OGRE’S HISTORY IN JĀNIS MOZULIS’ PHOTOGRAPHS. 1. PART
A vast collection of photo negatives by former journalist, photographer, editor, and publisher Jānis Mozulis was donated to the museum by his widow, Dzintra Mozule, an Ogre resident who passed away in 2014. Most of the photographs were taken in the 1970s century 70. — a period when Jānis Mozulis worked as a correspondent for […]
A vast collection of photo negatives by former journalist, photographer, editor, and publisher Jānis Mozulis was donated to the museum by his widow, Dzintra Mozule, an Ogre resident who passed away in 2014.
Most of the photographs were taken in the 1970s century 70. — a period when Jānis Mozulis worked as a correspondent for the Ogre district newspaper “Padomju Ceļš” — and reflect an entire era in Ogre’s history.
The museum has acquired over 1000 photo negatives depicting the most significant events in the Ogre district in the 1970s — including social events, competitions, dances, building inauguration ceremonies, as well as various places and structures. This donation from Dzintra Mozule is a significant addition to the collection’s photographic holdings.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the photo films were scanned and archived for electronic preservation. A small portion of the photographic material was displayed in the exhibition “Ogre and its People”.
To provide insight into this rich material, we plan to publish several photo series.
The photo series begins with an exhibition-sale organized by the Ogre Consumer Societies’ Union and the Ogre Trade Center, dedicated to International Women’s Year, and held for six days at the Ogre Sports Hall in September 1975.
“This is not the first time the district’s cooperators have organized such an event. There have been many exhibition-sales, aiming both to introduce residents to various products from industrial and public catering enterprises and to better satisfy their needs. Visitors could get acquainted with the latest fashion trends and evaluate color combinations.” [“Padomju Ceļš”]
The gallery also features photographs taken at the Ogre bus station on November 20, 1975. At a social event, bus drivers Pēteris Lazdāns and Teodors Celmiņš from Ogre’s 10th Motor Transport Enterprise were honored for driving 1 million km with a bus without major repairs.
“Upon returning from their regular route, the ‘old’ bus and drivers T. Celmiņš and P. Lazdāns, who had been driving it in shifts for eight years, were greeted at the decorated Ogre bus station, to the sound of music, by representatives of the motor transport enterprise’s administration, public organizations, colleagues, friends, acquaintances, and passengers. A solemn rally took place. The honorees received commemorative ribbons, valuable prizes, bouquets of flowers, acknowledgments, and wishes to continue working in the same manner, preserving the equipment and serving passengers courteously.” [“Padomju Ceļš”]
1975. On October 2, 1975, a zonal competition for telephone and postal operators took place, in which telephone and postal operators from Stučka (now Aizkraukle), Ogre, Riga district, and Jūrmala city participated.
Meanwhile, the cross-country running event, visible in the photographs at the end of the gallery, took place on October 4, 1975, by the old bed of the Ogre River, also known as Frog Pond, and was attended by employees of the Ogre District Consumer Societies’ Union.
“OGRE KANGARI” HIKING TRAIL
We invite you to explore the hiking trail to better discover the hills of Ogre. View the photo gallery and read the story on the museum's website or Facebook page. By looking at historical images, you can compare how the city has changed over time. We have marked the route in the "BalticMaps" map browser. The “GPX” file is convenient to use with the LVM GEO mobile app. The total length of the hiking trail marked on the map is 14 kilometers (7 kilometers in Pārogre and 7 kilometers in Ogre center and Jaunogre). The hiking trail winds through both the urban part of the city (with asphalt, cobblestone, and gravel surfaces) and green areas (park paths and pedestrian-trodden forest trails without special amenities).
