pictures of young girl, little boy, dog

Mini-Collections tell stories

Above: The view from ground-level, North Carolina, 1930’s


When Ruby moved from her two-story townhouse in Raleigh, North Carolina, to her new home in La Jolla, California, it fell to me to organize the contents. Anyone who has ever dealt with the accumulated belongings of a loved one who has lived in the same house for decades knows that this is no easy task. It takes an emotional and moral toll much greater than any physical one.

people posing for picture

Only between Memorial Day and Labor Day: Wearing white, white belt and white shoes, early twentieth century


What made the move from Ruby’s house especially laden with emotion is that it was the repository for earlier such moves conducted by my mother on behalf of the previous generation. And it went further back than that, by a magnitude I could only guess. The preserved memories of her mother’s and aunt’s houses had come to rest there. My great-aunt, who never married, was in her day the steward of bits of family memorabilia, letters, and photos that were antique before she was born. And now, as my mother had always said, “what’s mine is yours.” I felt like I was at the bottom of a cosmic funnel.

people in straw hats in early twentieth century

Straw hats, early twentieth century, probably North Carolina


It’s a big responsibility, but the directive I take most seriously is to make sure that these photographs are not forgotten. Some of them are so lovely, but without the knowledge of a great-aunt or a grandmother, I struggle to make them relevant. So, where I have no other context, I’ve started to combine pictures into little collections, or collages if you like, that tell a story. There’s no right or wrong story, no true interpretation, but the mini-collection, hopefully, is more than the sum of those photos alone.

pictures of babies

Half a century of babes; c 1910-1960


collage of pictures of a soldier and his family

GI story; c.1945-56


collage of pictures of ladies at the beach 1950's

Beach stories, c.1948 and 1957, probably North Carolina


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