Lend us your vintage photos

Just about everyone enjoys taking a walk down memory lane from time to time – especially if the memories are positive or unique.

Occasionally, a reader will bring an old photograph by our office and ask us if we’d like to publish it, along with some information about it. And in the past, we’ve typically used such photos in our annual history section, which comes out in the fall.

Now, in light of a recent revival of all things vintage, and partly because of the success of our weekly Community Snapshots page, we’d like to make vintage photos a regular feature of our newspaper.

Want to contribute? Then look in your family scrapbooks and photo albums, or perhaps in a dusty trunk in the attic. You might just have something we’d be interested in. Then you can bring the photo to our office. If we can use it, we’ll scan it in and give the photo back to you, so you won’t need to leave it with us.

(In the event there’s no one in the office at the moment who can use the scanner, you can return a bit later, either leaving the photo temporarily or keeping it with you. Remember, our hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.)

Of course, you can also mail such photos to us, either with instructions that you’ll come by to pick it up, or with a self-addressed envelope so we can return it. But many people are afraid to part with their fragile keepsakes, so we expect the in-person delivery will be preferred.

How do you know if we can use the photo? For one thing, it has to be able to reproduce well. If the photo is blurry or damaged and doesn’t look good in the first place, it won’t look any better in print.

Second, you need to be able to identify the subjects of the photo. We’d like as much of the “who, what, when, and where” as you can provide. A little background would be great! If you know who took the photo, we’ll need that, as well as your name.

How old should the photos be? There’s no real limitation, but bear in mind we’re looking for pictures that will interest our readers. If you don’t find it really interesting, chances are, no one else will, either.

We’re looking forward to taking a look back in time with you. Get involved!