Biographical Items

Newburgh Free Academy

I've always maintained that some of the best friends I have in my life are ones that I made in high school. That school was Newburgh Free Academy in Newburgh, New York. Actually, I've know a couple of these good friends since grammar school and even earlier than that.

Newburgh was, and still is, a mid-size city on the Hudson River about 60 miles north of New York City. Growing up there in the 1940's and 50's was a wonderful experience in retrospect. Even then we knew it was pretty good.

The NFA Class of 1955 has been very successful in having a reunion every five years. Our latest one was our 55th, in October 2010.  Needless to say, a great time was had by all.  Click on the following links for my photos of the two events.

Newburgh Free Academy 55th Reunion Icebreaker
Newburgh Free Academy 55th Reunion Lunch

The photo below is of Mary Torrens, Darwin, Jack Corwin and Joyce (Gillespie) Walker taken when we all were together for our 45th reunion. Mary Torrens was a favorite South Junior High School teacher.  She passed away at the age of 90 on June 1, 2005.  Here's her obituary.

 We also lost Joyce on January 28, 2009 after a long battle with cancer.

Jack is still as crazy as ever.  Check out Jack's main interest in life at www.sanitysingers.org.

Bill Norvell maintains a fantastic website about NFA and other items of interest about Newburgh.  Be sure to check out all aspects of this site.  Newburgh Free Academy Yearbooks.

At this point there are a number of members of the Class of 1955 registered at www.Classmates.com and on Facebook.  If you're not currently registered at one of these sites, please visit and join. That will give our reunion organizers other ways to keep in touch with you.

I hope all of these various web pages will help in many ways to bring about future class reunions.

                                 Australia and New Zealand

For all of my life I have wanted to go to Australia. That dream finally came true, and during April 2005, Jackie and I traveled around Australia and then went on to New Zealand for two weeks in May.

Our first stop was Sydney, where Lindsay Mar proved that bluegrass folks are the best...the world over. Click on this link to see a bluegrass jam, Australian style. Bluegrass and Traditional Country Music Society of Australia.

Click on this link for my Australia and New Zealand page, with links to photo galleries of what I saw there.

My trip to Australia has led to the discovery of the descendants of James Walker Davidson, Sr., who went to Australia from Scotland in the 1890's. He started out sweeping railway platforms and ended up the Commissioner of Railways in the state of Queensland.

This link will take you to the photographs of the Davidson Family Gathering, taken on Wednesday, April 6, 2005 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. I hope it will become an annual event.

Australian Davidson Gathering

                                                    Flying

Another of my interests has always been flying. I've tried never to miss an opportunity to go up in an airplane and over the years I've been in a few.

One of those opportunities came up in June 2004, when a B-17G Flying Fortress spent a couple of days at our county airport, commonly know as Bar Harbor Airport. It is the "Sentimental Journey" operated by the Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force.

If you ever have a chance, be sure to do this. What a ride! In the meantime you can see what it was like for me. Just click on this Sentimental Journey Flight link.

Clan Davidson Society

In 1998 I volunteered to be the Northeast Director and go to the various Highland Games and set up the Clan Davidson tent.

It was great fun, making a lot of new friends ... plus getting quite a few new members for the Clan Davidson Society.

In 2001 William Davis became Co-Director of the Northeast Region and now in 2004 he has become the Director of the Northeast Region. I will get to a Game occasionally, but Bill will host the Clan Davidson tent at a wide variety of games in New England and New York State.

Jackie and I hosted a 2009 Robert Burns Dinner this year. Click here to see a couple of photos of the event.

There's a lot of information about Clan Davidson Societies around the world in the following links. Be sure to visit all the various pages on all the sites.

http://www.clandavidsonusa.com

http://clandavidson.org.uk                                    http://clandavidson.org.au

Photography

I have been a commercial photographer all of my working life.  My specialty has always been interiors and interior products, first working for Mayo Studios in New York City and then my own company.

I have continued photography even after moving to Maine full-time in 1990.  In addition to interiors and interior products, I was also interested in photographing people in their environment.

Please click on my Commercial Photography link, at the top of this page, to see numerous examples of my work.

Please email me with any questions you may have.

Darwin K. Davidson
35 Plumb Point Road, Deer Isle, ME 04627
207-348-7767
e-mail: darwin@darwindavidson.com