andy Smith with dog Pete and hobby horse in Coleen's yard, Doylestown OH, 2020
Dave Vitone with sun and planet Earth at his garage, Akron OH, 2020
Sarah Morlan nursing baby daughter Jane in yard of their mobile home, Westview Mobile Home Park, Doylestown OH, 2020
Shane Shankland in his front yard with Hot Wheels themed 1996 Geo Tracker he brought back from junk, Marshallville OH, 2020
Dave Vitone smoking with his blue Mercury Grand Marquis S, Akron OH, 2021
Chuck and Sarah Morlan with their kids Jack and Jane, Akron OH, 2022
Rebecca Angel with husband Tim Urbach near their home, Lakemore OH, 2022
Steven Hummel with his children Noah and Maci visiting him after a severe injury, Akron OH, 2013
Jordynn Fischer with Spongebob Squarepants T-shirt at dog kennel, Doylestown OH, 2022
Shane Shankland with Hoax, one of many cats, and car receiving new paint, Marshallville OH, 2022
Denny Sweazy with junk truck in his yard next to barn, Doylestown OH, 2022
Dave Vitone visiting grave of his father, Salvatore, Holy Cross Cemetery, Akron OH, 2023
Daughter Jordynn Fischer with mother Jessica Morlan at geese-on-the-road sign near their home on Summit Lake, Akron OH, 2023
(l. to r.) Cousins Ruby Blackledge and Sophia Andrews at aunt's pool, Hudson OH, 2023
Dylan Vitone with children (l. to r.) Lena, August, and Walker out to get spotted lanternflies, Pittsburgh PA, 2023
Jordynn Fischer with half-brother Jacob Slider in the yard of their home on Summit Lake, Akron OH, 2024
Chuck Morlan with dad, Keith, and kids Jack and Jane at Keith's front door, Kenmore OH, 2024
Andy Smith with his cani corsi, near Summit Lake, Akron OH, 2024
Jimmy Dunn, heart transplant recipient with target throwing knives, Rittman OH, 2024
Couple Andy Smith and Jessica Morlan, Kenmore OH, 2025
Keith Morlan alone in his back yard, Kenmore OH, 2025
Dave Vitone sitting alone in lot he maintains next to his home, Akron OH, 2025
Jordynn Fischer at large tree with colorful dress and purple hair, Summit Lake, Akron OH, 2025
(l. to r.) Twin brothers Walker and August Vitone in their front yard, Pittsburgh PA, 2025