A Wartime Salvage Campaign Shows Why It’s Key To Start A Plan: How to Scan My Photos Today
Historical Photos Survive In Digital Form Today
Our lives would be different if not for the amazing, trail-blazing female role models, activists and leaders who came before us.
To celebrate International Women’s Day, held every March 8, the Library of Congress compiled nearly two dozen photos from the 1910s to 1940s. They reflect the strength, spirit and resilience of such women.
One in particular stands out: A shot of Annette Del Sur in 1942. Smartly dressed in a gray skirt suit, Annette is participating – actually, she’s publicizing – a salvage campaign at Douglas Aircraft Company in southern California. A glance at her should spark the thought: I need to find out how to scan my photos. It’s a critical reminder of why the past is so important.
In the picture, Annette is at the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had just opened a 1.4-million-square-foot warplane factory in Long Beach the year before (November 1941). The facility was considered cutting edge, thanks in part to the air-conditioned interiors, a novelty back then for a manufacturing plant. Douglas was the country’s biggest manufacturer of aircrafts at one point, but it eventually faltered and merged with another entity to become McDonnell Douglas Corporation in 1967.
Alfred T. Palmer took the photograph of Annette, a slim, curly-haired brunette. She’s smiling in the image. Around her head and neck, she’s sporting what look to be recycled pieces of metal. (They would no doubt be considered art today!) If this image had just been snapped, we imagine Annette would have told herself, I need to know how to scan my photos. Sending them away to a professional company to be digitally converted and easily and safely saved is a wonderful way to hold onto such a keepsake.
The photo of Annette portrays a young woman happily reusing and repurposing items. With all the talk these days about living in a sustainable manner and saving our planet, this photo feels incredibly fresh and relevant in 2009. It’s a significant reminder that our eco-friendly efforts are not new, that nothing should be so disposable. Rather, our efforts are part of a cycle we must continue for the sake of future generations.
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