Treasured Photographs

Ginny’s family snaps photographs.

Lots of photographs.

At a gathering earlier this year, a group of shutterbugs on one side of the room took photos of a similar group on the other side of the room:

This addiction to photography spans generations.

Back in June, 2001, Ginny’s younger brother (she has a sister and five brothers) her younger brother Danny, a computer whiz, undertook the massive project of scanning in and captioning hundreds of these old family photographs.

This young couple, Ginny’s parents, lived in happy marriage for 65 years:

Ginny’s parents lived in the same house for over 50 years, taking photos the whole time.

Trunks of old photographs gather dust in the attic. Albums of photographs line the bookshelves. Cardboard boxes of photographs stack up in closets.

Can you see Ginny in this next one?

She’s the cute baby:

For six years Danny gathered these old photographs, sorted them, identified the subjects, and scanned them into his computer.

Yesterday, Tuesday, a packaged arrived in our mailbox. It contained a computer disc filled with the results of Danny’s labor — scores and scores and scores of old family photographs.

What a treasure!

Seeing such a record of family history helps me understand why those tedious-to-read long lists of genealogy and begats were so important to the biblical writers.

There are happy things to remember about our forbearers:

And sad things too; here’s Ginny’s Dad during World War II:

Notice his cigarette! This is the same guy who did not want me smoking within 30 yards of the house!

My own family does not have such a photo archive. In fact, once when my mother was pissed at me, she tore up every photo she had of me and ripped me out of any group photo she owned… I forget why she was so unhappy with me that particular time.

The disc Danny prepared chronicles his family from practically the time photography was invented, from baby Roy :

To the two newest babies born:

Somebody needs to buy these kids a camera!