Our History in Pictures

Posted on April 1, 2015 by bob in EdNote

Photographs have always been a part of our lives, whether taking them or viewing them. We all remember our parents snapping away at family reunions and vacations, often to the embarrassment of us children.

When George Eastman developed the “Kodak” — arguably the first consumer film camera — it ushered in an exciting era of documenting the world around us with, at the time, unimaginable ease. Preloaded at the factory, the “Kodak” was returned intact for processing, taking that complicated and laborious task out of the hands of amateurs.

My father was the quintessential amateur photographer — going so far as to process and enlarge his own black and white photos in the late 1940s. We still have a suitcase full of those blowups somewhere, along with boxes of slides and countless photo albums. They not only document the people Dad photographed — they also bear witness to his own life:  evidence of the places he went, people he met, and events he wanted to remember.

With our parents gone now, my siblings and I are very thankful for the seeming endless moments we were forced to stand still, smile, and pose for Dad’s obligatory picture — before opening Christmas presents, before jumping in the surf, before taking that bite of birthday cake. Frozen moments in time, reluctantly offered, they are now precious memories.

I love to pull out even older family photos, looking for clues to new truths that might be revealed. Where is Mookie (Bob’s grandmother) going in that horse-drawn wagon in Dothan? How was business the day my grandad stood behind the counter of his first restaurant in Cordele, Georgia? Could my 15-year-old Pop have possibly imagined the future in store for him, when he solemnly stared into a camera lens 83 years ago on his native island of Skopelos, Greece?

It is with great pride that Prime has partnered with the Alabama Department of Archives and History to bring a series of photographs to our readers in hopes of identifying those who stare out at us from the past. It’s often difficult to realize the faces we see from decades, even centuries, past, were living, breathing individuals whose countenances are forever captured in time.

You likely have your own family photos tucked in drawers or neatly arranged in albums. If you’re lucky enough to have an elderly family member around, have them identify the people in the photos — just as we’re attempting to do with Archives. Too many names and faces are lost to time because someone failed to note who they where, where they were, and what they were doing.

Think of a photograph — whether from film or captured as a digital file — as a window in time. It’s a privilege, gazing into the past at that particular split second when someone’s face was captured. Go a step further and treat the moment with the respect it deserves, by making the effort to identify the face you’re looking into.

I hope you all have a happy April. This month is Prime’s sixth birthday — how quickly it’s gone by!

Sandra Polizos, Editor

Sandra Polizos, Editor