Memories In Black & White

A few years back we spent some time sorting through old pictures while preparing for my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary. Contained in those old boxes were many pictures of my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. There were even a few pictures of my great grandparents, as well as great aunts and uncles. As expected there were also many of my brother and me as well.

While sifting through stacks of pictures taken throughout the years, it occurred to me that a majority of those memories were in black and white. At the same time, I found myself taken aback at just how many of those pictured were no longer with us. Many times since, I have thought about those pictures and wondered about the stories contained in each individual photograph.

Imagine for a moment, having the ability to sit with each picture and be carried back to that very moment. Hearing each word your grandfather was saying as he sat in a chair, or smelling the aroma as a grandmother stood over an old stove fixing supper, while a family member or friend snapped the shutter of that old camera. Even as I write these words I can smell the chicken frying and the cornbread in the oven.

There will come a day when every one of us will only be a memory contained within the hearts and minds of our children and grandchildren. To future generations those memories will only be pictures in an old box, and just like me, they will wonder just what the story was at the time the photo was taken. Was it a celebration, a family get-together, or maybe just one of those moments when the picture was taken by someone that wanted to remember that very second?

In my own lifetime I have watched a generation that saw the transition of society from the days of the horse and buggy to the automobile, and fought in World War I, become only a memory. Now the generation that suffered through the Great Depression and fought and defeated enemies during World War II, gets smaller with every passing day. Early in my life, I had two great-great aunts pass away who were born shortly after the Civil War. Imagine the memories that were probably contained within their boxes of pictures.

A little over twenty years ago I had the golden opportunity to sit and look at old pictures and also to listen to stories told to me and my children, by a great-great uncle who at the time was over 100. The stories he told and the history he had lived through left me in childlike awe. During the course of what seemed like days, but in reality were only a couple of short hours, he shared stories of his aunt hiding deep in the woods to protect the family’s livestock from being taken and slaughtered by Union forces as Sherman marched south through Georgia.

Over and over he was able to recall the days when the community they lived in was still much like the early settlers in northwest Georgia had found it. I heard of a bear trying to get in their little log cabin, and how after it was killed they ate bear meat for many days. In that brief encounter he was able to make many memories that were only preserved in black and white, and some never captured in a photo, come alive with color. Unfortunately I never made it back and he passed away a few years afterwards. It saddens me that I never got another chance to hear more, or to even document that visit.

Perhaps it is time that we all go to our parents, grandparents, or aunts and uncles if they are still alive, pull out that old box of black and white, or even color memories and make it a point to spend whatever amount of time it takes to listen to them as each memory comes alive. In a few hours you will find yourself transported back to a place and time that you thought was gone forever. A place probably not contained in any history book, but alive and well, deep within their memory.

By doing this you can travel back to those places rarely thought about anymore. Take out pen and paper and write down each story for posterity. Your own children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and future generations you may never know will have something that most of us never had. By the time you are through, that old box of black and white pictures will live in color for many generations to come.