I Become an Archivist

The Box of Photos in the Attic

I knew every inch of my Grandparents house in Stamford, Connecticut. It was built in the early 1900s and was a great place to explore. The cellar was especially spooky and dark with cobwebs and a musty smell of decay. What I found intriguing was a toilet mounted on a platform.  I can’t imagine when it was used and I certainly wasn’t going to approach it.

On the other hand the attic was a bright and cheery place. It  smelled like old wood with a hint of mothballs. It was a two story house but the attic was so large it was effectively  a third story, it even had its own staircase. The first thing you noticed at the top of the stairs was the crookedness of the brick chimney. It leaned to one side. The boards of the roof were visible covered with thin lathing. As I remember it even had a window. While poking around a found a box of old photographs. What a treasure. As soon as I saw these photos I knew I had found something special.

When I saw the photo of the funeral with the body on a bower I realized that these weren’t just snapshots of birthday parties. Each photo had a story to tell and I’ve spent the last few decades trying to piece together my family’s history from the photos.

Just recently I had a nice lunch with my cousins and was handed another box of photos and 35mm slides. I fired up my flatbed and slide scanner and got to work. What I have a huge catalog of images with scant information. How can I make that accessible to the family?

Organizing the Collection

My Grandparents Anthony R. Poltrack and Emilia Kowaleski were married on May 12, 1906. They had eight children. Five of them married and their children appear in this chorus line. These are my first cousins. There are many photos.

If photos were digital, I could organize them chronologically. However since I don’t have that data, I plan to group them into family groups. 

I have some experience doing this I publish a daily newsletter for the New Ipswich Historical Society which features archival photos.  Our family history is just as interesting as anything I’ve seen there.

This is a long term project which will never be complete because the photos keep coming. The projects will be listed on the main menu as Family Archives.