Before you throw away those old pictures

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

consider this.

I joined a FB group locally that encourages people to post historical/vintage photos of the county in which I live, and share what information they know about the photo.

People are posting photos from the 1800's through the 1950's of people , places, events in the county with what names and information they know. Some post with little information, but open it up for others to suggest what might be in the picture.

We talk here about cleaning out, decluttering, processing estates of relatives, and so many times people talk about throwing away old pictures because they have no idea who is in them or where they are etc.

Just a thought, but if you can be reasonably sure of the general location, like they are your grandparents pictures, and they lived in a certain area, try the local historical society and see if they are interested in taking them. Or see if there is a FB page a blog or something where you can post those pictures.

I'm guessing they don't want you blowing out your first birthday cake candles, but they might want that shot of a parade downtown, the picture of a big Victorian house with the family outside (even if you don't know who the family is, or where the house was located in that town).

They use these to complete histories and document time periods in their museums. They may have no use for 95% of what you bring them, but you could have that one gem that fills in a gap or answers a lot of questions about a place or an event that they have been searching for.

I think most people here would have the discretion to look at old photos and know what might be of interest and what wouldn't (A picture of my dad's pup when he was a little boy will mean nothing, unless it is in front of and showing a prominent intersection in town, some buildings with business names of them etc.).

I've been amazed on this FB page, how people will post something and so many others have information and stories to tell about what is in the photo.

Just a thought about keeping history alive.

Boehm Collector · ‎03-09-2010

@Mominohio .... a man in my Town started a FB page where people are posting old photos. It is so nice reminiscing and posting memories that these photos bring back.

LilacTree · ‎03-25-2012

@Mominohio

I have a very old somewhat tattered album I found after my father died. It has photos of his relatives from Italy taken in the late 1800s and early 1900s. I don't know who they are, but have always just kept it. It's in a box somewhere in storage, but since all the new DNA programs are available, we have discussed finding it to see if it will hold any family "secrets."

Unfortunately, my father never talked about them, the album was his aunt's. He was born a citizen of the U.S. in a Portland, ME hospital just as the boat landed from Italy. He never knew these folks, but might have been told their stories by his mother or aunt and just never thought to pass them on to us.

He was fluent in Italian because he grew up in an immigrant household. His mother never learned English. I have always wished he had taught us to speak Italian, but he never did. Italians (and Irish) were very discriminated against back in those days, and that may have been why. It's sad, in a way.

Formerly Ford1224
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Elie Wiesel 1986

goldensrbest · ‎03-10-2010

I have a old photo album,that belonged to my grandfathers sister, i knew very few people in there ,many of his sisters and brothers died at a young age of tb, it is falling apart,don't know what to do with it, my son has no interest in it.

When you lose some one you L~O~V~E, that Memory of them, becomes a TREASURE.

CelticCrafter · ‎03-09-2010

After my parents died, there were boxes of old photos to go through.

I would say, 90% of them weren't dated or named.

I went through them, did the best I could to identify who was in them and sent them off to the rightful owners to do what they wanted to do with them.

If no one was able to identify who it was when I posted them on line, I threw them out. No sense in keeping pictures of people I didn't know or anyone else didn't know only to have my daughter throw them out.

RedTop · ‎09-01-2010

Yes, to donating old pictures and albums to your local historical society!

Our local group has a large reference library and is contacted daily by families trying to find connections. Many of their donated photos are unidentified other than by last name, but they are still considered a very valuable resource.

Boehm Collector · ‎03-09-2010

I have several boxes of old photos I took from my Mom's house after she passed away. Many were taken in Italy before she came to this country. I have not gone through all of them yet. Some people I recognize but most I do not. Wish I had my Mom was here to tell me who they are.

TheMemphisVette · ‎02-01-2015

no doubt that so many historical photos have been trashed.

that box just took up so much room and ugliness and clutter in some minimalist homes.

as well as current trend is on now now now with no value in past things.

so sad.

~~today may be my last.....i choose JOY!~~

Snowpuppy · ‎03-09-2010

My father's sister passed about a year ago. She was in her '90's. I felt a pang of guilt for never knowing her, never met her. Then I realized after my parents split up, she was the adult. She had decades to send a Christmas card to us but never did. A card and a stamp were too much bother.

Why obsess about old photos that hold memories for someone else? They chose never to reach out to you even tho they had decades to make a drive across town to make your acquaintence.

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

@Snowpuppy wrote:
My father's sister passed about a year ago. She was in her '90's. I felt a pang of guilt for never knowing her, never met her. Then I realized after my parents split up, she was the adult. She had decades to send a Christmas card to us but never did. A card and a stamp were too much bother.

Why obsess about old photos that hold memories for someone else? They chose never to reach out to you even tho they had decades to make a drive across town to make your acquaintence.

It isn't about your lack of feeling or caring to know about people that didn't make connections with you or hurt you (and sorry about that, I have had similar experience with older family members, and how sad they didn't make some effort to connect), but about helping preserve history.

I know not everyone is going to be able to even come up with a good guess as to where the pictures they come across might be from, but many people are cleaning out homes of loved ones that have passed, and know they lived in the area all their lives, or know that even though they are cleaning out a condo in Florida, the family goes back for generations to a certain country in PA.

If they could take a few minutes to search for a local historical society where they think the photos may document or a FB page or blog that some of them could be posted on, it just makes more sense that trashing them.

We seem so concerned with the environment, charity, helping others when disposing of things today, I simply suggest that those photos, before being burned or trashed might provide local historians with what they would consider a treasure trove of information and documentation. They don't have to be labeled or anything, Many places will sort through them and glean what they know to be of value to them and their work of documenting local histories.