Roger, the french host and one of the Harvest icons of the day, mingles with staff.

A cast of characters circling around a time and place can coalesce into a unit that lingers beyond the moment. The Harvest Restaurant, circa 1980, lives clearly in the memories of those customers who clustered around the smoky bar each night or partook of the unique dining experience. The chefs and sous chefs were part of an exploding Foodie scene in Boston and now lead restaurants themselves. The wait staff were artists, dancers, writers by day and a service team / tight friends at night. Thirtyfive years later, it is easy to bring to mind the three groups that became a happily dependent unit in a particular time and place.

While kelly green is not my color, the form fit marimekko vests, as worn by Harvest staff, seemed the height of fashion when I first saw them through teary eyes at a post break-up lunch in 1980. I envied the confident sophistication of the waitresses. I rushed to get an application and became a Harvest waitress, serving an obligatory year as barmaid before graduating to the rarified air of the "dining room." Slugging it out in the jammed bar or meeting the refined standards of the dining room sealed a bond among workers: the magic of the green vest.

In those two years, I photographed typical days as well as tasting events and staff parties, (none better than cruising around Boston Harbor to the tunes of Room Full of Blues.) It was not an assignment, just an impulse. Whether I was using the camera as a shield or simply to record the surrounding group, is moot and likely both. The photos amplify the memories. After thirty-five years and on the fortieth anniversary of the Harvest, it is a good time to share. Kudos to Jane and the late Ben Thompson.