One of R&R’s most dedicated contributors – writers, who wishes to remain anonymous, often researches newspapers for data on historic properties. He wants to discover information as to who was building what, where individuals were moving, what building had burned, and on and on it goes. To some this may seem mindless work but to him, it is most rewarding, like finding hidden secrets.
Several items recently unearthed were, to us, monumental! The first has to do with a picture shared with R&R some two years prior to starting the website by someone who simply wanted to share his old family images. He knew little of about them and we determined, incorrectly, that some were simply unidentifiable. So, recently when one of the newspaper articles spoke about the opening of the Plyler and Gordon Grocery, we were wild with excitement. This one item linked an address, the newspaper information, and one of the unidentified images. It was one of the finest of days!
Within hours of this discovery, a second article discussed the evolutionary history of a mill site on the Catawba River. It too opened our eyes to the fantastic history a pile of rocks had long marked as a site of interest. R&R can now link the site to images, data, and sightseeing pleasures as never before imagined. The mill sat near Red River, a community on the Catawba which had a very colorful history, one R&R has captured and continues expanding. But they keep coming, just this week, a new collection of images associated from Spartanburg, Co., S.C. were digitized and made available. Check out the one for the Woodruff Mill and Community.
R&R’s users are our inspiration to continue preserving stories and linking historic data across S.C. and well beyond. It is you who continue to share stories of sitting on porches, homes that were burned decades ago, and sharing images / documents, that until recently were unidentified. So, please don’t trash old images of building, maps, dairies, or letters. And remember old store record book and receipts play a vital roll in preservation of local history. The ones displayed, were trashed and a volunteer for a local historical society saved them. It happens all to often! Let R&R use them to preserve information that will otherwise be lost to our grandchildren. Wouldn’t you like to help — R&R needs many more volunteers – can’t you assist?
From the Porch – Blog @ RootsandRecall.com – 8.12.16
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