Silverdale in a blink — 5,000 times

For Silverdale resident Burton Boyd taking pictures is more than just pointing and shooting. It’s a hobby he’s never thrown away – literally.

Boyd received his first camera, an Argus C-3, in 1957. A few years later he got a better focal point and shutter camera. He has since taken and kept approximately 5,000 photographs of Silverdale and other areas.

“I don’t know what prompted me to do it, other than having a camera and liking to take pictures,” Boyd said.

Boyd used to drive around, pulling off to the side of the road anytime he wanted to take a picture. He said things such as scenic spots and having a record of where he and his wife, Doris, lived attracted him to pull out his camera.

Boyd has myriad pictures of the Silverdale area, including some of the old Schneebeck Mill, pictures of Silverdale Way from 1978 to 1985 and photos of Silverdale State Bank.

Boyd keeps most of the pictures stored in the basement of his home on Olson Road off Bucklin Hill Road. Many of them are on slides and are kept in neat carrying cases.

“I never throw anything away,” Boyd said. “Much to my wife’s disappointment.”

Boyd said he used Kodachrome film by Kodak to take his slides. He would order 10 to 20 rolls at a time through mailers and then send each roll of 36 to Kodak to be developed. Boyd said he hasn’t taken very many slides in the last few years.

Boyd moved to Silverdale in 1960, but he has lived in Washington for most of his life. He was born in Wenatchee and moved to Keyport in 1937 where he graduated from North Kitsap High School and began an apprenticeship at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in 1942.

In 1944, Boyd was drafted into the U.S. Army and sent overseas to Europe to fight in World War II. He was assigned to the 707th Tank Battalion. He remained in Europe for a year and a half until the war ended.

When Boyd returned from Europe he decided to attend Olympic College the first year it opened in 1946. Boyd eventually received his master’s degree in psychology from the University of Oregon.

Boyd then returned to Keyport as an industrial engineering technician. He retired from the base in 1980.

The Kitsap County Historical Society and Museum in downtown Bremerton, recently asked Boyd to show his photographs at their next meeting in August. Boyd said this will be the first time his pictures will be shown in a museum.

Among his pictures of Silverdale, Boyd has many others. He has taken pictures of the many places he and his wife have traveled, including Washington, D.C., Niagara Falls, Gettysburg and Yosemite National Park.

He also took pictures of his family as they were growing up.

Boyd said taking pictures was always just a hobby for him.

“It was just fun to do. I see something, if it attracts my attention, I try taking a picture of it,” he said. “I just take a lot of pictures.”

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